Skip To My Lou

Great blog... especially this link for "gifts to sew"... tons of tutorials!!

Camera Accessories

Since I made the birdie sling to use as a camera bag, I had to make some matching camera accessories. I made the camera strap using this tutorial and I made the pouch for my lens using Oh Sew Easy, Life Style by Valori Wells and Carolyn Spencer... which I checked out at the library, great idea for free ideas. I just photocopied the projects I thought looked good. Here's another tutorial that I didn't use but looked good and here's just one more.

Birdie Sling

This is one of my favorite bags. It's an Amy Butler pattern and was pretty easy to make. You can find her patterns here.

Zippered Wristlet/Pouch

Love these little zippered pouches... easy to make and handy to throw inside purses and bags. They were very easy to make, here's the tutorial.

American Girl Doll Clothes

For some reason I thought doll clothes would be easy to make. I WAS WRONG... especially since I've never made clothes before. Thankfully I have a wonderful sewing teacher who has helped me make clothes for Mackenzie's American Girl doll. These are pajamas and I'm working on a robe. I'm also working on bedding for her doll's bed. More pics to come when all the projects are done... wish me luck!

Napkins

In an effort to be more "green." I made these reusable napkins. Now at dinner we use these instead of paper napkins.

Crayon Roll

I made this crayon roll for my stepdaughter, Mackenzie. She loves it. My friend Carol altered the directions to make a roll for Twistables, which are long like pencils. That's one of my next projects. You can find the tutorial for the crayon roll here.

Lady Like Laptop Tote

I made this laptop tote, an idea I got from Sew Darn Cute. I LOVE this book, it has the cutest projects in it. I just need to add the yo-yos.

Pincushions

This cute pincushion came from Heather Bailey's blog. I love her fabrics. You can find the tutorial here.

Door Stop

I made this doorstop, an idea I got from Sewing In No Time. This book has some really cute ideas in it.

Rag Quilt Letters

I did not make these but would love to! Here's the tutorial.

Rag Quilt

This quilt was very easy to make. I don't love the way it turned out though. I think it's just because of the fabric I used. I haven't been spending too much money on fabric as I'm just learning to sew. Once I get better I'll invest more into my fabrics. I think this quilt would have turned out better with a higher quality flannel. I got this tutorial at Tall Mouse but here are some online tutorials: greenappleorchard and jenyu.

Eco Chic Shopping Tote

Another simple project... I've made several of these. The tutorial for this was found at Tall Mouse.

Pillowcases, pillowcases, and more pillowcases!

One of the first things I learned how to sew was... you guessed it... pillowcases! I started with this project because I thought it would be easy, all straight lines and very basic. If you're just learning to sew, I would recommend this project for you. The tutorial for this project was from one of my favorite stores, Tall Mouse. Therefore the tutorial is not available on line but here are some links for other pillowcase tutorials at the following blogs, kristencan.typepad.com and littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com.

Aprons 101

Our first project in sewing class was a very simple apron. You can find the tutorial here.

My Inspiration

Part of the reason I decided I wanted to start learning to sew was because of this machine. It's a hand-me-down sewing machine and I'm learning to love it. My grandma gave my mom this machine when my mom was pregnant with me... that makes the machine 30+ years old. It works great and I am so thankful to have it.

Sewing 101

Last fall, my girlfriend, Angie and I enrolled in a sewing class through the Capo School District. The class was set to start in January and we went the first night it started. Unfortunately, that was the only night we went. The class was cancelled due to low enrollment. Angie and I were totally bummed as we had now set our minds on learning how to sew. Fortunately, we have a friend who is an AMAZING seamstress and we were able to convince her to teach us how to sew one night a week at her house. So, every Monday night you can find us at Carol's house sewing. Thank you, Carol!! We love it and are learning so much from you! (This picture was taken from Carol's blog... thanks for sharing... you can check out her sewing blog, SewGrammaSew.