Afternoon Sewing Project

THIS IS WHAT THE BEAR LOOKS LIKE BEFORE IT IS PUT TOGETHER!

I NOW HAVE THE EYES ON THE BEAR AND ARMS AND LEGS ARE ATTACHED!

FINISHED PROJECT WITH ALL THE STUFFING, SO CUTE!

I HAD A GOOD FRIEND MESSAGE ME THE OTHER DAY AND ASKED IF I COULD MAKE HER AN IOWA STATE TEDDY BEAR FOR CHRISTMAS. I SAID SURE, SO THAT IS WHAT I DONE WHEN I GOT HOME FROM MY OTHER JOB TODAY. THEY ARE SO MUCH FUN TO MAKE BECAUSE EACH ONE TURNS OUT DIFFERENT, THERE ARE NEVER TWO THAT LOOK JUST ALIKE. I WILL HAVE TO SAY THE HARDEST PART IS SEWING THE HEAD TO THE BODY, I ALWAYS ZIGZAG EACH PATTERN PIECE, THAT WAY THE FABRIC WON'T RAVEL, AND IT MAKES IT MUCH EASIER TO PUT TOGETHER. AFTER I GET ALL THE BODY PIECES SEWN TOGETHER, I PUT THE EYES ON THE BEAR, THEN I USE JOINTS TO PUT THE ARMS AND LEGS ON, THAT WAY THEY WILL MOVE, AND IT MAKES THEM EASIER TO SET UP. I THINK MY CUSTOMER WILL REALLY LIKE THE BEAR, IT TURNED OUT SO CUTE.

A Typical Day In My Life

This cute little girls apron is a special order, I made it this afternoon when I got home from work

This is another special order apron, it is about 8" longer then my other aprons, it is for a hair stylist, I think she will like it!

My day usually starts out around 6:30 in the morning, get up eat breakfast get ready to leave for my day job. I usually clean at least two houses each day. There are always lots of other things I do while I am in town, first off I had to mail two packages, these were special sewing orders. I am always anxious for them to arrive at their destination and hear from the people that have ordered them. I usually always have other sewing that I have done for people to drop off too. Then as soon as I get back home I am busy working on lots of special sewing orders. I now have 5 more aprons to make for a lady. These will make great Christmas gifts. Sewing is what I really like to do, someday I hope to be able to just stay at home and take sewing orders. Everyone can check out my page on facebook under  Cheryl's Sewing

Mother Daughter Aprons

LOOK ALIKE APRONS

APRONS HAVE MADE A COME BACK, FOR YEARS YOU NEVER SAW AN APRON ANYPLACE, NOW EVERYONE WANTS ONE. I STARTED MAKING APRONS ABOUT A YEAR AGO AND HAVE MADE 75 PLUS. MINE ARE ALL ONE OF A KIND, I NEVER MAKE TWO JUST ALIKE, THAT MAKES THEM UNIQUE. I REMEMBER MY GRANDMA AND MY MOM ALWAYS WEARING AN APRON WHEN THEY COOKED, OR EVEN WHEN THEY WENT TO TO  THE GARDEN TO GATHER VEGETABLES FOR THE NEXT MEAL. I AM SO GLAD THAT APRONS HAVE COME BACK, EVERYONE NEEDS AT LEAST ONE.

Getting Ready for A Craft Fair

HERE ARE A FEW OF THE ITEMS I HAVE MADE UP, BURP CLOTHS, BIBS, DIAPER COVERS, CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS, POTHOLDERS

SOME OF THE APRONS THAT I WILL TAKING TO THE CRAFT FAIR!

WOW IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I POSTED TO MY BLOG, SEEMS LIKE I HAVE BEEN WORKING NONSTOP. I AM TRYING TO GET SEVERAL ITEMS MADE UP, PLUS WORK MY OTHER JOB AND KEEP ALL THE REGULAR SEWING DONE. WE WILL BE HAVING A CRAFT FAIR AT CORYDON, IOWA, NOVEMBER 5TH. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE DONE SOMETHING LIKE THIS SO I AM EXCITED ABOUT IT. I HOPE EVERYONE IN THE AREA WILL TRY TO ATTEND, WE HAVE SOME REALLY NEAT VENDORS. THERE WILL BE SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE. IT WILL BE A GREAT TIME TO START YOUR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING.

Flower Girl Dresses

Wow I thought I was busy with sewing in May, June has been even busier. I have had so many orders, thanks to everyone that is helping me out, I am loving it.
The flower girl dresses have been my biggest challenge, one is a size 8 and the other is a size 4. The fabric is black, but it was the type of fabric that didn't want to gather. They were really full skirts to be gathered on to a very small bodice. This took me so long, had to walk away from them several times. The finished product was well worth all the time I spent on them. Then I held my breath hoping that they fit the little girls, they were perfect, they both looked so cute in them. One has a purple sash, and the other a orange sash. Each has a purple and orange tie.
Then all I had to do was hem them, that was the easiest thing to do.

This was a special order pillowcase style dress, I just love the owl fabric!

Thus is the size 4 flower girl dress, the one tie looks blue but it is really purple!

Thus is the size 8 flower girl dress, Abby looked so cute in it!

Another special order pillowcase style dress, I just love this dress, the colors are so neat!

I have also been busy making pillowcase style dresses, baby bibs, diaper covers, aprons, potholders, plus all the alterations, hemming and mending. I am loving every minute of it.

May Was A Busy Sewing Month

May was a super busy sewing month for me, lots of wedding alterations, special orders, and the usual hemming and mending. With being this busy I did find time to work on some items that I have in my for sale album. I will list a few of them on here.

baby bib and two burp cloths, the blue fabric is a soft flannel, the burp cloths are made with 6 ply prefolded diapers. $20.00 for the set shipping extra

This is a cute set made out of Iowa Hawkeye fabric, baby bib and matching diaper cover, the diaper cover is a size small $18.00 for the set shipping extra.

This is an adorable little pillowcase style dress size 12 mo. pink background with white bottom band with decorative stitch  $15.00 shipping extra

This teddy bear was made out of Iowa Hawkeye Fabric, and sells for $25.00 shipping extra

Pillowcase style dress in size 4/5 yellow background fabric with black/while accent fabrics for the band,ties and pockets $20.00 shipping extra

I am now working on some little flower girl dresses, they have been a challenge, the fabric is not the kind that wants to gather so that has taken me longer then anticipated to get them done. I do have one done and the other one almost done. Now I am crossing my fingers hoping that everything fits.
I can take orders on any of the items shown.

Pillowcase Dress

My little Granddaughter Hagan who turned 5 on her birthday said she would like to have a pillowcase dress. So I looked through my fabrics and came up with some I thought would work. This was a fun and easy project, and she loved it. She even said she would like to have more made.

I have ordered new fabrics with browns/pink and some purples, I am excited to receive them and get started on more dresses. I will be taking orders, can make infant to little girls size 8. Just contact me for more information. The cost will depend on the fabric and how much detail has been put into making the garment.

Lots of Sewing Projects

Keepsake teddy bears

Pillows made out of vintage fabric

Special order half apron

Iowa Hawkeye teddy bear & Christmas stocking

The last week and a half I have been so busy with sewing orders, that is always good. One of my first projects was to get some more keepsake teddy bears made for a friend. Earlier she had me make two and liked them so much that she had four more made. These were all made out of her Dad's old overalls and blue jean jackets. They turned out so cute.
The next project was to make some pillows out of vintage fabric, earlier I had made a bedspread and pillow shams out of the same fabric. These were for a good sewing customer, since there was fabric left over we decided to make some throw pillows.
I had a special order apron for a friend of mine, she was wanting a one of a kind gift for her Mother for Mother's day, this apron turned out so cute, I think I would like one like it.
I have a lot of friends and family that are Iowa Hawkeye fans so they were wanting a teddy bear and Christmas stocking made out of the Hawkeye fabric. They both are so cute, they will be very good sellers. I can take orders just contact me for more information.

Stylish Curtains

This is what they looked like after they were finished and hung in Kims house.

Another view of the curtains, the lighting wasn't real good when I took the pictures but maybe you can get an idea what they look like.

This picture came out better, they look so nice in her house.

This was a project I done a while back, a good sewing customer contacted me  to make her some curtains. She always has such neat ideas. I met her in town to pick up the fabric, not knowing that it was still on the full long bolt, I think there was about 25 or 30 yards of fabric on it. At the time I had my small vehicle, you should have seen us trying to fit that in my car, but we finally got it done. There were 8 panels and each panel was 6 foot long, and lined. That was a lot of work getting them all measured, I think I had fabric laying all through my house. Then after I got the panels all measured, I had to make ruffles at the top for each panel. The ruffles had to be double the width to gather up and look really nice. Each panel had 8 ties at the top on them to tie on the rods, the ties were also made out of the same fabric. They were lots of work but looked so nice when I got them finished.

Vintage Bedspread & Pillow Shams

I laid it out on my bed so you could kind of get an idea what it would look like.

close up of the fabric design

This was a fun project to work on, I do a lot of sewing for a lady in Centerville, Iowa. She always comes up with some really good ideas on things that she wants me to make for her. She had this really cute vintage cowboy design fabric. I think there was at least 15 yards, so I decided it would be neat to make a bedspread and pillow shams for her little boy. He is around 2 1/2, so I am sure he will really like them. The spread was made to fit a full size bed, it will be tied in a few places just to hold the batting and back together. I used a flannel sheet for the backing and put the cotton batting in the middle.The shams turned out neat also, there was enough fabric that we can make some throw pillows in the future. I am always up for different projects to make.

Tutu Cute

Cute picture of Hagan in her new tutu

close up of the tutu

She is a born model

She will have so much fun at her birthday with her cute tutu.

I had a request to make a tutu for my Granddaughter Hagan's birthday that is coming up. She is having a Pinkalicious birthday, so I decided to make it using two shades of pink and a pink polka dot ribbon. She loved dancing around in it and can't wait to wear it at her birthday party. Wouldn't your little one's look cute in these for Easter pictures. Now accepting orders for tutu's in sizes 2-6. Available in a variety of colors. $20 plus shipping, special orders extra.

Bibs & Diaper Covers

Bib made out of Iowa Hawkeye fabric.

Diaper Cover made out of Iowa Hawkeye fabric, has Velcro fasteners, with elastic in the legs and back of waist.

I am always trying to find new things to make, I got an email one day from a lady that was going to have a new little Grandson and was wanting some Iowa Hawkeye items made. I knew the bib would be easy, but wasn't really sure about making the diaper covers. I checked around found a good pattern and came home and cut it out. It was so much fun to make, and it turned out really cute. The ones I made went to the state of Texas so that made it even more special. I have made several since then, they have been really good sellers. I am waiting for a picture of the little guy modeling them.

Making Pillows Out Of Old Curtains

This is the finished product of the 3 pillows.

This one had the same picture on both sides.

This on turned out so neat, I liked the size of it.

I have a lady that I do a lot of sewing for and she always comes up with some neat ideas. She brought me these old curtains with some good wide life prints on them and wanted pillows made. First off I had to take all the pleats and seams out of the curtains so I could get all the fabric possible. Then I had to decide how big I was going to make the pillows. The first one I wanted to make as big as I could so it would show all of the deer design, I used the fringe around the edge of it. It took a lot of stuffing, but turned out really nice. The next one I cut out the bear design, it was the same on both sides. I had to use the pillow cording for this one, so that made it harder to make. Doing the cording is always hard for me, you have to cover it with the same fabric that you are using in your pillows.I know there has to be an easier way to work with it, maybe some day I will figure it out.Then you have to sew it around the pillow, where that even gets harder, but some how it did turn out good. The third pillow I made with the deer design on one side and bear design on the other.It is always amazing what all you can make out of old fabrics, so don't throw all those things away, they might come in handy someday.

It's Prom Season

No I didn't make this prom dress. I just done a lot of alterations on it. The girl was so nice to work with, very out going and funny. First off we had to shorten the dress, that was a challenge, the fabric was very flimsy and hard to work with. Every time you shorten a dress means the lining has to be shortened too. The under lining had been sewn in the wrong way so it had to be taken out and turned, that was really the easiest thing to do. It had criss cross ties on the back, we removed them and it made the dress much prettier. The halter strap had to be tightened up and some small tucks in the seams at the back. Also several of the sequins were loose so they had to be tied back on, that was very time consuming. Then the dress was ready for Hailey to come and try it on, I always hold my breath hoping everything turns out good. She put it on and it was perfect, she looked beautiful in it. She will look so pretty at her prom.

My Latest Sewing Project

This apron turned out so cute, the long ties look neat tied on the front side.

This picture shows the full apron and the long ties.

I had someone ask me the other day if I had made any half aprons, I said no but that would be my next project. I looked through my fabrics and decided to go with the black and whites, they always make up so pretty together. I really didn't have a pattern, but put some things together and came up with a cute idea. I made the ties extra long so they can be tied in the back with a big bow, or brought around and tied in the front. I like the ruffles on my aprons, it just seems to give them a special look. If you are wanting a special apron made just contact me for more information. All of my items are for sale.

Little Girls Aprons

This was the order from a lady I work for, her little Great Granddaughters loved them.

Close up picture of the apron, I can make sizes 3/4 to 7/8.

This is my cute little model Hagan, she is a Iowa Hawkeye fan so I think she really liked her apron.

I started making aprons last Summer, saw a cute one at a lady's house where I worked, brought it home and cut a pattern off of it. I never thought that it would be such a success. It was so much fun putting all the different fabrics together. Each one turned out so neat. Then one day I had a request for a little girls apron, so came up with a cute pattern. These were so much fun to make. I had an order from one lady for 4, these were going to be Christmas gifts for her little Great Granddaughters. They all turned out so cute. I made nine little girl aprons, and 52 adult size aprons. Now it is time to start making more. I have some neat ideas for  different styles.

Teddy Bears Out of Different Fabrics

These adorable little bears are made out of old quilts, sometimes you can find old quilts at auctions for not much money. Just wash up the old quilts and you can make lots of neat things out of them.

This teddy bear is made out of an old chenille bedspread, these bears  always turn out cute!

This teddy bear is made out of overalls that belonged to my Dad, I call it my Keepsake bear.

Over the years I have made teddy bears out of lots of different things. Old quilts, chenille bedspreads, men's overalls and blue jeans. I think the first teddy bears I made I used old quilts, I was making them for a friend that had an antique store. They were big sellers several years ago. Each bear has its own personality, there are never two that turn out the same. I am always pleased with the final product. Some fabrics are much harder to work with,then others. I remember making one out of a T-shirt one time, and it was really cute. I wish over the years that I would have taken pictures of all the things I have made, but that was way before digital cameras and computers. So now when I get a project made I always take a picture.

Some Of My Quilts

This is one of my favorite quilts and it is called Broken Dishes, I really like all the borders that I put on it. The point is to not have any of the same fabrics touching.

This quilt is called 9-Patch, this is a good way to use up all your extra fabric scraps.

This was the first quilt I made, it is called Grandmothers Choice, I did learn alot from making it. Another good way to use up fabric scraps.

I have always had a love for quilts, so a few years back I decided I would start quilting. I would have to say it is very addictive. Once you get one done you are ready to start on the next. It is always fun getting the fabrics that match and all the different designs that you can come up with. I learned after my first quilt that the more borders the prettier the quilt turns out. I still think I like the quilts that have several colors in them. They remind me of the ones that my Grandma would have made. The quilts that I have made are all hand sewn. I have made 17 large quilts and 2 baby quilts. Everyone should make at least one quilt.