January 7, 2010

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.

8 comments:

  1. Happy 2010 to you too! I made a smaller version of that bag a bunch of years ago. I love the fabric you used.

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  2. What wonderful gifts! You did a great job :0) One of my resolutions is to sew more this year. I hope I can stick to it! Hope you are having a great day.

    Hugs,
    Melissa

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  3. It's good to see you back-Looks like you had a great holiday season and the gifts are too cute.

    Happy New Year!

    Melinda

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  4. I was smiling all the way through your post Elizabeth!

    From your sewing projects to tamale making.

    Your fabric creations are always fantastic.

    I love the bag for Caitlin, but oy...how frustrating that the book had mistakes. I'm glad you found the extra fabric you needed. The finished piece is beautiful.

    The apron is adorable, love the fabric you chose.

    Well, I've had Kaari M's book in my amazon cart for a while. You have pushed me over the edge to actually purchase it ~ that bread warmer sold me.

    Me too! I adore Heather Bailey's site. I don't sew as much as I used to but I always love to take a peek.

    And homemade tamales? Oh YUM!!

    It's always such fun to come visit with you. You provide so much inspiration. xo

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  5. Oh the print on that bag is awesome! So glad you found more too! Heather Bailey is awesome, I regret I have been slacking on keeping up on her empire. Despite the shot, the pear is great! Tamales - I have been wanting to make some for a while. Do you have a special recipe or know where I can get one?

    The deer fabric from the quilt I made is by Joel Dewberry. I forget the name of the line, but it is very recent, and with a quick search I am sure you can find it easily. Thank you for the quilt love!! xo

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  6. tamales are one of my fave things to eat in the whole world - yum!

    i love that bag. i have that book too but haven't tried anything from it yet. errata makes me nervous!

    it looks like you all had a lovely christmas. i hope you have a happy new year too!

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  7. Wow, you did a great job! I've been wanting to make that Heather Bailey pear for a long time, maybe I should get around to it after seeing yours...

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  8. You and I are soul-blog-mates! I bought that same Heather Bailey pear pattern (but haven't made one yet) and also the French General Book. My daughter and I went to a new cupcake bakery on Saturday and they had cute aaprons for sale, and they put a little tulle on the bottom of theirs...it put ideas into my head for possible Christmas gifts for next year since we have alot of cooks in this family!

    Nancy

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