Tag: sewing

Kindle cover

Posted by miss alix – 23 Sep ’10

I am not a gadget girl. I’m just not. I am a book girl. When I first heard about the Kindle I thought it was ridiculous. Why would anyone want to read a book on a screen? Gosh. Then I finally saw one, and I fell in electronic love. I feel pretty dorky about it, but I became obsessed. I had to get one. It’s probably the best purchase I’ve made since getting a stand mixer. It helps that I’m reading a book I enjoy.

It has a lot of perks. Mostly to do with the fact that you don’t have to hold a book open. You can eat a sandwich and read a book, no problem. Yeah I’m that person. Not to mention the screen really does look like paper so that’s awesome. Also, I was pleased to find out that you can get amazon credits when you cash in your coins at a coinstar machine and they don’t deduct the 10%. Loose change has now become my book fund.

Anyway, enough of me gushing (see, I told you I’m obsessed). I really needed a case for my kindle, so I don’t destroy it when I throw it in my purse…also known as the pit of despair.

kindle pouch 003

In a flash I sewed up a simple bag made out of scrap fabric. I went with a medium weight fabric, instead of taking the time to do a lining. Yes a lining would be nicer, but honestly I was feeling pretty lazy. The end product did it’s job but was just plain boring.

I’ve been working on a lot of embroidery lately and thought a few stitches would make the whole thing a lot cuter. I used a pattern from sublime stitching, even though it was just a simple spool of thread. Sometimes it’s nice to use someone else’s creative power.

kindle pouch 001

It’s perfect to protect my kindle from scratches. None of theses designer covers for $85 a pop. Also, why are the majority of the covers made from leather? Gross. This case was free, and took me less than an hour to make including all the embroidery. Ok, back to reading.

Coffee Cozy

Posted by miss alix – 28 Feb ’10

In case I hadn’t made it clear in some previous post, I love coffee. Mostly I love the rich flavor of a good espresso, but I won’t lie, I can’t go without my daily caffeine boost. I don’t often get coffee to go, but when the occasion arises, I come prepared with my own coffee cozy. It’s not quite as earth friendly as bringing your own mug, but its much more convenient as I can carry one in my purse all the time. Not to mention, they’re damn cute. I made these one night after seeing some adorable ones on various craft blogs and knew I had to have one. I used some scrap fabric and some felt to line them. They came together in just a few minutes.

Lucky for you…I’m including a tutorial on how to make one of your own AND giving away a cozy to one lucky reader. Better than an infomercial!

Before I get to the tutorial though, just wanted to let you all know I’m now on formspring. So if there’s something you’re curious about or just bored, feel free to ask me! Ok back to the cozies…

1. First print out the template I’ve included. Use the template to cut two pieces of fabric for your cozy, one out of felt, and the other out of a fabric of your choice.

2. Next take a piece of velcro and sew onto one side of the felt, being careful to leave space for seam allowances. I should probably tell you now that I rarely pin things, mainly because I am lazy, but you might want to baste or pin pieces in place.

3. Put your two fabric pieces together with the right sides facing. The velcro will be on the inside. Pin if necessary and trim any areas where the fabrics do not line up.

4. Sew along the two long edges and the short edge near the velcro, following a 3/8 inch seam allowance. Make sure to double back and secure any open ends.

5. Turn the cozy inside out, using a chopstick to poke out corners. Fold the unfinished edge inside and press the whole thing.

6. Sew around the outside edge of the whole cozy starting on the unfinished side about 1/8 inch away from the edge. You can use a matching thread or something contrasting, depending on what you prefer.

7. Last, sew the other half of the velcro on the outside so that it will meet the velcro on the inside. That’s it! Good work, I think you deserve some coffee.

If you like the cozy you see made in the tutorial, you can win it. All you have to do is comment and a winner will be chosen at random on March 7th. Good luck!

Update: and the cozy goes to…Christy! Congratulations!

Hodge-podge

Posted by miss alix – 17 Dec ’09

I have so much to tell you! I’ve been completely consumed with crafting for holiday presents. I’m attempting to wrap all my gifts in reusable gift bags this year. That means that even for the gifts I’m not making, there’s still a bit of work put in to each one. The worst part is, I can’t even show off the gifts I’ve made yet in case any of the recipients read this blog. Don’t worry though, I’ll have some recaps after the holidays with some reviews and such.

Besides the hours devoted to sewing and the like, I do have some exciting news. Cupcakes from Vegan Bake Sale are now available at Meet Market in Silverlake. I just delivered the first order of Cookies & Cream, Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Spice cupcakes. Go get some! It will probably be your last chance before the holidays.

This year is going to be my cats’ first Christmas living with us. They’re loving all the boxes they get to play with (and a few catnip treats). It’s like cardboard box heaven for them. We adopted Meeme and Mochi on January 3rd of this year and they make me happy every single day. Seriously. I love them so much. Part of the reason I want to bring this up is that LA animal services is offering 50% off adoption fees for the holidays. Not that the fees are even very high to begin with, but it’s just that much more incentive to open your home and heart to one of these animals in need. If you’re considering getting an animal this year, I urge you to turn to the public animal shelters as these are usually the animals at highest risk of being put down. Not to mention they make it extremely easy for you to adopt.

Oh there’s so much more to say, but it will have to wait a little while still. Till then…