Month: December 2009

Sewing Frantically because Elly will be Here Soon

Marie Haigh5 Comments

The curtains are finished!

Baseball buttons adorn both panels now allowing me to fold up the bottom half to make room for the radiator.

While waiting for the buttons to arrive, I whipped up a nursing cover, a.k.a. hooter hider.

Since it was such a joy to sew, I’ll be posting a short tutorial on the cover in a few days.

Currently, I am sewing up Elly and her little friend in Seattle matching bloomers. If I finish them as quickly as I would like to, I plan to sew one more item for Elly: a bathrobe. Then, there is also the Mei Tai sling I’d love to find time to sew.

But the clock is a-ticking. Elizabeth is considered full-term now at 37 weeks.

With a little luck, she will enjoy hanging out in her current abode for a few more weeks, giving her Mom time to finish all the current sewing and knitting projects and time to reorganize the guest bedroom/sewing room. It pains me already to think that I will have to pack away my sewing machines for over a month to accomodate our overnight guests. Yet, the help I will receive in return should more than make up for it. Besides, will I really have time to sew when Elly is a newborn? I suppose not. And, of course, I’ll still have my knitting.

This is a post from Knitted Gem’s blog, authored by Marie Haigh.

The 9 Cent Tour

Marie Haigh6 Comments

We’re still not quite ready to give the 10-cent tour. There are a few more paintings and decorations to hang. Yet, the lion’s share is done.

Dan ticked off the big items on his Honey-Do list: assemble dressar, assemble crib, hang plate collection and move bookcase.

The penants were a gift from my baby shower. On each one is a message from a friend or family member conveying their congrats, well wishes or advice.

The funniest advice: “Drink heavily”
The sweetest advice: “Love each other”
The best advice: “Do whatever you want” for Elly will be just fine.

The last item remaining on my to-do list were the curtains and as you’ll see in the pictures, they are 99% finished (I’m awaiting buttons to arrive via mail so I can fold them up over the radiator).

Not to boast, but I am soooo happy with how Elizabeth’s room looks.

This post was added to TDC’s Kid’s Rooms link up.

Thrifty Decor Chick

Utensil Case Tutorial for an Easy Gift

Marie Haigh4 Comments

My first sewing tutorial was supposed to be Radiator-Friendly curtains, but I got side-tracked. Christmas is right around the corner and I needed to finish the handmade presents I had planned to make months ago. Why I always wait until 2 weeks before the deadline is beyond me.

Just in case you’re scrambling for a quick and easy handmade gift too, I decided to share my instructions on how to make the utensil case shown below. I made this case in one afternoon. Its design is based off of my favorite dp knitting needle case.

Cut 1 rectangle each from main fabric and lining fabric:
Rectangle dimensions: 11 1/4 inches wide by 14 1/4 inches long

Cut 1 rectangle from lining:
Rectangle dimensions: 11 1/4 inches wide by 5 1/8 inches long

On shorter piece of lining, fold top down 1/2 inch. Press. Then fold raw edge into crease. Press. Topstitch close to fold.

With the wrong side of the short piece of lining facing the right side of the longer piece of lining, match up the raw edges on the bottom edge and sides. Stay-stitch using a 3/8 inch seam allowance.

Next, stitch 5 separation seams 1 5/8 inches apart only where the two linings are stacked on top of each other. The first and last separation seam will be 1 5/8 inches plus 5/8 inch away from the edges or 2 1/4 inches from the edges to accomodate for the seam allowance. Hint: mark first with fabric pencil, then stitch.

Cut two (2) 16-inch lengths from a coordinating ribbon. Line up raw edges of ribbon with raw edges of lining, centering it over the top edge of the utensil slots. Stay-stitch the ribbon in place using a 3/8 inch seam allowance.

With right sides together, stitch main fabric to lining using a 5/8 inch seam allowance. Be sure to leave a gap at the top to turn and to tuck the ribbon inside. Trim corners. Turn right side out. Press. Slip stitch opening closed.

Fold raw edges of ribbon twice over and hand tack down with a running stitch.

Insert utensils. Note: If you didn’t have the forethought to purchase the bamboo utensils in advance (they can be found on Amazon), you can always raid your kitchen drawer for a set of utensils.

Fold in half and tie with ribbon.

Of course if you’re really pressed for time (and you still have a week before Christmas or whichever holiday/event you’re celebrating), you can buy the utensils and handmade case from Ponyup on Etsy. Note that her case design is a bit different from mine.

This is a post from Knitted Gem’s blog, authored by Marie Haigh.

Nancy’s Gift and More

Marie Haigh4 Comments

Dan finished working on the hardwood floor, so I can finally show you the amazing gift Elizabeth received from Nancy.

An embroidered pillow!

Isn’t is beautiful? I just love how the little girl has red hair and how the little boy has blond hair. Once upon a time, Dan had blond hair too. Now, he’s going for the distinguished look with his salt and pepper hair.

The pillow looks perfect on the rocking chair we plan to use in Elizabeth’s room.

You can read about Nancy’s process in making this pillow on her blog here.

Pardon the tag left on the rug, I’m still deciding if we want to keep this rug or buy a much larger area rug. Dan is done deciding; he loves the new rug. Yet, I think it’s impractical. Obviously, Elly will need a larger area to crawl around on.

The curtains are working out much better. I’m pleased as punch with how the 1st panel came out.

Usually, I list the stats on the pattern, but there are none for this curtain. I designed these curtains myself because I was unwilling to compromise on the length of them. You see, I love curtains that hang all the way to the floor. They have a sense of elegance and homeyness to them. Just my luck, we live in a house where I can’t have curtains that hang to the floor, since every window except 3 have radiators underneath them.

I can be stubborn when I want to be though. Elizabeth was going to have full-length curtains in her room so help me.

This design was my compromise: full-length curtains that can be folded up and buttoned when they needed to be closed over the radiators.

Since I still have the other panel to sew up, I will attempt to write-up a tutorial should anybody else have my desire/determination to hang full-length curtains on windows that sit overtop a radiator.

This is a post from Knitted Gem’s blog, authored by Marie Haigh.