New Sewist in our midst!

My oldest daughter is interested in sewing!  Yay!

She has always played around on my machine, but never really had the time or interest to work through a project of her own.  The other day she texted me the links for several used sewing machines on Craig's list.  I looked at them and said they were ok, but what she should really be looking for was a used Bernina like mine...but wait!  Duh, I have an old Bernina that is just like mine...  

The old faithful Bernina 930

It was my Mother-in-law's machine that I inherited.  My Mother-in-Law, Shirley was an amazing sewist who convinced me to buy my Bernina waaay back in 1987 a year or two after she purchased her 930.  I now have a newer Pfaff sewing/embroidery machine too, but I do all my basic sewing on my old faithful Bernina.  It is just that good of a machine. 

I know that Shirley would have loved for my daughter to have her machine!

So my DD (Dear Daughter) came up for the weekend to visit and have a quick sewing lesson. 

We decided to make one of the Tahoe bags that I have posted about before here and here and here.  I think this is the 6th one of these I have made!  I might need to look for a new TNT bag pattern!  LOL!  

It was the perfect bag for our mini-lesson because it is such any easy bag to make so I knew that we could get it done in the few hours that we had.  

Here she is trying out the "new" machine.

We were able to use fabric from my fabric stash and - bonus and so appropriate for the occasion - the lining actually came from Shirley's stash.  

Here is the outside of the bag all ready for the lining.

The lining from my mother-in-law's fabric stash

We used the "new" Pfaff machine to add a spiffy monogram to the front.

I wasn't very happy with Sulky thread, though.  When I wet the fabric to erase the temporary alignment marks, the red thread ran a bit onto the white canvas.  I thought Sulky was supposed to be colorfast!  Boo!

The completed bag and the new sewist!

Didn't she do a great job!!!!

It was so much fun sewing with my daughter!  It was exciting to pass down one of my favorite pastimes to my daughter and even more exciting to know that she is getting to use the tools that her grandmother used.  A very sentimental day overall!

We miss you, Shirley, but you were in our hearts and we know that you were right there with us today guiding our hands as we sewed together!

Love,

Pam

Thread, Paint, Buttons...Go!

Two more Christmas projects revealed...

These were supposed to be gifts for my three nieces last year...but...never quite got them made.  Too many projects - too little time!

I found the inspiration on two different Pinterest Posts  and here.  I combined the two ideas and ended up with this initial picture for my favorite teenaged nieces.  

The second Christmas surprise was another tote from the Tahoe pattern that I used for these totes:  here and here. 

I love this pattern!  It takes a bit of time to get the pieces all cut out, but it goes together like a dream! 

Tahoe Tote Bag

I have made 3 versions of the pieced bag and 2 bags that were not pieced and I feel like I might need to look for a new TNT pattern for bags.  It is nice to sit down and sew something that you can put together almost without thinking and know it will turn out great, but I'm ready for a new challenge...now to find the time!

See the cute pockets inside.  I even remembered to sew in my label this time!

I have one more Christmas sewing surprise to reveal and then it is onto new projects.  

Leave a comment to help me decide what to start next...

Shower curtain to finish off the new bathroom 

or 

a fun new knit top for me to wear to work

...hmmm!

Two Hour Tote Bag

We have two people moving on to new adventures at work and I wanted to send them off with something personal.  Hence, my weeknight sewing from the previous blog...

I decided to make some tote bags because what teacher doesn't need another tote bag, right?  I used the same pattern as I did for the birthday tote, but eliminated all the piecing and made it a soft bag by just using fusible fleece and no decor bond or peltex.  

I had all the fabric, etc in my stash so they went together quickly.  Even so, it was still after 10pm when I finished the first one.  I discovered that my topstitching gets a little wonky after 10pm on a weeknight...Don't look too closely!

This one was for a teacher who is leaving for a fantastic opportunity at another school:

Tote with our school logo so she
won't forget us!

The reverse side has the logo of the
her new school.  We are reluctantly
letting her go!  :-(

This one- made the next night - was for my student teacher who is graduating. I put our school logo on one side and her name on the other.

It was so wonderful working with
her that we made her an honorary
Cavalier!

Her whole name was here, but
I edited it out for her privacy.

The fantastic thing about these bags is that I made each of them in just under 2 hours from uncut fabric to finished tote bag!

The perfect weeknight sewing bliss!

A Fun Tote for A Cute Little God Daughter

After finishing yesterday's skirt, I was ready for a fun, quick project.  My cousin and god daughter brought over this little tote bag and asked me to reattach the glued on ribbon.  My little god daughter (she's 3!) said that she also wanted her initial and some "sparklies." 

Embroidery Machine to the Rescue!!!

I found the "Sparklies" in my stash of trims and other junk I have been holding onto for just the right project.  I think that my very fashion forward God Daughter will look spectacular carrying this bag to school!  :-D

Very grateful that we didn't have any damage or even lose power and praying for those who were not so fortunate... 

Despite the wind and rain - or actually because of it - I had a great time playing with fabrics this weekend! 

Back to work tomorrow!  

Birthday Tote

Today was my son's girlfriend's birthday and I wanted to make something special for her.  What can any college-aged girl use?  A tote bag, of course!  I made this tote once before with my niece and really like the result.  The pattern is perfect for beginners like my niece and for more experienced sewers who are looking for a quick and easy project with a beautiful and practical end product.

I used this pattern that I bought at the Artful Quilter - which has since gone out of business.  :-(

It isn't really a pattern - just directions and dimensions for all the fabric pieces.  All the pieces are straight edges and the directions are simple and clear.  I cut out the bag yesterday in about an hour and a half and then sewed it together today in under two hours!  (It took a bit longer with my 12-year-old niece - but what a great project to learn on!)

Here is the finished tote:

Do you like the little monogram on the side?

The inside is lined with a coordinating pattern and has 6 little pockets:

So hard to get a picture of the inside of a totebag!

I already posted a picture of the one I made with my niece on facebook, but that was before I had the blog.  Sorry if this is a repeat.

Fuzzy picture!  This taken with my old blackberry - Awful picture quality!

Two projects completed in one week!  I'm in summer sewing nirvana!  

What are you sewing this summer?