more pouches and garden bounty

How cute is this guy?

Liking his flower too!
And another one for this theme.

All together now. Not for long.

We went to our veggie garden at an aunt's house today to dig up the rest of our veggies. Quite a haul!

We had fun going, picking and eating the fruits of our planting and tending. Rafael would spend most of his time in the middle of the peas or tomatoes, eating his way though the plant! And what a great pot o soup will come out of this one! I hope it lasts to the cold weather.


Have a good one,
Amanda

Purple flower pouch

In addition to these...


I have a series in my head. Here is one of them come to life:

Beautiful purple boiled wool or wool suiting. It's hard to find this stuff. I wish I had bought more.

And the hair tie flower. A few pieces of felted wool sweater and half a wool bead with french knots to keep it on.

Now, if I could only find the little piece of paper with my sketches for the rest of them... hmmmmm
Have a good one,
Amanda

felt/vinyl pouch

Howdy!
here's a little pouch I modeled after something Neve had. It wasn't as easy as i thought it would be, but I'm sure the next one would be easier, should I choose to make them again.

Bit of felt and a bit of vinyl. I like to sew with vinyl. now that I know the secret of putting tissue paper over it before sewing. yep, it's that easy. A little harder to see when cutting it though. :}

The butterfly was cut out from Quickutz die and sewn on before I sewed the pouch together.


And now some other chit chat....
I spent 2 days going around town to find mohair boucle. I found some hand dyed by FibreArtists at Romni Wools. That place is amazing. I also found some crochet thread that I've been looking for forever. The wool is beautiful for doll hair. I went to my friend's place and she kindly and excitedly sewed it up for me. With the shoulder busted, I'm useless!. Anyhow, it looks just beautiful. I can't wait to see what it looks like all sewed up and the face on. So that's what I'm going to do......
I'll take pictures!
l8r,
Amanda

mushroom pouch

Here's a pouch to house all those mushrooms...

I'm cheating here a little.. i just put the toadstool fabric on top.

I think a smaller size will be suitable for the mushroom match up game.

?this week, we met up with a friend and her dogs. found the perfect clearing for a picnic.

and the walk back.

the kids had fun picking cucumbers. it's bigger than her head and she ate the whole thing!

Himself can always be found watering or eating the produce.


Yesterday, I went on a sewing rampage and sewed up 3 outfits for a new Waldorf doll I bought for Neve's bday. more on that next post. I'm glad I did it, as I dislocated my shoulder this evening and had to go to hospital to get it put back in. It's an old injury from high school, but the last time it came out was 7 years ago. yep, it still hurts when it happens. It only came half way out, so it was awkwardly parallel to the ground. my left arm is hurting from holding up the right. yes, the right. I'm right handed. But I can still hand sew with my arm close to my side. The kids are going to day camp so I should be able to rest a few hours a day. wish me luck.

ciao,
Amanda

happenings and a pouch

Hi All...
how goes? Many sunny days spent close to water around here. I did get to sew tonight for a short time. This pouch, and 2 others not sewn/shown, have been in my head for a few days.
A little pouch for a boy who likes his Lego mini Figures and has trouble leaving the house without one.

Now it can be safely attached to his belt loop for hands free playing. The vinyl pockets can be for pictures, drawings, some ID. Anything that doesn't risk falling out.

I don't know about where you are, but my succulents are going crazy this year.

Look how tall that chick is. And flowering too.

We've not had a lot of rain or humidity lately. Could that be the right combination?

I think that combo has made my daughter grow too. She grew almost an inch in 2 weeks. Maybe that's why she's been so cranky. :} Good thing it's summer and she's wearing shorts and skirts.
A trip to the Art Gallery of Ontario.

A stop into Lee Valley today. Tonight, I cut and began sewing clothes for little Christmas Elves. Yes, you heard me right. Last year, I swore I would start Christmas things in the summer. It' s a perfect craft for parks, playgrounds and kid watching outside.

And a bit of a swing! I had to get off, it was making me motion sick. Lame eh?


Have a good one!
Amanda

A new bag

A friend of mine came to me with some beautiful fabric, pins, thread, snaps and an old well loved purse that she wanted made.
I accepted the challenge and sewed up this baby

Love the fabric she chose for the lining. Peek a boo.

Here it is in close range. adorable.
And the inside has a zippered pocket and a few pockets on the other side. One with a pleat.

What was that inside? A little zippy wallet. (pattern./tutorial on Noodlehead.

And here is the whole ensemble with a key thing.

And while I'm wearing my thrifted, happy, wool sweater, here's what one of the monkey heads made it into.


Off to make some more tea pot cozies.

l8r,
Amanda

marker holders

Here is a marker roll up holder and a pencil case. I decided to go "fancy" on it and try a little quilting.

Why? I'm not a quilter. the sooner I realize that, the better it will be. I know there must be tricks out there to make it faster. I'm just schlepping around, wasting time. Anyhow, I love the colour combo. I didn't realize I had that many turquoise fabrics.

I wanted the strips to be staggered. I made a square instead of a rectangle, so had to cut it and sew it as a rectangle. There goes the staggered strips. How 'bout that nice even seam down the middle! :}


Anyhow, I like the overall effect and have learned a few tips for next time should there be one. And another birthday present made and given. I should keep a tally.


And today we discovered that daddy has a talent for face painting....

Not bad eh?

Have a good one.
Amanda

Leather pouch

I was given a pile of leather samples awhile back. Quite awhile back. Finally started to think about it. Hardest part was trying to remember to buy a machine needle for leather. When I asked what made the needle special, I was shown that it is slanted on the end more like a knife than an even point. No problems sewing with it.

I crocheted a flower and the blue bird is cut from pair of thrifted suede shorts with my QuicKutz die. Just let me say that the die didn't cut through the suede. Maybe if I take out the thin foam that is on it. It did leave an indentation, so I finished cutting it out with scissors.
And lastly, so sorry for the poorly focused pictures. I don't know what the problem is. Could be the poor lighting and the slow aperture or the lens, or just me. But even the auto mode is blurry. I really need to address this. It's driving me nuts.

have a great weekend.
Amanda

who wants one? - a giveaway!

I've been wanting to host a giveaway for some time now, but just didn't have anything new. Until yesterday!

A toadstool pouch made from a thick wool suiting with wool blend felt accents. The toadstools are from my QuicKutz dies and the scallop is just my scallop edge rotary cutter with holes punched by my crop-o-dile.

Oh looky here, what's this?

Oh, a little tea cozy...

With some of my favorite teas. Shall we have a cup together?

Just leave a message by Monday night. Nothing fancy. A simple hello will suffice. One entry per day. Become a follower, come back and put another comment saying so. That gets you 2.

Have a good one!
Amanda

creature purses

Last night, I was a sewing machine.... whhhrrrrrr
He's my favorite.

This idea has been in my head for a few days. I wish I could have done it with beautiful wool felt, but the fleece will so for now.

This was my 1st one. I tweaked the others a little by using only my circle and oval die cut shapes with my cuttle bug. It makes a clean edge.

good luck purse.

happy happy


Have a good one,
Amanda