Ok, so this Christmas I didn’t get everything done that I wanted to. I’ll blame that on the people who broke into my car and stole all the presents that were in there (A record player and microphone stand for Todd) and the fabric I bought (I still don’t understand why they stole my fabric and two bags of polyfill) to make toys for the Salvation army. I wanted to craft to change the world! I wanted to make everybody a little something to make their world a little better. Sadly, that didn’t happen. (Note to self: Next year start working on Christmas presents in March). However, I have finally gotten the majority of photos together of things I did finish. Bunches of photos to prove it!

First though, this is my Hunny, Todd. This is our 12 foot tall BEAUTIFUL Christmas tree. Our ceiling, however, is like 8 feet tall. Why such a big tree? We went Christmas Tree shopping on Christmas Eve morning. We had planned to go earlier, but it just didn’t work out that way. So we’re driving to Home Depot to look for “The Perfect Tree.” The prefect tree is not at Home Depot. I actually wanted a 4 foot tree for our living space. You know, a little Charlie Brown tree, but with more foliage. So, Barb, our bookkeeper told me about this nursery that I’ve always passed by a million times, and they have trees outside, but BIG trees! So we think maybe they’ve got some smaller ones behind the fence inside? They didn’t. But apparently, these big beautiful trees were free for the taking. So Merry Christmas to Us! We went and bought a little hack saw, and our perfect little tree was born (We ended up making 7 feet tall or something…)! It’s a Christmas Miracle, and our tree got to fulfill It’s Christmas Destiny.

Now on to the hemp! Now, before I start, let me tell you, I just adore sewing with hemp! It is a beautiful fabric to work with! I would suggest finding a project, even if it’s bags like these, and make something with it.

The assignment: 35 hemp tote bags with our Design Firm’s logo on the pockets. I designed the size ahead of time after looking at everyone else’s tote bags our there. The seams are all french seams, a little strange I know! But I wanted the seams to be strong and not fray like the Dickens (If the dickens do, in fact, fray)! Also, I used heavy duty thread (8 spools to be exact) and my Janome. The Sewing room was a total mess! My Hunny would come in and call me his little sweatshop worker. Everyday I would sew more. Transferring each bag from one side to the other after finishing sewing the next step. Left to right. Pile 1 to pile 2, then back to pile 1 again. The last week I was working on them, I was buzzing on Red Bull until 2:30 in the morning working on them. But they are lovely!

Now I know I look a little crazy in the middle picture, but it was 2:30 in the morning, and I’d been drinking a lot of Red Bull. And yes, I’m holding all 35 bags! Those suckers are heavy!

Next, Let me introduce you to Dave. Dave is our Web Designer at work. I got his name in the work Secret Santa. He had addressed ahead of time that if I drew his name to make him something. So I Did! So, without further ado, meet Dave!

He’s felt, he’s adorable, and he’s single (Ladies?!?!) He loved it! First thing Todd said when he saw him, “He really does look like Dave doesn’t he?!” I based this off of the Wee Wonderfuls’ make-a-long doll Archie. I adjusted the hair (obviously) and adjusted the clothing a bit, for a more modern flair. It is a great pattern, by the way. I plan on making my nieces dolls from the patterns since they are so girlie! Maybe with a cute tote bag for them, with pockets they can sit in on the outside and fun clothing for them on the inside….

For more information on Dave (The Man, the Legend) Check him out here

This is the Gift du’jour! I worked so hard on this quilt for my mom for Christmas! Easily as much time as I spent on the tote bags. My previous post about hating to iron? Was because of this quilt. I came across this quilt while blog surfing. I used the tutorial from Hyena in Petticoats. She really makes the quilt seem do-able. And it is, just time consuming. I wanted to make the quilt in colors that would go with my parent’s house now that they are redoing the whole thing. Hopefully, I’ll get an updated photo of the quilt in it’s own setting, versus laying out on the bed at home.

Now when I was finishing up the last few rows, I managed to sew into my finger. A first for me. I don’t even know how it happened! It all happened so fast! All I remember is pain in my finger, I clear thing had popped off my machine, and all that was running through my head was “I better not have broken my bobbin shield! Please! I have to finish this, and I can;t finish it if I broke my machine!” Luckily, it was part of the presser foot which I could snap right back on again, and everything was groovy. And, I was lucky the needle didn’t break off in my finger. It hit the fingernail and broke. Thank you strong fingernails! It did break the nail, but the bad part is, now every time I sew my finger seems to get almost stuck in the machine. *Warning: it’s been almost 3 weeks since the sewn finger incident, below is a nice finger show of how it is healing. And that fingernail polish was really nice looking, but all the band-aids seemed to have peeled a lot off, so it kinda makes the finger look worse than it really is.*

I hope everyone had a Happy and Healthy holiday season. I have one more gift I created to post pictures of, but I’m waiting to receive some photos of the placemats I made my boss, Diane in action! Here’s a sneak peak:

Cheers! To a happy, health, and productive New Year!

So I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about SWAPs (Sewing with a plan). I think the benefits of a pulled together look really make a statement! One of my goals with sewing has been to have a wardrobe that is both comfortable, looks nice, and fit my personality (which is sweet, fun, and very wacky).

First off, I’m not a high maintenance dresser. Most of the time, I forget to put on makeup. And for jewelry, I own a bunch, but most necklaces don’t exactly match t-shirt and jeans. I want a wardrobe that pulls together my casual nature and looking polished. So, here comes the difficult part:

Back in September, Gala at galadarling.com did an 8-day wardrobe boot camp. The first day starts here. Such a great idea! Usually I go through my clothes once each season to see if I can part with anything. This time, I did it with a plan! I’m at the point now where I have really cute clothes I refuse to get rid of. However, I either don’t wear them (”I love this top, but have nothing to go with it!”, or overly wear them (as in my shirts and jeans). I love the comfort of my everyday clothes, but am sick of looking like a slob!

So, this is where sewing with a plan comes in. After sifting through my clothing again, and taking notes on what I need, I realized I need comfortable basic items to pair my items with. I found this great article on wardrobe planning done by the Mississippi State University Extension Service. This article can help you identify your style and basics every woman should have in her closet! I’m a mix between sporty and dramatic fashion types. What fashion type are you?

I encourage anyone to start on their own wardrobe planning with me! I could be fun. I’m working on my own wardrobe storyboards tonight. So far, I’ve finished my Comfortable Essentials (shown below), and started my fall/winter look.

Much Love!

For more information to help define your own wardrobe, check these out:

• Build Your Fall Wardrobe
• Build a Wardrobe for $1000
• Building a Perfect Wardrobe
• “Sewing With A Plan”
• and if you’re interested: Timmel Fabrics SWAP 2008 contest