Today's Photo Journal: Dragon and Shark costumes debut

UPDATE!  Get the Shark Pattern Here

UPDATE!  Get the Toothless Pattern Here

The Dragon (Bitty wanted to look like Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon) and Shark costumes made their debut last night at our church's fall Trunk or Treat event. Wait 'til you see the rest...

How to Make 10-Second Prairie Points ... or in my case, dragon spines!

Prairie points have been around for eons, and many quilters use them to decorate the edge of a quilt.  But they're not just for quilts:  I used them this week to make the row of spines down the hoodie and tail on my son's Toothless dragon costume!

Like everything else, people have designed all manner of ways to make something really simple, well, hard.  For example, check out this tutorial for continuous origami prairie points.  I'm impressed -- it's really clever -- but I like the plain, simple way my mam-maw taught me.  And it takes -- literally -- like 10 seconds.

It goes like this...

Tutorial: How to Patch a Pair of Shorts...(or most anything, really)

When Big Boy hopped off the school bus last week, I immediately noticed a quarter-size hole in his favorite shorts.  I asked if he wanted me to patch them, and of course, he said yes.  I'm tickled that the kids think it's no big deal that I can patch things, shorten sleeves or make them a pair of "comfy pants" (read: fleece) and let out the hem the next year when they're too short.  For once, being taken for granted makes me smile. 

Sewlympics! Get a gold medal machine for the price of a little copper...

So you want to learn to sew, but you don't want to spend a fortune on a hobby you're not even sure about.  Let me show you how to butterfly-stroke your way to a machine worth its weight in gold medals for the price of a little copper.

$5 + Fabric = Fabulous!

Three bucks?! SCORE!

With SuperHusband and I already seasoned Craigslist veterans, I suppose it wasn't a huge leap when a wonderful friend C. of Colorado got me interested in yard sales last year.  Then a few months ago, I found out how many cool things my friend D. and Tina (you saw her handiwork here) were getting at thrift stores.  So I have a new secret life:  trolling the thrift stores and yard sales of the Florida panhandle in search of cast-offs that I can make cool again.

I can't just buy something "because."  I do at least generally go out with an idea of what I need and try (somewhat unsuccessfully) not to get lured in by shiny objects. So two weeks ago when I went in search of a collapsible wood TV tray and comfy barstool, I didn't exactly hit the mark, but I had a couple of pretty cool finds.  First, I got an entire bolt of beautiful paisley home decorator fabric in warm rusts and golds for $3.

But the second find was the real gem...

Simple Chic Pillowcase Tutorial

I needed to bring a little "girly" back into the guest bedroom adorned with SuperHusband's aviation art and the kids' masculine quilts -- airplanes and dragons.  These dramatic damask pillowcases dressed the space up nicely, and they make a perfect first project for the sewing beginner.

NOT YOURS!

Once, when Big Boy was barely two years old, he stumbled on his short, chubby toddler legs into my sewing space and began to make his way around the room, stopping every few steps to point at some forbidden item and shout, in the loudest meanest tone his precious little voice could muster, "NOT YOURS!"

Piecey Placemats Tutorial

About seven months ago, we experienced a serious upheaval.  We not only moved into a new home, but also introduced a whole new dynamic to our house by bringing Momma to live with us and setting Daddy up in a sweet bachelor's pad down the road.  The change to routine overwhelmed me a bit, and getting the new house looking pretty took a backseat to the tremendous responsibility of keeping the entire family -- six people from ages 2 to 76 -- on track.

So when the Gathering Gals asked to do placemats this week for class, I jumped at the chance to buy some new fabric to match my new, serene water house, and to dress up the dining room.  :)

Today's Photo Journal: A Slice of Key Lime

A few days ago Miss Shara brought me this lovely quilt she made from Hoffman Bali Pops in Key Lime.  I've totally come around to the beauty of batiks as I quilt more, and these stunning colors are perfect for quilting a Florida quilt in view of the idyllic East Bay.  She wanted the quilt to stay nice and fluffy, so we went with a simple, loose meander all over.

Across-the-Body Bag Tutorial

Here's the pretty little bag I made yesterday to carry to the fireworks on base last night!

I found inspiration from Mari's Monk Bag tutorial, and we even used it as a project for the Gals' Gathering.  I wasn't totally jazzed, so I modified the process a bit to my tastes.  Here are the changes I made to her basic design: 

First, my number one problem once I finished the Monk Bag was the handle -- it's way too wide! 

Today's Photo Journal: Surprises...

My amazing SuperHusband surprised me with these gorgeous roses, and they reminded me of the surprise quilt I started for my mother before she got so sick.  Now that she's on the mend and we're back to some kind of normal routine, I'm going to finish it.

Today's Photo Journal: Jewel Heist

Check out my friend Tina's jewel box quilt!  Gorgeous colors, right?  So I practically jumped with joy when she called me and said she'd be shipping it out to sunny Florida for me to quilt it on my Lizzie...

So, for the first time, I had to center a backing on a quilt.  (Thankfully, the quilt's small size made it a little easier to come up with a solution.)   First, I marked the side center points of both the quilt top and the backing with a safety pin.