Crafts | FabGrandma

Girlie Girl Backpack

March 27, 2012 By Fab Grandma 13 Comments

Here it is, the first of the Girlie Girl backpacks I am making this week. This one is green and hot pink and white polka dots and plaid and floral. It has one large pocket on the outside, and several pockets on the inside. It would be good as a tote for a little girl, or a big girl, or even a diaper bag.

This backpack is big enough to hold a small laptop computer, a nook or kindle, and all the accessories to go with them. It is quilted and has very stiff Peltex interfacing so it will stand up by itself. It is for sale. The price is $45 and that includes shipping in the United States. I will ship to other countries, but you will have to pay shipping if outside the US. Send me an email or use the contact form found in the menu above if you are interested in purchasing this cute bag.

Handmade girlie backpack

Pockets inside

A view from the front

handmade back pack, diaper bag, tote bag, girlie tote bag

And from the back

I love this one!

Filed Under: Crafts, Sewing

A Sneak Peak On The Next Sewing Project

March 26, 2012 By Fab Grandma 3 Comments

As soon as the company left, I got out the sewing projects. Five projects have been cut and made ready to sew, so today I sat down at the machine and got this much done:

The back of a girlie girl back pack

It will be finished tomorrow, and is going to be so freaking cute! I can’t wait to see the finished product.

Filed Under: Crafts, Sewing

March Is National Craft Month! What Are You Making?

March 19, 2012 By Fab Grandma Leave a Comment

To celebrate National Craft Month, I made this cutie cute backpack for my grandson using Dinosaur Train fabric from Quilting Treasures®. This collection of cute fabrics is perfect for making things for your child who loves Dinosaur Train.

dinosaur train backpack, dinosaur train fabrics

What a cute backpack!

Another view:

The front has a large zippered pocket

If you aren’t into sewing like I am, you can download projects sheets to make a bulletin board, a picture frame, a lampshade, and book covers that are soooo cute and require no sewing at all.

They are very simple to make, and would transform your child’s room into a Dinosaur Train Nature Tracker Club Room in no time at all! Click here to get the project sheets at Quilting Treasures®. Here is a link for a Dinosaur Train inspired quilt. You can also check out the March challenge from the Dinosaur Train Nature Trackers Club: This project shows children how to make a windsock, a tool to help identify the direction of the wind! Cover it with Dinosaur Train fabric, too!

If you have a Dinosaur Train fan in your household, they can join Dinosaur Train’s Nature Trackers Club! This is a FREE community for young children, their families and educators who, like Buddy, Tiny Shiny and Don, enjoy exploring,having adventures, and respect their environment. There are lots of fun activities, games and craft projects each month! Register for Nature Trackers Club today.

Once registered, parents can download and print out the Nature Trackers Guide Book, filled with tips and challenges for collecting things from nature, tracking and observing plants and animals, and just getting outside to make exciting new discoveries every day. At the beginning of each month Nature Trackers Club posts new challenges for you and your young explorers to complete.

Just take a look at the cute fabrics in the Dinosaur Train line from Quilting Treasures®:




	Click here to find a retailer for Dinosaur Train Fabrics.

Follow The Jim Henson Company:

www.facebook.com/hensoncompany

www.twitter.com/hensonparents

Follow PBS Kids:

www.twitter.com/pbskids

www.facebook.com/pbskids

I was provided with fabric from Quilting Treasures® for this review.

Filed Under: Crafts, Projects, Sewing

My Fabric Haul From The Quilt Expo

March 12, 2012 By Fab Grandma 6 Comments

On Friday, my sister-in-law, Jody, and I went to the Quilt Expo in Duluth, Georgia. We were a little disappointed with the show because we thought there would be more fabric vendors there. Also, they did not allow you to take pictures inside the building So, while there were some very lovely quilts that inspired me to no end, I have no pictures of them to keep me inspired. Way to go, Quilt Expo!

There were lots of vendors there, selling everything imaginable for sewing, from sewing machines to pins and needles to cutting mats to trims and sequins, but not much in the way of fabric. There was even someone there selling shoes. SHOES! I was a little perplexed by that one.

Even though the fabric vendors were lacking, that didn’t stop me from buying as much as I could from the ones who were there. See:

I liked this combination of oranges and greens

This was just too cute to pass up

This is a girlie combo of pinks and greens

From Laura Dunn's new collection. It looks way better than this in person.

Moda charm pack-42 5" squares of different fabrics. I can see a quilt out of this soon.

I love this picture

Sew Serendipity Bags

Out of everything I bought, I think I love this Sew Serendipity Bags pattern book by Kay Whitt the best. I also bought fabric to make one of the ruffled purses shown on the cover of the book. I can hardly wait to sew it up!

Filed Under: Crafts, Fabric, Sewing

Crocheted Neck Warmer Tutorial

January 29, 2012 By Fab Grandma 4 Comments

I have had a little bit of time this week to work on something other than, gasp, sewing. Yes, I CAN do other things. I decided to make a little “mini-scarf” or neck warmer. I used cotton crochet yarn because I don’t like wool up against my neck. This little scarf if just right to wear when you don’t need a big jacket:

my new mini scarf

It goes nicely with my favorite sweater

it's all single and double crochet, easy to do

crocheted mini scarf, crochet projects, neckwarmer

Braid the ends, and make a tassle and you're done.

It was a fun little project to do while I was sitting waiting for other things to happen, and I got a nice little wardrobe accessory to boot!

To make this:

Chain stitches to be the lengtht you want (measure around your neck). # of stitches must be divisible by 5+3 stiches. I used 73 stitches.

Rows 1-3 Single crochet three rows. 4th row, *Double crochet three, chain two, skip next two stiches*, continue to end of row, ending with double crochet three. 5th thru 7th rows, single crochet.

Cut 18 strands of yarn, 18 inches long each. Attach 9 strands on each end of the crocheted piece. To do this fold each strand in half, and pull the loop through with crochet hook. Once you have all the strands attached, you’ll have 18 ends on each side. (2X9). Using two strands for each part of the braid, braid the strands into three braids. Then braid the three braids together. Wrap a piece of yarn tightly around the ends, about3.5 inches from the unbraided end, and tie tightly. Unbraid to the wrapped piece of yarn, then trim tassle to 3 inches. You’re done.

Filed Under: Crafts, Projects, Sewing Tutorials

Amelia’s Baby Quilt Pattern

July 6, 2011 By Fab Grandma Leave a Comment

Amelia's Baby Quilt

Last year before Amelia was born, I made her an adorable baby quilt. While I was making it, I took lots of pictures so that I could make a tutorial on how to do it. I have finally gotten the whole project finished and saved in a PDF file, so that I can now offer the pattern for this cute baby quilt for sale!

Amelia's Quilt Pattern

This quilt uses half of a precut triangle pack, 1 yard of medium fabric, 1 yard of dark fabric, and 2 yards of a light fabric to make a 52″ X 43.5″ finished quilt. It is very easy to make, and the pattern is explained with lots of pictures so that even someone who is a beginning quilter will find it easy to follow.

I pieced the back to make it more interesting.

I have this pattern for sale in my store, FabGrandma’s Crafty Stuff, and for the month of July, I will be giving my readers a 20% discount on the purchase of it. It normally sells for $5.00, but with the 20% discount, you can get it for $4.00. Just use the coupon code LoveAmelia to get your discount! To get to the pattern in the store, click here!