Showing posts with label blog hop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog hop. Show all posts

Monday, September 15, 2014

See You In September Blog Hop, or What I did on my Summer Vacation!



Today we're taking part in the See You In September Blog Hop!  Thanks to Madame Sam and Shari for hosting and cheering for the hop!  Let's get to it!

We had a busy and fun summer with a little bit of creating in between!

1.  Surf Board Tote
I have a hard time carrying my surfboard comfortably!  My arms are too short to carry it normally at my side, so I either end up carrying it on my head or with the board flat out to my side and one gust of wind and it's really hard to keep control of the board.  So I decided to sew a Surf Board Tote!
I went to Hawaii more than a year ago and found a fun fabric shop in Lahaina on Maui.  I picked up this cute vintage inspired hula girl print and was just waiting for the perfect project to use it.  What's more perfect than a Surf Board Tote?!?!  
I used duck cloth as the lining of the tote and the straps.  The straps took a little engineering but I figured it out and the color is a good compliment to the Hawaii fabric!
Now I can carry my surfboard much easier!  Surf's up!

Hello! Nini here! 
Summer flew by for me...when we signed up for this blog hop I thought, oh good, pleeeeenty of time,  and then BOOM it was September. As most of you know Chelsey and I went to France for two weeks, it was the best vacation (except learning to surf at the age of 49) I ever had. France has a special place in my heart and is on my "go back to" list!
Chelsey surfing in Biarritz, France. I am the adventurous one taking the pics. I have such a hard time convincing her to have fun!!
2. Drawstring Back Pack
With France kinda splitting up our Summer I didn't do much sewing, but I did want a good bag to carry through France that would hold my camera, and all the pertinent items you need when wandering. I wanted to keep my passport with me at all times so it needed to have zippered pockets  that were secure so I didn't accidentally drop my passport while digging for my camera or wallet in a hurry. 

I decided to make my own version, I ended up making a few prototypes before I had the right size bag and pockets for all my stuff.  It was a good size, but with my camera being heavy and always towards the bottom I had trouble getting things out easily.  It wanted to stay cinched closed and Chelsey had to hold the bottom of the bag up while I retrieved things out of it!! I will redesign this for future trips. 
Chelsey, the backpack and I in the maze garden at Chateau de Chenonceau in the Loire Vally of France.
I stamped the feather and thistle on the bags using black acrylic paint mixed with fabric medium and foam stamps. The off white fabric is Osnaburg fabric, I love how full of texture it is. It worked great for this project, I wondered if the texture would distort the stamped image but it didn't.

 3. My Gingham Project!!
 I have this vintage tablecloth that I've been keeping for just the right project. I decided  to cut it up and make placemats for my kitchen table with the gingham fabric, but when I got it all set up for the "before" pics I realized how cute it is and what a shame it would be to cut it up. 
So I had a plan B! I kept it in tact and put a 4 inch gingham border all the way around it and use it as a table runner! I serged the gingham to the table cloth and used my rolled hem foot to finish off the gingham so there are no raw edges to fray. I love it, what do you think?
This gingham fabric is delicious....it was so nice to work with!
The serged edge is good for keeping the fabric from fraying.
Please hop by all our friends on the blog hop today! You won't believe all the inspiration you can gather! So glad you stopped by!

Nini and the Sea - you are here!

Go Make Something!
Nini & Chelsey

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

I Never Imagined I Would Feel This Way After a Trip to France.

Our trip to France was just as I envisioned, we saw so many historical buildings, landmarks, gardens, mountains, bodies of water, churches, monuments, sculptures, and art. What I didn't envision is the impact France placed on my heart and soul. I am forever changed by France. I see the earth more clearly and have a feeling of peace and joy in my heart, it's like I see deeper into everything and everyone. I don't know if my muse was awakened like all the other artists in France or if I was ready to be awakened and it wouldn't matter where I was. It doesn't matter, it happened just how it should.

Even in the rain it's beautiful. Monet's home and gardens really inspired me. Even in a steady rain it's the best place to be!

Oh Monet, thank you for your inspiration!

I've been home for three weeks and I'm wrestling with my muse, she wants to paint with watercolors and sketch, my head is saying no, you have so many unfinished projects to sew, get to it! My muse is winning most of those battles.

The view from my back porch.

A bouquet of flowers I bought at a roadside stand.


Doodles and dangles!


Does your interest change like mine? Please tell me it does...I hope to get sewing again soon!

Tomorrow is the start of See You In September Blog Hop!! We can't wait to see what all our fellow bloggers were up to this summer! I know you won't be sorry if you stop and hop all over our blogs!! The inspiration is always astounding with Madame Samm's blog hops! Here's what's up for tomorrow!


Wednesday, September 3


Go sketch something and do some blog hopping!

Nini~

Friday, November 1, 2013

We Have a Winner!

Congratulations Kay!!!


You are the lucky winner of the Snowman Gatherings Moda Charm Pack Giveaway we offered on the Wicked Blog Hop!! Woooo hoooooo!!!
      
It'll be heading to you next week, just in time for the winter season!

We contacted you by email for your information so we can get it in the mail to you.

We hope you make something fun and enjoy!

Nini and Chelsey~


Monday, October 21, 2013

Wicked Blog Hop Starts Tomorrow!!!




The Wicked Blog Hop starts tomorrow over on Sew We Quilt Blog! All the participants are busy getting their wicked creations completed and ready to inspire you! We are putting the final touches on our projects here at Nini & the Sea. My table runner is "purrrrfectly" wicked and Chelsey's is "on the fence" between wicked and fun! Stop by on Wednesday the 23rd to see what we've scared up to delight you!



Please stop by Wednesday to see what we've conjured from beyond!

Happy Haunting...

Nini~



Sunday, January 6, 2013

In Your Words...Blog Hop!!!





In your Words Blog Hop starts today! I'm so lucky to post my project the first day for my first blog hop!!! Here's a list of all my compadre's who are also posting today! Please check out all the fun projects and let your muse run free!!! She'll thank you I'm sure! I know you'll agree there's a lot of talent and great ideas to see....sew, HOP to it!!

Monday, January 7, 2013

Nini and the Sea      


I love text fonts, books and words, so this was an easy project for me. I know I really didn't use words for this project, but letters...same thing right? I also want to clarify, this project speaks for my daughter, Chelsey. It's a knitting bag for her, she lives in NYC and loves it. I like to visit and love to get back home. So for me, the bag should read "I love (someone who lives in) NYC"!

Here is my creation, I'm pretty proud of it...I think Chelsey will like it, how about you?

This is Chelsey's Knit Bag.  It has plenty of organizational features inside to help make her knitting time all about the stitches, not worrying about her yarn getting away from her or where her needles are.


This pocket on the back makes for easy access to your cell phone or personal items you need while knitting.



The NYC and heart fabrics are from the City Quilter Quilt Shop's City Collection fabric line. The strap is a leather belt repurposed. There are plenty of pockets and storage for your needles, yarn, wallet and cell phone. I think I covered all the bases!


Chelsey and I discussed the perfect knit bag must haves, how it should work and look. So I pondered, perused and planned. I found a great tutorial for inspiration for the right shaped bag, ...thanx so much! I used a pattern I had for a pouch purse to help me with making the pockets inside and out. I designed a strap, inside tabs and pockets for storing knitting needles and yarn, and the layout myself.  I used paper die cuts for the letters, traced them onto the fused fabric and cut them out by hand.

My words....or letters.



The heart is old New York Times headlines from The City Quilter "City Collection" fabric line.

I used an old leather belt for the strap, it wasn't quite long enough, so I added black fabric to the ends, it made it easier to attach to the body of the purse I'm sure!

I used more City Collection bagel fabric from The City Quilter for the inside organization of needles, patterns, scissors, and yarn, etc. 

A peek inside. The tabs help keep the yarn and the needles secured in the bag.


I am really eager for Chelsey to use her new bag and give me a review. I hope she likes it as much as I do.

Don't forget to visit all the blogs participating today, you will be amazed at what we've come up with!

Thanks for hopping by, don't forget to visit the other blogs!!

Nini~