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.

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 :-).

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