French Seams AKA Vera Bradley seams how-to

This is how Vera Bradley does seams on her purses. If you've ever looked at her bags the fabric is basically one large quilted piece instead of a seperate outside & lining of the purse.

1. Take your fabric right sides facing out (yes I know this is weird) sew at presser foot width.

I had 2 different colors of thread in my machine just ignore that.

2. Turn your fabric wrong sides out & sew at a larger allowance (ie. 1/2in).

This is what your seam will look like on the inside & the outside. Very clean & finished. Yours will be more crisp if you iron them. I was making a fast gift bag & was lazy.

If you take a piece of ribbon fold it in 1/2 and tuck the folded end into your seam as you are sewing step 2 you can have a cute little tie for gift bags.

This can be done at any size seam allowance just make step #1 at a smaller allowance than step #2 so all your loose ends are tucked in.

How to make cornhole bags-Tutorial

Here is a fast & dirty version of how to make cornhole bags. The official rules are on the American Cornhole Association's website http://www.playcornhole.org/ . Yeah I know I never knew there was such a thing. A friend asked me to make her a couple sets for x-mas. I don't play & really don't think it's much of a sport but it's something crafty so I made them.

ACA rules about size:

The corn bags shall be made from two fabric squares with a quarter inch double stitched seam on all four sides. The corn bags should be made from 12 oz / sq yd duck canvas and may be any color that is easy to see during Cornhole play. Each bag shall be filled with approximately 2 cups of corn feed and finished bags should be a minimum of 6" X 6" square and weigh between 14 and 16 ounces.

1. cut your fabric in a 6.5in X 6.5in square

2. With right sides together sew a 1/2in seam allowance around the square. Leave about 2-3 in open in the middle of one side. Used for filling the bags after you turn them right side out.

3. Sew another line around you bag between the seam & edge. This helps with strength from being tossed around so much. My first row was done with the seams being cut & the second row was done cornered to since there is more pressure from the corn on this seam.

4. Turn you bag right side out. Push out all your corners & fill with corn. I used cracked corn because I already had some available.

5. Tuck in the ends of the hole & stitch the 2 sides together backstitching at both ends.

Thes were made in less than 15mins. I made them using cotton instead of regulation duck cloth and I used cracked corn instead of the whole kernal style. But still pretty easy & cheap.

Star Wars rebel logo knitting chart

I was playing with photoshop to see if I can make a kniting chart & finally figured it out with the rebel alliance logo. So enjoy.

maroon triangle shawl

I decided to list a couple of the shawls I have made. This was a fairly quick crochet so it is at a very cheap price on my shop if anyone is interested. I love making shawls but I really don't know many people who have the style that would like one. I personally love them. But then again I love old victorian clothing & I think corsets should come back but I'm the minority. I'm currently working on a star pattern one out of a mustard boucle yarn that is working up pretty fast.

Williams eatery in Yellow Springs

Chuckles & I decided to make a stop in Yellow Springs on our way back from Fairborn. I love hitting the Import house & I wanted to check out all the new knitting graffiti. While there we stopped by Williams eatery & catering. It's a new restaurant where Gypsy's cafe use to be. I noticed it when we were at the street fair but it was way to busy to take a peek. They had a menu posted outside, which BTW I LOVE when restaurants do this. Nothing bugs me more than going somewhere new & looking at the menu & detesting everything they have. Just save me the time buy posting it outside then I'll know if I want to try. Anyways the restaurant serves a 50/50 menu of american style food & peruvian, which I had never tried. I have what my boss calls a white girl stomach. I don't do spicy. I love it but it doesn't love me. So, I'm always a little iffy about trying new stuff. I went simple with chicken skewers & Chuckles did papas rellenos which neither of us had heard of before. We also tried their deep fried broccoli. OMG this was like the best dinner experience we have had in ages. The broccoli had a light breading & I think maybe some cheese, I swear I'm going to start having cravings for that stuff it was so good. My chicken skewers were perfect even really moist, which most restaurants around here can't do. Chuckles papas rellenos was pretty flippin good also. I would definitely recommend it. I know we will be going back.

Halloween graffiti

I pass this wall coming home from work every day. I always want to stop & take pictures because the artwork is amazing. Today this was up & I had to stop. Click on the picture for a larger view.

Here are some of the other pieces that are currently up. The artwork changes on almost on a daily basis. I can't believe some of the work that goes into some of these pieces.

Standing at the middle of the wall this is what it looks like both ways. As you can see some of the most detailed work is closer to the street. That is also a highway overpass in the background.

Pimpin my shop

I got this great decal from http://www.ceejay77.etsy.com/ the other day & just finished putting it on my car. I would definitely recommend her shop if you are looking for advertisement. I own an 04 Saturn Ion & this large decal fit perfectly. I was looking for something a little different than just a basic website. I wanted something that people would notice. The shipping was really fast & it was super easy to put on my car. I even used a plastic pie server & it worked fine.

don't kill me for not posting

Yes I know I'm a lamer for not posting but you know how life is. I've been crazy busy lately. I was working 2 jobs until the beginning of Sept & I FINALLY quit GE (thank god). Oh how I hated that place. Since I no longer work there I can finally say this....If you have a credit card with GE Consumer Finance or GE Money get rid of it. Well hell while your at it get rid of any credit card, they are evil & people do not realise how much you are getting screwed having one. Trust me on this. Get a plain old debit card from your bank with a major credit card logo on it if you want to use it for reservations or buying online. That's all you really need. If you don't have the money for it don't buy it.



This week chuckles bought me something shiney......This!!! >
The picture totally doesn't do it justice. It looks like an antiques & I'm pretty sure it is a one of a kind. I LOVE it!!

I'm going to try & keep my blog more up to date now that I work mon-fri which is totally weird to me. I can't remember the last time I had weekends off. I've also joined the new street team on etsy for LGBT's so I'm hoping to have more to write about. Right about now I'm having more issues in my everyday life going on instead of crafty stuff & I'm not going to bore people with that.

slow cooker carrier pattern

The bag can be made with less than 1 skein of worsted weight yarn.
The stitch is very dense & you do not need to line it if you do not wish to. This pattern will fit a 2 quart size slow cooker. There are variations in different slow cooker sizes but this has enough give in the stitch to fit all sizes. When not in use the bag folds up & can be stored inside your slow cooker.

Please be conscious & use a non-flammable yarn if your slow cooker is the type that gets hot on the outside.
You will need to know how to do the following for this pattern:
chain
work in the round
slip stitch
HDC-half double crochet
work into the bottom of a stitch
work in the back loop only of a stitch
work with 2 strands of yarn held together

This pattern is a 1 page .pdf file. The email will be sent to you within 24 hours of purchase. I will send to the email address listed on your paypal account unless another is stated in the note to seller section of your transaction. If you are unaware of how to open a .pdf file just let me know on your buyer notes & I can send it as regular text via e-mail from a hotmail account.

Conditions of use:
you are able to sell the completed items everywhere EXCEPT online
please do not copy and distribute this pattern including via email
please do not resell
please do not try to say that this is your original pattern it is copy written
please do not post it in public forums or places like blogs

If you have an questions or problems with the pattern feel free to ask.
All pattern sales are final.
$ 4.00 USD

totally depressing post

I have had the last 2 weeks from hell. My father had a heart attack & died on the 27th. Add to that he didn't have insurance on his house to cover his death, didn't marry his long time g/f & had just refinanced the house. SOOOO nobody can afford to pay for it. My future step-mother doesn't make enough to cover even the mortgage. So what can we do, it's not even like it's a profitable market to sell during. We probably wouldn't even make the money back for how much he had it financed out for. Plus my bro & I have to be the bad man & pretty muck kick her out of the house she has lived in for the last 4-5years. I won't even go into how FUBAR the death benefits are. I got thru the funeral pretty well all things considered I thought I would be comatose. Then Chuckles woke up a day or 2 later with his eye swelled shut from an infected stye. Then dylan had a massive seizure. THEN we go out thurs night & what happens I get food poisoning. I couldn't leave the bathroom for most of the day & I never get sick. We also don't have much money from all the unpaid time we had to take for the funeral so I'm pretty much in a fuck it mood about everything. And everything is due right now. Fun times.

New job

Where have I been you ask.....Well I got a new job as a seamstress WOO HOO!! I still have to stay at GE for the benefits but damn if I'm not happy. I started wed & I LOVE it. It's a great company & I really love the women I work with. I hope it just keeps getting better and better. The company just started but they are growing by leaps & bounds. I also splurged & bought a 80GB ipod. I've wanted one for forever. I'm really not in a blogging mood lately & I'm dead tired but thought I would give an update on my life.

Yard sale season

Oh how I love spring & yard sales. Yes I'm a thrift store & yard sale junkie. What can I say, I really hate seeing things end up in a landfill. I found a post on craigslist wed for a sale that had a bunch of craft supplies. So thurs before chuckles had to go to work we stopped by. It was only 5-10mins from the house. I actually got up early, duh shopping. Anyways they were selling crochet magazines for .10 each. I got 15 enough for myself, my future swap partner & chuckle's mom. They are from the early 90's so some of the sweaters are more humorous than useful but some of the doilies have some great stitches. I've already finished one I'm probably going to give it to my mom for mothers day. I also got a shoebox full of thread spools for $5. My new schedule starts next week so hopefully we will be able to hit more sales since we both have fridays off now. I'm hoping to score some cool vintage jewelry, my bead collection is seriously lacking lately.

A year in review sewing

Nintendo controller pillow for an x-mas gift. Machine & hand sewn.


Eyeball pincushion. Hand sewn, the eyelid came out bigger than expected but it was my first try. The bottom has a pop bottle cap inside.

Wood grain wallet. Machine sewed. I didn't want to sell it, I liked it so much.

Zombie swap package. The doll was from the dollar store. She has brains coming out of her head & a large gash on her thigh. Hand sewn. The wallet was sewn wonky to resemble human skin.

DPN knitting needle cases. Machine sewed. Ziplock bags to separate needles stitched into center of pouch.

Headbands, machine stitched. The center picture is the second side fabric for both of the 2 headbands.

I thought I would post some of the sewn items I have made within the last year I may or may not have listed on etsy or here. I think I just like posting pics. It always makes a blog more enjoyable. I also just finished a rockin new dress. I've already worn it once. I'm going to see how it holds up after washing before posting pics.

Banksy knitting art

I thought my fellow crafty chicks would get a kick out of this. I love graffiti especially when they make a political statement.

Dread headwrap

I just finished a new headwrap. It's made so you can adjust the fit to how you like to wear them exactly. Made from 100% recycled cotton. I also pulled out my other head model from cosmetology school. I had to give her some cornrows because her hair was out of control. Which lead to the headwrap idea. This was pretty easy to make. If it sells I may make some more. I have quite a few colors of recycled cotton. I really wish my sales would pick up on etsy. We really need the extra money I was pulling in from it. Even if it was a small amount it did pay a couple bills.

I would love to get another job, my current one seems to be sucking the life out of me. I've applied with the county a million times but the only one that showed any interest was for call center work. I can't do that again, especially with Job & family services. It's hard enough to give negative answers to the people I work with now, I couldn't do it if it was something like denying a mom food stamps.

Hand job

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extra wide headbands

These are 2 of the headbands I have been working on lately. Both are from recycled yarn. The brown is cotton with chenille swirls & the grey is wool. I really like them. If my hair was a long enough to put into a ponytail I would wear one. I'll probably be listing these on etsy within the next couple days.

I also finished up this adorable baby top. How cute did this come out. I found these t-shirts really cheap & bought the only 2 they had. The monkey head is made of felt & I came up with the pattern based on the ones already printed on the shirt. I only have it in an 18-24mos so not sure how many people will need that size. My thinking was if they are buying for a baby they can always buy a bigger size & they can grow into it

new wallets

Ok here is my first wallet from the fabric samples I mentioned in my last post. Please do not take this as my best sewing. I did these around 3am fast & dirty just because I wanted to play. I used one of the uglier samples to practice on & the interior fabric came in one of the bags, it matches perfectly. I like it so much it's now my everyday wallet. It has a secret hidden pocket. When I open my wallet there is a little upside down pocket in the front that allows me to keep things hidden. The idea came from some stash wallets I say at a head shop in Yellow Springs. At the time I was like wow that is a cool idea but what would I use it for. Mine is a larger version. I can hide a good chunk of my credit cards & if I am on the way to the bank I can stash large amounts of cash. I'm kinda paranoid about people scoping out my wallet when I go to pay for things at a store then mugging me after. So what you see in it is my checkbook, register, around 12 bills, my new card carrier & some change.

The little card carrier is also from fabric samples. These were attached in threes to a larger coordinating sample. I didn't get as many of these, I'm going to be spreading them out more by using the samples on the outside & regular fabric for the lining since you really can't see it that well. The lighter one is for myself & the darker was for chuckles. The sides were already surged like that, I didn't do the wonky sewing. They are leather so I didn't want to rip out the surging because it would have left little holes. I don't think it is too noticeable in person.