CAKE, COUTURE & CIE

First off, I would like to give credit where credit is due. I found the tutorial for this very simple (and quick) sewing project on p.s. i quilt. It's a perfect way to pass a weekend afternoon.

I made this bag for my young niece for Christmas and filled it with a small notebook, pen, lipgloss, Hello Kitty coinpurse...all the essentials! I lined it with pink because it's her favorite color. For the outer layer of the bag, I decided to machine quilt a grid pattern using 4 different thread colors -- pink, blue, lime and purple. The handles are embellished with purple grosgrain ribbon.

I really love this fabric -- it's from the Cosmo Chic" collection by Material Girls Studio and reminds me of the Draper's couch, for those of you who watch Mad Men. I'm already thinking about how to best used the leftovers.

Much of the sewing I've done recently has been purely practical in nature. Most of it has been to hide "stuff" or things I'd rather not see from eyesight, such as...

...cat accoutrements...    

...a water heater...

...neighbors' stares (hems only and, yes, they are meant to skim the floor)...  

There is a certain satisfaction in completing projects like these. They're relatively quick, and they definitely leave your living space looking better than when you started. That being said, I'm ready to move onto something a little more fun!