Aanya's Rapunzel doll

Aanya, who is one of Sonia's BFFs, is a HUGE fan of Rapunzel and the Disney movie about her, "Tangled".  So, it was not a surprise to me when I asked Aanya what she would like me to crochet for her 5th birthday present that she said immediately "RAPUNZEL!!!!".  She helped me look at Rapunzel  amigurumi patterns, and I found a beautiful one that we both loved on Etsy. Aaaaaaaaand, here's the finished product!

Apparently, in the movie, at one point Rapunzel puts her loooooooooong hair in a braid and decorates it with flowers; that hairstyle and outfit were the inspiration for this pattern.

I'm not 100% happy with how the hair turned out, but it took about 5 or 6 hours to attach the hair, braid a bunch of tiny braids (which you can't see all that well anyway) among the unbraided yarn strands, do the big braid, sew in the flower buttons, and sew the ribbon to secure it, so I think I'm going to leave it alone!

Do you want to hear something interesting?  The very talented crocheter who sells this pattern on Etsy also sells the finished dolls.... FOR SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLARS.  Yep, that's right.  SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLARS.  Whoa.  But after finishing the hair, I kind of understand why she charges that much....

Oddly enough, the pattern called for the skirt to be empty (no legs or stuffing), so I crocheted a black circle and attached it to the bottom of the skirt (with stuffing inserted up in the skirt).  I also was worried about the wobbliness of the head (I must not have attached it well enough to the torso because once I weaved in the hair, Rapunzel became a bobble-head), so I shored it up with some toothpicks.  To quote Tim Gunn from Project Runway, "Make it work!"

Eek, from this angle, Rapunzel kind of looks like a Vulcan from Star Trek.  Oh well-- thankfully, Aanya has never seen Star Trek.... yet.... at least, I think.....

Anyway, a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my buddy, Aanya, and I hope she likes her Rapunzel!  I'm going to instruct her to keep it away from her little brother (who just turned 2 years old) because I'm not sure this amigurumi would stand up to rough little brother handling.

I AM NOT A QUILTER! (with a wonky table runner as proof)

Seriously, why do I keep fooling myself into thinking that I can quilt?  I just don't have a steady-enough hand or something.  I think I also mess up by using fabrics of different weights together, even though a little warning light goes off in my brain every time I do it.  Still, I decided I needed to replace the simple dresser scarf I had sewed for Charlotte's dresser with a nice quilted runner.  I gave myself a huge headache because I was concentrating so hard, and I regretted the use of cream in the runner.  I didn't have any white fabric, so I figured cream would look all right.  I was wrong.  Sigh.

Anyway, Charlotte says she loves it, and I think it will stay in place until the next time I forget how terrible I am at quilting and attempt something better.  I liked the "Disappearing Nine Patch" pattern that I found, and it probably would have helped if I had followed the directions on color placement a little better.  I also didn't use any of the things you're really supposed to use while quilting (a walking foot, spray baste, etc.) so that also kind of worked against me.  I didn't want to take any pictures of it without the dresser tchotchkes in place so no one could see how wonky it was.

But enough about its shortcomings -- voila, the new dresser topper/table runner for Charlotte's room!

I think I shouldn't have used bias tape for the binding, because it seems to sort of pull and wrinkle sideways.  This also could be user-error, of course.

Birthday backpack for sweet Maisie K.

For Maisie's third birthday this weekend, I am at a complete loss for what to get her for her birthday.  I already made her a bucket for her bike and a "3" t-shirt, but what do you get the girl who only wants to ride her bike and play with her older brother's cars and trucks?  Well, I hope she likes this backpack.  Maybe she can stick her lovies in there for safe-keeping?

I am bordering on stalking-level adoration for the sewing tutorials that the lady behind Sweet Bee Buzzings puts out (I have recently made her Straight-Sided Flat-Bottomed Pouch, her Double-Zip Wristlet, and her She's a Brick Pouch).  I want to be her friend and have half the sewing mojo she does.    So, I guess it was only natural that I continue this trend and sew SBB's Lined Drawstring Backpack.

Maisie's favorite color is green, so I appliqued some green flowers onto some dark denim.  I used my favorite parachute cord for the backpack's drawstrings (seriously, I need to start buying that stuff in bulk).

The lining (and the fabric for the flowers) is from an old sheet that my mom and I cut apart and hemmed to be used in a pack 'n' play a few years ago.  So this is actually the third life for this fabric.  I love using old sheets -- they are nice-feeling fabric and usually the print is actually on grain (unlike a lot of quilter's cottons I have bought).

I tried to get one of my kids to model the backpack.  Charlotte said "no thanks."  Peter put it on, but then proceeded to tear around the house and refuse to actually stand still for a picture.  So you will just have to trust me that it's the perfect size for a three-year-old (though I am toying with creating something to hold the straps together in the front so the bag doesn't slip right off Maisie's little shoulders).  I love how it turned out and now I kind of want to make myself one in a bigger size for carrying supplies when the kids ride their bikes to the park.  I tried sticking the things I wanted to carry in the kids' bike baskets, but they informed me there was no room after their own toys had been stuffed in there.

Playday Frock from my One-Yard Wonders book

I tackled another project from the Fabric-by-Fabric One-Yard Wonders book that Erin got me for our birthday.  I probably should have used a softer fabric (this was a quilter's weight fabric but it's kind of stiff) but I just love the print.  I think I finally used up the bulk of this fabric (originally purchased for the preschool teachers' aprons) but still have some scraps I can use for small bags.

ANYWAY, this project was on page 86 in the section of the book that features projects for quilter's weight fabric.  I think this would be pretty cute out of the teal blue polka-dotted knit that I got recently -- might need to make that for Sonia before I finally send Erin her package with her purse and pouch in it.

I tooooooootally should have made the pockets out of a contrasting fabric -- they really blend in to the background and they really are an important design element.  This would also be a cute pattern for pajamas if you just leave the pockets off and use a soft fabric.

I did a triple line of stitching around the fluttery sleeves as a happy accident (it's a long story).  It looks kind of cool, but isn't really all that noticeable.  I also altered the pattern a little to make French seams down the sides (I HATE raw edges in projects, and I have yet to get my hands on a serger) and to extend the bias tape facing under the arms to encompass the raw seam where the sleeves are attached to the dress.  Worked pretty well, actually.  Why on earth do pattern designers not take the 2 minutes extra it would take to think through how to hide a raw seam in an unlined garment?  It only took me a heartbeat to figure out how to do it, and I'm a complete sewing moron.

Fun pattern!  I will definitely be making it again.

Super cool zipped cylinder toiletries bag

I'm not kidding when I say that this bag is one of the coolest things I have ever sewn.  It may look simple from the outside, but inside -- BAM! -- there's a nifty drawstring section that can hold even more stuff inside.  Holy cow.  I gotta make another one of these immediately (with my own spins on it of course).

The fabric is just some quilter's weight cotton that I found in the remnant bin at Jo-Ann's (shocking, I know), so I figured it would need some interfacing.  I used Craft Fuse on the bottom section of the cylinder, ran out of it, used some light weight interfacing on the top section, and used Pellon 701F (I think that's the number for the one-sided fusible super heavyweight interfacing) on the top and bottom circles.  The handle has Craft Fuse in it because I like a firmer handle on bags.  In retrospect, I probably should have just waited until I had more Craft Fuse and used that on the whole shebang.

If you unzip the bag, there is room in the bottom for some toiletries.  I wanted the whole thing to be lined with the gray chevron (another remnant bin find), but I underestimated how much I needed and was forced to use another remnant find (both are quilter's weight cotton, and I didn't interface them since the outer fabric was interfaced) for the drawstring part.

Open up the drawstring (which I cut slightly longer than the instructions specified, but because I was using thick parachute cord it ended up being a little too short after being knotted), and there is a nifty spot for keeping other small things.  I stuffed in a shocking number of cotton pads just to see how much it would hold.  I could see putting my medicine, cotton pads, and cotton swabs up there with tons of room to spare.

So cool.  I love a gadgety bag with surprise features.  This was a terrific tutorial that I had no problems following (even though my computer and printer can't seem to work together to print out patterns the right size, and I had to hand-draw -- *gasp!* -- the 4.5" diameter circle on my own after the pattern I printed came out much too small).

I wish I had used lightweight interfacing on the whole thing, but added a layer of felt for batting.  The instructions didn't specify seam allowances, so I kind of winged it (using 1/2" when I could) and it seemed to come out okay.  One note on the instructions -- in Step 5 it's not clear whether you should put the drawstring part inside the upper lining and which way the right sides of each should be facing.  It should specify that the wrong side of the lining should be facing out and the drawstring part should be put inside the lining with the right side of the drawstring part facing in.  It seems counter-intuitive, but the wrong side of the drawstring part needs to be touching the right side of the lining.  Clear as mud, right?  I guessed wrong the first time I made this bag and I had to rip it all apart later when it became apparent that I wasn't nearly as smart as I thought I was.

I also added a line of topstitching where the zipper meets the top and bottom sections to make the zipper sit nicer.  I can't stand it when the lining gets caught in the zipper!  The tutorial also shows a different size of the bag with a shallower top, and that might be fun to make for the kids to hold their toothbrushes, toothpaste, and vitamins in next time we travel.  I could probably figure out pretty easily how to modify the dimensions to get a shallower top and to make the main body taller to accommodate their electric toothbrushes.  I also love how the tutorial author used ripstop nylon on the inside -- I will have to do that with the kids' bag for sure.

Another racerback dress and a revelation

This racerback dress was made from some heavier knit that Charlotte helped me pick out at the fabric store.  Unfortunately, it's kind of a bust because the armholes are too big even though I cut them a little smaller than the pattern specified.  I think my whole "I know better than the pattern drafter -- I should bind the neck and armholes way differently" attitude was proven to be misguided (Sonia's racerback dress using the same technique ended up to have oversized armholes and the binding didn't look so great after washing).  Whoops.  I may have to try this again but with the right type of binding, because Charlotte loooooooves little cotton dresses like this.  So, my latest revelation is that I should try to follow the directions a little better when making something I'm not so skilled at sewing, like clothing.  Obvious to most people, but not necessarily to a hard-headed person like me.

I took this photo of Charlotte with the iPad right after I first made the dress, and I was annoyed that it wasn't more in focus.

So today, I tried to get some more shots of her, but she threw an uncharacteristic fit when I whipped the camera out.

I know models are supposed to pout, but this is ridiculous.

Teeny basket and some quilting issues

This fabric basket is teeny -- the bottom measures 5" x 3.5" and it is only 3.5" tall without counting the handles.  Since there was a piecing component to the basket, I figured it couldn't be THAT difficult.  I have a horrible time keeping consistent seam allowances (maybe I need one of those 1/4" feet?), and it really shows in anything pieced like this.  From this angle, it doesn't look TOO bad.

Even from this angle, you can't tell anything is wonky about the piecework.  The lining is a little loose though.  (I should have sewn it a little smaller so it would sit nicer.)

From this angle, it's a horror show.  I really don't have a good explanation for how this happened, but I can tell you it became clear that something was awry when I was too far into this project just to trash it. I finished it and will probably let Charlotte use it for something or other.  That girl can never have too many baskets or bags.