DIY wallets

Finally, my Sew-Jo is back!!  I am so happy that i am inspired to sew again.  Not doing great physically, i am glad i have something to occupy my time.  Today i made several wallets.  It took until the third one to truly dial in the correct size, then once i had it figured out i made a few extras.  They make great presses and are fun and quick to whip up.  I used a suiting fabric and some left over denim scraps for the exterior fabric and then some fun fabrics for the interior.  I wish i had more of the fish, but i love the Hipster Fabric from Crimson Tate.  

The last one, i used navy thread to top stitch and it also has the beer fabric.  I am always thrilled when i find something fun and functional for guys.  My hubbee loves these wallets because they are huge and thick.  FYI: it is not great to put your wallet in your back pocket, especially if you sit on it while driving/work etc.  

I want to finish my philanthropy quilt this weekend, and possibly sew a clothing top.  What projects do you have going? Also if you have any other guy friendly sewing projects, let me know!

lots of sewing, tiny bit of exercise...

This quilt top is the philanthropy top i made last weekend, and didn't have the photo to share:

And this is the flying geese mini i made for the flying geese mini swap i am in. It is a jelli quilt  pattern, and as usual her patterns are excellent!  the error in this is all me! I have dubbed it "amish geese" because of the error.  In our guild, we use that term because the amish believe only god was perfect, so everything else is flawed or has an error.  I had a great time free-motion quilting.  I turned this mini into a pillow case.

 This weekend i made a dress with Pockets!!!!! It is a VERY simple pattern by NewLook.  it says one hour, but it took approximately 4... even now with the tissue cut out, i still think it would take me two.  Maybe i am slow?  This fabric is the cotton and steel rayon challis.  It is DIVINE!  I loved working with it and upon finishing this dress, ordered more.  It was challenging to take pics of myself and it was early in the am but you can get the gist!  it also has a belt with the same fabric, however i didn't like the look, so i tried it with a leather belt and that was much more flattering. i have a few modifications i will make on the next one, but this pattern was great and i look forward to my next attempt.

 I have the book, Sewing in a Straight Line, by Brett Bara.  it is a great book with excellent tutorials and patterns.  These fabric trays were in there.  Three sizes, however you could make them any size.  They are quick and easy and great for stash busting.  i made several for extras for my "Pay it Forward" projects and for a few other swaps i have coming up, and easter prezzies.

 This one is a large one.  I used my 12.5" square ruler, and I think it is a great way to showcase the Tula Pink fabric.  i am going to use it on the coffee table to hold remotes and my angel cards.  The possibilities with this fun project are endless. you can make them deeper, triangle shaped, rectangle etc.

So these were some fun items i made over the weekend... and more trays are about half done! :) What did you create this weekend?

On a fitness note, I bought a new reformer.  it is the balanced body allegro, xl.  i have, however, pulled a muscle (pelvic floor? psoas) and have barely been able to walk so i have yet to utilize it.  i can't wait to heal so i can play around on it!! Our weather has been all over the place, but i was able to go for a walk with wrigley and Sunny and her dogs too.  it was beautiful.

These three had a blast! Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend and your monday flies by!!!:)

remember to never skip a monday so even if you do a few planks or a wall sit do something!!! something is always better than nothing!!

two weekend workouts

I did two great workouts this weekend so I thought i would share in case anyone wants to change something up and try them.

On Saturday I warmed up on the spin bike for 5 miles.  Then i performed the following circuit 5x:

treadmill at 6 degree incline, 7 mph for .25 miles

10 burpees with tricep push up and single arm row from plank position with 10# db

10 leg press 15 plates

10/leg ham curl 2 plates

10 leg extensions 3 plates

10 of each/leg adductor and abductor cable 1.5 plates

then a one mile flat cool down.

This went by quickly and was fun do to the variety.

Sunday i also did a 5 mile spin warm up alternating sitting and standing each minute.

Then the workout:

1 mile easy paced (7 mph), 1 min of walking lunges with weighted bar

repeat for 3 rounds

40 min on the reformer and pilates mat work.

I love circuits.  They keep me motivated and focused.  And since they are short bursts of a variety of exercises, i can easily wrap my mind around the circuit.  They can also be done with little or no equipment, so no excuses to skip a workout!

The pilates felt great on the hammies, my left is still not quite right but definitely improving.  And i always love the core work pilates provides.  

I also did quite a bit of sewing this weekend too!  My sew jo seems to be returning.  I think it helped having a friend come over for a sew night, i had to tidy up my sewing center.  I will post pics next post of current projects! :)  

Any goals or events coming up? projects? 

fun run and exciting sewing!!

Yesterday was the Run to the Pub in Bozeman.  And one friend couldn't make it due to weather, and another friend decided last minute to take her spot!  So friday night i whipped up a sparkly skirt for her to wear as well since she said she didn't have any green to wear.

The second one went much faster and without issues.  The first one, my needle was getting gummy stuff on it (glue from sequins) and thus breaking the thread.  This time i noticed if i sewed a bit slower the glue didn't build up (i don't know why that was), and thus no thread breaking and time consuming rethreading/detangling etc.  so the gathering went faster and over all it was just smoother sailing than the first attempt.  Which was great, because by friday night my brain is mush.  

We left livingston, and it was 18 degrees and socked in.  It felt very humid.  As we went over the pass, and into bozeman it warmed to 40 and kept climbing, and was sunny.  And CALM.  This was such a nice reprieve from our livingston winds.  I had no time goal for the race, just to keep it easy and feel out this hamstring.  And Tara, she thought she would walk most of it and she ran it in its entirety!!!  woohoo!!!  The event is very fun and there is a block party after where you can have your free cupcake and beer(s) etc. but it was awfully crowded and beer was the last thing i wanted, so we went for sushi (always a win!).  All in all, the event was EXCELLENT! 

Potty Line Pic!

I gave Tara one of the bows i made too.

I have been wanting to make these Birkin Flares forever (seriously for a few years) and finally last weekend i cut out the denim!  And the rivets, thread, buttons etc arrived that i ordered from Taylor Tailors (excellent source!).  So now these are ready for assembly.  However, last night i worked on a bit of my paper piecing for an IG swap, but then had to finish up tax prep.  i have a few CHORES to do then hopefully back to the sewing center for me! And yoga later.  

All of the bits for the Birkin Flares!  I am so happy there is a sew along to follow.  That is the only reason i was brave enough to attempt these.  i have a fun idea for my top stitching on the back pockets... now i hope i can implement it!

Anyone else run a pub run this weekend? 

run to the pub attire!

Tomorrow is the run to the pub.  i have done a virtual race or two this year, but this will be my first in real life race this year.  I normally run the half, however i was supposed to run the SnowJoke again so i only registered for the 10k this year.  We are currently receiving snow squalls and it is supposed to be windy which makes the already icy roads extra crappy to drive on, so I am hoping by tomorrow it will have cleared up some...  I wanted to share my makes for the race.  i bought the sparkly material two years ago but didn't end up running the race that year and forgot about the fabric and ribbons i had bought last year, and found the package of goodies around christmas time this year.  Better late than never, i guess!!

I ordered a fun tee from Etsy, and made these hair clips and sparkly skirt to wear over some leggings. the skirt was fun and easy to make and I'm sure there will be more colors in my future! :) 

is anyone else running a st. patrick's day race?  Costumes?  i must say, i love the bows--they are glued onto these excellent alligator clips that stay put.  i attempted to wear a fun headband with whirligig pinwheels one year, and those F-ers just kept bonking me in the face/eye/ear and so about half a mile into the race they were launched into the ditch.

i am also very happy i hit up one of the running skirts sales and purchased some ice breaker gear.  i will definitely be sporting my long sleeved top under my tee.  i love the super soft fleece on the inside.  wishing fast and non-slipping-on-ice feet to all!!!

slacker...

well... it has been almost a year... i am a slacker.  my apologies.  a lot has been happening since my last post, both in my sewing life and my running one.  One can always follow along on instagram turtlegirl00 is my username.  

This saturday is the Run to the Pub and i am running the 10k.  I am looking forward to it.  I am also trying to plan other races for the year... Any recs? 

I have been sewing up a storm, a fun variety of quilts and apparel.  This past weekend i cut out the parts for a pair of Birkin flares.  I am now waiting for several items to arrive in the mail that i will require to finish them.  I have wanted to make these pants for a very long time. Fortunately, they are a tradition wide leg trouser style and will be timeless (hence my desire).  I am making them using a dark solid denim, however, i think they would be cute in a patterned canvas, or white canvas like sailor style etc.  I used a pdf pattern which is so time consuming trimming it, taping it, then tracing with swedish tracing paper etc. but now that i have the pattern ready to go, if i decide to make another pair it should go much faster. 

while waiting for my finishing notions for the flares, i am working on a philanthropy quilt for our guild and I want to make a sparkly skirt for the pub run.  I actually bought the material for it for the race two years ago, however with my mother's passing i bailed on the race.  

I also am out of netflix shows to binge.  any recs? any podcast recs?