Tote bag for Claire

Claire has a stack of new piano books, because she starts studying with a new piano teacher next week. I made this tote bag today for her music books. She picked out the fabric, and I whipped it up this afternoon. It's lined in plain brown cotton, and I made the pattern up as I went.

Re-usable lunch bag

Claire starts 5th grade this week!!! I made this re-usable lunch bag for her with a $1.99 remnant of oilcloth I picked up at the fabric store. I found the pattern online at skiptomylou.org -- it was super easy to make!

Solomon's Birthday Present

OK, this isn't the most stylish thing I've sewn, but our close friends' son Solomon is turning two, and he's obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine. We have a store-bought gift wrapped and ready to go for his birthday party tomorrow, but today I had the idea of making him something Thomas-y as well. It was easy enough to whip up this pillow and blanket without a pattern. I put a zipper on the pillow so the cover can be washed, and I made the blanket kid-size (24" x 24") so he can carry it around should he so wish. The printed fabric is flannel, and the red fabric is Soft and Comfy. Happy Birthday Solomon!

Update: Solomon loved his blanket and pillow! It was very heartwarming to see him bend down and hug the pillow and blanket with a look of pure happiness on his face.

Baby Blanket

A friend of Claire's has a new baby brother. I've known her parents for six years and, though we're not close friends, I like them very much and I wanted to make something for their new son. This blanket was fast and easy and I think it's really cute. I didn't use a pattern, I just sewed a 36" square of plush baby blue fabric to the same size square of cotton, and edge-stitched around it.

Placemats for my mom

I made a set of six placemats for my mom! She was browsing through my copy of In Stitches by Amy Butler last time she visited, and she dropped a not-so-subtle hint that she'd like some placemats. Voila! I'll give them to her next time I see her, which will probably be sometime in August. These were easy and not very exciting to make. I'm happy with how they turned out and I think they'll look good in her dining room.

Yoga Bag

This was my first sewing project, which Claire helped me with because I didn't even know how to use the sewing machine yet! This bag goes to and from the yoga studio with me a few times a week. The pattern was free from Amy Butler's website, and the fabric is an Amy Butler design as well.

Oversized Laundry Bag

I hope my friend Amy doesn't find this blog before I give her this laundry bag, because it's her housewarming present! I'm sewing a funky orange apron for her fiance Amy, also as a housewarming present. This pattern is from In Stitches by Amy Butler, a book I've used for many of my first sewing projects. New skill I learned with this bag: button holes!