DIY Camera Bag

Tags

alexandrea nicole, Camera, Camera bag, DIY, Do it yourself, photography, Pinterest, purse, Shoulder strap, Textile

Almost as soon as I got my camera, I have been looking for a bag to tote it around in. I didn’t want a bag that screamed “I’m holding a camera!” After browsing the web a new trend was very appealing to me – a Purse/Camera Bag. A bag that looks and acts like a purse but is also outfitted with projection for your camera and photography gear. One problem…I did not have the money to splurge.

On Pinterest I saw that others were making their own – so I jumped on the band wagon!

First, I picked out a purse suitable for the project. I was looking for something of medium size. It need to have structured walls and a flat bottom. In addition, I wanted it to close with a zipper. And of course – stylish!

I found this steal at Kohl’s on sale for $40. My favorite things about it? The camel color, pattern, and shoulder strap.

Using the same fabric from the strap I made, I fashioned a divider for the inside to cushion the camera. It is basically a fabric box. To protect the camera there is a double layer of batting in between the two fabrics.

I love the way it turned out. Now my camera can go on the road with me!

If I did this project again I would consider buying foam to put in the box divider to protect my camera even more, but you can’t beat free materials! The total cost of this project was the cost of the purse – $40!

xoxo,

Alexandrea Nicole

College Bound: Embroidered Washcloths

Tags

Arts, bath linens, Bubble Font, college, craft, Embroidery, Gifts, Grace Elizabeth's, Janome, Sewing, sewing machine, Shopping, Textile, washcloths

How many of you are sending off a child to college this fall?  I actually made these embroidered washcloths as graduation gifts but they are a great idea for you to decorate your son’s or daughter’s bath linens before they head off to school this fall.  I purchased the simple washcloths from a local store and purchased the Bubble Font online to work in my Janome sewing/embroidery machine.  These were easy and loved by the graduates.

Happy Stitching,

Sonya Kay

 

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Charmed Disappearing 9 Patch Baby Quilt

Tutorial: DIY Camera Strap Cover

Pow Wow Quilt Piecing

 

Charmed Disappearing 9 Patch Baby Quilt

Tags

9 Patch, Arts, Baby Quilt, Charm Pack, Charm Squares, Crafts, Disappearing 9 Patch, Fiber Arts, pattern, quilt, Textile

Have you ever fell in love with a Charm Pack, bought it but then didn’t know what to do with it?  Well here is what I did with mine – a baby quilt.  No- we don’t have any announcements in the family but hoping someday 🙂

Charm packs are collections of 5″ x 5″ squares of fabric. The popularity of Charm Packs stem from the fact that they are affordable, easy to use, and the size is commonly used in quilting. Also often referred to as Charm Squares.

The pattern is a disappearing 9 patch design.  You can find several tutorials online.  They are really quite  simple and good for a beginner.

To finish the quilt I added a boarder, stitched in the ditch and added a binding. Now all we have to wait for is a baby announcement.  Hee Hee.

 

Tell me what you do with Charm Packs…

Happy Quilting!

Sonya Kay

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Quilting Fabric Sneak Peak

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Never Ending Project Done!

Tutorial: DIY Camera Strap Cover

Tags

alexandrea nicole, Camera, Camera Strap, DIY, Flower Embellishment, photography, Sewing, Strap, Textile, tutorial

Remember that new camera I got not too long ago? I’m making progress in figuring out all its amazing capabilities…err…sort of. Anyway, I have been seeing these really cute camera strap covers on Etsy and Pinterest lately and decided to try my hand at one myself. I am very pleased with the result and decided to walk you through the process I took to create this adorable camera accessory, so you too may look fashionable while capturing memories!

Mom, do you remember these fabrics? You have an apron made out of them…and here I am using the scraps! (Something which desperately needs to happen more often because I am accumulating more fabric than I care to store!)

1. Start by measuring you camera strap. Mine measured 23.5″ x 1.5″.

2. To create my strap I added 1″ to the length and 1/2″ to the width for sewing seam allowances.

3. Cut out 2 strips with the total dimension (my pieces were 24.5″ x 2″). I chose to make each side of the strap different with the coordinating fabrics – so I cut one strip from each.

4. Fold, iron, and pin 1/4″ of each short end. Sew with a zig-zag stitch for added decorative effect.

5. With right sides together pin pieces together. Stitch with a 1/8″ seam allowance along both long sides of the strip. This will form the tube that you will slide your camera strap through.

6. Turn and press tube. Make sure you do a good job of getting the seam to lay flat and on the outside!

7. At this point I added the flower embellishment – you could really add anything that fits your style!

8. Push your camera strap through the tube – I used a safety pin attached to the end of my camera strap to assist with this step.

9. Reattach you strap to your camera and enjoy!

Sorry there are no pictures of the strap attached to my camera…but I can’t really take a picture of my camera with my camera! Hope this inspires you to dress up your own camera – would love to see pictures if you do!

xoxo,

Alexandrea Nicole

Pow Wow Quilt Piecing

Tags

alexandrea nicole, Fabric, Fiber Arts, pow wow, quilt, quilt piecing, Quilting, Textile

I’ve been hard at work piecing squares for my Pow Wow quilt. This is probably my favorite part of quilting because you get to see how the fabrics take shape into a work of art!

quilt block step 1

quilt block step 2

I learned a new method of piecing in order to put these blocks together. Although it wastes some fabric, it is much easier than it would be to piece together as triangles.

On another quilting note…

The quilt that I have been working on for years is almost complete! I started this quilt as a sophomore in college in the depths of my dorm room. Four years later and all that’s left is binding! Hopefully I’ll get to show you that next week all finished!

xoxo,

Alexandrea Nicole

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Pow Wow Quilt

Tags

alexandrea nicole, cutting, Fabric, Fiber Arts, pattern, pow wow, quilt, Quilting, Sewing, Textile

All those gorgeous fabrics are going to turn into the Pow Wow Quilt by Allison Harris over at Cluck Cluck Sew.

I finished up the top of my previous quilting project shortly after buying this fabric. I told myself I couldn’t start on this until it was finished, but this way I can quilt them at the same time, right?!

I just finished cutting out all the squares for my quilt top. So far I am really enjoying Allison’s PDF file. She has clear instructions and many diagrams for clarification. The amount of fabric needed was very accurate as well – something that because of my lack of storage, I can really appreciate. It seems that so often I end up with tons of extra fabric from projects!

Cutting out is always my least favorite part. Now I have all my pieces cut out and they are ready to be pieced into the quilt blocks. Time to get out the sewing machine!

What is your least favorite part of assembling a quilt?

Alexandrea Nicole

2013 Color of the Year

Tags

African violet, Angela Wolf, Color, Color of the year, Emerald, lemon zest, Monaco Blue, Nectarine, Pantone, PatternReview, poppy red, Spring Fabrics, Textile, Variations of green, Wardrobe

This article originally posted by Angela Wolf on PatternReview Blog

It’s that time of year again! Pantone announced emerald green as the color of the year.  Have you ever wondered how and why they choose a specific color?

I found the reasons for this year’s pick very interesting, and the choice is not only relevant to fashion.  Interiors such as table decorations, dishes and appliances (wait until you see the new color in Kitchen Aid mixer), vehicles (the new emerald Camaro), and beauty products are just a few of the other industries included.  Here are some of the details recently shared by Pantone:

The power of green reflects the current age with the green movement and saving the planet, green strategies that businesses are trying to put into place, and the health benefits of green.  Research has shown that green has a relaxing effect on the body.  Green represents sophistication, luxury, growth, clarity, renewal, and rejuvenation.  Elegance and beauty, green enhances the sense of well-being.  

Since the only green thumb I will ever have is from dyeing fabric, I think I will resort to fake plants and adding some green to my wardrobe, along with the other colors for spring.

Speaking of the other colors, all the colors for spring 2013 create a balance with neutrals like dusk blue, greyed jade, and linen.  Combine these with the vivid emerald, African violet, or nectarine for a soft, fresh look.  Need a touch of vibrancy?  Try the lemon zest, Monaco blue, or poppy red.

Popular Fabrics for spring:

• Lightweight
• Fluid with drape
• Sheer
• Densely woven
• Reversible
• Prints
• Luminous and sparkly

For those of you that dye your own fabrics, Dharma Trading has special limited selection of fiber reactive dyes in all the spring colors.

Angela Wolf is the designer and founder behind ABO Apparel, Angela Wolf Ready-to-Wear and ABO Sport. An A-list clientele has given Angela more than fifteen years of experience dressing and fitting many diverse women and has enabled her to understand the different styles that compliment each individual woman.

Practice Flowergirl Dress

Tags

B4967 Butterick, butterick 4967, butterick pattern, Clothing, Dress, Fabric, Fabric store, Flowergirl, flowergirl dress, Shopping, Textile, wedding

As the wedding gets closer (Aug) it is time to do a practice run on making the flowergirl dress.  We bought some fun summer fabric to experiment with the pattern (B4967 Butterick) hoping that it would fit and our flowergirl would have a fun dress for the summer.  We measured our little darling and her measurements dictated that we should use size 4 for one of her measurements and a size 7 for another measurement.  Hum, what should one do.  I chose size 6.

The pattern was very easy to follow and took me a couple of days leisurely working on it and doing my other daily work.  With the dress finished our challenge was to see if it fit.  You see, our little darling lives 3 hours away.  Last week was our lucky week.  We had a reason and ride to travel 2 hours with only an extra hour to reach our destination so off we went.  It was a fun day and the dress fit perfectly.  After the fitting we excitedly went to the fabric store and purchased the actual fabric.  Watch for the progress on the “real” flowergirl dress.