Pay It Forwards and a Few Forgotten Blocks....

Numbers #5 and #6 of my Pay it Forward projects are done and you know what that means? I have them all done, before the end of the year, goal accomplished. Whoo Hoo!!


Number 5 went to my sister, the one who recently got married.


When Spoonflower had their free swatch day a few months back I happened upon a print with pixelated ninjas all over it. There is a private joke about her new husband and him being a ninja so as soon as I saw it I knew I had to get it and make something for one of them. 


I settled on a small pouch and just so happened to have everything in my stash to complete it, which made me very happy.

I did some embroidery on the back. My satin stitching is still a bit rough, but it's legible!

There are some ninjas hiding inside too

Well, then I felt like the pouch wasn't enough. I mean, she IS my sister. So I set out to find something else to make for her. I bought some fabric right off the bat. Amy Butler's Love collection is totally right up her alley. 


But what to make? I finally decided that she needed another bag. She's all about bags and shoes so I knew she would love another one. I set out to find the perfect one and happened upon an Amy Butler pattern, the Blossom Bag (offered for free at Sew Mama Sew!) But did I have it in me to make another Amy Butler bag? The last one almost killed me! I kept looking for another one I could make, but just kept coming back to the Blossom bag every time, I knew I had to make that one for her. 


So I went for it. 

I will say that this one was easier than the Sweet Harmony bag I had made. I did have a total Dur! moment when I got the entire bag together and then realized I put the straps on wrong. I was not a very happy camper, there was NO way to fix it and then machine sew them back down. 


So instead of having them sewn on like the pattern calls for, I had to remove the little tab that covers where the strap and loop come together, attach some d-rings and then attach another piece of fabric to loop through the d-ring and attach to the strap.

My sister didn't even notice. I'm just really glad I had some d-rings on hand!


Making the bar tacks on the sides was not as difficult as people said it would be. The only thing I did to set my machine up for it was put in a jeans needle. It handled it just fine.

The instructions for the zipper weren't very clear, so I just kind of winged that part. 

And of course, being left handed, I put the zipper in wrong. I was trying to be so careful to make sure I put it in right too! She said she hadn't even noticed that either. I really should stop pointing out all of my mistakes to people!


It closes with a magnetic snap, which was a breeze to install after having done it on the other bag.

I will say, even with my mistakes, that I kind of enjoyed this bag. It was tedious, and the amount of interfacing in this sucker is just crazy, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The hardest part was probably attaching the curved sides. With all of the stiff interfacing on the pieces it was just difficult to maneuver. Doing the same thing with the lining pieces was a breeze.


I am very happy to say that my sister loves both gifts, and that definitely makes it all worthwhile.


Now on to #6!! 


This one went to my sister-in-law. She was harder to figure out what to make. She lives in Texas and I don't get to see her often, so we don't know each other well. 


I happened upon an embroidery on Pinterest one day that was a hand print of each family member, one on top of the other. My sister said that my sister-in-law really likes things that remind her of her family, so I went for it. It was really easy to do considering I already had everybody's hand prints!


I didn't stack the hands though, and I made one of them going the opposite direction. My nephew is a lefty like me :)

My sister is in town visiting and will be taking this back to Texas with her, so I'll know in the next few days if my sister-in-law likes it. Fingers crossed!!


And now for the poor forgotten blocks....


These blocks were for the 12 Month Bee for November. Emily asked for Disappearing 9 Patch blocks, and that's what she got!

The next blocks were for a special cause. 


Val of PinkPlease! sent out a call for help for some string blocks to make a quilt for the Heroes Foundation. This quilt will be auctioned off to raise money for the foundation. I was one of the many who offered to send her some blocks.

Check out her most recent post about it to see what she has received so far. It's coming together quite nicely!


I think that wraps up everything I have going on right now. My WIP pile hasn't had any change to it in recent weeks, nor have I started anything new so there isn't really much to report. Well, I say nothing new but I did teach myself to knit and am now obsessed with that. More on that later!


Bree has been uber busy with Christmas orders and getting her own gifts made so she's been spending all of her free time at the sewing machine.


So, unless something totally awesome happens that I just can't wait to share with you, I'm going to sign off until after the holiday. Lots to do and just 5 days left to get it done! Plus, the kids are home and the hubby will be too, so I'm going to have my hands full.


Whatever it is that you are celebrating this holiday season, I wish you and yours the very best!