Spring Sewing

I've been neglecting the blog again.. so much to do so little time. It's spring and with that comes spring cleaning, yard work and a lot of school projects. I however have not been neglecting my crafting.

Lately I've been using my sewing machine a bit more than normal. I found 2 purse patterns that I just had to give a try. The first one I saw on the Martha Stewart show a long time ago and just now finally used it. It's a little reversible bag. Super simple and easy to make. I used coordinating Michael Miller China Doll fabric. The reverse side is black with colorful umbrellas. I was too lazy to take more pictures. http://www.marthastewart.com/article/reversible-purse?autonomy_kw=purse&rsc=header_3

I found the tutorial for this second purse on Craftster. http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=149376.0 It's a pleated tote. I'd been looking online for a pattern like this for awhile. Everything was either too expensive or looked to complicated for a novice like me. This tutorial was very well written and super easy! I used some decorater fabric I found in the remnant bin at the Joann superstore (my favorite place to find fabric).

Lacy Crochet

I've had this book sitting around forever... Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts: Lacy Crochet. I was afraid to crochet anything from it because I've never really used crochet thread before. It looked so tiny, delicate and difficult! So I gave in and tried it out... and ta da! I love it!!
I made the crochet hook case first. So simple and fast to crochet. The part that killed me was using the sewing machine for the liner. I seriously need to practice my sewing skills!


The scissors case was a bit harder.. and only because I made it harder by wanting to use matching fabric. So I didn’t use felt as the pattern called for. I ironed my fabric onto a heavy duty interfacing. It made it stiff and sturdy so the point of the scissors won’t make a hole in the fabric.

I'll be doing more things from this book! Maybe a case for my mom!