Off to Mexico - My Stuff, not Me

Back to journal notebook covers, these are going to Mexico.  This is for my daughter-in-law.

The computer or blogger are going a bit crazy, so this is the inside - upside down.  I can't find the right side up picture.

My granddaughters, right side up.

My granddaughters, upside down.

I made them a couple of pouches, very squishy as I used fleece instead of batting.

The zippers came, so i finished my daughter-in-law's big bag.

my daughter-in-law's bag from the top.

A shot of their 'stuff', I also made pencil rolls, eyeglass cases, and a card wallet for my daughter-in-law.  My granddaughter will get a couple of my bone china cup and saucers.

Dollar store hand towels that I fancied up a little.  I got them mostly to use as packing protection for the cups and saucers.

A crayon tote for my going to be 4 year old great granddaughters birthday.  One side has 3/4 inch slots and the other side 1 inch slots.  Hopefully, one side for regular crayons and the other for the chunky ones.

The other side of the crayon tote.

I also made her a tote bag to go back and forth to day care.  It has a zipper top, and lots of pockets, like the ones I make as handbags for adults do.

Both the same size, I started out with 12 1/2 by 12 1/2 inch squares.

I also made some little, just because, pouches for 4 other great grandchildren.  I plan on putting some little treats in them.  Tomorrow is Show off Saturday day on SewCanShe's blog, I'll be sharing again.

In Progress

We didn't get our dog until she was 4 years old, but my niece found a picture and shared it.  Isn't she the cutest little thing ever.

Completely adorable.

My non-sewing friend with the 4 tubs of fabric came to pick up the gifts I had made her, and brought some of the fabric.  Here it is, washed, folded, and in some cases ironed.

My grandson has bought his ticket, so he's definitely going to visit my son and his family in Mexico the first part of May.  I'm going to try to make some things for him to take after all.  This is a medium sized bag for my granddaughter.  

I like the lining.  

My husband has been sick, and now, I've got it too, but not as severely.  I rarely have gotten colds, so I won't complain.  My granddaughter-in-law and one of my grandson's got this bouquet for us, it's simple, but lovely.

These are also going to Mexico.  3 each isn't excessive is it?  

I'm making them notebook covers, this is my granddaughters cut and prepped. 

And my daughter-in-law's bag cut out and mostly prepped.  I could finish my granddaughter's, because I had the zipper, but I have to wait for an order from ZipperIsland  for this one.

Lastly, my daughter-in-law's notebook cover cut out and prepped.  I have a couple other things to make, pencil rolls, pouches.  And now to share over at SewCanShe's Show Off Saturday.

More of the same

My grandson hung my LED shop light for me.  It isn't the best choice for a living room, but since my living room is my sewing room (and my family room is my living room) it is a great choice.  I can't believe how much better I can see.  The only downside is it hurts your eyes to look directly at it and I can't find any kind of frosted plexiglass that fits over the lights.  Any Suggestions?

A friend of mine has 4 big tubs of fabric and doesn't sew, she was going to share some with me, so I made her these bags as a thank you.  Now my husband's health has taken a turn for the worse, so I told her I appreciate it, but won't take any at this time.  I still have the gifts to give her for her generosity.  I hope that my husband gets better soon, I have a grandson going to visit my son's family in Mexico in May, and I had hoped to make some things for them and send them along with my grandson.

My fabrics are running a bit short, so this bag is a little bit of a hodgepodge.  The fabrics all have some of the same shades though.  In the pocket is an eyeglass case and a key fob.

And, another car diddy bag with trash insert.  It's been a fairly lean week, but I'm sharing on SewCanShe's Show off Saturday, anyway.

Oops, almost forgot this one.  I bought the material about 10 years ago and made 2 or 3 smaller bags from it, meaning them for a family wedding.  I didn't get to go to the wedding due to my husband's health, so I gave mine away.  After I got my new light, I discovered the left over fabric  in my cupboard and decided to make myself another big bag, and use it just for everyday.  It is very metallic, and I think very pretty fabric.  I may be old, fat and homely, but I'll have lots of bling.

Stuck in a rut, or just avoiding the big starts?

I thought I'd skip the March mini from SewCanShe as I don't really like applique all that much.  I decided to do one of my desired quilts, which is a house quilt, and guess what, there ended up being a good bit of applique.  I started out with Missouri Star Quilt Companies mini house quilt, which was a take off on their full sized "Won't You Be My Neighbor" quilt.  I should have watched both videos, I messed it up from the start and decided that mine should be called "Crooked Houses in a Butterfly Garden".

And, the minis I've done so far this year, at least at the time.

I decided that I needed new trash bags for the car, as the ones I made a few years ago are very sun faded.  This is from a tutorial on SewCanShe's blog.  The Back.

The front.  I made a few changes, and this is one.  My husband has allergies and uses a lot of tissues, so I wanted a removable trash so that  emtying it is easier.

I also wanted it to hang from the glove box, not the gear shift.  It stays in due to buttons sewn to the ends of the little straps.

Then I decided that I wanted something a little girlier, since even though my husband uses the Diddy Bag most, it's technically my car.

And, then I decided that since I forgot the interfacing on the previous trash insert, I'd do another with interfacing.

Another  mini that I wanted to do is the "Spool" mini.  I used the same charm pack as I used for the houses, and I started off with Kea Bee's Tutorial, which was from https://thimbleblossoms.bigcartel.com/product/spools-pattern-154-paper-pattern.  Since I didn't have the actual pattern, I had to wing it a bit, and hers is 14 x 16, mine ended up about 16 x 18.5

My finished mini spool quilt.  I'll be sharing these on SewCanShe's Show off Saturday, 

And, I almost forgot to mention what I used the first Diddy Bag for.  I added button holes and hung it next to my cutting table, now I have a little bag for scraps and extra space for a few tools.  So far, I'm liking it there.

Also, I'm very excited.  My grandson is hanging this for me tomorrow in my dark, dark, sewing cave (if my order for the hanging parts comes from Amazon tomorrow).  Maybe, I won't have to use a flashlight anymore to try to find fabric in my dark wood cabinet.  It's not the prettiest light, and I do sew in what would normally be our living room (I use the family room for our living room), but I hope with the pretty hooks I ordered and the decorative pull that it won't be an actual eyesore.

Glasses and Strings

The last first.  Sometimes blogger just won't cooperate.  Somewhere along the line, I also decided that they were roomy enough that upside down the glasses might spill out, so I added snaps to all the cases.

My daughter suggested that I make some glass cases so I googled and looked at lots of tutorials on YouTube, and decided to do Crafty Gemini's.  This was the originals, done pretty much exactly by the tutorial.

Then, she suggested a little pocket for glass cleaning supplies, such as cloth wipes.

Then I realized that I had made the little tabs that Crafty Gemini had suggested, but had forgotten to use them.  Today, I made 2 more and decided that the cases are really roomy enough for 2 pair of glasses.  I made a little divider and tried it with my regular glasses and my sunglasses  they fit just fine.  I also decided that my card wallets needed something to hold the cards in, as I found 2 of my cards in the bottom of my purse.  At the top, I added a button and a hair elastic, it's working great.

I finished my string quilt, I decided on 4 x 6, 24 blocks.  It's fairly small, about crib quilt size, but it's just fine for the back of my recliner.

It's cozy, but not hot, fleece and no batting.  I figured the front is wild and crazy, so why not the backing, too.   I'm including this in SewCanShe's  Show off Saturday if you'd like to visit and see all the projects.