Wednesday, March 27, 2013

a very modern tote bag

What can I say, I'm on an accessory kick. I made this tote bag the other afternoon. I made it the same size as a tote bag that I like, but otherwise did it quite differently. Big enough to hold 8 1/2 x 11 notebook or file folders or a knitting project or whatever. There's a big patchy pocket on the outside and a smaller one on the inside.

It looks better than this, not a very good photo. Most of the fabrics are recent purchases. There are cars on the black and beige fabric. The top closes with a simple velcro closure.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

knitting needle holder tutorial


My knitting needles were a disorganized mess, so I made a new little case for them.  Here is a tutorial so you could make your own.


I cut two fabric rectangles, about 20" wide by 18". I put right side together, sewed 1/4" around all the edges except leaving about a 4" opening. I clipped corners, turned right side out and pressed flat. At this point it's about 19 1/2" by 17 1/2".

I folded the bottom edge up about 4 1/2".

I have a lot of double-pointed needles that I wanted to keep separate from my regular needles, so I added a second rectangle (made the same way as the first one, 19 1/2" wide by about 7" finished) which I sandwiched under the folded up bottom edge. Then I sewed around all four outer edges through all the layers.

I turned the upper edge under about an inch and a half. This helps to keep the needles from falling out. Then I sewed vertical lines of stitches about 2" apart, all the way across. A walking foot helps to keep the stitch lines straight and to measure the space between the previous line and the current line. Alternating lines go halfway up and the others go all the way up, to hold down the top fold. Hopefully this makes sense.

Sew a ribbon, twill tape or shoe string about 2 feet long, on the outside along one of the sewing lines, about halfway up.

So this is how it looks with needles in it. Pretty cool, huh? It holds most of my needles, including the circular ones, with room for more.  My oversized needles go somewhere else.


This is the pathetic one I made a few years back, woefully inadequate. But I learned from it: make it wider, for more needles (10 sizes)! Make two rows, for double pointeds and regular needles! Leave wider space for each size! And make it nicer looking!


Friday, March 22, 2013

Ginger in Ecco top

I think she looks darn cute in this top, made with Ecco fabric leftover from my granddaughter's animal quilt. It reverses to orange corduroy, which is also adorable. Dave thinks she looks like a pumpkin.

Today I made a knitting needle cozy. I'll post a tutorial on it one of these days.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

So Long Old Website, plus iPad cozy

I made that cozy that I was thinking about for my iPad Mini.

It already has a cover, but this adds another layer of protection. Plus it looks cute. I can slip it in my purse.

Today is the last day of my website, www.cindycooksey.com. Tomorrow it goes poof, bye bye, on to the happy hunting grounds of old, dated websites. It was a pain to keep up to date, and had just plain outlived its usefulness. This blog is much easier to update, plus the price is right! :-) So if you're curious and you happen to read this today, March 21st, go take a peek. After the website is gone, I plan on doing things to this blog to make it more up to date. Eventually.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

More spring, fabrics old and new

Here are some early plum blossoms in our back yard, as promised.


I thought these Rosa Parks stamps were beautiful.


My daughter gave me some vintage fabrics for my last birthday, and I've used a couple of them recently. I put this one on the back of the quilt I can't show you yet (hope it's okay to show the back). The colors go well with what I have on the front, and I think it's just perfect. I have a little left for other things; maybe I can put it on the front of a quilt, too.
Dang, I should have rotated this photo before I posted it. Ginger is wearing her newest top, which is made with more vintage fabric from my daughter. It really looks cute on her, and very Springish.


It's green on the reverse side, and she can wear it both ways. She gave me a third piece of vintage fabric, which I have an idea for...



This is another top I made for Ginger last week. It looks great on her, too, but I haven't photographed her wearing it.


Isn't this fun fabric? I used a little of it in the quilt I can't show, but I have some left, and I'm thinking of making a cover or tote for my iPad mini with it.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Quilty Signs of Spring

There are signs of Spring at Cookseyville, both inside and out.

That postcard is by Del Thomas. I bought it at an auction, raising money for Alzheimer's research.

An oldie but a goodie, garden-themed quilt featuring my husband. This one has been to Europe and Japan, not to mention Houston.

"A Dance to Spring," featuring my mother. Her bracelet says "Margie." Part of the Noble Seasons exhibit.

The kumquat trees are loaded with ripe fruit.

Spring colors on this "Hidden Investments" update. There's a pattern of it still available through Jukebox.

Darn, my photo of plum blossoms didn't come through. I'll post it later.
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Friday, March 1, 2013

sushi for lunch

My husband played hooky for most of today, so we got to go to lunch at Sota's Sushi on PCH in Corona Del Mar. Sota is an old friend who used to make sushi for us in Laguna Beach, and for a while he worked up in LA at Nobu Sushi. Now he has his own place, and it is beautiful. The sushi is great, too!