Recent Custom Orders

i guess people have replenished their bank accounts from all the holiday shopping because my custom orders have recently picked back up again!! (january and february were slooooow!!)

as i said earlier, i FINALLY got some japanese imports! (and totally on another note, i  just ordered  some more over the weekend! trouble trouble...the box has been opened and now all i want are japanese fabrics!)

my cousin in california is a huge Hello Kitty fan. she picked out this really cute beige Hello Kitty print with little apple trees on them, and wanted a normal tote bag! i had just enough fabric and was able to add on a little zipper pouch too!

she also wanted a reusable tote bag, and i found this cute "Peace & Love" Hello Kitty print at the local Hancock Fabrics.  i was surprised they even had any there, but i found it hidden, and was pretty glad i did!

my cousin also ordered this play mat for a baby gift. after going through several different color schemes we stuck with a neutral theme and she picked Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley in Piney Woods and also Moda's Oz in green. since we did a quilting cotton for both sides (generally i'll do a soft minky or chenille for one of the sides), i ended up using two layers of traditional batting, that way it would be extra plush and soft for the baby! i also added some toy links so that other toys could be added. i love these mats- so great for tummy time too!!

i also got another custom order from another cousin's co-workers. she is jewelry consultant and wanted a "catalog bag." i had never made one before, but essentially it is a tote bag with a clear, vinyl pocket in the front, that allows the catalog to be shown through the bag. originally the tote bag was going to be a fairly average size, but as i started working on it, i was a bit skeptical about it. the first design i had, the vinyl pocket was going to just be on the front-from top to bottom. if you've ever worked with vinyl you know that it's not that easy to work with- for one you can't iron it, and two, you can't pin it!! so as i started constructing it, i was a little worried that with a lot of use, the corners at the bottom of the bag would tear where the vinyl was. since vinyl can get "crunchy." i worried that it would split at the corners, especially if it got banged around a bit! so, i started on a second model, which had a band of fabric at the bottom, then the vinyl pocket starting above that. this way, even if the corners of the bag got banged around, it would still be reinforced with the extra band of fabric. with the second model, i had just started cutting away, and before you knew it, the bag was nearly twice as large as i intended it to be!! but, the customer was ok with that, so good news for her, she got a much larger bag for the price of a much smaller bag! guess she will have a lot more room for her catalogs and samples to tote around!

and finally, i started making some aprons. this is a halter style apron (which i love, and can't wait to make one for myself!) this was made for a co-worker of my sister's who loves baking. my sister said she liked dark colors, and luckily i was able to find this cute black cupcake print!