Book Review

Book Review

One-Yard Wonders by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins is a book that I have found to be very practical. As the title suggests, all 101 projects in the book can be made with one yard of fabric or less. 

What I loved...

1. Most items in here are wonderful for everyday use. 
2. There is a chapter at the beginning of the book that explains sewing fundamentals and key techniques that are clearly illustrated and directly related to the project in the book.
3. Projects can mostly be completed within an afternoon of sewing.
4. Wide variety. This book has everything from organizing the office/kitchen/car to bags, toys and baby clothes! I also learned a variety of new techniques such a grommets, parachute buckles and how to make cord holes for cords on electronic devices.
5. Spiral bound. The book is hard cover, but spiral bound so that it lies open and flat. No worrying about having to find your page again after each step.

What I wished for...

1. Some of the projects were smaller, but it still called for less than a yard which gave me lots of scraps. I live in a small one-bedroom, so I try not to collect too many scraps!
2. More time to try all of these adorable projects :)

As you can see, I feel very strongly about how well done this book is! Now I would like to share with you a few of the wonders that I have made!

Dresser Organizer and Charging Station

This Hanging Wall Pocket lives in my office. It is very sturdy. There are four pockets and I store folders that hold music for each of my performing groups in them.

Mailbag Pocket Duo. These are in the hallway leading to my classroom. The fabric behind them has musical instruments on them. I promise you it is not as dizzy-ing in real life as it is in this photo. For any teachers out there, I highly recommend these. I put homework and other important information papers in here so that if students need another copy, they don't have to pester me to get them!

You've already seen this Not-Ugly Car Trash Bag from my last blog. I've easily made a dozen of these and they can be completed in about an hour!

Respecetfully,

Harmony

The Gift of Giving

The Gift of Giving

 I love to give! Better yet, I love to give practical gifts that I know the recipient with get plenty of use out of. That being said, I thought long and hard about what to give my aunts and uncles this year. I decided to put my love of sewing to use and make my gifts. 

Grab Bag

What I came up with was a grab bag of items for them to chose from. Included in the grab bag were the following items:

 

Trash Bags for the Car. Here is a photo of the one that I made for myself.

Cloth Bowl Covers. I made various sizes to cover dishes from the size of soup bowls to mixing bowls.



Snap Bags. This is a WONDERFUL pattern. These bags are great because they close securely without having to install a zipper or snap. Instead, carpenter's measuring tape is inserting to the top casings and when the bag is assembled, they create a snug closure.

Snack Bags. These mimic the plastic sandwich bags that fold down on themselves to close, but these are reusable!

Phone/iPod Charging Station. I cannot take credit for this photo! I had to borrowing this picture from Pinterest because I forgot to photo document my own before gifting them. This is a project that I am particularly pleased with because when I clicked on the link in Pinterest, the tutorial was written in another language without any pictures to follow! At the last minute I decided to take a chance and sketch out my best guess for replicating this concept. I was able to make two of these with just one fat quarter! I will be sharing my version of this pattern with you later this week.

Sources

All of these projects came from three sources. The 101 One Yard Wonders book, the Snap Happy Snap Bags Pattern, and Pinterest. I will be writing a review of the book tomorrow so stay tuned!

Respectfully,
Harmony