On my way out of town...

I'm heading out tomorrow to spend the week on a Middle School Mission Trip! It should be fun! Interesting, but fun!

But I wanted to show a little bit of stuff I've made lately...

First - Coasters as an anniversary gift to an awesome couple I know! (Who also have a super cute kid!)

Second - five pouches for some girls I've never met... It's a long story, but to put it shortly: I've been writing notes to a friend of mine at a camp and the girls who pick up and deliver the mail have noticed that I send lots of stuff. So I figured they should get some stuff too!

Third - A purse for my cousin who is currently on her way to Israel! She wanted a purse with a strap that was long and would go over her shoulder. It's a dark tan linen so it shouldn't get too messy as she travels. And it's got some green and brown fabric that I'd seen at Joann's and kept thinking about getting but couldn't decide what for. I finally had a reason! This purse is a lot like the other one I did - with a zipper in the back side and reverse applique on the front.

Fourth - A pillow cover using my cousin's son's handprint. She had a towel that his handprint was on for mother's day, but she wanted it made into a pillow case! It was fun!

Fifth - the picture does not do this justice! It's a pillowcase dress - my cousin gave me the pillowcase and asked if I could make it into a dress and I'd seen directions online so I figured I'd give it a try. It was pretty easy and that pillowcase was adorable! Really though - I think it'll be way cuter on an actual cute little girl...

Sixth - a bathing suit cover! It turned out really cute, but I just can't seem to get a picture that makes it seem as cute as it is in person. It's for a contest - first place gets a sewing machine but I'm going for 2nd, 3rd, or 4th - which get a dressform!

Alright - that's it for now. I'll be back in a week!

A Throw for Minnesota

An awesome friend of mine is going to be moving to Minnesota pretty soon because she got a really cool intership with Mayo! It's very excited and I'll miss her - but she'll only be gone 8 months and we'll always have facebook!

But to keep her warm, I decided to make her a granny square throw. She's been known to crochet a bit, so I knew she would appreciate it!

It started out with these:

And ended up with this:

I used mostly yarn I already had. And used black to sew it all together and for the border. It looks a little 70's-ish, but I love all the bright colors!

I think it'll keep her warm enough... :)

Travel Jewelry Case

A couple of weeks ago I was shown a cool little jewelry travel case by this lady I met named Catherine (great name by the way, though I am partial to the K spelling). I saw it and sketched it out - which was really just me drawing a big circle with a little circle in side of it. I knew it would be easy but i kept putting it off and putting it off. Then about a week ago I got a plate and a bowl and made a template and it was made in about an hour!

There's 6 pockets inside - you can see 3 with some random jewelry inside.

There are definitely some things I would do differently - I would move the seam I have for the string a little further away from the inside pocket (to give it a little more room inside and less ruffles on the top) and I would redo the string (which I strung wrong).

I'll definitely be making more of these!

Munchkin... being eaten by a frog

For the munchkin's birthday back in November, I made him a frog jacket. Complete with frog eyes. And the other day, he fell asleep in the backseat, and this was the image I had to capture forever.

Man, I love hanging out with that little guy on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

A Just the Right Size Purse!

It's not too big... it's not too small... It's just right!

I am having lots of fun with this pattern!

It's an adjustable strap...

(It can be really long, but the picture I took with it long turned out unsatisfactorily)

there's pockets,

there's a zipper in the back,

there's a magnetic closure, there's reverse applique...

There's just so much to like about this bag!

I made one for myself, then I was commissioned to make another. This is the commissioned one - I always forget to take pictures of the things I make for myself. I always forget to take pictures... I need to write notes to myself that say, "Take Pictures!" and put them on the sewing machine and the scissors and the cutting board and every other place in the sewing room. But back to this bag - this one had a kinda darker outside so that it won't get dirty to easily.

I really liked the material for the reverse applique! As soon as I saw it in the store, I thought the tree would be perfect to sew around. I love how it turned out! And I love all the greens!

I'm really happy with how it turned out and might make a few more... maybe... if I finish some other projects that are floating around my head

(drawstring circle jewelry bag, star trek bag, baby blankets, more appliqued stuff).

And I really need to start writing official patterns for these purses!

More Bags to Etsy

I just uploaded a couple more bags to Etsy!

There's 2 I finished recently and another that I finished a while ago but never uploaded.

First is one that is Black White and Red All Over!

Then there's the Patchwork and Polka Dot.

And last but not least is the Perfect Summer Beach Bag.

You can check them out at anoddduck.etsy.com

An Altered Hoodie

I love love love short sleeve zip up hoodies! I have a blue one which I wear tons and a maroon one I also wear a lot. I was at target and I saw some long sleeve black and white hoodies in the clearance section for $9. I decided I'd go ahead and buy a black one. It looked like this (apparently like a scary person when I tried to hang it up):

Then... I started to make some changes... First I decided to make it short sleeved! I practiced a little bit with part of the sleeve I cut off, including putting the ribbing back on. It stretched a little bit, but overall it worked.

Then I did a little bit of reverse applique in the shape of a heart with some other fabrics sewed together.

I LOVE IT SOOOOOO MUCH! I've already worn it a couple days. And so far it hasn't been way too hot for it.

And it was way easier than I thought it would be. I went back to Target and bought another black one (which I have no idea what I'm going to do with it yet) and a white one (which I know what I'm going to do and it should be pretty cute).