Harry Potter Concealed Carry Rosie by Swoon

I'm still not 100% sure how I got into making concealed carry purses, but as long as I get to use fun fabrics, I don't mind!

Here's another one I just finished, based on the Rosie purse by Swoon. (this might be an affiliated link, if I did it right...)  This is much smaller than the others I have made, so I was worried a gun wouldn't fit in, but it does, as long as it's a small gun!

WIP Wednesday - Sew Along is Done!

Now back to my regularly scheduled sewing...which is a never ending list.  :D

Final Day of Brandt's Boulevard Sew Along!

I hope everyone had a great time that joined us in the sew along!  I *almost* got mine done last night, but there is still about an hour or less of work left on mine (top-stitching the outside, deciding if I want a strap or not, adding on the rest of the push lock) so tonight it will be done!

This is my 'fake it because you didn't make it' pic...the top of the push lock isn't actually attached, and the wonder clips are holding the inside and outside together.  Viola, internet magic!

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

Brandt's Boulevard Sew Along - Week 2

I had great plans of posting a few times this weekend to motivate, but somehow the weekend flew by!!  This is the final week of the sew along, but you will have until next Monday to finish up and get your pictures entered in the album for a chance to win a free pattern from ChrisW Designs (her patterns are all AMAZING!!)

This week we'll be finishing up, so steps 7 and 8 by Wednesday, and the final assembly (step 9) will start on Wednesday.

Look at how (mostly) straight the pockets are!

WIP Wednesday - Brandt's Boulevard Sew Along and Valentine Fun!

I feel like a horrible host, I haven't even started my own Brandt's Boulevard!!  The good news is that the last one I made took about 4 hours (not counting interruptions from kids and the dog...)  so I'm hopeful that the upcoming holiday weekend will be enough time to get caught up and maybe even a little ahead!!  I decided to see if I can make the wallet only using fat quarters of fabric, so I dove into my stash of adorable fabrics and came up with these!  I hope I can find someone that loves cats and needs a new wallet when I finish... ;)  (Sorry for the dark pics, it's just too much effort to set up a light box for fabric tonight!)

Fabric is more grey in person

Brandt's Boulevard Sew Along - Day 1 - Ready, Set, GO!

It's time to get started on the sew along!! I think this is going to be a fun and fast sew, but no need to rush through it!  Ellen has a GREAT blog post on Christine's blog showing step by step pictures, so if you are ready to go for it, pop over there and sew away!  If you still don't have the pattern, you can pick it up HERE!

Sorry, you're probably sick of seeing this one!  I can't wait for a new one to be finished!

Sew Along Time! Brandt's Boulevard! - Get Supplies and Pick Fabric!

Time for another Sew Along!  This time we'll be doing Brandt's Boulevard from the Easy Street line of ChrisW Designs.  Seriously a fast and fun sew!  The sew along will start on the 8th, so this weekend start getting ready by picking up the pattern, reading through it, getting your supplies, and picking out your fabric!  I have a few ideas for what I could chose, just need to narrow it down because I know that even though I'd love to make several, I'll run out of time with all the other stuff that crops up.  I've made 2 so far, and it's faster than the Pick A Pocket, but I need to sleep at some point!

This is just part of my Tula Pink fabric stash

WIP Wednesday - Cuteness overload!

I'm lucky to be a tester for the designer at MichigeekDesigns and she is coming out with some ADORABLE stuff!  And also witty, geeky stuff...another favorite of mine!

As soon as I saw these, they got to jump the line of designs waiting to be stitched on my machine.  And I'm trying to decide just how many I can stick on my keys... I love the cute Neko Atsume game they are based on!  You can find the file to make your own HERE, or buy the finished ones HERE!

Awwww!

Brandt's Boulevard Wallet - With a Stripe Tutorial!

I really do love the Brandt's Boulevard Wallet by ChrisW Designs, it's so fast but the finish is very professional!  I had a request to make a special one for a co-worker's new wife and I jumped at the chance to make it again!  He wanted it to be super special since it was their first Christmas as a married couple, and even asked for their names to be embroidered together inside. (Awww!)