embroidery | With These Hands

Um, I think this is a lot?

I did indeed have a Strawberry Shortcake doll when I was a kid.

A bunch of new hairbands. I love that I have found a way to use scraps. I made 35 of them over like 2 days. Not too shabby.

And finally, some wristlets and makeup bags.

So now it’s on to keychains. I’m trying to do 20 before Thursday. We’ll see if I meet my goal, ’cause right now, I’m feeling the beginnings of the dreaded burn-out. Eeek.

materials used:

twill
interfacing
cotton
elastic
nickel components
wool felt
dmc thread
corduroy
zippers
canvas

August 14th, 2006 ★ 2 Comments »

Copy cat.

I get inspired by so many things I see in stores, on tv, online, and in life.

Wee Wonderfuls is such a place. Hillary makes adorable things and it’s all I can do not squee uncontrollably when I’m browsing her blog. I came across her lily pad pin cushion and knew I had to make one for myself.

It’s rare that I’ll copy something exactly. But the colors and style of it just worked so well, that there wasn’t anything I could do to make it better. So to make it “mine” I changed the shank button from pearl to pink. Yay for individuality! Hah!

Here’s mine:

With pins.

materials used:

wool felt
plastic button
dmc thread
poly stuffing

August 1st, 2006 ★ No Comments »

Okay, so I’m slowing down a bit.

I think Mike is worried.
Eh.
I’m not.
I figure I’ll go to the fair with everything I have and not stress about things that I didn’t get to do.
It’s all supposed to be fun and enjoyable and I don’t need to pressure myself with thoughts of bringing 100 purses.

I think it’s just ’cause my energy is zapped.
I’m totally blaming the heat.
Even though we have the air conditioning.
Which, thank the good Lord.

So anyways, here is the weekend’s accomplishments.

Swirly!

And a matching pouch.

Stars and stripes, my way.

This one I really like, it’s so autumnal from the outside, but springy and vibrant on the inside. The front picture is actually a functioning pocket.

With a matching pouch also.

The pink ladies.

Probably my favorite of this bunch. It has that great brushed chocolate twill (feels like suede!) with a bright cheery flowered lining. The straps have nickel d-rings for added interest.

And lastly, 2 more cute makeup bags.

So now back to more cutting. My “favorite”. Uh, no.

materials used:

wood handles
wool felt
dmc thread
plastic buttons
poly zippers
twill
cotton
interfacing
nickel d-rings
nickel magnetic snaps
denim

August 1st, 2006 ★ No Comments »

I thought there was more than this!

It felt like I was sewing and sewing and sewing…
But 4 bags, a few wristlets, some make-up bags and I’m wondering why I feel so darned tired.
Eh.
Anyways, my new things:

materials used:

cotton
canvas
twill
poly blend
zippers
nickel magnetic snaps
plastic tortoise d-rings
grosgrain ribbon
wool felt
craft felt
dmc thread
nickel o-ring
buttons
nickel keyrings

July 24th, 2006 ★ No Comments »

I always wonder if our neighbors can hear my sewing machine at 1am.

I should be working right now, really.
Instead, I’m doing what I do best, procrastinating!
I do feel somewhat accomplished though, I completed 5 new bags, plus some makeup pouches and wristlets too.
And I cut out a bunch more this morning.

The fruits of said labor:

That one has a surprise inside.

A turtle surprise.
Mike gave me lots of funny looks when I was matching up fabrics. But I felt the paisley and the turtles just went together.
The serious grandma’s couchness of the paisley needs something fun to balance it out. Turtle love is perfect!
I seriously do love this.

And a matchy wristlet:

This purse has a functional mini pocket on both exterior sides.

Red.
This fabric I’ve been holding onto for a while.
I had used it to make a pencil skirt like almost a year ago?
The skirt came out fantastic and now I have a accessories to match.

Makeup pouches for good measure:

Finally, I scrounged up a bit more of this favorite fabric while going through my closet. Just enough to squeak out a medium sized summer tote.

Materials used:

cotton
canvas
twill
stretch cotton
craft felt
dmc embroidery thread
nickel magnetic snaps
interfacing
zippers
plastic tortoise D rings

July 16th, 2006 ★ No Comments »

More for the fair.

I was actually productive last week. Yay!

To make my rounded corners, I use one of our large cereal bowls to make ‘em all even and nice. Works well.

Lots of love for these sweet totes. Hand embroidered felt hearts are on both sides of bags.

I feel like this fabric reminds me of pimentos olives. And then, martinis, of course.

Modified messenger. I tweaked this tutorial. I like how the gussets give it a sharp, box shape.

Last week we three went up to the civitan community flea market. I kinda still don’t know what civitan is, but the flea market was completely awesome and I really wanted to buy like everything. I settled on just a few items, including these wonderful vintage glass buttons.

More wooden handle purses for the summery summer. I use this great online supplier I found via ebay. They are reasonable, and they ship quick.

And finally, I did 2 more skirt to purse reconstructions. Found these cute skirts on ebay, on the cheap, of course. I wanted to do one with a pink lining, one with a black lining. And so I did.

The before please (there’s Matty’s head over to the right there, ha.)