My tissue box cover

It has been more than 2 weeks since i have made something until yesterday.

I finally made the tissue box cover which was intended for the last Sew IT tutorial which i missed because i was in Dubai.

This is how mine turned out

The tutorial was easy to follow however, this was not perfect. I think i need to make a couple more. The good thing is now i dont have to search high and low for a tissue box cover i simply make my own for every room!

The fabric looks familiar?! I used my IKEA fabric which was intended for curtains for my previous craft room.

You can make this and other cute things too by simply joining Sew IT and dont forget that i have moved to Sew Chic and Unique

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Your Machine is your best friend

It dawned on me when Magnolia one of my readers asked if i could send her the contact info for Aunty S (the lady i used to go for sewing lessons) that i had not covered the basics of using a sewing machine!

I know how could i have forgot to cover blog about such an important topic ? i apologise espcially for thoes who want to join Sew IT and have never sewn before.

I would have liked to make the tutorial myself but that will take a couple of days so i am already late i dont want to prolong it any longer.

Plus i found a great site called Craft & Fabric Links

This site is great for novice sewist they have covered everything. They even have a free sewing book just for beginners!

Chapter 5 covers setting up the sewing machine i really advise any beginner to take some time and read through that book as it has helped me when i was just starting and i am sure it will help you too.

Here are other sites which i found useful

How to sew using a sewing machine from Wiki How (with pictures)

How to sew using a sewing machine from Instructables

My machine has become my best friend you can read all about my machine here

I hope you found those links helpful

Just a reminder that i have moved to Sew Chic and Unique so please visit me there

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Reversible Bag for Sew IT

What day is it?

Its Wednesday so it means its Sew IT time

I thought we would try to move away from things for the home and make something for us, we deserve it

I am excited about this tutorial because we are going to be learning from the crafiest lady Martha Stewart of course!

This is what we are going to attempt to make

A reversible bag!

Martha says this is a beginners project, so its perfect for Sew It

Here is the link with all the information you need and there is even a video to see how its actually done.

Have a look at what Small Fry and Co made from the tutorial and she personliased it too.

Remember once you’ve completed the tutorial:

• Take a picture of your creation
• blog about it on your blog (if u have one) featuring my Sew IT button (grab it from my side bar) and linking to me and send me the link.
• If u dont have a blog send me the picture via email to sewchicandunique [at] gmail [dot] com before Tuesday.

I will feature all creations on feature it wednesday (which is when we show off our creations) i will link up to your blog (and have all the participants creations in one place)

Anyone can join in the fun all you need is your creativity and remember take it a stitch at a time

Happy Sewing and dont forget that i have moved to Sew Chic and Unique

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Feature it Wednesday – Tissue box cover

For Sew It last wednesay i posted a tutorial on how to cover a tissue box so it can finally match the rest of the room

This is what Nima from Made to treasure made

I unfortunately havent been able to participate this week cause i have been away and didnt manage to sew the tissue box cover however, I plan on sewing it once i get back – i promise

I have added Nima to my crafty mama list as well as other women who sew in Oman. Check out the list here

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Tissue Box Cover for Sew IT

 This week we will be making covers for our tissue boxes. We all have tissues boxes lying around the house and most of the time they dont fit with the decor of the room.

This is an easy tutorial which is prepared by Ashely from Make it and Love it.  I love her blog as she posts lots of easy tutorials, i have my eye on a couple more to use for Sew IT.

This is what we aim to create

What i like about this tutorial is that you are not limited to use the square tissues boxes (shown in the pic) you could use the regular rectangle ones.

So ladies here is the tutorial i really hope you enjoy it i already know what fabric i am going to use.

Ashley advises to use  upholstery type fabric as its thick and will hold better. However, you can use cotton too but just use some fusible interfacing.

Interfacing is used to make the fabric stiffer and there are two types the one you iron on and the one you sew onto the fabric. Both are available from Al Hadhramy, keep in mind you dont want it to be too hard so choose medium strength.

Remember once you’ve completed the tutorial:

• Take a picture of your creation
•  blog about it on your blog (if u have one) featuring my Sew IT button (grab it from my side bar) and linking to me and send me the link.
• If u dont have a blog send me the picture via email to umhadeel [at] gmail [dot] com before Tuesday.

I will feature all creations on feautre it wednesday (which is when we show off our creations) i will link up to your blog (and have all the participants creations in one place)

Anyone can join in the fun all you need is your creativity and remember take it a stitch at a time

Happy Sewing Ladies

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Sew it – Pillow Cover

Here is my slip cover for Sew It 

I made it last night and it took me about an hour to do. I think i would have taken much less had it not been going up and down for the iron.

As i moved upstairs the iron is not so close anymore lol

This lovely pillow and its new cover will go to my niece’s room (which reminds me i need to show you her room which i recently painted)

I like the fact that i now can very easily make my own slipcovers so need to hunt down for that perfect shade lol just buy some material and sew it up

Dont forget to check back tomorrow for  feature it wednesay too see what others have made

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Handmade Gifts

One of my new year resolutions is to make gifts instead of buying them.

A couple of days ago was my SIL bday Happy Birthday Nami and i wanted to give her something i knew she would use and enjoy.

Knowing her bday was approaching i needed to find something to make for her. So when i visited her recenly i noticed that she was reading a book and didnt notice a bookmark so had a *light bulb* moment and thought great a couple of bookmarks would be a great gift. I for one read at least 2 books at the same time and let’s face it you cant have enough bookmarks!

So i found a great bookmark tutorial by Shelley of 7 Lay Studio and got right to it

Here is what i came up with

this is the back

Cute arent they?

I hope she likes them

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Let’s Sew IT

Its finally here

You  should have bought your sewing supplies by now which means you are all geared up to sew.

This button is the official launch for Sew IT (thanks to my supportive husband for creating it for me) .

If you are participant and have a blog grab the button and have it up on you sidebar so your visitors know you are getting crafty lol and i would really appreciate it if you link back to me

Now lets get down to business

Tutorial 1

I have chosen for our first sewing project a basic sqaure pillow because they are great as you can spice up a room with different colored pillows and they are easy to make.

The  tutorial is from About.com there are 2 versions the text version and a step by step with pictures which i thought is great for beginners.

This tutorial allows you to create pillow covers depending on the size of your pillow. So find a square pillow and with your tape meausure the width of it in inches to find which instructions to follow.

Other than that I think its a straight forward tutorial and you shouldnt have any problems however, if you do please leave me a comment on this post so everyone can benefit

Note to Participants:

Once you’ve completed the tutorial blog about it on your blog and send me the link. I will feature all creations on feautre it wednesday (which is when we show off our creations) i will link up to your blog (and have all the participants creations in one place)

Anyone can join in the fun all you need is your creativity and remember take it a stitch at a time

Looking forward to seeing your creations Happy Sewing

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Sew It!

Sorry for the lack of update but Hadeel is on vacation and well let say goodbye to my peaceful mornings!

Now to the topic at hand, you are probably wondering what my title is all about.  Well I love tutorials and have decided to dedicate every wednesday of the week  to share a tutorial and encourage each other to sew.

I have decided to start Sew It 

Is this your idea?

No, i have seen many crafty/sewing blogs who have incorporated this into thier blogs the some calls it Tutorial Tuesday. They simply share a tutorial that they found/created and sewed.

Why did you choose Wednesday?

Well its the end of the week (in Oman that is) and i thought its a good day so you have the weekend to prepare and sew.

How is Sew IT different?

Its different in the sense that we will do this together kind of a sew a long. I will post a tutorial on the first wednesday of the month and we have 1 week to sew it and the 2nd wednesday we share our creations I hope to set up a flickr account so we can share pics of our creations. The 3rd Wednesday i post another tutorial and the 4th Wednesday we share, you get my point.

What will the tutorials be on?

I will choose a tutorial on how to make various things (a bag, something for the home, clothes for kids etc) and they will be taken from the wonderful tutorials that are available online.

What do you aim to achieve through this?

I hope to encourage people to try thier hand at sewing and hopefully build a sewing community.

I understand that not many people might be intersted in this and thats fine, i will start sewing these projects with the hope that i will inspire some of you to sew.

I am really excited about this and really hope that some of you will try your hand at this. If you have any questions please dont hesitate to contact me either by leaving me a comment or via email

Stay tuned for the first tutorial of Sew It next Wednesday the 3rd of June 2009

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Busy being Mom

Just a quick post to let you know that my girls are not well. Hadeel has a very high fever and a terrible cough. Baby D has a runny nose so i will be busy taking care of them.

Still no housemaid, to help so this doesnt leave me much time for sewing.

However, i will try to get some sewing done and hopefully get the 2nd custom order finished before the end of the week.

Oh before i forget I have added some tutorials and pics to my tutorial page i have lots more saved into my favorites and i always keep adding more lol. Yeah i confess i am a tutorial addict, i just cant get enough.

Till my next post keep well and safe

Mayya

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