Project Weekender Done!

Okay so I have been neglecting all of my wonderful visitors!! My bad, life has been a little stir crazy lately with house hunting, dress making and bows galore. This project that I started a while ago has been taunting me and I finally had a light bulb moment yesterday and chose what to make of it. I love purses, shoes and decorating my house, not so much making clothes like I should but hey- who's to say that my sewing skills are not better used in other areas. In order to put everything all in one place for each of my to-do projects I am reviewing all from before here as well, sorry for the repeat just trying to stay organized for you and me.>>> Enjoy!

RECAP:

I have been doing a trial and error run with fancy stitching but after a few I decided I liked the basic stitch the best and continued my mission to create a patchwork pattern from the leather swatches.

I used spray adhesive to attach the set of swatches in layers (starting with the bottom layer first) I began to stitch using a 3.5 SPI on a basic straight stitch setting and worked my way around each square individually. After the bottom layer was finished I continued with the second layer and stitched them down. Finishing with the 2  center diagonal pieces.

After this the project sat staring at me for almost a month> I know that seems like a long time for something to be brewing but I honestly could not decide what to make. That is until today! NOW for the final product!>> 

Turned out as a cute little clutch.

The inside, a rich chocolate poly blend. (scraps from a design done 5 years ago!)

Some bling for a pull chain on the zipper. (Some pieces of jewelry left over from a repurpose project.)

All in all this project started from scraps, added more scraps, and used all materials that would have otherwise been trash to most, now has new life as a fabulous clutch and a one of a kind DeGoy design!

Thanks for keeping up with my spastic creativity!

-With Luvz
Dez

Springing Forward!

My favorite memories as a child is by far the ones of waking up to goodies for every holiday. Mom never missed one and always went a little over board (looking back now), but the gifts were very much wanted and appreciated. I loved that she made each holiday special, whether it was a shaped cake, lots of candy or little toys. This is a tradition in which I have tried to make a reality with my daughter. She may not wake up to the surprises but they are never missed! I just happened to be really sick for this past Valentines Day and her dad let her pick out what she wanted. I was so upset that I didn't get to do what I love, so I decided that this Easter I would make her something extra special. My kiddo has always been a blankey lover, no pacies, no thumb sucking, no stuffed animal attachments, just really loves to snuggle with blankets. Yes, she probably has more than any 8 year old should have (like 10 maybe more!) but when I seen the Walmart clearance aisle full of fabric I couldn't help myself. There were were not many fleece colors to choose from mainly a neon orange and pink, one teal and one printed style. Since the fabrics were pre-sized, not many options were available. As I looked through the styles, these two fabrics stuck out and seemed like a good option for making Addy a custom blanket. And both pieces cost a total of $6. To make this project easier and faster I planned to do Tie-ends. But I also want the two sides to stay together and not make a pillow pocket in between. So before I tie the sides together I plan to do some stitching. As for now this is as far as I have gotten. (I have a few weeks to finish and I have to keep the kiddo from seeing!!)

Enjoy!-

The fabrics

Close-up of the cut edges.

The length of one side with edge cut into strips.

From here I will repeat on all four sides, and before tying the two pieces together on the edges, some stitching will be added to center to eliminate the pocket effect. As I said this has to be done in stages to avoid anyone seeing (mainly Addy.) So this is all and stay tuned for updates!

~~With Luvz,

Dez

On a roll...

After a successful open house this past weekend, I feel great about what I am doing and where I plan to be in a few years. The frustrations I have felt over the last years about where my life was going is long gone and I'm better without it. Over the past week, I have found out how "grown-up" I am, how responsible I have become and much I love my life as it is. The saying life is like a roller-coaster is truly how my life has been, only now I have learned one of the biggest lessons in life and that is to take it as it comes. I always say if things are meant to be then they will be and thats that. I simply try my hardest to do my best at whatever life throws at me and this time is no exception just "accept"ion. As the days creep closer to graduation, preparation for the future is setting in. And in honor of that I present a showcase of projects that have been brewing... Enjoy!

FIRST>> My Free Time Project is finished. Here is a little recap.

Cute dress I got on clearance at Target for $7. The only problem is that I am short and the dress is too long. Easy fix with a jersey knit like this is a no-hem hemline, just cut, no sewing required. (that is if you don't mind a slight hem roll.) Since the dress is casual this type of hem does not bother me and I think it will give a little more edge to the style anyways.

 After I cut 4" off of the hem I seen potential in the leftovers. Rarely do I throw out scraps; you never know when they could come in handy. And I have seen some jewelry items made from this type of material. I knew it would be easy to make, just never had the right time or selection of material that sparked the creation process. But as things generally happen this proposed itself without much effort on my part!! To add interest, I thought of adding a similar fabric in a turquoise color, it has been just collecting dust on the fabric shelf because I am not to fancy with the knit sewing just yet.

So here is the process once my hem was complete.

Step 1: Take leftovers and cut into strips of fabric. I didn't measure because its not that important. However, I did keep in mind the lengths > I didn't want a choker!

Step 2: After they were cut I aligned them by length (small > large). Starting with one side I aligned the ends and pinned them together, repeated with the other ends. Once the ends were aligned an flat I laid them on top of each other and sewed them together with a striaght sticth on my machine. Becasue the layers got so thick I decided that the colors were going to be made separate instead of mixed all as one.

Step 3: Once the strips are sewn together I wanted to cover up the seam. I took an additional section of the strips and made a tube to encase the seam, no hemming. But it was sewn closed while wrapped around the strips. 

In the end this is what the necklaces look like>

The Turquoise Style: A little fatter strips. To achieve this look I didn't stretch out the strips as much. 

And the Deep Purple: These are smaller strips, (stretched out more.)

 

Overall this project made my day! I had a vision, saw an opportunity to create it and it turned out exactly how I wanted. I love easy projects, reviving trash and showcasing my talents. This project did all of that and more! Now I have to wear it out. >>>>Drinks anyone? 

~With Luvz,

Dez