LJ's bag- at long last!

This birthday present for Lovely LJ took me far too long- again with the fear of cutting the material and then ruining the whole project before it has even begun! I had never made a bag before in any shape or size, so to be honest, it was a guessing game the whole way!
I had an idea of the shape and style I wanted it to be, so started there. I also had the problem of deciding on a fastener for the bag... I was perplexed as to how I would put a zip on it properly, so I thought I'd cheat a little...
I put velcro on the inside and a big button on the front.

Okay, so you can clearly tell the button is just for decoration, but it was the best I could do!
I lined the bag with a black shirt I don't wear (don't worry LJ, it was freshly laundered!) and made a pretty sizable attempt at a gusset for the bag to give it some dimension.

making the strap for the bag

To me it was still too plain and needed something else, so I got some black felt for it and embroidered a rather stumpy looking bird.

By the way- embroidering on felt is very sore on the fingers. Beware!
But it looks cool. I added some buttons for 'food' for the bird, but also cos buttons look groovy.
I sewed three sides of the felt, so it serves as a phone pocket.
Or whatever LJ wants to put in it.

a headless Siob modelling the finished product

When I eventually got down to it and made the bag, it was relatively quick and easy to make!
Watch out you lot- it could be bags for everyone this Christmas.

Oh- and before I go, you may know my love of polar bears, so here is my new (still nameless) friend. He's been keeping me company:

And now I must retreat to my bed and read the Gary Lightbody interview in HotPress.
Sweet dreams!x

New life for an old skirt!

Hey there! Some late night sewing going on here! Just finished this, and now I'm off to make a birthday present!
I got this skirt from one of my cousins about five years ago and because I never throw away things for fear that I may one day need it, I decided I'd give it a facelift!

The skirt initially had a thin, hidden elasticated waistband with a teeny black bow and was below-knee in length. It was a bit frumpy and quite plain to be honest, so first of all, I took my scissors to it and made it to just above-knee.

my new skirt!

I found the elastic in my sewing box that I'd forgotten Laura K gave me for my 21st (where would my crafting endeavours be without her?!) and decided I'd stick it on to the top after I chopped off the waistband.

old waistband

It looked a bit 'blah' with just this, so I took out the olive green ribbon I had intended for another project (which I royally ruined tonight, so I'm currently trying to think of a crafty way to salvage it) and sewed it onto the bottom hem. While I was finishing things off, Siob was messing with the rest of it and made a lovely bow out of it, and so to bring in the green a bit more (there's only hints of it in the pattern) and more dimensions to the skirt, I stitched it onto the waistband with one stitch also on each loop to stop it from drooping forward.

bows win

I'm thinking about wearing it out Saturday with a black vest top for my birthday, but it's not what I had in mind (it was the currently stalled project), so I'll see how the mood takes me and if I get a source of divine craft inspiration by Friday night!

Presents for Jo!

Okay, so a few weeks back I said I had recently made a new present, but I couldn't post it until I gave it, and now I can! Over the weekend I went to my darling Jo's and gave it to her- an apron:) Jo has recently been baking a bit (see her on Jen's baking blog over there-> )and I thought it would be cool to make her one. I measured my brother Conor (he's a little taller than Jo and closer to her height than me) for the apron and set about making it! I thought it would also be cool to put Jo's name on it and personalise it that little bit more, so I put a little bit of wadding behind a piece of cream material to puff it out a little and stitched Jo's name, then I also made her a little card cos I like making those too!:)

Here are some snaps of the apron and the cookies- the chocolate on top of the cookies isn't supposed to be there, I threw in the extra squares after baking and they melted...though it could work out well if I intend to add it the next time!
Sorry it's late Jo- you know what Cavan does to your life! <3

Lori Skirt for the Flat Lake Festival

It's been a while! Oops. But I've been keeping busy, so I guess that's a good thing!:)
Last night I made a skirt! Wooo! A proper one! With lining and a zip!
(But no pattern as such. Don't tell Nana.)
I've had this material since my 21st and have been too scared to cut it incase I ruined it, so at long last I did. I knew I wanted to make a flared skirt with it, waist high. So I laid out a skirt I already had similar in style and drew it out on an old sheet so I could have a practice run. The practice run went accordingly, so I finally used the lovely material Laura K got me. It was quite the Lori evening as I had on the mixed cd she made me, was using the material she got me and was contemplating the buttons she gave me...


Anyhoodle, I happened to have a zip I bought last summer, so I added it to the side and sewed all up! It's quite cute and I've named it the Lori Skirt after the lovely Kavanagh gal in my life. I had a little bit left over, so I made a sash tie put of it that I tie at the top of it and it doubles as a hair tie.
Here are some snaps of it! I'm going to the Flat Lake Festival on Sunday, so I'll wear it then with a white blouse:)
Last week I sewed something new too, but it's a present, so I can't put it up until I give it!:)