Welcome to the jungle...

Ok, I am going to preface this post with "It isn't always like this, it really isn't my fault, I do clean it, it is my kid's fault!".  I know this isn't all entirely true.  My sewing/craft area is a disaster.  Not all the time, I do get the chance occasionally to spiffy it all up, organize it into color coordinated bins, cubbies...with fabric folded and neatly placed inside.  This doesn't last very long.   I do most of my sewing when my daughters are awake, and "playing".  My sewing area is tucked away on my second floor landing.  I have good lighting, a beautiful pair of stained glass windows to look at, adequate storage and table space.  Unfortunately it also sits right outside of my girls playroom and I attempt to get my sewing done while they are in there- which more often than not means that the playing spills out to my feet...princess costumes, dress up shoes, and all too often they end up crafting right along side me...oh, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  Just don't judge the mess!  I will clean it (eventually)...but first I have this dress to sew and show you! 

I have been collecting vintage children's clothing patterns for a little while now, and have just started sewing with them.  My oldest just started preschool this past week and I was inspired by this Simplicity pattern from 1969.  I love the clean lines, and that it can be made with either short or longs sleeves.  Something about it just seems so modern to me, and I thought it would be great in a summery print, or even corduroy for fall. 

So this is what I've done- rather than try (and fail) at my first attempt at a structured garment (zipper and all!) and ruin my good fabric  I made the dress using a vintage sheet from my collection an I actually love how it turned out!  The sheet pattern is almost right on time with the pattern time period- so cool. 

Now that I have one dress under my belt I am making another one using the same pattern.  This time I am using a cute corduroy print and doing longer sleeves for the upcoming cooler weather.  This is on pause now, while I deal with this first...

 

Fabric Coil Bowl

When I started compiling the list of blogs I read for my blog list I came across the tutorial on Prudent Baby for their Scrap-Busting Fabric Bowl.  I have been a lurker on Prudent Baby for a long time now. Their tutorials are great- if you have never visited their site you've got to head over there right now!  They have been a great inspiration to me when I started sewing for my girls...their snappy toddler top in particular- love it.

Even though I have a number of projects already going at the same time, I just had to get started on this one.  I finished it within a few hours of reading the tutorial.  I am insane.  This includes tagging along with the husband and kids to Home Depot to buy screws...and um, looking for a suitable cord to wrap fabric around so I could make a bowl.  Needless to say he didn't understand the urgency in this and wanted to go alone to pick up the screws he needed to fix the door on our porch, he doesn't understand that my NEED to make this was so strong! 

Lately when I come across an idea or tutorial online that catches my eye I can't stop thinking about it until I start it.  Am I the only one who feels this way?  It is almost like an addiction- the need to create.  Crazy. 

 Anyways, I tagged along to Home Depot and decided to go with a natural Sisal rope.  I liked the idea of using a natural fiber, rather than some of the bright yellow polyester ropes they had...and it was around $8 for 50 feel- yay. 

Having several vintage sheets in my stash I decided to use a cool retro 70's print, with oranges/pinks and greys- perfect for fall.  I love the idea of using old linens for this project, some of the colors and prints out there work great for this project, and the sheets are pretty inexpensive and turned out to be the perfect weight for this project. 

So, I started out with this sheet (that I had already made a peasant dress out of!)  and I took the short edges and clipped across roughly every inch or so.  This made it very easy to just tear across the sheet, to end up with a number of strips (I lost count!) 

Using just these three supplies- a crochet hook, my fabric strips and the sisal rope (and about 30 minutes) I ended up with this....

I love how it turned out...and works perfectly on my coffee table to hold my latest knitting project!