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Sewing can be such a fun and rewarding hobby.  There are so many great projects that allow you to add a handcrafted element to your home.  And if you prefer a slightly different type of motivation, there are gorgeous fabrics to chose from allowing those handcrafted touches to be custom to your style.

Yet sewing can be an intimidating and time consuming hobby, can’t it?  Between balancing all the aspects of daily life (career, family, etc) I sometimes find myself preferring a nice, simple project that I can finish in a relatively quick amount of time.  One that can be finished without utilizing my seam ripper too many times and allows enough time for all the other to do’s on my lists for a weekend.  A mini-project if you will, that can be fit in during a couple of hours on a Saturday morning.

Coasters are perfect for these little mini-projects.  They are quite simple yet fun to finish.  And you can pick out the perfect color and pattern to compliment your home.  Oh and you also get to work on keeping your top stitching straight!  They can be made with a fabric leftover from an earlier project or you could get a fat quarter, so they are also a very inexpensive project.

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In high school, I took a home economics type class. I made a lop-sided duffle bag and a deformed chocolate chip cookie pillow. I had a such a terrible time making both projects that I didn’t sew again. I’ve always been envious of my friends who can sew.

All the craft shows that I’ve been to in the past year have inspired me. I decided that I wanted to learn/relearn is how to sew with a sewing machine. I want to do basic things like make decorative pillows, maybe some pajamas.

I used trusty Yelp.com to find sewing classes. My search led me to Sew L.A. It’s this hip sewing studio in Silver Lake. It’s definitely not like your grandma’s sewing shop. They teach classes and have a small shop. They carry some great specialty and import fabrics.

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I’m in full baby-nursery mode these days, my dears. And I’d like your help with something: a baby quilt. No, I’m not sewing one myself because that would require me knowing how to sew. But my loving mother has decided she simply MUST sew a baby quilt for her first-born grandchild. (And did I mention over here….it’s going to be a BOY!)

But here’s the thing: I really don’t like old-fashioned quilts. In fact our nursery is very bold, modern, and not at all traditional (pictures of updates to follow). So I think that a modern baby quilt would be the best for her to make but it’s hard to find a cute pattern out there. Probably part of the problem is that I focus on the colors of the quilt instead of the actual pattern. But ours will probably be full of aquas, oranges, yellows, and bright greens if that helps create a mental image in your mind.

I used my Googling skillz to find a few ideas and want your input. A few websites out there offer a TON of gorgeous ideas, so here we go:

1. Modern Cotton Quilt by Red Pepper :

2. Sew Girly! Bird quilt:

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In our flat, we have an ongoing debate about cushions. I am a big fan of cushions, aesthetically & practically. Husband on the other hand really doesn’t like them. Prior to the arrival of our sewing machine as a wedding present, I could almost see why. When I went to university my Mum and I bought me some new cushions & covers: black velvet & deep red velvet with embroidery and mirrors. If you knew that I was a heavy metal fan who liked black eyeliner and incense and ‘ethnic decoration’ when I was 18 and started university, you would not be surprised about the cushions. Those cushions moved from student halls to student house at Exeter, then they came with me to London via a flat with a girlfriend, a random shared house, & 2 flats with the (now) Husband. So, a little tired and on their sixth house, I decided that it was time to upgrade. With no real money this summer all decorating has been attempted on a diy, recycle, remake basis so in order to keep the cushions a little structured I recovered them, old covers and all.

I bought the red & white striped ticking in a charity shop for £2.50 last summer but never got around to using it. When measuring the cushions I discovered that if I cut it into 3 pieces, hemmed the top & bottom of each bit and sewed them into pillowcase style covers, I could have 3 new cushions in about an hour. So I did. And while Husband doesn’t exactly love cushions yet, even he admits that they are a vast improvement. Not with the brown sofa maybe, but that’s another project…

I found this adorable oilcloth collapsible travel pet bowl via CraftStylish.  All you need to create this is your sewing machine and a little origami know-how.

Oilcloth is such a fun medium (and easy, it doesn’t even fray)!  Sew, Mama, Sew! has great tips for working with oilcloth {here}.

E.

We found a great new Library member this week, Greer Cicarelli Photography.  While searching through their blog, which is full of wedding inspiration, we found photos of a lovely DIY project that Vanessa completed – a photo memory game for her children!

Vanessa originally found the project on the Mom Advice blog, and all of the instructions can be found {here} at Hallmark Magazine.  I’m a sucker for anything miniature so naturally I love this project.  And I can already see some fun alternate uses for the little memory squares (mini Valentine’s cards anyone?).

E.

Oh Whip Up, how I love thee!  And your long long list of sewing tutorials.  Here’s to Handmade Holidays!

Clockwise from Top Left:
Ric Rac Dahlias
Tin Can Cover
Hip Mama Diaper Bag
Quilted Wallet

This is such a great bag for a variety of uses – gym bag, tote-around-town bag, gift bag, diaper bag…  the list goes on and on but mainly it’s just cute!

{Image via foofanagle}

Thanks goes to foofanagle, one of my favorite crafty gals, for the fabulous and easy to follow tutorial!  She also credits knitting box and d-made for their help and inspiration along the way.

E.