Polly’s Pocket Purse-Tutorial

Here’s what you’ll need to get started…

2- 7″ zippers

1- 6×8″ piece

2- 5 1/4×8″ pieces

2- 1 1/2×8″ pieces

3- 12 1/4×8″ pieces 2 out of fabric and one out of interfacing.

2- 3×25″ pieces

1-2×3″ piece

Button

1. Fold the 6 x 8 piece in half and press.

2. Lay it on one of the 5 1/4 x 8 pieces, so the bottoms match up.

3.Pin 1 3/4 inches from each side and 1 1/2 inches in from those pins. Sew a line all the way down to create the pockets.

4. Pin the zipper face down to the top of the piece.

5. Stitch with zipper foot.

6. Pin 1 1/2 x 8″ piece to other side of zipper and sew.

7. Press open.

8. Repeat steps 4-7 on other 5 1/4 x 8 piece. You should have these two pieces now.

9. Sew the sides of these two pieces, opposite of the zipper, together. Press seam open.

10. Lay the back of the pieces you have sewn together to the front of one of the 12 1/4 x 8″ pieces. This 12 1/4″ x8″ piece will be the lining for the zippered pockets.

11. Sew along the seam.

12. I did a reverse applique on the 12 1/4 x8 piece to be used for the front. This is where you’ll google your favorite reverse applique tutorial!

13. Voila.

14. Fold the 25 x 3″ pieces for the handles in half. Press.

15. Fold edges to center and press.

16. Sew along open end. Repeat with other handle piece.

17. Take your 2 x3″ piece fold in half with right sides together and sew along two of the open ends. Turn right side out.

18. Make a buttonhole to fit your button.

19. Sew button in the center towards the top of the outside piece. Line this piece up with the interfacing.

20. Pin handles and buttonhole pieces like the picture.

21. Match up the piece with the zippered pockets and the outside piece with right sides together. Pin.

22. Sew around the edges, but leave a 2 to 3 inch opening to turn right side out. Clip corners before you turn and handsew opening closed.

Here you have it!

Really Bad Luck

I wish some of Big Binder’s luck would rub off on me!

2 years ago we went to visit my MIL in LA. When we got home, the water line on the refrigerator had broken and flooded the whole kitchen and basement. Over the past year we replaced all of the carpet and ceiling in the basement. We also had to replace all of the warped pergo throughout the whole first floor, however we upgraded to hardwood birch floors.

Obviously we’ve learned our lesson and now turn off the water whenever we go out of town.

Well, when we got home from  Mexico last week everything seemed fine, until I stepped on the floor in front of the dishwasher and sink. It was soaked.  Apparently there was some water left in the bottom of the dishwasher, and it leaked out all over the floor.

So, now my brand new hardwood floors are warped. Ugh. We won’t be filing a claim for this one, but it will have to be replaced.

Maybe I just won’t go on vacation anymore…

Felt Flowers

A friend of mine asked me to make her a bouquet of felt flowers for her daughter’s bedroom.

These are what I came up with.

I hand sewed beads to the center.

The stems are mostly velvet, but some grosgrain ribbon covered wires, so they’re bendable.

The base of the flower.

I will come up with a tutorial for these at some point, but for now we’re off to Mexico! Adios!

Blackberry Tarts

My friend and her family went blackberry picking at Eckerts last weekend. I was so jealous by her loot that I went to the local Eckerts outlet and picked up some of my own.

I should have put a quarter next to one of the berries so you could see just how huge they are.

The kids wouldn’t eat them raw, so I found this recipe from Martha Stewart.

Obviously I used blackberries instead of blueberries. The recipe called for 2 cups of blueberries, but I only needed 24 blackberries…one for each cup. (I writing this post with a 3 year old jumping on my back. My apologies)

The crust is divine and I didn’t/wouldn’t change anything about it.

I just sprinkled the 24 blackberries with a little lemon juice, sugar, and instant tapioca (I didn’t have cornstarch).

Next time I would maybe use a little more sugar for the filling. The crust is pretty sweet, so the tart berries really set it off.

Seriously huge blackberries.

After I brought them out of the oven, the blackberries were still whole. I just used the butt end of a knife to smash them up a bit. The were fine once they cooled.

I’ll have to make another batch. They were gone pretty fast! Its amazing what a little fat and sugar can do for fruit!

CD Holders

My brother and sister are both celebrating their birthdays this week.  I decided to make them each the millennium’s version of a mix tape. I burned them each a cd from my personal Itunes.

Since I just have a stack of blank cds with no cases, I made them each a little case.

Here’s the playlist I put together…

1. The Auld Triangle-Dropkick Murphy’s

2. Fairytale of New York- The Pogues

3. Heavy Metal Drummer- Wilco

4.Birdhouse in Your Soul- They Might Be Giants

5. Lit Up- Buckcherry

6. Girlfriend- Matthew Sweet

7. Mercy- Duffy

8. Situation- Yaz

9. Surf Wax America- Weezer

10. Molly- Sponge

11. Nearly Lost You- Screaming Trees

12. Candy- Iggy Pop & Kate Pearson

13. Gardening at Night- REM

14. Valerie Loves Me- Material Issue

15. Come Monday- Jimmy Buffett

16. Forever- Chris Brown

17. Brimful of Asha- Cornershop

18. Somewhere Out There- Israel Kamakawiwo’ole

19. I Predict A Riot- Kaiser Chiefs

20. Always Love- Nada Surf

What do you think of the songs? Anything you would have left off?