Another new bag

 I never ever carry a purse - I just take my backpack as needed - so it's somewhat surprising that I made myself a sling bag.  However, I decided that I needed something that would be smaller than a backpack for school field trips.  I see other moms carrying the string bags, but I'd really like pockets in it as well as maybe room for a water bottle.  So while I work out the mental design for that, I went ahead with another sling bag.  This one is also from a recycled denim skirt.  I shortened the bag, much like the colorful one, as I didn't really want to be able to carry too much in it!

The lining is a fun science print - it's like a school science notebook!  I found this on clearance at JAF several years ago, and I think the only thing I've ever done with it was to use a couple of small pieces as appliques for shoes for Thing 2.  It was definitely time to do something fun with it!  There's an elasticized pocket on the side not pictured, and then this is a small pocket for a wallet or maybe cell phone.  I decided to go with snaps instead of a zipper in the interest of time.  You can also see a small loop sticking out above the pocket - this is for a key leash (which hasn't been done yet) so that the keys can be in the bottom of the bag but still be secured and easily found.  

I also intend to make an insulated cover for my water bottle, and there is a "water bottle leash" attached to the other side of the bag - this will help hold it in place and upright.  Just need to finish that part....

Just for kicks, I decided to have fun with the pockets.  (These pockets were not recycled - I traced the shape of another jeans pocket onto my recycled denim and lined them with the science fabric.)  I drew on my fabric with a disappearing ink pen and then traced that with stitching.  This one is my initials, all lower case.

And this one is an ECG tracing.

The good news is that both "embroideries" turned out really well.  The bad news is that I wasn't too confident, so I went for the subtle look - one strand of black thread with one strand of a light blue.  It was actually more subtle than intended, and basically you can't see these unless you're looking for them.  :(  Boo.  But next time I try this, I'll be more bold. 

More plushies....

One of Thing 2's friends was really into Angry Birds last year, and I was intending to make him a stuffed Angry Bird for his birthday....but his mom said he's not really into Angry Birds anymore.  Darn fickle kids!  Now he's into Mario Bros.  Okay, time to check out Google!  Because she also said that he has plenty of books and games, and he's not really into superheroes or normal boy stuff like that, and even they were having a hard time figuring out what to get him!  Not helpful....and unfortunately, there were no patterns online to sew anything easily recognizable from the Mario Bros universe.  (Lots of crochet patterns available, but I wasn't going to crochet for the kid.)  So I settled for some humorous but possibly lesser known creatures, and I'm just hoping he'll recognize them.

First up is Boo.  I used a free tutorial I found online, and I actually followed it pretty closely.  The only changes I made were to use fleece instead of felt for the body (to make it softer) and to sew the facial features on instead of gluing them.  I think it turned out pretty nice!

I also made him a Luma - this one is green because that's his favorite color, but I did check to be sure that they come in green before I did that.  I know, I'm a nerd.  I used this tutorial with no changes.  And while I was on Skype with my brother (a total nerd!), I held this up, and he immediately said, "It's Luma from Mario Bros!"  So I felt very satisfied that it was recognizable. :)

I hope that Thing 2's friend likes these....

Another Pajama Eater

Thing 2 has another birthday party coming up, so I thought another Pajama Eater was in order!  This one is pretty much just like the last ones - well, except for the color scheme, obviously!  This particular friend loves green, so I thought a green solid flannel and then lizards on green camo was appropriate for him.  The only change I made from the last time was to round the corners of the body slightly, as per a friend's suggestion.  It doesn't make much difference, and I haven't decided which I like better.  

It's awfully cute, and I love the fact that my DH just starts laughing every time I show him one.  He thinks they're hilarious!  (Well, they are!)

The Neighborhood Phantom Strikes Again

We had never heard of the "Neighborhood Phantom" or being "Boo-ed" before last year.  We were "ghosted" by someone in the neighborhood, and we had a blast passing it on.  So this year, we wanted to do it again!  I didn't want to buy gift bags - I try to be eco-friendly occasionally, right? - and there was no need, given my fabric stash.  I had made these last year, as well, though I apparently never blogged about them.  These are made the same way as the "green" party bags I made over the summer, although these are self-lined.  These were cut out last year, so yesterday I pulled them off the shelf and finished them up, in time for the ghost assignment last night. ;)  I made eight total - four of each fabric.  So now we have next year's bags all ready.

Pajama Eaters!

So once upon a time, I have no idea how long ago, I saw this cool pattern/tutorial for stuffed "monsters" with storage space inside them.  The pattern is Pajama Eaters, from Sew Fearless.  At the time I first saw it, the pattern was a free download, but it is now only offered for sale.  (I downloaded it back when it was free.)

Much time has passed, and I recently ran across the pattern while trying to organize my downloaded sewing patterns in one main folder.  And it reminded me that I'd always thought the pattern was really cool, and clearly I needed to make it now!  Well, Thing 2 was invited to a birthday party for a set of twins, so I thought this would be perfect.  The idea is that a child can put clean pajamas into the mouth of the creature in the morning, then take them out at night.  Well, I don't know about anyone else's child, but my children would see this as perfect storage for treasured toys!  However, they also love squishy, huggable creatures, so I decided to go ahead and make them as gifts.

Like I said, the pattern is now only offered for sale, but there's still a great tutorial to take you through it.  (And yes, you could probably easily draft the pieces yourself, though why reinvent the wheel?)  The little boy's favorite colors are red and black, and I don't know the girl's favorites, but I figured purple and a little pink should be safe, right?  The boy creature is all flannel, as I had a great mottled red flannel in stash.  The girl creature is cotton woven for the purple body and flannel for the mouth and foot/inside contrasts.  The best part?  Except for one of the zippers, everything is stash!  Hooray! A great gift, and it's practically free*!

And this is definitely a hit with kids.  While the birthday party hasn't happened yet, Thing 2 approved both the creatures, and he definitely wants one for himself!  I'm thinking he might need a frog or a ninja, inspired by Jaimee at Craft, Interrupted.  Then I'll have to figure out what modifications to make for Thing 1....maybe I can come up with a penguin....