Rotary Cutter: Found!

Would you believe it?  I went to a local quilt show this past Saturday, came home, and found my rotary cutter!  It was right beside my quarter inch foot.  Of all the places for it to be, right?

Luckily for the three of us (Jill, RC and the 1/4”), I picked up a table runner kit, complete with pattern and fabric, at one of the vendor booths that very morning.  It seemed the perfect, quick project for me and my newly relocated cutter and foot.  Still early afternoon, I figured I could knock this thing out before dinner.

 

Three “tonights” later, it’s still not done.  (I was so looking forward to amazing the blog world with a finished project.)  Alas, I started working on the quilting tonight, and it’s surprisingly very fun and addictive.  It shouldn’t be long before I share my table runner!

Winter Doesn’t Inspire Me

It’s been a while, and I can’t promise I’m back.  I suppose I’ve been busy with work during the days.  (Half of my department went out on maternity leave over the holidays, leaving my other coworker and me swamped!)  And at nights, I snuggle under layers of quilts, too nervous to get up even for some hot chocolate for fear of my toes getting cold. 

But with a bit of spring finally warming up the air, I found some motivation this morning to sneak out from under my quilt and revisit an old project.  Remember my DIY fabric wreath?  I’ve been thinking about making another for some time, so I found the perfect excuse.  We’re hosting a Dinner & Auction at church, and I thought this would the perfect item to donate to the auction!

I bought a straw wreath from the craft store for not more than $3.  (I didn’t even use a coupon.  Tisk. Tisk.)  Then, while searching through my fabric stash, I found some perfect pastel batiks, unused for quite some time.   As long as someone purchases it for more than $3, I think this will have been a profitable endeavor. 

The colors make me feel closer to Spring!  I hope it fetches a pretty penny at the auction!  Speaking of Spring, my neighbor just knocked on my door trying to sell me lemonade.  Spring is in the air!

Clutch!

Trying to fight off the winter doldrums, it seems I’ve been spending too much time huddled in front of the stove and not enough by the warmth of my sewing machine light.  Apparently, it’s not a very warm light.  But prompted by the sale of a few Bean’s Clutches in my Etsy shop, I decided I better move away from the stove and make more before I’m all sold out.  So I turned up the heat (my creative juices and thermostat) and got to work!

In a matter of a few nights this week, I was able to crank out 10 clutches, managing to use up all the oil cloth in my stash!  Which probably means that there won’t be any more Bean’s Clutches for a while.  Not a big deal.  I’ve been putting so many projects on the backburner, and I’d like to push my shop aside for a little while to get them done.  I’ve cleared a lot of items out of my online inventory, and I keep my fingers crossed that my onesie don’t get discovered by more than the occasional trickle of buyers.  I packed up the remaining scraps from my Bean’s Clutches and some fabric I purchased for new products and they’re off to the closet!

Quilting in the New Year

Today, being the last day of my Christmas vacation/winter break, I sewed as much as possible to make up for all the sewing I didn’t do last month.  I should have been making blocks for this quilt, but instead, I started a new one. 

Inspired by a Jelly Roll of Sugar Pop, I used my quilt software and designed the slightly abstract quilt shown above.  I didn’t really want to make an abstract quilt, or completely design my quilt before I cut any fabric, so I pushed the computer aside, found my rotary cutter and got to sewing.  This is what I’ve got after a day of sewing.  I hope I can be motivated to finish it!

Happy 2011!

Where Did December Go???

It’s been too busy of a month for much crafting and sewing. I do have this onesie I finished for a friend’s first birthday:

 

and I made up a fun Stocking Stuffer Christmas game in which I made up the rules and 10 stockings to stuff.  Unfortunately for this blog, I was too flustered to get them done in time for Christmas to take any pictures. 

Today, finally getting a day off, I got back into the sewing spirit and checked out a new quilt shop!

Hayloft Fabrics, in Morgantown, PA, absolutely surprised me.  I walked up a staircase in the supermarket of a rural Pennsylvania town and ended up in a loft full of fabrics, notions, patterns, and books.  This photo doesn’t do it justice.  With the supermarket over the loft’s half wall, I perused a great selections of fabrics along the edges of the market.  Definitely was worth the trip!

Soho Baby Bibs

I would be remiss if I never mentioned my favorite fabric shop on my quilty/crafty blog.  My one weekly “spam” email that I always look forward to reading comes not only with the latest and greatest must have fabrics and kits, but also with style, grace, and at least one project that immediately sends me daydreaming of me at my sewing machine, far far away from the computer holding the email, surrounded by work and cubicles.   Purl Soho is this little girl’s New York City dream!  One day, I’ll make it there, and shop my heart out!  …Until then, I’ll just have to shop online.

Now, You can only imagine my excitement when I returned home from work on Friday to find a package on my front porch sporting the words “Purl Soho!”  I dove right into the first project I pulled out of the box, and promised myself something to be proud of by the end of the night.

 

When I first saw the project for Liberty Baby Bibs on Purl’s blog, the Purl Bee,they looked too cute; then, when I went to check out the price of their kits, they already were sold out!!  If they were that popular, I had to have one.  I patiently waited for them to come back in stock. (FYI, I just got my kit yesterday and they’re already sold out of the “yellow” colorway.)  The kit comes with every thing you need to make four sweet little baby bibs, and if you’re not A.D.D. like me, it will take you no time at all to finish some adorable baby gifts.

Here’s the scoop:  I love this project.  Liberty of London’s Tana Lawn line of fabric is the silkiest cotton I have ever felt, and the colors are beautiful.  Purl provided an easy pattern to follow, and for those of you that don’t want to purchase a kit, you can download it online!    I’m thinking about creating my own pattern, and selling a customizable version in my shop.  Wouldn’t that be fun!? 

Now here’s my tip:  Use a heavy duty thread when sewing on the snap.  I used hand quilting thread.  It’s a large, sew-on snap, and the cotton thread that came with my kit broke on me while sewing the first half of the snap on. 

Most Fun DIY Wreath Ever

 

This has to be the most fun fabric wreath to make!  Super easy, inexpensive, quick, stress relieving, and turns out handsomely…what more could you want in a craft project?!

A friend of mine found this project on the blog, The DIY Show Off, and after trying it herself, insisted that I make one.  What a great friend!  I love admiring how beautifully this wreath came out and dreaming of what fabrics to make the next out of.   I finished this first wreath in about an hour.  It’s as simple as pinking some fabric squares then jabbing them into a straw wreath form with a screw driver.  (That’s the stress relieving part of it!) 

The vine pattern batik I picked out at Joann Fabric (and purchased with a 50% off coupon!) was perfect for this project.  With the pinked edges, the wreath has a very organic texture.  I didn’t use any glue, and the fabric used totals a yard and a third.   My wreath didn’t have any bare spots, but there were plenty of places I could have added more fabric if I had it.

I tied it with some grosgrain ribbon, and hung it from my old porch door.  Love it!  I can’t wait to make the next!

4 Bean’s Clutches

It’s been a busy, yet productive evening!  I finished up four Bean’s Clutches which have been cut and ready for production for at least two months.  Now it’s time to get them into my shop before I’m off to dreamland!

Goodbye to June

My favorite month is nearing the end.  June is the best for many reasons.  It’s the beginning of Summer (this beach girl’s favorite season,) birthdays, anniversaries, and it’s flanked by two three day weekends, Memorial Day and July 4th…What’s not to love??  It’s sad to see another June ending.  At least there’s still two more months left of summery weather!

 

Speaking of summery weather, for Christmas last year, I received Amy Butler’s Barcelona Skirt pattern, and while exploring some quilt shops on my birthday, I picked up this damask fabric (from the House collection by Annette Tatum for Westminster) to make one out of.  I’m very excited...I just hope I can find the time to make it this summer while I still have a chance to wear it!

Monograms for Clutches

 

My current work in progress consists of monogramming Bean’s Clutches for a bridal party.  I’m creating six clutches, plus one for the bride, with single letter monograms.  It’s been relatively fun so far, and I really like the look of the embroidery on oil cloth.  The only problem is finding time to make them!  I’m off to band practice tonight, but maybe I can do a little more when I get home…after all, I don’t have to wake up early to go to work tomorrow.  ;)

I’m getting a little more savvy with creating blog posts, but not so much with editing video.    Hopefully this works:   I’ve added in a video of my sewing machine doing a little bit of the  embroidery….because it’s so much fun to watch!

Don’t forget to check out these clutches at my shop!

A Bean’s Clutch for Bean

I just finished making myself a new Bean’s Clutch.  Not because I needed one, but because someone asked me if I could custom embroider monograms on clutches for her bridesmaids.   I hate to say “no” and also don’t like saying “yes” to something I’ve never done, so…I made a trial clutch.

First, I made sure I could embroider on oilcloth.   Turns out, not only can I embroider on it, but it pops up off the fabric and looks very classy!   (Just be careful, you can’t iron oilcloth or get it wet, so I’ve heard.  Just like mogwais…)

The other tricky part was getting that monogram centered.   I felt that I was somewhat lucky with this clutch…but I’m not so sure I will be lucky if I have to do this 7 more times. 
Note the painter’s tape!  Since it was a clutch for myself, I sewed together scraps to make a big enough piece of fabric for a clutch.  The juxtaposed fabrics definitely gives my clutch some character!  This could possibly be a new look for Bean’s Clutches.

I really enjoy how my new clutch turned out, and can’t wait to replace it with the one I have in my purse!  However, monogramming adds some significant cost and time to making Bean’s Clutches; maybe I won’t agree to it next time.

Spring is in the Mail

 Today, I got a most wonderful package of brightly colored fabrics in the mail.   With 61 degree weather outside and warm and sunny fabrics inside, it must be spring!

The top Honey Bun of Moda's Hunky Dory will be made into a fabric Easter Basket.  The middle is a beautiful specrtum of Kona cotton solids...their use TBD.  On the bottom, a yard of Alexander Henry's Willow Grove is filled with my favorite things: houses, birds, flowers, fruit and bright stripes. A must have since I live so close to Willow Grove!

More than a Hill of Beans: No Sew Fabric Wreath

 

I'm very excited about happening upon Vanessa Christenson's blog yesterday!  She's got a great sense of style and some awesome tutorials on her blog, including this No Sew Fabric Wreath that I've just added to my to-do list. 

Now, I'm stepping away from my computer so I'm not tempted to purchase one of the many tutorials for sale on her etsy site. 

Ah, the Smell of New Fabric in the Morning

Every fabric has its own new-fabric smell...and sometime it's a little off...but the point is that it's new fabric! 

A couple days ago I got a package from one of my favorite on-line fabric shops, Purl Soho.   The next time I'm in Soho, I'm stopping in the shop, but until then, it's blissful online shopping for me!  I chose some oilcloth for a potential new item in my shop, some beautiful Japanese fabrics I'm currently smitten over (although the do smell a little funky...), and a linen for a secret project I can't wait to make and then blog about!! 

Have a great day and make sure you get a wiff off some of your own new fabrics!

No pockets? Make a Coupon Sleeve!

I'm an excited girl with the new purse I picked up over the weekend!  I traded the old one in for one with more room, so now I no longer have to separetly tote around my lunch bag and water bottle.  Though, like most things in life, you have to make compromises, so I lost some of the pocket space in my old bag that I was used to.  But I'm managing..especially now that I've made a cute clutch to store all my coupons in!

This evening, I grabbed my favorite crazy bunny fabric by Jay McCarroll and my new book, One-Yard Wonders.  I decided that the Planner Sleeve pattern would create the perfect solution to keep those coupons from swimming around my new bag.

I started the project with all intentions of following the design; however, my scrap of fabric was about 18"x20", far from the 1 yard of fabric the pattern called for. (What's in a name, really?)   I still managed to get the fabric cut the correct size, than fudged a little with the batting.  I basted the fabric and batting together, so when I sewed on the edging, all the layers would sit nicely together and there would be less frustration.  Always on the look out for my sanity!

I made my own "bias" tape out of a 2" straight cut of 44" fabric, and that worked really well to finish the edges.  Of course, my favorite embellishment to the pattern are the embroidered carrots on the front! 

This pattern gets 3 spools of thread...as soon as I find them.

New Wine Totes!

I'm so excited about putting my new wine totes up on my Etsy shop! Unfortunately, I've been waiting for my photographer to become available long enough to help me out. They've been sitting around just waiting for their big break on Etsy!

A wine tote holds one bottle, and I've used an insulated batting to give it extra cushioning and to keep those bottles of white cold. Each tote has a unique fabric design on the front, usually coordinating with matching fabric on the inside of the bag.

I hope everyone loves them as much as I do! I'm working on some that will be custom embroidered and some that you can go retro and design yourself with puffy paint!

Eastern Shore Shopping

I've been looking for a old, antique window frame to make a genuine window frame quilt. While traveling north on Route 13 along the Eastern Shore of Virginia, my husband and I saw some at the side of the road, did a little uey, and stopped at the Fabric Outlet. Although, it may look a little scary, it was actually open, and the associates there were quite friendly. I got my window frame for $10 and saw bolts of Kaffe Fassett's fabrics inside for $5-a-yard! What a deal! So if you're ever, um, in that area, don't be afraid to stop.