Couch slipcover

I did it!

I accomplished my goal!

I no longer have an "ugly" couch  :)

Do you????

 Why not give it a little TLC and make it like new with a slipcover?

Not the slipcovers that tuck in all over the place and then mess up every time you sit on it.  This is a custom made slipcover that fits and stays!

Complete with zippers on each cushion and on the back corner so you can remove and wash it.

See it peeking through?  Still your dear old couch, but with a new look!

All cleaned up and ready for another 20 years!  :)

Let me know if I can make a slipcover for you!

A few more projects

My kids love their hooded bath towels, so I had an idea to make hooded beach towels for swimming this summer.  They have worked out great!  I bought them each a different designed towel, coordinated a washcloth with it, and sewed them up!  

I had another chance to make Roman shades.  What fun fabric!  Thanks, Wendy, for your order!  I hope you enjoy them!

Need some alterations?  I "summerized" (made ready for summer) these maternity jeans for a friend.  We cropped some into capris, some into bermuda shorts, and some just hemmed to the right length.  Then I added some length to the jean dress and coordinated it with a flower.  Great job recycling these jeans, Stephanie!

Shirt to romper

Several years ago I bought two similar polo shirts and wore them for a while.  Then passed them on to my sister to wear for a while.  She then passed them back to me.  And now they are going to my girls:)  Yes, I think I am getting my money out of these shirts!  

I saw this romper on zulily and thought it would be a fun sewing project to do for the girls.  

So, when I retired these polos to the re-purposing stash, I decided to try the romper idea out.

As Pioneer Woman would say, "Here is the cast of characters".  But actually I guess if this were truly the "cast of characters" there would be a scissors, sewing machine, and serger:)  I'm just showing you the 2 original polo shirts and the tank and shorts I used as a pattern to make the romper.

I love the ruffle collar on the zulily romper, but thought the buttons were enough for these.  Can you believe I didn't do ruffles?

Summertime here we come!

Lined curtains

My sister-in-law wanted panel curtains for 3 windows in her living room.  These are the first curtains I have lined and I thought they turned out great!  Made them look so professional!  haha

This is the back of the curtain.  The white fabric is the lining.

 The best part was the fabric she bought for me to work with.  It was from Ballard designs and I could tell it was good quality!!!  It sewed up so nicely!  

Thanks Perri for letting me make these!  I hope you enjoy them!

New sewing spot

I told you it was coming, and here it is!  My new corner:)  I took the kids' toy cupboards and made them my fabric storage.  Now I can actually see what I have rather than sorting through totes!

 Both machines (serger and regular sewing) and ironing board set up at all times.  Now this is big!  AND they are all plugged in so I don't have to reach down and plug in the machine I want to use!  Big bonus!!!  :) Plenty of room to cut out.  Plenty of room to lay fabric out.  I'm loving it!  Just need to spruce up the walls but that can come later.

What I've been up to

Wow!  It's been a while since I posted, but I'm still up to my same craftiness:)  Here's a rundown of what I've been up to lately.

Remember the shades (on my last post) that I tried to make "not roman shades".  Well, when I delivered them I found out that the customer has had 2 shoulder surgeries and really couldn't reach up to button them very well.  So, back to the drawing board:)  And, I'm glad I did because now I have mastered roman shades!  Yay!  Bring them on. . . 

Complete with pull cord. . .

And folds up nicely.  So glad she stuck with me and believed in me!

Then I had the challenge of a Cinderella outfit for a friend's daughter.  She needed it the next day, so we worked with what we had on hand:)

We have her ball gown on the left and the mismatched work skirt on the right.

I added a big bow to dress it up

And velcro closure on the back for easy on/off.

The same friend had ordered ruffle curtains for her daughter's bedroom.  Good thing because I used the leftover fabric to make the Cinderella outfit!

Time for another dress for my girls.  I saw this dress on pinterest and fell in love!  What a darling bubble dress!

I'm loving gray and yellow and found this fun fabric to make the bubble dress.

Fabric yo-yo's embellish the top

Comfy knit lining to make the skirt "bubble"

I made Easter dresses for the girls.  Got my inspiration from an etsy site: http://www.etsy.com/listing/93224388/flower-belt-in-carrot-with-organza?ref=v1_other_2

How cute and grown up does she look?  Darling!  Loved the cowl neck and belt embellishment.

So I set to work and made these!

This was taken before I changed the belt to white/purple.

Then, I went to MN and had some awesome craft time with my sis!  Look what we acomplished (along with taking care of 8 kids!!!)  Bibs, burp cloths, 2 dresses for her girls matching my girls' Easter dresses, leggings, and 4 jean makeovers (we made 1 pair into shorts, 1 into ruffled skirt, 1 into knee length jeanskirt, and zig-zag stitched the last pair).  So much fun sewing together!

Whew!  I think that brings us up to date.  But I do have one more project in the works (well actually quite a few more than one but one I need to share here soon!)

I completely outgrew my sewing closet.  The idea when we moved in just one year ago was to have a nice little closet I could keep my sewing machine set up in but close the doors and the mess would go away.  Well. . .  I kind of outgrew the closet!  A lot!  So, now I am downstairs.  We partially finished the basement and I get the back corner (which is a good spot by the window).  I plan to share pics of the finished sewing area when I get it organized!

Here is the before. . .

The after will be coming:)

Curtains/shades

I had an order for roman shades but I put a twist on it and came up with these.  

 Just a plain straight shade with fairly thick fabric to block the suns heat in the summer.

 That folds up nicely to this curtain when you want to let the sun shine in!

*Note:  These are hanging from a curtain rod in my house and actually fit the windows they will go on.  These pictures were just for demonstration purposes!

Keep spreading the word that I love to sew for others!