Sew Spoiled

I am a music teacher and I love it when my two loves; music and sewing combine. It doesn't happen very often but when it does, it is wonderful! Earlier this school year I designed our band logo. We had t-shirts made for all of the kids and we even played a pep rally all wearing our band shirts. I let the band kids choose what color the t-shirt would be and they chose gray. Since fall is finally here and the weather has turned cold. I wanted a fleece jacket with our logo on it. Also, last year when I attended All-District and All-State all of the other directors had band apparel on. Our band program is only 2 years old and it is growing very fast! The kids love working hard and accomplishing great things together. We are a charter school and I do get asked a lot of questions about working at a charter school. Our school is a non-profit public school. It is also funded just like any other public school with taxpayer money. I am paid the same way through the state and my be...

I used the Sew Spoiled Cosmetic Bag  pattern for these cuties! Adding the wedding date and embroidery inside made these simple bags extra special. The bride picked out these gorgeous fabrics in her wedding party colors. The wedding was beautiful, I love how the fall colors were used for their October wedding. I hope they love this bags and enjoy remembering the special occasion when they read the date inside the bag. The bride loved them so much I made her one too and inside I wrote Wifey. I want to show you this extra tip. If you have enough room on your embroidery hoop, you can embroider two or more designs at the same time using the same stabilizer. Here is another way to use this technique. Below I embroidered three key fobs at once on my 5"X7" hoop. I will definitely create more of these  Cosmetic Bags  as gifts. Embroidering inside the bag a message is a wonderful idea for any gift. Best wishes and tons of Stitches!

Knitting is usually the last thing I think of in the summer. I am swimming, sewing up adorable sun dresses and creating bright beautiful pieces. Why would you want to sit and knit? Well, this summer I tried it. It always takes longer for me to complete a knitting project and I have more time in the summer to create projects so I gave it a try. I have to say I loved it! I watched movies with my kids and knit. I took them to band and cheer camps and knit. It gave me something to do when I sit. It is a lot better than sitting and looking at my phone. I chose this beautiful sea foam color because it reminded me of the beach. The pattern is the Everyday Cardigan by Lisa Clarke . It is a fast knit and there is no button band. I added shell buttons to add to the beach theme and sea foam color. I think it is beautiful and I can't wait to wear it! The yarn is 100% acrylic, With Love from Red Heart Yarn . I like acrylic yarn because it is not itchy, I can wash it in the washer and ...

 I found ruby red slippers! I was walking through Walmart and decided to check the shoe section. I was going to pick up a pair of Ked-like shoes to paint and add sparkle when I saw these! They are kid shoes, but the size 5 fit my size 7 feet. Can't wait to see what costumes I will be able to make. I have created a Wizard of Oz Pinterest Board  to collect ideas with. I love my new shoes and I am ready to follow the yellow brick road through The Wizard of Oz musical adventure. 

I have been on a Wizard of Oz kick lately. I am working with a fellow teacher on setting up a successful show for our students. A lot goes into a show and instead of kicking and screaming it is best just to embrace it and fall head over heels. I searched high and low for the perfect embroidery design for our show, The Wizard of Oz . I wanted only the title so I could place it on the lapel of any polo shirt. We will have t-shirts made too, but I wanted polos shirts for the adults who help. This design is from EmbroideryDesigns.com . It worked perfectly! It is a little dense, so I used Pellon 808 craft fuse for my stabilizer. I didn't want the stitches to move around and get all yucky. If you do use craft fuse, remember to leave the fuse side facing up when embroidering the design. Now I just need to find a pair of ruby red slippers. Any suggestions on where to find them?

I am always on the lookout for new fun patterns that are simple and easy to make. This pattern is from Salme, and it is called the Buttonless Shirt, Pattern #149 . This pattern is a great sleeveless shirt with a super cute collar. After printing the template and taping it together. I realized that the bust dart and the hem were too low for my petite frame. The center opening needed to be stitched up a little higher when piecing the two front panels together.  After making those adjustments and adding the seam allowance, I had the correct size and set to work. I adore the collar, as you can see in the picture above, you do need to use interfacing to help create a sturdy collar. I love that there are no buttons, zippers, or even elastic notions in this pattern. All you need is fabric and thread. You can make this a shirt or dress with a belt. I love that I can use my favorite cotton fabrics to create this cute shirt/ dress pattern. You could use other materials, but ...

Miss Tippy Toes from Dolls and Daydreams Pattern company  is a  beautifully designed pattern that demonstrates how to construct a button arm joint so that the arms can move 180 degrees. I started this project back in December, after cutting everything out and embroidering the face ,  I stopped.  That is right; this is not a painted face. You can buy the embroidery face design from her shop too! This beautiful face is called the Kawaii Doll Face.   I enjoy making dolls but hand stitching the face can be challenging. Using my embroidery machine to stitch the face was fast and easy. I decided to embroider one piece of fabric and then go back and cut out the face using the template. That way I did not have to worry about the placement of the embroidery design.  However once I embroidered the face, I was unsure if the project would work. See the stitch count was a little dense and I was worried the doll would have a wrinkly face. So I stopped th...