Project Update

I showed some photos a month or so ago of some fabric shopping that I did.  I was trying to stock up on fabrics for the hot summer months so that I would have some projects to work on.  Well, summer is just getting started and I’ve gone through all of my projects except one!  Oops!  I plan to restock up on sewing/crocheting/knitting supplies while I’m back home that will hopefully help get me through summer :)

So, since I have been busy with projects lately, I thought I’d share a few with you…

Camera Lens Pouch

I purchased the lenses for my new Nikon through Amazon.  One of them was brand new and came with a nice little suede protector pouch.  My other lenses were feeling left out, so I dug through my fabric stash and found a black canvas, black cord, and a drawstring closer-thingy.  I also found an old plastic card and some leftover carpet padding to provide the stability and cushion for the bottom of the pouch.  This project went surprisingly fast and turned out really well.  I was so happy that it was so easy and was made with scrap materials I already had—talk about a “crafter’s high” :)  If only the rest of the projects I worked on were so perfect…

(Mine is the one on the left)

Jersey Maxi Skirts

These may possibly be my favorite project and most definitely my new favorite clothing item.  They are so comfy, yet dressier than sweatpants and they’re modest but not hot—something that is key for summer life here.  I made the navy one first with a “yoga pant” fold over waistband.  One of my biggest obstacles when I sew is cutting things the exact size they should be—I’m always afraid I will cut something too short and then the whole project will be ruined so I end up adding extra allowances to everything which really just makes the project much harder, or not fit.  Luckily this skirt fit pretty well, it’s just a little longer than it probably should be, but that’s where it’s handy to have the “fold over” top so that I can adjust the length.

After wearing the navy skirt way more times in one week than I should, I decided to find some more jersey and make another.  This time I added ruffles to the bottom which I LOVE.  It’s my new favorite :)

Maxi Dress

After my success with the maxi skirts, I decided to try making a dress.  I bought a cheap tank top and then added the “skirt.”  Very easy project.  Except the bottom of the skirt wasn’t exactly wide enough for my normal stride.  Oops.  I wore it to church the next day anyways—I had to pick it up in order to just walk normal :)   Later I cut a slit in the back and it is much more functional now.  I also really like this dress, although I didn’t pick the best fabric because it wrinkles really easily.  Not ideal.

Slippers

I’ve been wanting to make some cute slippers for a while now.  Especially after seeing these cute ones on pinterest…

I haven’t been able to find the right kind of yarn for that though so last week I decided to try to start crocheting a different pattern.  I am almost done with the first one… just need to put on the edging.  But I completely lost my motivation for it for some reason.  Maybe it’s because the yarn is too thin and they don’t look cozy enough?

This weekend while Paul was playing golf (again) I had a night in by myself and got motivated to go through my fabric stash and reorganize it while watching Benjamin Button (which was better than I expected, but a bit long in my opinion).  I rediscovered some super soft, fluffy fabric and decided to try to sew a pair of slippers.  The next morning when Paul was out golfing (yes again), I made a pattern by tracing my foot and gave it a try.  They turned out decent, but not perfect.  Again, I got nervous and cut some of the fabric longer than it needed to be, so my pattern didn’t fit together perfect---I really need to stop doing that!  The left slipper fits good…. the right one is a little low on the heel so it slips off.  But they are soft & comfy!

Apron

A friend had a birthday recently and she loves baking, so I thought it’d be fun to make her one of the cute aprons that I had bought a pattern for.  She’s a big fan of pink, so I was so happy when I was able to find some cute (aka not weird floral that has overtaken almost all of the fabric stores here) coordinating pink fabrics.  I really enjoy making this pattern.

Baby Girl Dresses & Ruffle Bloomers

Our friends J & N recently had a baby girl.  Their first kid is a boy, so I thought it would be fun to give them something girly.  I had some leftover fabric from the apron, but not quite enough for the dresses.  I went out and bought some more of the same thing not wanting to spend hours trying to find different coordinating fabrics.  I made the dresses based on various patterns and sizing info I found online… not having had a newborn myself, I was really kind of guessing to the sizing.  Hopefully they fit because I think they are super cute… especially the bloomers!

World Map Frame

About a month ago I noticed that someone took the old school desk bench that I had been saving out in front of our apartment.  About a week later I realized that some laborers had taken it across the street and now I see them sitting on it all the time.  Oh well, at least they’re using it.  There have been some pieces of wood that were just leaned up against our wall outside for probably close to 6 months now though.  I don’t know where the idea or motivation came from, but all of a sudden one Saturday afternoon I decided that the World Map that my parents gave us for Christmas needed a frame.  So I took the wood from out front and cut it to make the frame.  The wood was a bit lighter than I wanted, so I stained it with a tea/coffee mixtures.  The stain didn’t darken it quite as much as I wanted, but it did help.
I was so happy to have the frame done, that I wanted to put it up right away.  Unfortunately, that’s not really an option where we live as 90% of our walls are concrete (typical for UAE residential construction) and we don’t have a drill.  But I didn’t want to wait.  So I used the leftover double sided tape that we had bought to put up the map itself.  And it worked.  For an hour.  Then it fell.  Oops again.  So now it’s just sitting on the floor waiting for a drill :(