Sew N Tell- Apron

Did you think I have just been sewing tee shirt bags? Well good, that's what I wanted you to think. But actually I have been sewing a lot of stuff. And the one that I can show you it a snazzy apron. A few weeks ago I was with my friend Kirsten and I mentioned that I was going to a bridal shower for my friend Sammy. Kirsten is the best person ever to give present ideas, and in this case she pulled the cutest apron out of her cabinet and said; "Why don't you make something like this?" There and then a present idea was born, and my fabric freeze ended, but only for this, and it was a gift, so it's okay.

Kirsten's apron was reversible so I decided to take on the task of attempting to make Sammy's reversible too. One rainy Saturday a few weeks ago I was supposed to have class but my teacher got sick which meant I had a whole unexpected day off, I sat myself in front of the sewing machine and figured out how to make a copy of Kirsten's apron.

Side one with three button accent and a coordinating dish towel.

Side two. Luckily Sammy is a fantastic photographer
and she took some other/ better pictures of the apron.

I need to take pointers from Sammy for taking photos; i.e. throwing
your project on the carpet during a rainy day does not a good photo make.

I am really happy with how it turned out, and the good news is I made pattern pieces so I can make another one! The other good news is that Sammy liked it, and I think that's the best news.

And the last bit of good news is that it's Friday!! I lied, the last bit of good news is that Amy the Sew N Tell originator had a baby last night, congrats!

Lauren

Springtime Hike

Charlie and I went for a walk today at Adam's Point. It's a wild life refuge with lots of trails along the bay. I took some pictures and then experimented with different effects to make them look a little more interesting.

View from the trail head.

Apple blossoms

Apple blossoms.

Charlie on the trail.
Lastly, here is a picture of Charlie and I on a swing along the trail.
The timing on the timer was perfect, so the fact
that I look like a double chinned ninny is ignored.

Happy Spring!

Lauren

Reusable Bag- Sew N Tell

Charlie and I (mostly Charlie) always remember to bring reusable bags to the grocery store. It makes us happy to not use loads and loads of plastic bags; which when we do get I typically stuff in a corner of our pantry because it is what my Mum, and her Mom always did/do, so I do it too, don't ask why, even I don't know. I love not having to add to my growing plastic bag corner when we go to the grocery store, but I never remember to bring the bags to any other stores. They are kind of big, so I need something small that can fit into my small purse.

The other day my brother Garrett came over for dinner and was telling me about this group he is in that does environmental stuff. I guess the group had an event the other day where they did a lot of cool earth friendly things. He said that he worked fixing old bikes for people to ride, and then he told me that another bunch of people were making reusable bags out of tee shirts. Sounds pretty cool huh? He told me how they did it; "You sew the bottom together, cut off the arms and cut a bigger neck hole." This all made perfect sense to me, Charlie seemed confused, but maybe he just wasn't listening. My wheels started spinning but it seemed rude to start a sewing project when you have guests, even if it is your younger brother. I waited until the next morning at which point my head sprung from the pillow and I yelled; "Charlie get me a tee shirt you hate! ASAP!" What a coincidence, he had a shirt someone gave to him that was environmentally friendly and that he never wore!

I pulled out my serger, started sewing immediately, realized I made the same mistake I always make (got too excited about the sewing and forgot to extend the thread do-hicky so the tension was all wrong and my thread broke, which means I had to re-thread the serger, not an easy or quick task) then I went on to finish my bag. If I hadn't been such an idiot and messed up the serger this project would have taken me 2 minutes, but it took me about 20 (at least I didn't swear.) And now Voila; A reusable tote bag that can fold up to an insanely small size and also carry a lot! Hurray!

After the fact I found this tutorial by none other than Martha Stewart, in case you didn't understand my one sentence directions above, not that I expected you to. Happy Friday, and happy Sew N Tell!

Lauren

Sew N' Tell - The Peacock Quilt, Finally!

The other day Lorelei sent me pictures of the quilt she has been working on while she is deployed. Seeing all the work she has done on her beautiful quilt did a great job of lighting a spark under my bottom and getting me to bind the quilt I have been waiting to bind for about a month. (Progress on this quilt can be seen here and here.) I typically dread binding because my bindings always look...well... absolutely awful. I once asked my fellow Sew N Tellers what advice they had for binding, I went over those and found this awesome tutorial. I mean awesome.

I once got lazy and sewed both side of the binding and I have been kicking myself ever since then. It took a while, but it was worth it to hand sew the binding for this one; I did it while watching LOST, because I don't understand what's going on in the show anymore anyways. The first picture was taken outside on the clothesline, but it was so windy the quilt blew off and onto the ground! Charlie held up the quilt for the second picture, but I had to wait for him to get home from work so it was a little darker and the colors look less vibrant, but you get the idea. (I remember someone on the sew n tell a few weeks ago was taking photos of their quilt and it almost blew into a pool! eek).

This might be my favorite part of the whole quilt.
It always feels so good to get a quilt finished!

Check out the other finishes today



Happy Friday!
Lauren

Things I Have Been Doing That Don't Involve Sewing

1. Studying.
2. Applying for jobs.
3. Having job interviews.
4. Being offered a job.
5. Contemplating job offer.
6. Rejecting job offer.
7. Studying.
8. Reading (I just read this book, it was very good, but sad.)
9. Giving wicked good therapy.
   
10. Applying to more jobs.
    
11. Driving all over the state of NH doing evaluations (okay, I only drive to Plaistow once a week, but it seems like a lot.)
12. Having a beer on the porch, but then feeling bad about all the time I am wasting.
13. Going to class on the weekends.
    
14. Running, and not just a little, I've been running A LOT!

These are my 14 reasons for not having anything for last weeks Sew N Tell, or probably this weeks, and also why I haven't posted anything in over 2 weeks. I promise sometime soon I will have something to share, just stick with me while I try to keep my head above water.

Lauren!

Sew N' Tell - Easter

Last year my Mom and I made an Easter scavenger hunt for my cousins. It was really fun, I think my aunt, my mom and myself enjoyed it just as much as my two cousins did. We're going to do it again this year and I wanted to have something homemade for them to get at one of the hidden spots. I found this tutorial from Betz White to make cashmere stuffed bunnies. I don't have any cashmere lying around so I just used some scraps of cotton from the baby quilt I made last summer.

They turned out a bit smaller than I thought they would, but their small size makes them oh so adorable. I still need to add little pom pom tails but I need a bigger yarn selection, which I know I will find at my Mom's house.


Check out the other finishes for the Sew N Tell.

Happy Easter everyone!

Lauren

p.s. I pulled out the fabric to use as a backdrop and now my head is spinning with ideas of what I can do with it, it's so pretty, how on earth have I let it sit around for 3+ years?!?

April Fools

Did you play any April Fools jokes today?

I love April fools jokes, they are so hilarious, except when they are played on me, in that case they are only kind of funny.

Charlie decided to hide all of the spoons and replace them with a ladle, then put my cereal in the box upside down and attempt to ruin my morning routine. In retaliation I pulled an old classic out of my pocket. Tie a rubber band around the trigger of the sink sprayer, so that when you turn on the faucet you get drenched. The biggest trick to this prank is to remember that you have done it and not fall victim to your own prank; which has happened to me many a time in the past. But today I remembered and steered clear of the kitchen sink for a good 2 hours until Charlie sprayed himself. Oh it was so funny.

Some of my other favorite/classic pranks...well my only other one; is to put ever spice in the cupboard into your Dad's coffee maker/ coffee grounds the night before. Then when he wakes up in the morning to his fresh pot of coffee it is totally ruined. I pulled this prank on my dad for approximately 7 years in a row, and it never got old, and he never caught on (must have been too early for him). The first year I was away at college for April Fools Day I e-mailed him to ask if he missed me playing that trick on him and his response was "Like a hole in the head!"

Lastly, the best April Fool joke ever played on me is one of my first memories, and I didn't even know the joke was on me until about 6 years after it happened. Here's the story: When I woke up my Mum told me that during the night she had shaved off half of my Dad's beard as an April Fools joke and she told me not to tell him. Boy oh boy did he look ridiculous. He walked around the house for what felt like hours looking like a fool while I giggled to myself. The highlight was when he took me into the bathroom to fix my hair for daycare. We were both in front of the mirror, he "fixed" my hair and then looked at himself in the mirror and even "fixed" his half a beard! I was amazed at how oblivious he was. Once we got to daycare the woman who worked there made a remark about his beard and only then did he "realize" what had happened. I was extremely happy with myself for pulling a joke like this over on my dad (even though I really had nothing to do with it.) Then, several years later, I was talking about the joke and thinking about how difficult it would be to perfectly shave off half of someones beard without them walking up. Finally it dawned on me, they were playing the joke on me!

Oh what a good joke. Maybe I will play that on my kids someday (hopefully I am not the one with the beard however.) Or I will just tell them the story every April Fools until they get so annoyed that they put spices in my coffee maker.

What's your favorite April Fools prank?

Lauren