The 1 Hour Basket

There's a basket making craze happening lately on Instagram! Tons of pics of the 1 Hour Basket are popping up all the time. This is a fun, quick, and best of all FREE pattern by Hearts and Bees that you can download from Craftsy.

The nesting bug is really biting the past few days, and I decided that I needed something cute to hold all the bottle parts for the tiny human. Organization is key, after all. To what? I'm not exactly sure. 

So I finally jumped on the bandwagon and tried out one of these baskets. It did in fact only take me 54 minutes from start to finish - including pressing and cutting. 

I also added a couple of my own minor touches. I wanted the handles to be a little stiffer than what I've seen on the Instagram pics, so I added a layer of Pellon's Shape Flex to those. I also made them an inch shorter, and I really like how they turned out. 

The only other tweak I made was a little extra top-stitching. I really enjoy the look of a double top-stitched seam, so I did that to both sides of the handles and around the top of the basket. 

This is a great pattern, and I think I'll probably make one or two more of these for some odds and ends in the nursery. 

I tried to get a picture of Keef in the basket, but she was having none of it. She is not a team player. :)

Bucket Hats

This past weekend we had a MadModQuiltGuild sew day at Bungalow Quilting & Yarn in Ripon, WI. This is such an awesome quilt shop. It's not a huge place, but it is chock full of awesome modern fabrics and patterns. I feel like a 5 year old in a candy shop every time I walk in there. It's almost a bit overwhelming, but in a really good way!

While I was there, I noticed some really cute Bucket Hat samples that were made up in great fabrics. I decided that I had to make a couple for myself and the tiny human for our days out strolling this summer. 

They're not perfect, but hey - first try, right? They're still pretty rad. Also, they're  reversible. 

Both of the hats were made from free online patterns. The adult size pattern is by Kitsch Bitsch, and you can get it from their website after submitting your email address. The kid size pattern is from Oliver + S: no email required.

I used Pellon's 911FF Fusible Featherweight non-woven interfacing on both layers of fabric (quilting cotton) for my hats, although the patterns didn't call for this. I like how they turned out. The interfacing helps them hold their shape, but they are still soft, comfy, and able to be manipulated. 

Moms are supposed to look a little silly sometimes, right?

The weather is already beautiful here in Wisconsin. We got lucky with an early spring this year. I can't wait to get the boy out in his hat and stroller - hopefully by the end of May if he arrives in a timely fashion. 

Cosmetic Case

I finally took some time to stitch up a cool Cosmetic Case designed by a cool gal I met at Sew South, Lindsay Rhodes from LRStitched.com.  The pattern is very well written, easy to understand, and it has lots of good pictures.  You also get to try out some cool stuff like Pellon's Vinyl Fuse and a poly-resin Snap.  I get excited when I get to use fun stuff in addition to just fabric and thread.  :)

The Vinyl Fuse is awesome!  You fuse it onto regular fabric and Voila!  It's water/stain/messy resistant!  It's a perfect idea for something like a cosmetic case.  All that eye shadow dust and lip stick smudge will wipe right off!  I'm imagining it on the inside of a cute lunch bag as well.  Then you wouldn't be stuck with whatever ugly waterproof fabrics you can find.  You could use anything!  Too bad I don't require a lunch bag to take to work since I work at home.  Bugger!  I might make one anyway...to transport my Oreos downstairs to the Shop.  

You can find Lindsay's pattern in a neat little PDF for FREE by clicking here.

FYI: I had a hard time finding the Vinyl Fuse when I looked for it the first couple times.  I assumed it would be on the Pellon Interfacing rack at JoAnn.  It was not.  :(   When I asked a girl for help, she pointed me to the wrong stuff - which will definitely not work.  You can actually find the Vinyl Fuse pre-packaged in the notions aisle.  It comes in a long, skinny, orange box in 2 yd cuts.  I used the Matte finish, which I liked a lot.  I have yet to find it sold by the yard, although the Pellon website says it is.  Somewhere.  Out there.

I used a Babyville Boutique poly-resin snap and Snap Pliers.  These can be found at JoAnn and many other places, I imagine.  I bought my zippers (a while ago) by-the-yard from TheZipperLady.com.  She has an awesome selection of zippers and pulls for even more awesome prices.  I love the Pop Top pulls.  I think they look cool and unique.  If you have never put pulls onto zipper tape by yourself before, she has a couple great videos that show you how.  It is SO EASY!  If you use zippers very often, you'll save a ton by buying them by-the-yard and have so much less waste.

Anyway, I definitely recommend this pattern.  I'll be making more cases for sure.  Try it out, and send any questions along if you run into problems.  I'll help if I can. :)