Another Bag And Name This Flower

Another bag...this time for an auction for my husband's place of work.  They have to "raise" money to send their trainees to things like the big meeting for infectious disease. It's kind of a running joke, because they don't bring in the big bucks for the hospital (there aren't many procedures when it comes to infectious diseases...you usually just prescribe medicine and if that doesn't work, you prescribe another kind of medicine). While other fellows have offices, infectious disease fellows have a cubical, if their lucky...you get the idea? 

Well the fellows are asked to contribute something for the auction and being the helpful spouse that I am, I end up doing the work.  Last year, I didn't know my "customers" very well, so my offering of a custom made dress for a little girl didn't go over very well. The baked goods sold for double the price, just to give you an idea. The reason being, there were only 2 or 3 people there that had kids. This year I thought it through a little more and figured a bag would go over better. I'll let you know what the going price was for it.

(My husband laughed at my color choice. I was going for trendy, but a little neutral so that it would appeal to a broader range of people. Unintentionally, I picked the school colors for the university my husband works for. He thought I had done it on purpose. I'm wondering now if anyone else will pick up on it.)

 I am making some pies again this year and my 10 year old daughter was helping me. As I was tucking under the top crust and then crimping it she asked me why I had to tuck it under first. I said to seal it to keep the juices in. She said "Like at the bottom of the skirt or dress with the hem. You do that to keep it from fraying." I thought it clever how she came up with a sewing analogy...she's speaking my language.

Now on to the flowers, can anyone name these?  The pictures were taken on our latest excursion out west.  The top one was on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, UT and the bottom one was in the butterfly house of the St. Louis Zoo. They are both new to me flowers, so I'm just a little curious as to what they are called.

Every Day Art and a Work In Progress

I'm back...it's always nice to take a break, but now it's time to get back to life and a routine.  I also have a bunch of projects to finish up.

Until I have something a little more meaningful to post, how about this:

 This is a little "art" courtesy of my now 5 year old.  She took a couple of pictures with my camera while she was spinning on the office chair.  It's always a fun surprise to find these kind of pictures when I upload a batch.  I thought she was pretty creative this time.  When I asked her about the pictures, she said she wanted to see what spinning was like still.

 This is just a piece of the fabric I finally cut into to make a skirt for me.  It was supposed to be finished before we left for 2 weeks, but it got pushed to the bottom of the list so now that we are back, I need to get it done. 

Whimsical Tunic Embellishments

Today I'm sharing how to do the side ruching on this whimsical tunic over at Project Run and Play.  But I also wanted to share how I did the exposed yolk and sleeve tabs.

Like I said in my post over at PR&P, we're thinking ahead for some fun pieces to add to Clara's kindergarten wardrobe.  She really liked this fun owl print and the green polka dot went perfectly with it.  But why hide it on the inside?

 To create the yolk, use your back and front pieces to make a pattern.  Since I was creating the tunic without a pattern, I decided to have a little fun with the opening.  I decided to do the scallops to mimic the dots.  You can do something simple like I did for the first tunic I made.

Here you can see how I created the neck line on the front piece of the bodice. 

 Then I cut it out.

 For the yolk piece, I simply used the bodice pieces as the pattern. Done before you sew the shoulder seams of the bodice together.

 Next decide on the width of the yolk, making sure you match the front and the back pieces when it comes to how wide you'll be making it.

 Here's the 2 yolk pieces laid out on the corresponding bodice pieces.

For the next step you want to sew up the bodice pieces and then the yolk pieces at the shoulder seams, making sure to use the exact same seam allowance on both sets.

Now to attach the yolk to the bodice, you sew with the right side of the yolk to the wrong side of the bodice.  Very important, because you'll be flipping it out to the right side of the bodice.  After you've sewn them together, snip the seam allowance.  Since I had curves on this one, I notched it pretty good.

Once you've flipped the right side out, press and edge stitch around the neck opening only.

The next step is kind of tricky and takes a little patience.  You need to fold under and press the outside edge of the yolk.  Once you've pressed it, pin it really well.

Edge stitch around the outside edge and you are done with the yolk.  It's fun to have a little contrast!

Silly wide eyed girl.

View of the front and back yolk.

 As for the sleeve tabs, this is a pretty easy embellishment.

When you fold under the hem for the sleeves, just slide a tab into  the hem before you stitch it up.  Then fold it up and add the button.  Another simple thing to do to add a little contrast.

 One final picture of this silly girl.  She was making wide eyes this whole little photo shoot. 

Linked up here--Train to Crazy

Birthday Bag--A Little Early

And a bonus rose--taken right after an afternoon shower.

This bag was made for my wonderful sister-in-law and friend for her birthday.  It's a little early but I wanted to get it done before school got out.  There's just one thing left on my list to do before the kids are home and life gets summer busy.

 Just a simple pattern-only 4 pieces plus the pocket-lined and reinforced with duck cloth on the inside. The fabric is from the Waverly home dec line at JoAnn's.

What I Now Have Off My Plate

9 quilts are now off my to-do list (2 aren't shown).  I was in charge of making sure these 9 beauties were finished in time for the 9 graduating seniors in our church congregation.  The parents provide the 2 twin sheets, another wonderful lady monograms them and I coordinate the tying and binding of them.  I had a hand in helping with 8 out of the 9 in some way, whether it be tying or binding or sometimes both.  While it's a fun project, my fingers were numb for a couple of weeks from pulling the needle through the layers.  I'm just glad they are done and will be presented this weekend.

You Are Going to FLIP for This New Series!

Ready for a fun, new series?  Well this one will have you flipping for joy, because not only will you get to see 12 great patterns "in action", but you'll get to meet some amazing women who will be doing the sewing/competing. Plus there is sew along competition and prizes thrown into the mix. The lovely sister duo over at Frances Suzanne is hosting it. You'll want to save this one somehow so you won't forget to follow along!  It will kick off in June, so a grab a button and check it out!

<a href="http://bit.ly/12jUwB2" target="_blank"><img alt="Flip This Pattern" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n2CO2HmgYHw/UY_gbis7rmI/AAAAAAAAEfM/FAWBcbqVVDQ/s1600/FlipthisPattern150pxLOGO.jpg"/></a>
Here's the line up...and yes I'm one  of them, but I won't be competing until September and then again in December.

Mommy's Apron Strings | Winter Wonderings | doguincho | SoCalSewingMom |  nest full of eggs

cathgrace | Welcome to the Mouse House | S is for Sewing | Sewing Like Mad | Elegance & Elephants | Call ajaire Little Kids Grow | Daisy Chain Creations | Once Upon a Notion | Handmade Martini | iCandy handmade | you & mie If only they would Nap |  Foster Ramblings | Designs by Sessa | Shaffer Sisters {Jo} | greendoodle | Shaffer Sisters {Al} Siestas & Sewing | mama says sew | Sewing Mama RaeAnna | sewVery | Nap Time Crafters | {lbg studio} Shaffer Sisters {Scary} | Sweeter Than Cupcakes | Once Upon a Sewing Machine | Crafty Cupboard | The Powell Family

And here is the line up of patterns that will be 'flipped'.  See, I told you it's an amazing line up!
 | Pattern Anthology  Figgy's | Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop | Shwin Designs | Clever Charlotte  Violette Field Threads | Blank Slate Patterns | Heidi & Finn | The Cottage Mama

Why I Love Living Where I Do

Even with somewhat of a late start thanks to some unseasonably chilly weather, we are already harvesting.  Not much, just some lettuce, spinach and some of those beauties in the picture, but fresh salads every night is a nice addition to dinner.

Not as much sewing going on now that I'm trying to get the outside stuff in order, so I'll be posting more pictures of my "outside creations".

Coming up this month, my tutorial/guest post for Project Run and Play, a couple of birthday presents for family and brainstorming for the biggest/scariest project yet--a blessing dress (think christening dress) made out of my niece's wedding dress for her little girl. Wish me luck!