Sewing pillows for a cause

There is no question that I live in a pretty cool neighbourhood, but it got even cooler recently when a group of people got together to form The Lakeshore Syrian Connection to sponsor a Syrian family. To help raise funds for the family sponsorship, The Lakeshore Syrian Connection created an online auction so I decided to do my part and I made some pillows for the auction!

I went to Designer Fabrics in Toronto and found this fun grey, cream and red plaid and added a soft cream backing to make them cozier for the winter months.

If you're looking to get some new pillows and you're in the area check out the auction to bid on these pillows and more.

Get more from me here:
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Easy sewing project: turning sweater sleeves into leg warmers

I've had this grey sweater sitting in my 'to fix' pile (aka the pile of defected clothes shoved behind the chair in my bedroom) for about two years. I used to love this sweater, but one day I decided to take a omega-3 fish oil pill to-go, promptly forgot about it and then it ended up in the wash turning the bottom of the sweater a beautiful mustard yellow colour.

The sleeves were fine though so I came up with an idea to turn them into leg warmers for Miss Mila. I took a photo of the cut up pieces, but it didn't upload properly for some reason so pretend it's there. Basically I cut off the sleeves at the shoulders and then cut the bottom trim of the sweater to use for the top 'elastic' part of the leg warmers. I cut the trim in two (for the two leg warmers), sewed them together into a circle and then attached them to the leg piece. It literally took me 10 minutes to put it all together.

A super cute way to repurpose a sad 'ol sweater and Miss Mila wore them for more than two minutes so win-win.

Toddler leggings to headband

If you have a late walker (or even if you don't!) you might have some really cute leggings with dirt stains all over the knees. I have a few of them. I hate throwing stuff out like this, so I was trying to figure out what I could do with this pile of leggings I have hanging around.

Then I saw Mila's hair flopping in front of her eyes yet again and the thought came to me: headbands! 

Here's what I did (and get this - I didn't even look on Pinterest once to do this!)

Cut the pants into pieces.

This particular pair of pants had little bows on the bottom so I had to remove those first with a seam ripper. Once that was done, I cut the pants in two down the middle and the cut the hems off. I also cut along the sides to even out the pieces to make it easier to sew.

Stitch them up.

Once that was done, I laid the pieces out flat and stitched them together end-to-end. Fold the new piece length-wise and stitch it together right sides facing together. Turn the whole thing right-side out, flatten and then fold it over again making sure the sewn seam is in the middle of the band (above far right). Stitch the end. 

We have a headband! 

Since I had those two little bows, I decided to use them to cover up the seams. I wrapped them around the seams and hand-sewed them together at the back. You can also do this with some extra fabric if you have it.

Voila!

Now the next test was to get it on Mila to model it long enough to take a picture. Success (for 10 seconds!)

I'm determined to get her to wear it for longer. We'll see about that. This kid seems to love having hair in her eyes I think.

PS- I'm not very good at following directions, thus I'm not too hot at giving them either. I apologize if you try this out and something doesn't make sense but if you sew it should be pretty straight forward. If not, ask any questions you have in the comments and I'll do my best to answer!

The Lucy Top (by Shwin Designs)

I'm sure I wrote somewhere that I wanted to get sewing again and when I found this sweet top pattern from Shwin Designs I bought it right away. I was going to use it for the Tonic Living fabric contest but I realized I didn't have enough fabric so I put a hold on it until last week. I'm not really sure how or why I got started, but I soon found myself upstairs going through my fabric trying to decide what I could use. 

I have a tonne of denim so I chose some of that for one side of the top and some Joel Dewberry antler damask in Celadon I had for the other side.

I love how this turned out. I love the damask with the giant antlers and bits of read and the denim helps to ground it a bit if I want Mila to wear something toned-down*.

Some notes: Over all this pattern was super easy to follow but I didn't love the photos that came with it. I'm a super visual person and I found myself lost on the sleeves. In fact I totally messed them up and I had to hand-stitch the bottom of the arm holes to make it work. Oh well. I'll have to look at it again or contact the Shwins to see where I went wrong for the next one.

Also I was going to put buttons on the front like the pattern photo, but I really love how clean it looks without them so I'll be putting a little snap on the inside of each side.

*I laugh when I say "toned-down" in the same sentence as "Mila" because she's developing quite the active personality. There's a reason why I chose to photograph this on my bench instead of Mila modelling it. She rarely sits still and when I did try to put it on her she started flailing this way and that and started crying :).

Hope y'all have a great week!

Quick and dirty: step stool cover

This isn't the prettiest post, but it made me happy so I thought I'd share it. Leo needed a step stool for his potty training adventures (he's fully trained during the day - underwear and all yay!) and I was going to get this one from Ikea but the colour I wanted wasn't in stock when I was there. Mark brought this really nice one in from the garage and we made do with that until we got the Ikea one.

Well guess what? I'm cheap and the practical side of me said why bother spending money on a stool when I have this one. I'll just recover it. So that's what I did.

I picked something out of my fabric stash and got to work. 

Honestly this is not my best work. There are puckers and folds, but it's a huge improvement from the paint stained blue stool we had before and I saved a few bucks. And now Leo can go potty and wash his hands all by his lonesome. Win-win I say!

rolled hem jean shorts refashion

I'm not sure about you, but I'm one of those people that keeps clothes for a long time. If they fit well and are in good shape, why not? I get this from my grandmother.* It's not uncommon to comment on a shirt of hers only to find out that it's at least seven years old.

Enter these jeans.

They have been in my drawer, no joke, since at least 2002 (I think!? Come to think of it, I've had this black T-shirt for likely just as long). I remember wearing them when I worked in Aurora north of Toronto and I ripped the bottoms on one of those big black and neon metal lawn signs. I was so sad because I really liked these jeans at the time. Anyway, that's why in this picture they're capris, because I cut away the hole.

Cut back to 2013 and I'm in desperate need of shorts. Unfortunately (fortunately??), when one is breastfeeding, some people including me, tend to lose their bum. None of my regular shorts fit me properly and for some reason these jeans still fit pretty well in the tush area.

Today at nap time, I broke out my trusty fabric marker to mark off where I wanted to cut them... and yes I'm well aware it looks like a yellow tampon.

I decided to go right above the knee. I wasn't graced with model stick thighs, so these will be longer in length.

Not bad. I was going to leave them like this, but then I decided to do a little rolling.

I stitched the ends of the rolls and a few places in the middle so they'd stay put when I was chasing after my crazy kids.

There we go! Pretty comfy!
______

*I couldn't mention my grandmother without saying that my family was shocked and saddened to find out that my grandmother has advanced ovarian cancer. My grandmother is one of the most fit 86-year-olds I know (and more fit than many people younger than her) which is one of the reasons why it's a shock. Apparently she's had it for years, but finally pushed it's limits on her body a few weeks ago. She's been in the hospital for a couple weeks and isn't expected to leave. I'm devastated that she's leaving us, but thankful I was able to spend some time with her while visiting home last week.

adding some colour

Last night I didn't have any plans so I decided to add a bit colour to the main floor using fabric I had on hand.

First up, a new table runner.

Don't mind my dying hydrangea, poor thing

I used fabric I had leftover from the ottoman I made for Mila's room. It's a bit wonky, but already I feel like it's a bit closer to actual spring than the dreary weather we've been having (although it's quite nice today!).

Next up I made a pillow cover for my chair in the office using some old Heather Bailey fabric I had from way back when I used to make stuff more often.

Just a bit of colour to brighten things up around here!

Have a great weekend! Mila and I are off on an adventure of our own for the weekend. Hopefully she cooperates!

nursery update: curtains

Can I tell you how much less I've been on the computer these days? I used to spend at least eight hours a day on the computer for my job etc. plus extras for blogging and blog reading. Now I'm on here probably 30 mins maybe a day if that? It's quite crazy really. That's what taking care of a toddler full time will do I guess! I kind of expected it though. Don't want to be on the computer all day while he's with me.

Anyway - to the nursery. We're getting there! Over the weekend I finished and (Mark) hung the curtains. It makes such a difference to have curtains in there - just fills it up some how.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I bought a West Elm shower curtain and sliced it in two. Then I bought some yellow fabric to add to the bottom so they were long enough, and then finished the edges. Pretty simple, but I like the impact of the yellow with the grey and white stripes.

I find it tough taking photos of curtains because you're basically taking a picture into the light (I could shut the blinds but I don't like them!), but here's an artsy angled shot for you to get the jist.

Not sure where I'll put that pouf, but I think it'll end up over on the other side of the room by the glider.

Tonight I'm hoping to finish up a few things in the room: a change pad cover I started last night; we also have to change the legs up on the dresser we got from kijiji - it's a bit too high for the change pad; hang some of my diy art and figure out what to put on our shelving unit. Oh and put all the clothes away!

This Sunday is my due date, but honestly I don't think this little gal is coming out any time soon!

nursery update: pillows!

I'm going a bit pillow crazy in this room, but it's only because I already had two pillow covers made and I had two mini inserts that were taking up room in my spare room so I thought ahh why the heck not? I'll make more pillows! So last night I made a couple small pillows for the glider. They're so cute and small! Then I fixed up this second pillow above (it had a little tear) and just threw that on the pouf.

I think I'm taking all my colour cravings and throwing them into this one room....

This week I also picked up a shower curtain from West Elm to use as curtains for the room. I'm going to slice them in half and add some detailing to them. Still need a curtain rod and a dresser! I wanted the Edland from Ikea but they don't sell it anymore the bums.

Well that's it for now! Not much on the baby update - well actually this week the midwife thought the baby might be breech, so I went in for an ultrasound this morning and she's all good. Head down thankfully. 

Oh and I got a ticket outside of the hospital because I have baby brain and parked in the wrong spot. Thankfully the parking guy let me off - even after he wrote the ticket (unimaginable!). What am I going to do when I don't have this belly to help me out anymore! ;)

Have a great weekend y'all!

pinterest: sewing

I thought it would be fun to do a little round-up of the stuff I've pinned on Pinterest lately. Let's look at some pins from my Sewing Stuff board:

Love this iPhone sleeve made out of a tie. Mark has a few ties I could do this with...

Source: etsy.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Make your own tunic - love this blog!

Source: merricksart.blogspot.ca via Stephanie on Pinterest

Sweet pin cushions in vintage cookie cutters.

Source: simplysublime.typepad.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Interesting apron!

Source: liveinternet.ru via Stephanie on Pinterest

This last one isn't really sewing, but I have an off-white table running looking for some pizzazz and I thought this one was cute.

Source: abeautifulmess.typepad.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

What have you been pinning lately?

Happy Friday!

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PS - Don't forget to enter the Blurb giveaway!

summer sewing series

This is really a challenge for me to get sewing but Summer Sewing Series has a better ring to it.

So ya I've been talking a about getting back into sewing for a bit now on this blog but I've never really gotten around to it. I've been a bit busy with this kid:


That's not really an excuse though -- he naps almost 4 hours a day so really I have that time to sew! As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been spending that time reading but I'm kind of in a reading lull. The books I want to read from the library are out (and I'm about 752-1025 away from getting the books!) and the books I picked up to read aren't doing much for me. So why not sew?

I needed something simple to start. While I was tidying up my sewing room this weekend, I found this:


It's my One-Yard Wonders book that my mom gave me a while back. It's full of super fun projects using...da da da da - one yard. Go figure. I flipped through the book and marked off the projects I wanted to tackle. Here's the list:

Folding chair pinafore slipcover


Instead of doing this for a folding chair, I'm going to tackle this one for my high chair. I bought some cute oil cloth for a cushion when I was pregnant and still haven't done anything with it so now's the time!


Mailbag pocket duo


I want to make this for my office. Right now everything either goes on the kitchen counter or on my desk so I want to have a fun place to put the mail and bits and bobs that come through the door.

Oven mitt and hot pads


Instead of making new oven mitt and hot pads, I think I'm going to recover the ones I've got - 'cause why not?

Laptop sleeve


I don't really need one of these but I think it will help me get over my fear of making one. I tried to make a mini laptop bag a couple years ago and it just didn't work out so this will be take 2.

Jewelry roll


I have a zillion pairs of earrings from the ever-so-talented Sulu-Design and necklaces from my Stella and Dot party and I don't really have a nice and safe place to put them when I travel. So a jewelry roll is a must on this summer sewing list.

Yoga mat bag


I have a strap for my mat but it came apart and I'm too lazy to put it back together so I typically just wrap the strap around and around and then tie it in a bow. It's time for a nice bag.


Skirt - done!


I might make this one but I might make this project even simpler and make Brett Bara's skirt from her new book. Aren't her videos awesome???


Sundress


I've been trying to wear more dresses and skirts this summer but wearing a dress is hard when you're breast feeding -- I mean you can't pull the entire dress up to feed. That would be awkward. So I have to keep my eyes open for lots of buttons. This little dress looks perfect with the low cut neckline.


Petite diaper tote


I only use conventional wipes when I'm out 'n about (I use cotton cloths at home) and I store them in a boring ol plastic container. I thought it would be nice to make a fun wipes pouch for my outtings...

Flag banner


The little guy turns 1 in November (waaaahhhh :'( ) and I thought it would be neat to make this cut flag banner with his name on it for his birthday party.

So I think I'll tackle the skirt first -- stay tuned!!!

Figure 8 Scarf

This is my first sewing project of 2011: The Anna Maria Horner Figure 8 Scarf. Yes I can't believe it's almost APRIL and I'm just posting a sewing project. I looked back in this blog and I used to be a sewing machine!

I'm pretty happy with how this turned out though I'm not sure I'll ever wear it. I love it but I'm not one for flowers. I bought the fabric to step out of my grey box so we'll see. Mark thinks it looks too big, as in puffy.

It was pretty easy to sew, but I did have a few hiccups considering the fabrics are kind of shiny and I'm more of a 100%-cotton-no-swearing-while-cutting-and-sewing type of girl.

(don't you love the side look look? I figure if I look sideways it will make me look less tired... did it work? :P)

Spring napkins

Spring is just around the corner so I think it's time to infuse some colour into this place. I'm thinking of making some new napkins for the dinning room and outdoor eating area and I'm loving these zinnia napkins from Anthropologie. I saw them in Lonny this month and I'm loving the colour. They're kind of similar to the napkins I made a few years ago (man time flies!) but the colour is a bit more bold which is what I'm looking for.