When my beloved leather checkbook cover started looking like something the cat dragged in I knew it was time to get a new one. I had recently made myself a new purse so I decided to make a checkbook cover to match.

 

RIP poor, old checkbook cover. You served me well.

 

I loved the basic design of my old checkbook cover but needed more space for coupons, discount cards, photos, etc, so I used the old one as a model. I liked the driver’s license “window” and pulled the plastic out to use in the new checkbook cover.

After measuring, cutting, pressing, and sewing the first attempt ended up being an epic failure. I didn’t account for the space all those coupons, discount cards, photos and etc would use so it ended up too small. And I accidentally ironed over part of the driver’s license window and melted the plastic. Bummer!

I remeasured, cut, pressed and sewed again, making the entire thing a little bigger. Since I’d melted the original plastic I had to find another alternative and after thinking about it a while I remembered a length of laminating film I’d cut from a poster I’d had laminated a while ago. I cut a rectangle from the laminating film, basted it into the driver’s license window and voilà – good as new!

Since this was my first attempt at a checkbook cover I didn’t take step-by-step photos to write a tutorial, but I did take a couple of photos when it was done.

 

Here’s what I ended up with – doesn’t it look great?

The bottom section is the three sets of checks I usually carry with me; one for the daycare, one for the diaper business and one for family stuff.

The middle and top sections have lots of places for coupons, discount cards, photos, etc. My old checkbook cover didn’t have enough slots for the gazillions I usually have, which is why I added a third section to the new cover.

The top section also has the driver’s license window and an opening at the bottom for the kids’ immunization records. I’ve always carried the charts in my purse so I’d have them when I needed them.

I was very proud to think of putting the driver’s license upside-down, so when I’m writing a check I don’t have to flip the checkbook cover around for the clerk to see.

It’s better than my first attempt, but still not perfect; the credit card slots on the far right in both middle and top sections are too close to the outer edge, so next time I’ll either leave those out or move them all more towards the left. The driver’s license window is a bit wonky on the left too. I’ll have to experiment to figure out how fix that.

I decided not to add a section for cash and change – partly because I have a purple coin purse I just love, and partly because I was worried about how thick it would be when folded with the three sections. It was a good decision; it’s a good 1 1/2 – 2 inches thick when it’s folded up.

 

Here it is filled with all my junk. No fair laughing at the old driver’s license photo – it’s from when we first moved to Wisconsin, way back in 1999.

 

So far it’s working out great! I don’t regret not putting any closure on, or adding that fourth section. Next time I make a purse I’ll use the same basic pattern to make a matching checkbook cover – assuming I can find where I stashed the pattern…

 

Want a chance to win a free diaper?

Hurry over to the Etsy HS Street Team blog!

This week I’ve been the featured artisan and in addition to a short blurb about Zany Zebra and a brief interview, I’m giving away a FREE diaper.

This diaper to be exact:

It’s a luscious bamboo (viscose) fitted – size small (will fit babies from about 10-20 pounds). The outer velour was hand-dyed by Teacher in shades of blue, and the inner is undyed natural velour. The snap-in soaker is velour-topped fleece, and features our exclusive stitching as a special surprise for you. Retail value: $22.00.

The drawing is open to residents of the USA and Canada, but you have to enter at the Etsy HC Street Team blog, not here. Hurry, the winner’s name will be randomly drawn on Monday, May 17.

Good luck!

Even before Princess and Cowboy set a wedding date Princess had been dreaming about her wedding dress and veil.

“I want to look like a princess…” she sighed with stars in her eyes.

Since I’d made her prom dress a couple of years ago she asked me to make her wedding dress.

I was honored.

And scared.

A prom dress is a big deal, but a wedding dress is a humongous deal.

I hoped I wouldn’t mess it up.

Princess spent hours, and hours, and hours of looking at wedding dresses online. Then more hours gathering opinions from friends and family. And even more hours online looking at wedding dress patterns.

Finally she found a pattern for the Perfect Dress: the one on the upper right.

 

My mom loves fabric shopping and jumped at the chance to look for wedding dress fabric. She found a gorgeous ivory peau de soi with a rich buttery sheen and the perfect weight for an elegant drape.

 

We searched high and low online and in local fabric stores but couldn’t find any lace medallions we liked so instead we bought some lace fabric to cut apart.

“It’ll be easy!” my mom promised.

I’m holding you to that, Mom.

 

Not only is this lace absolutely gorgeous, it came with sequins and pearls so we didn’t have to add them ourselves.

 

Of course, being a procrastinator I didn’t start the dress until two weeks before the wedding.

It’s not because I was scared of messing it up.

Really.

 

When I couldn’t put it off any longer the first step was cutting out the pieces. In the words of home improvement weekend warriors everywhere: “Measure twice. Cut once.”

Words of wisdom my friends, words of wisdom.

The first time I laid out the pattern pieces they didn’t fit right-side-up like the instructions showed.

Did I panic?

Not a bit. I refolded the fabric and tried again.

And again.

And again.

Then I panicked.

 

My heart raced, my stomach dropped and my mouth went dry.

I did what any grown-up mother of six and grandma of two would do: I called my mommy!

I talked to other seamstresses.

I looked at the fabric right-side-up. I looked at the fabric upside-down.

I looked at the fabric folded so some was right-side-up and some was upside-down.

I worried, I stressed, I smiled so no-one would know that inside I was a mass of jelly.

Finally I told myself “Get a grip! You’re no dummy; put on your big girl panties and figure it out.”

I had to get the dress made, so I decided to cut the front pieces one way and the back pieces the other way. Since each piece is roughly triangular shaped, putting half right-side-up and the other half upside-down fit all the pieces on the fabric – barely. The only problem would be if the right-side-up and upside-down pieces reflected the light differently, which is why I cut all of the front and all of the back pieces the same way. I figured the side seams would be the least noticeable place if there was a difference; who’d be looking under Princess’s arms?

 

Once you start cutting you can’t go back. I held my breath… and cut.

 

I was too busy sewing to take photos, but I couldn’t resist taking one of the invisible zipper. I’m so proud that it really is invisible – and it only took two tries to get it that way!

 

The lace medallions were very time-consuming to cut, glue, and stitch on, but the time was well worth it. They’re gorgeous! This photo was taken by our photographer, Jen of Jennifer Tabbert Photography. Princess had been the Tabbert family’s regular babysitter for several years, so having Jen do her wedding photos meant a lot to Princess. Jen gave us permission to use the photos however we want so I’ll be posting more when I can.

 

I knew you wanted a close-up. Isn’t it cool that I knew what you wanted before you did? Or maybe it’s just freaky.

 

It turned out beautifully – almost as pretty as the bride.

More to come…

I first met Rachel of Threebies Knits in 2007 when we were the “new kids on the block” at Lily Pad Landing. She knit amazing longies, shorties, and soakers to use with cloth diapers. Even though I didn’t use wool on the boys I drooled at her awesome knitting and gorgeous colorways.

A couple of years ago she started making Java Jumpers. At the time I wasn’t as big a coffee drinker as I am now, but I’d been drooling over her knits for so long that I just couldn’t resist; I got one in the “Lily Pad Landing” colorway pictured on the bottom for myself and one in primary colors the one on the top for Teacher.

Since that day my Java Jumper has become one of My Favorite Things. My cappuccinos and macchiatos usually aren’t too hot, but Teacher’s Americanos are scorching! I can’t hold his cup without a Java Jumper or gloves. Since I get weird looks when I wear gloves in the summer I opt for the Java Jumper.

I keep them folded in my coat pocket or the bottom of my purse so they’re always ready when we need them. They make great gifts too – just tuck a Jo to Go or Starbucks card inside and you’re done!

What are some of your Favorite Things?

I’m doing a happy dance in my kitchen – looky, looky what I got in the mail today… a beautiful box of fabric from my favorite fabric store, Fabric Bliss! I can’t stop petting all these yummy fabrics; it’s an addiction. Hi, my name is Amy and I’m a fabriholic…

I don’t know where I first heard of Fabric Bliss… maybe I was doing a Google image search for a certain fabric and she had it, I just don’t remember. What made me fall in love with her store was the remnant boxes. Although her kooky descriptions and irreverent newsletter didn’t hurt! The remnant boxes are stuffed with less-than-a-yard bolt ends in a box and sold at a great price. Since I like to buy smaller pieces of fabric so I can offer more variety and avoid having a thousand diapers in the same print floating around, the remnant boxes are perfect for me. I bought my first one about a month ago and as soon as it arrived I started bugging Jen about when she’d offer them again.

While I stalked the store watching for more remnant boxes I fell in love with some let’s be honest here – a bunch of her fabrics. I made a wish list and calculated the total for a yard of each fabric. Then I sat down and put my head between my knees to recover from the sticker shock. Not that Jen has bad prices, I just had a loooooong list!

Feeling sorry for myself because I couldn’t afford all the fabric I loved, I emailed Jen to see if she ever sold amounts under a yard. I didn’t think she would – a yard is the standard minimum – but she surprised me by saying she would. Woo hoo, happy dance! Feed my addiction, Jen!

I cut my list down to the bare bones then emailed the order to Jen. At the same time remnant boxes became available again, so of course I had to get another one. Don’t tell the kids where the Dairy Queen money went… That’s the box that arrived today – Jen even combined both orders to save me money, how sweet is that?

I can’t wait to get the fabric all washed up so I can make it into adorable diapers. I wonder what’s in the washing machine right now… Sorry family, no clean clothes for you today – I have fabric to wash!

On a Sunday afternoon waaaay back in March I started making a prom dress for Princess. It was the most challenging thing I’ve ever sewn, and the one I’m most proud of. Not because it turned out perfect (it didn’t) or because it turned out beautiful (it did) but because it makes her feel felt like a princess when she puts it on. The smile on her face when she’s in that dress is worth any amount of ripping out, fixing mistakes and cussing. And now that I’ve finally downloaded the photos you can see her smile too. Enjoy!

Princess in her dress. Teacher strung the beaded straps, and the shawl came from our guest from Thailand. Her wrist corsage was gorgeous and smelled as good as it looked!

Princess and Cowboy. Princess had her hair done in a salon, and Cowboy’s sister bullied him into leaving his cowboy boots and hat at home. They both look way too grown-up to me!

Princess with her best friend Janice. Janice made her dress, shawl and matching purse all by herself! My mom made Princess’s matching wristlet – she’s gotten into making purses and bags lately. You can see the girls’ purses in the next photo.

The whole group: Cowboy, Princess, Janice, and her date Josh.

Finally, Princess and me. Teacher wanted a photo of us together since I was still dressed up from band competition. I look at Princess and marvel that I’m the mother of such a beautiful, smart, charming girl. I’m the luckiest mom in the world!

According to Wikipedia, Serendipity is “is the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something else entirely.” Like when I was searching in my coat pocket for a tissue and found a twenty. Yippee!

The artisans of Lily Pad Landing have adopted the idea of serendipity for our fifth Thursday stockings. Unlike our regular stockings which have previews beforehand and go live at 9pm, a Serendipity stocking is a surprise stocking. Items don’t preview, they just go live at random times throughout the day. So you could be browsing, refresh the page, and suddenly something appears that wasn’t there before. Doesn’t that sound like fun?

I know that we’re all busy and even though we may want to spend a day on the computer, our kiddos need to be fed, changed, played with and cuddled too, so I’m giving hints as to when my items will stock. Besides, I gotta reward all my loyal newsletter and blog readers, right?

All the answers to these hints can be found somewhere in my blog…
1- How many greenish stones are in my non-Valentine’s Day gift, plus 1?
2- How many of my family members have blue eyes?
3- How many white and pink boxes do I need to be Gaw-geus?

Serendipity to you,

A couple of weeks ago I warned you that I was going to be on TV, and this morning the segment finally aired. Since the day after the interview Teacher has been recording the show and fast-forwarding through it every morning to see if I was on. I had started thinking that maybe they decided not to air it at after all, but this morning there it was!

When I checked my email later I found a message from Millaine at Channel 5 telling me that the segment was going to air today. Since the email was sent at 3am and the show started at 5am there’s no chance I would have gotten the email before the show, but it was nice of her to let me know anyway.

Of course hindsight is 20/20 and over the past couple of weeks I’ve thought of a thousand things I should have said and a thousand better ways to say what I did say, but overall I can’t complain.

Anyway, here it is… Enjoy!
The Interview

Sunday morning a TV crew from Channel 5 in Green Bay is coming to interview me for Wisconsin Works, a segment of their morning show. I’m hyperventilating just writing that so it’s sure to be an interesting segment: “Stay tuned as Amy Sue stares blankly at the camera…”

Monday morning I got a phone call asking for the owner of Zany Zebra. At first I thought it was a telemarketer but was shocked to hear it was Channel 5 TV in Green Bay. They want to feature Zany Zebra in one the upcoming Wisconsin Works segments and when would be a good time for the crew to come by for an interview?

I looked around the house and calculated how long it would take to get it ready for TV – a month should do it. Unfortunately they needed sometime this week, including Sunday. It also had to be before 3:00 pm, but they could come as early in the morning as I needed to avoid daycare hours. I considered what time I’d have to wake up to be dressed, have hair and make up done, the house cleaned, and everything ready for a 6am interview. Then I chose Sunday. The kiddos were warned that Saturday was Clean the House Day because “Mom’s going to be on TV”. They thought it was cool but didn’t get really hyper, they just asked “Why” and went on with their lives – probably afraid I’m going to embarrass them.

I’ve been trying to play it cool and be calm but on the inside I’m a quivering mass of jelly. What if I look dumb? What if I sound dumb? What if the cameras add 10 pounds to my leftover baby weight and I look huge or have something in my teeth or the lights wash me out so I look dead? What if they ask me a really easy diapering question and I don’t know the answer? What if I babble incoherently or worse – blank out and say nothing? What if I get a humongous zit overnight? What am I going to wear?!

Teacher says I’ll look gorgeous and be wonderful and sound intelligent. That’s why I love him – he always believes in me. And he keeps me from totally flipping out.

I have to apologize to these customers… Lisa, Miranda, Colleen, Julie, Sarah, Kimberly, Erika. I’m sorry but I can’t ship your orders today like I’d planned. It occurred to me as I was obsessing about this interview Me obsess? I resemble that remark if I shipped your orders today I’d have no examples for the interview Sunday and how lame would that be? But I PROMISE to pack them up Sunday afternoon and get them on their way Monday. I’ll post a link when I have one so you can see your fluff on TV.

Time to start cleaning…

The first appliques I ever made were on stockings “Mrs. Claus” made for College Boy, Princess and Angel Face. I didn’t know anything about applique, but I stumbled along and managed to do a fairly decent job.

Since then I’ve ahem… “Mrs. Claus” has made stockings for Jo-Bear, Z-Man, Little Guy, and Teacher. And grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins, you name it. I think the only ones in our family who don’t have an appliqued stocking yet are Great Grandma and me – go figure!

I loved applique so much that I started making appliqued diapers… but that’s a story for another time. The point is that over the years I’ve made a LOT of appliques and learned a LOT about how to applique. Now I’d like to share that knowledge with all of you. Don’t be scared – if you can sew, you can applique! Besides, I’ll be with you every step of the way and if you run into problems you can contact me. So grab your fabric scraps and put on your creativity hat – you’ll be surprised how easy and addicting applique is!

Supplies

Obviously you’ll need basic sewing necessities like a sewing machine, scissors, thread, needles, pins, etc. In addition, you will also need:

• A regular pencil
• Plain or tracing paper
• An iron
• A water or air soluble marking pen or pencil
• Paper backed iron-on adhesive, like Heat n Bond™
• Tear away stabilizer, standard type
• Fabrics for the applique, prelaundered as the finished product will be laundered.

How to Applique – Step by Step

I did my best to explain each step thoroughly, but feel free to contact me if you’re confused about something.

1. Draw Your Applique Design
The first you need is a design to applique. A simple design with straight sides is easiest for beginners, so consider starting with a block, kite or star. If you’re an experienced seamstress you may want to try a design with curves, like a heart or balloon. I’m working on one of my elephant designs in the examples.

Either draw your design on the plain paper, or trace the design onto the tracing paper. Keep in mind that the finished applique will be a mirror image of your tracing.

2. Trace onto the Iron-On Adhesive
Place the iron-on adhesive on top of your design, paper side up, and trace your design onto the adhesive. If your design is made up of more than one element, like the elephant and heart, you will need to trace each section separately.

If there are sections next to each other, you need to decide which will go on top of the other. When tracing, extend the line of the bottom section about 1/4 inch where it touches the top one. This will allow you to layer the sections so there won’t be any gaps in between them.

3. Rough Cut the Design
After your design pieces are traced, you need to separate them from the rest of the adhesive. Cut around your tracing lines, about 1/2 to 1 inch away from the lines.

4. Choose Your Fabrics
This is one of my favorite steps – choose the fabric for each section. To make selecting easier I separate my fabrics into color families. Cotton woven fabrics are the easiest to work with, although you may want to experiment with other fabrics as you gain experience. Beware of fabrics that fray because they often shred when laundered, and thicker fabrics like corduroy or velvet may be too difficult for some machines to handle smoothly.

5. Fuse the Fabric to the Adhesive
Heat your iron according to the directions that came with the adhesive. When the iron is hot, place the preshrunk fabric right (front) side down on your ironing surface and press to remove any wrinkles. Be sure to put the side you want to use face down so you’re looking at the back of the fabric. Double and triple check before ironing – I can’t tell you how many times I wasn’t paying attention and fused the adhesive to the front of my fabric! Place the adhesive, paper side up, on the wrong (back) side of your fabric. Fuse according to the directions that came with your adhesive.

6. Cut out the Sections
Cut out each section, following the tracing lines carefully.

7. Remove the Adhesive Backing
Carefully peel the paper backing from the iron-on adhesive. If the backing is difficult to separate from the adhesive, tear the edge of the paper a little to get things started, or use a fingernail to separate the paper from the fabric.

8. Iron the Applique to Your Item
Place the applique, adhesive side down, on the item you’re going to apply it to and arrange the sections to match your pattern. If you have several pieces you may need to look at the pattern to remember how the sections fit together. When the applique looks the way you want it to, iron it down according to the directions that came with the adhesive.

9. Add Some Details
Using the water soluble pen or pencil, draw in any details you wish to add to the applique.

10. Stabilize with Interfacing
Cut a piece of tear-away interfacing large enough to cover the entire applique with a border of about 1/2 – 1 inch. Place the interfacing on the wrong side of the item you’re appliquing, under the applique. Now this part is a little tricky – holding the interfacing tightly, flip the item over and pin the interfacing on from the front. (You can see a pin in my next photo) If the item you’re appliquing is thin enough, you hold it up to a light to make sure the entire applique has interfacing behind it. If the item is too thick to see through you’ll have to check by feel.

11. Stitch Your Applique
Now comes the fun – stitching! Use a Satin stitch if your machine has it, otherwise use a Zig Zag stitch and decrease stitch length until the threads are sewn right next to each other. Most sewing machine manuals recommend loosening the top thread tension for applique work, but be sure to check your own machine’s manual for directions. Using a scrap piece of fabric, experiment with stitch width and length until you find an effect you like. You want the thread to go into the applique fabric on one side and into the background fabric on the other, so the raw (unstitched) edge of the applique is completely encased in thread. On my Viking I generally use a stitch length of .3 and a width of 3.5, but each machine is different so these numbers may not work for you. Once you find the stitch length and width you like, write them down somewhere so you don’t forget – the owner’s manual is a good place. Unless you tend to lose them like I do.

Line the applique up so the raw (unstitched) edge is in the middle of your presser foot and start stitching. Go slowly at first, until you gain some confidence. Slow down as you approach a curve or corner so you don’t overshoot the edge. There are several ways to turn corners; try different ways until you find one that works for you. The way I round a corner is by stitching to the end of the fabric until the thread is even with the bottom edge of the fabric. Then I sink the needle in the very outermost point of the corner, where the two sides meet. Raise the presser foot, leaving the needle sunk into the fabric, and pivot the fabric to the right so the raw edge is lined up in the middle of the presser foot. Lower the presser foot and continue sewing.

Curves are easier than corners, and wide curves may not require any pivoting. Stitch wide curves slowly so the stitches remain even. Sharp curves may require a pivot to keep the raw edge in the middle of the presser foot. When stitching an outer corner, like the outside of an O, stop with the needle down on the background fabric, then pivot just enough to line the raw edge up. When stitching an inner corner, like the inside of an O, stop with the needle down in the applique fabric and pivot just enough to keep the raw edge in the center of the presser foot.

Remember to stitch the details you marked earlier. I generally narrow my stitch width by one setting for inner details. Remember to backstitch whenever you begin and end stitching so your stitching doesn’t come out later. I realize this photo doesn’t show the raw edge in the center of the presser foot – I was about to pivot around the curve when I took the photo. See the pin holding the interfacing to the background fabric? Since taking this photo I’ve moved my pins to the edge of the applique so there aren’t any holes in the PUL.

12. Trim the Threads
Wen you’re all done stitching carefully trim the loose threads as close to the fabric as you can without cutting the fabric or stitching. I trim the font first because any tiny ends are usually pulled to the back when I grab those threads to trim them. Using a small, sharp scissors makes it easier to trim closely.

13. Remove the Interfacing
Remove the interfacing by tearing along the stitching. Your needle will have perforated the interfacing so it should come away fairly easily. Use a fingernail along the stitching to get things started, but do not use your scissors or anything sharp as it might poke through the applique. Don’t ask how I know this, it’s a tragic memory.

Congratulations – you’ve made your first applique! Now go show everyone what a fantastic applique you made, then send me a picture so I can see too. I hope you had as much fun doing applique work as I do!