Happiness is

• seams that line up perfectly
• seams that line up perfectly around a circle
• getting the perfect tension for different-colored upper and lower threads while sewing velcro
• sharp shears
• already having a bobbin with thread in the color I need
• not having overdue Etsy fees in spite of ignoring the shop
• sewing a sleeve onto a neckline and not needing to utter foul words
• secretly making cardboard craft projects for the kids to do tomorrow and not being found out
  
• thinking about smocking lessons with Auntie Laura - in Singapore - after Christmas (Auntie Laura says, "Easy! Start with polka dots." So cryptic; I can hardly wait.)
  
• not sewing in favor of playing in parks with the children every day this week.... in November.

Silly update

Nothing much to say except thank you everyone for the wonderful response to the katybag pattern and the katybags in the shop!

I realized long ago that I am not a whipper-up. Or a whip-upper. Or whatever those people are who can finish a project in 30 minutes. Mine take forever. This also means I blog about projects very infrequently. Or else I cheat by talking about slopers and taking photos of the cardboard crafts the kids and I do. Which I like a lot, of course, but they get sat on (usually by Kate) quite soon after being made and don't have much staying power as a result.

I've also been working on Christmas presents. I was feeling very smug about already doing Christmas stuff before Thanksgiving but then Jenna snuck out of bed and caught me sewing something in the living room one night. Annoyingly, the supposedly-Christmas gift has now become a lowly Sample the kids are QC-ing for me. Ratsratsratsratsratsrats. I've decided that I will have to relax my morals and start lying to the kids about what I'm making in the future. But it is hard. I am a poor liar.

A good thing that has come out of Being Found Out is that I am now moved to share the Ex-Christmas Gift with you all before Christmas. So look out in the shop for something odd soon. All I can say is that it has velcro and that the velrco bits are miniscule. And (unless something goes terribly wrong) it might work for boys too.

P.S. There has to be a better way of handmaking gifts for one's own children without them seeing it and without having to lie and without having to work on it at 3 am.

P.P.S. So much for "nothing much to say." Hah!

katybag pattern and bags in shop!

Ah, finally - I've finished the pattern for the katybags!

Please either click the "Add to Cart" button below, or in

the blog sidebar. The pattern has instructions for BOTH

the one-strap and two-strap versions, and has full-color

photos with the instructions, so I think it's a great value

for $6! As promised, the instructions are very detailed to

help those who have not worked with piping before, so

it's also sort of a piping tutorial-and-pattern in one.

Also, the five ready-made bags are finally Scotch-Garded

and listed in the shop so please stop by!

I've also made the bigger version of the katybag:


Here it is with the original katybag,

looking all mother-and-child-like.

It has the same curvy bottomed shape

and the same overdose of piping.

How is it different?

Apart from being about three times bigger, it's also

a shoulder bag i.e. a tote rather than a clutch.

The strap is also a little curvier

so it blends better with the rest of the bag.

I also put a hidden zippered pocket inside,

purse feet on the outside

and an invisible magnetic snap clasp (love those!)

- see? (Or don't see?)

I like to think of it as the katybag all grown up!

Find it in the shop, too.

I was going to make one in Orla, but I ran out of Orla!

Phooey. This bag takes a lot more fabric than the little one.

Thank you everyone for your patience while waiting for

the pattern to be ready. I hope you enjoy using it!

Go here to buy the Katybag pattern and read the download instructions.

The Little Blue House

Two weeks ago, I finished Jenna's birthday present and
stashed it in a closet to wait for today when we celebrated
her birthday. It has been in my head even longer than the
Princess Pavilion Tent - and it originally was supposed to
be a regular flat-topped table tent. But late in the summer
I found, for less than $5, this gem at a garage sale-

and I thought it would be much, much cuter than a
table tent. Plus, I have a thing for roofs.

Here is Jenna's Little Blue House

with its striped roof,

little white gate, doorbell

and awning (has dowels in it - I love dowels).

The little white gate opens into a welcome mat

which is brown flannel with felt applique.

The back of the house has a little round window.

One one side are two windows with gingham valences
and old-fashioned lace curtains with velcro tie-backs.

There are window boxes with hidden slots for planting flowers.
On the other side is a much bigger window with
another little awning to keep the rain out.
And a little mailbox.

The shades are down now because it is closed.

But when the shades are up, and the sign is switched

it's a family-run home business
and you can come buy their wares -

all manner of colorful, sticky, sweet treats -
donuts, jam tarts, gingerbread people

and candy. Lots of candy.

We tried it outdoors and it worked as long as there wasn't
a whole lot of wind. But this is really a playhouse for
indoors, which is just as well, seeing that
that's where we'll be a lot this winter.

I like that the roof is real this time, unlike the Princess
Pavilion Tent's - so Jenna and Kate can actually stand up
inside it. This house is exactly as tall as Emily so she
sits in it. I had a lot of fun making this house but there
was a moment of panic when I realized that the double-
layered fabric walls and roof might be too heavy for the
frame. So I slashed away the inner layer and all was well.
The fabric for this house was mostly thrifted bedsheets.
The stripes of the roof were strips of blue sewn on white
fabric and scalloped at the edges. I love the versatility
of plain solid fabric - perhaps this is why the designer
print stuff doesn't grab me so much.

An important feature of many of the toys in
our house: it can be folded up tiny and put away!
The IKEA lamp box was what the PVC frame was packed
in at the garage sale so no, unfortunately,
it cannot be bought at IKEA.

Jenna quite liked her little blue house,
but her favorite thing was really the lollipops


which she carried around all day.

Scroll to the next post for the lollipops tutorial, people,
if you're interested in your own candy store for Christmas.
And with that, I can honestly say I am done with tents.
Unless a really fascinating new shape comes along, that is.

How To Make Lollipops

Given that it is just after Halloween, my timing is a bit off
to be introducing more candy now, but these are calorie-free
and remind me more of Christmas than any other season.

Here's a tutorial on how to make those fleece lollipops
from the Little Blue Candy Store:

What you need:

• Scrap fleece
• Scissors or rotary cutter
• Needle and thread
• Pair of small pointy scissors or cutter
• Craft glue
• Short dowels (mine were about 1/4" and 7" long)

Step 1

Cut strips of fleece. I considered using felt but it might get hard to curl into a spiral. The actual length or width does not matter - they will just give a different pattern and/or different size lollipop. Mine were about 1.5" x 13".

Step 2

Sew them together along their long edges to make a piece of striped fabric as in the picture above. Again, the actual size of the piece of fabric does not matter.

Step 3

Cut fabric at a slant into strips of about 2"-2.5" wide. It does not have to be a perfect diagonal.

Step 4

Join up the ends as if you were making bias tape, to make a long strip about 2 feet (24" long). Again, this is approximate. In the picture below, the top strip is flipped so you can see the seams at the back. Each strip makes one lollipop.

Or you can find printed fleece that looks like this and just cut a strip of that.

Step 5

Thread a needle (I used a single strand of thread), knot the thread and begin tightly rolling the strip along its length to make a roll like a snake. Starting at one end, sew down the overlapping edge with a simple whip stitch or any stitch, really.

These stitches will be hidden later so don't try too hard to make them beautiful. Continue rolling and stitching. When you reach the other end, knot off and cut the thread off.

Step 6

Thread the needle (I used a double strand this time for strength), knot the thread, and start making the spiral. Curl one end tightly on itself and stitch through the curl to secure it. Keeping the seam underneath so it is hidden, continue curling and stitching through the spiral as long as it is small enough for your needle to go all the way through.

As the spiral grows too large for the needle to go all the way through, start stitching only through the layers just underneath.

Step 7

When you come to the end of the spiral, fold the raw edge of the end and stitch it down. Knot and cut off the thread.

If your spiral is very large and wobbly, you can push the needle through a few layers at various points to further reinforce your earlier stitching.


Step 8

Make a cut next to the end of the spiral and gently cut through as many layers as you can, keeping the hole/cut just large enough to insert the dowel. A hole about an inch deep will give stability to the dowel.

Step 9

Push the dowel into the hole, twisting to insert it as far as possible to enlarge the hole. Remove the dowel, apply glue to the tip and re-insert it.

All done!

Note: No tutorial for the candy cane, sorry. I just cut 2 candy cane shapes out of white felt, sewed them together, leaving an opening for turning out. Then I turned it right side out, stuffed it, sewed up the opening and glued red ribbon around it.