Cute Yellow Tote!

So, I made this adorable yellow tote to end my January posting  for Addie Marie's January Blog Challenge. I know I failed to post every day, towards the end work got in the way along with my own lazy nature.

Needless to say, I love this tote, and I love how cute it turned out!

I plan on updating my shop soon!

My First Knitting Project! (that turned out correctly)

Recently I've learned how to knit! And my first project was this scarf.

I made it a little too chunky, but I think it works great! I'm going to add a button to keep it closed when I am walking. Its warm and cozy, and I made it!

I can't wait to learn more about knitting.

Where have I been?

I've been very distracted and dealing with life! Yeah....life grabs you that way especially when you do something wrong! I have also just worked my first 40 hour week of this year...40 hours is a long time to make cheeseburgers, even if they DO pay you...a little.

How is everyone else doing? 2011 has just begun and already I wish it was over. There are so many choices to make and I have no idea if they are the right ones, or how to even go about making these choices sometimes!

I hope to get some creative things started soon, but for now check out my giveaway if you want and have a safe friday!

Knitting GIVEAWAY!

So I picked up this thing called knitting. Forever I thought it was complex and didn't even try--but my roommate knits and crochets EVERYTHING and ANYTHING and so I decided to give it a whirl. Knitting is fun! And surprisingly not too hard! So far I have made a very crooked bookmark and half a scarf...my knitting as of now is lumpy and distorted somewhat, but it is knitting. And I am proud =P

I know if I keep practicing, I'll be creating wonderful items soon.

That brings me to what today's post is about! I am going to do my first giveaway today. I am going to be mailing a copy of  "New Knits on the Block: A guide to knitting what kids really want".

I picked up this book when I began my knitting journey, and its a little too advanced for me (Its about lvl 1-2, I am lvl 0 so far) so I thought it would be wonderful to give away on my blog! It is a brand new book, ready for someone to knit away with.

I am also giving away, with this book, one of my cuffs/or bracelets in my etsy shop. The winner can pick whatever one they want, or I can create a custom one with your color and size. Some of the styles are:

To enter you must follow this blog, and leave me a comment about your favorite color. You can follow on blogger, bloglovin, or networked blogs (I have all three of these things on my sidebar for easy access). Networked blogs uses facebook, for those of you who don't know. If there is something else used to follow blogs that I'm missing, shoot me a e-mail I'll add it to the side bar for you. Also, if you want to tweet or facebook the giveaway, I'll let you have extra entries!

This giveaway ends Feb 7th, 2011. Anyone can enter! If you are under 18 please ask your parents since I will have to mail this to you and it will require your address or P.O box. Thanks for participating!

My Top 5 Favorite Songs

So, I've been working a lot and haven't had time to sew or do other creative things. Here is a post about my 5 favorite songs, listed in order of course!

My number one favorite song is Your Hands by JJ Heller.


My number two favorite song is Her Morning Elegance by Oren Lavie. Its my favorite mostly because of the music video. Seriously.

My third favorite song is the Chrono Cross Ending Theme. For the longest time I fell asleep listening to this song.

My forth favorite song is really isn't a song: its Eisley. I guess my favorite song by them would be Memories.

And my last favorite song is by Robin Spielburg--its called A Walk Between the Raindrops. I couldn't find it anywhere. She does piano solos, and they are amazing.

So that's it! I love all kinds of music, but folk and instrumental are my favorite.

Pants!

So, I was trying to make harem pants, but came up with this instead. They are kind of like exercise pants, with a tight top and loose in the legs. The only problem is I didn't realize I needed to make sure the patterns on both legs matched up...n.n so these are a fail. This is also my first time sewing with a "stretchy" fabric. This fabric is one-way stretch. It was in the clearance section at Joannes--and for a reason, I think. Whenever I sew, even with the stretchy stitch on my machine, sometimes the stitches create holes in fabric that fray the seams. I can't figure out why and changing my stitch from the straight-stretch stitch to the zigzag stretch stitch didn't help. Does anyone with more sewing experience know why it did this or what I did wrong?

 Anyway, I love the print and might try to make it wok out somehow!

Catch the Rain

I am nothing
But a ever-peaceful moment
Of wispy grass
gray among the shadows
white in the sands of time

all I seek is blue
pure azure like Ocean’s heart,
turned by tempests
mauled by garrulous waves
specked with transience
pure amber-moon
an afternoon of forethought
hidden in the shadows
edged in sadness
on the layers of forgotten eyelashes
like the moon fringed with stars

----
I wrote this poem awhile ago but only shared it with a close friend. What do you think? I love writing poetry and fiction, and hope to one day be a published author. I don't want to publish my poetry but I still write it when I am in an odd mood.

Questionaire?

I saw another blogger (Ladyjane) who is doing Addie Marie's Blog Challenge do a questionnaire.

So I'd thought I'd do one also, for those of you who don't know me!

Who am I?

My name is Carolynn and I am graduate of Liberty University, and I hold a degree in English. I had a GPA of 3.2 and I love to sew, cook, read, write, and draw. However, because of the decline in the job market, I currently work at Virgina Tech...making cheeseburgers. Its a good job, and I'm happy to have one. I make a little more then minimum wage, because I work for the university. I want to be a writer or hold some kind of English job, but my current attempt at obtaining such job seems to be nil...once in awhile I get an interview, with about 300 other people who have more experience then me, are older, have masters, or so forth. But I won't give up! I'll keep applying and right now I know that I'm where God wants me to be...because if I wasn't, I'd be somewhere else!

What is this blog?

This blog is a storage, so to speak, of all the things I create and some of my thoughts and things I do and love. I started it when searching for an outlet, a place to represent myself. I guess it sort of chronicles my growth?

What are some unique things about me?

Well, I have super long hair, am left handed...and I have never used a pattern when sewing. Since I am self taught, I can't figure out patterns for the life of me...so I just don't use them. It makes things more fun and creative and hands-on I think--and also less complex.

Where I want to be in life:
I want to be an etsy seller and make really nice products without mistakes that people love and can enjoy! I also want to publish a book. Those are my dreams!

So that is really all about me! Hope you enjoyed. Any questions? =)

Tutorial: different kinds of ruffles

When I first started sewing (about a year ago) I was shocked to discover that there are literally, maybe, 10 ways to create a ruffle. Anyway, these ideas were sort of revolutionary to me, so I thought I might share them. For anyone that knows about sewing, I'm sure my explanations will bore you to death, but I wanted to share for those who might not know!

Ruffle 1:
You will need a scrap piece of fabric and a sewing machine.


1) Turn your stitch length to the lowest  but NOT zero (my lowest is a 6)

2) sew a straight stitch down the middle of your fabric (make sure not to back stitch at the end)

3) pull on one of the dangling threads to ruffle your fabric and tie off the threads to keep it from un-ruffling.

4) Admire the ruffle!

Ruffle 2:

1) Turn your stitch length to a low number (2-8)

2) Turn your tension up! Turn it up about 3 notches from where it would normally be for whatever fabric you are using..

3) Sew a straight stitch down the center of your fabric to create a ruffle without any pulling. The machine does the work for you!

Changing the tension will make it more ruffled or less. Play around with it until you find the perfect ruffle for your project!

Ruffle 3:

1) Get a piece of fabric and cut a crescent shape out of it

2) Pull the inside crescent into a straight line.

3)The outside crescent part will be a ruffle when you sew the straight line onto your piece

4) This is used for more "soft" ruffles and a wavy look
 ----
That is all the ruffle ideas for today, I hope I gave you guys some ideas!

Lots of drawing and not a bit of thread

So I did lots of doodles today! There will be another tutorial tomorrow, this one on ruffles! Gotta love Ruffles =)

I know I'm not that good of an artist, but I love to doodle and draw.

How to make a tote bag!

Hey! So here is my very easy post on how to make a tote bag!
This makes a standard sized tote bag, such as you would take to Walmart or Krogers.

You will need:
a thick outside fabric and
fabric for lining

Step 1:
Cut one 36x15 inch piece from both fabrics
Cut two 5x16 pieces for the sides from both fabrics
Cut two 25x4.5 pieces from just the lining fabrics
You should have two body pies and four side pieces and two strap pieces when done.

Step 1.5 (optional): add some lace or other embellishments to your big fabric piece! I added a bit of brown lace.

Step 2: Arrange a fabric side panel and the corresponding fabric bag piece right sides together. The side piece should, of course, be flush to the side of the main piece.

Pin if you wish, and sew a straight stitch down.

Step 2: Now, when you reach the end of the side panel piece you want to stop, of course. It should look like this:

Now you want to take the free edge and allign it with the edge of your main body piece, creating a "bottom" for that main piece. Take the blue to the red.

It should look like this:

When you are done sewing the bottom area, it should look like this:

This is kind of complicated and I hope I explained it well! I don't know correct names for things...

Step 3: Now, take the last edge and align it to the last edge of the main bag piece. Like this

Now sew. Congrats! You have attached the first side!

Step 4: Attach the other side, following the directions above

Step 5: Attach both sides to the lining fabric, and add any pockets if you like!

Step 6: Place your lining in the bag so the wrong sides are together.

Step 7: Fold the top of the bag down once, then down again to encase the raw edges. Pin.

Step 8: Sew all the way around the top of the bag.

Step 9: Now for the straps. Fold in half, wrong sides on the inside, and sew down the free edge. We are creating tubes.

Step 10: Turn right side out.

Fold the ends down.

Step 11: Pin to bag. one on each side.

Step 12: Sew on, using an X pattern as well as getting all sides! Remember: these straps will hold everything! Sew a lot!

Step 13: Go around the top of your bag again, and around both edges of the straps.

Step 14: Go out in style!

 If you have any questions just ask, I'm not sure I was clear on all steps! Hope you have fun and enjoyed the tutorial!

Stuff and Stuff

So, my mac, my beloved computer...is broken. Yes, I spilled water on it. No, it isn't working at all. And hopefully I can get my documents from it...or I will cry and probably a little part of me will wilt. Because all my stories are on that computer. I don't care about the pictures, they are on Facebook. I don't care about my folder with all the things I want to make or the folder with my video game FAQS or the folder with cute pictures of Bento I want to make...I just want my stories.

But I have made things (because, hey, when you can't check Facebook, prowl around Etsy or hang out on Gmail, you have a lot of time...)

I made this tea-cosy. It took awhile (don't ask me why) and now I think I would do the ribbon different, if I ever make another one.

I made another one of these cup cozys.

And I went on a walk in the snow with my camera because I was so sad over my poor computer, and my klutzy skill at breaking things...

And I saw these cool animal tracks in the snow. Arn't they neat? =)

Sad thing is, I had to google a spell checker for this post, and I couldn't resize my images, and I hate using a PC and want my mac back. End rant. *cries* Also it took twice as long because I don't know how to do anything on a Windows computer!!!!

But in good news, I am going to do a tutorial tomorrow! (yay)
And my birthday is in a week!

Fabric Jewelry + Lace!

I made two fabric necklaces today.

In the first one I used a magnet as a clasp, and in the second I sewed in a piece of ribbon choker to complete it. I don't know what way I like better, but I'm happy that both worked. Usally one goes wrong.

Here is what it looks like on. Wish I had someone around to model it! Self-portraiture is not something I've mastered, like Beth.

I am still participating in a January Blog Challenge from Addie Marie's blog. =) It is so much fun!