IggyJingles

Oh gosh - it's tailored notched collars on coats or jackets. I didn't even have to stop and think. Drive me nuts because they always seem to want to pull and fold over instead of sitting flat at the joining seam no matter how much snipping and notching I do. Aargghhh!

Sisumama123, I wish I could answer you more accurately, but that particular doll took about two and half weeks, but working almost non-stop all day long for the final week (still working on overcoming procrastination in my life). I haven't finished the Wicked doll yet. You may be sure I will post a project gallery for it when I'm done. Meanwhile I was spending my time working on a challenge doll of a witch from Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels - Miss Tick. There are pictures on my blog, and I think I will be adapting the clothing patterns from that for the Wicked doll. I tend to work in spurts on different projects and rotate through them. Thanks for your interest and comments.

I'd love to win this. Thanks for having so many giveaways!

Thanks for the information about the iron on materials. I'm glad I didn't make it yet!
I remember having my sandwiches in plain paper bags when I was a schoolgirl. They didn't go stale in the few hours between being made in the morning and lunchtime.

I'd love to win this.

I'd like to win this book. Thanks for the contest.
Robyn Coburn

If you have a particular fabric that you like, there is iron on laminate that turns any fabric to PUL, that I have bought by the yard from chain fabric stores. I wonder if oilcloth would also work, perhaps doubled.
I'm not a fan of velcro, especially for any situation where breadcrumbs could end up getting caught up in it. If I were doing this I might make a button and loop, or tie fastening.
But what fun - and you could open the sandwich wrap and use it like a little placemat which is nice in some situations where the table tops may not be fabulously clean.
Robyn Coburn

Awesome! I'll be doing some of these alright.

This takes me back to when I was in college in the late 1980's. One Thursday a month, when I had no classes, I would make myself available at my dorm to mend and sew for anyone who needed it in the Hall of Residence. I can't tell you how many holes in jeans I patched, mostly for guys. I also hemmed a lot of pants, and sewed on a few buttons. But the big thing was patching jeans - in exactly the ways that are shown here.
Robyn C.

I'll look forward to posting some of my upcycling this month. I'll especially look forward to getting my serger back from the shop. I went to use it and the presser foot attachement snapped off at the screw. Weird experience, especially as it was just back from the shop being realigned with a new presser foot. Elna. Doesn't exist as a company anymore and finding the increasingly rare parts is tough and costly. I hope to buy a new serger from a continuing company before the end of the year.

As cool as the CHA show sounds, I won't be attending. They don't allow minors under the age of 14, for reasons that I'm sure make a lot of sense. But my 9 year old daughter is a big part of my artisan business, a big part of my crafting practice, and is gearing up to open her own Etsy store selling handmade jewelry and doll fashion designs for collector dolls, like Tonner dolls, and AG. She is as fascinated with fabric, paper, tools and paints as I am. It would pretty much break her heart to be excluded while I went merrily along. The Bead Show in Pasadena has no such restriction - we had a ball there last time!

One thing that I do with bulkier paper sewing patterns - which I agree never want to return to their original envelope - is put them into a gallon size ziploc type bag rather than a page protector. This bag can then have three holes punched into the side and be inserted into the binder. The ones with the tab pull are the easiest to use in a binder.

As someone with a relatively large waist to hip measurement, I have made lots of these very one seam/darted skirts in the past. But I didn't use stretch fabric. I used flannel or twill or poplin and put a zipper in the back seam and used a regular waistband. I was making straight skirts of different lengths. With longer ones I would leave a walking split in the back seam.

I don't make resolutions, but I do make a list of goals with a timetable. I'm reviewing my goal list from last year, and I see that I achieved some, including being published in a crafty magazine - thank you Craft Stylish!

However I didn't learn to screenprint - so that will be carrying forward to this year. I also plan on finishing the first draft of my screen play by August and entering at least two art doll making contests. One is in February and the dolls are about one third completed.

It's a good feeling to get some goals finished early in the year.

Best wishes to everyone here for a great and creative 2009.

Robyn Coburn

Thank you Kate. Sorry it has taken me so long to respond to your comments. Thanks you for checking her out.

Sorry it took me so long to reply.

This bag has over three hundred sacks in it. A single sack makes between 7 and 8 linear inches of double crochet. I'm going to do some quick math (60"x35rows/8"perbag=262.5 then add the bottom which is probably 30+ bags and the handle rows which are single crochet...).

Anyway there are probably 40 hours of crochet and yarn making in the bag. My husband keeps telling me to log the hours I spend, but since I am rarely doing one thing at a time (eg crochet while watching tv or watching my daughter play at the park, yarn cutting while talking to my daughter or husband) it is hard to do that.

Please visit my Etsy store if you would like to purchase the huge basket tote.

www.iggyjingles.etsy.com

Thank you - but right now look for them on Etsy instead!
www.iggyjingles.etsy.com

*Always put the strings of lights on the tree first, before the garlands, then finish with the ornaments.

*I love decorative luminaires made of steel cans. Fill with water and freeze, then use one or more different sizes of a large nail and a hammer to punch holes in a pattern. Leave the cans silver or spray with metal primer and paint and put a votive candle in.

*My daughter collects Barbie dolls and many of them are beautifully dressed as sparkling angels and princesses. I made a garland from faux greenery, bunches of colored tree balls joined by zip ties, and a colored LED light string to which I add a gorgeous doll every couple of feet. The wire branches twist around their waists. I run the garland across the large archway between living and dining room and my daughter loves it. I also sit a bunch of pretty dolls across the pelmet of the windows behind the spot where we put our tree.

*I use big cookie cutters as pattern templates for cottage style soft tree decorations - hearts, bells, leaves, trees, boots, angels. I put wrong sides of seasonal fabrics together, cut out around the pattern and then use a contrasting thread to run around the shapes on my machine with a 1/4 inch allowance. I leave an inch on the bottom to lightly stuff the pillow and then hand sew on a small ribbon hanging loop and two buttons at that point. I have also used foam shapes as if they were buttons, and they work very well because they are so light weight.

*Every year I decorate the gift packages for my family and friends with unbreakable tree decorations, including the soft ones from the cookie templates. My friends get to hang the ornaments on their tree after they open their gifts.

*Several years ago we were given a year of gourmet Fruit of the Month. The carboard boxes had internal dividers which turned out to be perfect for storing similarly sized breakable ornaments.

*All our ornaments go into small boxes, and soft stuff goes into ziploc bags. Then the small boxes and ziplocs go into ordinary cardboard office file boxes with lids, which I label with the contents. I now have 6 of these and they are easy to carry, find and store.

Congratulations, it looks just beautiful. Don't forget to sign the back. Quilters will often sew a small hand written (or embroidered) label with their name, the date, and any name they have given the piece. It's art. It deserves a signature.

Oh, I forgot to say - I have had some good results from using thick fleece as the backing/batting combined (so maybe not a true quilt either) to result in a really soft blanket. Lots of basting required but worth the trouble in increasing the cosy factor.

Your quilt looks really bright and comfortable. In my limited experience with quilts, it has been best to baste using large stitches radiating out from the center to prevent movement and stretching in the quilting process. I believe some people use large safety pins for that purpose. If it were me, I would probably want to stitch down very simply around the squares, either by hand or machine. I would do that in order to reduce uneven stretching over time from using the t-shirt knits. That may not be a concern for you with the other fabrics if they are wovens.

I would be worried that the fabric would want to stretch and pucker around the ties over time. Perhaps my worry is unfounded, and would be mitigated by using many ties rather than just each main corner. Even so, nothing prevents you from going back and sewing later if the the tying doesn't work out for you for some reason.

How lovely to be able to come home to such a wonderful, comfy thing each day. I bet you will be the envy of all your friends, and get asked to make some for their rooms too.

Hi. I wrote an Instructables on the beads. Here's a link:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Wavy-Cut-Paper-Bead-How-To/

Or you can look at a more long winded version on my blog:

http://iggyjingles.blogspot.com/2008/04/wavy-cut-paper-bead-how-to.html

Robyn C.

Thank you! I have just put some more onto Ebay, under the seller ID designarob.