Sewing and Growing

The Instant Consciousness Doubler

2011-07-23T13:21:00.001-05:00

pfrom the flickr creative commons free photo pool, by chsh/ii2006, Akeno, Yamanashi(please pray for Japan) I have had it on my heart for some time to include posts here on the topic of personal growth. This first post on the topic is not my writing, but is an incredibly helpful nugget of wisdom found in the book the Handbook to Higher Consciousness, by Ken Keyes Jr. I think that you can read

New to Sewing Help: How To Start Sewing on a Vintage Singer Sewing Machine

2011-07-16T01:18:00.005-05:00

Hi! I am writing this post to help someone who has acquired a vintage (or "old") Singer sewing machine with no manual and is anxious to start sewing. Others have told her to order her manual. I agree, reading your manual is the number one first thing to do to start sewing. But if you must wait to get your manual, I have taken some pictures which I hope will help you to get started right away

Sew Easy Laptop Sleeve with Pockets and a Free Camera Case Pattern

2011-07-08T13:10:00.002-05:00

Hi! I want to show you a couple of easy projects and point you to another fun website, too. I recently wanted to make a laptop sleeve, but all the patterns I found were missing a feature I wanted, which was large pockets. I looked around at a lot of cool free patterns available online, and you can find some great ideas by doing this, too. But there are very nice instructions in the One-Yard

Scrap Stash Organization

2011-05-14T16:03:00.000-05:00

Hi! I am so happy to say that I finally, FINALLY got my large scrap stash organized. I prefer not to throw anything out that could be put to good use, and I am thankfully blessed with the good sense to be able to imagine a use for any scrap. But having all my many scraps of all different sizes and shapes and contents stuffed into a big "barrel" pop-up hamper was definitely not working for me!

Grandmother's Quilts

2011-05-08T21:45:00.000-05:00

For Mother's Day, today, I gave my mother and Mr. Green's mother baby quilts that I made from blocks left by their mamas. Both of these dear grandmothers left a small stack of pieced blocks, and last year they were given to me. So I arranged and sewed together the blocks, and because in both cases there were less than enough blocks for a whole quilt, I added borders. My husband's grandmother

Sharing Garden Pictures: First Fruits 2011

2011-04-13T21:21:00.000-05:00

Strawberries are so super easy to grow; just be sure to give them plenty of room because they spread a lot every summer. That is chocolate mint in the picture as well. I decided to let it run like a weed in our herb bed and I have not regretted it. This chocolate mint seems both the sweetest and tastiest of the mints, and it also seems happier and more lush in my garden than regular

A Dress for Every Girl Around the World

2011-03-24T15:01:00.001-05:00

Dress A Girl Around The World is an organization that I was glad to learn about, and I wanted to make sure that you all know about it, too. The flyer above says "Imagine a world where every little girl owned at least one dress." It is a sad thought that there are little girls who don't own a single dress, and this is something that we CAN do something about! I am so happy to make pillowcase

Spring Gardening

2011-03-07T16:09:00.000-06:00

It's March already, and as we live on the warm Gulf Coast, our garden is already planted. We are still waiting to see our zucchini and squash seeds break through the ground, but most everything else is up. I planted a lot of heirloom tomatoes and pepper seeds, as well as quite a few hybrid peppers, too, in pots in the garden, but we also bought some seedlings from the garden center. Here is

What's In Style for Spring/ Summer 2011: Women's Fashion Top Trends

2011-03-05T17:21:00.000-06:00

Are you inspired to sew your wardrobe? I sure am, and many of the trends this Spring are great and easy styles for sewing yourself. So what are the top trends for the season? To find out, read my new article at Yahoo! Contributor Network, What's In Style for Spring 2011: Women's Fashion. I appreciate you reading my work at Y!CN. I am doing a lot of Spring wardrobe sewing myself, and I hope

Rosemary Flowers

2011-03-03T22:56:00.000-06:00

Our Rosemary is flowering now. If you don't have Rosemary growing at your house yet, it should be easy to find young plants at your local garden center right now. Rosemary is one of my favorite plants to grow, as well as a favorite herb; we love it so much we named our dog Rosemary! They are easy to grow and thrive in full sun. They tolerate humidity better than many other herbs, as

Spring Wardrobe Sewing: More Wrap Skirts and a T Refashion

2011-02-26T20:21:00.000-06:00

Our weather is already starting to warm up. So I put away the corduroy and fleece yardage that I haven't sewn yet; I will save those projects for later in the year. Right now, I am sewing for Spring and Summer. I already posted about the awesome and easy wrap skirt pattern in Chic and Simple Sewing. But I am just loving this skirt so much that I made more. I made a slight modification to the

Sew Easy Wrap Skirts for Your Wardrobe

2011-02-16T14:44:00.000-06:00

If you haven't gotten Christine Hayne's book, Chic and Simple Sewing yet, here is another great reason to get this book. A wrap skirt must be the absolute simplest kind of skirt to sew (if you have a good pattern), and I am loving this one. I made 2 of these skirts, from start to finish, before noon today. This one was from the same vintage sheet I already used to make short jammies, a

Easy Quilting Project: Make a Wall Pocket from One Block

2011-02-08T14:48:00.001-06:00

I have been working hard on rearranging my sewing room and making a lot of improvements. I keep sitting down to make a post, looking at my photos, and thinking of another improvement to implement. I have a lot of new ideas to show you soon. For now, here is one little project I whipped up for my sewing room. I used a UFO block that was never going to be a quilt. I had planned to make a throw

Easy Sew Ladies Pillowcase Nightgown from a Vintage Sheet

2011-01-30T19:42:00.000-06:00

If you are looking for a nightgown actually made from pillowcases, click here for my tutorial for an easy nightgown made from a pair of pillowcases. This ladies nightgown in this post reminds me of the little girl's style of pillowcase dresses. When my parents recently moved out of my childhood home, my mom gave me a big box full of sheets. I love upcycling, and sweet girly sheets are

Sew Soft Toy Blocks and Upcycle Baby Clothes

2011-01-20T21:23:00.000-06:00

Please visit Associated Content to read my tutorial for keepsake baby blocks. I make my soft baby blocks differently by repurposing pieces of sweet baby clothes. Cute appliques make cute blocks, but using premade appliques from baby's clothes helps this project to make up super quick. These are great for stacking and safe throwing. I think this is a cute way to upcycle and repurpose baby

Lessons Learned 2010 and Plans for 2011

2010-12-31T13:18:00.000-06:00

This has become an occasional blog. I read another blogger write (in a BlogFrog Forum) that making apologies for not blogging on your blog is a no-no. But I was doing some backing up and noticed how very many times I sign off a post with a promise to blog something soon, without coming through on that promise. I am a free spirit, and my muse is as well, so I have learned it is better to go

Awesome Christmas Album to Download

2010-12-23T20:59:00.000-06:00

Ya'll, I am so sorry that I have been too busy to blog! I had a lot more posts I wanted to make before the holidays, but they will have to wait until next year. I hope no one minds. I also hope everyone is having a happy holiday season. We just put our tree up today! We always put it up on Thanksgiving night, but this year we waited, because I didn't want to have to fight with my toddler.

More Ideas for Easy Gifts to Sew

2010-12-11T08:30:00.000-06:00

How is your holiday sewing coming along? Even though I started in July, it looks like I will be finishing things up at the last minute yet again. I have lots more gifts I still want to make! Here are links to articles just published with ideas for more last-minute gifts to make: Handkerchiefs are a great gift for your brother (or anyone else) Easy Gift to Make Your Husband (or another

Ideas for Easy Gifts to Sew for Everyone on your list

2010-12-01T13:03:00.000-06:00

If you are looking for ideas for gifts to sew, you will find lots of ideas in my sidebar here. Please also read my article at Yahoo, Easy Gifts to Sew for Everyone. There are more ideas there, as well as a very important link...if you do not yet know about the handmade holidays series that has been running all November for the past four years at SewMamaSew, then you will absolutely want to

Here's Another Easy To Sew (Reversible) Apron

2010-11-28T11:59:00.000-06:00

I showed ya'll some fat quarter aprons already, and now want to show you a full version. I like this free pattern at Michael Miller fabrics, for the Classic Reversible Apron. I made a couple as gifts last year and I recently sewed another 3 up quickly as a batch. This pattern is super simple easy to sew. I made these: Mr. Green thinks I should have used a different fabric on the reverse of

Napkins are a Quick and Easy Gift to Make and Sew: Here are the Easy, Easier, and Easiest Ways to make them!

2010-11-24T17:30:00.000-06:00

Napkins are a favorite gift of mine, because they are incredibly fast and easy to sew; make up beautifully; and especially because they are a practical gift for the Earth as well as friends or loved ones. I only use cloth napkins in my house, but am often amazed to see that many people use paper towels every day with their meals and serve them to guests. I want every household I know to have

Holiday Bloganza

2010-11-19T18:39:00.000-06:00

Hi, ya'll. I have been so busy the last couple of weeks, because I am going to have a gift show tomorrow, here locally. I have been making lots of things, but haven't had to time to write posts. I have been taking photos, though, and should have some new gift idea posts up here soon. I was invited to participate in the holiday bloganza by Teri at My Journey with Candida, and the deadline is

Easy Gift to Sew: Prudent Baby's Fat Quarter Apron

2010-11-16T13:05:00.000-06:00

I have had such fun making these Fat Quarter Aprons (tutorial at Prudent Baby). This is definitely one of the easiest and most fun tutorials I have come across this year. This project would make a great gift for domestic types on your list. Here is the first one I made: I did one thing different from the tutorial, which is use the entire fat quarter for the skirt of the apron, and use the

My Best Bias Skirt Yet- and it's a Convertible Dress

2010-11-01T13:33:00.000-05:00

I think corduroy is probably my favorite thing about fall. I was thrilled to get several yards of this fine wale indigo dyed corduroy, and I really love this long bias skirt I made from it. Yep, I cut this cotton corduroy on the bias, and it worked out just fine. I drafted this pattern myself, using the one-yard wonders bias skirt pattern as a guide at the top. I know this is going to be my

Easy Blouse to Sew: Simplicity 3750

2010-11-01T09:46:00.000-05:00

I already showed ya'll the sleeveless top I made for summer using Simplicity 3750. I wanted to try the version B with long sleeves. I cut this blouse a size smaller than the first version of this pattern I sewed. So I partially made this one as a muslin (I recycled a sheet), but I figured it would be a useful wardrobe piece in white, and I will definitely wear this. Here is the back: I