Simple Dish Towel Apron

I thought I'd share a few pictures of a recent quick project.I love turning something ordinary into something extraordinary! What started as a dish towel and a 1/2 yard of coordinating fabric turned into this cute and simple apron.I basically cut a triangle out of each side of the top (measuring in 4" and down 10"), then made my own double-fold binding. Honestly, you could make it even quicker and easier if you only 'bound' the arm cut-outs (since they are the only raw edges), but I liked the look of sewing the coordinating fabric around the whole perimeter. I added a quick applique with her initial, and voila!A friend of mine recently moved into a new home (new to her!) and did a full kitchen make-over. This was her little 'kitchen-warming' gift!

Denim Bracelet Tutorial!

I am always so inspired by all the tutorials I see out in blogland. This tutorial is painfully simple, but something I came up with all on my own, (and I think it's pretty cute ;) so I thought I'd share!
So, It's kind of cute and cheezy and cool all at once! A fun little denim bracelet that can be worn with almost anything! The idea for the bracelet formulated after I had altered some denim pants into shorts. I had cut the seam off first and tossed it aside. Later I came back to it and thought...huh, that might make something kind of cute! So...on with the tutorial. (This is SUPER simple, and would be a fun project to do with your tweens or teens.)

Denim Bracelet Tutorial:

First you will need:
*an old pair of denim pants or shorts
*a good, sharp pair of scissors
*a button
*a ruler
*sewing machine

Step 1: Cut off a seam from your scrap denim. I like to turn the denim to the wrong side so that I can use the seam as my cutting guide. Cut just to the right of the folded/stitched seam.

Step 2: Determine how long you want your bracelet to be. I have found that most adult bracelets are somewhere between 7 to 8 inches long. I cut mine at 7.75" Cut seam to wrist size.
Step 3: Add a button hole to one edge of the cut piece. Make sure your button hole is large enough for your selected button.
Step 4: Add a button to the side of the denim that does not have the button hole.
Make your slit in the space you created your button hole, slip your button through the hole, and VOILA! You have yourself a cute, trendy little denim bracelet! Because of all the fun buttons available, and all the different widths of denim seams, the possibilities are endless! Here are just a few of the bracelets that I've made. I've already given a bunch of them away too. I wore mine one Sunday to church, and all the teenagers thought it was super cool, so I hooked them up!

I think the one frayed edge gives it that grunge charm that people pay so much for today. Kind of fun!

Its a sCrapy quilt!

Now that our big spring show is over and we have lots of inventory in our shop, it's time for some 'fun' sewing and getting projects done that have been on the back burner!

I've had the idea for this quilt on my mind for a LONG time. I've never attempted to make a quilt completely from scraps. I knew it was going to be crazy, because my scrap pile is so diverse, but the intention of this quilt is to go to a charity, so I figured a little crazy would be okay.I'm actually pretty happy with how my first 'scrappy' quilt turned out. I seem to have a plethora of strips, so I sewed the strips together and then cut the long rectangle into four right-angle triangles, which I then sewed back together to form my squares. I think the blocks have some fun motion in them. The material is crazy and non-matching, but I think It worked for what I was attempting.I'm not in love with the white on white material I used for the sashing, but I had it on hand, so I used it! (I'm kind of glad I stash busted that one, now I don't have to ever use it again!) For the borders, I just continued with my strip theme and used up by last bit of scraps. I would have liked to try out some fun new quilting technique with this, but the youth from my church need to get in a few service hours, so I'm going to let them tie the quilt instead.

I made the goal at the beginning of the year to make two quilts to donate to a charity in 2010. One down, one to go!

a 'just because' gift

I'm still feeling the Christmas spirit of love and giving. I want it to last well into the new year. I'm hoping that by acting on that feeling it won't fade as quickly.

One of my new year goals is to make something for somebody else at least once a month...just because. While most people already probably do this sort of thing, with a young family (and my 7 month old who is constantly crabby) I don't get to serve others and give as much as I'd like. I'm going to make more of an effort to do so this year. Even if it is only 12 times. Twelve is a start, right?

1 of 12 - I have a friend who is great. She's a true friend through and through. She is also a GREAT cook. She spent a year and a half living in Japan in her early 20's and can make Japanese food like nobody's business. (Bring on the GIOZA!) I figured somebody who likes to cook can never have enough aprons! So Sumer, this one is for you!
I've made this same pattern a hand full of times. I love it. I have one for myself that I use pretty much every day. It whips up in an afternoon of sewing. The pattern is by 'The Apron Lady Designs' and is called 'Flirty Skirty.'

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after hearing from some of my friends that they love the idea of 'just because' gifts, I decided to issue a challenge!

My challenge to you. - Join in on the fun! Make an effort to give somebody a totally unexpected gift each month...Just Because! Why? Everybody love presents, I don't care who you are. It makes you feel warm and fuzzy to receive one. Let's spread the warmth and love this year.

If you want to participate (and I SO hope you do!) grab the 'just because' gift challenge button on my side bar and add it to your blog. Leave me a comment with your blog address as well...maybe you'll be the next person chose to receive one of my next 'just because' gifts!