lindsey marcella

Vivian Lynnae

A little quilt I made for someone at work. I actually had all of the fabrics in my stash even though I don't tend to buy purple fabrics. 

 

  
 

from the archives?

I was home this weekend and realized that I hadn't posted a photo of this quilt I made for mom last year. I think I made it for her birthday...

Here it is on the bed in all it's glory. Surprise - it's pink. 

One WIP Wednesday

Have I done a WIP post recently? That wasn't knitting? Here's what I'm working on:

Finally, I get to make a baby girl gift. And it's not pink - wow! Purples and greens this time, which I'm loving. Of course there are some vintage linens thrown in there too. And I had all of this in the crazy stash, including sashing, backing, and batting. I would be lying if I said I wasn't proud of that.

I basted it tonight, but will probably redo it. I have a bad habit of basting on the carpet, so when I crawl over it I twist up the backing. I've made enough quilts that I should know better, but I'm set in my ways. I work a late night tomorrow, so I may work on this in the morning, but not if it's nice out! Then I may go knit outside. There's another WIP there, but I'll save that one for later. 

My little brother graduated this past weekend - congrats Mark! I cannot believe he's so old...he was just a cute chubby baby who loved hugging big mascots.  

apron gala

i have sewn! it's been about 6 months i think, but i had good reason to pull out the machine again - an apron gala! what's that?? i didn't know until about noon yesterday and it was last night. it's a fundraiser for a local market that we go to. most of the vendors are there with food (and other freebies), and there's a silent auction and raffle. but most importantly you are encouraged to wear an apron. so what did i do but make a new one!

this was so easy. i used 2 vintage pillow cases so i would have a double thickness for the body and also not have to do much hemming. i used one of my old aprons that i've made for the shape, then added the ruffle. it was lacking something so i put the lace on there too for good measure. make a little binding for the straps, add a pocket with vintage button, and it's done! 

i had to style it of course, so i wore it over a cute white dress with yellow heels, and although you can't see it i have a yellow flower in my hair. although i did not win best apron (a political statement one won that...) i did have a very nice but intoxicated women tell me that she was going to track down the apron fairy and demand that they give me a sticker. she also took a picture of me and told me if i looked cuter than her in it she would delete it. oh - and the apron fairy really did exist.

now that my machine is out on a cluttered table i think i need to plan a new quilt. i just found out that someone at work is expected a GIRL so i get to make something cutesy after all of the boy sweaters. and hopefully that means that i will actually have some crafting to post here!  

The Jackie Camera Case Tutorial

It's ready! 

 
I made a new camera case and lens cozy so I could write up what I did into a little tutorial. 

Please feel free to download the tutorial below. I like a tutorial with lots of pictures, but if something isn't clear please let me know. Please feel free to do what you'd like with the bag/cozy if you make one. And remember - even if you don't have a digital SLR this bag is also great as a clutch! Or add straps, or just use your imagination! If you do make one please let me know either by e-mail or in the comments because I'd love to see it!

Download The Jackie Camera Case Tutorial

coming soon

A little tutorial for the "Jackie Camera Case". The sweet Jacqueline requested one (from J's so cute it hurts) so I figured I'd put it together. Disclaimer: it's really not that difficult, as it really is just 2 pattern pieces. There's nothing really special about it, but I did come up with the size that's perfect for my digital SLR. Hope to have it up by tomorrow if all goes well with the photos!

Here's a silly picture I took of myself in the Aira hat I knit. I have that funny look on my face because I'm awful at these "self portraits", and I wasn't sure if I was even getting myself in the frame at all!

quilt to be

I finally (FINALLY) got around to cutting out these blocks and laying them out in this pattern. Now I just need to sew them up and quilt it! This was a quilt along from June. WHOOPS. Better late than never though. I still have a scrappy quilt in it's quilt sandwich just waiting. I started to quilt it but was having major tension issues. I got frustrated (surprise surprise - i don't tend to get frustrated unless it's a craft project) and it has sat on the back of my sewing chair since. This one will not wait that long though, because I need to get started on some Christmas sewing!!!

By the way I love this Wildwood fabric! I never used to like making a project all out of one fabric line, but I am making exceptions here and there.

a new camera case

Since my poor camera broke and I had to get a replacement, that meant I needed a new case. I didn't want to buy one - both because they're expensive and because they're kind of ugly. That meant I had to make one myself. I looked all over for a digital SLR case tutorial but couldn't find any, so I improvised. I really just wanted something that I could put in my purse and ultimately bring to San Fran. I looked at a few point and shoot case tutorials to get some ideas, then made up a pattern.

 

It's really simple, with just 3 pieces. The red is a home dec weight and the lining is a cotton linen blend. There are 2 layers of batting in between and everything's all quilted together. It's rather lightweight but durable. Keep in mind I'm not throwing the camera around in this thing; it's just to get it from point a to point b. I then cut some bias tape out of a great Japanese print and it was done. Oh, the closure is just a bit of tan velcro sewed on VERY securely.

 

(Please keep i mind I took these photos with the new camera when I didn't know a thing about it...so the colors are a little wonky!)

I also had to worry about a lens too, so I basically just made a little cosy to keep it from clinking against the camera. The plaid there is what I lined the bag with. It all worked perfectly on the trip!

Oh - the best part? When I'm not using it as a case it's a perfect little clutch! :)

more selfish sewing

I love making gifts, but you can't beat sewing things for yourself too! plus it's getting warm out and i can wear light cotton dresses and skirts again. i finished up the big quilt awhile back, but it's waiting for a tag so it's not really "done" yet. i am still working on my pink quilt - if you call working having all of the pieces sewn and stacked ready for their strips. ready for 2 weeks mind you.

i had more pressing matters at hand.

up first is this little top. built by wendy pattern; easy as can be. the tiny hanger makes it look huge, but it actually fits nicely. the corners were easy to sew too. these 2 fabrics don't really match, but i love them together.

you can see them a little better here. tiny flowers on the bottom and lovely faux cross stitch on the top.

next up the same pattern but dress length. this was made after the top and went even faster. the dress is a bit rumply from being worn all day. (with a cute cardi and grey flats). the print is amy butler, and the turquoise on top is actually a pattern of white and turquoise although it looks solid in the picture.

i've still got a few things i'd like to make, but most of the fabric i have in my stash is in 1 yd cuts (bc i'm too cheap to buy more than that), which is not ideal for clothes. my birthday is coming up in june though so maybe i'll start a wish list. ok, i lied, i have already started a wish list or two. one went to my mom months ago (no joke) and one went to derek tonight...shameless. who else wants FABRIC for their 26th birthday? 

happy mother's day!

i hope everyone is having / had a happy mother's day! i made my mom a necklace and sent her a wee wonderfuls card.  you can see both at her blog jensvintage.blogspot.com. (having some trouble linking...)

i did some sewing this weekend, but selfish sewing just for me. first up a dress.

 

The pattern was a free download from Burda (do a search if you'd like to try it; again issues with linking). The front is very cute, but the bag is a bit too big. And that's after taking out about 4 inches! It's still pretty cute though, and I love this fabric. The pattern calls for a zipper which I was going to do, but this thing has no trouble slipping on and off so I left the zipper out. Too bag bc I actually like installing zippers!

I got to do one of my favorite things - understitch! Understitching is usually very poorly explained in patterns, and this pattern didn't even include it. It is a necessity though if you'd like to keep the lining (in this case facing) to the inside where it belongs and not have it roll out to the outside of the garment. I've also used it on bags, etc. 

I did a very little photo tutorial as I was going to show you what I mean. It's here at flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindsey_marcella/sets/72157617880020837/. So sorry I can't link!!

The other thing I made was a cute Built by Wendy top, but I haven't loaded all the photos to my computer yet so maybe I'll share tomorrow. I can't believe it's already 9pm on Sunday!!!