Fun Sewing and Fun Labels!

 By The Pleasant Times Seamstress, Miss Thread
Photography by N.O. Phocus

I have had so much fun sewing with The Pleasant Times staff lately, let me share with you some of the newest  projects!

 A few fat quarters made this version of Quaint and Quirky's Simple Quick Bag. Since this wasn't a "last minute" project, it could be gussied up some by adding an extra band of contrasting material.  The tutorial is really simple and quick, and I would encourage you to go and try it! This bag is smaller than the one in the tutorial; it was made for a baby shower, designed to fit one diaper and essentials. It used 3 fat quarters for the inside and outside of the bag (it's reversible!) plus the contrast band and handles.

 The stitching on the handles was done in coordinating colored thread.

 There were enough scraps left for a matching burp cloth. Sewing with fat quarters is a lot of fun! It was amazing to get so much out of what seemed so little.

 Inside the bag are four baby receiving blankets made of knit material. I learned to  "lettuce edge" them using my zig zag. More about that in another post.

 This quilt was mainly done by one of our Interns here at The Pleasant Times.

 I like the special corners!

 The quilting was a shared task. In between all the straight quilting rows are decorative stitch rows in color thread.

 It makes the back look really neat.

 Then I had fun making gift labels for them all! The Graphics Fairy had some wonderful free clip art frames, which were filled out using the Picasa photo program.

This one went on the quilt. 

 "Grab-n-Go Diaper Bag. Fill with one diaper and essentials; just grab and go for short outings! Coordinating Burp Cloth Included! REVERSIBLE."

This one was for the bag. The labels were attached to scrap paper, and decorated with Victorian scrap.

"Ruffled Baby Wrap: Keeps Babies Cozy and Happy."

This one was for the knit baby blankets. To make it look like an authentic product label, I had to make some kind of outrageous claim or promise. This one says the blanket keeps babies happy! Let's hope so!

Each one has its own colored label. 

They were pasted on to scrapbook paper strips, then wrapped around each blanket. 

These labels are wrapped around home-made soaps. 

The little tub is filled with the soaps and baby washcloths made by someone in our crafts studio. 

 It was so much fun to put the gifts together and attach the labels! I felt that it was the perfect finishing touch.