Cutest Baby Bow Blanket Contest!!

Good Morning Everyone,

If you liked my "Cutest Baby Bow Blanket" video and would like to win the "Cuddle" fabric  by Shannon Fabrics to make one, I am having a contest!  Just leave me a comment and join or be a member of my blog.  There will be two winners to receive all the fabric needed to make this blanket graciously given by Shannon Fabrics.  Winner must be in contiguous US only.  Two winners will be picked by Random.org  on May 24, 2013

Good Luck!!  If you missed the blanket post, you can click below:

http://www.cynsew.com/2013/05/cutest-baby-bow-blanket_3.html

Cutest Baby Bow Blanket!!

I created a new video called "Cutest Baby Bow Blanket!  I teamed up with Shannon Fabrics.  They sent me the fabric and I created a pattern and tested their fabric called "Cuddle."

I loved the fabric.  It is so, so soft and cuddly, I see why they named it that.  I have added the link to the video and the directions.  Enjoy!!

 

Here is also the link for the directions -

 

 http://www.scribd.com/doc/139895483/Cutest-Baby-Bow-Blanket

Granddaughter and Hello Kitty Tie Blanket!!

One of my youngest granddaughters has a project due Friday!  She has to show how to make something for Show and Tell.  We bought a Hello Kitty tie blanket!  She worked all day on this and was so particular.  She cut out the ties and if the knot on the blanket was a little low, I had to take it apart so she could retie it!  Even towards the end she started to untie them herself to fix her mistakes.  She did a great job and she left one untied to show her class how to do it!  I hope she still remembers by Friday!!  This is the one that I "think" is going to take after her Mamo!!  Not sure about the others yet, but my other two younger granddaughters also like to do crafts!  I wish they lived closer to me!

Another New Top With Lots Of Problems!

I worked on my red top and finished it this morning, Vogue V8816.  I am not exactly sure what kind of knit fabric this was, but it was the most difficult material to sew with.  My sewing machine, serger and coverstitch machine all hated this material.  It was a fight from start to finish.  Glad it is done.  I bought this material in the back of JoAnn's marked down section.  I personally think that if you watch you can get some better materials back there.  I think they must buy fabric from the end of bolts or something.  When I worked at JoAnn's there was always fabric back in the mark down section that I know was never on the shelf.

After I saw that I was having trouble sewing this material, I went to JoAnn Fabrics to get some stretch needles but they didn't have any.  I tried a ball point needle, but it did not like this at all.  I finally used an embroidery needle with my Teflon foot and that helped a lot.  I never realized that there is a big difference between a stretch needle and a ball point needle.  I will definitely be keeping the stretch needles on hand from now on.

Next,  after I started to sew my fabric I noticed that my fabric was growing.  It must be a type of "Slinky" knit fabric.

I knew I better stabilize the seam to help it keep its shape.  On the seam under the breast, I added some stabilizer to my stitches.  Then realized that this was going to bother me when I wore it, so I sewed it down with my serger.  I took pictures along the way, so you can see what I am talking about.

I tried to sew it closer to the bottom edge and then I could fold it over and catch it in my serger seam.

I don't like that you can see white even if it is on the inside of the garment, but after I pressed it down, it really didn't show.

 

I ended up having to take in the top 1 1/2 inches on each side seam.  Now this was the same pattern that I used to just make the little white top a couple of weeks ago.  This was how much this fabric was stretching.

 

Finally got that part finished and took it to my coverstitch machine to hem the top and ran into more problems.  I tore out the first seam because the hem was twisting and not laying properly.  I then decided to use the hand basting stitch on my sewing machine to prevent that from happening.

I love this stitch, it takes a stitch and then you raise the pressure foot and move your material and then it takes another stitch.  I use this all the time for basting.  You should check to see if you have this stitch.  It releases the feeddogs and you move the material.  I have talked to so many sewers who have this and never used it.  Anyway, this solved the problem of my fabric twisting with the coverstitch machine.  After one more try and removing the stitches and lots of adjusting this way and that way with the Cover Pro, it finally sewed out a nice hem and I got it finished this morning.  I am always fresher early in the morning and seem to be able to think through my problems better.  Well here is the top and I really like it.  Let me know what you think!!

 

 

 

 

Take a Look At The New Top I Sewed This Week!

I worked on a new top this week.  I like this style on me, I think it is slimming.  I did some adjusting and sewed it out on a cheaper knit that I got at JoAnn's.  This was sort of my muslin.  If it didn't fit, then I wasn't out much money.  It did turn out cute and I liked my little knit material.  I turned the top and back yoke in the diagonal direction to give it a little more contrast.  What I wasn't thinking when I bought this material was that I would have to match it!  Something else I wasn't planning on.

It does still need one tiny adjustment, I noticed when I tried it on that it falls forward just a hair on my shoulders.  I will have to make that adjustment and then it will be ready for the really pretty red knit fabric that I am going to make another one out of.  This pattern is Vogue V8816 if anyone is interested in making this.  It is an unusual pattern and I had to stop and look it for the longest time to see how to adjust it.  I always have to take in the yoke because I am small across the shoulders.  I even called the company and they would not help me at all.  They said they don't tell how to make adjustments, and they told me to just make a muslin.  I thought they might give me a little guidance, but I guess not. 

Here is my cute little summer top!  Let me know what you think, and if you decide to make one, I can help you with any questions.  Thanks, Cindy

Finished My Shawl!

 

It is all finished and I am so much more happy with it now!  If you did not see my first post, my shawl just looked unfinished and kind of blah.  Everyone wrote to me and said I needed to crochet an edging around it.  Well, that is exactly what I did.  Here it is!



It made it larger all the way around and dressed it up a bit.  I would of preferred to be able to find some yarn that matched in the pink or blue color, but I could not match it at all.  The only thing I could find was the cream color.  I thought about ordering some more yarn but didn't really want to pay another $50.00!  Now I will really look like a grandma sitting with my shawl on!!  Thank you to everyone that wrote to me and gave me suggestions!!  I am glad to have the experts to rely on!

Kraft Paper Stamped Heart Pouches!

Do you have a young sewer at your home?  My daughter, Tara, posted this on her website and it would make a really cute project for a beginning sewer.  One of my younger grandaughters is always asking me to sew.  She is 6 and I think she could handle this project for her valentines for school.  I am going to have her just cut out squares and she could just sew straight on all four sides and attach stickers or stamps on top. 
These sweet little DIY Valentines can be filled with any number of treats for a fun surprise

My daughter's cooking website is as follows if you are interested! 
http://unsophisticook.com/


Start by folding a piece of brown kraft paper in half, or as an alternative, you could use brown paper grocery bags. Trace your desired number of heart shapes on the paper. I used a Wilton heart-shaped cookie cutter, but you could easily make your own template from a stiff piece of cardboard.

Using this paper tube stamping technique, I then stamped a heart design on each heart and allowed the prints to dry thoroughly before cutting them out. This is a great time to get the kids involved! My youngest son loved helping me stamp the hearts, and when we were finished, I gave him his own sheet of paper to continue stamping.

While I was waiting for the prints to dry, I decided that I wanted to switch out the strings on my tags. I used these inexpensive Avery marking labels, which could certainly be used as is, but I thought that the addition of the red and white baker's twine was a cute detail.

Once you have the cut out hearts, it's time to start sewing. I used a machine for this step, following the instructions here, but you could also sew them by hand. I'd just recommend using a thimble to push the needle through the thick paper so as not to hurt your fingers.

I chose to fill our hearts with a small serving of Valentine's Day M&Ms, but you can fill them with any number of small items. I'm thinking about making some filled with hair elastics for my girls' gymnastics team. You'd be shocked at how fast they go through them!

This is such a cute way to make your Valentines stand out from the crowd. I guarantee the kids will love tearing into them to see what surprise awaits them inside!
What little treat would you put inside one of these cute heart-shaped pouches