Here's a quick sundress that I made from a tank that kept riding up and a vintage sheet.



Just cut the sheet one and half to two times hip width and the length you want and attach at the waist.  To see the details go to the how to here.

I just seam ripped out several zippers and a whole lot of buttons to re-use.  It was really difficult to remove the zippers from the cargo pants.  I think a lot of glue was involved with the assembly.  I tried using a rotary cutter instead of a seam ripper, which helped, but didn't make the task easy.

Any suggestions? 

I accidentally cut one zipper short.  Another one,which I suspected of being cheap, really was, and fell apart in my hand.

The buttons were no trouble.  Are zippers not worth it?

tia

I just got this vintage machine.  It's a Free-Westinghouse ALB.  Anybody have one?  Or have a similar machine?  Comments, tips?

tia

One kitchen door/window faces West and gets very hot in the Summer. Planning ahead, I've made a curtain with blackout fabric underneath.



This is underneath, before the fabric went on.



In short, to make, cut blackout fabric to cover window.  Cut fabric same length and width plus one third.  Gather.  Attach.

For more lengthy instructions please see my blog.

This doll is from an Alicia Paulson pattern.  I used it to teach my child how to sew.  It was a really fun project.

I made this quilt from my daughters baby clothes.  I know it isn't perfect.  But I'm really pleased to preserve the memory of her babyhood.    

After I stitched all the knits (almost every block) onto broadcloth, I learned that you're supposed to use interfacing on knits in quilts.  Oops.

I did leave some of the sweater edges long on purpose, to show the pretty edges.

I made this little guy by putting a potholder in my copy machine and making multiple copies.  Then I cut out each owl body part as a pattern piece and stitched him up, leaving the bottom open for a hand.

I have step by step instructions with pictures of how to do it on my blog if anyone is interested.

[Instructions]

Hooray!  I learned something from the first bag and am more pleased with this second one.  Abbreviated instructions are below.  For comprehensive instructions, please visit my blog.  (Sorry if that's a pita, rules about not copying from blog over there, and here about requiring instructions make it tricky.)



Instructions:

• Measure height, back-waist, and waist of your child.
• Divide height by four, waist by three and double back-waist length and add four inches.
• Cut four rectangles for the bag and lining using height by waist measurements.
• Cut one long rectangle four inches by back-waist measurement for strap.
• Cut two rectangles one quarter size of bag pieces for the pocket.
• Interface all pattern pieces, except strap.
• Assemble as you would a typical bag.   

It's amazing that my love for bags and sewing have not met before now.  My first bag came out a bit floppy.  I'll try again, and definitely use some kind of stabilizer.  I needed a small tote to carry crafts and a few items, and purses just weren't getting it.  And totes were too big.

Advise on how to make the bag stiffer without being impossible to turn through the lining would be much appreciated.  



Inside out.



With a craft tossed in.