WIP Wednesday - Finishing up the Brandt's Boulevard Sew Along

We are on the home stretch of the sew along!  (and I still haven't done more than iron my fabric, bad me!)  I will have one done by Monday, the last day of the sew along!!  The final step is to put everything all together and sew around the outside.  If you find your machine is fighting with this, there are several tricks you can use to help.

- Increase stitch length.  This looks different on various machines, mine has vertical lines on top of each other (not the side to side lines, that does stitch width, which only works on zig-zag and side to side stitches)

- Go for a different needle.  I've had good luck with leather, denim and most recently, microtex needles.  They are super sharp and designed for going through tougher materials.

- Take your time.  Go at a slow speed, and you may need to hand crank through some of the super thick spots!

- Beat it.  Seriously.  Get a hammer, a hard surface, and give it a few whacks.  You might want to protect your wallet with some scraps of fabric on top and under where you are going to attack it.  Otherwise you could end up with shiny, circle shaped spots.  Ask me how I know....

Concealed carry Rosie

This week I had a few finishes, most notable the Rosie concealed carry purse, and another Harry Potter tote purse!  Watch for feature posts on them soon!

Finger puppet in progress!

This is your friendly public service announcement...don't forget to take your sewing machine in every so often to get it cleaned and serviced!  Stormageddon, Dark lord of All, jr. is in the shop this week.  I felt like I should have given him a hug before I left, but hopefully he'll be back home before I know it!

Any time I get a chance to test something (purse, embroidery pattern, food) I jump at the chance!  This weekend I got to test a new EOS lip balm holder and some adorable bunny subway art!  You can get the file to make your own at Show Me Bowtique on Etsy, or I may get around to listing them in our own Etsy shop soon...
  

WIP:

Sewing:

DONE!! Rosie Concealed Carry Purse

Brandt's Boulevard - Time to get caught up

Crayon Rolls - yeah...I really need to finish these...but no hurry so they are getting moved down on the list

Flannel Eater blanket - Squared up and I even started cutting the lines!

Sedimental Quilt- all quilted, just needs squared up and binding!

Finish the Owl Epiphany purse - it just needs top-stitching and the handles attached - and she's still on the shelf...

Attach handle to Chloe's Court Clutch - ordered a chain from Emmaline bags!

Crochet:

Mermaid lovey - Sea blanket is done, started on the head!  Only 6 more months and she'll be done (I wish I was joking, but that is a realistic estimate given my lovey track record...)

NIL (Next in Line)

Matching Pick a Pocket wallet to go with the concealed carry Rosie
DONE!! - Harry Potter tote purse (Needed for a birthday party next week, so it jumped the line!)
Tulip pouches (from this free pattern!!)
January Bag of the Month (Backgammon Bag) - Either in some Effervescence fabric or maybe the Zelda stained glass fabric
February Bag of the Month (Window Shopper) - nice big tote with great features!  Might need to use my Tula Pink Tigers or maybe some of the other big print fabrics I have.
Princess Lovey - she just needs hair and her head attached!
Cowl (1 a month goal!)
Embroidered pillow covers
Quilted pillow covers - Sasquatch fabric is ready to go, just need some spare time!