Business on the outside...

I got an ipad for my Christmas/birthday present. Probably the only good thing about being born so close to Christmas is that if you need something expensive you can justify it as counting for two presents. Sort of. You'll need something to do anyway when no one, not even YOU, wants to go out to celebrate your birthday. It's too cold. We just had new years eve. Etc., etc.

Anyway... I made myself a little sleeve with some super cute tree fabric and flannel gingham. I love it! It pays to hoard the cute stuff for yourself.

I can't say that I made the ipad cover because I really, really needed it right away. I made it because I was way overdue on the kindle and PSP covers I promised to make months and months ago. Thankfully, E is ever so patient.

E wanted something that would look businessy and adult on the outside in case his co-workers caught a glimpse, but that also had some fun element to it. We decided on a brown herringbone wool and navy blue owls.

If I ever made these again I would be much smarter about it, particularly for the smallest PSP case. I sewed all the fabric pieces together and then flipped them inside out, but forgot that topstiching around the edge is very difficult when the opening doesn't even fit around the sewing machine. Hard to explain, but lesson learned.

Beetle Bag

This bag was also made in September right before my vacation. I used the Go Anywhere Bag pattern by Noodlehead because I was too lazy to make a pattern myself that I had been contemplating for so long. This pattern was similar enough to the one in my head, so I bought it.

I loved the abundance of pockets and the deep strap opening allows for easy access to the bag without taking it off your shoulder. The back pocket above is supposed to be one big one, but I divided it into two. One side is actually bigger than the other so that I could fit a book into it. I also added two interior cell phone pockets.

This was my first time using piping and adding in a magnetic snap. I love the piping and am glad I learned how to add in the snap, but in reality I never use that snap.

Overall I love the bag, but I feel that the outside pockets, when filled with a book and water bottle, take away from the interior space of the bag. I only use the outside pockets for small things now. I guess I will have to make that pattern in my head someday.

Stripey Beach Dress - Burdastyle Anda 7969

Source: romwe.com via Kim on Pinterest

My inspiration was this stripey dress above that I saw on Pinterest. I needed a beach dress for my trip to Hawaii in October and happened to have some fabric in my collection already that was similar. What luck! Of course, I made it at the last minute, so I decided to buy Burdastyle's Anda 7969 pattern partly because it was a similar style to my other beach dress (no sleeves and an empire waist), but more importantly because I could download it immediately and print it from home.

Considering I ended up wearing this almost every day of the trip, I think I would call it my second most successful piece of clothing next to the cowl neck t-shirt.

Pattern adjustments: I omitted the neck facings and lowered the neckline a lot, probably a bit too much, but it is the beach, so who cares. I also used elastic at the waist instead of the front tie. It was just easier to pull on and off that way.

I've noticed that the need/urge for new clothes or accessories for an upcoming trip is my greatest sewing motivation apart from making gifts for other people. I wish I could channel that motivation throughout the year instead of being rushed before a trip.

Whip it up.

This little wine cover (or champagne to be precise), was made the morning of Thanksgiving. I have never been one to just whip something up, but I've always wanted to be that person. Things always seem to take much longer than I expect most of the time. Not in this instance, though.

I owe it all to my new narrow hem foot, which turns the raw fabric edge under and sews it down in one step. This thing is amazing! I just cut out a rectangle of fabric more or less to fit around the bottle and then narrow hemmed all the edges, even the vertical seam so that it looks like a fake French seam inside. Couldn't have been more than 15 minutes.

Fabric Wallet

Our family had Christmas early this year so this wallet I made for my sister was finished up on the morning of the event, hence the terrible photos. Sorry.

I cobbled the instructions together from several online tutorials to get the desired design elements. I learned a lot from making this. I would use thicker interfacing next time for the main body and less in the zippered pocket. I would also make the snap shorter. It's a bit loose right now.