Finally!

It took 3 months, but the Lecien MY FOLKLORE fabric that I ordered is finally in!!!!! It's absolutely adorable, and I think that I just may need to order more :) I posted it today on my website - there have been lots of inquiries about when the order was due in, so I think it'll go fast. Check out these cuties! You can find them on my site HERE.








Lisa over at The Girl Indie Blog tagged me to share 5 unimportant things with y'all... I'm *really* going to have to think for this one. I'm running out of quirks! Stay tuned!

This and That

Hello everyone! I'm a bit shocked to realize that it's been 2 weeks since I've posted. Bad, bad blogger...

Here's some photos from what I've been up to since being on last. Pictures are always more fun than words :)

Made a fun tablecloth and napkin set for a friend's daughter to use for her tea set (used Ginger Blossom fabric - cute!)

Had to make something else with the Linen Morning Glory Fabric, so Sydney got some new duds to wear to Auntie's graduation from Simmon's on Sat (pardon the pics - lighting isn't very good at midnight!). Congrats again Lin!

She HATES to pose...

Made this bag for a wonderful EBAY customer named Charlotte - I forgot how much I enjoy making these!

(no... I don't lie down with the camera for these shots - my camera has a cool hinged lens)

Made some bib and burp cloth sets for Megan, a friend of a friend, for some of her friends. Had a lot of fun with these as well - a great break from wet bags.
This is another 60-80 wet bag month, so that's honestly where most of my sewing time has been going. We had a run of gorgeous weather as well, so we finally got to play outside! Found this little gem though... It's a hornet hive and is literally over a foot and a half long. Hubby and I are too scared to touch it, so we pretend that it's not there (and hope that a bear will think it's food!). We had a HUGE black bear in our yard last weekend (per the neighbors). Scary.


Hmm.. what else... Celebrated Mother's Day with 2 home cooked meals by Hubby and was able to clean the upstairs of the house while he watched the kids (for me that's a BIG thing!). Also had a birthday last week that was pretty uneventful. Ben has been having some rough nights, so all I honestly wanted to do all day was catch up on sleep. Made for a relaxing birthday!

Melody tagged me forever ago to share what's in my bag... Here we go! I carry a black GAP diaper backpack that I bought from someone in Canada (found her on Craigslist). A friend has this bag and LOVES it... I have to agree that it is, hands down, the most functional bag I own right now.

And yes, I feel like a sherpa.

Top pouch is perfect for a cell phone and some form of lip goo. I have "full" (aka BIG) lips so I need to keep 'em moisturized.

The back part has a neat pocket too - perfect for a reusable shopping bag and Joanne's coupons. The bag also has 2 side pockets that are great for water bottles and snacks.

Unzip the top and you'll see that it's pretty much stuffed.

Here's the bag after everything was dumped out... wow... I carry a lot of stuff! We went to the science center in the morning, so this is a perfect example what I have for a morning out. Snacks for Syd and Ben, 3 wet bags - one to put dirty diapers in, one for dirty bibs and one to hold my misc "stuff", toys, more lip goo, wipes, burp cloths, science center info, and diapers.

Business cards, pens and mints. The true essentials.

Random last little tidbit - the past few weeks I've been REALLY into these:

When the kids go down for nap, I spoil myself with a yummy sandwich made with a whole wheat wrap, hummus, cheese, turkey and avocado. Heaven :)

Will be back soon with more - it's late (again)!

OH! One last thing... Stacy and I are extending the Emmeline Sew Along deadline to June 15th. Don't know about you guys, but this month is flying by!

Winners!

As posted a couple of days ago, Sarah of The Pitter Patter Boutique won the wetbag from the Earth Day give away. Send me your address (to kristen@monkeyfootdesigns.com) and your bag is on it's way!

For the Sophia Sew-Along, Stacy and I had an incredibly tough time deciding which bag was "the best". We thought of having "best presentation", "best features", etc. but that was pretty involved, so we decided to default to RTS (random toddler selection):

Hmmm.... which one will it be?

She's got one!
The winner!

Click here to see her gorgeous bag!

Thanks again to everyone who participated! We hope even more join us for the Emmeline Sew-Along. I just added the new button to my side-bar. If you'd like the code for it, drop me a line at kristen@monkeyfootdesigns.com.

I had a little *blush* moment this weekend - Amy Karol (author of Bend the Rules Sewing) added my Pleated Beauty Bag to her Flickr favorites list! It's the little things... :)

Introducing....

Gloria :)

I used Amy Butler's Linen Morning Glory fabric for this bag...
"Gloria" seemed perfect.

This bag is for the BTRS swap and I finished it just in the nick of time (it's due tomorrow). Always the procrastinator...

Bag Bottom:
I added some feet (which are holding in the firm bottom - brilliant idea from Joleo that I will be using from now on)

Key clip and matching key fob
(and close-up of feather-stitching)

Big Inside Pocket #1

Big Pockets #2

How did I like the pattern? Overall, a lot. I've made a ton of bags, so I really just used the instructions for the pleated part and handles and then did my own thing for the rest. We all have our little tricks and ways of doing things, so I figured I'd stick with what's been working for me. I like the contrasting fabrics on the handle, but I wasn't fond of having to iron 1/4" folds on the fabric - next time I'll do it my favorite way (cut a 4" strip of fabric, fold it in half, iron, then fold the edges into the center and iron, fold, and then top-stitch). You'll need the second fabric to be a little thinner, so maybe 3.75" or 3.5" strips would work. It might be too thick to sew through all of the layers, but I think it would be fine - the handles now are a little flimsy and could use some oomph. I'll definitely be making this one again and will add a top zipper. The pleats really make this bag!

As for other odds and ends, next week I'll follow-up on everyone's posts left for my Earth Day post on 4/22 - I was really impressed to see that "green" living is becoming a part of everyone's lives! Doesn't it feel great!? Melody also has a fun tag for me to do... maybe I'll find my missing lip gloss (that I *just* bought on Monday)!

As for the winner of the wetbag.... it's lucky # 29! Sarah from The Pitter Patter Boutique :) Please send me your address and your wet bag will be on it's way to you!

I'm off to bed - I'll post more next week (including the winner of the Sophia Bag sew-along!)