Cotton Voile Curtain Blouse … From A Free Pattern!

April 24, 2013 by mymateriallife

I recently finished sewing this blouse, and I wore it for the first time on Monday when the temperature hit 90°.  I wish I could tell you that I looked fantastic in it, but the truth is, it looks better on the hanger.  I was certainly very comfortable in it, though.  And I’m still excited to share it with you for a couple of reasons:  one – the fabric source (Cost Plus World Market; it’s a $19.99 curtain panel) and […]

Categories: Clothing & Accessories, Sewing • Tags: fashion, free pattern, peasant blouse, sewing

Mood LA

February 21, 2013 by mymateriallife

One of the things I learned in the March issue of Threads magazine (read more about it here) is that Mood Fabrics of Project Runway fame has a shop in Los Angeles.  I was very happy to learn this because I was about to make a trip there.  I’m just back from that trip and though the West Pico site listed in the article has closed, we did find Mood in a very nice, large and light-filled space on La […]

Categories: Clothing & Accessories, Places, Sewing • Tags: cloth magazine, design, fashion, fashionary, mood fabrics, project runway

Fashion Illustration Class

February 10, 2013 by mymateriallife

I’m so excited to finally be learning about fashion illustration at Camp Fashionista in San Jose.  I completed this drawing during my very first session on Friday afternoon.  I couldn’t wait to race home and show it to everyone, including my sister and brother-in-law, Kathie and Doug, who were spending the night with us.  Kathie used to love drawing things like this when she was young.  Let me tell you, Dori Duncan, who is teaching the class and owns and […]

Categories: Clothing & Accessories, Paper, Sewing • Tags: camp fashionista, clothing, fashion, fashion design, fashion illustration, illustration, sewing, style

Canvas Drawstring Gift Bag + Pink Elephant Wash Cloth

November 19, 2012 by mymateriallife

This is a gift bag I made for another bath theme baby gift that included one Be Sweet Bamboo knit wash cloth like the one I wrote about here as well as two home-sewn terry cloth elephant wash cloths.  The organic cotton canvas fabric and iron-on patch for the bag came from the same shop, but I purchased them years apart.  That shop, Natural Expressions in Los Gatos, doesn’t sell fabric any longer (they’ve moved locations as well).  But NearSea […]

Categories: Kid Stuff, Sewing • Tags: canvas drawstring gift bag, home-sewn baby wash cloth, iron-on patches

A Place To Rest Her Weary Bones

November 15, 2012 by mymateriallife

It does my heart good seeing her in a comfortable spot in the sun.  This is Mary.  She’s a feral cat, and she’s probably at least 13 years old.  We know that because in April 2000 she had a litter of kittens in our backyard (one of them still lives in the house with us).  We’d love for Mary to join us inside too, but she just won’t come in.  She won’t even let us touch her.  She used to […]

Categories: Cats, Sewing • Tags: feral cat pillow, outdoor pet pillow

Make Your Own Sleeping Bag

September 21, 2012 by mymateriallife

 +  = I always thought it would be pretty tricky to make a sleeping bag.  I figured that the zipper would need to be inserted between the layers of the comforter that I would probably make myself.  I was wrong. The inspiration for this bag came from both 1) impending sleepovers for a girl who had no sleeping bag of her own and 2) the discovery of this $20 twin size comforter at IKEA last spring.  It was so soft, so […]

Categories: Kid Stuff, Sewing • Tags: home sewn sleeping bag

Meet Henri

September 3, 2012 by mymateriallife

He’s a charming little fellow, isn’t he?  I neither intended him to be a) male or b) French, but that’s how he turned out.  I found this project on a blog post that included the beach towel blanket I made last summer. The post was all about cool things to make with towels.  The funny thing is I can’t find it now; maybe it was deleted?  No matter, I searched up “towel kitty” or something like that and easily found […]

Categories: Cats, Embroidery, Kid Stuff, Sewing • Tags: sewing stuffed animals, stuffed scottie dog, terry cat

Embroidered Sleep Sachet

August 31, 2012 by mymateriallife

   I gave this to my niece Katie yesterday.  She’s a linguistics student and she’s flying to St. Petersburg, Russia next week where she’ll spend her junior year.  Isn’t that exciting?  She’s a real self-made young woman and we’re so happy for her.  Still, I might be a little nervous if I was flying off to Russia from California for nine months or so – wouldn’t you?  I suggested that this little lavender sachet I made for her might help […]

Categories: Embroidery, Sewing • Tags: hand made charms, sleep sachets

Sweet Dreams Sachets

August 25, 2012 by mymateriallife

                                                            Can you think of anyone who might be having a hard time getting to sleep because they are sad, worried, or unsettled? You could make them up a little sleep sachet filled with soothing herbs like lavender, chamomile and sweet marjoram.  Or what about rose petals and mint?  This project comes from […]

Categories: Sewing • Tags: herbal sleep pillows, sleep sachets