I've been busy

...very busy

   

making a crayon roll

   

and a pencil roll

 

and a pencil roll

 

and a pencil roll

 

I think I'm all rolled out!!

TTFN

Another Camera Lens Cap Pouch

Camera Lens Cap Pouch #3, originally uploaded by MandyMade.

Another camera lens cap pouch. This time for my dad. Besides sewing the velcro too low I was much happier with the result of this one. I made the turning gap down the straight side which made it much easier to finish.

I also made this one to gift but I'm not quite happy with the result. Maybe I'll keep it as a spare!!

Made using this tutorial.

TTFN

Christmas Bunting

Christmas Bunting, originally uploaded by MandyMade.

Is it that time already? Christmas tree is half up and gifts are nearly all bought. I have ideas for wrapping this year, hopefully I'll be able to pull it off. I have a couple of Christmas orders to finish off then on to making for the family. Only 3 weeks left, yikes.

TTFN

Some things for me

I've been making so much for others lately that I thought I'd make a few small things for me. I'd seen a lens cap pouch ages ago on pinterest so thouht it was about time I made one for me.

I made it using this tutorial. I followed it exactly but found that have the turning gap at the top didn't turn out the best. So next time I'll try it down the side.

It was a bit of pain having to take the strap off the camera to put it on but I coped!! I've used it and it's very handy to have. No more putting the lens cap down and forgetting where!

I also needed a new pouch for my ipod shuffle, and when this tutorial popped up in blog land I had to give it a go. I had a bit of trouble getting it under the foot to top stitch, thus the dodgy top stitching around the zipper. (I was on a roll by that stage so just kept going!!)  Very quick and easy, I can see lots of these being gifted this Christmas.

I had another market last week, the last for the year. Now I'm starting to think of gifts for Christmas. I've only got 1 month of maternity leave left then back to work I go.

TTFN

Zac's Nintendo DS Pouch

Zac's Nintendo DS Pouch, originally uploaded by MandyMade.

I made another one. DS pouch that is. I followed the same tutorial as the last one but altered it a bit more. So it's kinda getting away from the original but I'll keep on giving credit. So what's different this time? Well, I used cotton this time instead of the thick fabric on the last one, so I fully lined the back pocket (didn't feel it necessary with the other). On request by the receivers mum I added a zip to the opening, she's knows her son and was worried that he would fling it around. I kept the velcro closure as well though. I also added 2.5 cm to the height and width as the last one was a tad too small. I was happy with the result. I also appliqued his name on. There is a down side to receiving a gift first as you don't have all the added improvements made to the next. But you can always count on them being one of a kind!!

TTFN

Nintendo DS Pouch based on this tutorial.

Boys Zipper Pouches

Boys Zipper Pouches, originally uploaded by MandyMade.

Birthday's always seem to group together don't they? Well we had 3 boys birthdays on the weekend so I decided to try out Nikki's Super-simple zipped pouch, from her book. It was super simple. There will be more of these. I originally had pencils in mind but Little A wanted to give cars. So they are multi purpose pouches. One of these pouches wont be given until December but I thought I'd knock it off early. I appliqued the names with applique paper (no idea what this is called!!) then hand stitched a running stitch with pearl 8. The denim is a pair of old jeans and has a calico lining. Fun to make, highly recommend making some.

TTFN

Super-simple Zipped Pouch from You Sew, Girl by Nicole Mallalieu.

Edit: Forgot to mention they are 15cm x 20cm. Great size for just about anything you want to take to someones house for a play.

Fabric Tray with electronic tokens

Fabric Tray with electronic tokens, originally uploaded by MandyMade.

A while ago on pinterest I saw that someone had used tokens for TV and computer time. I had kind of forgotten about it. But one day a couple of weeks ago I realised how much time my 6 year old was spending in front of the box. So we made up these tokens. We grabbed an empty cereal box, I started off by showing him what to draw then he cut them out and drew on the rest. Other tokens also started to appear, bike riding, scooter riding etc. So he was getting the idea. Each token is worth 1/2 hour. We still have to decide if its appropriate for him to watch at the time he wants but he seams to be sticking with the 1/2 hour really well. On Sunday he gets them back if his playroom floor is clear, that has been a bit of a battle!!

I made this fabric tray using noodlehead's tutorial. She also has heaps of links to tray's that are similar. I interfaced the whole lot, but if I make one again (which I will) I'll be just sticking to interfacing just the base. Really quick and easy. I highly recommend making one, or two!!

TTFN

Productive Sewing Day

I've had a few of these of late, yay. But this one was filled with making stuff up. Little A had a party on Saturday and I had been told that the birthday girl had been given a Nintendo DS. So I decided to make a pouch for it. I pushed the poor new "quilting" sewing machine to it's limits with this one. Very thick seems, need to save up for an industrial machine, would this help?

Nintendo DS Pouch - Front

As we don't have a DS (trying to resist for as long as we can) I had no idea of the size etc, so to google I went. I found a few tutorials but decided on this one.

Nintendo DS Pouch - Inside

I also added a back pocket and a wrist strap. It ended up being very small I thought but apparently it is a snug fit. Yay, I'll be making more of these, but next time I might try slightly bigger.

Nintendo DS Pouch - back

The birthday girls little sister had a birthday close to when Little O was born, so she unfortunately missed out on getting something Mandy Made. So I decided that a 1/2 birthday present might be nice.

Source: 733blog.blogspot.com via Mandy on Pinterest

I had seen this crayon and colouring book on pinterest but unfortunately the link didn't end up sending me to the designer, so using this as inspiration I created my own. (If you do know who made this please let me know.)

Crayon Folio - Front

   I'd bought this fabric, back in March I think, for a gift for her so I finally got to use it.

Crayon Folio - Back

  I want more but I don't think you can still get it.

Crayon Folio - inside

I'm already re-designing/improving this design in my head. I'll be making some of these for an order I have through Ditto Crafts.

By the way, the 2 pockets matching up fabric was a complete coincidence, couldn't have done that if I'd tried!!

Off to the drawing board for some more crayon folios.

TTFN  

Edit: I found the original pattern for the picture shown above from pinterest, it can be found here.

Baby Gift Set

Baby Gift Set, originally uploaded by MandyMade.

Poor neglected little blog. I haven't forgotten about you. The sewing machine has been getting a lot more attention than you lately but you have still been on my mind. I've been making heaps over the past couple of weeks, heaps of bibs, burp cloths and dummy straps. After we had the stall at our school fete we were approached by another school to have a stall at theirs. So we decided to add a few more items to our stock, yes we have stock now!! The market part of the fete wasn't in the best position, not much foot traffic. Oh well, we live and learn.

Have you sold at markets? Which ones tend to be the best?

Off to clean the very neglected house now, spring is nearly over, gotta get the spring cleaning done!

TTFN

PS. Bag pattern by Keyka Lou , shoe pattern by ithinksew, bib, burp cloth, change mat and dummy strap all made up by me.

Crayon Roll

A couple of weeks ago I needed to make a gift, and quick. My first thought for the gift just wasn't working so I had to go to plan B. I had a few rectangles of fabric already cut out for another project (that just wasn't happening) so the crayon roll was born.

Inside

I just made it up on the spot, ie no pattern. I'd made similar rolls before, so I thought it wouldn't be too hard!

Outside

Well it wasn't hard, but with School holidays and both boys demanding my attention, what should have taken 1/2 hour took about 3. I also should have bought the crayons before sewing the lines. I had big fat crayons in mind. The idea of the flap and the top was so the crayons don't fall out, it either needed to be longer or the roll not as tall. You live and learn.

All rolled up

A nice neat package.

TTFN

More hats

We're back in the school swing again trying to get back into our normal routine. Daylight saving hasn't helped. I'm happy to say that a week away from the computer did wonders. No desire to read the 1000+ blog posts in my reader and nothing too important in my inbox, nice. I got some amigurami half made, I'll take some pics soon.

Before I left on holidays I did get 2 more hats made. Loving Nikki's pattern. This time I made them reversible and out of cotton. I found the cotton less forgiving, love working with felt!

This one I was asked to make through my new venture Ditto Crafts. It was my first commission. I originally cut the darker grey fabric that was eventually used on the space hat below. It was too dark with the robots and I had the space fabric which it matched perfectly. So another new hat for Little O! Little A is very jealous and wants one of his own. Luckily I have Nikki's kids hat pattern so that will be whipped up soon!!!

Baby's Hat from You Sew, Girl by Nicole Mallalieu.

Baby's Hat from You Sew, Girl by Nicole Mallalieu.

Lots of sewing to be done in the next few weeks, I have another market, yay.

TTFN

A bloggers dilemma

Little Amigurumi Mushroom

I've been writing this post in my head for a while now and thought it about time I got it out of my head! I think I have blog overload or blog fatigue, and not just from posting here, from trying to keep up with everyone else's blogs too. I have so many in my reader now that I'm just not reading them, just scrolling down looking at the pretty pictures. I have a few blogs that I definitely read and try to comment on every post but I'm finding it really hard to keep up. And then I think, why am I trying to keep up? It's not my job, I'm not getting paid for this I don't have to do it. So I'm going to go through my reader and unsubscribe a few, which is hard, I'm a hoarder and it's like I've hoarded these subscriptions! It's school holidays here at the moment and I'm going away for a week next week, without a computer! I wonder how many posts will be waiting for me in my Google Reader, will I just mark them all as read? Then I think what if I miss out on something? What am I going to miss out on? It's only a week and it's only someone else's (that I usually don't know) blog!!

So if I'm skipping over blogs, how many are skipping over mine? I know I need to improve my photography, will that make people stop by or is it what I write or what I craft? Am I losing track of why I started this blog in the first place?

It's not just blogs that I'm trying to keep on top of either, it's also facebook and recently I was introduced to pinterest! So I think having a break for a week is going to be good for me, get my head and priorities straight.

So does anyone else share in my dilemma or are you stronger than I?

On another note, these are a few pics of what my mum has been up to lately with the Grandkids. They are so lucky to have an art teacher for a grandma. She got the inspiration and pattern from here. Every time a grandchild comes to play they add a little.

Saucepan Man

The Magic Faraway Tree

Dame Washalot's washing

Dame Washalot's house

Toadstools at the bottom of the tree

So that's it for me on this very wet, cabin fever, kind of school holiday day. Hopefully I'll be able to take some pics of some baby hats I've been making.

TTFN

200th post

Wow never thought I would get here but I have. 200 posts. Could have got here sooner if I blogged more!!

I'm taking a little break from sewing, after the marathon effort over the last couple of weeks, so I can now catch up on other things that have been a bit neglected. Like blogging and connecting with other people!! (Not to mention house work!)

Lego Box pouch for Billy

A couple of weeks ago I made another box pouch, this time for my cousins now 5 year old. I love this lego fabric, I wish I'd bought more.

This is what I've been busy making.

Lots of tiny shoes

Lots of Pocket Clutches

And a cute little Amigurumi mouse

I think I am now up to date in sharing what I have been making. Next will be for family and friends. It's been a good experience making for a market but I do get a lot more joy out of making for someone in mind. I'm looking forward to taking commissions though, there is a contact and I know where the product will end up.

Until next time.

Happy Sewing

TTFN

Edit: I would also like to thank those that read and comment on my blog, thanks heaps, I wouldn't have got to 200 without you :-).

It's all over

My very first attempt at selling what I make finally came, and boy was I exhausted by the end of the day. My hat goes off to those who do markets every week. I guess the build up was huge, what shall I make, what would sell, what fabrics should I use, and even after we got home and finally relaxed I felt that I needed to be making something. I sold a few items and got interest from a few people.

My bit of our stall

Now I can finally reveal Ditto Crafts is finally officially up and running and open for business!!  

This photo was taken after the gazebo was taken down after the wind picked up. We are literally holding down the fort!

So pop by our new website. Which is very new, so you may need to pop back often as we polish it up a bit.

TTFN

Can't talk, making

Pleated Pouches and Keychain Clutches, originally uploaded by MandyMade.

I'll be back after the school fete is over, so much to sew so little time left to sew it in. I'm trying to focus on quality over quantity at the moment. If you want to see what I'm making pop over to my flickr page (just click on the photo above).

These are more keychain clutches from the pattern by Keyka Lou and also her Pleated Pouches pattern, these will be great for e-readers, ipods and such.

Have you ever had a stall at your school fete? Any tips?

TTFN

Edit: Also, I've put the We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler on hold for the moment. I'll start that again in a couple of weeks when I can focus on it.

Wordless Wednesday

Curly Worley Wormy Keychains, originally uploaded by MandyMade.

Honey Cowl

Honey Cowl, originally uploaded by MandyMade.

As I am a blogger I cannot show you my face!! My hubby has this theory that if you blog you don't show your face. Which I guess is true, I've only done it a few times and lots of the blogs I read only show partial face! Who wants to see my face?

Finally finished the Honey Cowl. Just in time for the weather to get warmer!! Notice the short sleeves. It took me ages, if I was to make it again (which is very unlikely) I'd use thicker yarn and bigger needles.

TTFN

PS. More details on the Honey Cowl here.

What's next? Hats...

I love Nikki's book. Just in case I haven't told you already! My next project out of it was the Baby Hat for Little O. Sorry photos a bit blurry, bit hard to photograph an excited 6 month old! Yes he is now 6 months, boy time flies. And doesn't the hat look lovely with bonds wondersuit?!

Baby's Hat from You Sew, Girl by Nicole Mallalieu.

I used a wool felt and some cotton robot fabric. I interfaced everything except for the lining which I used polar fleece for. When I was making it I was worried that it would be too big and he wouldn't be able to wear it this season, but it does fit perfectly.

Baby's Hat from You Sew, Girl by Nicole Mallalieu.

This was made on my new machine, as I was sewing it I kinda wished I had got a more heavy duty machine. The layers did get a bit thick in some parts but it all worked out really well, I didn't sew any fingers or break any needles so that's always a bonus!! Besides that I am happy with the Singer.

Have you made anything from Nikki's book?

TTFN

First bags now shoes

I made these ages ago and I'm only getting around to writing about them. I stumbled across a very cute kimono shoe on one of the blogs I read (sorry can't remember which one now, need to blog more often). I popped over to the website to have a peak. So then I discovered ithinksew. Very cute patterns I could buy them all but restricted myself to 3 (only made 2 so far)!! The little zipper pouch from the previous post was a free pattern when I bought 3, yay.

Pattern by ithinksew - Michi Kimono-Style Baby Booties Size 1

These are the first ones I made. I don't usually make more than one thing at a time unless I'm doing a production line, and when I do those they are usually all the same. I got myself very confused with the whole left hand right hand opposite thingy, so I sewed the wrong base on the wrong shoe, anyway lots of unpicking recutting and resewing. But they turned out ok. I am definitely going to make these again, I'll just need to be more focused.

Pattern by ithinksew - Cameron Baby Sneakers Size 3

With my second pair I decided to try a larger size, one that should fit Little O.

Pattern by ithinksew - Cameron Baby Sneakers Size 3

Well I got the left hand right hand thing ok but I had lots of trouble fitting the top to the base. So much so I was wondering for top, if the edge of the patten should be the actual sewing line. Anyone else had that problem with this shoe? I made a mistake, as you can see in the picture, I clipped the seams before turning out to see if everything sewed properly. We live and learn.

Pattern by ithinksew - Cameron Baby Sneakers Size 3

So I tried again. This time without interfacing and I sewed exactly on the patterns seam allowance. It turned out better but I still had trouble with the top fitting to the base. The width of the straps also doesn't look as wide as the photo on the pattern. Any clues anyone?

Pattern by ithinksew - Cameron Baby Sneakers Size 3. Modelled by Little O

And these are the shoes in action. They stay on and get lots of comments :-).

Addicted to making bags

I admit it I love to make bags and purses. I'm always on the lookout for patterns and tutorials. Here are some I've made lately.

Pattern by Keyka Lou - Keychain Clutch

This is the second Keychain Clutch I've made, this time at the normal size (last one was at 150%). It's very cute and just fits my mobile, but it is the wrong shape for that so its now a coin purse. I've sewn a press stud to close instead of velcro, needs a button on the front.

Pattern by Keyka Lou - Lots of Pockets Tote

This is a very cute bag, just big enough for all the essentials. Great bag to go shopping, or take to the craft show as I did. Can't buy more stuff to put in it!! All the fabric is from ikea, great for bags I've decided. Instead of using quilt batting I used some polar fleece with the lining, which gives it a nice padding but made it too think so sew over around the top so I wont be doing that again. I would interface the outside pockets but not the lining. The pockets on the front of the bag are very handy. I attached a magnetic snap to close but I think it needs to be bigger, next time.

Pattern by Keyka Lou - Pocket Clutch

This clutch is very cute. Would be great for a night out, just need to have one! Would fit my mobile and small wallet with cards and notes.

Pattern by Keyka Lou - Keychain Clutch (small is 100% and large is 150%)

Same as the one at the top just increased the pattern size for the larger one. I've made this before. The point for turning the right way round is at the base, when I make this again I will try to have the turning point at the top, it's tricky to make a nice even closing stitch at the base, especially with this type of material. I used a hammer in snap closure this time, which I had no problem with, I expected to as others have said they are tricky.

Pattern by ithinksew - Zipper Pouch

Another pattern maker I discovered is ithinksew. Very cute baby shoes, which I will save for another post. This Zipper Pouch came as a free pattern when you buy other patterns. This little pouch has the zip behind the broken needle incident. It's easy (if you can sew zips) and quick to put together. I made it for Little A's friend who turned 7 on the weekend. I will definitely be making more of these.

Box Pouch

This box pouch came about after I was looking on the net for a small square bag for little girls. There are heaps of tutorials for a box pouch (still looking for a small bag). I started with this tutorial but ended up changing the construction slightly, and put a plastic base in the bottom. I would interface it next time (thought the type of material would be strong enough) though it does stand on it's own very well. I also made this for Little A's friend.

Well that's it for the bags at the moment. I do think I'll be making these for the school fete.

More Keyka Lou pouches waiting to be sewn up

These are some more Keyka Lou pouches waiting to be sewn up. Pleated pouches in 3 sizes and more keychain clutches.

TTFN