Lens and Needle

For Kicks Patchwork Ball

Some year I want to hand make all the gifts I give for Christmas. This year I'm not doing that, however I am making a few gifts, one of which is Anna Maria Horner's For Kicks Patchwork Ball (found in Seams to Me). I sewed this cute toy up yesterday, and I must say it was pretty fun! 

You start by cutting out all the hexagons and pentagons, 32 pieces in all! I used my mat and rotary cutter to do this, making it go fairly fast. 

 

Then I started sewing together the hexagons and pentagons. This part was a bit tricky at first, but once you sew a few together you figure it out. 

 

Don't forget to stop and refill your coffee cup! 

 

And never, absolutely never embark on a sewing project without one of these dandy's. A seam ripper is a seamstresses best friend! 

 

After I got all the pieces sewed, with just two pieces left open, I stuffed the ball with Poly-Fil. Make sure to stuff the ball really well; otherwise it won't hold it's shape when being played with. 

 

Then I hand-sewed the ball closed. And it's done! Now I have a nice handmade toy to give my little sisters for Christmas, and it only cost me an afternoon and a few dollars. 

 

Sewing Books I enjoy:

Seams to Me 

Bend-the-Rules Sewing

Handmade Home

 

 

Giveaway!

Today I'm excited to be hosting a giveaway to raise money for my friends the Gumpy's.

Bryan and Rachel's first baby was born ten weeks early on September 6, 2010. Little Charlie lived for three days. His medical bills and funeral expenses are high, so I thought about how I could help.

 

Hosting a giveaway seemed like a good idea, and I was blessed by so many lovely bloggers and shop owners who donated items to give to two lucky winners!

 

First I'll show you what you could win, then I'll give you the giveaway details.

 

I've put the donations into two prize packs. Prize pack #1 anyone can win, international entries welcome! Prize pack #2 can be shipped to US addresses only.

 

 

in prize pack #1 you'll receive...

 

 

ilene of muchloveilly is giving away a $15 gift certificate to her shop! she makes the loveliest headbands, hair clips, earrings and rings. her new fall collection is simply lovely.

 

 

 

 

erica of 28thstreetphoto has donated this pair of her lovely earrings! these Dainty Blossom Earrings in Cream are so sweet and simple, and will go with any outfit.

 

 

 

penny of sewtakeahike has offered 2 of her PDF patterns! her Skillet Handle pattern and Market Bag pattern. around here we love going to farmers market, and cloth bags are the best! we have one that is net, like penny's market bag, and it's my favorite.

 

 

 

   

 

joslyn of Simple Lovely has donated this "lovely bird branch motif glass paperweight". isn't it so sweet? i have a weakness for birds. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

randi of FreshSqueezedFabrics has offered this fun fabric jelly roll! this Punctuation Jelly Roll by American Jane and Sandy Klop for Moda is made of 2.5"x44" strips. this is another weakness of mine, fabric.

 

 

 

 

okay, prize pack #2...

 

 

jami from the blog HELLO! from the nato's has offered the winner of this pack a couple of these super cute flower pins like the one pictured above. cute!!

 

 

 

 

 

rachel of Smile and Wave and Red Velvet Art has donated this lovely handmade leather journal! The winner will receive either a yellow or orange journal, depending on what's in stock. 

 

 

 

 

 

wendy from the blog Living Creatively has donated an adorable fall/Halloween banner, like the one above. Decorating for fall is so fun!!

 

 

 

 

angela (my mom) from the blog Wondering has donated one half yard of Amy Butler's Love Lime Arabesque fabric and three rolls of Japanese washi tape! I love washi tape.

and lastly, i am donating a $10 Starbucks or Target gift card. the winner can choose which they prefer!

okay, here's how to enter to win one of these fabulous prize packs:

use the Paypal Donate button located on the top right sidebar to donate any amount of money to the Charles Benson Gumpy Memorial Fund. the button is linked to my mom's account, so when the giveaway is over i will send a check for the entire amount donated to the Charles Benson Gumpy Memorial Fund at US Bank. you do not need a Paypal account to donate.
come back here and leave a comment telling me you donated.

that's it! come on folks, lets see how much we can raise for the Gumpy's!

the giveaway will be open until next Monday, September 27, at 5 pm pacific time.

xoxo,

Ashley

winter blouse to summer blouse

i've had this long sleeve tee laying around for over a year. it was a hand-me-down from my friend Rachel. it was a size too big, but comfy and cute.

i wanted to turn it into a blouse for summer. so the other day i did!

before

after

 

 

i cut the sleeves off, then sewed up each side to take in the sides. the arm holes fit snug now, but not too snug to be uncomfortable. oh, and when i was trimming the inside, i cut a hole in the side. i patched it, but there is a triangle shaped patch/cut on one side. i say it just adds character. :)

 

 

summery etsy finds

 
smocked purse by sewlola

 

 

sweet vintage dress from Revolving Styles

 

 

vintage earrings from rachiesplace

 

 

beach print by honeytree

 

 

ice cream ring by mmagda

 

 

which summery find is your favorite???  

 

 

Artsy Clutch Giveaway!

***this giveaway is now closed***

hey everyone, are you ready for another giveaway??

today i am giving away this Artsy Clutch i made (from the book Bend the Rules Sewing).

i made this this afternoon especially for one lucky winner!

it is a small (about 7 inches wide and about 5 inches tall when folded) clutch to carry whatever you wish in!

it is made with green linen blend on the inside (and a flannel "batting") and a lovely pink vintage floral on the outside. it closes with elastic and a vintage button.

 

there are two ways to enter:

1. leave a comment on this post telling me your plans for the summer.

 

2. you can blog about this giveaway for a second entry. make sure you leave another comment on this post with a link to your post.

 

i will close the giveaway at 12 noon Saturday, May 29.

winner will be chosen using random number generator and announced shortly afterwords.

 

good luck!

 

xoxo,

Ashley

  

telling my story ~ part two

here are the next three pages in my art journal. enjoy!

on the left a painted a very abstract picture, and on the right i layered paint, scrapbook paper, washi tape, and a photo. then i wrote a little list of what i want in the journal and journaled a bit on the left side.

here i used pictures from an Anthropologie catalog, a paper with lines on it, and lots of washi tape. the journal prompt i used on this page was "Thoughts on being a...". i did "Dreamer". and i wrote what my favorite song was right then, and filled in a blank space with drawn swirls.

more pages coming soon!

(click on pictures to see bigger)

telling my story, page one

some of you may have noticed the "Tell Your Story Student" button on my side bar. if you clicked on it you know that "Tell Your Story" is an online art journaling class. both my mom and i are doing it, and having so much fun!!

after soaking in all the prompts and inspiration for a week, i finally started my journal!

hmm... what to do next?

my title page, and introduction page. {click one images to view larger.}   

sunday inspiration

{giveaway winner announced below}

• inspired to make Hady a "loud blanket" like this one from Smile and Wave.

• wanting one of her paintings. love this one, this one, and this one.

• i want to eat this. and make these.

• sweet vintage clothes that Hady would love. well, not Hady, but mom and i. :)

• i love everything from Katie Daisy!

• i want this print from RVA.

and, an inspiring image from Simply Bloom Photography, found via weheartit. 

 

what have you been inspired by lately??
 

Etsy ~ shops i love 1

 

Lucy Blaire Creations

 

 

I just got this lovely make-up bag a few weeks ago.

It is very well made and oh so cute!

 

She has many more, in super cute designs.

I love this one! Polka dots!!! 

 

 

 

the Yard Sale Wrap Skirt that wasn't

A few months ago I cut out the pieces for the Yard Sale Wrap Skirt from Heather Ross's book Weekend Sewing. I proceeded to forget about the pieces, then one day came across them. "A new skirt is just what I need!", I thought.

I went on a search for the thread I know I bought for that fabric, failed to find it, and decided to use a light green in the same shade as the fabric...

The 6 panels came together beautifully.

Then it came time to do the waistband. {dun dun dun dun} The instructions didn't make too much sense, but that was fine. I'm used to winging it with pattern directions.

The waistband was a failed attempt. I could not make it go together right at all. And, when I tried it on (with the waistband pinned on it) it only overlapped about 5 inches. (it's a Wrap Skirt, remember) Um, that's not very modest!

The waistband was weird in another way too. If it was laid out flat, the very middle was about 4 inches tall, then it tapered out. So when I tried it on, the widest part was on one side of my hip, instead of in the front.

And, I made the size Small/Medium. So, if the waistband was not an issue, just the overlapping, would I have to make the Large/Extra Large?!?!?

So, the poor attempt of a skirt sat around for a couple of weeks. Then, Moriah's birthday party loomed in the very near future. Gulp! Mom and I had wanted to make her an apron, but time was running low. So one afternoon I pulled out to six sewn together skirt panels, cut two of them off, and Wala!

I cut strips out of a barely worn white tee, sewed them on the top to make a slight ruffle, then played with the remaining strips to make little flowers. Colorful scraps soon became flowers, and scraps from last year's Easter skirt went on the top, over the white knit strips, to make another ruffle. I cut 5 or 6 inches off the bottom of the panels, then zigg-zagg stitched 1/3 inch in. It will fray some in the wash, and so will the flowers. But I think that just adds to the charm! {The ties are grosgrain ribbon}

a close-up of the waistband and a flower

{another flower}