It's in the bag!

The sneak peak I posted earlier today...

My co-worker/"desk mate"/friend is expecting her first child at the end of September and I will be attending her baby shower this Saturday. What better excuse to make something?! I've been feeling much more creative lately but all I've done is made a long list of things I want to do. I guess I just needed a project with a deadline! I know she has a lot of family and friends who will probably buy her the must-haves so I decided to break out the ol' bag pattern that I mastered last Christmas to make her a diaper bag (or maybe travel bag because its so BIG!).

I pulled together a somewhat neutral palette with taupes, grays, black, white, and a pop of yellow-

This bag has quite a few peices...I always like the way they look just piled up, waiting to be sewn together-

And....drum roll please.....the finished product! I always have an idea of how I want it to look but it is always fun to see it come to life-

Front

Back

The bottom matches the handles...so happy with this part!

Detail of the button

Lining and inside pockets

The side pockets are lined with a yellow and cream stripe...hard to see in the photo but the peice above the stripe is a linen with a subtle metalic thread woven through it...a nice little suprise when the sunlight hits it!

Congrats to Erica and husband Matt...I hope baby Ben likes his bag! :)

Hopefully, this kicks starts the long list of projects I want to do! Stay tuned for more. I'm finally starting our living room pillows...thank you for my wonderful facebook friends who shared their opinions with me-check back soon to see which palette I picked!

A Homemade Christmas

The presents have been opened and the wrapping paper and bows are long gone. The holidays are finally over. Now that the gifts have been given and I can no longer ruin the surprise, I can finally share what I've been working on this holiday season!

The past few years I've been obsessed with the homemade gift. My love for making things by hand and  supporting my fellow Etsy shops are two of many reasons my family and friends have received handmade goodies recently. I spent all of December sewing away at a few fun gifts for a few important people. I tell myself that waiting until December to make my gifts is not procrastination...I wait until last minute because I  work best under pressure! I think I know how Santa's elves feel...

My sister-in-law, Julie, mentioned she wanted pillows to match her bright green, black, and white color scheme in her cute little apartment. When I searched through my fabrics, I couldn't decide which patterns I liked best. My solution?  Use all of them! I pieced together stripes, dots, velvet, silk (just about everything) and here is what I came up with.

My Mom and sisters received huge (and I mean HUGE!) overnight bags. My favorite task is finding fabrics to fit each personality. My day job has enabled my fabric hoarding so I have a closet full of beautiful fabric to chose from.

 I'm a self-taught sewer and always want to improve so I chose a pattern that was a little outside of my comfort zone. The pattern is from an Amy Butler book and I have to say, I am proud of myself! I did a test run a couple months ago and enjoyed making it. By the time I was on the forth bag, I didn't need the instructions!

Here is the test run:

Here is my Mom's (who helped pick the fabric!):

My sister Jill's bag has a 'beachy' theme:

A finally my sister Rachel's bag, with a bright and bold lining:

I still have one more gift to give before I can post a pic. Check back soon to see what I made for my mother-in-law, Leslye!

If you like any of the bags or pillows you see, please let me know. Any of them can be customized for you...like I said before, I'm a borderline fabric hoarder so I have a variety of patterns and colors!

Coming soon....pics from a special New Year's Eve event I attended this year!