New Niece/Facebook

Hello all! I have two very exciting bits of news today. First and foremost, my eldest sister Natalie safely delivered her third child on Friday, June 15th, 2012! Her name is Batya Yaela, born at 9:13 PM, and her big sisters Esther Shira and Simcha are very proud and excited. This marks my fourth niece, by the way... plenty of

Secondly, I have started a Facebook page to go along with my Etsy shop. Please become a fan! https://www.facebook.com/AshleySews
Thanks and love!

Grand Opening!

Hello everyone! I am super excited to announce the grand opening of my Etsy shop!
Please visit and shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/AshleySews
xx

Bonnaroo 2012

...was amazing. Here are my videos: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL30D433310C7B2A69&feature=edit_ok and my pictures: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10102444893216211.3657661.2056565&type=1
enjoy! more crafts soon.

Boutique Blanket

ooh Pinterest, how I love you! I found this gorgeous/shockingly soft blanket on Pinterest, and needed it ASAP. The tutorial is here and the author, Christina, was incredibly helpful with questions. I used the same fabrics (a minky and a cotton twill) as she did, so our blankets are essentially identical. Identically AMAZING! so soft and gorgeous. and BIG! It's about 5 feet by 6 feet, so much bigger/cozier than the faux chenille blanket. The minky was a bit hard to work with, so if you make this, use Christina's advice and pin, pin, pin!

blanket - minky on one side, cotton twill on the other

Snappy dress, on the blanket

Another recent project is the Snappy Toddler Dress from Prudent Baby (for Shayna, of course), who are two of my very favorite women ever. Their website is full of sewing and craft projects, as well as delicious recipes, my two favorite being the One-Minute Chocolate Chip Cookie and a Coffee Cake in a Cup. Best of all, you don't even need to have a baby to enjoy their site! so check them out at PrudentBaby.com.
Coming soon: matching mother-daughter outfits for Jessica and Shayna! too cute. bye!

le pouf

Hello all! I'm back to show my newest creation: a pouf! I found this tutorial from Design*Sponge, and off I went to make a patchwork version.

side view

I had a fun time with this one, though I did mess up a bit (reversing the order of the pieces before sewing the second half together... confused me). However, I managed to figure it all out and voila, le pouf!

Also, how cute are these? I call them vests for feet. My feet stay warm, but can breathe.

Next up: finishing the gingham taffeta skirt, dress #29483 for Shayna, and a pom pom scarf. Stay tuned! xo

new things

Time to share more creations! #1 is something I found on Pinterest (actually, the tutorial is here). It's made with scrapbooking paper! This was fun to do and I love the way it came out.

Next is the Warhol dress from Dana! It looks blue here, but is really purple, and was sent to my niece Shayna for her 9-month birthday. This one was quick and fun and hopefully so cute on her!

Now more baby dresses, but this time, ORGANIC! I had to order fabric from Oregon, but it was well worth it because look how cute this is! Especially the trim on the bottom - bias tape for the win.

back - love the ribbon!

And finally... guess what?

yup.
<3

you have to see this.

Chenille.

After reading this tutorial by Dana, I knew I had to complete that project ASAP. I LOVE chenille and once had a fantastic chenille blanket that was destroyed by the washing machine. Then I found this project that was actually kind of created by the washing machine. How ironic. Anyway, I found that matryoshka fabric (shout out to my real-life Russian doll, Shira Glabman) at JoAnn, and I knew instantly that I wanted Russian dolls all over my blanket. So I purchased 1 1/4 yards each of the matryoshka cotton, and solid cottons in red, yellow, pink, and white.
       Dana gives a great tutorial with fabulous pictures that everyone should see, but I'll give you a run-down. The basic idea is to sew these five layers of cotton (must be cotton so it will fray, flannel works well also) together in lines a 1/2 inch apart diagonally across the whole blanket, and then cut through the four solid layers in between the sewn lines. Because they're cut diagonally/on the bias, the fabric will fray in the washing machine and create soft, wavy layers that feel like chenille.
       Fact: if you're going to do this project, you should be warned that it takes for-ev-er. Not as long as the tote bag (haha... just kidding, that's only true if you're me), but definitely awhile. My back isn't the strongest so I had to split it up between several days of sewing. As per Dana's recommendation, I took all the fabric onto my driveway and glued them together with Craft Bond, a spray adhesive. This was a struggle because it was windy, but was definitely helpful in keeping my fabrics from shifting too much while I sewed. After putting some safety pins in random spots around the blanket, I used painter's tape to mark a line down the diagonal center of the blanket. I started sewing with this middle line and then out to the left side, and eventually flipped it upside down to the right. Luckily, I didn't have to use a ruler to measure each 1/2 inch, because that's what the little lines on my sewing machine are for.
        A few days later (or probably about 4-5 straight hours of sewing), the lines were done! I knew cutting would be a challenge because a) I am left-handed and lefty scissors don't have the blades reversed so they are crap, and b) I was nervous I would accidentally cut through the matyoshka layer, so I was super careful and had my right hand underneath the blanket during each and every snip. I had ordered a slash rotary cutter just for this purpose, and it was due to arrive Thursday, but still isn't here (whoopsy, Amazon.com).

the cutting begins.

       So I cut about 1/3 of the blanket over the course of two days. I could only get through a few lines at a time before having to break and stretch out. I was getting kind of freaked out that I would never finish. But yesterday I was at JoAnn for my sewing class (details to come!), and they had a smaller version of that cutter there. I had a 50% off coupon, so I caved and got one for $7. And I am so glad I did! I went a little fast with it and cut a few lines too close to the sewn line, so there is slightly noticeable error on the finished blanket, but whatever. I'm totally over it. Next I had to sew on the binding. I chose teal, like Dana did, because teal is awesome. I bought this quilt binding at JoAnn and used about one and a half packages. It was rough to sew on because at this point, it was 6 layers of fabric, and my machine isn't the world's strongest. But it was completed. Around midnight. And ready to go in the laundry!!

blanket cut, pre-wash.

       I was so excited for the result that I just sat on the couch waiting for the cycle to finish. After the washing machine, it looked pretty cool, but I knew I had to wait for the dryer for the full effect. And here it is!

chenille!

"layers upon layers of chenille!"

matryoshkas and chenille: a fantastic combination

       So, a million days later, I must say, I am so pleased with the results! Although I was whining about it a lot of the time, I kind of want to make another right this moment. I even slept with it in my bed last night. It's not big enough to be a sleeping quilt. I just wanted it near me. So thanks Dana for your great tutorial and my beautiful snuggly blanket!

 A bonus:

fun times: my brother-in-law Doug and me at my mom's golf tournament. i'm dressed like a flapper under there

!