Frolic with Fabric Spot Challenge

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I'm so excited to have participated in the Frolic with Fabric Spot Challenge at Thread Riding Hood. This was so much fun,  and these prints?! The cuteness factor is off the charts. For this challenge, Fabric Spot generously sent me a fat quarter bundle of the blue prints from the Frolic line. I was allowed to use these 6 FQs and NO other fabric. Only having these 6 FQs was a little bit intimidating to me at first.



I knew that I  wanted to make a bag, but obviously had to think on a much smaller scale. I decided to  make a cross body bag that could serve as a small bag that could fit the essentials every mom needs (diapers, wipes, bottle and paci), because who wants to lug around a huge bag everywhere? I used the Brookfield bag pattern by Sew Sweetness, as it is the perfect size for a "mini" diaper bag. Get your copy here.

The interior pockets are secured with elastic so it is just the right size to stash a travel wipes container and a couple diapers.

As I was trying to conserve my fabric, I opted for store bought piping and nylon webbing for the handles.

I also used iron on vinyl to fuse to the fabric to make a mini "wet bag" that also attaches to the bag in case of any of those unfortunate moments that us moms know always happen at the worst possible time. I made up a quick elephant applique and put in on an exterior panel before adding the vinyl.

I lined the interior with vinyl as well.

P.S. please add tissue paper if you attempt to turn two pieces of vinyl right side out...it is not for the faint of heart. 

I also wanted to make a stuffed animal to go with the bags, and I went back and forth between making an elephant or a whale. How about a whale with elephant fabric? How cute is this guy?!

I knew I wanted to try and use every last scrap of these awesome fabrics, so I put together a couple of fabric trays. I didn't have enough to for the large tray in one piece, so I made it a crazy quilted piece. Who doesn't need more fabric trays and baskets?! I used Noodle Head's fabric tray tutorial for these. 

Please go check the other challengers over at Thread Riding Hood and see what awesomeness they whipped up! Thanks again to Thread Riding hood for hosting this challenge and to Fabric Spot for sponsoring, this was a ton of fun!

Run Jump Hop Skip Blog Tour

Hello There! For those of you stopping by from the Run Jump Hop Skip Tour from Stitch it Now, I'm Cyndi and I blog over at The Nosy Pepper. I have always had a passion for fine arts, but I found a love for textiles a few years ago and caught the sewing bug. I'm a self taught sewist and I spend a lot of time bag making, but dabble a little in everything. I have an amazing almost five year old boy who loves for me to make him clothing and "stuff". I know that this will change soon, so I'm trying to enjoy it while I can! I'm so glad you stopped by, and would love for you to have a look around my little corner of the crafty world. I'd love it if yo you would follow on your favorite social media :)

To those of you who are unfamiliar with Stitch it Now, it's a blog and shop by Debbie Cameron. She developed her concept of ready to sew kits and patterns for children's clothes after raising her two boys and realizing how hard it can be to squeeze in that sewing time when you have small children. In her shop you can order a kit and it arrives already to sew, no pattern printing, cutting, or pattern prep. You just order the size you wish to sew and when it arrives you are ready to sew straight away! If you loathe the prep work like me, this is such a fantastic time and sanity saver! 

The Run Jump Hop Skip shorts/pants is the first pattern Debbie is releasing as a stand alone PDF. The pattern is for sizes 1-10 (no size 9) drafted to Australian sizes (so be sure to check your child's measurements!). They are designed to fit comfortably right below the waist, so your child isn't constantly yanking them up or down. My guy is always yanking his pants lower, so this was a perfect pattern for him! They feature a faux fly and elastic waist, so there is no fuss getting them off or on, perfect for toddlers learning how to dress themselves or older kids who don't want to be bothered by a zip and fly. There are pockets on the front and back and it's a perfect pattern for any bottom weight fabrics. The pattern has cutting guides for shorts as well, this is truly a versatile pattern that would be a great addition to your pattern library, you won't want to make just one pair! 

For my pants, I made a size 5 out of a camel corduroy from JoAnn. I found the fabric on sale for 2.50 a yard in the clearance rack...score!  Although I purchased 1.5 yards as the pattern suggests, I still had at least a third of a yard left over, so I could have easily gotten two pairs of shorts from that fabric.  As pattern testers we gave that feedback to Deb so she could alter her fabric requirement chart accordingly.  My son has waist that is somewhere between a 4-5 and super long legs, so a five was perfect for him. I usually have to add length anyway when I make him pants. Had I not left the extra length in, these would have fit him perfectly.

I love Debbie's suggestions about adding detailing to the back pockets...I couldn't get my model to hold still for very long but I did use a decorative stitch across them. I think I want to do that on every pair of pants I make now!

                                                        

As you can see, I purposefully left these long. It's staying around the 90 degree mark here and the humidity is enough to make you long for a cold beverage and a pool. Considering that, I don't think he will be wearing these pants any time soon. My hope is that they will work for him when he starts school in the fall. If they are still long then, I'll hem them again. I'd rather them be too long than for him to end up in capris ;)

                                                 

These pants came together super quickly! I did all my cutting and sewing in a few hours one evening. It would have been less had I been more confident about the faux fly. I had attempted it a few times in the past but it had never really clicked with me and I usually gave up. Debbie's pattern just made it click for me, and after only a couple incidents of quadruple checking (and no seam ripper...woohoo) I had it done. For my next pair I think that the only changes I will make is to maybe bring the hips in a bit and top stitch the back pockets.

The pattern comes with oodles of helpful tips and for those of you who like checklists, there is a checklist that you can follow with corresponding page numbers as you work through the pattern. It's picture heavy for us visual learners, so a confident beginner could easily tackle this pattern. The results are fantastic and I couldn't be happier at how they turned out. I'm now off to make some shorts. 

Photobombed by the dog

To find out how to purchase your own pair of Run Jump Hop Skip Shorts/Pants be sure to visit Stitch it Now’s post of the pattern release . While you are there make sure you find out how to enter the giveaway, of course there’s a giveaway!  There’s a chance to win your own copy of the pattern, a fabric gift card or your choice of either boy or girl inspired Japanese Echino fabrics. Goodluck!

• Day 1 - June 24 - Katie, feature on Stitch it Now
• Day 2 - June 25 - Cyndi of TheNosyPepper
• Day 3 - June 26 - Amy of Friends Stitched Together
• Day 4 - June 27 - Davina, feature on Stitch it Now
• Day 5 - June 28 - Emily of My Crafty Little Self
• Day 6 - June 29 - Daria of Baby Steps to Couture
• Day 7 - June 30 - Jaime of Jaime Sews
• Day 8 - July 1 - Heather of Newbie Sewist
• Day 9 - July 2 - Jessi, feature on Stitch it Now
• Day 10 - July 3 - Sally, feature on Stitch it Now
• Day 11 - July 4 - Susan of Made by Momma
• Day 12 - July 5 - Theresa of Theresa's To-Dos

Sewing sneak peaks

So, so many projects going on but none I can share yet. I can't wait to show what I've been sewing up, but until then, here's a few snippets of my week. I hope everyone has had a lovely weekend and happy Summer!!!

Scrap Busting Zombies

When I make a bag, it encompasses hours or even days of cutting, interfacing and sewing. So, it's nice to do a quick, instant gratification project from time to time. 

After making two zombie bags recently, I had lots of small zombie scraps. Basically just enough for a zip pouch and a sunglasses case for a friend's Facebook giveaway. 

I have approximately 76 thousand pairs of sunglasses, and zero pairs that do not have scratches all over the lenses. I just toss them in my bag, never mind that I could sew myself up a case in no more than ten minutes. That's just how I roll. This is also the reason that I am not allowed to have nice things. I think a splurge on sunglasses is when I have to pay over ten bucks for them, simply because I know what their fate will be. 

Zip pouches are another quickie project, and oh so functional. I used to be intimidated by zippers, but after a few dozen of these I had gathered the confidence to start sewing patterns that called for zippers. Seriously, if anyone is intimidated by zippers these are a great way to break the ice. There are bajillion tutorials out there to get you started and quite honestly you don't really need a zipper foot for these. 

Happy Sewing! 

Frolic with Fabric Spot

I'm so excited to announce that I have won a spot as a challenger in the Frolic with Fabric Spot over at Threaded Riding Hood!

As a challenger I will be receiving a FQ bundle of the blue Frolic Prints by Rebekah Ginda for Birch. Then I have roughly three weeks to turn them into something. The Frolic prints supplied are the only fabrics that I can use, which does put a damper into my original plan of making a diaper bag. Of course, there will be a bag involved, I just haven't decided how to best tackle this challenge yet. Of course I could do an unlined bag but that isn't my style, so I'm thinking much smaller than I typically do. I'm hoping this lovely bundle arrives this weekend so I can start to work. 

Aren't these the cutest?! I'm totally in love with the elephants and whales.

Hope y'all have a happy and productive weekend!

Sewing Mojo and the Park West Bag

Wow,  it's been a while! As I posted about earlier, my family and I recently moved and I feel like the move has encompassed my entire life this past month. I always seem to underestimate the amount of effort and time it takes to move and the daunting task of making your new house "home". During this time sewing has been little more than a pipe dream. I did manage to get my new sewing area set up but I have had so little time to do any actual sewing in it.         

It's still a bit sparse as far as the walls but this is definitely the most organized it will ever be. As of this moment there are millions of tiny pieces of thread and fabric scattered on the carpet and notions strewn about (I am quite the messy sewer). I am super excited to have my own dedicated space to sew in, and so much room to spread out (and buy more fabric).

Now that things are put together, I'm hoping I can get my mojo back and will have some more completed projects to share soon. This was my first finish in our new home, a Park West bag by Sew Sweetness as picked by the winner of my SMS Giveaway. This bag is made of a hodge podge of Pat Bravo, Amy Butler and Allison Glass fabrics. This combo came together by accident, but I love these fabrics together.

                         

I do love that this bag has a zip top closure and an interior zip pocket, its the perfect size for a large hand bag or small diaper bag.

                         

The exterior side pockets are a great place to stash your phone or water bottle on the go.

                                     

Get your copy of the Park West Bag at the Sew Sweetness Pattern Shop

                                     

Happy Friday! 

                                                                      

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