Boxed Bag and Needle Holder

I made this boxed bag and sewing needle holder for my knitting odds and ends.

I used a tutorial which I found online by doing a general search; there are several great ones to chose from.

Altered Stationery Box Turned Sewing Stash Box

My son gave me a boxed set of stationery eons ago, and I have a thing for boxes and save everything he's ever given me, so this box sat empty in a drawer for over a decade.

I've recently fallen in love with altered art in all its forms, so it was only a matter of time before I remembered the existence of this box, and tried my hand at turning it into a useful item.

The image of the ladies came from a photocopy of an Advantage sewing pattern from the early 1960s and was printed using an office laser printer (Shhh!), and the embellishments were items I gathered up from my sewing stash.

I haven't quite decided it I've achieved maximum overkill with all the elements I've added because I tend to keep things simple, but it's growing on me.

I keep it on end table within reach of where I sit on my couch and it's filled with the items I am constantly in need of when I'm hand sewing, because I'm too lazy to run a flight of stairs to retrieve them.

Here's the before shot:

Little Country Girl Rag Doll

I made this doll and sewed her some new clothes to match the colour scheme of the room she sits in.  Yesterday, I knit her a little sweater vest to complete her ensemble.

Tiffany Blue & Red Crochet Edged Pillowcase

I made this for a friend who likes to bring her own pillowcase when she travels.  I'm in love with this print!

Hand Crafted Butterfly Teabags

I saw this idea around the blogosphere and my first thought was 'Oh my God that is so nice, but that's a lot of work.' But then I realized that although I wouldn't invest that sort of time for myself, it's the sort of thing my mother would love, and I'm willing to invest the time for her.  With Mother's Day coming up, I set to work.

I'll show you how I made them after the cut.

Zip Lipped Fish Pouch With Tutorial

 

Dear Lord, a fish pencil case with a zipped mouth, can you even believe how adorable?  I saw this idea floating around the internet and decided I had to have one, then filed the thought away, and then promptly forgot about it.

Then my son sent me some fabric from Taiwan that arrived yesterday and one of the prints reminded me of fish scales, and I said EUREKA!! I must make a fish pencil case! So I did.

I had to develop a pattern and figure things out for myself, so I'm making a tutorial (click the read more link) for anyone who needs a fish case for pencils, double pointed knitting needles, or whatever one would like to stuff in a fish who has zipped lips.

Lavender Heart Sachet

I sewed this floral heart sachet out of felt and stuffed it with lavender.  I attached a ribbon so that I can suspend it from a hanger.  I'm going to make one for each of my lovely Eileen West nightgowns, and I'll sew a bunch to give as gifts.

A few more:

Recycled Battenburg Lace

I took down and stored some Battenburg lace valences when I redecorated a guest room and now I've used the lace to make pillows.

The valences were too narrow to make pillows, so I carefully removed the lace with a seam ripper and sewed it to the new fabric, then stitched up the new pillows.

 There is almost always a reason to hang onto everything!

Tote With Vintage Stocking Ad

I sewed this simple tote today, transferring a vintage ad for McCallum stockings from the 1930s.

I have a tutorial for the tote here You would sew the tote minus the ruffles shown on the tutorial.

If you would like to know how to transfer images onto fabrics, I have a tutorial for that here.

I had cut this brown eyelet off of a skirt and almost threw it away recently when I was tidying up my stash. I was thinking, when will I ever use this stuff? The answer is, six years after cutting it off of a skirt.  Never throw your stuff away!

Felt iPod Sleeve

I guess I am officially addicted to felt crafting.  

 

Back View

How it's kept closed.

Felt Pin Cushion

I have been sewing since I was a child and yet I've never had a pin cushion. I remedied that situation today.

I used the same colours as had in the needle case I made a while ago so that I have a matched set.

 Here's a quick and easy tutorial:

                           Cut two circles 6 1/2 inches in diameter.

Sew 1/4 inch seam all the way around.

Cut a one inch X carefully in the center on one side of the fabric and turn right side out.

Stuff firmly.

Stitch up the X.

Using 6 strands of embroidery floss (about 48 inches long) and a long needle, and starting on the wrong side (where the X is), push the needle through the center of the circle from the back to the front.

Pull the embroidery floss tightly around to the back side and push the needle through the center of the circle again (back to front). Position the embroidery floss over the same strand you just stitched, wrap the floss tautly around to the back, and push your needle through the center of the circle from back to front again.

Continue to tautly wrap the floss in the same manner as above so that you section the circle into quarters.  Remember to wrap each stitch twice.

Tightly wrap the floss in between each quarter.  You should end up with 8 sections.

I drew out a flower design on paper and traced it out onto felt, stacking the petal parts.  I did the same with circles, and then sewed a button through all the layers.  I embroidered wee stitches around the circles and petal edges, using two strands of floss.  

I attached the flower to the pin cushion (on the side which has the X) using hot glue.

Felt Flower Wicker Basket

I made this no-sew felt flower to recover an old wicker basket that I'm using to store bits of lace.

 The tutorial for the felt flowers can be found here.

Ruffled Tote Tutorial

I sewed this tote today and have placed a tutorial under the cut.

Pin Tuck Duvet Cover

I pin tucked a duvet cover I purchased to match pillow shams I had made last spring.

I'll show you how to make pin tucks after the cut.

Layered Petal Pillow Tutorial

I made this pillow inspired by a duvet I would love to have but will never buy from Anthropologie.

I'll be sewing its mate and doing some serious thinking about whether I want to tackle the matching duvet cover, which would be a huge but entirely doable undertaking.

I'm placing a tutorial for this pillow under the cut.

Shabby Flower Pillow

I made this pillow a while ago and put a tutorial for it here.