I have been coveting those craft tables at Pottery Barn for quite some time and I just can't justify spending the money on one. They are $949+ shipping at PB. However, it occurred to me that I could make my own! Here is the PB Table, which is 55" wide x 38" deep x 37" high:

I recycled a table top I've had for awhile now and originally cost me about $50 used. I added 2 Ikea Expedit bookshelves and ended up with a reasonable craft table - $80 for the 2 shelves plus my used table top. I will have to stain the top to match the bases but that's no big deal and I'm in no real hurry to do that. I can live with the retro Memphis color scheme for awhile. I'm possibly going to replace the table top with a custom piece of wood (this will still be cheap as I will buy wood and have a friend cut it to size).  The Expedit shelves are $39 each and are 31 1/8" x 31 1/8" x 15 3/8" deep.

This is my do it yourself craft table - I will take a better picture of it once I stain the table top. My table is 72 x 36 with a height of 31". If you sew and craft, the bigger dimension is much better! The 31" height is a little low but not bad. I may actually build it up a couple of inches which will be easy to do, but for now, i'm fine with it the way it is.

Ikea also makes the insert cloth baskets which keep everything tidy - they hold a ton of stuff. You can capture your random sewing clutter (projects of the moment, patterns of the moment, etc.) into one of these nifty basket thingies and shove it into the section of the shelf. The shelf is also the perfect height for sewing machines & sergers (well, my Berninas anyway).

Here is a nifty knockoff that looks very much like the PB one.

or, maybe this pattern?

I love this little pattern, it's easy but it looks special. The fabric helps of course - all of them are more expensive but it makes a positive difference.

Bobble Scarf/Shawl (this is really cute!)

Sunglasses case (you could easily modify this for a phone or iPod)

Tomato-esque Pincushion (much cuter)

Fabric beaded bracelets

Cute Reversible Napkin Tutorial

Pillow Case with French Seams Tutorial

Starry Forrest Christmas Tree Skirt, Part 1 (this is a pdf)

Starry Forrest Christmas Tree Skirt, Part 2 (this is a pdf)

Installing an Invisible Zipper (one caveat, I do mine differently & use a special foot but this is good!)

Conquering two dresses this weekend, both of which I have promised to a colleague for at least a month. The craft fair consumed the crafty me and work consumed the other me.

Finally, a weekend with no commitments where I can focus and sew using my most favoritest fabric line in the world. Anna Maria's Drawing Room line in the Branching Out design. The heavier cotton weight makes a nice summer dress; sturdy yet light. The dress, which is a Butterick pattern - 5317 - is finished!  And, I still love it as much as when I made the first one.

Back View:

A new favorite way to do a hem: Serge the raw edge using curly nylon serger thread, this gives a nice dense edge; then do a simple overcast hem stitch. You end up with a detail that looks a bit decorative like piping.

I'm not a fan of Joann fabrics as I find them to be generally low quality. However, every now and then, i'll get something decent & it's worth keeping an open mind and checking through their fabrics when I'm there to buy notions.

They had a sale on flannels last weekend, and I picked up a few yards at $2.49/yard. One of the selections did exactly what I know Joann's fabrics to do: the colors all ran when I washed it. The other however held up okay.

Two pieces of one yard each flannel + big rick rack a friend gave me and Voila! instant baby gift. All I needed to do was add a burp cloth and I'm done. The burp cloth is a sweet cotton with an organic terry backing. 18.5" x 9" rectangles sewn together with a rick rack trim embedded into the seam and that's it!

Personally, I like extra long apron ties so that i can wrap them around to the front. This tutorial makes an apron sized for up to a 12ish - it all really depends on how much you want the apron to wrap around. you can easily increase the size of the apron by increasing the dimensions of the Apron Skirt Body/Panel.

Ruffles Apron  Tutorial

Click Here

Here's another style - same pattern.

The craft fair was not as successful as I'd hoped. My goal was to sell all of my 20 aprons; however, I sold less than half. I think the problem rests with the fact that the crafty nature of our group didn't really fit within the overall "art walk" theme of the day long event. Basically, people were strolling & looking at galleries. They weren't really out to buy craft goods. I get it. I should have realized that earlier on.

Anyway, it wasn't a total waste of a day or week. I built up some inventory for Christmas gifts or other needs and I had fun with some friends who came to see me and enjoy the artwalk. We had a great afternoon together.

My first week of reengaging with healthful eating was a success. I lost 2 pounds and that's even after more or less splurging last night on pasta, wine and lemon tart. woohoo.

Following is one of my fellow Craftistas modeling my new signature modern apron, and my friend Joey showing that aprons can be manly yet stylish: