Thursday Thoughts Part 2: Comic Con Sewing

I have been sewing madly the last few weeks trying to get things finished off for the convention. I had finally decided that I was done and posted on Facebook the following post

Did my comic con stall stock take 6 laptop bags, 17 iPad bags, 44 cosmetics purses, 37 pencil cases, 44 earbud/round pouches, 29 zipper coin purses, 29 tissue packet covers, 4 hanging towels, 14 pot holders, 9 hair scrunchies, 5 bandana bibs. All made from geeky type fabrics (Pokémon, doctor who, StarbWars, batman, Wonder Woman etc) I am done now. It's 2 weeks till I leave for overseas and the convention is a week after we get back. I have to tidy my sewing room before I go so need to stop

I was basically having a little boast about what I had done. What I didn't expect was for my friends to start asking about stuff and wanting to buy from me. It started with one friend asking about the iPad bags so I posted her photos of all of the different ones 

Pokemon iPad messenger style bags

and a couple of people asked if they could buy them. Someone asked about the cosmetics bags so I photographed them and posted the pictures 

 Doctor Who Cosmetics bags

and sold 4. Then someone asked about the scrunchies... 

 I didn't mae any more of these - these are leftovers from our Christmas market

and someone about the coin purses... 

Batman and Star Trek teeny tiny zipper coin purses

 I ended up photographing everything and putting them into an album on Facebook 

Ear bud pouches, these ones with periodic table and formulas

Betty Boop pencil cases

Bandana bibs for babies

Space Invaders tissue packet covers

I have been selling things from there. (still have to photograph the laptop bags, the hanging towels and the pot holders but you get the general idea)

The album is actually public if you want to have a look. Comic Con Sewing Album 

I have a page on this blog that I put items I had made onto (so the Comic Con selection committee people could have a look and see what sorts of things I have made/could make) I will load the photos onto that too... eventually.

Sunday Stash Report

I didn't get around to writing my Sunday stash report last week... and to be honest it was because I had some input and no output so I avoided having to confess my sins by not writing. Simples.

So now 2 weeks later and I confess to some more input BUT I have had a couple of finishes too so all is not lost.

Firstly lets do the finishes.

Actually I did have a few finishes that first week I avoided writing my stash report (week 11)- some little things.

Whilst in Brisbane I had finished off 2 easy cosmetics bags, a dodgey small boxy bag and then when I got home I made a large messenger bag, the size to take a lap top. Apart from the dodgey boxy bag which will probably be given to some small unsuspecting child, the other items I made are all for the Comic Con stall I am going to be having for Handmade With Love in September.

This past week (week 12) I have had 2 big finishes. I managed to finish off my En Provence quilt. I had quilted it on the long arm at our club, using a pantograph. It was my first go at doing a pantograph and I was quite pleased with how it turned out. I chose a pink checked fabric to bind it in and think that it has turned out really well. I still haven't come up with a special name for the quilt so its going to just be En Provence and I'll be done with it! 10.15m

My second finish for the week is a t'shirt quilt that I have made for my daughter aka Fangirl. Its been a long time in the coming... she's been giving me t'shirts to go in it for about 10 years. She has nothing to complain about though.... her brother aka The Beast has only ever received 2 quilts from me where as she has already been given 3. His is coming... eventually. 5.93m 
There will be no photos because whilst she knows its coming I still want it to be a surprise for her

And now to my purchases. 

Whilst in Brisbane I bought on metre of some cute spider web fabric. It was 150cm wide so was 1.5m

At home a local  shop had a big big sale on. The sad reason is that they are probably going to go out of selling fabric. Anyway, they had a 40% off sale and I succumbed... 

My first forray into the shop was quite legitimate. I needed some fabric to finish off the backing for my A to Z quilt. I found some suitable stuff (but didn't get enough and ended up having to spend ages piecing the back with lots of little bits). No photos of this yet though as it is part of the A to Z challenge which starts in 5 days (eek)


 but whilst I was there also bought some stuff that will be good for the Comic Con stall - some cute ghosty type characters plus some co-ordinating red and greys that will be great for linings. 7.57m

Then... that 40% kept ringing in my ears. I had seen some red and grey Star Wars fabric - brilliant for the stall... and also I have the Labrynth pattern. I bought it a few years ago but then forgot about it and only found it again in January. It is one that I really couldn't make from scraps at all. It has to be made from the 4 fabrics - tones of a colour in order for the illusion to work. I really want to make it ... and so ... off I went and purchased all the fabric for it in one hit. (apart from the backing). Because I had to do the conversion from yards to metres I wasn't sure that I had bought enough. The sale was ending the next day so I came home and cut it all out so as to be able to go back and get any extra the next day if I didn't have enough whilst they still had it and whilst it was still on sale (I think I told my dear readers all of this in my WIP Wednesday post... sorry) 13.88M

Anyway

Weeks 11 and 12
Fabric used          17.44
Fabric added        21.45
Net usage            -4.01m

Year to Date     
Fabric used       78.47
Fabric Added     43.05
Net Usage        35.42m

linking up with Patchwork Times

Smunday Stash Report - late again this week

My week can be divided into 2 distinct parts - productive and not so much. LOL. At the beginning of the week I was able to get stuck into a variety of projects, all for Handmade With Love, particularly for the Comic Con stall we will have. Its not till September but since I will be out of the country from the end of July and have some other travel before then I am trying to get as much as I can made before I then.

This month I have set myself a challenge to make 20 things for the stall (I managed 12 last month) but had done nothing in the first week or so.

This week I got my act into gear and I made 8 Teeny Tiny Zipper Purses, using this pattern by So Sew Easy. .41m

 I made one ear bud pouch - Tardis fabric is so cool .07m

  and I tried out this new messenger bag pattern by Crazy Little Projects. 1.87m

Its big enough to carry a full size laptop (mine pictured is 15" and there is heaps of room for a bigger one) I talked about the hassles I had with it (all stemming from me assuming I knew what to do.. hint. I didn't ) on my Wip Wednesday blog post 

No purchases this week so all profit!

Week 10
Fabric used          2.35
Fabric added        0.00
Net usage            2.35m

Year to Date     
Fabric used       61.03
Fabric Added     21.60
Net Usage        39.43m

linking up with Patchwork Times

WIP Wednesday

How has your week been? Have you been making progress on your WIPs? I've been busy and very happy with the progress I have made on a number of fronts.

I unpicked the dog cushion that I had mentioned last week that I felt was over stuffed and removed some of the stuffing and it was then much more suitable for the dog to snuggle onto... he no longer looked like he was going to bounce straight off it. I got 2 more completed as well so Jack and Digby have new beds in the laundry where they sleep at night as well as 2 cushions in the rumpus room/sewing area. That is all that they need so future dog beds will be given away as they get stuffed.

I have finished off 2 more secret project quilt tops and have made the backings for them so I have somewhat of a quilting pile up....4 quilts and backs ready to be quilted and one more that I am making the backing for now.

Today at Patchwork I put the borders on A to Z Challenge Quilt.

 Its ended up much bigger than anticipated (90" square). adding 3 borders does that too a quilt! Sorry I have no photos of the completed quilt top... but its supposed to be a secret till A to Z blog challenge starts 1st April. This is the 3rd border fabric

I am working on the backing for it (as mentioned above) I have 3 blocks left over from the front to incorporate - the Z block plus the 2 blocks that got replaced on the front. I have a little of the border fabric left over to go on the back as well but I am going to have to work out what to do with the rest of it.

At Handmade With Love yesterday Peggy had cut out a couple of little dresses and some rompers. I am not big on clothes sewing, but its cutting things out that causes me the most angst. With them already cut and Peggy on hand to say what to sew when and where I was able to get stuck in and between us we got the 2 dresses made in the morning and they looked really lovely. I forgot to photograph them too (not doing too well here am I)

I have been busy with a some other HWL projects. One of my goals this month is to get 20 items sewn for the Comic Con stall I am having in September. Over the last 2 days I managed to sew 8 of the Teeny Tiny zipper pouches. (pattern is here on Sew So Easy)

 and one ear buds pouch. (no photo of it either... I forgot) So 9 things down and 11 to go!

I started working on a different Messenger bag tonight. I did a number of major stuff ups because instead of reading the instructions properly I made some assumptions and they were WRONG. I had a lot of unpicking to do.... I'd assumed that the big piece I cut was the front and back of the bag and the small piece I cut was the flap cause that is what they had been on the kids messenger bags I've been making. (despite them being called front and back) The big piece was actually the back and the flap. I had stitched the pockets on incorrectly and also when I'd cut the one way fabric in half and sewed it so that the pieces would be the right way when folded... yeah they were both upside down. I managed to get them all fixed up but have had to call it a night with only a little more stitching done. The pattern looks good though and works well. You can find it here on Crazy Little Projects.

I've also restarted my crotcheting. Last October I offered to make 12 water bottle carriers for a Kyros Outside walk that is being held in North Queensland (Its part of the Emmaus movement we belong to) I got 8 made pretty quickly but it has languished somewhat but I found the stuff a few days ago and have since made one more and nearly finished a second. I have a return car trip to Brisbane this coming weekend which is about 20 hours driving - only some of which I will be driving for so hopefully I will get a few done then.

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