Easter Pincushion - Day 10 - 100 Days on Pins and Needles

Everything around us is Easter themed right now and with that in mind I continue to find more Easter pincushions that could have more than one use.  As I mentioned in my last pincushion post the stuffed egg shaped cushions could be given to children as a fun toss game for an Easter treat instead of candy. This weeks feature has a different twist as a home decor item but could also be used as a toss game item for children as an Easter treat too.

Easter Egg Pincushion

Pincushions are not just for pins.

 Many years ago when my husband was active duty Army we spent many years in Germany.  A tradition there during the Easter season they bring in fresh branches place them in a vase and create what they call an "Easter Tree".  They decorate them with blown out eggs that are beautifully hand painted along with little wooden decorations of rabbits, and other Easter themed items.

Along with the egg shaped pincushions I already made I added a new look with a felted wool egg that is decorated with machine embroidery and has raw edges cut with pinking shears.  I also found a new design, pictured above, to add to my "tree", making mine out of felted wool.  Instead of hand embroidery and felt cutouts I did some machine embroidery designs on the "egg", added felted wool blades of grass along with machine stitched grass, a die cut flower shape embellished with a button and topped it off with a sheer ribbon for hanging. If I were making it as a child's gift I would not add buttons or any other items that could be pulled off and swallowed.

I decided to use my newly made Easter Egg pincushions to decorate my own "Easter Tree" to add to my holiday decor.

Once Easter is over you can take your decorations down and hang them in your sewing room as a cute little decor item, use them as gifts for your sewing friends or keep them and use them as pincushions for yourself.

I hope that I have given you some ideas of not only how to make some cute gift ideas but how to add seasonal fun to your home and sewing.  Take a walk down "life in the craft lane" and see what you can find to inspire your next creative project.

Doll Pincushion - Day 7 of 100 Days on Pins and Needles

I had to take a break from my quest to find and make a variety of pincushions and needle books due to family illness but now I am back to searching the web for new designs.  I will continue to search out new designs and will post what I find every Monday instead of daily.

I found this pattern in a Family Circle Magazine many years ago and made copies of the pattern for future use.  A few years ago I needed a gift for a Secret Santa exchange and I decided to make  this cute little design for a quilting friend of mine. The picture above is the one I gave to my friend.  The pattern called for the doll to wear a straw hat but I decided to give her a funky hair style and tie it up with a bow.

I spent the last 2 days searching the internet for a similar pattern without success.  The pattern I have is from 1993 so I have not been able to find anything on the web that even comes close to the design I used.  The closest thing I could find was a Half Doll Pincushion made with a porcelain figure.

Half Doll Pincushion

There are various places to purchase the half doll figures such as Ebay, Etsy or Amazon.  Some can be quite pricey but another option that I found on a YouTube video is a Barbie Doll Pincushion using a Barbie doll with the legs removed for the doll portion. I have included the link to the YouTube video, but as it is with many home made how to videos, this one is very slow moving and one needs to be very patient with the maker.

I hope that you join me next week to see what I find and over the next few weeks I will try to work up a pattern for today's featured design.

Creativity Day 7 - Adding the Finishing Touches

Actually yesterday was supposed to be day 7 but sometimes the ideas just take a bit longer to actually turn into realities.

When I was sewing my paper pieced sections together it came to me that this would make a cute tote so as soon as I was done with the circle I took it apart and started working on my idea.

The little tote has a a lining with a double pocket on the inside, one open pocket and one with a zipper to secure valuables.  The tote itself has a magnetic closure so that everything says out of sight inside the purse.

This project has taken five days to complete but now I have some new found knowledge and inspiration for future projects.  I have learned that using my computer to design can be fun and inspiring and making a Mariner's Compass quilt block is no longer as intimidating as it used to be.

Tomorrow starts my second week of my Creativity Project and I hope my readers continue to drop in and comment or share ideas with me.

Daily Creativity

"Creativity is the defeat of habit by originality."

Arthur Koestler

This year has been a real downer for me and in an effort to revive my creative side I have started a daily creative journal.  One creative project per day for as long as I can keep it up, which I hope is a long time.

Creative Day 1

Keeping it simple and using only what I have on hand I made a simple fabric postcard, "Today is the Beginning", a reminder of things to come.

When I finished with the postcard I decided a handmade envelope would be a good way to complete today's creativity project.

The postcard can be hand cancelled at the post office but I rather put mine into an envelope to make sure that it doesn't get dirty and if any embellishments are added they won't get pulled off or damaged.

This is the first of what I hope to be many projects and I hope to focus on my quilting more than anything.  There are many techniques that I am anxious to try out and doing them in smaller projects will help me decided which ones I want to explore more deeply.

Please feel free to leave a comment, or give a suggestion as to any projects or techniques that might be fun and interesting to try out in a small project.

Where Does the Time Go?

"Only in the present do things happen."

Jorge Luis Borges

I can't believe it has been over a month that I last posted an entry.  Needless to say I have been buried in custom work and finally have a short break between orders.

I was asked to make a t-shirt quilt for a college graduate and although I had never made one before I took on the challenge.  It was an experience that I am happy to say resulted in what I and my client think was a beauty.   I will be finding out next week if the college graduate loves it too.

When that order was finished I had a photo memory quilt to make as a birthday gift for my clients grandmother as she celebrates her 70th birthday.  I lovingly call this one "the beast" because it just about swallowed me up at my sewing table.  This quilt consists of 100 family photographs that are printed on photo fabric and have two border strips before they were pieced together with dark brown sashing.

I finally have a short break and am able to start creating a few items for my Etsy shop so I decided to start with my "Apple Blossom Baby" that was inspired by a "Project Quilting" challenge.  This challenge is the creation of Kim Lapaceks, a member of the Quiltsy Team on Etsy, and is based on the Project Runway theme.  You can read about her challenge at http://kimscraftyapple.blogspot.com/ and feel free to enter future challenges as it is open to all quilters.  You can also enter to win the public giveaway, so check it out, you too may be a winner.

After creating "Apple Blossom Baby"  I decided to give her a few sisters and so far have created...

 

Daisy May and in the process of finishing up Lavendar with a few others on the drawing board.

Procrastination

"Only put off until tomorrow

what you are willing to die having left undone."

Pablo Picaso

I finally finished my first UFO of the year and I am happy to say at least one more creation will not be left undone.  Of the two items I had set aside for this month this rag quilt gave me more work than what I had originally thought it would. 

The front background squares, applique and backing are all  made out of flannel and there is a layer of cotton batting in the middle.  I did an outline stitch around the flowers and a cross hatch on the solid squares before piecing them together.  Once the rows were completed I realized that they would not make a quilt wide enough for a lap quilt so I had to come up with another idea to add width.  I decided to add a border on both sides alternating the solid colors which turned out to be the perfect touch.  The quilt has a decorative stitch around all the edges and then clipped to give it that ruffled edge that distinguishes a rag quilt from other quilts.  I am very happy with the outcome and glad that it is finally done.

Now I am off to work on the wall hanging that needs my attention and also to select 2 more projects for next month UFO project list.

Ornament - Gift Tag Tutorial

With all the decorating going on I thought I would put together a fun and easy tutorial for a homemade Christmas ornament/gift tag.  I made a dozen ornaments for a quilters exchange that I participated in this year and I had all of them done in 2 days, so this is a good last minute handmade project.  This is also a good project for using up scraps of craft items you may already have on hand.

You will need the following materials (amounts will depend on how many ornaments you wish to make):

Holiday/Christmas or any fabric of your choice for the front of the tag/ornament
bleached or unbleached muslin for the backing
Peltex, felt or fusible felt (I used Peltex a very stiff interfacing also used for fabric postcards)
Fusible web such as wonder under
Sewing Machine (optional)
contrasting/coordinating thread or thread to match fabrics
cording, ribbon or twine
fine tip permanent ink marker ( I used a sharpie fine tip marker)
hole punch

First start with deciding the shape of your tag/ornament.  For this project I decided to use a rectangular shape but I have also made these using a circle.  I selected a border print fabric with a variety of Holiday items to choose from.

1. You can create a template, cut free-hand or use a clear acrylic ruler to cut out the shape, just make sure you cut out fabrics and peltex slightly larger than you want the finished tag to be.(1/4 of an inch is plenty)  I cut my shapes out freehand.

2. Following directions on fusible, iron the fusible web/wonder under onto the back side of each of your fabrics (holiday fabric and muslin).  Do this step before you cut out your shape or design.  Do not remove paper backing from the fabric yet.

3. On the paper side of the fusible web that has been fused to the fabrics use your template to trace the ornament shape on both the front fabric and the muslin or cut out your shape freehand.

4.  Cut out a piece of peltex slightly larger than the front fabric shape.

                                  

5. Following manufacturers directions iron the fabric ornament shape onto the peltex shape.

5.  Place ornament on the paper side of the muslin background fabric (step2) and trace around ornament.  Cut out muslin background just inside of tracing line.

6.  Score and remove paper backing from muslin and fuse to the back of ornament shape.

7.  Trim off excess peltex and backing fabric from the ornament.

8.  Using your sewing machine you can finish off the ornament with a straight stitch around the border or do a satin stitch(zigzag) around the edge using contrasting thread or thread that matches your fabric.

 

9.  Punch a hole to pass your string, ribbon or twine through. 

10.  Using your sharpie marker write a holiday greeting or the name of the person receiving the gift.

11.  Knot the tie and hang on the tree or add to a gift.

These are great tags that can be made with any fabric design for any occassion so you can use fabrics that represent the person that is to receive them.  I hope you enjoy making these cute little ornament/tags to add to your holiday gifts and decor.

Friday's Featured Shops

Every day I click and comment on Etsy treasuries and I find beautiful one of a kind items I would love to have for my very own. Of course if I hit the purchase button everytime I would definitely have the shopping police at my front door and would end up living in the poor house. I don't think that would be any fun so I can only "love from afar" and hope that someday I can afford to live in the lap of luxury and be able to afford anything my heart desires.

The first shop in this weeks selection is a repeat offender.

I love items with a Victorian flair and this pincushion found at DebiDesigns is definitely a beauty. Sitting atop a candlestick this pincushion would make a beautiful Christmas gift for the quilter, crafter, seamstress or pincushion collector in your life. Embellished in ribbon embroidery and beads this items is a true heirloom item. http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5034584


Our second culprit is "Artsy Clay" with this beautiful blue bracelet called "Spectrum of Blue". With blue beads in every shade this lovely bracelet reminds me of the ocean, this would make a great accent piece to wear anywhere. You can find this lovely bracelet and other great items at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=26025

Rounding our lineup we have "Grace Pottery", with this beautiful pitcher called "S-Pouty Pitcher", and the best thing is that it is food safe. I can see putting this on my table any day of the week because it is both functional and beautiful. You can find some lovely pieces of pottery that would make great items for your home or for gifts at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7512471

If you have any "most wanteds" in your favorites list please share, I am always interested in finding more wonderful items on Etsy.

Seasonal Sunday

I have recently been working on adding new items to my Etsy store and to my Craft Show inventory so today I am showing off some of my own work.

Fall is in the air and it is time to take out the Autumn decor for your home. I love changing my table decor with the seasons and up until lately have been using some really yucky plastic placemats. I wondered how many out there are doing the same thing, so I decided to work on some seasonal placemats to welcome in the cooler weather.


My favorite so far is this dark green set that features the falling leaves of autumn in a nine patch design. They are made of cotton fabric and quilted in a cross hatch design using cotton batting.

Another item I listed today is a cute set of Scarecrow Potholders that are large enough to use as hot pads or trivets to protect your table or countertops. They are made using cotton fabrics and have a layer of insul-brite and cotton batting to keep you hands protected from hot pots and pans.


Last but certainly not least is a second set of Fall Placemats that are reversible, giving you added wear.
They are made using cotton fabrics and are quilted in an all over meandering design using polyester batting.

With Autumn arriving I think I will be doing some more seasonal items along with my usual quilting. Tomorrow is another day and I will let you all know how things turn out in Monday's Mayhem.

Saturday Special

This week my favorite items from the Etsy shops are:

1.) This cute little "Pocket Magnet" from ZViolets http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6631447

This would make a great little gift pocket that you could stuff with any small goodie. I can just imagine this on my refrigerator door, a great place to leave notes for kids, husbands or friends.

2.) The next feature item is this beautiful pair of handmade chopstix. They are not only handy but versitile as the description states, "perfect for use on your next sushi or Chinese food run, or simply to put your hair up for an elegant touch to your attire". You can find these and many other lovely items at Wind and Rain Handmades http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6204785

3.) With the holidays fast approaching what better way to deck the halls than by adding this festive "Christmas Tree Wall Hanging" to your decor. A fellow member of the Quiltsy Team, SieberDesigns, is the creator of this 13.75 X15.5 inch beauty. http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6116896

"Light Reading"

I haven't been very successful at treasuries in the past, most of the time they expire without much attention. When I created my treasury a few days ago I was quite surrprised at the attention it got and of course I was very pleased to see so many comments and clicks putting it on the second page of the "hotness" list. The last time I viewed it there had been over 90 views,which was very exciting for me.

A successful treasury brings exposure to a group of artists, but I believe the key is to find a title and theme that will interest a variety of people. My "Light Reading" treasury was a play on words that highlighted the work of quilted journals and lamps, some of which were handmade and some vintage. I am never bored and always amazed at the creativity of some of the artists on Etsy, when lightexture can take a steamer ,that I use often to steam my broccoli, and create a beautiful wall sconce, well that is creative in my eyes.



I will continue to "hunt" for the unusual and try to find other creative titles to bring attention to some more wonderful artists.