So Much to Sew

The lining of Ava's jacket is finished.

The shell is finished. It's a blush pink-very pale pink.

Waiting to finish. Embroidery for the pocket is the next step.

Below - Yahoo! January - the first of the Calendar Girls - came today. Can't wait to start.

It comes with pattern, directions, thread, fabric, and buttons.

From Stitches of Love.

This should be fun.

And after 12 months there will be a quilt made with all 12 girls.

A little progress on the knitting lessons.

Today I learned the purl stitch, so now I can knit & purl.

Just have to remember which is which.

And I have an assignment to begin.

Ready for those long winter evenings.

What are you sewing?

New Projects and a Finish

First a finished scarf made from leftover fabric. I made David's big brother a scarf out of the leftover fabric. This is my own design with flannel and fleece. I sewed the sides and left the fleece longer than the flannel so I could have a little fringe.

I had my first knitting lesson yesterday. I have homework! Practice 30 minutes a day. Look for future posts about my (hopeful) progress. Switching from crocheting to knitting should be interesting.

Baby Ava's jacket is cut out. I can't decide what to embroider on the pocket.

I'm leaning toward the fox but the owl and hedgehog are cute, too.

What do you think?

Red Jacket Finished - Oh, Yes!

Part 2 of David's jacket.

The lining was easy to sew together.

The outer shell was easy, too. It took time to finish the little dog embroidery.

I lined the pockets which is not called for in the directions.

Two parts have to be sewn together - but not like this.

Another peek at the cute little dog.

Now the sewing together part.

Right sides together I sewed the hood and bottom.

But not the sleeves. Mmm. I thought there was a way to hem the sleeves on the machine but the directions did not say to do that.

Below is the bottom hem sewn together.

Another look. Now to tackle the sleeves and zipper.

They went together quickly. 

I love how David's jacket turned out.

The back is cute, too.

Can't wait to see a picture of David in his red doggie jacket!

The pattern is Burda 9828 with several sizes. The outer shell is fleece and the lining is flannel.

Next up a pink version for baby Ava.

Finished lining for hooded jacket

I'm in the middle of constructing a lined fleece jacket for little grandson David.

He loves dogs and I found this doggie flannel to pair with a red fleece.  

the lining was quick to sew - only front, back, sleeves, & hood

This is what is holding up the complete finish. I wanted to embroider a dog on the pocket. First I sketched the dog on wash away paper. It was hard to fit the fleece and paper in the hoop. Every time I made a stitch the paper split. So, I decided to take the paper off and just free hand the rest of the dog.

Started last night and this is how much I have done.

I will show pictures of the finished jacket as soon as I have time to sew again.

Finding time to sew is a challenge.

Return of the Spider Lilies

The spider lilies are back. Last year they did not show themselves but this year they are back.

They are my favorite fall flowers. That could be because they bloom on my birthday. 

I finished this little fox. Hubby and I both tried to get this in focus but this was as good  as it got.

I used variegated perl cotton for the orangy-brown body and tail.

The little fox is going to be part of a play pocketbook for baby Ava. She is very interested in carrying a bag around and fiddling with zippers. I'm going to make something with I Spy features in the patchwork. Here she is exploring my messenger bag. Such a cutie!

Gifts and gift bag

The long Labor Day weekend was productive around here.

I finished these mama cows and babies. I put crinkly wrap and jingle bells in the baby animals to make them more stimulating.

My mom (Great-grandmother) made the chick, pig, and sheep mamas and babies.

We are giving a set to Ava and a set to David for her birthday and his Christmas respectively.

My baby gift stash now has 6 flannel receiving blankets. Time to take a break from making receiving blankets.

TaDa! I used my blue bird embroidery on a zipper bag I'll take on this weekend's trip.

Here is the back.

I used some recycled fabric and scraps - zipper I had - and fusible interfacing leftover from another project. I altered the wide open pouch from Noodlehead by adding a strap.

I also changed the pattern to have the corners finished inside instead of turning it thru the lining.

I love the lining fabric - birds and birdhouses.

And last of all - a fabric gift bag for Ava's 1st birthday. 

Ready for the beach birthday party!

Pencil boxes and more little animals

I finished the 3rd pencil box, the one on the left. The green one is made from my favorite fabric but I put in one part of the snap wrong. The one on the far right has a wonky zipper.

I am happy with how the 3rd one turned out. The lining fabric has state shapes. Mississippi is there in the corner. I included some Mississippi pencils, a pair of scissors, and washable markers and mailed them to Liam in NYC. He starts kindergarten Tuesday. Hope he makes lots of new friends.

While I was fussing with the pencil boxes the messed up snap came off box #1. Now I can replace the snap and my favorite pencil box will be ready for another kindergartner.

I have found a quick sewing project to do while watching TV.

I trace the pattern on white fabric using a washable marker.

Then I stitch over the design.

The designs came from this book I bought last summer in Savannah.

When the sewing is complete, I get the marker out by washing the fabric in diluted Dawn dish liquid.

I haven't decided how to use these cute little critters. 

Glad to have Amanda Jean back for link ups today!