Coupon Code

Hi local friends & family!
See something on my Etsy shop that you'd like to buy, but don't want to pay the shipping fees? If you'd like to purchase something & pick it up from me directly you can enter PICKUP4U during check out to waive the shipping fees!
Happy shopping!!

New Etsy Shop!

Well, I've finally done it - opened an Etsy shop! It's not fully stocked yet with all the great things I'll be making, but it does have plenty of fun things for your little ones.

Check it out, and come back often to see what's new!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SewandSoMom

Into the Wild!

Tiger

Zebra

"Can You Make Me Something?"

The other day our neighbor girl asked if I would make her something to put her ear buds in that attached to her keys.

Voila!

I think I will make myself something like this that fits my ID for when I'm at the gym.

A Sneak Peak

This is one of the new capes for the Into the Wild! line. What will come next?

Retro Apron

Just made this adorable little apron for sweet little girl's birthday.

It was a pattern for an adult, but (somehow) I managed to size it for a 5 year-old. Yay me! Yay easy pattern!

I hope she likes it.

Here is one of my kids modeling it for us:

So cute! I can't wait to make one for myself.

The Labor and the Love

Well, I've been away from my blog for a long time. Why? I've been working on an amazing quilt!

The Labor....

...and the LOVE!

This is my first quilt made from a pattern. It's from Lunden Designs and it's called Northern Exposure. Check out all of her fabulous work at http://lundendesigns.com/my-goods/quilts/

Her pattern was extremely easy to follow and I can't wait to pick up one of her next amazing quilt patterns!

Here are some more pictures of the quilt I made, which is a birthday gift for a great friend's little girl:

More Capes!

The Realm!

Keeping with the gender neutral theme, may I introduce Sovereign of the Realm (King or Queen):

And Defender of the Realm:

Great together, individually, or add several Defenders with one Sovereign for a birthday party!

Since there have been several requests for a more "girlie" cape I have just added Princess of the Realm! (and it's reversible!!)

Table Runner Tutorial - Quilt in a Day (or 5 if you have kids!)

It's hilarious to me that I'm writing a tutorial for a quilt when this is the second I've ever made - and it's chalk full of mistakes. BUT I was inspired to make one based on this free tutorial: http://www.quiltingdaily.com/blogs/quilting-daily/archive/2012/09/27/quilt-in-a-day-patchwork-table-runner.aspx?a=qr120929

I had a big problem with these instructions, though. It's probably that I'm a total beginner - but maybe she left a few steps out. So I just decided to take some of her directions and wing the rest. Here's what I got:


Autumn Side



Winter Side

What you will need:

Materials

• Print fabrics, 15-20 coordinating 5" squares
• Solid fabrics, 15-20 coordinating 5" squares (I used just one color solid, but you can choose as many as you like)
• Backing fabric, ½ yd. (obviously, I used 2 different fabrics to create a winter feel, but you can choose to make the backing one color)
• Binding fabric, ¼ yd. (I used pre-made bias tape. I don't recommend that if you're a beginner. Make your own. There are lots of tutorials online to show you how)
• Batting, 20" × 50" (I used interfacing because that's what I had lying around)
• Rotary cutting tools (cutter, mat, and acrylic ruler)
• Sewing machine
• If you want to hand stitch your binding (which you are supposed to do but I machine stitched the flip side of mine) you will need a needle & thread

My table runner is 18" x 36" so I used 16 - 5" print squares and 16 - 5" solid squares. (8 of those squares will be cut up into smaller pieces that I will explain later). You can make yours as big or as small as you'd like. You just need to adjust your math.

Directions:

*all seam allowances are 1/4"

Layer 2 - 5" squares, a print and a solid, right sides together. Sew 1/4" seam down one side. Repeat with all the squares until you have 16 total.

Now you have 16 - 5" x 10" blocks. Press all of the seams open. (some people press their seams to one side. I prefer to press them open because I think the fabric lays flatter, and I don't have to remember to which side to press any of the seams)

Take 12 of the blocks and arrange them randomly so you have 3 long columns of 4 - 5" x 10" blocks.

At this point I'll mention the 4 blocks you have left over. Take those blocks and cut them in half, length wise, so that you end up with 8 - 2.5" x 10" blocks. These will be the outside columns of your runner.

Add these to your layout, on the out sides.

Now start sewing your blocks together. I sewed the 10" sides together first, but I don't think it matters, as long as you get all pieces together. Don't forget to press all your seams open as you go!

Lay down your backing fabric (which, along with your batting, should be slightly bigger than your pieced top), wrong side up, your batting, then your completed runner (right side up) to make a "sandwich". Baste the layers together and quilt as desired.

Trim the backing fabric and batting to match your quilted top.

Bind the edges. (again, there are some good tutorials on binding quilts online. Here's one http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2008/10/binding-tutorial.html)

On a side note, if you're planning on really getting into quilting I would highly recommend having a walking foot on your machine. Lots of my errors are because I don't have one - yet!

Please share your comments, suggestions, or photos of your finished project!



Sandwich Bags!

I am SO excited about these bags! I know, I say that every time, but these beauties truly are a labor of love!

These bags are BPA, phthalate, thyolate and lead free, and are CPSIA compliant (you can google what that means). I did an extraordinary amount of research to find a fabric that I would feel comfortable packing my family's food in. The web is full of sandwich bags that I wouldn't use on my family's food. PULs, Oilcloth & ripstop nylon were a big NO for me, but please do your own research.

Closed, these are about 7.25" x 7.25". Plenty of room for a nice big sandwich. The Velcro closure is easy for little ones to open & close. These are wipe clean inside & out! No more single use baggies.

Do not put these in the dishwasher or washing machine. Do not put these in the microwave. Do not put hot food in these. Do not iron. Just wipe it out with a damp cloth - easy!

These snack bag beauties are 100% organic cotton! I'm particularly fond of this fabric because, not only is it organic, but the pattern is completely gender neutral.

These are unlined, so there's no bulk. And, since they're cotton, the whole thing is machine washable (or hand wash/line dry them).

The finished bag is about 8"x7", with about a 6" zipper opening. Plenty of room for a nice sized snack, and easy for parents & kids to get their hands in & out.

I had fun with the zipper colors so each one is slightly different (if, like me, you have more than one kid it's important to differentiate everything for possession's sake!)

Please check back soon as I will be adding new designs (I haven't forgotten about you boys) and new sizes.