bow ties are cool.

so last week my gentleman needed to have a bow tie. asap. me? i wasn't worried, friday night i whipped one up for saturday morning, super cute and super suave at the same time, cause bow ties are cool. (a very wise doctor said that once.) i had him pick out some fabric from my ever growing stacks and voila!

like i said, it's super cute week, and is that not super cute! (and cool, don't forget cool.) it's with a bit of jennifer paganelli, which you can never go wrong on, and it snaps shut with a bit of velcro on the ends. (so perfect for the man in your life who can't actually tie a bow tie.)

  

it's simple construction, basically a bunch of rectangles, some interfacing and velcro. ok, ok, so the original pattern that i used was borrowed, from a one for small boys, but my big boy is a small boy at heart, who loves a good bow tie! you can check out the great post at living the swell life. it's simple and you only need to change the width of the band to create one for your man, or little one, you know, whichevs.

super cute week, city clutch

so i have decided, it's official, it's super cute week! yay! so all week i am going to show off super cute things! oh, and super simple things too! yay!

first up on the super cute train... the city clutch...

the city clutch is a quick and easy project, using less than half a yard of two fabrics. it was inspired by, well, wanting a cute little bag for when all you need is your phone, wallet, and keys. it stemmed from a bag that my friend had for years and years (and maybe still does) that she uses for every occasion.

the flap is held down with two easy pieces of velcro. did i feel like getting into zippers, eh, not this time. it's an easy breezy kinda thing, you dig, and velcro is definitely easy peasy lemon squeezey!

so how do you do it you may ask...start by cutting some rectangles...

exterior:
2 at 7"x12"
1 at 8"x12"
1 at 2.5" x 12"

lining:
2 at 7"x12"
1 at 8"x12"

 

start by creating the flap for the bag... fold over at a 30 degree-ish angle to create the look you want... i just kind of eye ball it so that the flap is angled, yet long enough for my liking...

 

you then want to apply your velcro to the lining piece on the right side. position it in the corners, giving yourself at least an inch from the edges. stitch it in place...

 

now you want to go ahead and sew the two angled pieces together, with right sides facing along the two short sides and the angled side... clip the corners and turn right side out...

once you've done this it's time to place and stitch the other sides of velcro to the front piece of the bag. over lay the flap piece with about 1/4 hanging from the top edge and align your velcro where the flap velcro lays. stitch in place...

now you can go ahead and stitch the front and back of the exterior together, right sides facing along the two short sides and bottom... (don't forget to clip the corners!) 

repeat with the interior lining pieces.

 

now you can go ahead and turn the exterior bag right side out...

fold over and press a 1/4 inch inward, creating a clean edge around the top of the pouch. repeat with the lining, folding towards the wrong side of the fabric. this will allow you to insert the lining inside the bag with clean edges matching along the top...

 

now it's time to create the handle strap... take the 2.5"x12" strip, fold it in half, wrong side out, lengthwise, and stitch raw edges at a 1/4" seam allowance. then turn right side out and press...

now you should have four pieces, it's time to attach them all!  

start by inserting the raw edges of the handle in the side of the bag, right along the side seam. pin in place. also pin the front top edges, matching the lining and exterior. insert the back flap as shown, 1/4" with the lining showing as seen...

stitch into place all the way around using a 1/4" seam allowance. guess what, you're done! yay! 

 

super cute!

quilt club day!

today is quilt club at spool... 1:30. be there.

what cute quilts have been made at spool, oh so many, just look! (up, silly.) quilt club is gonna be, well i dunno what quilt club is gonna be, but i do know there will be some quilting, sewing, gabbing, and helping as we discuss the many exhilarating aspects of quilting. (yes, i said exhilarating!)

and it's also there if you just need some help with something, like, say mitering a corner is more like making a croque monsieur than making a simple good old fashion grilled cheese, well, crack out the american slices, cuz it's cookin' time!

and of course you know i always love to talk about colors, cottons, and creativity! yay! sew! so totally stop by will ya... (ps, go to www.spoolsewing.com in case you don't know how to get there!)

finally...

finally... lazy bones kayhart has finished and presented her latest quilt to it's happy (i hope) new owner... check it!

it's a take on an amish bar quilt... three 2 inch bars make each panel. the middle panel is a group of vertical and horizontal bars, ended with a set of horizontals, and the again by a set of verticals.

i didn't really have any particular idea in mind when i started, i just loved the habitat purple, anna maria starburst and art gallery floral as a grouping... that's how i roll... ha. then i thought to myself, oh lindsay, what do you love? and the answer... jewel tones, suddenly i had a palette surrounded by a deep jade.

for the back i wanted to cut back a bit... though i love the more is more aesthetic, i wasn't sure she would love it, so i thought back to my number one rule of quilting... anna maria horner always works, and if not, well, we don't need to speak to each other... so i did a new loulouthi print. (fyi: lindsay loves!)

so it all came out great! it's been delivered to it's new happy home, newly built to house my favorite suburban family! (shhh... but i totally only did it so i would get invited back!)

i think that'll happen now!

ok, lame, i haven't been posting about sewing... sorry. i have been sewing though, just not in the normal way. commission work means i have to follow a plan... and get it done. (still working on super secret project though too, just so's you's know's...)

(secret project swatch!)

 i will be finishing my project tomorrow, so i will be straight back into serious quilt mode... teaching new classes in a week or so. yay! and i have the super secret project... plus i am going to be making a quilt for my new niece... emily doesn't know what's gonna hit her. (super cute pink cuddly-ness i'm sure.) i'm not sure what i'm going to do for it, but i know it will include some sarah jane... i love this!!!

woo hoo quilthome.com and woo hoo sarah jane studios! if i ever were to have a daughter her room would be decked out in sarah jane prints... and now quilts! (is it ok to not want the baby, and just the baby room? eh... i'll have to ponder that one.)

 

my new favorite thing...

so one of my favorite things, erm, persons, is caroline tiger. she is a philly-ian with a neato blog about design here in the city... (and she was one of my bride's at work!) but then through her articles in the philadelphia inquirer i found another new thing to love... aphrochic!

check out those prints! sigh. jeanine hays has some of the most wonderfulest wallpapers, linens, and pillows around.... would it be ok to spend my entire life surrounded by yellow ikat? hmmm... maybe!

that's all! ciao!

simply put... nice.

so i have baby quilt class this saturday, nice. it's such a fun class, simple and yet, well the results always amaze. don't you just love that, say when you go into something new and think, "erm, um, ok, i hope i don't screw this up." and then you come out at the other and end and whamo, it was waaaaay less complicated than you made it out to be? that, simply put, is baby blanket...

two super cute prints snuggled together, bound in happiness and ready for baby sunshine. you got it!

sticking with that theme of super easy happiness, i just found the coolest new book...

yeah, that's right, sewing in straight lines only to achieve sewing awesomeness! there is a great one hour skirt in here that reminds me of the anna maria flirting the issue skirt. i am always saying in that class, and many others, that i am a fan of the easy sewing line, and that by just tweaking some other little notions you can sew straight and twist people's minds at the same time with your wonder skills!

i cannot wait to get this book, just check out the super cute skirt on the cover, hmmm, a bit of winter wool perhaps. (shush your mouth!)