Amy Butler Laminate Pouch - DONE!

As promised, I was determined to make laminate zipper pouches two for each child!  Here we go...cutting into the precious laminate!  Agh!

And once I had it all laid out I realized I wanted it to be at a particular Part of the pattern.  Sigh, that is the problem with using beautiful fabric right?  You get picky...

So...I ended up wasting a bit (see right hand corner of the photo below) in order to make it match up for the outer sides of the pouch...

And happily this (below) was the result.

Cute little note courtesy of Pic Monkey!  Thanks for the tip Lucy, wink.

Seriously, I think cutting was the hardest part.  Granted, I did cut 8 pieces so I could make two pouches out of this fabric.  I ended up using almost all of the fabric because of my insistence on making the outsides match up.  After I sewed the pieces to the zipper, sorry no pics of that, I debated whether or not to do a topstitch for the zipper.  Why the debate?  Well...it is one thing to sew the underside of laminated fabric, a whole different thing to start sewing the plasticky side.  As in, the fabric doesn't exactly go smoothly through the machine ya dig?  Happily I remembered THIS from one of my pinterest perusals long long ago and decided to apply the same principal with the laminate top sewing.  

And - IT WORKED!

tape on the underside of presser foot to allow smooth sewing on top of laminate

I'm so glad I took that extra step because as you can see here the topstitch (right) looks so much more polished than the unsewn side (left).

Literally that was it!  Final pouch below.  [Scissor is purposeful, to demonstrate size.]  

Can you believe this was my First Zipper Pouch?  And my first time sewing Laminate?  Agh!  So proud of me!

Take that Green Zipper!  Nailed you.  This pouch will be for "clean" things.  The Red Zipper pouch I am making with same fabric will be for the "dirties."

Here is the beautiful Laminate Lining - after all what would the purpose be if we couldn't clean the Inside of the pouch from potential drippy toiletries etc.?

As I said in my last post this fabric was intended for Miss E and she knew it.  As soon as I pulled the fabric out to start cutting she said "that's for me" yeah, this child knows no shame.  Wasn't she the clever girl when she woke up in the morning to her finished pouch and said "oh good I'm going to use that now Mommy."

Seriously the best part about this project was when I finished it and proudly interrupted the Mr.'s television watching to show the pouch off and he said "that's something the kids can take with them to college" as if they'll really get a lot of use out of them for a long time.  That meant so much!  It really made me feel like this idea was a fun, easy, beautiful and practical.  High praise coming from the Hubby.

Red Zipper pouch is already on its way.  It took no time at all to whip this pouch up once the cutting is done.  So if you haven't tackled one of these pouches yet you totally should!  Also, for those of you interested in learning more about sewing laminates check out Amy Butler's laminate tips here.

- rebecca lynne  

A shiny fabric surprise! [Thursday Think Tank]

Technically, it is still Thursday where I am.  And it isn't over yet.  So let me share my Think Tank and latest surprise with you all...  A huge long box arrived in the mail this week and I was so confused, what did I possibly order that would be sent along in a box that looks like it is holding skis?  

This is it...

Three laminates!  Whew hew!  Of course I had no idea they were going to be packaged this way but hey...whatever...it was a great surprise!

On the left is Anna Maria Horner's Lou Lou Thi, I absolutely adore this pattern.  That one is for my Miss V.  The fabric on the right is Amy Butler because Miss E insisted on pink pink pink!

And I've always had my eye on Tula Pink's Prince Charming...those frogs are even cooler in laminate with that slight shine.  I thought it was the perfect choice for Baby No. 3...especially as I bought this baby gift for him/her...

Jellycat Frog Tot

So how fitting is the Prince Charming Print???

Now what do I plan on doing with these laminates?  Haha, well I think I might have mentioned it before, but I am going to make zip pouches for each child for their dirty travel things...to have in the diaper bag, to throw in the suitcase...  Anyone with children can attest, organization is a tiny important thing to clutch to with two eager hands as life gets more hectic.  I spoke with the Mr. and he suggested I make the pouches large enough for them to continue using as adults, so I am thinking 12 x 12, maybe with squared off bottoms.  And, now that I am writing this, I think I shall make two each with colored zippers, Red for Dirty and Green for Clean, that way they can have one for packing toiletries and one for storing icky spilled on clothes!

Anyway, that is my weekly think...how about yours???

- rebecca lynne

Feel free to rattle off anything that has been brewing in your creative heads. It can be anything, quilting, home improvement, fashion, crafting, DIY gifts, cooking...whatever you have recently thought "hmmm, you know what I should create" is perfectly appropriate for the Think Tank. Have a blog? Grab the Thursday Think Tank button displayed on the right. Thanks to everyone who linked up last week. Just a small request: Please remember to Add a Link to Thursday Think Tank in your Blog Post - that way the other people in the Linky Party are being shared with your readers! Thank you!

Echo-o-o-o-o

I want to give a shout out to all the pregnant ladies out there who are doing there thing and getting stuff done without any hindrance.  I, on the other hand, have become a useless blob and the bigger I grow the further o-u-t my stomach becomes.  This was not the case with my first two who definitely grew wider and lower...this baby is just growing out.  My shirts don't cover everything anymore, they just hang over and never reach my pants at this point.  Hilarious.

So why all this information?  Well, reaching my sewing machine and maneuvering fabric these days is a challenge.  Luckily I can still sit at the computer and reach the keyboard without any problems so I was able to work out some ideas for a future quilt.  I know.  Just what I need.  Another quilt idea...ha!  Oh well, you have to take inspiration when it strikes right?

The Textile Santa (i.e. my mother-in-law) gifted to me a Fat Quarter set of Lotta Jansdotter's Echo line this Christmas.  I have been meaning to figure out a design to work with this fabric...which is just so amazing that it seems as though no pattern quite does it justice.  Seriously, the uncut fabric is just too gorgeous on its own.  But, today I thought I'd try to tackle a few ideas...here is my progression...

For starters here is the set.  I think this fabric really requires space, meaning a solid, to break it all up.  The quilts I've seen thus far use white and I think white is the best solution as there are too many shades of the other colors to make it work.

I began with the idea of playing around with a log cabin.  Maybe breaking it up by color and doing large box shapes.  But I got stuck pretty quickly.  Although looking at this now I think maybe it could work if I had just played with it a little more.  However, I don't know where the Pink would've fit in...

Then I started over using a 9 block layout.  Maybe breaking it up using an underlying grid would help?  Eh, but I wasn't really happy with any of the results with this either.

Then I remembered this design I had pinned from pinsandbobbins.  I have been saving my Hope Valley stash for just this design...but of course...haven't gotten to it yet! Anyway I thought maybe modifying the pattern a tad and doing large strips of the fabric with white between might work.  But it still wasn't working for me.  I want to describe it as cluttered?

Then I tried the same pattern using sashing in between thinking maybe it needed more white to break it up.  But...eh...still not doing it.  I feel like it looks too jumbled.  If anything more jumbled with the sashing than without in fact!  [I think it works better with a pattern like Hope Valley where all the colors work well together and the pattern on the fabric is small.]

After all this I went back to sleek, simple modern and remembered this quilt from inkandspindle.  So far, this is the design I like the most.  I think it showcases the fabrics best, uses them playfully, and utilizes the white space in an interesting way.  I think I could probably make the strips of patterned fabric larger and I am going to play around with how much white to use between the strips.  What do you think?  Any thoughts?

If anybody has a suggestion for an Echo quilt design please let me know!  I love seeing the different ideas out there and always appreciate your insight.  

- rebecca lynne

Etsy-holic

Recently I was asked to do a research project for my cousin and bride-to-be.  Like so many things I research, it brought me over to Etsy for ideas.  And as so often happens with Etsy - I got sucked in.  So, I thought I'd share with you some of the things that I've been coveting over on the handmade site while I was at it...

My mental train of thought was going something like this:
Matryoshkas, should I have 3 girls; a new bag for a new mama; I dream of a personalized iPad case for the iPad I don't have; gold jewelry is so in, so I should add some to my jewelry box and the filigree is dancing around in my head; 5 year wedding anniversary is approaching fast...

'Things on my mind' by LushCluster

Necklace, Babushka , Matryos... LHCollection $98.00	Matryoshkas Kokka Fabric in ... bertiesfabric $12.95	Hand Stitched Leather Tote, ... millandbird $400.00
14g faux filigree brass blad... discomedusa $67.00	SALE Gingko Leaf and Gold F... allisonmooney $45.00	Diamond Channel Stacking Wed... NetaJewelry $416.00
Green Jade and Turquoise Sta... fourhandsNYC $82.00	Ruby Star Shining by Melody ... sewlovefabrics $9.50	PEUT ETRE bracelet word on s... OhlalaLesMots $35.00
2 pcs- (1261-MG) NEW Matte G... EverLuxe $4.12	Personalized Envelope Card H... harlex $73.00	iPad Case - Mustard White Be... LittleGBoutiqu... $49.99

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio

Also, I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce those of you who aren't aware of it to PicClick.  PicClick is a way to visually search Etsy, eBay, and even Craigslist.  Seriously...how cool is that?  Looking for some ideas but don't want to go through pages upon pages on one of those other websites?  Just plug in some keywords and look at the images that come up.,.it scrolls down endlessly through the images so you don't have to keep clicking to the next page.  Really great for doing research on jewelry ideas or fabric searches or, well, anything!  


For example...a search on handstamped jewelry:

With Mother's Day on the way now is not a bad time to start some online browsing...and if a few links should find their way into your Hubby's inbox so much the better...  Heh heh...  Happy online hunting!  Let me know if you find anything too good to pass up...

- rebecca lynne

WHOOPS!

source

Um, sooo, I had no idea the Linky Party wasn't working for this week's Thursday Think Tank!  I know I pasted in the correct html, I know I double-checked it in Preview mode, but for some reason I just had to try finagle with it another 3 times before it worked.

Blogger - what gives?

Thanks so much to Lucy who let me know earlier today!  Sorry for the delay guys!

- rebecca lynne

Bucket List [Thursday Think Tank]

I had one of those WHOA moments this week...as in WHOA when did I get o-l-d?  Hahhaahaa, alright don't roll your eyes, I am not that old I just realized that I am too old to be listening to really loud bass-y music in my car without feeling embarrassed at a red light.  Aaaaand, there will be no more Spring Breaks in my future, bikini parties, crashing on people's couches, staying up all night and seeing the sun come up - no not for the sake of seeing the sunrise but simply because I was partying so hard I didn't realize what time it was...  Some of these things I will not miss (i.e. blackouts and hangovers?) but it is funny when you realize, Hunh, that period of my life is seriously over.

But.  Things pass.  And so instead of thinking of what is no more (like my damn straight I'm wearing a bikini body) I began thinking about things to look forward to...  In a way I've started some form of mental bucket list.  Here are some things I'd like to accomplish, eventually anyway!

The list - in no particular order...

- Own a muscle car
- Walk into a Designer Store on the Champs-Elysees and buy something flat out
- Fly somewhere on a whim for the weekend
- Go to San Diego
- Visit Chile
- Own a house
- Decorate my own house, Country Living style
- Bird tattoo across back symbolizing girls
- Watch my children grow up

So...any future dreams of your own?  What are they, what's top on the list?

BTW - I have some laminate fabric coming soon.  Can't wait to share with you guys when it gets here!!!

- rebecca lynne

Feel free to rattle off anything that has been brewing in your creative heads.  It can be anything, quilting, home improvement, fashion, crafting, DIY gifts, cooking...whatever you have recently thought "hmmm, you know what I should create" is perfectly appropriate for the Think Tank.  Have a blog?  Grab the Thursday Think Tank button displayed on the right.  
Thanks to everyone who linked up last week.  Just a small request: Please remember to Add a Link to Thursday Think Tank in your Blog Post - that way the other people in the Linky Party are being shared with your readers!  Thank you!

UFO's MRL Style

Let's face it.  This baby is Kicking My @!#.  Alright, to be fair, it isn't all him/her...it is his/her's sisters, the consistently indecisive "is this Winter or Spring weather" we are experiencing, and my full time job all ganging up on me.  Whoever is to blame I am constantly tired and unmotivated.  At 32 weeks pregnant I suppose no one has any right to judge my "laziness" but at the same I am more than a bit disappointed in my lack of motivation and yet even that disappointment fails to get me moving on my list of projects.

Well, with that said, I was able to get my bum in gear to go to the playground with my girls yesterday and took some decent shots of them playing.  It was during my review of these shots that I came across some older photos of quilt tops I have started and left unfinished.  WINCE  Unfinished Objects...oooh they can sting.  Ick I hate being faced with the fact that I may have bit off more than I can chew...awful feeling really...

Remember any of these?

Dead Simple Quilt

The Flight Across

Hummingbirds & Hexagons

LouLouThi Spinning Stars

And some of you know these are just the ones I have "somewhat finished."  [Anyone remember the Across the Sea quilt?  Yup, still have that in my sewing room waiting to be finished...  Oh and Helen don't even MENTION the Tumbling Blocks.]  Eeeew, makes me cringe.  These are all at different stages, some have quilt backs prepared, some are mid-quilting, some I never found backs for, and the Spinning Stars doesn't even have a completed top yet!  Yuck, yuck, tsk tsp Rebecca Lynne.

Alright.  I am going to set my sights low.  Rebecca Lynne, let's compromise shall we?  Why not finish one of these completely before Baby No. 3 is born.  What do you think?  H&H is already half quilted...I should just set my mind on finishing that quilt and at least something will be complete!  I'd love to have The Flight Across with me in the hospital as it is really meaningful to our lives since we moved here...so maybe that can be low goal #2.  See?  Already jumping ahead...first things first...

In an effort to be positive: I still LOVE these quilt tops, the worst is when you put so much time into a quilt top and then aren't into it anymore.  I don't suffer from that affliction yet thanks goodness.  If I can get my act into gear hopefully I won't reach that stage with these quilts!

Wish me luck tackling these UFOs!  Anything you are trying to get done these days but can't seem to pull the trigger?  I'd love to hear...

- rebecca lynne