St. Nicholas Day Surprise

Today, is the feast of St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra in the third century. He was a very kind and wealthy man, giving much of what he had to the poor and needy. He is the real Santa Claus.

As one story goes, there was a man who had three daughters. In order to get married, they had to have money - a dowry. The man was very poor and did not have any money, so it seemed as though his daughters would be sold into slavery. However, one night a they found a bag of gold by their fireplace. The next night, a second bag of gold was found and then a third. The three daughters had their dowries and would not be sold into slavery. Nicholas was the one who had given the gold to the man and his daughters. That is how the tradition of putting your shoes out on the eve of St. Nicholas Day came about.

Over my Thanksgiving break, I made three zippered pouches for my roommates. I wanted it to be a Christmas gift for them because they are such wonderful roommates! We leave for break before Christmas, so I decided to surprise them with their gifts for St. Nicholas Day. I wrapped their gifts up in pretty paper and decorative gift bags.


Here they are, all packaged up!

Once they leave for school, I will put them in their rooms, and they will have a surprise waiting for them when they get home later today!

Roommate #1 will get this lovely Girlfriend Zipper Pouch. It is just the right size and it even has pockets inside! If you want to make one, you can find the tutorial at Blue Susan Makes. It was super easy and fun too! I love the ruffle detail on the front.

 

 

Roommate #2 will get this awesome pencil pouch! It is perfect for her since she wants to be a teacher. The numbers are perfect too, because she loves math! It is super easy to follow and you can find the tutorial at Gwenny Penny. I will be making several more of these!

 

 

Roommate #3 is from South Korea, and she loves anything I sew. She has watched me sew and wants me to teach her! I decided to make her this open wide zipper pouch from Noodlehead. The fun thing about this tutorial is you can choose from 3 different sizes to make. I was going to make a medium but I made a mistake when cutting, so I had to make a small. This is another great tutorial that I will be using again!

 

 

 

 My crafty and thoughtful sister wanted to make something for all of my roommates too. She made these felt Christmas tree ornaments. Aren't they so cute? She did a great job!

 

 

 

I know my roommates will love their surprises! Have you been sewing any Christmas gifts lately?

 

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

 

~Elizabeth

 

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy (early) fourth of July!! I'm sorry it has taken me so long to write, but I have been busy sewing. Also, I am officially graduated from high school! Yay!! It feels great, but at the same time I can hardly believe it. It seems like yesterday that I started high school...

Today, I have two projects to show you. One is a pink and white purse made from my own pattern. The lady that is buying it from me wanted the outside to look like a quilt, or checkered. I cut out 3.5" by 3.5" squares, sewed them together and made a bag.

Front of the bag. The back side is exactly the same, minus the pocket.



Inside of the bag. I love the pink fabric with white leaves!


Next up, something for myself! It is called "Daily Doodler" and the pattern describes it as "A personal portable organizer." The pattern is from This and That patterns. I have made three from the pattern already for gifts, so I decided it was time to make one for myself. I love the pattern! It is so quick and easy!!

Front of my daily doodler. The small rectangles that make up the blocks are mostly scraps.

The back, so you can see all the pretty colors!

The inside. There are three pockets, including a zippered pocket. The notepad will be useful for jotting things down! I will definitely be bringing it to college with me!

That is all I have for you right now. I hope you have a wonderful fourth of July weekend! I will be enjoying time with my family.

~Elizabeth

Sewing Bug

It's official...I've caught the sewing bug. Yesterday, I was busy sewing all day and I got a lot done! I started the day by sewing a birthday present for my friend. I also made some rag quilt numbers. I just have to put them in the washer and dryer so the edges will fray. Now I have a number and letter set. I want to start an etsy shop, so I might sell the ABC letters and the numbers once I get my shop up and running.

My third project was a purse. I combined two patterns I have and changed them both to make my own design! I'm really happy with the way it turned out. The colors are mostly red and black. One side is made with vertical strips of fabric.The other side is one color with a pocket in the middle. The inside has nine pockets and I put a Velcro closure in it. The handles are 22 inches long. I've decided to call it "The Justine Bag" after a good friend.



One side of the bag



Other side of bag, with pocket.

Inside of bag. The red, black, white and gray stripe fabric is the pockets. The music fabric is the lining.

Today I haven't been doing any sewing, but I've sure been thinking about it and doing a lot of brainstorming for more bags/purses. For example, a patchwork bag with squares, a bag with horizontal strips, a reversible bag, small purses, larger tote bags . . . the possibilities are endless!