What I Did On My Summer Vacation!

With the kids going back to school tomorrow, I thought it might be appropriate to review my summer crafting.  I am surprised by how much actually got done.  I do not have pictures of everything so I need to remedy that!  This has certainly been one of my favorite tools this summer!

Singer, a photo by theresplendentbeauty on Flickr.

I made a skirt for my younder DD which is chronicled here.  This helped me develop some ruffling skills which will be important going into the fall season.  Next I made a pleated skirt for my older DD.  I do not have a picture or blog post about this one but will try to rectify later.  Again, pleating skills may be necessary for this fall.

I took a break from sewing and crocheted three hats for Uganda as part of a mission project at my church.  These were fun to do and I hope to make another 3 or 4 later this fall.  It turned into a family affair and my aunt joined in the project too.



I found a great tutorial for Tunisian crochet and taught myself how to do that!  It turned out to be simple and fun.  It just required a special crochet hook.  It was quick to do too.  I blogged it here.

I took a break from crocheting and made some fun jewelry for the girls which is blogged here.  These were so fun to make!  I made another one this past weekend for my youngest DD to give as a birthday present.

I discovered that my die cut machine (lever type) would actually cut fabric this summer.  I put this information into practice to make this!  I need to explore this idea further.

Then somewhere in the midst of the other things, I found my old quilting project and finished up an applique square.  My bad quilt flashback was blogged here.  You never know when that applique skill might come in handy.

Then I started back to sewing with phone covers.  These things are so fun to make!  I blogged about them here and here.

Then, because I needed the skill, I made a zipper case for my youngest DD.  I need to photograph it for the blog still.  I am going to make one (hopefully tonight) for my oldest DD.   Putting in zippers has been a sticking point for me when sewing but no more!  Not that 2 zippers makes me an expert in any way, shape or form!

When I look back at this list, I am amazed!  I am so glad that I have blogged most of it to help me remember so much of what has been done!  I don't think I have ever gotten so much done in a summer!
I will be armed with all kinds of new sewing skills for this fall!  Why is that so important?  I can answer that easily!  My youngest DD should be a clown this year (if auditions go well!) and the costumes are so (and sew!) important.  In years past, I have relied on friends to help.  This year, one of them is moving to Phoenix for at least a year.  The move is our loss and Phoenix's gain.  There are others who will step up and help but I really want to try to do as much of it as I can myself.

So what's next?  Well besides the zipper case, I have an apron in the works, more phone covers planned and some more quilting to do with a more modern color scheme.  I cannot wait!