Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Santa Sacks!

 Before my hubby had his medical emergency, I was working on stitching up more of these Santa Sacks ...


I shared in this post that I had been given the following 'vintage santa' fabric and was planning to make festive 'santa sacks' for gift giving purposes.


I finished 5 more sacks in various sizes before my plans were interrupted ...


Each sack is fully lined so the contents will be concealed!
I still have a few more to complete before I pack them away for the next holiday season!

Is anyone else working on Christmas 2025, besides me????

mrs. patsi @ Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine

Friday, January 24, 2025

Notebook Pen Holders: I've Wanted to Make These for a Long Time!

 I've wanted to make notebook pen holders for a long time, and this week with frigid temperatures outside and 6 inches of snow on the ground, I tackled the project.

First, I watched a few Youtube videos and took notes.  Then I combined the notes, customizing the end project to fit my vision.

Here's what I did ...


Cut: (These measurements are for an 8-inch notebook.  For a different size notebook, measure the length and substitute it wherever 8 inches are called for in these instructions.)
2 pieces of fabric 2 3/4 inches x 8 inches 
2 pieces of lightweight fusible interfacing 2 3/4 inches x 8 inches
1 contrasting piece of fabric 2 3/4 x 10 inches (For a different size notebook, add 2 inches to the measured length of your notebook.)
1 piece of lightweight fusible interfacing 2 3/4 inches x 10 (For a different size notebook, add 2 inches to the measured length of your notebook.) 


Iron the interfacing on to each piece of fabric, fold the 10-inch piece in half lengthwise and press.  Top stitch 1/8 inch from top of fold on folded piece.


Place pocket on top of one of the 8-inch pieces, aligning the bottom of both pieces of fabric.  If you want compartments, stitch down the middle of the pocket piece.  As you can see, I wanted compartments.  (Do not stitch across the fold again!)


Cut 1 piece of elastic 8 inches long and place it pretty side down on top of pen holder and stitch across both ends of elastic.


Place remaining 8-inch piece of fabric with right sides together on top of piece with pocket.


Stitch 1/4 inch around leaving an opening for turning. I also trimmed the seams to 1/8 inch to reduce bulk in finished product.  Clip corners, turn and press being careful not to let the iron touch the elastic.


I'm so pleased with the way these turned out, as you can see, I made two.

I hope you've enjoyed this little tutorial!  I will be making more, next time for larger notebooks!

mrs. patsi @ Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine

Friday, January 17, 2025

Another Recycle and Repurpose Project: Robe #2

 In the last post, I mentioned that I had been given two robes and shared how I repurposed and recycled one of them.  In this post, I'm going to show you what I did with the second one.


It is also flannel and the pattern made me think of the little house on the prairie style ... so that's what I went with ... I knew I had the perfect pair of boots to go with whatever design I came up with, so I took those boots into consideration as well!


Just like in the last 'robe' I cut it off right under the buttons giving me enough of the rest of the garment to stitch into a skirt.  All I did was make a casing for the elastic, inserted the elastic and stitched closed the opening.


Here's how I styled it.  I knew I wanted to play upon the ruffled 'hem' so went to my closet to see what I had that would create the 'prairie' look I wanted.  This top was the perfect color, soft pink, plus it complimented the style of the skirt.

Next, I pulled out my 'cowgirl' boots and the look was complete! 

I have thoroughly enjoyed recycling the two robes I was given into something I would wear!  I hope seeing what I was able to do will inspire you to take a more serious look at recycling and repurposing what you have and or are given.

mrs. patsi @ Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine

Saturday, December 28, 2024

Another 'Recycle & Repurpose' Project!

We enjoyed a quiet Christmas at home and when things slow down, my heart wants to sew, so I started recycling and repurposing this flannel robe.


It, along with another one, was given to me by a dear friend who had purchased them new but, they just didn't work for her.  Thank you, my dear, dear friend ... you know who you are!

For a robe, it would not work for me either, but I immediately knew what I could do with it ...
 

I set to work by cutting off the bodice part and laying it aside.  If you'll notice in the first picture, the robe is closed via snaps all the way down.  I didn't want to have to deal with snaps coming unsnapped on a skirt, so I removed the snap placket and sewed the opening up using a French seam being careful to match the plaids.

Next, I folded down 1/4 inch at the top and pressed it down.  Then I measured down 1 1/2 inches (I used 1-inch-wide elastic), folded and pressed again.  I stitched all the way around approximately 1/8 from the top of the fold.  Next, I went to the bottom of the fold and again stitched 1/8 inch all the way around leaving a 2-inch opening to put the elastic through.  I inserted the elastic and stitched closed the opening. The skirt was completed.

Here's how I styled it ... 


I knew I wanted to accent the really small white lines in the fabric of the skirt and the pockets, so I went to my closet and pulled out the white slip I made from a thrifted sheet.  I tried them together and viola ... I liked the way they paired together.  My vision was to use a white sweater for the top that was short enough not to cover the pockets, but I didn't have a white sweater at all.  I looked at some other options, but nothing really felt right.  I decided to just 'sit on it for a day or two' and think about it.

Fast forward a couple of days and my hubby got a phone call from a friend who had a friend who knew my hubby, but didn't have his phone number. He had several bags of men's clothing he wanted to get rid of and thought of my husband, did he want them?  Hubby went to get them and when he got home, I immediately started going through all 9 bags!  (I am on a mission to declutter my home and the last thing I wanted was to have 9 really big bags of clothing sitting around.)  I pulled each item out of each bag and hubby, and I made a decision about whether to keep it, recycle it, or donate it.  When we were finished, we had a small pile to keep and bagged the rest to be donated.  (I'm happy to report that that has already been done!)  Long story short, in the 'keep pile' was the white sweater you see in the picture above.  It was perfect ... shhhh!  I won't tell anyone it's a man's sweater if you won't!!!

mrs. patsi @ Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Blogmas 2024: Days 22, 23 and 24

 Here we are on Christmas Eve ....


the tree is lit, the house is dark creating the perfect Christmas atmosphere ...

every gift has been wrapped ...

every gift has been received ...

every card has been delivered ...

the Christmas baking is done ...

our Christmas day meals are planned and prepped ...

we've done our best to spread Christmas cheer ...

and now it's time for us to settle in and rest for the rest of the year!

I'll meet you back here in January!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

That's all for Blogmas 2024, I hope you've enjoyed the journey with us!

mrs. patsi @ Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine

My other blogs:

A Working Pantry

From This Heart of Mine

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps keep in sewing supplies.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

Saturday, December 21, 2024

Blogmas 2024: Days, 19, 20 and 21

 Let's play catch-up ... it's been a really busy 3 days!


Teens can be hard to come up with an affordable gift for that you would feel good about giving and that they would like to receive ... especially when you have multiples.

Such was my dilemma with the teen Bible class that I teach at the church where we attend.  I wanted to gift them with something they would be excited to receive so I came up with what you see above ... food (as in candy) and a small amount of money!

I didn't want to just hand them the candy and money, I wanted to make it festive and something they would remember!  

I emptied water bottles (no one drank from the bottles), removed the brand wrapper and made a slit about 1 - 2 inches long vertically where the wrapper had been.  I carefully stuffed the dried-out bottles through the slit with shredded paper, candy and rolled up $1 bills and then some more shredded paper.  I made new 'labels' out of snowflake scrapbooking paper and attached them over the slit where the old label had been.

When I gave them to the teens, I told them I wanted to see who could get the contents out first.  The only restriction was that they could not cut the bottle in any way.  The guys were bragging about how quickly they would have theirs open.  When I said 'go' the girls took a minute to look at the bottle and strategize.  The guys instantly began twisting the bottles and pulling and tugging on them.  That didn't work so they tried other 'macho' type things.  I laughed so hard, that little bottle had them stumped and they couldn't figure out how to get its contents out.  Not willing to admit defeat they sneaked a peek at the girls and ... the girls had the contents of their bottles lying on the table and were watching the guys!  It really was priceless!  Yes, the guys did eventually figure it out and we all had several good laughs.  I think this will be a Christmas gift they will remember for years to come ... not because of what was in it, but because of the Christmas memories we made and enjoyed because of it!


I made a peach cobbler for a food gift ... (gifts don't have to be expensive to be enjoyed) ...


We've put together close to 100 fudge cups (we made the fudge one day and started packaging it up for delivery the next).  When we averaged out the expense of making the fudge, the cups, parchment paper, bags and ribbons, each fudge cup gift came to about $1 each.  It's a lot of work, but very cost effective and a gift that everyone wants.

As you can see, we've been very busy cooking, creating and making small inexpensive gifts for our church family, friends and neighbors.

That's all for Blogmas days 19, 20 and 21 ...  I'll meet you back here tomorrow for day 22 of Blogmas 2024!

mrs. patsi @ Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine

My other blogs:

A Working Pantry

From This Heart of Mine

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps keep in sewing supplies.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Blogmas 2024: 12/18

 I teach a teenage Bible class at the church where we attend on Wednesday nights, and tonight was gifted these adorably cute earrings by 2 of the students ...


They are so me, and I love them!

Tonight, hubby took me on a drive through the downtown area of the nearest to us town to look at the Christmas lights.   We enjoyed them so much and when we came to the display of the 12 days of Christmas, we sang the song all the way through each time we came to one of the days!  We were out of breath by the time we got all the way through the song, but we enjoyed ourselves immensely!

We're winding down on all the Christmas preps at our house.  We are done except for hubby making his yearly fudge that we package up and gift to friends and neighbors.

It's been a good holiday season, and we have and continue to enjoy the journey.  I hope you are as well!

That's all for Blogmas day 18 ...  I'll meet you back here tomorrow for day 19 of Blogmas 2024!

mrs. patsi @ Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine

My other blogs:

A Working Pantry

From This Heart of Mine

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps keep in sewing supplies.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.