A great way to start the new year

Around this time last year, I came across a new site called Sew Can She, which features a new sewing tutorial every day. On a whim, I submitted my Kindle sleeve tutorial to be featured on the site, and they chose it for a post last February.

Today, I was reading the Sew Can She blog and saw that my little 'ol tutorial was chosen as one of their most popular tutorials of 2012! 

They judged the winners based on the number of "likes" the tutorial's photo received on the Sew Can She Facebook page, and mine was the big winner for February (they chose one for each month).

So I think my resolution for the new year should be to get a few more tutorials up on the blog. ;)

I love receiving comments or emails from people who've used the tutorial to make their own Kindle/iPad/laptop sleeve. Who knew it would have garnered such a following?!?

Maybe you should make one to start your new year. :) Happy New Year 2013!

Let's do a little sewing

Christmas is over (and I hope you all had a wonderful one), so now it's time to catch up on the sewing projects of the past few weeks.

The first wasn't actually a Christmas present, but it had been on my list for the past few months, ever since B started standing in his crib ... and then eating it. I knew I had to make some bumpers for the crib railings or he'd eat right through them, and I can't imagine the wood's good for his diet.

It was a pretty quick project because I recycled the dust ruffle I originally made for his crib. Once we lowered the crib, it was too long, and I never really fell in love with it anyway because it turned out to really be too much pattern next to his crib sheets.

For the railing bumpers, I measured the height of the railings, then doubled it and added an inch or so for the seam allowances. The length was already correct because I cut the strips from the bed skirt.

To conserve fabric and make them softer, I lined them with scrap batting. I made matching ties from some single bias tape I had on hand. To make them, I cut a long strip, folded it in half, and stitched down both sides.

The short sides of the crib got two ties each. I used four ties on the front of the crib and decided to leave the back of the crib blank because B doesn't chew on it (at least not yet).

I really like the way they turned out. They add some nice color and fun to the crib and the room, not to mention the very practical purpose they serve in protecting the crib and B's teeth.

For my sweet grandmother, I made this cute little glasses case using this tutorial from Sweet Verbena.

The tutorial is great, and the sleeve stitched up in no time. I added one for myself to my too-long list of future sewing projects.

It's also a great scrapbuster as it requires almost no fabric.

I mailed it off to her in Georgia before the holidays, and she loved it. I love it when projects and the people they're intended for all work out.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

"And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, 'Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!'"
-- Luke 2:4-14

I meant to post these pictures weeks ago but just didn't have a chance. We're actually celebrating Christmas away from our St. Louis home, but I wanted to document our decorations for the first year in our new home.

Because we were afraid of Beckett possibly pulling down a real tree, we decided to use our old fake one this year, but it was at least helped by the addition of the new stockings and tree skirt I made a few months ago.

The rest of the house was dusted with a sprinkling of red and white felt garland, Christmas cards, menorahs, ornaments, wreaths, towels, and other Christmas decorations.

It was simple but enough to get us all in the holiday spirit. Next year, I think I'll shoot for something bigger. ;)

Bonus: us in our fabulous Christmas sweaters at one of the many family get-togethers we've had over the past few days.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends as well.

In the land of things that have nothing to do with one another

Well, I guess they're red and blue, so that's something. The past few weeks have been filled with an assortment of sewing projects, and it's not always easy to group them into a logical post. So this time, you get sippy cup leashes and a drawstring backpack, 'cause why not, right?

After I made this sippy cup leash for B, a friend of mine asked if I'd make two for her twins, fellow sippy-cup throwers. But of course, I said, and so it was done.

I used the same tutorial from Make It & Love It, and it worked great. If you have a child that likes to throw their sippy cups, you must make one of these. It takes two seconds, and it's awesome.

The drawstring backpack was a project Matt requested probably more than a year ago. He's a runner and had been wanting a backpack to carry his extra clothes, etc. at races and workouts.

I finally got around to making him one just in time for the Dallas Marathon, which he ran last weekend. He did great!

It took a while to find a tutorial for a lined drawstring backpack, but I finally came upon this one from Sweet Bee Buzzings, and it was worked like a charm, though I made a few tweaks: I added a zipper pocket on the front, used cording for the straps instead of fabric, and enlarged the bag a bit.

It was my first time making a zipper pocket, and I'm glad I finally conquered my fear. It was really quite easy and will be a great place to store keys and other small items.

The bag is made of blue nylon (I really hope I never have to work with that stuff again! Also, nylon is super hard to photograph. It looks like it's glowing!), and the pocket is lined with a scrap of red fabric I had on hand.

Now, he's all set for his next run!

Applique party

Hey, remember how I like to sew, too?!? Yeah, I've been doing a lot of that lately, though like everything else, it's taking a while to get it on the blog. There's been a good amount of Christmas sewing going on, too, but those posts will have to wait until presents are opened. :) Hey, that's a valid excuse for blog delays!

If you've been following the blog for awhile, you may remember this tie applique onesie I made for B last winter. He's long outgrown it, but it was always one of our favorites, and I've been meaning to make him another one, so here you go:

The pattern for the tie is from this tutorial on Crap I've Made. The fabric is just a navy gingham I picked up at Hancock's or Joann's a long time ago.

The onesie itself is from H&M. (If you have an H&M nearby that sells baby clothes (sadly, most of them don't), I highly recommend giving them a visit. They have great plain onesies made from organic cotton for $4 each. Stock up, my friends.)

After attaching the tie with Wonder Under, I secured it with a simple stitch in white. Ten-minute project = near-instant cuteness.

And while I was on the appliqueing kick, I decided to make a tie onesie for part of a gift for a friend's new baby boy.

The tie fabric is a favorite from Ann Kelle's Remix line, and this onesie is from hobby Lobby (another great spot for plain onesies, especially with the 40% off coupon. They sell non-organic ones for $5.).

I paired the onesie with a burp cloth that features my favorite Ann Kelle owls.

 A fun set for a precious baby!

Finally, I've posted pics of B wearing this onesie before (here and here), but since I never actually wrote about, I thought I'd include it in our little applique party. I used another H&M onesie to make his Thanksgiving turkey tee (a third H&M onesie/applique combo was used to create the monster tee I made for B's birthday party).

 I used this tutorial/pattern from The Cottage Home, though I used fewer feathers.

I added the beak, eyes, and feet with embroidery thread.

 I love those little feet.

I need to get back to H&M to stock up one more onesies. My appliqueing fever knows no bounds.