Tote Bag with Zippered Opening

My friend Y saw the tote bag that I made for M and wanted one for her daughter. However, said friend is fussy (!!) and wanted a pocket on the front, a zipper opening on the top of the bag and it had to be big enough to fit A4 books.

The zipper part scared me so I put the whole thing off....for ages.

I ended up using this tutorial for the top zipper.

And here's what I ended up with.

Overall I'm happy with the bag, but the zip I used was too long. I also hope the bag itself isn't too big, it is on the large side but at least it will fit A4 books.

It was fiddly to top stitch and therefore it isn't as neat as I would like but I had trouble getting the bag through my machine, especially the end parts of the zipper. I've only sewn bags on mum's machine before so I was a bit (read: very!) annoyed that my machine didn't seem up to the task.

A pencil roll was also requested so I made one up to match the bag. I've made lots of these pencil rolls after figuring out some measurements so that I can officially call this *my pattern* (yes it's basic but still!!)

Wow, no wonder I haven't blogged in so long, that just took forever to upload pics, seems a few things have changed with the Blogger format.....hmmm not so sure I like it :(

Long Shorts

My skirt/dress loving, non pants wearing daughter told me last night that she would like to wear shorts today. I reminded her that she doesn't have any. She politely asked if I would mind making her some. Lucky for her I've been wanting to try this pattern.

I ran into some problems with the 2nd ruffle and am now looking into buying a ruffle foot. It was one of those problems you run into at midnight when you know you could get the job finished in the next half an hour but your machine doesn't want to cooperate with you!! I ended up going to bed and finishing them off this morning.

I love the trim fabric I've used, so much so that it was hard to cut into since I was only using it for a trim and I was wondering if it would be better as a top or dress.

An easy to sew pattern with cute results. In her words "I love them mum!"

I can't believe how big M looks in this picture. She is so loooooooong now, her legs just seem to go on and on and on!

Texta (Crayon) Roll

I wanted to make a little something extra to put with a birthday present I had bought for one of M's best friends. I left it completely until the last minute (this morning!) but remembered seeing a tutorial on the lovely Emma's blog that I have been wanting to try (thanks for sharing the tute Emma!)

I've made a texta/crayon roll before but this tutorial looked even quicker.

I am happy with how it turned out however I didn't like seeing the stitching on the back of the roll (since you just turn up the bottom part to make the pocket and stitch through that to make the texta/crayon pockets). I love the bias edging so will try modifying the way the roll is put together and come up with my own version. I used 1 layer of whisper weft interfacing and found it worked perfectly to give the roll the tiniest bit of body. Previously the interfacing I've used has made the roll much too stiff. I like rolls with the fold down top flap which ensures the texta's stay put. I don't see the point (at all!) of the rolls that don't have the top flap??

I'm happy with how it turned out and with the cute little notebook, I think it was a nice little extra pressie to go with the main present.

FWIW mum's seem to love these as presents for their kids. I'm not sure if they just haven't seen them before but whenever I've given them as presents, the mum's genuinely have the most fabulous reaction, it's great :)

On with the pics...

Unrolled without texta's (had to do a dash to the shops to buy a packet)

Back of the roll. See the stitching of all the pockets? I will modify it so that this is hidden next time

Unrolled with top flap down

Rolled up, filled with texta's and sitting on top of the cute little notebook

Some little dresses

I love making these dresses. I plan to try and make a few to sell, here are the first 3.

And this is the dress I think I have actually fallen in love with, a gorgeous fabric combo of blue and brown.

The next 3 dresses I'm currently cutting out and sewing have already been sold, I can't wait to show everyone what they look like!

I'm not sure what the best way is to go about selling things....facebook, via my blog, etsy...?

I don't want to conquer the world or anything, especially with a new baby on the way, however selling on a small scale would be perfect.