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Roses at the Demonstration Garden at Grange Park, Kennewick, WA

Make-A-List Monday is an idea that I borrowed from Sarah Craig over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict and I thank her for inspiring me to try it!

Skipped last week, but I’m back!  And I have lots to show you!

First, let’s see how I did on my 5/11 list.

  • Make my new purse.

Done!

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This is the Noodlehead Carkai Gatherer Bag and I love how it turned out!  Nothing purchased for this bag–fabric, piping, hardware, button were all from stash.

For the front closure, I had hoped to use one of the very cool glass beads my sister’s given me over the years, but I just didn’t like how they looked with the flap fabric, so I used a simple gold-colored shank button instead.

I modified the inside pocket a bit to use the very last of this black Laurel Burch fabric, and divided it with lines of stitching.

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The pattern includes a 1/2″ strap; I kept that width for the loop on the bag, but widened the shoulder strap to accommodate my hardware.  I honestly have no idea where these hooks came from–taken off another bag, maybe?–but I like them!

The purse is a little bit smaller than I expected (it doesn’t have side panels, so the front and back pieces have to do that work), but that’s fine, as my new wallet should fit well in it.  Which leads me right into–

Done!  So many little pieces!

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I’ve been working on it off and on and I’m coming down the home stretch.

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You guys, this pattern is INSANE.  The designer calls it expert level, and she is TOTALLY CORRECT.  Don’t get me wrong–it’s a well-written pattern and has lots of pictures to help you out.  But the level of detail on this is just nuts.

  • Finish the cat scratcher and get the class proposal ready to go.

Done!

And he loves it!

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The fabric on the outside is very cute close up (looks like multi-colored confetti), but doesn’t show up very well against the carpeting.  I have lots more cardboard cut for the next one, and will use a brighter fabric.

  • Do better on healthy eating and exercising.  

Doing better on this.  I still really need to get out and walk more, and it’s been hard to get myself out there, but I’ll continue to work on it.

But wait–there’s more!

I also made a muslin this past week.  This is the Blanc Shirt pattern from Blank Slate Patterns (available for free when you join their Facebook group).

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It’s a simple tee pattern, sized for knits, with only two pattern pieces.  However, me being me (read: DIFFICULT), I made it with a soft, stretchy rayon that I got at Goodwill the other day for $ .99.

And, of course, OF COURSE, I was 1/3 of a yard short on fabric, so I hacked the back.

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I cut the back pattern piece in half at the waist, cut the bottom part on the fold of the fabric, and cut two separate pieces for the top part.

I sewed the two top back pieces together, folded over to make a faux band, topstitched, and sewed buttons on it.

I also added side slits, as the fabric didn’t have quite enough stretch and the fit at the hips was a bit tight.

Result?  I’m very happy with this blouse and it will be SO nice when the weather gets hot, which will be this week–95F predicted!

So, plans for this coming week.

  • Hack the Blanc again to make a colorblocked tee.  I’ve been pondering this for a while, but it’s time to just do it.  Here are my knit scraps that I want to use:

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  • Finish the wallet.
  • Finish my black skirt.  I came across this tutorial for a shirred skirt and used it to re-cut the black fabric from my failed wrap skirt.

That ought to keep me busy.  I have some outdoorsy photos for you, but I think they may need their own post.  Have a great week, everybody!

STH