The Apron Skirt

I saw this cute little number over at lil blue boo, a blog I'm obsessed with right now. Ashley is amazingly talented in so many ways, sewing, crafting, DIY, creativity, honest forthcoming blog posts, etc., all while currently battling cancer. And she posts many times a day, so I always have tons to read and gawk at!

But I digress...

I decided to make an Apron Skirt for the sweet little daughter of my friend. She was turning 1 and I thought she needed something cute to wear. 

I followed the easy tutorial that Ashley made, and came up with this cute little skirt!

 Sorry about the crummy phone in the car photos!

 

And of course, she needed a matching headband. Who doesn't love a giant bow?

 

Pattern Giveaway!

Giveaway is now closed.

Image from here.

Yes, you could be the proud owner of this awesome new pattern just released by Jodi over at Sew Fearless! 

I have one pattern to giveaway, courtesy of Jodi, so enter below if you love to sew or know someone who does!

If you aren't a risk taker, head on over to Sew Fearless for a limited-time discount code offer and buy the pattern right away.

Or do both, and if you win the giveaway, Jodi will refund you your purchase price!

See all about The Sidekick Suitcase I made for my little Dee, here.

Rules and ways of giveaway entries:

*You may enter up to 5 times. Each entry being a separate comment.*

You MUST leave your email in the comment if you want to be contacted about winning. You may enter it in the following format so computers don't steal your identity.

sallyomalley (at) nerdmail (dot) com

If I do not hear back from the winner within 2 days of winning, a new winner will be chosen in their place!

Dun, dun, duh!!!

How to enter:

First Entry:

1. Leave a comment below about this post, or anything you like.

Optional Entries:

2. Like Sew Fearless on Facebook, or follow/ subscribe to the Sew Fearless blog, and leave a comment below saying you did/ do already.

3. Like aprikot designs on facebook (my etsy shop) and leave a comment below saying you did/ do already.

4. Follow or subscribe to three65create, and leave a comment below saying you did/ do already.

5. Share this giveaway on facebook, pinterest, twitter, or post it on your own blog by including the following statement:

"Win The Sidekick Suitcase Pattern over at three65create.blogspot.com! "

The giveaway closes March 3rd, 2012, at 11:59 pm CST.

The winner will be chosen by random.org and will be announced on March 5th, 2012.

Good luck everyone!

Also, head on over to Sew Fearless to enter her giveaway. She's giving away 5 patterns!

Linked up here:

The Sidekick Suitcase

I just finished a project that was at a whole new level for me. I felt like I needed to grow in my sewing skills and this totally did that for me. I feel braver! I made my own bias tape, and then used it for piping, sewed in two zippers, and tried to follow directions instead of fight them! Yes, I'll admit it, sometimes following 
directions is necessary. 
Sometimes. :)

Jodi over at Sew Fearless let me be a pattern tester for her new pattern, The Sidekick Suitcase.She has created the cutest mini suitcase pattern that is now 
for sale in her shop! 

Image from here.

For my suitcase, I decided against the recommended duck canvas, and went with a denim* (because it was on hand and I was trying to do it on the cheap)(and, maybe because I have authority issues...hahaha).

I also added some simple iron on appliques to pinkify it a little more for my pink lady.


Check out those lovely zippers!


The beautiful backside. 

A couple of sweet pockets.

And one satisfied customer.
(All the glory a mom needs.)

*Note: DO NOT USE denim if there is ANY stretch to it at all. It was a bit of a nightmare because of my mistake of fabric choice. I'm sure a non stretch denim would be great though!

Anyway, it turned out well. And Dee is in LOVE with it. She promptly ran to her room and started packing the entire contents of her dresser for a trip we took last weekend.

Do you like it? 
Wish you could make one or six for your own kids? 

If so, I will be holding a pattern giveaway for The Sidekick Suitcase, thanks to Jodi at Sew Fearless, and you could win a pattern for yourself! 


Yee haw!

Check back on Friday for the giveaway! 

Sew Fearless is also hosting a 5 pattern giveaway later this week, so go check it out! You've got a lot of chances to win!

Linked up here:

 

Creating Really Awesome Free Thingshttp://www.creatingreallyawesomefreethings.com/
Making the World Cuterhttp://makingtheworldcuter.com/
Craft and Tell at http://www.cherishedbliss.com/

Making My Own Bias Tape

Ambitious, I know, right?!

It freaked me out a lot, but a project I'm working on requires self made bias tape.

So fancy.

So I bit the bullet and just did it!
Dana over at MADE helped me out a lot too, with all her lovely photos and clear directions. Thank goodness for awesome tutorial makers!

Buttonholes Without a Buttonhole Foot

I am attaching 2 giant buttons to my latest project, and they are too big to use my buttonhole foot for.
What to do?
Google.

I found this great video tutorial on how to do it freestyle. The part you want is at around 7 minutes into the video.

It was a little stressful since I couldn't take my foot off the pedal and had to tap the buttonhole thing at exactly the right moment, so I had to distract the girls with suckers and 2 minute tasks to keep them away while performing my buttonhole surgery. It turned out great!

Twin Needle, My First Time

Fancy, no? 

I had a hard time getting all the settings right so the underside would look like a zig zag stitch, but I finally got it right

. I had to set my stitch length to 2.5 the width to 0.5, and the tension to 9.

I think I may have classed this project a bit up beyond my expectations. Now I want to buy a ball point twin needle for knit projects. Look how fancy I am!

Still no guesses on what this project is?

Guess My Current Project...

I saw these fabrics and just fell in love with them. It's the Alexander Henry "june song" and "june dot" fabrics. Isn't that pink delicious?! And giant black rick rack is so rich and intense. All this project needed was for me to put a bird on it.*

Any guesses on what my project is?

*(YouTube "Portlandia Put a Bird on it". You'll thank me later.)

It feels awesome to be sewing again!

Oh, and last night I went to a wholesale fabric warehouse with my sister-in-law Steph and bought some cute stuff that I have some big plans for, in my etsy shop!

Patterns for Japan (243:365)

I've been eyeing a couple of patterns over at the fabulous blog MADE, one of my latest blog stalking obsessions. She is also LDS and is taking the opportunity to match all her pattern sale proceeds, from now until Sunday, and donate the money to the LDS Humanitarian fund, which will be 100% used to aid to Japan. I was so excited about this that I bought 2 patterns. 

Japan is in our prayers... 

My First Coupon Commotion (236:365)

I am a valued customer at Jo-Ann's fabric store. (I spend too much $ there!) So, I get coupons mailed to me each month. This month was "Coupon Commotion" so that means I got to use like 15 coupons in 1 transaction! I bought some iron-on vinyl that I can't wait to use to make some water resistant bibs with any fabric I please! I'm thinking I need to buy some of these cute fabrics for it.

Anyone else go crazy at Jo-Ann's this week? What did you buy?

Baby Bootie (233:365)

I completed only 1 baby bootie today. It is for a friend who just had a baby that is adorable!

I'll post pics once both are done and ready to ship!

Apron Progress (232:365)

I am working on my almost free apron. Total cost, seriously, is $0.99. Unless you are going to be a stickler and count the topstiching thread, which I bought, not specifially having a project for, but finding a use for it here...then it's like the $1.10 apron. 

I am hoping to have it done soon.

More details to come...

Leather Skirt for $0.99! (225:365)

$0.99 day at Goodwill was today and I scored some sweet stuff. 

The best of which was a black leather skirt for, you guessed it, $0.99!

I'm not planning on wearing it though, but on using it for other fun creations, such 

as a cute new pair of shoes for the Goose.

I found this great pattern for re purposed leather shoes on etsy.

5 Minute Headband (217:365)

Yes, it really only took me 5 minutes to make this dazzling little beauty.

I got the tutorial from New Green Mama.

All you need is some old knit material and 5 inches of elastic.

I used a pair of Scott's old pajama pants 

that have some lovely HUGE holes in the behind.

They will NOT be missed.

Now they are being put to better use, making my gross hair look cuter!


How to make the headband:

Cut a 2 1/2" by 14" rectangle. 
Then slice the rectangle lengthwise 3 or 4 times, getting only 3 inches from the ends on both sides. These strips will curl when pulled tight.

Then you sew about a 5" piece of elastic, zig-zagging it on both ends. I kind of rolled up the knit material around the elastic to encase it better.

I will definitely be making more of these little darlings. 

(Headbands and kids...)

Beginnings of an Apron (198:365)

Well, craft night at Julie's turned into the next day, which is when I began this little project.

Using some super cute Moda fabric my friend Ana gave me, I've begun an apron.

More to come...

Nursing Cover (197:365)

Made my first nursing cover today (for a friend, NOT me!) while crafting at my friend Julie's.

I used this amazing tutorial over at Freshly Picked.

 With help from the tutorial, I added a little corner of terry cloth to wipe the drooly baby and a pocket for such necessities as binkys and snacks for momma.

To Infinity! (192:365)

I've been dying to make/ buy an Infinity Scarf for months now and actually bought this cheapy $2.50 knit scarf from Target a few months ago to make one from.

I used this quick tutorial, from HomeMadeMamas, which is an awesome blog, btw.

And, Voilà!

After I realized I'd sewn it right side out, and corrected my mistake, it really only took like 5 minutes to do. Love this tut! Can't wait to experiment more with this. Maybe a patchwork one will be coming out of my brain sometime soon... 



P.S. If you don't like this song by Vampire Weekend, there is something wrong with you.
One of my favs. Vid is cool too.