Bella Dia

Pocket Stitch Book

I created this little Pocket Stitch Book for Sew, Mama, Sew's
Month of Hand Sewing. It features 7 different stitcheswith
illustrations and how-to's. The book is one page to print out, then
folded to create a convenient little book that can be
slipped into your sewing basket!

I'm trying to get back to blogging here at Bella Dia on a more
regular basis. I've got lots to share - thrift shop finds, books, WIPs
and FOs,and even a tutorial or two.

I'm blogging at The Crafty Crow five days a week and it keeps me
really busy but I'm anxious to catch up on my postings here as well.

Handprint Turkey Softie and Tutorial

For me, the hand print turkey is the quintessential
Thanksgiving kids craft and it is one of my favorites. I thought
it would be fun to have a more permanent version so I decided
to make a softie version. I'll be the first to say that the following
tutorial is very spare (because I'm really supposed to be working
on other things) but I had this on my mind and just had to make it!

You'll need:

*two layers of fabric large enough to accommodate your child's
hand with at least one inch to spare all the way around

*a few pins

*disappearing fabric marker or pencil

*sewing machine & coordinating thread

*scissors

*poly-fil or other stuffing

*pencil with eraser for help with stuffing

*scraps of felt (wool preferable)for feathers, wings, eyes, beak,
and wattle; I used red, orange, gold, yellow, and beige

*fabric glue, like Fabri-Tac

How-to:

With right sides of fabric together, trace your child's
hand with the marker/pencil.

Pin the fabric together and sew over marked lines
leaving the wrist area open.

Trim within about 1/8" of stitch line.

Snip between the fingers and around any curves.

Turn right side out and poke out fingers.

Using only small bits of stuffing at a time, stuff the
fingers then the hand.

Tuck in the bottom opening and edge stitch to close or hand
stitch if you've got time - I didn't.

Feathers should be about the length of the fingers. I didn't
use a pattern but cut them freehand. I used five different colors
and cut two feathers from each one for a total of ten. Snip
along one edge of the feather.

Apply glue only at the base of the feather and attach to the turkey.

Cut two wings, apply glue on one forward end only
and place appropriately.

Cut a little triangle for the beak and a little rounded strip
for the wattle and glue in place.

Take a little bit of felt and roll it between your fingers to make
the eye then glue in place and repeat for the other side.

Tip: If you don't want to machine sew then make the body from
felt. Leave a little more room around the edges of the tracing
for hand sewing and there's no need to turn it inside out.
Continue as above with the stuffing and feathers.

Your done! That was simple right?  Enjoy!

*This post includes an affiliate link. If you make a purchase 
through this link I will receive a small commission. I only 
recommend products that I like and think that you 
will like too. Thank you for your support!

Quilted List Taker

I made this Quilted List Taker from JCasa Handmade's pattern
here and it has been my constant companion ever since I finished
it! I haven't sewn for awhile and it was so nice to get back to it if
only for a little while. (I am moving my studio so all my craft stuff is
in chaos). The instructions are very easy and there
are endless ways to personalize it. 

I only made a few changes to suit me. I added some fairly
heavy interfacing to the body of it and instead of a wrap-around
closure I made a loop closure. Everyone that has seen it wants one
too so I'll be making a lot of these for Christmas.

I used one of my favorite vintage buttons for the closure. It's
amazing how these simple things can give you so much pleasure.

*9/23/08 edited to add: The calendar fabric I used is from a
vintage tea towel, you know the kind that has a calendar on the
bottom and an image at the top.

Softies by Therese Laskey

I'm very excited about this book - one reason is that the author is my friend Terry who had an idea and took it all the way to fruition and it is so exciting to see that happen; another reason is that there are tons of great simple adorable projects that will appeal to a wide variety of people; and, my third reason is that the book features one of my pincushions!

Isn't the photography beautiful?! This is my Scattered Flowers pincushion. All patterns are included in the book too, I love that :)

It's available in all the bookstores as well as Amazon; I hope you'll check it out and give one of the projects a try. The projects, or even the book, would make a great gift too; yep, it's almost that time again ;)

Everyday Totes

I made a couple of new totes over the weekend.  I love the fabric on both of these - I think they are vintage decorator samples.  No pattern on these, just made it up as I went along.  The orange one is a little bigger.  I'm planning on making some more that I'll put in my shop.

This is the interior of the blue one; it has this large pocket on one side and a smaller pocket on the other.  Both bags are reversible.

The interior of the orange one; a large split pocket on one side and a smaller pocket on the other sized for a cell phone.  This bag is going to my sister.

I've got a busy week ahead of me and it is still hot, hot, hot!  Thank you to everyone for your Little House love.  I haven't been able to get back to everyone yet but your comments mean *so* much to me, thank you!

How To Throw Away A Needle

I hate putting broken needles or bent pins into the trash because I'm always afraid it will put a hole in the trash bag or poke one of the boys when they are taking out the trash. Can you tell I worry a lot? Anyway, this is how I throw away a broken needle: I tape it to a piece of cardboard with packing tape first then I toss it out. I've been a little hesitant to post this 'cause I was afraid I'd hear a resounding chorus of "duh!" from around the world, but I guess if it keeps even one person from being poked with a pin then it will be worth it!

My Reach vs. My Grasp

I love to wear simple skirts and tops in the summer but I can never seem to find clothes that are just right.  I know what I want, but buying ready-made means you're stuck with the current fashion and not necessarily what looks good on you or what you like.  I found these Brown Paper Patterns and I'm really excited to give them a try.  There is one pattern each for skirts, pants/shorts, and tops and each pattern has five variations.  They are simple on purpose so you can customize the design to suit your fancy.  I'm in the process of making a six-gored short skirt but got held up when I didn't have the right zipper.  I bought the patterns from here after I checked out the reviews here. 

I also bought two other patterns:  Simplicity 4632 that has a top, dress, and pants with variations and Simplicity 4589.  I love what Amber at Berlin's Whimsy did with #4589 so I'm attempting the same thing.  It's supposed to be an easy pattern so we'll see. 

I took advantage of Hancock's sale and bought some fabrics that I'm really excited about.  You can see the palette I've been drawn to for the summer.  There's also some natural colored linen that's in the wash. 

My reach usually exceeds my grasp on sewing projects but then what's the summer for? :)

Pillowcase Skirt

I've made myself a few skirts to take
on vacation - actually dipping my toe into the big pool of making my own clothes. I picked a very basic pattern that has only two pieces and an elastic waist, thinking that it can't get any easier than this... but then I found out that it actually can! I was going through my stash looking for fabric that my daughter might like for a skirt when I came across this vintage pillowcase I had found thrifting awhile back. I love the border print and thought it would make a cool looking skirt so this is what I did:

1- cut open the end of the pillowcase;
2 - try on and decide what length you want it; trim any excess from the end you just cut open but leave an extra 1" or so for the casing;
3 - fold over the raw edge to create
a casing for the elastic (I fold over ¼" first and then ¾" so you don't see the raw edge) and press, then stitch the casing closed leaving a 1" opening to insert the elastic;
4 - insert the elastic (I used ½") through
the casing and sew up the ends;
5 - stitch the opening in the
casing closed and you're done!

Super-de-duper easy :)
I'll be back in about a week, take care 'til then!