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Chase’s Kennel Liner

Here's my second free sewing pattern that I made over the Christmas break; Chase's Kennel Liner. The only thing it is lacking is some rubbery stuff on the bottom so that it doesn't move around. Amy's liner that we purchased a while back has a fabric on the bottom that has tons of little dots of rubber on them so that it doesn't move around the kennel. Does anyone know what this kind of fabric is called? Other than that, the liner is perfect for him. Now he isn't so noisy in there, and I'm sure he is more comfortable, too. Feel free to comment if you try this pattern out and let me know how it works out!
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Amy’s Dog Bed Cover Pattern

Over the Christmas break, my mom helped me make some dog bed covers for our sweet puppies Amy and Chase's beds. I wrote up the pattern, so here is my first free sewing pattern: Amy's Dog Bed Cover. Since this is my first pattern to write up, if anything is unclear or hard to understand, please email me or write a comment. And if anyone feels that it would benefit from some pictures, I can add some. I would love feedback! Enjoy!

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Sewing day for the puppies!

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas. My husband and I had a wonderful break from working. It is nice to be able to relax and not think about work! I even got to sew some and plan out our garden for the spring, and I am very excited about both.

One of my parents' Christmas gifts to our wonderful puppies, Chase and Amy, was fabric to make covers for their beds. I picked out a cute pink stripe flannel for Amy (and somehow I didn't measure quite right, so hers doesn't overlap like it should on the bottom), and a super cute puppy flannel for Chase.

I had to put a zoom of the fabric for Chase's because it is so adorable. It even says "good boy!"

I also made a kennel liner for Chase's kennel so that his nails aren't so noisy when he is inside. I used a black denim that I got for free from Craigslist, and used a piece of his bed cover fabric to make a bone cut-out. I sewed a diagonal stitch in white around it, and I love it! The next time I make bed covers, I'm going to add this to those.

I'm writing up patterns for both of these to post as free patterns. If anyone has dogs and wants to try these out, let me know!
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My new sewing desk!

I am SO excited about my new sewing desk! And best of all, it was free! Brian and I have been watcing the free list on Craiglist for a while, and last week after church, this desk popped up on the list, and we drove straight there and were the first ones! It belonged to the owner's grandmother, so it is pretty old, but is in very good shape.

The top opens up for a place for the machine to sit and a longer table for cutting fabric! I've been so busy this week I haven't gotten to use it yet, but we finally got it up into the game room so that I am not sewing on the dining room table anymore. I can't decide what to make first!
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Craft Day!

I didn't get to stay for very long, but for our craft day on Monday, I shortened the length of the purse I made a week ago. I'm not much of a long-length purse; I like it to be close to me so that I can keep an eye on it! I also thought about putting a small button on the inside pocket, but instead made a basic little card holder (of my own design!) separate from the purse. I keep my store membership cards (Blockbuster, Randall's)/restaurant punch cards/library cards, etc. in here. I'm bad about forgetting them when I go somewhere, so it's better for me to keep them on me, and this way they can't fall out of the inside pocket. It was pretty exciting to make up my own pattern; I played with it for a while, and made one that turned out terrible, but then made a second one in about five minutes, learning from my first mistakes. I might keep working on it and write up a pattern for it (and a couple similar, since I had some ideas to make it different), if there isn't anything too similar already out there. Does anyone know if there already is a free pattern available that is the same? I still have a bunch of different projects that I want to sew, so I hope to find some time later in the month!
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Mama to Mama

Yesterday I finished my Mama to Mama caps. I ended up with 14 in all! I never found out if the deadline of the 10th was for received by or postmarked by, so I didn't ask friends for any shirts since I ran out of time! Next time I'll have to get started earlier. I hope they really come in use and warm up 14 little babies' heads!
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Free Sewing Patterns: Miscellaneous

Free Sewing Patterns at married to a bmw
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A pincushion, headband, and purse!

So I've already made three more things this week. I forgot how much fun sewing is!

The first thing I made is a pincushion using Heather Bailey's free Square Deal Pincushion pattern. It's not exactly a square (haha), but it still looks good. And I still have the pink pins that I bought for the bouquets for my wedding, so now I get to use those when I sew!

The second thing I made was a headband from some scrap fabric using Heather Bailey's Hooray for Headbands free pattern. This one worked out really well - I'm going to make a bunch of these with extra fabric. It takes so little, so it's a good way to not waste the extra.

Last night I made my first purse! I used the free Shoulder Bag pattern from tiny happy. I didn't do this one perfectly; I sewed the button strap wrong, I sewed the two shoulder straps together the lazy way (without any hand stitching), and it would have been nice to line up the pattern in the fabric so that it didn't have the same flower right next to itself. But it's still really cute! And it's not like I'm only going to make one, so now I know what to be careful on for the next one.

I think my next project will be to sew some quick caps for the Mama to Mama project Beth has talked about. The deadline on their web page is December 10th, though I'm not sure if they want them postmarked by then, or received by then, but it is only the 2nd, so I'll probably be able to send them soon anyway. I found three shirts on my side of the closet that I don't need; now I need to see if Brian has any that I can use. If anyone has any extra shirts that they don't want, I'll take them!
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More Sewing Shopping

Mom and I went shopping again this morning and found a bunch of fabrics. I picked up a couple of scraps from Walmart for a buck each. I'm not sure what I am going to do with these... maybe Christmas coasters and I'm not sure what with the A&M fabric. I just couldn't pass it up.

I got this lovely assortment of fabrics for a bunch of different projects, including a few purses, pincushions, headbands, and who knows what else. I'm excited about making everything. I started a pincushion tonight and it's not quite square like it is supposed to be, but by the end I don't think it will be too noticable. Besides, I know I will only get better with practice.

My mom got me this absolutely adorable sewing basket for an early Christmas present. There is a big assortment at JoAnn fabrics, so if you wait to get a 40% off coupon, it is a good purchase!
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And I’m back in the game

Thank you thank you thank you Beth! Beth gave me her old sewing machine and I got it up and running this weekend. I went to JoAnn Fabrics on Friday morning to get my startup tools; I got everything I needed plus 7 patterns for only $30! Thank goodness for sales (50% off everything, 99 cent patterns) and a 20% off coupon. My first project - napkins! I've been wanting cloth napkins for a while; who wants to keep buying napkins every month? I found a nice tan fabric (Mom, what kind was it again?) that doesn't wrinkle, doesn't have a front or back side, and is great for everyday napkins. I ended up getting 6 napkins out of a yard (three 18" and three 15"). The first few lines ended up a little wiggly (haha) but sewing definitely came back to me quickly. Guess it's like riding a bike. I'm really excited about all the different projects I can do now.

One of the first will be more napkins, and hopefully a table runner. I found this deep red/maroon fabric on clearance at JoAnn fabrics for $2/yard, and it also doesn't wrinkle or have a front/back. This will be our first holiday table linens, and Brian even likes the colors and fabrics!
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