Let the Holiday Sewing Begin (Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year): #1

 Welcome to my 2025 holiday sewing and creating series!

This year my plan is to stitch up or create several items for the upcoming holidays, some for gift giving and some for myself.

In my ideal plan, I'd like to be able to complete at least one item per week, maybe two, however I know that life has a way of taking our 'ideal's' and laughingly toss them out the window.

At any rate, I'm going to give it a shot!

Here's the first item ...

(and it's for me)

I started with an oversized Christmas sweatshirt.

I cut the bottom ribbing off right above the seam stitching.  This was not hard at all, I used scissors and went slowly.  For the sleeves, I cut the cuffs off using the same method and then decided I wanted the sleeves to be shorter so they would hit me between the elbow and wrist.  To achieve that I needed to cut off 2 more inches in length from each sleeve.  I used my rotary cutter, mat and an acrylic ruler to do that.

I also measured 2 inches up from the bottom of the sweatshirt at the seam on each side and made a slit.  I forgot to get a picture of that step, but you'll see it in future pictures.

I stretched the cut edges of the sleeves and bottom of sweatshirt by gently pulling/stretching them.  See the way the ends gently roll, this gives it a softer look that I really like.

Here's the finished sweatshirt.  Notice that I paired it with a long-sleeved red t-shirt that I had on hand.  I love this look!  I can dress this up or make it casual.  I can change out the red long-sleeve t-shirt with a green one, or black, or white or even brown (for the little ginger bread man).

I can pair it with jeans, jean skirt, wear it over a sleeve-less dress (I have a sleeve-less black linen dress that this would work perfectly worn over.), or over a skirt (I have a skirt in mind to stitch up that would work well with this combo.)  

Stay tuned!

(You can use this same method/concept with any oversized sweatshirt.  It doesn't have to be holiday related, in fact this would make a nice gift!)

This project took less than 30 minutes to complete and required no sewing at all.  The other project I hope to get done this week won't be that quick and it does require sewing!  In fact, I would really like to complete two other holiday projects this week ... wish me luck!  

Have you started on any holiday sewing?

mrs. patsi @ Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine

My other blogs:

A Working Pantry

From This Heart of Mine

Long Distance Grandma: Thanksgiving Treats

 Long distance grandparenting is hard, make no mistake, but instead of lamenting over what we can't have, we do our best to do what we can from where we are!

Our grands love to get mail, so grandma and grandpa capitalize on that by trying to send them something each month.  This month the theme is of course, 'Thanksgiving.'

Here's a sampling of this years 'Thanksgiving G & G mail!'

  (G & G stands for grandma and grandpa)

The bags contain a yummy homemade goodie and a Bible character trading card.

The box is a replacement for one of the grands whose thanksgiving treat last year was stolen out of their mail box before our daughter could get to it.  I couldn't find the things I needed to replace it then so, we're doing a do over for this year.  This particular grandchild will receive 2 treats in her box this year.

Here's a close up of one of the bags ...

Two of the bags ...

and the infamous 'turkey poop!'

I hope you've enjoyed my 'craziness!'  What are you stitching up and or creating?

mrs. patsi @ Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine

My other blogs:

A Working Pantry

From This Heart of Mine

A Hodge Podge of Sewing Projects!

 If you follow me over on A Working Pantry you will know that in this post I dropped a teaser on a project my sister and I were doing together in spite of living 12 hours apart.  This is the picture I shared ...

There were some good guesses as to what I/we were making, but none were right.  Here's the fall version of the finished product ...

Here's the link to the YouTube video we took the instructions from.  We didn't follow her exact directions but instead changed a few of the measurements to suit our towels.

We are on a mission to make 'kitchen' themed gifts as gifts for the holiday season.  What would you put with the towel?   Both my sister and I are doing a variety of towels, some for us and some for gift giving.  What would you like to receive in a 'kitchen' themed gift if you were the recipient?  We really want it to be something we make ... kind of a gift from the heart.

I'm back to stitching up 'santa sacks' and while shopping from my fabric pantry came across a bear themed piece of fabric in my stash.  It was given to me last year and I thought the bears were so cute but couldn't really come up with an idea to use them.  I added the fabric to my stash and forgot about it ... until this week!  I got the idea to fussy cut the bears and turn them into 'holiday gift sacks.'  Here's one I did this week ...

I've been going through my summer clothes before changing them out for winter clothing and recycling fabric from items I don't intend to wear again for whatever reason.  The lining and loops at the top of this bear bag are from some of that recycled clothing ... turned fabric.  The picture doesn't do the bear bag justice as the lighting in the room was off, but it really is so very cute!  I am thinking that a certain grandchild of mine will love receiving gifts from grandma and grandpa dressed up and delivered in this bag!

A few other things I've managed to finish since I last posted are ...

this jar topper ...  

I just love the country farmhouse look and this gingham jar topper fits the theme so well!

And finally, here's a leaders and enders project I try to work on every time I sit down at my sewing machine to do any sewing.  Either before I start sewing on the 'current project' at that time or immediately after I finish, I stitch up one of these using random scrap fabric I have on hand.  I have several pre-cut so it's easy to grab one and run it through the machine.  I usually only do one or two, sometimes more, but the idea is not to rush to finish it but to just work on it a little at a time.  When I get the stack finished, my plans are to turn it into a quilt or use it as a border on a quilt.

Don't forget, I would really like to hear your ideas on what to put in a 'kitchen' theme gift for the holiday season that would go well with the towels my sister and I are making.  Thanks in advance for your input!

That's it for this post, what are you stitching up and or creating?

mrs. patsi @ Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine

My other blogs:

A Working Pantry

From This Heart of Mine

Book Sleeve #2 ... for a specific purpose

 In the last post, I shared that I had made a book sleeve for a year-long spiral bound Bible study book.  After I finished it, I realized I could really use another one for another year long Bible study, this one for scripture writing.

This is the front, I made the pocket deeper than the previous one and didn't divide it into sections.

The color in the picture is not a good representation of the actual color.  This is the back.

The lining is of the same fabric as the pocket on the front.

Here are both book sleeves/Bible study bags side by side.  I'm very pleased with both!

I so enjoy stitching up things that I need or want including gifts for others.  Being able to customize items to my specifications keeps down the waste of buying things that don't fit or work for the purpose it was purchased.  I hate that, don't you?

That's it for this post, what are you stitching up and or creating?

mrs. patsi @ Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine

My other blogs:

A Working Pantry

From This Heart of Mine

Stitching up a Book Sleeve for a Specific Purpose!

 I have seen so many pretty book sleeves and have contemplated making one for quite some time, but I knew I would never use it for just keeping or carrying around books.

But it struck me one day as I was looking at my current spiral bound Bible study book that it was looking quite worn.  It's a yearlong study and as you might guess, gets quite a bit of wear.

This year's study is coming to an end in a few short weeks, and I decided that for the new study, available in a couple of weeks, that I wanted to make it its own book sleeve, to protect it over the next years use.

Here are the pieces cut out, with notes of what to do next.  

(Note the sticky note that says 'quilt?'  In the end I decided not to quilt it!)

Shown are the pieces for the ...

outside cover ...

lining ...

and pocket ...

Here's the completed book sleeve that I made to fit this spiral bound Bible study.  (By the way, this Bible study has been such a good one, I've learned so much!  Cindy Colley's Bible studies are deep and will put you deep in God's Word with every lesson ... but oh, the precious things that one can learn!  It's truly worth all the effort!)

(This is the study that a friend and I meet online once a week and do together.  We each answer the questions before class and then discuss our answers.  If you don't have a Bible study buddy, I encourage you to get one ... it adds to digging deep in God's Word!)

The inspiration for this book sleeve came from HERE.  I did some customizing of my own but followed her basic instructions.

I customized the pocket to hold the pens I use in this study ...

gray/black for my answers ...

blue for my Bible study buddy's comments that I want to add and remember ...

green for the large online study group that also does this study weekly on Facebook ...

and red for the podcast and dig-a-bits done by the author herself.  By the time we finish each month's study, we have a thorough understanding of the subject we've studied from several different points of view!

I can tell at a glance whose comment I'm reading just by looking at the ink!

By creating this book sleeve, I can protect the cover of the new study as well as keep everything I need to do the study all in one place.  That's a win, win situation for me as it keeps me from running around looking for all the components when it's time to work in the study!

That's it for this post, what are you stitching up and or creating?

mrs. patsi @ Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine

My other blogs:

A Working Pantry

From This Heart of Mine

Customizing a New 'Teaching the Bible/Bible Study' Bible Bag

 The Bible bag I have been using for years was a gift and I loved it but ... alas, I wore it out and it has long since been time to replace it.

Here's what I replaced it with and how I customized it ...

It started out as a plain canvas tote that I got at Hobby Lobby for $6.95.

My old worn-out Bible bag had my initials embroidered on it and I wanted to keep those, so I cut out a rectangle, added batting and a backing, stitched around the edges and then pinked them using pinking shears.  I then punched a hole in one corner of the rectangle and tied a piece of fabric through it.  Next, I took just a plain ole safety pin and pinned it on the bag.

For the inside, I wanted to add something to the bottom to give it some structure.

I measured the size I wanted and cut two pieces of heavy-duty cardboard according to the measurements.  I then took thick, strong rubber bands that came off purchased produce ... that I had saved ... and banded the two pieces of cardboard together.  Then I made a cover for the cardboard, slipped it in and viola ... I have a structured bottom for my bag.

Into my Bible bag I put 3 zip lock art project plastic storage bags. (These came from Hobby Lobby as well.)  I use 3 ... 

One for the Sunday morning ladies Bible class that I teach (all the materials needed for this class goes in this folder) ...

One for the Wednesday night teen class that I teach (all the materials needed for this class goes in this folder) ...

and one for transporting the church bulletin that I do each week to church without it getting crumpled.

Next in my Bible bag are my note-taking notebooks.  The one on the left is almost full and the one on the right will be its replacement.

Next, are my two zippered bags that carry all the small things that I use such as ...

highlighters,

thumb drives, 

sticky notes,

extra pens, etc

(The bag on the left is one I made and the one on the right was given to me.)

Everything except my Bible stays in my Bible bag from week to week but, since I use my Bible in my daily Bible studying, I don't add it to the bag until before we leave for church.

Do you notice the small key charm laying between the handles?  It's attached to a loop attached to the Bible cover.  It represents and serves as a reminder that Bible study is a key in our relationship to God.

Here it is loaded and ready for use.  There's also room for my laptop when I need it in teaching.

There you go, a new to me Bible bag that's functional, didn't break the bank to create and that I think is classically quite pretty!

That's it for this post, what are you stitching up and or creating?

mrs. patsi @ Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine

My other blogs:

A Working Pantry

From This Heart of Mine

Baby Blanket!

 The fabric for this blanket was given to me by a dear friend.  She had purchased yardage of it and had more than she needed.  She gave me enough to do a blanket as well.  Her daughter even cut the small slits in it needed to crochet the foundation stitch all the way around.  Yes, they are amazing dear friends!

When I saw the fabric, I knew I wanted the stars to be surrounded by puffy clouds.  So, I purchased a package of Bernat blanket yarn in the color white and set to work.  First came the foundation stitch and then a series of crocheted loops giving it a ruffly look all the way around.  (I used about half of the yarn package for the whole project.) It was super easy to do!

Once I got it finished, I decided it needed something in one of the corners and using the same yarn spelled out the word 'baby' and stitched it down with my sewing machine.  If you were making this for a specific baby, instead of spelling out the word 'baby,' you could use the baby's name or initials.

It really is so very cute, and I can't wait for the occasion to gift it as a baby gift.  In the meantime, it has been carefully bagged up and added to my gift trunk.

That's it for this post, what are you stitching up and or creating?

mrs. patsi @ Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine

My other blogs:

A Working Pantry

From This Heart of Mine