A cute little tote!

I decided to take the diaper bag/tote and scale the pattern down to make a smaller tote. It can be used as a purse, a small tote or a mini-diaper bag. I made it a multi-colored stripe with a button closure. The inside has 6 pockets around the perimeter of the bag. I plan on making these in some fun summer colors as well as some baby prints.

Since my website isn't ready to launch yet, I thought I would continue giving you sneak peeks at my product line!

Sewing, sewing and more sewing!

Today I added a new product to my list - a diaper bag. Actually, it can be used as a tote bag OR a diaper bag but I made this one in denim with a cute pink and white polkadot lining so it would be perfect for a baby girl. The inside is lined with pockets all around. Next on my list is a smaller version of this bag - I will call it my "Quick Trip" diaper bag and can be used when you don't need to take everything with. It will be roomy enough for a bottle, a diaper, and a small pack of wipes. It will also have an outside pocket for Mom's wallet and keys. When your baby becomes a toddler, he/she can then use is as a Toddler Take-along. It will be the perfect size for a coloring book, crayons, a book a little truck or a small stuffed animal. Just a few things that your toddler can carry on his/her own to take in the car or to a restaurant!

Now can anyone suggest a way to add more sewing hours to my day? My brain is thinking faster than my hands can sew!

"Cutsie Tootsie"

Yes, you heard me right - "Cutsie Tootsie" is going to be the name of my new online sewing business. At first I was going to set up a shop on Etsy but knew that I would eventually want my own website. Soooo.. since I'm jumping in with both feet (as well as Jen and Diana's feet) I decided to get a domain name and just do it. Of course I need Ryan to help me with the details as he is my computer geek and knows how to do everything! I've convinced him to come down this week to get me going. Until then, I may play around and figure it out. I really want to get this up and going. But I still have lots of sewing to do but I'm getting there!

I will make the big announcement as soon as I hit the publish button! You all will be the first to know!

Sew I Begin!

Now that I'm officially done with jury duty, I can now focus on my "new beginning". So I have spent this past week sewing like a crazy woman trying to get some things made. I will be setting up a site on etsy.com in the VERY near future. One more week of productive sewing and I think I will be ready! But I wanted to give you a sneak peak of the types of things I will be selling. This is just a beginning. I have tons of other ideas in my head that I need to get on paper first. But this is a great start. Here are a few pictures of some of my items.

Notebook Cover: This cover will hold a 5"x7" notebook (other sizes coming soon) and pen. It's the perfect size to use as a journal, shopping list, Christmas Planning, party planning, knitting journal...you get the idea! It's a fun cover to dress up any boring spiral notebook! It has an inside pocket, pen loop and closes with a magnetic snap.

Checkbook Cover: This is cute, simple way to dress up a checkbook. Cute, colorful, fun! It has slots on the top flap for credit cards and has a pen holder in the center.

Planner and Holder of EVERYTHING! I designed this planner to be everything that I would want in a planner. My daughter Jen and I are always on a quest for the perfect planner and could never find everything we wanted in one. So one day I decided to make one and surprise her. She said she will never buy another planner again! It has credit card slots, 4 fabric pocket pages to hold coupons, gift cards, receipts and any other loose papers you have, a slot to hold a 4x6 calendar, pen loop, inside pocket for stamps or other papers, a top slot to slide a pack of extra checks in, an outside zipped pocket and a magnetic closure. Because it is fabric, you can cram tons of stuff in it.

So this is your sneak peak of what's to come. Future projects include purses, diaper bags, and knitting bags to name a few. I will post my etsy shop link once I'm set up and ready to go. I can also take custom orders or special requests! I hope you stop by to see me!

A new beginning!

My 2009 has not started out the greatest for me. I actually ended 2008 with having an abnormal mammogram. So my 2009 started with two biopsies. The happy ending was that the findings were benign. But then I also got a summons for Federal Jury Duty!!! That means taking the train to downtown Chicago to the Federal Building. Hopefully I won't get on a case. But then the way my year has been I probably will. But the final straw was that on Thursday I went to work and was told it was my last day. The company was eliminating positions and mine was one of them. So after 8 years in this job I was walking out the door with my boxes filled with pictures, desk stuff and all the other things that made my cubicle my home away from home. Hence the "NEW BEGINNING."

I have wanted to quit for quite some time - just tired of the long commute, the hours, traveling, etc. But I just didn't know how to do it and I was afraid to give up a job during a time of such uncertainty. Well, this kicked me in the butt and forced me to move on in a different direction...doing something I will love to do and will make me happy. So after years of talking about taking my sewing to a different level, I have decided to start sewing and selling my work. It's a big undertaking but now I will have the time to do it. I know I won't make the kind of money that I made in corporate America but I don't care. I will be happy and healthier. I have a very frugal daughter-in-law who is excited to teach me to power cook and save money in the grocery store. And I don't need to buy work clothes anymore so that will help. I also have a closet full of Coach purses that I need to list on eBay. I guess the bottom line is that I want to live simpler and own less "stuff". I don't need or want long commutes, long hours and stress. I want simple. My new beginning is going to help me find it.

My daughter Jen bought me my first "business sign" to hang in my sewing room. I love it!! She has been encouraging me for quite some time to do this. Thank you Jen for believing that I can do this! Now, let's get sewing!

Another Sewing Sunday!

Well, today was another sewing day!  Diana and I blazed on the projects on our list.  Diana completed the top of a darling Spring Wallhanging which took the majority of the day due to all the little pieces in the pattern.  Of course the first couple hours of our day was devoted to organizing all the fabric that we are acquiring...and to go through baskets of started projects that I seem to have put to the side.  Needless to say, she shamed me into completing or at least working on some of those projects.  So today was a day of "FOs" for me (finished objects).  I completed a cute table square with some squares that I had cut for something else, I made a tablerunner out of some left over strips from another project, and I got the top done on an applique wallhanging that I started a long time ago.  It's now ready for hand quilting.  So it was a very good day.  But because we had snow AGAIN today and it is in the forecast for the whole week, I thought I would post a picture of Diana's Spring Wallhanging.  This is just the top...it still needs the embellishments and of course to be quilted and bound.  But it's adorable and it gives me hope that we will get through this horrid winter soon and move on to birds, butterflies, flowers and bunnies!!!!  THINK SPRING!

Did I mention that i like knitting hats?

I have a new favorite hat - the Banana Republic Knock-off!  I have made 4 in the past week - 2 of them while watching movies on New Years Eve (yes I am a loser!)

I made one for Jen and Addison first.  They looked so cute in them that I decided to make one for me.  Now I am not a hat person.  I don't have the right hair for hats.  When I remove it my hair is as flat as a pancake.  But I tried this one on and I think it might work for me as long as I only wear it from house to car, from car to store - you get the picture!   So here are my two New Years Eve hats.  So cute and so fast!  Now I need to make one to go with my new North Face coat!

Happy New Year - Here's to a year of many more hats for my family!