The Painted Piano...

Get ready for a lot of pictures

 of my aqua piano!

I'm so happy that I finally did it 

and I love love love the aqua.

 It fit's right in with my cottage decor

 and I think it adds a little more fun:)

 I just love painted furniture...don't you?

I love it soooo much!

 I still have to do a few more 

things to finish it up.

Can you see that it's still wearing

 fuzzy house slippers to 

protect the new floor?

I need to get some soft furniture

 thingys to put on the bottom of the legs. 

And I need to take the blue tape off 

the pedals and wheels ...

and add the cute little Martha Stewart

 brushed nickel knobs that I bought 

for it at Home Depot.

You can see that our floor in the front room of my cottage is almost complete...

we still have to do the stairs and

 paint and install the trim all the way

 around the base boards.

I love the new wall color and I'm noticing

 in this photo how much the color 

changes according to the light.

I love it!

This is the window it will go in!

 Kassidy is the piano player in our house 

(she has been playing since she was five)

and she wanted to put it in the window so that she can look outside while she plays:)

As you can see it's a sunny morning 

here in my little town!!!

 Our upper floor redo is still a

 work in progress but I'm happy to say

 that we are 90% complete!

Mr. Honey was so patient with me when I kept telling him that we just have to re-paint

 "one more thing" 

before we can install the floor...lol.

I have pretty much repainted everything that wasn't moving!!!! 

I'll show you each piece one by one after the flooring is totally complete and I can put things back into their place:)

Okay....

I'm off to the market for groceries 

and then I'm sure the rest of my 

day will involve sewing... 

that is AFTER carpooling and 

taxi driving my teenagers

 to rugby and dance...

oh... and a little cooking...

and maybe a quick stop at Home Depot

 for those fuzzy furniture feet...

and because Home Depot is "sorta"

 by the thrift shop...

maybe a quick stop there...

hmmm.....

maybe I'll just sew tonight while 

I'm watching American Idol:)

xx

Lori

Millie's Closet is Here!!!...

Hello cute people!!!

How the heck are ya?

Doesn't this fat quarter bundle 

look like a yummy dessert?

I think it does:)

Tonight I thought I'd fill you in on a 

few happenings around here...

First off...

I'm sew happy to say that

 Millie's Closet

 is here and is now available online

 and in quilt shops!

YAY!!!

I'm thrilled that it's finally here:)

Also a little family sharing...

The other day my cute little 

granddaughter Sophie Belle was here

 and I realized it had been a long time

 since I posted a picture of her....

as you can see it's not an easy task 

to get a good photo of her...

When she was actually sitting still

 (for about a half of a second)

I still couldn't get her to 

look at the camera...

But with a little coaxing and

 a promise of a cupcake...

I got a quick turn around just

 long enough to get a quick shot!

Sophie just turned 3 and

 she is sooo much fun:)

Today I've been in my studio...

Cutting and playing with 5" square's 

from some of

 the Millie's Closet prints...

I'm using them in a pieced border on one

 of my new quilt patterns....

I will show it to you when it's complete:)

I'll post more in a few days!

xx

Lori

Lined Travel Bag Tutorial...

Today I thought I would share a

 fun and easy tutorial for  

"Lined Travel Bags"

 I designed them to go with my new

 Millie's Closet fabric line.

I don't know about you...

but when I travel,

 I like to keep my things separated

 inside my suitcase to protect them.

Things like sweaters or delicate clothing

 items are good to keep separated so 

that they aren't roughed up during travel...

and I also like to keep my shoes 

in separate bags too.

This bag finishes at about 10" x 16"

 perfect for a pair of shoes or

 for whatever else you may need it:) 

For each bag you will need...

2 Fat quarters.

One for the outside of the bag...

 and one for the lining.

Cut EACH fat quarter to measure 17" x 21".

For the tie you will need one

 2 1/2" x 44" strip of fabric.

Fold the lining in half with 

right sides together so that it

 measures 10 1/2" x 17".

On the side that isn't folded,

 measure 7" down from the top and

 5" up from the bottom...

placing a mark on the seam allowance

 so that you know where to 

stop and start stitching....

this is your opening for turning

 right side out later.

Using a 1/4" seam allowance,

 sew along the bottom edge and the side, leaving the top open... 

and make sure to leave the opening

 that you have marked unstitched.

 Don't forget to backstitch each time

 that you stop and start again.

Fold the bag front in half with right sides together so that it measures 10 1/2" x 17".

You will need to leave an opening for

 the tie on this piece.

Measure 2" down from the top and mark...

then measure another 1 1/4" down 

from that line and mark again.

 You should have 2 marks 1 1/4"apart.

Stitch along the bottom and the side...leaving the area between your markings unstitched. Backstitch to secure stitches each time

 you stop and start again.

You will need to finger press the seams open on the bag front and stitch around the casing opening so that the seam allowance won't come out when you tie and untie your bag.

By the way...I used matching thread on my other bags but I used contrasting thread for this one so that you could see my stitches:)

For this next step,

 turn the bag front right side out but

 keep the lining turned wrong side out.

Place the bag front inside of the lining and line up the top edges and the

 side seam allowance.

Pin into place and stitch all the way 

around the top edges.

Like this.

Remember the opening in the lining?...

it's time to pull the 

front of the bag through it...

Like this.

Now both front and lining are sewn together 

at the top and both are turned 

right side out like this.

Now top stitch the opening in 

the lining closed...

Like this.

As I said before, your front and lining are sewn together at the top...

now push the lining inside of the

 bag front until they both lay 

as flat as possible and 

give your bag a nice press. 

To form your casing for the tie...

sew a line 1 1/2" down from the top...

and then another line 2 3/4" from the top.

You will have a casing that 

measures 1 1/4" wide..

and a finished opening in the 

 bag front for the tie!

Fold your 2 1/2" x 44" strip of fabric

 with right sides together and 

stitch down the side with 

a 1/4" seam allowance.

Use your favorite turning method and

 turn it right side out...

for this one I used the

 tried and true 

safety pin method 

that my mom taught me:)

After turning...

give it a nice press and 

tuck the seam allowance inside on

 each end and topstitch closed.

 I used the safety pin again 

to thread 

my tie thru the casing.

Lay your bag out flat until the end

 of the ties are even...

And stitch a small zigzag back and forth

 a few times over the center of 

the tie inside the casing 

so that it won't come out!

The tie is long enough to tie a cute bow:)

Your bag is ready for travel...

or gift giving:)

I think I'll make a few of these 

for

 my mom for Mother's Day 

and fill 

them with something fun!

I wanted to show you one of the bags

 that I made using my fabric that 

looks like it's already been pieced...

but it wasn't...it just comes off the bolt 

that way!...that's how I designed it:)

I have made several of these bags already and I have even more cut out and ready to go.

I hope you all enjoyed my latest tutorial...

and until next time...

have a quilty kind of day!!!

xx

Lori

Apron Bottle Cover Tutorial...

Can you believe it?...

I'm finally getting around

 to doing a tutorial on my 

apron water bottle/soda covers.

I have had sooo many requests 

for this tutorial ever since 

I started my blog...

today it feels good 

to finally be doing it:)

I can't tell you how many of 

these little cuties 

that I've sewn over the years...

well into the hundreds I'm sure.

I first posted about them 

a long time ago...

if you are new to my blog...

you can read all about them

by clicking 

here. 

 For my aprons today...

 I chose to use two cute 

japanese fabrics from my stash. 

It just takes 

1 - 6" square of fabric

 for one apron...

and 2 - 1 1/2"x 3 1/2" 

 for the pockets.

 But I usually make more 

than one at a time...

and today I am making 4!

If you want to make them with me...

you will need my pattern so 
here is a free download!

All you will need to make 4 aprons are...

2 - 10" squares of fabric that coordinate

4 yards of 1/4" bias tape (double fold)

Thread to match bias tape.

I think this is a great way to 

use up leftover 10" squares:)

I like to trace my aprons and pockets

 onto freezer paper and iron them 

onto the fabric so that 

I don't need to use pins.

I think sometimes the pins can 

distort small fabric pieces

 and this way I can get a

 more accurate cut.

Cut 2 aprons and 4 pockets 

out of one square and peel off

 the freezer paper...

Iron the freezer paper patterns

 onto the other square and

 cut out two more aprons 

and 4 more pockets.

Each apron uses one yard of bias tape.

Now you're ready to roll!

Using one yard of the bias tape...

cut a 2" long piece...
a 10" long piece...
and fold the remaining in half and
 place a pin in the center.

*NOTE - When sewing with double folded 

bias tape, use matching thread an

 remember that the shorter side of 

the fold always goes on the top.

Step 1:

Fold the 2" piece over the top of the apron. You won't need to pin...

just go ahead and top stitch into place

 about 1/8" from the edge of the bias tape.

No backstitching needed at this point.

Step 2:

Fold the 10" piece of bias tape around the bottom curved edge of the apron.

Topstitch into place. 

Again, do not add bulk by backstitching.

Trim the ends of the bias tape even with the edges of the apron.

Step 3:

Pin the remaining piece of bias tape

 onto the top side and bottom side corners

 of apron...folding it around the

 inside curves when pinning.

Leave a loop long enough at the top

 for the neck of the apron.

(refer to the download pattern to see

 how big to make the loop)

Now go ahead and topstitch the bias tape together starting at the end of the 

left apron tie and continue stitching.

 When you reach each pin...remove it and continue stitching the bias tape to the inside curves of the apron...continue on stitching the neck...then the next inside curve and on until you reach the end of the right apron tie.

Don't forget to backstitch at the beginning 

and end of each tie.

Finished apron without pockets:)

Now for the pockets...

Press each pocket in half with

 right sides together.

 It should now measure 1 1/2" x 1 3/4".

Press about 1/4" under the 3 raw edges 

leaving the folded edge for the 

top of the pocket.

Pin the pockets onto the apron front

 and topstitch into place...leaving the top folded edge of pocket unstitched.

Use your stylus or small pointy scissors

 to keep the seam allowances turned under

 while stitching.

Don't forget to backstitch!

Completed apron with pockets:)

Now tie it on your soda or water bottle and place a straw in one of the pockets!

In the other pocket you could put a love note...or a cute little candy...or their name for a place setting:)

I have done that for a luncheons.

You could make the pockets a little larger to hold what you want...I've done that too!

Or you can fussy cut the fabric

 so that the pockets match 

like I did with the cherries:)

This Coca Cola bottle looked 

a little bit naked to me...

So I made her an apron using my 

Sew Cherry fabric.

And 3 makes a party!!!

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and

 that you have fun making a few aprons 

for yourself and your

 apron lovin' friends:)

xx

Lori