Back at it

This post will be a review of sorts, and show and tell of what I made for gifts this year. The above book by Heather Ross, has a lot of fun projects and ideas. What I love about this book is that it has full sized patterns ready to trace, in the back of the book. What I didn't like about it, was the mistakes in the materials for the project I made. If you own this book, go to her web site first, and down load the "errata" that is in pdf form. This will save you a bit of trouble!
I made this bag for Caitlin out of it. My years of sewing didn't kick in when I read the yardage requirements for the bag. She said you would only need 1 yard of each; the lining and the main part. I was very skeptical given that it seemed like quite a large bag and she wanted you to cut the straps on the biased. I started to cut it out, and I thought I was losing my mind, thinking that I wasn't reading the instructions correctly. I went on the computer and looked up this book, to see if there were any printing errors in it. Yes indeed there were! I had to race all the way back to the fabric store, hoping that there would be some of this fabric left, as I had bought this quite a while ago. Luckily, I happened to see this very same fabric at another store, that I go to more often. I bought another yard to be safe, and when I got home, it was not the same color palate. The print was the same, but it was a different color story! Luckily, it was for only one handle, and you really can't tell. All in all, it was a simple bag to make.
It even has a little pocket for your cell phone and other items.
The little apron above was from a Butterick pattern that I have used many times, and thought I'd sew one for Caitlin, as she loves to cook, and thought she would like her own.
The above book is called "Home Sewn" by Kaari Meng. I was so silly, and didn't get to photograph the end result. It is a bread warmer/keeper. The base is filled with flax seeds, and you can heat them in the microwave. This keeps the bread warm, and you can also just store the bread in the bag. The one I made for my oldest daughter, Nicole, was natural linen, with a really cute vintage rooster that I printed on some fabric, and sewed on. The string to tie it was red cording. It had a very cute vintage country vibe to it, and I really wished I had taken a picture of it! The instructions were very clear in the book, and this one also has full scale patterns in it. I highly recommend this book. The pictures are eye candy, if you love French country.
I love Heather Bailey! This pattern was a snap to make and I am making my self one very soon. The pattern was easy to follow, and the instructions were great. I bought some of her fabric also, and it turned out real cute.......
However, this photo is not cute!!! So sorry for the yucky quality of this. I actually took this picture by mistake, when I was messing around with my camera. The project happened to be sitting on the table, but It is the only one I have. I was in such a hurry to get everything wrapped, that I didn't stop and take a picture of Nicole's items! Anyway.....I recommend any of Heather Bailey's patterns, they are too cute.
On another note, this is how we spent New Years eve. Making chicken tamales. We had a fun dinner with some family friends and stayed up
til the wee hours of the morning to ring in the new year. I hadn't made tamales in years, and forgot how fun they are to make..
and eat of course :)

Happy 2010 fellow bloggers, and whomever else is reading this.