Messenger Bag (Project 24)

Corduroy fabric seems like a good idea, but it gets all over the place. If you ever work with it, make sure you have a lint roller by your side to pick up all the little fibers that fall off the cut edges. Aside from the hassle of working with corduroy, making the messenger bag was fun. The original instructions had me making a bag that has a fold over top like this, but I wanted to make one with a normal flap top. I also made the strap for the bag instead of buying strap material (I couldn't find any in a color I liked).

I measured once, twice.... five times before cutting and sewing.

I'm especially proud of the light purple pocket lining.

Duvet Cover (Project 16)

I treated myself to some nice (and expensive =P) fabric for this project. If I was going to spend a lot of time making a duvet cover, I figured I should at least make one that I would like and use. The gray fabric came from a flat sheet I bought at Target, and the rest of the fabric was purchased at Britex Fabrics in the city. I have some light green fabric that I plan to use for pillowcases, but that will be a future project.

I made one modification to this project - I took out the ruffles. Yes, the duvet covet was supposed to be a ruffled duvet cover. I realize many others may love ruffles and have the personality to be able to pull them off, but I definitely am not one. I shall save ruffles for another day.

I finally learned how to make button hole with my sewing machine!

I think it looks quite nice in my apartment.

I've never used this many pins for a project before....

Hanging Shoe Organizer (Project 23)

As long as there are girls, there will always be a need for space to store shoes. Thankfully, I have plenty of closet space to place shoe racks and stack shoe boxes. However, if you are ever in need of a hanging organizer for your shoes or anything else, I now know how to make one.

I found a home for this one with Sunny.

My New Love

I have been wanting a breadmaker for a while, and thanks to Christmas sales, I was able to buy one for under $100 (I love you Amazon.com!). I made a 2-pound loaf of rosemary bread during my first run.

Resized Dresses (Project 12)

The objective of the resizing project was to learn how to: 1) take in the sides of and 2) hem the bottom of a skirt/dress. I donated all of my bigger dresses a while ago so couldn't find anything that was suitable for this project. Instead, I decided to practice hemming two of my dresses and make them into tops.

The first is a Built By Wendy dress I bought a earlier this year. It was so cute on the mannequin, but honestly, what was I thinking? It was not very cute on me which made the dress a perfect candidate for this project. Wearing my new top makes me want to go out sailing.

Before:

After:

The second is a WeSC dress I've had for a few years but have only worn once. I think it's a cute dress for a 24-year-old but too young for a 27-year-old. Perhaps it will be better as a flowy beach top for a hot summer day.

Before:

Photo courtesy of www.thisnext.com

After: