Oilcloth Tote and Lunch Bag Set

In our house we are big believers in reusable bags. But, the bags we use for our groceries aren't exactly the bags I want to be toting around at the mall or to friend's houses. I found this great tutorial over at Prudent Baby and decided I needed to make this bag.

This bag is the perfect size for bringing PJs over to a New Year's Eve party or snow pants over to a New Year's Day sledding party, or a day of shopping! As my good friend over at Jane of All Trades would say (though it's never true for her stuff), don't look too close. I could not for the life of me figure out how to do the mitered corners. I just kind of winged it, yelling all the while. My daughter told me to be patient.....

I ending up buying a yard of this beautiful Michael Miller Far Out Floral and had enough to make a matching lunch bag. I decided to do it without the bias tape border.

I really love the way this set came out and it's so useful. I suspect I'll be making another one of these lunch totes and maybe, just maybe the stars will align so that I can get enough time to take photos while it's light out and then write a tutorial. Stay tuned....

Another Dressy Dress!

Here's another Dressy Dress using Prudent Baby's pattern. This one is sized for a 1 year old and I made a few modifications. I wanted the top to be more ruffled, so I cut the sash 1.5 times the length of the top (total front and back) and then gathered it along the top. I was on the fence about adding the elastic, since making a casing would kind of ruin the gathers. So, I rummaged through my notions drawer and decided to using Fold Over Elastic (FOE) instead. I picked some up after reading about it here and here on Angry Chicken's Blog. I think usually you're supposed to "fold it over" as is suggested in the name :) but I went the unconventional route and just zig-zagged it under the gathers, to give it a gentle elasticity. Not sure if you can do this with conventional elastic.....I wasn't in the mood to experiment that much.




Looks messy here, but worked really well. Hope little Lulu likes it!

I love the blogosphere.....

I must take a moment to thank all those amazing blogs out there that inspire me and keep me excited about sewing and creating. I am keep discovering new-to-me blogs and new patterns and I'm just amazed with all the creativity out there. It's very humbling..... For me blogging is somewhat self-serving, I enjoy putting my creations out there for whoever might be looking to see. And, I hope to inspire someone else, just as others have inspired me.

Having said that, here's a new-to-me blog with an amazing pattern. I saw Prudent Baby's One Shoulder Dressy Dress on Thursday and by Friday afternoon I'd already sewed up 2 and am thinking about doing another one in a jersey knit.







We have many little friends' birthdays coming up......there will be a lot of little Dressy Dressed girls around here!

Go check it out!

And thank you again to all those bloggers who put so much time into tutorials like this one! I admire and appreciate you!