Open For Business!

Yesterday I finally added things to be purcahsed on my Etsy account!  Three whole pillow cases completed with hand embroidery have been posted for sale and hopefully at some point I'll figure out how to post a button on this blog that will auto-link to my Etsy shop ... but until then CLICK HERE!!!!!!!   I've got a few other projects in the work to add within the week that I hope you guys will like.  But without further ado here are the real stars ...

The Cameo Pillow fits a 16x16 or 18x18 pillow form. (shown with 16/16 form)  It is hand embroidered with Ecru and a very pale Pink on a black cotton blend fabric.  Pillow insert pocket is embellished with Ecru embroidery. Sold for $20.

The Flower Pillow fits a 10x10 or 12x12 pillow form. (shown with 12x12 form) It is hand embroidered with a bright pink and includes decorative cream buttons on a black cotton blend fabric.  Pillow insert pocket is embellished with bright pink embroidery. Sold for $18.



not sure why the pic of the back looks lighter than the front, they are the same color I swear

 The Celtic Knot Pillow fits a 10x10 or 12x12 pillow form. (shown with a 12x12 form) It is hand embroidered with silver on a purple cotton blend fabric. Pillow insert pocket is embellished with silver embroidery. Sold for $18.

In the works currently are some pieced projects ...

Chevron, Deconstructed 9 patch, and simple block rows.  I've not yet decided if I want to add the chevron and 9 patch together in some way or if I want to make those into seperate things all together ... but seriously look, all the stripes are going in the same direction, my points are pretty, and once I ironed the 9 patch it laid flat and looked much better.

That is all of the sewing I did this weekend but no worries I've got a few other things up my sleeves and ready to be unveiled in the very new future.  Check back in a few days for even more craftiness!

Poetry in Motion

This past weekend I went to visit my family in Nashville and as my ma was cleaning up from the delicious brunch she prepared she looked directly at me and said "If anyone wants to know what I want for the holidays it is pot holders" as she waved a burnt one in the air.  My ma, the main reason I think present should be not only thoughtful but also useful.  I've never made a pot holder, I'm still new to sewing but it seemed simple enough ... like mini quilts.  So last night I sat down at my sewing machine in hopes to come up with a design that was not only beautiful but also practical.  In turn I ended up with two practice pot holders before my sewing machine once again decided it hated me ... having a machine make a horrible noise after sewing only for a few hours after every time you get it repaired makes it extremely hard to save money in order to purchase a better sewing machine.  But I digress.  Both practice pot holders were very similar, minus the quilting, and the third I was in the middle of before the grinding noise and the massive knot ball that the bobbin made started I was going to try something else all together ... sadly it will be a while before I am able to see if that prototype is good.  The two that I completed aren't good, in fact I need some serious practice on my binding via machine largely due to corners but for a first time go at it I don't think they are too horrible, I mean if an elementary student made them that is.

The yellow was my first and it is by far the saddest looking thing up close because the binding is way too big and the corners on the binding are all bunched up and super thick and just not good.  The blue one I did a much better job on because the fabric wasn't nearly as thick and the binding I made a half inch smaller but the corners again are bunched up and it just isn't perfect ... we are our own worst critics.  But needless to say I do adore how the quilting on the blue one turned out, especially since that was my first attempt at machine quilting.

And this is exactly why the internet is the crafter's best friend ... next time I decide "I can do that" I should probably google "how to" before I just sit down and decide to wing it!

At least with my sewing machine once again being broken I have plenty of time to spend embroidering and coming up with new designs in hopes to finally put something up for sale on my Etsy page.  Thankfully I have plenty of embroidery floss to go through and organize and sew with.

It truly is amazing what you can find in a giant box of fabric and thread from the Thrift Store that only cost $2.50!  There are over 50 colors of floss to choose from ... what would you make with such variety?

Freestyle sewing

This past weekend I finally got my sewing machine back and of course the creative bug had grown to Godzilla size in the week I was sans machine.  So aside from binding the quilt that I posted about yesterday I decided to do some freestyle sewing.  When making quilts and well anything that requires piecing for that matter "measure twice, cut once" is a lifestyle, a mantra to live by, and some times all that precise-ness can be draining.  It isn't often that I just sit down and make something these days without thinking about it for weeks in advance, figuring up all the math and knowing exactly each step to take 12 steps before I have to take it.  As someone that tried every creative path out there before discovering quilting and embroidery I completely enjoy just creating for the sake of creating, to know that out of a pile of what looks useless I make something (hopefully) beautiful.  This weekend was no exception.

Not a single piece of fabric was measured, everything was just eyeballed before I sat down to just wing it.  It isn't perfect, it isn't fit for a price tag, but I made it for me and the quilt dubbed "MINE."  When I sat down over a year ago to draw up "MINE" I used my trusty highlighter to color and absolutely fell in love with the blue highlighter look.  I adore bold and bright colors, wearing things like the cardigan that my friends call "caution yellow," so the fact that I went on a search for the perfect "highlighter blue" fabric for my own quilt should not be surprising at all.  Fabric.com saved the day, as usual, allowing me to select swatches of several fabrics to be sent to me in hopes to find that majestic highlighter blue.  Kona Cotton Peacock was the most perfect match and seeing that square of fabric made my heart leap with joy and a giggle to escape my lips so I proceeded to get online and order a few yards ... amongst the other fabric I ordered.  A few weeks ago I finished up the quilt front of "MINE" and there was that square of fabric, the small piece of fabric that made my vision come true, so of course the only way I was going to be happy was by slicing that square up with my rotary cutter.  Within an hour all of the swatch was cut and sewn with scraps of white from "MINE" and a splash of yellow from a table cloth I've had since I was a pre-teen and turned into ...

It's not perfect but it sure is adorable and I think it will look absolutely beautiful once I finish "MINE" and can put it all together on my bed.  What would you make if all you had to do was create for the sake of creating?

binding isn't always painful - the tutorial

You've finished the quilting on a lovely new quilt and you are just one step away from having a completed snuggly blanket ... binding.  When it comes to binding it is that last little touch you can add to give a quilt a pop of color if you so choose to.  So here we go ...

* First steps first: you have to do some math, it is simple so there shouldn't be any fear.  All you have to do is add up the length and width all around your quilt, meaning if you have a quilt that is 44"x48" the number you will get is 184 (44+44+48+48= 184).  You take that number and add 10, making the final number 194. 

* Second step:  measure and cut out enough strips of fabric 2.5" wide for a total of at least however long your math on the above step told you (ex: 194").

* Third step: attach the strips together ...

pin two strips together just like this

sew from the top corner to the bottom corner

like this

cut off the extra fabric leaving 1/4" seam allowance

* Fourth step: Once all of your strips are sewn together it is time to iron.

press seams open

fold binding in half and press

nubbins ...oops

Remove the nubbins from where your strips were connected

* Fifth step: Back to the sewing machine!

Pin binding with the rough edges lining up with the rough edges of the quilt
leaving a tail of 6 inches above the pin that you will not sew
as shown

sew all the way down to the corner of your quilt 1/4" away from the edge

once you are 1/4" away from the edge of the quilt, with your needle lowered,
lift the sewing foot and rotate your quilt as shown



with the foot up you will aline the binding along the new side, rough edges together,
pinching the binding in the corner and folding the excess upwards.

begin sewing down the new side and repeat steps until ...



you come 10 inches away from where you began sewing on the binding
back stitch a few times before removing from your sewing machine

* Sixth step: (I forgot to take photos I'm sorry) With your two tails shown in the above picture you are going to mark where they line up with each other.  Due to this being the end of the binding you don't have to sew on an angle, a straight line is more than fine.  You are going to open the binding (since it is folded in half prior to sewing) and with the front of the fabric facing each other you will sew the pieces together on the marks you made when you lined them up.  Trim off the excess fabric leaving a 1/4" seam allowance.  Sew the rest of the binding to the quilt. (If you have any questions please feel free to contact me)

* Seventh step: Hand sewing!

you will fold the binding over the rough edge of the quilt,
with your needle and thread you are going to go through just the top layer of fabric

bury the knot of your thread by tugging gently until you hear a "pop"
(this technique is used when hand quilting as well)
see there isn't a knot showing

 

you will take your needle and insert it through the fold of the binding that you pressed

with your needle still in the binding you will insert the needle through only the top layer of fabric on the quilt
as shown

and then back through the fold of the binding
continuing all the way to the corner of your quilt

see how pretty the blind stitches are on the binding

 

you will then fold down the unsewn binding to match up with the sewn section
take your needle and insert it through the new side of binding
as shown

you going to sew the corner a few times
ensuring you have securely attached both sides of the binding to the quilt
and then continue these steps until the binding is completed

 * Eighth step: Admire, snuggle, take a nap!

Sandwiches ... the tutorial

Welcome to my first ever tutorial!  Like in the Sound of Music the beginning is a very good place to start ...

For this quilt I wanted to do something super easy, something that wouldn't require pressing seams or arranging blocks, and so I picked an adorable panel and matching fabric for the back from Fabric.com.

Millie's Closet Designer Cloth Panel Blue
Millie's Closet Floral Bouquet Blue

I personally like to prewash all my fabric and press them before starting any project but I do know some folks don't do that ... shrinking, unraveling, and bleeding always are a concern with me so I keep up with my laundry.  Once everything is all pressed and crisp looking the fun can begin! 

*First step: CLEAN YOUR FLOOR!!!  Now I say this because though it should be a given you don't want to take chances with messing up your pretty new fabric because a child dropped a sucker on your hardwood floors 2 days ago and it has gone completely unnoticed until it leaves a sticky red stain on the back of your quilt.  You can totally just swiffer and move furniture out of the way to make sure you have plenty of space for the quilt.

*Second step: Layout your fabric for the back of your quilt face down.  You want to make sure it is smooth and not bunched up in places and I have found that taping down the corners to be rather helpful.  You also want to make sure the back of the quilt is slightly larger than the front and if you are planning on using the back as the binding you want it about 3 inches overhang on each side.

so maybe it isn't perfectly smooth

*Third step: Throw your batting on top of that smoothing out any huge lumpy bumpy places.  I like to make my batting slightly bigger than the front and back fabric due to hand quilting because it allows me to get closer to the quilt edges.

*Fourth step: Time to bring on the quilt front! Again making sure it is smooth and free from lumpy bumpys.
 

this is the size of two panels uncut

*Fifth step: Baste Baste Baste! This part isn't the most fun but it is probably the most important there is! There are several options you can use to baste; safety pins, straight pins, using one of those little guns that shoot out the little plastic "I" shaped things that hold price tags on clothing, basting spray, spit, etc. (ok so not really spit but let's have fun with the not fun step!)  Whatever method you want to use is up to you, I like basting safety pins because they are slightly curved making it easier to grab all three layers, but no matter what you want to start in the center and work your way outward smoothing and straightening as you go.

I like to make sure there is a pin every 5-7 inches meaning if I wanted to do a mini quilt that was 6 inches long and wide there would be a minimum of 5 pins in it.

*Sixth step: Begin quilting!  This by far is my most favorite step which is probably why I still hand quilt despite machine quilting being much less time consuming and can provide detailed quilting almost effortlessly.  Don't get me wrong you can totally get beautiful details from hand quilting (for example Amish quilts) but they are very very time consuming.

For this quilt I kept it very very simple by simply quilting around every other "block" (as shown above) and then doing a diagonal pattern by quilting details in some of the "blocks."

 

 I only quilted around 3 of the flowers on the above "block" just to add a pop on the back.  This is probably the #1 reason I love hand quilting so much because you can use the design on the fabric to quilt whereas machine quilting an over all quilt design is needed, even if it is just straight line quilting it is a uniform design all connecting.  Don't get me wrong machine quilting is breathtaking and can add depth and further design to any quilt such as with the quilting Angela did for Jaybird Quilts in the blog post Seaside Table Runner ...

seriously! SERIOUSLY! Amazing!

Anywho back to the quilt I did and the tutorial instead of being all star-struck by the many talented people in the quilting world.

*Seventh step: Trim off excess backing and batting. Sit back and admire your handiness, pat yourself on the back, maybe rub your back and shoulder and wrist and neck, and just sit there relaxing because your sewing machine is still at the shop and you can't make a binding let alone attach it to finish the quilt ... ok so you technically could but you've already hand quilted an entire quilt so why hand sew any more for a while?

And there you have it! A 99.9% completed quilt in one weekend.  This quilt measures roughly 44"x 48" which to me is a great size for babies aged newborn to 10 or if you are my height this is a great size to have on the couch to just throw over your legs when cold.  I honestly love using panels for quick quilts because it takes all the thought out of making a front and you still end up with a beautiful quilt.  Another reason I like using panels for kid quilts is because you know those things are going to end up being washed a thousand times and there is absolutely no worrying about seams coming apart in the washer, you really can just love on them as roughly as you want to.

Hopefully I'll be getting my sewing machine back in the next few days so I can do a binding tutorial for you guys!  Hope you enjoyed the tutorial and as always comments and question are welcomed!

the downside

I'm a crafter with a full time job that I absolutely love which means outside of work and sleeping I only get about about 64.5 hours a week to craft, have a social life, read, do housework, and buy groceries.  I know it sounds like a bunch of time, and maybe it is, but right now it just doesn't feel like it.  Basically this means I end up with nights like last night; nights where I lay in bed thinking of all the things I could make, things I would be proud to sale, things I would want to keep as my own because of how cute they are.  Last night's awake dreaming was brought on by the idea of embroidered pillows.  The color of fabric, the color of thread, the color of button, which colors look best together, should I make them coordinating, should I try to put them in groups and if so how many per group, do I want to repeat colors, do I let the buyer choose colors, and ending with "I really should be sleeping now."  I knew trying to get things up and running would be difficult, I knew I would have to learn how to manage my time better.  I believe the hardest part about this is going to end up being trying not to force myself to craft and to be able to maintain the passion and love for it which basically means I'll have to say no more often than I like.  I wonder how many other crafters out there have full time jobs and how they manage to maintain a balance without stressing too much.  A night of little sleep isn't the norm and I am used to the occassional one but I just don't want this to become a regular thing.  The past 2 quilt-a-thons I've done didn't stop my passion of quilting in the slightest but they both required a significant amount of downtime afterwards to recharge not only my spirit but to also heal ... quilting fingers are gnarley!

 

Just some of the color combos that kept me up last night ... no worries my embroidery skills are much better than my paint skills on a computer!

I planning on getting started on one of the quilts for my nieces this weekend which means tons of pictures for my first ever tutorial!  Y'all keep a look out next week ... things are going to get darn crafty in here!