Reusable grocery bag and Doggy treat pouch

Right after I came back from Chicago, I had to fly to Kona for work again.
I didn't even have time to unpack! but I like traveling, so I didn't mind :) 
My husband is the one doesn't enjoy it much though, he hates to be away from me :P
So, while in Kona,  I got to visit the fabric store I've found nearby hotel I was staying at.
This is one of them I got that day.
So cute I had to get it! Love the colors, don't you?



I've got a few Japanese sewing books while in Chicago, and I wanted to try one of them.
So, I made this reusable grocery bag.
It's same design as regular plastic bags and the size is so large I can fit anything in it!
I actually have been using it to just carry stuff around, but I'm sure it'll come in handy when I go grocery shopping!










I wanted to make more things after I finished this and I already had an idea in my mind.
I've been hiking every month with my dog recently and I was in need of something.
When I take him hiking or just to the park, I usually take his treats/snacks to give him.
I used to carry them in a plastic bag as sold at the store which I didn't really like being loosely open.
So, I had this idea with a small pouch that I can carry hands-free that had a sealing to keep his snack tightly closed!
I was going to use one of those small ziploc bags, but I happened to have this ideal size bag.
It is the perfect size I was looking for and it has a sealing and the bag is very durable! Perfect.

I cut the remaining fabric to the size of this bag, sewed it together, slipped the bag in.... and came to find out the bag didn't fit in the arm of the sewing machine to sew it together.
So, I hand-stitched to put them in a place.
After I did that, I realized I should have sewn the ribbon on before attaching the bag.... sigh...
I didn't want to undo hand-stitching part to do it all over again, so I changed a plan to attach the ribbon from outside... oh well, it worked.




Voila! Here is the treat bag I've been picturing!
I love it!!!!!! Now I can go hands-free or bulky backpack-free to satisfy my little guy!

This is how it looks inside.
His snack will remain fresh in this tightly sealed bag :D
He loves it too because every time I grab this pouch, he dashes over to me... oh... maybe he loves his treat not the pouch....
Either way, I'm happy with this yummy pouch




This is how it looks on me, quite a small size.
I like having an instruction to make like the grocery bag, but I enjoy making my own out of my imagination too!
I just have to have a very good plan so I don't forget to skip the step like placing a ribbon before stitching up to close it lol

 

Hmmm, what to make next....?

Picnic-Tastic Lunch Mats

I need to be finishing up another knit pouch I've started (half way done), but I tend to jump around..

So, when I was flipping through One-Yard Wonders to look for a cute stuff to make, these lunch mats caught my eyes.

You can make four of these mats with 1 yard.

I picked the Midwest Modern collection by Amy Butler (yummy pink!!) that I purchased online before, but since I only had a 1/2 yard of it, I ended up with 2 mats and because of the way it was cut, I had to adjust the size too.

It has a pocket to hold the utensils and a little napkin holder, so you won't have to chase after those flying napkins at a picnic! What a great idea!

Because of the shortage situation, it came out a bit smaller and a pocket looks skinnier, but it sure serves a purpose!! :D

My husband liked it, too. I love how he always gives me a comment on my projects!

I think I'm going to use this for lunch time at work :)

Even though we hardly go on a picnic, I guess I've got an excuse to go now... just to use these mats! lol

Lunch Bag

I've been using this little bag as my lunch bag to work that came as a bonus in a magazine. 
It's getting little old with stains and all, so I've been wanting to make a new one exactly the same size as this since it's a good size. 
I traced this bag on a wrapping paper to make a pattern of it and cut the fabric out.
I was trying to remember how I made a similar tote bag at the sewing class when I had extra time after finishing the elastic pants...
My memory was good enough to make it as I wanted!! Yay :)
Here is the outcome of it...

 

It came out exactly as I wanted, so I'm very happy with it :)
It looks quite big in the picture, but it's really small, just the right size for your lunch!
I've used the old one as a run-to-the-store purse too, so I'm pretty sure this one will come in handy as well.
 

Sewing Machine Cozy

My sewing machine didn't have a cover, so it naturally became my project :)

I chose "Sewing Machine Cozy" from Sew Everything Workshop book by Diana Rupp.
You are supposed to use Oilcloth, but since I didn't have it I used regular cotton fabric...


I've been also curious about bias tapes as I was with a blind hemming foot. I like how it gives a complete look to the item! As I kinda guessed how to apply it, I struggled. Especially the inside corner, the handle hole part! The end part is too ugly to show X(

The sizing was a challenge too... I thought the measurement in the book was little bigger than my machine, so I first cut the depth 1" shorter, but then I thought "Oh no, the seam allowance!" so I cut it again with suggested measurement. As a result, it came out too big... :( Oops, I should've used the first cut-out...! I think it would've been perfect if I used oilcloth instead of cotton as it would've hold itself up though. Oh well. As long as it keeps the dust off of my baby, it's okay! Plus, it's cute!


This is the slit part for the power cord. :)

It gives me a smile every time I look at it! That's all it matters!! :D
Now I'm thinking what to make next...
Oh, I'd better finish another knitting kit first...

See you soon!

My first project?

So, to get my sewing machine running, I first wanted to get the manual. I started to search on the web for a FREE manual of this specific model, but no luck... :( The best I could come up with was an $8 one posted by an individual. When I almost gave up and decided to pay, I thought to call the brand manufacturer number on the machine.

I gave the guy all the information about the machine and at the end he told me "that would be $12.40." Oh... it costs and it's even more... I thought out loud... "Oh, I thought I could get it for free from you guys, that's okay..." and I almost hang up when he continued, "Well, if you go to managemylife.com and type in your model number, you can get it for free." ?!?!? What did he just say? I was confused for a second, but he repeated again, and told him I would try that and thanked him for his help. Wow. Now that's the way to do marketing. It reminded me of the marketing class at college lol. I'm more likely to go back to them for some other products just for what he did right there :)

So, as soon as I got off the phone with an angel, I looked it up on the site and sure enough, it came right up!!! Yay!! Oh, that was Sears I called, by the way :) I think I owe them to put their name up here. See how their marketing is working already? ;)

So, I went through some basic stuff and was ready to start my adventure!!

I was dreaming all over about what to create with my baby.

That's when I noticed my husband standing in front of me holding his pants in his hands and said "Can you hem these for me?"

There it was, my first project lol.

I guess I forget about a pink avocado creation...

Those pants he had in his hands were the dress pants which needed blind hemming.

I actually have been very curious about blind-hem after I kept reading the sewing books.

Luckily, the machine came with blind hemming foot and the manual I just got had a direction of how to do it! I gave it a try and Wa Lah! The hem was blind! How exciting!

It was not as hard as I though it would be. I think the person who invented this thing is so genius!

Now both my husband and I are happy and I'm ready to go on to my pink avocado projects!