Lace Motorcycle Logo Vest

We are planning a trip this fall to the Tail of the Dragon, which is an 11 mile stretch of US 129 that is supposed to be very high on the average motorcyclist's bucket list. It runs along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, and we figure that it will be a nice honeymoon idea.

In anticipation of this biker journey/honeymoon, I felt that I needed a little something extra for my wardrobe. Earlier this summer, I had found a very nice Eddie Bauer denim vest at a garage sale for about $1. I picked it up with this very upgrade in mind. 

I printed out the general outline of a popular motorcycle company's logo in a size that would fit nicely on the back of the vest. Then I used my handy little chalk pen to transfer the logo onto the vest. I just outlined the logo with the chalk pen, then I flipped the logo (chalk side down) onto the vest where I wanted it and rubbed the back of the paper to transfer the chalk. I then went over the few spots that didn't transfer completely.

Sewing Area Tackle Box Storage Solution

Everyone seemed to really enjoy my last post concerning one of my storage solutions for my sewing area, so I thought I would share another of my repurposed storage solutions.

This one is courtesy of the Plano Molding Outlet store in Plano, Illinois where I was able to find this tackle storage box for about $15, if I remember correctly. That is at least half of what one of these storage boxes would cost in a retail store. As soon as I saw it, I knew that I could use it to organize all of the little bits and pieces that would otherwise be strewn about my sewing desk haphazardly.

Bobbin Storage Idea

I just thought I would quickly share with you one of my own little sewing area storage ideas.

This one happens to be one of my favorites.

Now I know what you're thinking. A box of chocolates may seem like a natural sewing area requirement, but that is not what this is. Well....it used to be a box of chocolates, but that was quite a long time ago.

Now it is my fantastic bobbin storage box. I am able to keep several bobbins of the same color thread conveniently together in one of the former chocolate heart nesting spots.

It doesn't hurt that sometimes I look at it and think, "Oooo, chocolates".

Simplicity 2911 Purse 2.0 Version

Yesterday I posted about my 1.0 version of Simplicity's purse pattern number 2911.

I wasn't entirely pleased with the location that I had chosen for the keychain holder, so I decided that I would make a second attempt at the pattern.

This time I went with a solid print material that I had gotten from Garden Ridge a while back. To spruce it up a little bit, I transferred the pattern of a sweet little bicycle and flowers onto the front of the bag and hand embroidered the pattern. I made sure to place the keychain holder a little off center so that it wouldn't interfere with the magnetic closure this time. I was also able to find a slightly larger keychain holder clasp that luckily matched the accent color of the lining fabric.

I hope that my friend likes this version of the purse as much as I liked making it for her.

Simplicity 2911 Purse 1.0 Version

A very dear friend of mine recently asked if I could make her a purse similar to one she already owned. I told her I would definitely give it a shot.

She wanted a relatively small, rectangular shaped purse with a large strap so that she could wear the purse across her body. She also wanted a key holder, an exterior pocket and a few interior pockets.

After consulting my rather substantial collection of purse patterns (thank you Jo Ann Fabric for having so many $0.99 pattern sales), I settled on Simplicity's pattern number 2911.

The hipster purse in the set of patterns seemed like it would be a perfect choice. It is almost exactly the same size as her original purse, so I thought that it would be a good starting point.

The only changes that I really had to make to the pattern was to add an additional internal pocket (the original pattern only had one internal pocket) and to add zippers to the external pocket and another zipper to one of the internal pockets. And I also added a key holder, although when I added the key holder, I centered it on the purse, which actually put it almost in the way of the magnetic closure.

I'll still offer her this purse, but I decided that I could make a better version for her. Unfortunately, you'll have to check out my next post to see my upgrade.

In the mean time, I'll let you see the finished product of my Simplicity 2911 purse. The 1.0 version anyway.

Pop Tart Coin Purse

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. There has been much nesting going on here and not enough time to take pics or post.

Some of the nesting involved playing around with fabric scraps and making keychains with them. I had the bright idea that I was going to try to make a pop tart inspired keychain. I used some wonder-under to fuse the fabric layers onto some scrap interfacing that I had on hand.

This was my first attempt.

As you can see, it was a very hurried attempt at a pop tart. So hurried in fact that I fused the sides together before I realized that I hadn't even sewn any sprinkles on it yet. And everyone knows that it's not a true pop tart without the sprinkles. At best, this is a ghetto toaster strudel, and that just wasn't going to work for me.

So for my second attempt, I used some different materials and took my time and remembered to sew some french knot colored sprinkles on the frosting part. After I got the frosting part done, I realized that my keychain was going to be huge, so I decided I would convert it into a small coin purse with a keychain on the zipper.

Here is my pop tart, version 2.0.

Now prepare yourself for extra cuteness, because I had to use an appropriate lining for it...

Ah...I love it when a cute plan actually comes together.