The Kindle Cases....finally!

I know I promised weeks ago to post about my sewing endeavor for Mother's Day/Friend's brithdays and haven't done it yet.  I apologize.  I have been fighting a sinus/upper respiratory infection.  I am now on the THIRD round of antibiotics and a second course of prednisone.  Let's just say that this 16 day stretch of prednisone may produce little sleep and LOTS of blogs!  LOL

So...what you guys really want to know is what I sewed for Mother's Day.  Well...my friend Jen had mentioned that she would really like a case for her leather lighted Kindle cover because it was getting scratched so easily in her purse.  And I am always one to rise to a challenge! So I found a link to a wonderful laptop tutorial on SewMamaSew's blog that was also nice enough to give the formula to use it for other types of covers.  This one won my vote not only because it had the formula to adapt for my needs, but also because it had a flap (and not a zipper), used velcro and was nicely lined.  So the first kindle cover I made ended up going to my mom for Mother's Day.  I used a brown, satin quilted fabric I had left over from another project with a brown, turquoise and lime paisley I bought with the Kindle cover in mind.  I did the stitching in turquoise to give it a little pop on the outside top-stitching.

I have made several others since then.  I have made the Kindle Cover Jen requested for her birthday, which was a grey suede material with a satiny lining that was white with pink print and grey butterflies on it.  I think this one turned out very nice.  The suede on the outside and the satin on the inside gave it an exquisite feel.  I think Jen was pleased with it!  I was also asked to make an iPad cover for my friend Mary's mother-in-law for her birthday.  Of course I obliged.  It's hard for me to say that I really like one more than the other because all of them are rather unique for various reasons.  But the iPad cover does have a fabulous color combination.  Just see...

This one started with a lavender paisley that was just gorgeous.  Originally I was going to pair it with a grey that I had, but while I was looking for the brown quilted one I used for Mom's, I found some lavender linen I had left over from a maternity shirt I made my sister as my first sewing project ever!  As you can see, they matched beautifully.  I did the paisley on the outside because I was afraid the solid lavender would show too much dirt and wear.

I feel like all three of these have turned out beautifully!  One thing I learned is that I do better to add 2" to the calculation for measurements instead of one.  Because for some reason, try as hard as I might, the 1" is just barely big enough for the Kindle that is already housed in a case.  I have one more to make for Mary's birthday present (don't worry...it's not a surprise.  I let her pick out her own fabric for her's!  LOL).  She chose the brown quilted fabric with the lime and turquoise paisley.

My next project is cut and ready...  It will be a dress for my middle niece, Kiana.  This is my first time working with a patterned fabric in a garment and I hope it goes okay.  Lucky for me, I picked one that has a "loose" pattern and doesn't necessarily have to match very well (it looks like a tie-dye).  But I will post more once it is finished.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

What a difference a year makes!

Well folks, it seems like I enrolled in graduate school and forgot all about my poor lonely blog!  So here is a quick update on important events in my life!

March 2011 - Finished my first sewing project, a maternity shirt for my sister!

May 2011 - I started graduate school at James Madison University (JMU) through the Roanoke Higher Education Center.  I am getting a Master's in Public Administration and look forward to graduation in May 2013!

September 2011 - My sister, April, and her husband, Andy, had perfect twins - a boy and a girl!!  Addison Morgan and William Andrew Jr. were born on September 1, 2011 and have been the highlight of the year!

February 2012 - I found out my beloved Kenzie had osteosarcoma and was terminal.  Her cancer was extremely advanced when we found it and decided to lay her to rest two days later.  That has been one of the hardest weeks of my life, but I know she is running free over the rainbow bridge with Brandy and Snickers waiting for the day I will join her!

Madi is now enjoying the life of an only child, even though I know there are days both of us feel like the house is a little quieter without Kenzie barking demandingly for dinner or a bone.

I have almost two weeks between spring semester and May-term and have been busy finishing up a few of my summer sewing projects.  Tonight I want to share the dresses I made for my sweet Addy.  I have to give a shout out to The Mother Huddle for sharing this wonderful pillowcase dress tutorial as a free pattern!!  The directions were absolutely fabulous and had some great links to help make this dress look very classy for a beginner sewer!  I loved being able to learn how to make the edges look more finished with a zig-zag stitch and then lay flat with a nice topstitch.  I feel like this pattern and tutorial has definitely helped expand my sewing skills!

Of course, the sewing was the easier part.  For me, it's always picking out the fabrics that takes five years!  LOL  I found a very good owl pattern I liked in pastels and then I found a white and fuchsia zebra print.  I was torn between the two.  So, of course, I went ahead and found coordinating fabric for each!  So Addy is getting two pillowcase dresses - one girly and one spunky!  Here are the final products!!

I am so excited at how they turned out and I can't wait to see how they look on our little princess!!  Trust me, there are several more projects for the twins yet to come!  I'm going to work on doing better at posting more regularly, especially with some of the cool projects I have coming up.  Next week's post will be another project I've finished, but since it's a mother's day gift, I have to wait until mom gets it first!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Sewing 101

My sewing machine skills are near non-existent.  When I was in high school I had the choice between Home Ec and Typing.  I took the typing because I figured it would be more beneficial than Home Ec when I got to college.  For the most part, I have been able to survive with only being able to hand sew any items that were necessary.  However, as I expand my crochet skills, I have also wanted to start doing some sewing of items, especially for doll clothes.  This would require that I use of a sewing machine.

I have a brand new 1979 White sewing machine that was given to me by my Aunt Shirley.  Aunt Shirley was a seamstress and apparently wanted to make sure I would have a sewing machine, so she bought one in 1979 and set it aside for me.  I know when it was purchased because the original bill of sale was inside the machine.  I can also tell you that it was brand new because all the original packing was still with the machine and case.  I had taken the machine out a few months ago and worked with it to try to thread it and finally break down and make the curtains I so desperately need for the house (and have had the fabric to make them for at least a year).  Try as I might, I could not get the bobbin to thread correctly, so I decided a sewing class may be in order. 

I have been very excited for several weeks now about the sewing class I signed up for.  The class is through Roanoke City Parks & Rec and held at the community center that is 1 block from my house.  I can't tell you the convenience of this, since it means I can run home and let the dogs out before leaving them again.  I'm sure they are appreciative that they only have to wait the requisite 10 hours between bathroom breaks instead of me trying to stretch it out to 13 hours.

The class was a steal at $25 for 4 2-hour sessions.  I have to say I was slightly disappointed after the first class though, because the description clearly stated the class would "teach you to use your sewing machine".  This is the #1 reason why I wanted to take the class. You can imagine my dismay when on the first day of class the instructor informed the class that we should already know how to use our own machines.

At the end of class, I explained that learning to use my machine was the reason I was/am taking the class and asked her to tell me how she suggested I figure out how to thread the bobbin.  She suggested that I take the machine to Alpine Sewing Machine to have it looked at.  I know this machine has never been used, so I was quite surprised when the man told me that my machine is out of timing.  I guess it can get that way without use for 30+ years.  I have not received the estimate on what it will cost to fix my poor "new" machine.

Our homework assignment was to find an "easy" pattern of a garment that we would like to make, buy the materials, read the pattern and cut out the pattern/fabric for the garment.  Right now JoAnn Fabric in Roanoke, VA is getting ready to move to a new and bigger store.  The good news for sewing enthusiasts is that all of the patterns at JoAnns are less than $2.  This is a giveway since patterns are generally as expensive as $15-$20 a piece.  So I did "stock" up on some cheap patterns for items I thought were easy and/or that I may want to one day try my hand at.  Then I started looking at fabric.  I have decided that one sews because they truly enjoy it, not because of any cost savings it provides.  Fabric is not cheap.  I did get very lucky on some lavendar linen fabric at close to $4/yd, but that is once again because the store is liqudating.  The other downside I foresee with sewing is that if you screw up - you're well....screwed.  It's not like crochet where you can rip it out and start over. 

I am hoping that my machine can be easily fixed and that I will be able to have it back and running correctly by our class next week.  I am still excited to learn some of the basics of sewing and finish at least one project by the end of the month.