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It's a very easy hobby to get hooked on. :-) There are several pattern sites out there that I like. First, for geeky games stuff, try the Sprite Stitch Forums. There are tons of sprite patterns and ideas there for free. For huge, fancy projects I like Heaven and Earth Designs. Their patterns are not free (for the most part), but they go on sale regularly, and if you send them a photo of your finished piece for their gallery, they'll give you another pattern of the same price for free. About.com Also has some pretty good, simple free patterns.

If you're interested in picking up any books, the two I use most frequently are 2001 Cross Stitch Designs and 365 Alphabets. The first has a ton of motifs that can be used individually for ornaments, cards, and other gifts, or combined to make larger patterns. The second is great for personalizing stuff. Hope these help!

http://www.ehow.com/search.html?q=sewing&skin=corporate&t=all

These are not bad, however, in my learning experience, I have never really been able to find a good solid source for sewing videos. Most of the time, only some videos are good from a specific person or company. I usually end up just researching a certain topic until I find a video that is decent. If you are on YouTube, check the ratings so you don't waste your time with ones that others deem terrible. : )

That being said, here is a good list of a variety of people/companies and their videos.
http://sewing.about.com/od/publicationsandmedia/tp/sewingvideos.htm

Blog tutorials can be very helpful. This blog post was where I first learned to sew on a zipper. (And make a handy little coin purse / ID holder) :D
http://u-handbag.typepad.com/uhandblog/2007/02/had_a_quiet_wee.html


I know you said videos, so this may not be very helpful to you, but I learned the most from this book.
http://www.amazon.com/Sewing-Revised-Updated-Knitting-Magazine/dp/1933027002/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311004049&sr=8-1

It has very basic and advanced techniques. It includes tons of pictures and is written so that anyone can understand it even if you have never touched a sewing machine. I've yet to go through the whole thing and is always my go to place when I want to learn something new.


Good luck and congratulations! :)

This is the torch I use. I like it a lot, and it is surprisingly fuel-efficient, though doesn't work for creme brulee.

I also like Rio Grande for my jewelry supplies (including silver if you know what you need). You can buy copper from the hardware store, and if there is a jewelry supply store where you live that would obviously be ideal.

Different kinds of flux work in different ways, but I've never had trouble using any particular type as long as it was clean. As a reminder, being successful in jewelry-level soldering is mostly about having a clean join (and solder does not bridge a gap).

You can solder silver and copper together without trouble, but the line will not blur. Since the solder is silver-colored, ideally you will use exactly the amount you need whenever soldering copper, and then can sand off any excess solder so there isn't messy silver solder all over the copper surface. There are also ways to copper plate something entirely, but that doesn't sound like what you're looking for.

Let me know if you have other questions!

There are some supplies I love that made scrapbooking more enjoyable and less fiddly-tiny pieces going everywhere.

• Rotary cutter
  
• Self healing mat
  
• Glue dots stamper
  
• Photo corners (I had larger sized clear ones that were great but I can't seem to find them now. Sparkly ones are nice too, I have tons of these things)
  
• An excellent photo printer and enough photo paper that I didn't feel like I was wasting it. :)
  
  
  I have a paper trimmer too, but it's so fiddly, and the tiny little blade doesn't always cut clean. A nice ruler and the cutting mat with the grid lines was a huge step up.
  
  Between that and the glue stamper I started making scrapbooks with pretty designs and blank spots for photos as baby shower gifts. Those two pieces made it SO simple to make a page that everyone got a book last year.

Here are some of my personal favorites:
http://mochimochiland.com/shop/when-tessellations-roamed-the-earth/

http://www.etsy.com/shop/steotch?ref=pr_shop_more

http://clubjade.net/?p=12185

http://handeyemindmouth.blogspot.com/2011/01/han-solo-cross-stitch-pattern-available.html

(If you haven't noticed yet I'm obsessed with Star Wars)

http://www.thedomesticscientist.com/?page_id=407

http://fishmousestitches.blogspot.com/2010/12/finished-trilobite-sampler-and-free.html

Also, I just bought this book of cross stitch motifs and it has some cute/nerdy stuff that isn't just your run-of-the-mill rabbits and flowers and typical old lady cross stitching. I highly recommend it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1440309256

Also, if you don't already know about it craftster has a ton of great forums with people's completed projects and some great user-submitted tutorials. It's worth perusing for some ideas.

And finally, geekcrafts is a great.

Looks good! Did you make this from the Creepy Cute Crochet book? This is the cthulhu I made from that book. Yours looks slightly different (the tentacles), but it is still really good too!

Also, once I started using patterns, it really helped me develop my "free style" amiguri skills. So in short, good job to you!

I just bought Sew Serendipity. The clothes are amazing and the explanations are clear and simple. Plus she gives good advice/instruction about custom fitting clothes, supplies, and commonly used sewing techniques. And the best part?!? It comes with all the patterns you need to make everything in the book! :)

So... have you thought about shadow boxes?
Something to show off the smaller of your gifts/photos/trinkets that remind her of awesome things...

Since she's creative and loves poetry, how about creating a letter press plate? Or make a letter press if you really want to get crazy :D If you make that... could you make one for me for suggesting it? PLEASE? ;)

I love paper beads, though this particular tutorial doesn't show how really varied and colorful they can be. This link to Google images will give you a better idea.

A great book on the subject came out in 1997, but it is unfortunately now out of print. I got my new copy on eBay a few years ago for much less than the cover price, but it seems to have gained popularity in recent years and the price has gone up a little. The author, Tina Casey, did a great job of exploring the medium of paper beads.

I agree with bean bags for the no-sew blanket as best. For the sensory thing there's a few ways you could go. Do you want it to be portable and discreet, like stuff attached to the inside of a bag that can be touched and pulled out easily. Or like GeriGuard Solutions Memory Loss Fidget & Therapy Pillow https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0778SWJPV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_w8P4DbC38Y865.if you scroll down on the Amazon link there's a ton of other ideas.

Probably bias tape, on most onesies it is made out of a slightly thicker ribbed jersey but you might be able to do it with the same fabric. You can use one of these to make your own, here is a tute to make it without the guide but I love using the guides. They're nifty gadgets.

I like the skirts you posted, those look cool =D

I got the idea from seeing this book around. I'm thinking of doing something similar with full pairs of jeans I have and making a full gown out of them.

The place mat thing is a good idea too, would be quite handy!

I really like the Reader's Digest Sewing book.

It's pretty in-depth on most sewing subjects, but focuses on garment construction.

If you're interested in housewares, I also recommend this book. It's sort of twee, though, so it may not be your cup of tea!

I have this book: One yard wonders And it is awesome. Full of simple projects. Clear instructions on sewing basics. A lot of the projects are very cute.

I am SO with you. It drives me crazy when I can't get things to match up the way I want them to. Very precise cutting helps (I am so bad at scissors!), as does using tailor tacks instead of chalk/pen markings. The best way to get perfect matching seams is (after you have precisely cut and marked) to hand baste instead of pinning, and to always baste and ease your curves. Since all of that is time consuming I tend not to do any of it and then curse myself later.

Book recommendation!

Yea, it's a mess. My parents spent tens of thousands heat treating their house multiple times. They tore down things like wallpaper and picture frames. There are also things like this that can help the spread of the little buggers. It is possible to get target treatments and figure out the worst infested areas through the use of a bedbug-sniffing dog. Other important things to remember are keep laundry off the floor (line hampers with black plastic trash bags) and that the dryer is successful at killing all stages of the bedbug life cycle, so wash stuffed animals and pillows and things. I hope that the "starving them" solution works, it might not be a bad idea to supplement this with a "killing them" solution.

The process is so expensive and time consuming, good luck.

I've been having a blast with this one from Brother. I've been sewing since I was 5, and it's a great machine for me. I've also taught teenagers to sew with it, and they find it quite easy because of the variable speeds. It's one that your sewing skills will never outgrow.