Yoga Bag

So I bought the book, One-Yard Wonders: 101 Sewing Fabric Projects; Look How Much You Can Make with Just One Yard of Fabric! (affiliate link) and my friend Stephanie invited me over for a craft night.  I decided that since it would be my first sewing project, I wanted to start with something simple.  I found a pattern for a yoga mat bag and decided that since I have a yoga mat and no bag for it that would be my project for the night.  Unfortunately I didn't take pictures while I was at my friend's house of the measuring and cutting but I did photograph my progress while I was finishing the bag at my own house.  Here are all the pieces already cut, my sewing machine, my sewing kit and some of my living room in the background!  

Here's a close up of all the smaller pieces the pattern called for. 

The one thing that I did complete while I was at Steph's is the pocket for the outside of the bag.  It was very simple, just cut out two rectangles (I think the measurements were 8 inches x 6 inches), and sew the two "right" sides of the pocket together leaving one side open so you could flip it right side out.  Then press the open portion together and sew that closed.

Next you pin and sew the pocket to the front of the bag. 

Then you sew down the sides of the bag with the "right" sides facing together.

View of the bag now flipped "right" side out.

This is where I stopped following the pattern because I could not figure out the next instructions!  They wanted me to put the strap on the bag next and I couldn't figure out how they wanted me to do it so I improvised and just sewed the strap on the back seam of the bag a few inches from the top and bottom.

Next I sewed the bottom shut which was another improvisation from the original pattern.

This is the last step I completed.  I folded over and pressed the fabric at the top of the bag to make a clean edge.  The only thing I have to do now is take some elastic cord and fish it through at the top to make a drawstring and I will be done!

Finished Butterfly

So I finally finished my butterfly I was crocheting and I am proud to say that the second time around it turned out much better.  I'm looking forward to making more!

Here are the finishing photos.

Now I can add more embellishments if I want to.  Things like antennae, eyes, etc.  I was just happy to get it done and have it come out like the photo!

I've already started my next project and it's a sewing one this time.  I'm almost done with it so when I finish it up I will be sure to post my progression so you can see my first sewing attempt.

Practice

In beginning of this business venture of mine, I decided that I needed to practice my crochet stitches.  Here are some photos of washcloths/dishcloths/pot holders that I made to practice.

Nothing fancy.  I just wanted to practice the basic stitches so that when a pattern called for switching between types of stitches I wouldn't really have to think about it, I could just do it automatically.

LaBelle's Crafts Mascot

So I really love butterflys and the business cards I had printed up for LaBelle's Crafts a few years ago and the Etsy banner I created both have butterflys in them.  I decided that I would like to have a sort of mascot for LaBelle's Crafts so what could be more perfect than a butterfly since I already have that established on a few of my items already.  That way when I am out places I can take photos of my mascot so people can see where I've been.  I thought it would be kind of a cute idea and if I do it and decide that it's not that great I can always stop.

This is how I came to decide what my first project would be.  I found a really cute butterfly pattern on Ravelry (my new favorite site!) and started from there.  To be honest, it's not going the greatest so far.  This is what I had after about half way through the instructions.  

It seemed to start off good but I don't know what happened from there!  I decided that it was too much of a mess and I would have to start again.  I ripped the whole thing out and started over.  This is what I have so far the second time around.

A much better start, I feel.  Most of the time when I do anything I rush so I am going to force myself to take my time on this one so I can do it the second time and not have to make it a third!  I really do like this pattern so I'm not giving up even if it doesn't come out right this time around.  

Here is a link to the pattern on Ravelry if you want to see what the finished product is suppose to look like:  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sweet-butterfly

I'll post more photos when I get more done!