Friday, July 29, 2011

Vogue Dress Pattern 8724-My Most Favorite Summer of 2011 Dress

                                                                 
This summer I fell in love with Vogue dress pattern 8724.  The lines in this knit dress are very clean and very lean!  The bodice has a fairly deep crossover v-neck attached to a skirt that is softly pleated at the top.  The sleeves are cap-style.
The dress has no zipper and simply pulls over the head.
I hemmed my dress so it falls just a tad above mid-knee.  I twin-needle topstitched the skirt hem as well as the sleeve hems.
Vogue 8724 is an easy, easy pattern to sew and the end result is quite an elegant looking dress.

Newest Fabrics

Tiffany's Trove Prequilted

Tiffany's Trove Coordinate
Below are photos of my newest fabrics which will work perfectly year round in any of my bags.
The fabrics themselves are available for sale by the yard.  The prequilted fabric is $16 per yard + S&H when applicable.
The single weight coordinates are $8 per yard + S&H when applicable.
Oasis Prequilted

Oasis Sides A & B

Oasis Coordinate

The Courtney iPad Purse


This past week I made the Emroidery Garden's iPad purse . It is a fast and easy purse to make.
As shown in the photos my iPad2 extends just a tad beyond the edge of the purse which has nothing to do with the pattern/directions. I made a mistake in measuring to compensate for the iPad cover I had made about a month ago for my iPad2. 






The Courtney iPad purse has a rear outside pocket which I made as a split pocket. It can easily hold a cell phone (unless you have the phone app on your iPad2!) and keys.

I think the possibilities for this iPad purse extend beyond an iPad which is great for people who don't have an iPad. Although designed to hold a covered iPad 2, I can see this bag also being worn as an across the chest bag which would would make for hands-free shopping.
 Needless to say, the Courtney iPad purse can be made up in any of the fabrics shown on my web site and in my etsy store.
Price: $30 + S&H when applicable

The 2 Jeans Wallet

Last night I finished making the Presto wallet I bought from Sewspoiled's etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/Sewspoiled?ref=seller_info. It's been awhile since I have made &/or used a wallet as large as this one. I must say it is nice to have some room in my wallet.
The wallet has an outside zippered pocket, 4 inside credit card slots and a pocket for currency. It closes with a magnetic clasp.
The wallet makes up pretty easily. The directions are good and include a lot of colored photos.
Price: $20 + S&H when applicable
For a great look combine this wallet with the Winnie Bag shown in an earlier post:
 http://arlenesbags.blogspot.com/2011/03/winnie-tote-bag.html

Monday, July 11, 2011

The Farnell iPad (Shoulder Bag?) Case

As many of you know, to put it mildly, I have been obsessed with my iPad2 since buying it in May.  I regularly search for new iPad accessories I can make.   Thus far the Lisa iPad foldable cover and the new Farnell Case are my favorites.
 After making the Farnell Case I realized what a great shoulder bag it would make.
The bag has an adjustable, detachable shoulder strap and an outside zippered pocket.
Although it easily holds my iPad, I have been carrying the bag as a shoulder bag. Luckily I have because someone ordered one the first day I wore it. No work in that sale!
For the order I did add a zippered inside pocket as the customer requested.
The bag also has an adjustable shoulder strap.  I would avoid an inside zipper if using this case strictly for an iPad.
I used one of my newest fabrics, Oasis, to make the case and accessories.
For accessories I made a tissue case, eyeglass case and the ITH freebie wallet from the Purple Hat. The 2 wallets in the second photo were an order. I made one of them a tad deeper than the other and widened the tab closure so it would look more balanced.
Price for Farnell Case/Bag: $35 + S&H when applicable