Stashbusting - A fall ruffled skirt

Another long overdue project finally completed thanks to Stabusting September: I've had this grey fabric in my stash for almost a year. It was time to make a skirt that Bug could wear at school when it gets cooler. It is already getting that way. Another little corduroy in a mousy grey that I girlified with a colorful ruffle. 

 

I finally conquered my fear of zippers and it worked ok 

 

Not bad for a first time...

 

Bug already proudly wore it at school

Stashbusting - Badge holder

Another long overdue project: I've been needing a lanyard for quite sometime now. Those supplied by our facilities department are let's face it pretty basic and ugly and were driving me up the walls, especially after I noticed how several of my shirts developed holes where the metallic parts kept rubbing on the fabric. I recently lost quite a bit of weight and had to buy new shirts. It was time to take action! No more holes!

Thankfully I had all the supplies on hand: clear vinyl, cute chocolate damask print, bias tape maker.

A little bit of planning and a bit of sewing, I have now a great looking lanyard, that not only holds my badge and a code card on the back side of it, but also has a loop for the key to my office and my jump drive.

Simple... Why didn't I think of it earlier. Oh and I have 3 requests to make more of those for my work colleagues. 

A housewarming present

My friend Angela just made a big move: she bought her first house!! She is very excited about getting it furnished and turned into her ideal nesting spot. I made a pair of throw pillow covers to go on her fancy new couch. Since Angela prefers neutral colors and solids I figured something with an interesting texture would be better than my usual color explosions. 

A barely seafoam green toile with brown, gold and beige was married with this fun pin tuck diamond satin out of my stash

The chocolate brown specks on the toile match the satin perfectly

I think it's going to look great on Angela's sofa

Creepy crawlies wreath

Bug has started talking about Hallowen. A LOT. Everyday, she has been telling me it's tomorrow. And everyday I have to explain again that there is still a while to go. But hey, we can start decorating right ?

I pulled out  last year's felt pumpkin and will be making a couple more 

 I already had that foam pipe insulation Amie and I bought at Home Depot a couple of weeks ago. Another stash dive yielded perfect colors for Halloween out of my pile of Kona Solids and a baggie of plastice spiders that I bought last year on clearance. And that's how this Halloween wreath came together...

So after braiding another wreath, my glue gun got some action gluing all the creepy crawlies.

A lot of them ...

And for once I was not worried at all about the hot glue "strings".. they add to the result in this case.

What I have been up to this week - Week 39

This week has been nothing short of crazy work-wise for both my hubby and me. Really early mornings, really late nights on Monday, tuesday and Wednesday... Really really tired Thursday, Friday. Poor Bug didn't get much mommy and daddy time all week so we kept the weekend extra cuddly and quiet: we all slept in, enjoyed late breakfast and staying at home for the most part.

I was way too tired for much crafting this weekend but I cleaned up the studio and snapped photos of recently finished projects. After that Bug and I watched "Tangled" huddled together.

Then Bug asked about her Halloween costume. Thankfully she did not say she wanted to be Rapunzel  (big relief!). But guess what: Bug still asked to be a princess. I pulled out last year's costume and while the skirt still fits, Bug had outgrown the jacket, well the sleeves. I unpicked them and made new sleeves with matching fabric and reusing what I could of the existing sleeves. Bug approved: she wore it for the rest of the day :) 

In other news, we had our first follow up appointment at Kennedy Krieger since starting the ADHD medication. Bug is doing awesome and even though the treatment messes up with her appetite during day time, her weight has been mostly stable. So far. it's been the only side affect. The benefits are so overwhelmingly positive, we are glad we went through with the medication. She has been doing really great in school, much better than we ever had hoped for. We are staying the course and will follow up again in December. 

What have you been up to?

Very Hungry Caterpillar quilt - Finished and delivered

Terrrible oversight on my part: I neglected to share the finished "Very Hungry Caterpillar" quilt. This has been such a pleasure to work on it, not only because it has been a labor of love and a needed distraction while I was not feeling well but also because Bug and I adore the story, the images and I love colors, bright, bold colors. This was the perfect project for me You can see the earlier stages of the quilt here and here.

I finished it just in time to deliver it myself to my then very pregnant cousin Sophie in Provence

Bright and cheerful, it will keep her sweet child warm and cuddly.

I bound the quilt with a very plain white fabric with aqua polka dots and kept the quilting very simple 

Just in the ditch and some cross lines around the edges

And of course the outline of the butterfly and the caterpillar

Sophie liked it a lot! 

That day she also received the  translation of Eric Carle's adorable book so she could tell the story to her baby.

Barely 2 weeks later,  Sophie, her husband and the whole family welcomed sweet Chloé to the world

Unfortunately after we returned home. I will have to wait until our next trip to hold little Chloé. In the meantime, the quilt I made for her will have to make do.

Stashbusting - Jeans upcycled into fun purse

In this project, all my favorite things: denim, a cute purse, upcycling, awesome fabrics and even beads! It's no secret, I love making purses and I looove a challenge. A couple of months ago, one of my friends sent me a few ripped jeans done in by her children after I ran out of old jeans. The first transformation was the twirl skirt for Bug. This is the second pair, which had been cropped just below the knee before landing in my stash, so there was no extra to work with. 

The little embroidered flowers gave me the color scheme : denim + pink + chocolate brown. 

 

I did some stash diving and pulled out this lovely pink and chocolate damask style print I grabbed a while ago from the remnant bin at JoAnn's and a piece of leftover denim from my bike basket yielded the bottom piece and the shoulder strap.

I cropped the pants a bit below the crotch and recreated a straight seam after cutting off the excess fabric. Then I cut a piece of denim to make the bottom of a bucket shape bag.

 

Then I made the lining using the same measurements with the damask, adding 2 inside pockets from the  last of the pant legs. Yes it's been used to the last scrap. 

I generally put magnetic snaps for handbag closures but for a bucket bag it didn't really work out so I opted for a draw-string closure made with ribbon and beads. 

Old ripped jeans : zero dollars

Ribbon and fabrics from my stash... hmm about $3 dollars

Giving new life to old jeans : priceless!

What I've been up to - Week 37 and 38

If you missed my usual ramblings last weekend, sorry but the date needed to stay solemn. I preferred to skip a date. 

The past weeks have been all about getting into the new school routine, which we are finally getting down and also getting a few things done around the outside house before the colder weather settles in. Not so successful in that area but we got some other overdue projects tackled: Bug has now a proper homework desk in an area where the distractions are limited, I finally hung some artwork on the master bedroom's wall (after almost 7 years in this house ahem ... oops) and we reorganized a few things on the walls of the stairwell and second floor landing. Oh and I finally have a little desk in the office for "overnighters" when I'm on call for work. I will use it for the first time super early tomorrow morning .. yipee!! 

Bug is still doing wonderfully with her ADHD medication. We have a follow up appointment tomorrow morning but I think we are going to continue as is for the moment because not only the side effects are relatively minor, but she is also her happy, energetic and mischievous self, with the ability to concentrate on one task, including at school.

Not much done in the studio. I finished a corduroy skirt for Bug and a necklace for me, made a couple of pillowcases as a housewarming present for a girlfriend that just bought a house and started on a little halloween project I'm hoping to finish this week. I still have to take photos so the reveal will have to wait a little.

What have you been up to ??