Gettin' Crafty Wit it

So...inbetween life and other stuff, I've still managed to squeeze in a bit of creativity. Of course Santa's Workshop has officially opened here and I have banned my children from popping in on me without prior notice, just in case I'm in the middle of some creation intended for Christmas. But here's the latest I can share:

Here's a skirt that only took me about two months to finish. Actually, it really didn't take that long to make, only a couple of hours, but it was too short for my too-long body and I had to figure out how to make it longer. Adding 4 inches of a contrast fabric seemed to do the trick. And didja' notice my best impression of a "Legally Blonde" pose?

And my grandkids think I'm the best when I produce a special themed pillow case for them. I did these last year but one of the littles missed out since she was still in a crib. So here's how I did it. Easy peasy. Even if you don't sew a lick, you CAN do this:

Lay out your specialty theme fabric, wrong sides together, matching the selvage edge on one side and the fold on the other. This happens to be Halloween theme fabric....Then I take a pillow case and lay it over the top and cut around the Halloween fabric. Don't cut the fold, then you'll have one less seam to sew. Add about five inches on one edge to fold over for the hem.

Next, and I apologize for the lack of photos, but I did it so quick and my son came over to pick up the pillow case and took it home. I chased him down the road to try to get another photo but he was gone.....(see how much I exert myself for the sake of my blog)

Now, just take the fabric and fold, RIGHT sides together. Stitch along one short edge, then along the long edge. You'll have a pillowcase! Except wait-you have an opening that is not finished. Fold a small edge over and then fold it over AGAIN about four inches to make a finished edge. Hint- if you press it-it will be SO much easier. (If this is confusing-look at a finished pillowcase-they have hems exactly like this) Then stitch about 4 inches from the edge to make a finished hem. If you have a fancy-schmansy sewing machine, you can use a fancy-schmansy stitch to finish it off, like I did:

Well, you'll have to imagine it, but trust me, it's easy and cute and the kids will love you forever.