AM Quilts

Hi!  I know, I know.  Long...LONG time and no posts!  I'm alive and well.

My creative energy (and sometimes nervous energy during a corporate re-organization) took over and I've been busy sewing up lots of projects.  So many, in fact, that I decided to start a brand new blog over at AMquilts.com to share my sewing projects!  Why have one blog when you can have two, right?   :)  I've published the first couple of posts but I also have a backlog of completed projects share.  Plus I can't forget the endless list of in-progress and future projects that have queued up.

Recognize the paisley purse I decided to use in the new blog's header?

I'll be back at Welcome Sunshine Home blogging more about our house, recipes, pups, Birchbox, etc.  We've got some big projects underway this year including kitchen updates, craft/sewing room updates, and replacement windows.  Plus we're finally having the entire exterior of our 2.5 story house painted...by a professional certified to handle lead paint!  We've done countless DIY projects during our 7 years living here so it feels like a major luxury to hire professionals for the windows and painting.

The popular Show Us Your House series at Kelly's Korner will be starting up Friday, June 1st.  I've had a great time participating in the past and am hoping I'll get my blogging act together soon so I can join in the fun again!

Here's the current schedule:
June 1 - Show us your Living Rooms
June 8 - Show us your kitchens
June 15 - Show us your bedrooms
June 22 - Show us your dining rooms
June 29 - Show us kids rooms
July 6 - Show us your bathrooms
July 13 - Show us your mantles
July 20 - Show us your foyers
July 27 - Show us ways you display pictures
August 3 - Show us window treatments
August 10 - Show us how you decorate your dining room table/coffee table/side table
August 17 - Show us your patio/front porch
August 24- Show us your laundry room

You can follow me on Twitter now at WelcomeSunHome (general life stuff) and AMquilts567 (sewing in-progress updates).

Talk to you soon!

Pinterest Challenge!

It's time to take something from my Pinterest board and DO IT!  Sherry (Young House Love), Katie (Bower Power), Erin (House of Earnest), and Ana White issued an unofficial Pinterest Challenge and I'm taking it!  You can link up your project on any of their sites.

Since I'm arriving fashionably late, I chose something quick.  I picked my pin of the Reusable Swiffer Duster Cloths tutorial from Sew Much Ado for two reasons.  I only had one Swiffer duster left and I remembered that she mentioned it could be done in under 30 minutes.  Perfect!

Here's Sew Much Ado's all flannel version.  Her tutorial is well written and easy to follow so I'm not going to write out the steps again in this post.

Source: sewmuchado.blogspot.com via Alison on Pinterest

I made mine with 4 layers of flannel and 4 layers of fleece.  The flannel becomes ragged in the wash but the fleece stays the same.  I like the mix of fabrics.  For bonus going green points, I used up some scraps from a quilt I made for my niece's birthday.

You don't have to be exact with the pieces for each layer.  I caught myself being entirely too serious because I've been cutting a lot of quilt pieces lately.  Relax, it's a duster!  :)  In Sew Much Ado's step #11 you "Beginning with narrowest layer, clip edges of flannel at 1/2" intervals along length of duster" anyway.  See good is good enough.  :)

My supplies

I started sewing with two piles of 4 pieces.  When I make the next duster, I'll alternate the layers of fleece and flannel and add 1-2 more layers of flannel.  

Sewn and cut up

This hadn't been washed yet.  It'll get fluffier each time it is washed and that'll help it work even better.  It's hard to see in the photos but there is the same amount of 'duster' on the top and bottom.

Mussed up a bit on the Swiffer Duster handle 

Even though this was a super fast project, Maximus the Little Prince Super Schnauzer settled in for the long haul...

The duster works well and inspired me to also make eight reusable Swiffer Sweeper/Wet Jet cloths the next day using scraps from another quilt and something a gal from my sewing class recommended.  It's pretty dang clever and cost effective.  I'll be including some reusable sweepers and dusters in future hostess, housewarming, and holiday gift baskets.

Now go check out the Reusable Swiffer Duster Cloths tutorial from Sew Much Ado and get to it.  I'll post a tutorial for my reusable Sweeper/Wet Jet cloths this weekend so check back later if you want to be a lean mean green cleaning machine!

Sewing Pouch and Knitting Needle Roll up

Jacob's mom loves to knit and sew.  Among many other things, she finds time to knit gorgeous baby sweater sets for newborns and sew doll clothes for my niece.  I made her a sewing pouch and knitting needle roll up staying true to the Butternick pattern (I'll include the pattern info below).

The sewing pouch has room for at least 8 full size spools of thread, a pin cushion, and other sewing doodads.

You could easily adjust the sizing of the pockets inside to fit other items, like jewelry for travel or small accessories for toys.

This roll up keeps knitting needles of all sizes neat and tidy...and away from couch cushions!  :)

I was careful to keep all my stitches straight and neat.

Pattern info:

Butternick B5006
Sewing Pouch - Pattern A
Knitting Hook Case - Pattern B

Do you knit?  I haven't learned how to do it but I truly admire knitted items.  I tried to crochet a doily one time and it ended up kind of looking like a thong...not a cute thong either.  :)  So, I think I'll stick with enjoying knitted gifts from others.  A friend recently gave me a pair of knitted slipper booties that are very warm and they have gripper material on the bottom.  That gripper stuff is priceless.  Now I won't break my neck on our carpet-less stairs.  More about the in-progress staircase renovation another day...

Work in progress

Hi there!  We're alive and well over here at Welcome Sunshine Home.  Just super, ridiculously BUSY with our day jobs and this ol' blog is our hobby.  We'll soon be back to sharing projects regularly so don't give up on us yet!  :)

I'll be sharing some more gifts that I sewed for Christmas 2010 soon.  I started a king sized quilt but haven't had time to work on it since January 9th.  Ok, my memory isn't that good.  I only know the exact date because that's the last time I watched anything instantly through Netflix (British series Monarch of the Glen) and I noticed when I logged into my Netflix account earlier.  :)  Any way, that king size quilt isn't going to sew itself and I'm hoping to get back to it soon.

How many craft, sewing, and house projects do you usually have going at once?  I always have different projects started and even more in mind (heck, I have a fistful of paint swatches in my purse right now).  Here are some projects that I already have all (or most) of the supplies necessary to complete the whole project.

Sewing

• Quilt to be completed before winter 2011
• Top Secret Christmas 2010 Birthday Gift for Melissa
• Apron using fabric received from Laura in Fall 2010
• Purse fabric and pattern purchased Fall 2010
• Aprons using fabric and patterns purchased April 2010

Home*

• Master Bedroom closet purge/organization started September 2010 - It is thisclose to being done!
• Finish staircase renovation started March 2010 (um, yeah, 2010)
• Kitchen pantry purge and organization started Fall 2010
• 3rd floor office to craft cave started Fall 2010
• Transform back room off kitchen into new office

*Lesson learned:  Fall is not the time to start new home projects!

Crafts

• Spring mantle and more...Jeez, I can't give away all my secrets and plans at once!

Recipes

• Pineapple Fried Rice 
• A whole bunch of stuff that I know I took photos of and can't think of right now...

Just for Fun

• Concerts, baseball, board game parties, vacation, home show, etc

Books
I recently started rereading George R.R. Martin's The Song of Fire and Ice series since the long-awaited A Dance with Dragons is coming out July 12th!  I've only ever read books 1-3 so no spoilers please...  I'm also planning to reread the Harry Potter series in 2011.  What's your favorite book series?

Are you familiar with the 'Gitter Done' party at Songbird?  Donna from Funky Junk Interiors used to host it.  It's a place to share anything that you've finished.   It doesn't have to be pretty, cute, or even be a project.  It can be as simple as finally getting caught up on all your shredding.  Which I had done but now it's piled up again.  Grr.  Considering all the different things I listed above that I have available to work on, I'm hoping to have at least one thing a month to link up.  :)

So, what's happening at your place?  Have you marked anything off your to-do list in 2011?  Jake said my to-do list for 2011 must include "Get longer to-do list."

Can you rock an apron?

Robyn can!  This is her baby boy, Logan Richard.

Aren't those the cutest BabyLegs leg warmers he's wearing?  I like this pair too.  Robyn's hubby is a musician so we had fun searching sales racks for rock inspired baby gear during lunch breaks.

Her birthday was close to Logan's due date and I wanted to give her something a little bit quirky.  Robyn likes music, skulls, and Gilmore Girls among other things.  Hmm.  I wonder why we're friends.  ;)  One of my favorite Gilmore Girls episodes to reference (Season 1 Episode 14 That Damn Donna Reed) is when Rory dresses up like Donna Reed and makes dinner for Dean while she's cat sitting for Babbette.  Somehow this all led me to making a reversible rock star apron for Robyn.

Rory Gilmore 

source

Visit YouTube here to watch the scene where Lorelai (Rory's mom) and Luke (who was looking for a lost baby chick at Lorelai's) discover Rory and Dean's unconventional date.  Awkward and hilarious.  "Oh my god, I just noticed the pearls!" hehe

Robyn's rockin' apron has a scalloped hem and one side pocket on each side.  It was the second project I had sewed in nearly ten years and was completed before starting this blog.  I didn't make any tweaks to the apron pattern pieces but I did decide to switch the waistbands and pockets around for contrast.

The first side is black polka dots.  Did you notice the skull and crossbones centered on the waistband and pocket?

The other side is red bandanna-like fabric that has skulls, crossbones, and hearts hidden all over the print.

I made one for Jake's mom using the same reversible pattern.  It was a thank you gift because she knitted a beautiful sweater set for me to gift to Logan.  I used cheerful cupcake and red polka dot fabric for Carolyn's apron but I forgot to take a photo.  Oops.

Pattern info:

Butternick B5411 Apron A (photos on right side in collage below)

I have more apron patterns that I'd like to try and stacks of fabric ready to go.  Have you ever made one?  I'm planning to install hooks on an empty slice of wall in our kitchen and hang some aprons as functional wall art.  Do you wear aprons?  I'm messy in the kitchen so I need to start!

Project Paisley

As promised in my previous post, I'm proud to share my first project of 2011 today.  Woo!  It's also the very first sewing post on Welcome Sunshine Home and it's been a long time coming.

After sewing gifts for others in 2010, I made myself a purse shortly after the holidays.  I love the clean and simple lines of the exterior.  It's a shoulder bag and the strap lengths are just.  I can't 'do' handbags because I'll set it down in a store and leave it behind (aka Jake would get stuck holding it!).

I can't think of anything else I own that is paisley.  I liked all the fun colors.  I purchased the fabrics and sewing pattern at Joanns a couple months ago.  I didn't worry about matching the fabric pattern up at any seams because I had just enough fabric to cut the all the pieces.  The pattern is busy so they blend in.

I had some fun with the interior.  I thought orange would be a cheerful punch of color during the long winter months.

My new Windows smartphone was my motivation to finish this project quickly.  I needed a better way to carry it around.

All my girl junk has been rolling around in my laptop bag's big pocket and my coat pockets for months.  Simply annoying.

Phone, post-it list pad, pocket planner, lotion, breath mints, hand sanitizer, water, my old pink camera, fleece gloves, click pencils, pen, Netflix, spearmint lip gloss, mint lip balm (no shine), peppermint lip balm (favorite for years), cash (this is rare for me), debit card, credit card, and driver's license.


I altered the pattern a bit to customize the pockets for my junk.  Everything in it's place.  Ahhh.  :)

My favorite one is the contrast (aka easy to find) lip gloss pocket that I added.

I was going for speed so I didn't take any photos of the work in progress.  It has simple magnetic closure.

It's hard to see with this fabric but the bottom is gathered.   Don't mind the dog hair...notice their legs in the top right of the photo?

The purse even coordinates with my new emerald green jacket (in treeline).  Happy accident!  It's hard to capture the green properly in winter's harsh lighting.  It's deeper than this photo...

It's nothing fancy but it's done and it's exactly what I need.

I hope you like it too!  I'll update this post later with the sewing pattern info if you're interested.  This is a simple project that'd be a great for beginners to build sewing confidence.

UPDATE: Here's the pattern info for the shoulder bag and a photo from the pattern's packaging.  The bag's overall shape and the gathering on the bottom is easier to see.

Butternick pattern B5449 Bag A

Have you marked anything off your 2011 to-do list lately?  I'd love to hear about it.

Click here to see some of the parties I'll be mingling at this week.