Zakka Along Week 19 Prettified Pincushion

I can't believe it's the last week of the Sew Along. How did the last 19 weeks fly by so quickly ?  I have enjoyed every minute of it, even if of a couple of the projects frustrated me. I have learned a few new tricks and I feel a sense of accomplishment that I completed all 19 projects.

 Thank you Lindsey and Debbie for hosting a great sew along.

I am so happy that I have quite a few gifts made for Christmas. The 2 quilts have already found new homes. One was a birthday gift for a  friend and the 2nd one was a wedding present for a couple who appreciate a handmade gift. I only kept 2 projects for myself, the cafe apron and the large drawstring shopping bag. 

Zakka Along Week 18 Sweet Trips Pillow

Ok, so once again I struggled with the little pieces. I had planned on making the front of the embroidery pouch  and then turn it into a mug rug. However, I was unsuccessful with the little pieces. At 10pm I asked my husband to take me to Kinkos so I could copy the pattern at 400%. I made the patchwork portion of the pattern and turned it into a pillow instead. I was able to use my mad piping skills, I learned from the 1st Zakka Sew Along, to create the pillow. The back of the pillow was made with scraps I had left from the front. All in all, I am pretty pleased with the outcome. As you can see my little Tofurky (the kitten) liked it too. He couldn't help but pose for the pics. He must have been jealous of the bunny.

Zakka Along Week 17 Handy Market Tote

I have been a bag maker for many years. I have made all types and styles so naturally I LOVED making this bag. So far I have made a total of 6 of these useful bags. This pattern is great and the instructions are written very clearly. Everyone I know must have one of these for Christmas! I have cut out a few more and I will stock pile them for the upcoming holidays. There IS only 99 days till Christmas. :)

Zakka Along Week 16 I-Love-My-Ipad Quilted Cover

Week 16,  I love my I-pad cover.

I don't have an I-pad, so this is going to make a great gift to someone.

I really enjoyed quilting this project. As I gathered the supplies I realized I had the velcro in a jar in my studio. I was thrilled I didn't have to go to the store to buy a thing to make this. I have no idea what I will do with myself once the sew along is over. I am happy though that I was able to get some Christmas gifts done early, awesome ones at that :o)

Week 15 I had troubles, pencil case

Did anyone else have troubles with this pencil case? I started by making the tiny pencil points with the paper piecing method. That in itself was quite the challenge with all the tiny sewing. I was pretty doggone proud of myself for just accomplishing that until it came time to sew them together. Needless to say, the little pieces are still there but not on the bag, as you can see. I did the best I could in the 3 hours I spent working on this pouch. I can make a pencil bag in my sleep but this one, well, it is what it is. I envy the people who are able to complete this project. I do think it looks nice even if it doesn't have the pencil points. With these projects I think I have found, the bigger the better, for me anyways. I seem to have trouble with the smaller projects.

Happy sewing...till next week.

Zakka Along Week 14 Triangle Patchwork Box Pouch

Week 14,  Oh My!!!! I was a little worried when I saw this project in the book. I did make a little mistake but I can live with it. I am sure you can see what I did wrong too. I do think it's an adorable little pouch and it will make a fabulous present. I think this is a bag I will make again and the box pouch is something I have been wanting to learn to make. So Cheers for that.

Happy Sewing, I will be back next week.

Piece-of-Cake Shopping Bag

IKEA here I come ! with my Piece Of Cake shopping bag. Big enough to fit a small elephant inside ( just kidding). It is pretty roomy and, believe it or not, I was able to fit all my purchases in the bag. If you look closely, I used fabric from IKEA that I had purchased a few years ago. I am happy to finally make myself something so awesome with it.

WINNER

Here's my loot from winning week 8 of the Patchwork Please! SAL The fabric is so awesome I am working on a quilt with black and whites and was thrilled when I opened up the package. I am super psyched about the GC from spoonflower so I can  design my own fabric, and the quilt batting..... need I say more. Thank you to all the sponsors that donated the prizes for the SAL.

Zakka Sew Along Week 12 :: Happy Hexagon Trivet

How is it that the smallest and simplest projects are the ones that I struggle with the most ? I made 2 quilts one week apart, no problem! Then when its time to make a simple trivet  it literally takes me all week to get the darn thing done. Well here it is, finally finished. I worked all day today, on next weeks project and I am happy to say it is done too. In fact I am going to IKEA tomorrow and will take it with me to carry my purchases home.
Happy Sewing!!!!

Zakka Style Week 10 : Bloom Time Quilt

Quilt no. 2 in the sew along. Next time I do a sew along I hope that I choose a different vacation week. Making 2 quilts and going out to Santa Fe, New Mexico (DRIVING over fourteen hundred miles each way)  made me really manage my time. I admit I worked ahead but I still had quite a bit to do when I returned home. Now it is finally done and I am pleased by the results. This quilt will be a  wedding gift for a very sweet couple.

Life is good and the rest of the sew along should go smoothly.

I am so excited by next weeks project and I have the perfect place to hang it so everyone can get their mail when they walk in the door.

My Scrappy Box week 10

This project was so cool I had to make 2, one for me and one for a friend. The same friend I gave the story book quilt to. I filled the Scrappy Box with fun stuff and wrapped it in cellophane, all late birthday gifts, but I am sure she will tell you it was worth the wait. I delivered them in person and boy was that one long drive, lol. This is week number 10 in the Patchwork Please Sew Along. I am learning so many new things from this book and enjoy every minute of it, even if some weeks are more a bit more challenging. 

What I would like to know is, if Ayumi knew her book would be a sew along, would she have put two paper pieced quilts one week away from each other ?  I am sewing my butt off to get  the 2nd quilt done on time. Until next week

Happy Sewing!!!!!

Dino Hat Week 7

Isn't she just the most adorable model ever? I don't have small babies anymore so I made this hat for my neighbors granddaughter. All she had to do is model it. She did so fabulously ! This child has such a personality and is so very photogenic. Thank you little Addison, for being a wonderful model. Enjoy your dino hat.

Apple Bibs. Week 6

Well, we are on week #6 of the Patchwork Please Sew Along and we are on to the kids section of the book. The first project from this section are these adorable apple bibs. I couldn't just make one so I made 2 and they will both go to my cousins little girl for the holidays. Yay! one more gift made. And so far in advance too.

Zakka Style week 5

Hello and welcome to week #5 of the Patchwork Please! Sew Along. This week I made a set of patchwork placemats. I changed the pattern a little bit because I had a busy week. I was pressed for time but I still think they turned out fine. Grandmas china looks great on these colorful placemats.

Week 4 of the Patchwork Please! Sew Along Cafe Apron

Wow, I can't believe we are starting week 4 of the Sew Along. I know I said that in the end I would have 18 presents for Christmas, but I think I am keeping this one. I have to admit that I have no real use for this cute apron but I will have to wear it just for the heck of it. I was able to get 2 yards of the gorgeous yellow fabric, at IKEA, for 97 cents a yard. I have been waiting for just the right project to use a piece of it. 

I love the way this project turned out, so I made myself a Christmas gift. No, I will not wait till the Holidays to wear it.

Zakka Style Sew Along weeks 23 and 24

                                                Zakka Style Sew Along weeks 21 and 22

Ok, so I have decided to not wait till the last 2 projects are done to make this post. I am so sad that the zakka sew-along is coming to an end.
week # 21 was this gorgeous picture frame. Again, I get to use all those scraps that I have that I  can't throw away. This project was really more about construction than sewing but I still had fun and learned a few new things along the way. The pic is a pic of me and my girls on our vacation  at the beach a few weeks ago.
week #22 is the pleated coin purse. At first I was intimidated by the metal frame but this project came together so easily. I think it may have been one of the easier projects in the book.
I have 2 projects to go but they are good ones. Then I will have 24 Christmas projects complete!

Zakka Style Sew Along weeks 16 thru 20

The Zakka sew-a-long is almost done and I haven't even posted a blog about 16-20. So here I am playing catch up, YIKES!!!!!!!

#16 was this fun handmade ribbon made from all those little scraps you hate to throw away. So this is a dream come true for me. I got to use all those precious japanese fabric scraps paired with a little vintage flair.

#17 was this delightful linen bag. As you can see I didn't use linen but I used some more scraps.I did it log cabin style and I LOVE the way it turned out.

#18 was a stylish bread bag. While I am happy that the directions were easy to follow and it turned out super cute, I think that it needed to be a bit more sturdy.

#19 was supposed to be a sack full of playtime cookies. I went for a more healthy alternative with the kawaii fruit.

and last in this wonderful group of zakka is #20,

 this adorable sleepytime pillow with a cute little bear to put in it's own little pocket. this turned out too cute for words and I think this one is mine forever.

The next blog post on the zakka sew-a-long will be the last, #21-24. My daughter asked me today what I will do  with my life once this ends and I said, " I really don't know".

Zakka Style Sew Along weeks 11 thru 15

Hello I am back from vacation and I can finally post 11-15 of the Zakka sew-a-long

#11 was the little zipper pouch with hexies. This project was fun and I changed it up a little to fit my style. The original one was made with tweed.

#12 was the happy couple hand warmers . They have small pouches of rice inside so you can nuke them in the microwave and have handwarmers inside your pockets on a cold winters day.

#13 was a pot holder. I have to say that this is one of my favorite projects. The directions were well written, easy to follow and the project came together nicely.

#14 was the water bottle holder . This wasn't my favorite project but it turned out cute anyways.

#15 was an "elephant never forgets" bookmark. Obviously I had fun with this one. I could make these all day everyda. They are so darn cute and oh the possiblilties with all those fabric scraps I have. I absolutely LOVE this project and a few lucky people got one of these darlings in the mail :)

Zakka Style Sew Along weeks 6 thru 10

 

Well, well, well, imagine that.

I got side tracked and forgot to  make another blog post .

Week 6 of the Zakka Sew-A-Long was these tiny quilt magnets. I am you telling you what, this project was difficult. I am not really great with tiny sewing projects, so  I was very happy when it was done.

Week 7 was a mug rug. I have to say I  never even  heard of a mug rug, but I own one now. I can use it when I drink my tea. :)

Week 8 was the block quilt. Surprisingly I have never made a quilt before.  I found it to be fun and will probably catch the quilting bug sooner than later. lol

Week 9 was the Stem messenger bag. I have made many messenger bags in my lifetime so I didn't find this to be a challenge, but I did like the pattern and have made a few more as gifts.

Week 10 was this great zipper organizer wallet type thing. I like everything about it except actually making it, HA. There were so many steps to the pattern and it also had some hand sewing involved.  As much as I complained about it, I have made 5 of them. And  before the year is over, probably more to come. :)

Well that's it for this blog post. The next 5 I promise to post sooner than the last time.