Fast, Easy Sewing Projects

I try to sew for at least 15 minutes every day. Sometimes I am able to complete a project from beginning to end and those are the best ones! This week I managed to complete 3 projects on my to-do list.

1. Shorts for Little Man

2. Alphabet skirt for Little Lady

3. Infinity Scarf for SewCaroline's Handmade Scarf Swap

We all know that winter doesn't really make an appearance here in Southern California. There are some exceptions of course, but most of us experience some warm days sprinkled in through winter. This past week we had very warm weather for it being middle of winter. We had 80 degree days. Little Man was in desperate need of shorts! Sure I could run to Target and get him a few pairs for about $5 each, but that's not as fun as sewing him a pair. Not to mention I get to use up my stash and make room for more! 

I was inspired by this tutorial that I found on Pinterest. I made them out of knit fabric that I purchased from Girl Charlee. They are soft, stretchy, and comfy for my energetic boy! The fabric was part of the bargain lot sale Girl Charlee has every now and then. Those bargain lot sales are AWESOME! Especially for those of us who are new to sewing with knits. You get great pieces to work with, different types of knits, and all at a great price.

I also made a quick skirt for Little Lady. Fabric was also from a Girl Charlee bargain lot. She loves princesses and dancing and always asks to wear a long skirt or dress to twirl around in. She has been asking me to make her a long skirt, but I didn't want to make maxi skirt for fear that she would trip over it. I opted for a "midi" length I guess. I used this tutorial as inspiration.

And last but not least, the infinity scarf I made for the Handmade Scarf Swap hosted by SewCaroline.  I used this awesome, SUPER easy video tutorial. Since we have been experiencing warm weather I was going to make a lightweight infinity scarf using a jersey blend fabric (also from Girl Charlee). However, my receiver is from Virginia and when I looked up the weather in her town it said it was 17 degrees!!!!! My, my....the only time I experienced that type of cold was when I visited New York in December.....NEVER again. I'm spoiled, raised in Los Angeles and now residing in the Inland Empire, I don't take to the cold very well. Anywho....I decided to make her an infinity scarf out of this thick plaid fabric I purchased from JoAnn's about a month ago. I think it will be perfect to keep her warm during the winter.

All of these projects were made in 15-20 minutes from start to end. All very basic, beginner friendly sewing projects.

"Seek the Lord while you can find Him. Call on Him now while He is near."  -Isaiah 55:6, NLT

New Year, New Machine, New Baby!

Yes, and the Vergara family continues to grow! We are expecting our third little bundle due July 3rd. Same due date as Little Man! He, however, decided to bake a little longer and met us a few days later. We are all super excited, except for Little Man, only because he is oblivious to the whole thing. He probably thinks I swallowed a watermelon seed.
BTW, if you have little ones, you have to check out The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pazzoli. Besides Mo Willems' Knuffle Bunny books, this has been a top book in our house. Your kids will ask you to read it over and over again.

Picture Amazon.com

Picture: Amazon.com

Picture: Amazon.com

Picture: Amazon.com

Now on to the "New Machine"
Baby Lock finally decided to replace my broken Audrey. Since the Audrey is now discontinued, they replaced it with the Amelia, it is also part of the A-line series. I'm not in LOVE with it, but it gets the job done. I wouldn't recommend anyone to buy it. I don't know if it just my machine or if all the Amelia's have the issues I sometimes face. For example, sometimes it will continue to sew after I have let go of the foot pedal. It varies, it will go for 1 more stitch up to more than 5 and the only way I have of stopping it is by hitting the power button. It doesn't happen ALL the time, but enough to frustrate me. When sewing in the needle down position and I push the button once more to lift the needle and sometimes it will take another stitch instead. Not a big deal, but it can be frustrating when I want my stitches to end at a certain point. Why haven't I sent it in to get looked at? Because I am DONE sending my machine out for repair. I figure it gets the job done and that's what is important. When I am ready to purchase a new machine I will not be buying Baby Lock nor Brother, since they are both made by the same company, Tacony. I did receive excellent customer service when dealing with them over the phone, so that was a plus.

I had a goal to finish 4 Frozen-themed quilts by Christmas. I was inspired by Missouri Star Quilt's Illusion Quilt tutorial. Check out the video tutorial.


I managed to finish one quilt top before calling it quits.....for awhile.

This is the "Elsa" themed one.

The horrible nausea and utter exhaustion that came over me during the first 4 months of pregnancy kept me out of the sewing room. I yearned so much for a creative outlet that wasn't going to drain the little energy that I had left so I picked up hand embroidery. I had been wanting to try it for awhile, but felt a bit intimidated. I researched a bit, read some blogs, checked out some books from the library, and watched some videos on youtube. Luckily, Omar was on vacation and I had the time to do all this since I spent most of my days on the couch anyway. I'm so glad I gave it a try, it is SUPER easy and the best part is that I can work on it ANYWHERE! Here are a few pieces I've worked on so far...

This is in my sewing room.

This piece I made for my brother-in-law's bday gift.

I found the "inspire" on Pinterest, this one I made for Omar.

This was a small quilt made for a friend who had a baby girl.

This new year I want to sew a few things for myself. Within the next month I hope to have completed a new tote/purse, lounge shorts, and a tunic. I will start up on the Frozen quilts again, and hope to finish them by the end of this month. I also want to sew up a stash of cloth diapers for the new baby, I plan to take this on in May. In the meantime, I will sew up some new dresses and skirts for Little Lady and some shorts and T's for Little Man. In a couple of weeks we will find out the gender and you know baby projects will start to pile up too!


"'For the mountains may move and the hill disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken,' says the Lord, who has mercy on you." -Isaiah 54:10, NLT

No Sewing Here Lately

My sewing machine has been out of order since September 6! Oh, geez it's been a month now. I miss sewing so much!! It is now on the road to the manufacturer for repair. I hope to have it back in 2-3 weeks. We have a baby shower on the 18th and I am so bummed that I won't be able to give the mama a handmade gift.
I'm REALLY into quilting now. I've been spending a lot of time researching quilt projects. When I get my machine I plan to make a few D9P (Disappearing 9-Patch) quilts. I have two baby quilts to make and I plan to sew 5 lap quilts by Christmas. I have many other projects in mind. My mother-in-law asked me to make some zippered pouches she plans to give out to coworkers for Christmas. I've been going through my fabric stash and have been cutting away! I cut fabrics into 6.5 in squares, as well as 3 in and 2 in squares. I plan to make some scrappy mug rugs (over sized coasters..lol) with the 2 in squares as well as some quilted zippered pouches.
I have finally dedicated time to learn how to play the guitar Omar bought for me 2 years ago! -__-
My brother-in-law is in the worship band at his church. He came over last Saturday and taught me a few chords. I've been practicing every day since.
I volunteered with child care today during Bible Study. I found out they are in need of worship leaders in Children's Ministry. I would really like to play the guitar and sing songs with the kiddos! It would be so fun and such a great way to serve the Lord. Please pray for the Lord to bless me with time and patience to learn how to play AND sing...lol...and meet this need at our church.

Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.        -Colossians 3:16

The Octopus Play Day Frock

I made a dress for Little Lady following a pattern from the book, Fabric by Fabric One Yard Wonders. She chose the fabric over a My Little Pony print. What can I say the girl loves animals.....land and water!

It was simple, the most time consuming part was making the bias tape. The pattern doesn't call for binding on the pockets, but I wanted them to stand out. Next time I will also bind the bottom or add a strip of single fold bias for contrast.

Little Lady loves it and it is perfect for summer! There is plenty of room for her to grow in it and can even layer it over a long sleeve and leggings during the colder months.

Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you.    -Psalm 86:11

Ponte de Roma PJ shorts

As a subscriber to Melly Sews, I received a free pattern for pajama shorts. In her tutorial, Melissa used a very pretty quilting cotton. I plan to pick some up on my next trip to JoAnn's. I see a skirt for Little Lady and some bias tape in the works.

In an attempt to make room for new fabric, I decided to use Ponte de Roma from my bargain lot purchase on Girl Charlee. It is so soft and comfy! Perfect for pajama shorts.

Who am I kidding?? These shorts are so comfy that it'll be hard to get out of them in the morning. They'll be worn for more than just sleeping. I've got two little ones to chase around the house. The fabric allows for lots of movement. Will definitely be wearing these around the house.

I ended up making some changes before making the casing for the elastic. I had to do a 1in seam allowance on the side seams and made a single 1/2in fold for the hem. For the elastic casing I folded it 1/2in then again another inch or so....I sort of eye balled it.

I definitely want to make more of these shorts! Did I mention how comfy they are??


My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.    -Psalm 73:26

Chevron Knits

Remember my post on my fabric puchase from Girl Charlee?? Well, I finally made something with it, two things actually. Why I didn't use my walking foot is beyond me. Would've made things a whole lot easier. I think I was simply feeling stressed and needed to make something FAST before going off the wall. Lol. Sewing is quite the stress reliever for me. Praise God for blessing me with the skill!! These two projects took no more than 20 mins each from measuring and cutting to sewing together. Simple, fast, super comfy and best of all fresh for this crazy humid, triple digit weather.

Chevron skirt with yoga waistband for me.

 And a Chevron dress for Little Lady.

Next, I am hoping to make a pair of shorts for Little Man and a pencil skirt for me!

Thank you for reading!

Don't make your living by extortion or put your hope in stealing. And if your wealth increases, don't make it the center of your life.   -Psalm 62:10

Mini Quilt Swap

This month I participated in a Mini Quilt Swap hosted by Heather from The Sewing Loft. It was my first online goodies exchange and first time I sew a Mini Quilt. It was loads of fun and I loved the Mini Quilt I received.

So, how does it work? In this instance it was like a gift exchange or Secret Santa. I signed up on Heather's blog by filling out a small form with my name, address, and favorite colors. We were also asked if we would prefer a holiday themed mini quilt. I suggested the use of the colors red and turquoise. I also noted that I would be displaying my mini quilt in my craft/sewing space.

I made a Halloween themed mini quilt for my partner.

Piecing the quilt top together.

All pieced together, quilted, and bound!

I pieced together the backing as well.

And this is the one I received from the amazing Debbie Weise.

I'd like to join another Mini Quilt SWAP, but I'm having trouble finding one. I searched through Pinterest since that is where I found this one, but no luck. I really enjoyed making a mini quilt. It is a fast and easy way to practice making quilts. I've been reading a few different quilting books from the library and I'm looking forward to start using some technique in my quilt blocks. I've also purchased a patchwork or 1/4" presser foot and boy did it make a difference!! I will always use it to piece my quilt tops from now on.

Thank you for reading!

Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day He carries us in His arms.    -Psalm 68:19

Baby Blankets

As a total newbie to the quilting world I was referring to my baby BLANKETS as baby QUILTS. However, according to the quilt books I've borrowed from the library I was wrong. A quilt must have three layers and must be hand/machine quilted or hand tied. The baby blankets I made started off as quilt tops and I simply backed them with anti-pill fleece.

This one is bound and hand tied:

And this one was turned and top stitched, then I used my machine to tack it down in several spots to keep the two fabrics from shifting.

Here is a picture of the "blanket top"

I really enjoyed making these two blankets. I made the "Cowboy" blanket for my husband's new baby cousin due in September. The "Pirate Octopus" blanket was a baby shower gift for some dear friends who are expecting a baby boy in October. Both were paired with a few "Pee Pee Tee Pees" I really wish I would've made some for Little Man. Those night changes were quite the eh, wet challenge. 

Thank you for reading! God Bless you!

Give your burdens to the Lord, 

and He will take care of you.

He will not permit the Godly

to slip and fall.  -Psalm 55:22

Cowboy Baby Boy Quilt

I found this fabric for $5 a yard at the Upland Sew & Vac shop. I knew it would be perfect for a baby quilt. The Vergara family continues to grow and a baby boy is expected soon. With the baby shower being around the corner I got to work. I finished the quilt top last night and started on the Peepee Teepees today. I wish I had some peepee teepees when my son was a newborn. It never failed, every diaper change was a challenge. Don't get me started on those middle of the night changes! Sometimes I didn't know he had whizzed all over until the morning when I'd see yellow spots on the white walls. Gross.

I learned a lot after making my first quilt and this one went a lot smoother. The pieces lined up a little better too.  The first quilt I made was for my Little Man and boy was it a challenge. As challenging as it was I enjoyed making it. I especially enjoyed watching him lay on it and play with it. He was very excited. 

I think I am addicted to making quilts. So much love goes into making one. I want to make one for everyone I love and appreciate. 

I came across a different method making a quilt. Using fleece for the backing without adding any batting and a turn-and-top-stitch trick instead of binding. It seems interesting and I'd like to try it, but is it still a quilt? Or does it now become a blanket? I plan to hand tie it instead of machine quilting the two layers. I am excited to try something new.

Reading through the Bible: I am currently reading the book of Job and am super annoyed by his arrogant friends. I can hardly wait to get past those chapters. 

Mail, Mail, Mail

I love shopping online! Mainly because I love receiving packages in the mail! Girl Charlee had a fabric lot sale this past Friday and I was able to snag 2, 1/2 yard lots of slightly flawed knit fabric. I don't have much experience sewing with knits so I figured this would be a great way to practice. I received WAY more than I expected and the fabric is just fabulous! I snapped some pics as we (me and the kids) opened up the huge package! I think they were just as excited as I was!

CHEVRON

  

STRIPES

SOLIDS                                                                         

                                                                                           

PRINTS

I am looking forward to sewing skirts, leggings, shorts, and tank tops with all this fluff!