Trying Something New - English Paper Piecing

As usual, I jumped into something new without too much thought or planning, hoping that I'd succeed at my first try. I was lucky this time! Of course, I had the confidence that I'd be following the directions of an excellent teacher, and it worked out wonderfully.

About a week before my wedding anniversary, I saw a blog post: "Crafty Football Blog Hop: How to Make a Football Fringe Scarf" over at CraftyPod.com. It didn't matter that I had never done English Paper Piecing (EPP) before, or even that I hadn't sewn anything in a very long time - it was unique & had footballs. My husband is a sports fanatic, and loves professional, college and local high school football.

Since he goes to more local games than professional ones, I decided to use the high school colors and picked out some coordinating fleece. I actually looked for a pre-made scarf to sew the footballs onto, but couldn't find one, and I think that saved me some money. With the small quantities of material called for in this project, the total came to less than $10, and that made me very happy. (I'm sounding pretty cheap here. But I really believe that the thought that goes into something is waaaay more valuable than the expense of it.)

Waiting until the night before I needed it wasn't the brightest idea - I was up a few hours past my bedtime & had to improvise on a couple of parts ... then, so I wouldn't wake my house with the noise, wake up in the morning to complete the machine sewing portion. I did it! And I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. So was my husband. ☺

Diane's clear instructions and paper piecing videos made this project very do-able. I can see other EPP projects in my future, and probably some more scarves with other team colors.

When was the last time you tried something new? Did you like it?

6 comments sewing

An American Girl Doll Dress

A co-worker asked me if I would make a dress for her granddaughter’s American Girl® Doll – one that would coordinate with the dress she’d be wearing at an upcoming wedding.

I borrowed a neighbor’s doll to model, modified a standard dress pattern, added the belt & I think the resemblance is pretty good!
This was a fun side project. I made 2 versions out of cotton until I was satisfied with the bodice length and how the neckline fit – even doing those, the dress came together quickly (faster than a person-sized dress, for sure!) I hope she likes it, I think it’s cute.

5 comments sewing

Sharing Inspiration

 

These are just some of the quilts & details I enjoyed in this year’s World Quilt Competition. Video on Flickr & on YouTube (same video, just different sites). Quilts came from all over the world; some of the ones I photographed were from South Africa, United Kingdom, Japan, New Zealand and Israel.

Last year’s slideshow - Quilts to See.

Can’t say that I’m a quilter, but I am drawn to the technique and stitches. Once in a while I’ll make something that’s pieced & quilted – just small projects or handbags. Each year, if I’m in town during this exhibit, I like to see the quilts & get inspired by the talents of others.

Is there a handcraft that you admire that you also find inspiring?

 

4 comments living creatively, sewing

Quilts to See

Here are some pictures of quilts that I saw at a show in August, 2011.  There weren’t too many that caught my eye this year, so it’s a short slideshow.  Mostly I take pictures of the ones that I find inspiring and unique. 

 

 

Since I go to this every few years, I searched around on my computer and found a bunch of other pictures and made them into a slide show also.  Here’s some from 2006:

 

 

Putting up old pictures while I’m cleaning my workspace.  I have so many UFOs around here and stashes of yarn that I’m dying to get to for some single-skein projects.  I need to do some serious organizing.

Been inspired lately?  Productive?

3 comments creativity, sewing

New Handbag Progress

New quilted bag coming soon.  Here’s a little photo detail…. I’ve been piecing this slowly and only working on it about 30 minutes each day – if I had more time to myself during the daytime I’d have it done already.  (Never thought that teenagers would take so much of my summer hours – I haven’t had time to craft let alone blog about any of it!) 

It’s been a fun project, as it progresses I’ve added different elements.  Learned how to make my own bias tape and created my own piping with it; that’ll coordinate with the green handles that I found for this crazy mix of fabrics.  (Which have been in a bag in my stash since I picked them up at PurlSoho last summer!) 

Tonight and tomorrow I’ll be hand-stitching some inside seam-binding down.  I used to dislike sewing by hand – why complicate things when a sewing machine is so much quicker?  Why add hours (and thus raise the price) when it might not be appreciated?  Well, I’ve found two things-  sometimes doing it by hand is just necessary to finish something off nicely, so it’s worth the time.  And, it’s not really a chore, it’s even relaxing. 

So, tomorrow, if the weather is nice, I’ll be picking up branches from Hurricane Irene’s aftermath and doing some quiet stitching when I need a break.

2 comments bags, sewing

Quick Sewing Summer Hats

Quick post about a project I did pretty quickly.  These were made with Betz White’s Reversible Bucket Hat Pattern.  The first one I made was the blue denim version.  Created that from a pair of jeans and a men’s shirt – both had been torn and unwearable as they were.  Loved it, so made another one with natural colored denim and a floral fabric. 

Now I have a hat that will actually fit my head.  It’s been a very hot, sunny summer & I need a hat to keep my [now that I dye it] hair from fading in the sun.  Been busy, traveling a little, sewing when I can… will update with more projects in a few weeks. 

Hope you’re having a great season!  (Can’t assume it’s summer everywhere my readers may be – how’s the weather been where you are?)

3 comments recycling, sewing, use what you have

Discoveries

I’ve had two discoveries or surprises (in my crafting life) so far this month.  The first one, was that I was chosen as the EtsyBloggers featured member! Yay.  It means I get showered with attention, making me so happy and appreciative.  First blog that I saw was Linda at Pruitt Handcrafts and her post: Unique, unique, unique!  Thank you all!

The second discovery was that sometimes making do with what you have just isn’t good enough.  For a long time I’ve been doing my free motion quilting with gardening gloves to help me get a grip on the fabric:

I thought I was being thrifty using these, but lately I noticed that my hands were cramping up and they weren’t any huge improvement from my bare hands.  And it was a little freaky to look at as you can see in the picture.

So…. I picked up a pair of Machine Quilting Grip Gloves - they are fantastic.  

I love how they’re fitted, soft and have grippy things all over them.  I enjoyed sewing much more with them and now maybe I’ll get to finish this new handbag I’ve been working on!

Have any discoveries or surprises lately?

7 comments sewing

More Zombie Love

Liked Sunday’s zombies?  These two are only a few inches tall and kind of gory.  They’re patterns from the book: Zombie Felties: How to Raise 16 Gruesome Felt Creatures from the Undead.   I improvised just a little bit, using felt and beads that I had in the house and combining elements from some of the patterns in the book to make this unique couple.  I’ve already heard that the bride and groom love it and are going to put them in a frame somewhere in their house – I’m so glad.  I still think it’s creepy.

3 comments dolls, sewing

Fabric Jewelry Experiment

Frustrating sometimes, trying something new.  Finished this bracelet – what I thought would be one of many recycled fabric cuffs – and I’m not 100% happy with it. I have some ideas how to improve it so that it will be something I’d be proud to wear and put in my online shop.  I’ll have to work on this some more.

Sometimes I can take apart things I’ve created and salvage materials for a new project – sometimes they sit on a shelf (or floor), sometimes my kids want them - mostly, I don’t know what to do with them.  Crafters, what do you do with products when things don’t go right? 

6 comments fabric jewelry, jewelry, sewing

T-Shirt & Jeans Bag

Once upon a time, there were a t-shirt and a pair of jeans that did not fit their respective owners anymore:

With some nimble cutting, fusible interfacing and a bit of patience, the two were pieced together:

A clever pattern* brought the new creation to life:

One side – soft, cotton t-shirt, the other side – comfortably worn blue jeans, small pocket added for convenience whether worn inside or out.

I love the t-shirt & jeans combo!  There were tiny abrasions and worn areas on the jeans, those I reinforced with some cotton threads so they don’t wear through.  It was fun & I will be making the pattern again, but doubt I’ll be using denim next time!  (It was pretty tricky turning such a thick fabric and used up all my patience.)

On Thursday morning (3/24) I’ll list this for sale online at my etsy shop. 

3/24 update: – Listed!  You can find it right here: Goonies Reversible Bag.

*pattern by verypurpleperson.

9 comments bags, business, recycling, sewing, use what you have

Handcrafted with Love

Thank you for your messages after my last post.  This bug is still lingering, so I’m going to try and take it easy for a while.  What does that mean?  Sitting on the couch.  Can’t just sit there and do nothing, so I finally finished hand stitching this skirt I started in the fall.  All I had to do was add the waistband! 

I hesitated for so long because I was scared to work with the fold-over elastic.  Each time I’ve tried to sew with it on the machine, it’s ended in disaster.  This was added with a simple stretchy stitch all around – and now I’m not afraid anymore! 

All it needed was some patience.  And love.  “Happy Valentine’s Day!”

5 comments sewing

Mini Love Bots for Valentine’s Day

These were a blast to make.  Some are new wool felt, others recycled felted sweaters, with lots of odds-and-ends, found objects, and reclaimed pieces making each one unique! 

I’ll have these available locally, at Apotheca.   Next up – during today’s snowstorm, I hope to get some big hearts sewn and embroidered and then some mini heart pins created for my etsy shop.

5 comments holiday - valentine, robots and aliens, sewing

Sewing While it Snows

I really didn’t get as much done as I would have liked.. it’s my own fault.  I get so distracted.  I have a half dozen crochet projects in the works, a sewing project, some bags to finish and even more… Going to work on these today – I’ll show them when they’re done, you can speculate about what they are until then.

Put some snowy pictures at flickr -  here.

And until Sunday the 16th, you can vote on the champagne cork creation that I’ve entered in a contest – info on this last blog post.

What are you working on this weekend?

3 comments sewing

Artful Thursday – Easy Drawstring Bag Tutorial

This is a super easy and quick project… it’s taken me longer to photograph and write up a how-to for this blog post than it did to create this bag.  I whipped up a bunch a few nights ago to wrap some presents in and find it’s a great way to use the mounds of fabric that seem to multiply around here (t-shirts are fabric, too!).  These an eco-friendly way to wrap presents – no paper filling up the recycling bin and they can be washed and reused (how about: a travel bag for shoes;  toy pouch; makeup bag; lingerie bag; storage… how many ideas can you come up with?).

 

What you’ll need:

• Knit fabric – it doesn’t unravel or fray at the edges. (t-shirts are great!)
• Needle, thread, scissors – sewing by machine or hand – for machine sewing you will need a ball-point needle – essential to sew through knits smoothly.
• Ribbon, cord, shoelace, heavy yarn, etc… for drawstring.
• Safety pin or bodkin to help thread the drawstring.
• Embellishments optional – ribbon, embroidery floss, appliqués, fabric paint, etc. – whatever you can think of.

I’m not going to tell you how much fabric you’ll need since I don’t know what you’re wrapping.  How to figure it out?  If you were going to wrap it in paper, that’s about how much fabric you’ll need– you will need some of the overlap for your seams and the drawstring part – so it’s an easy estimate to just lay your item on your fabric and cut away,  no rulers necessary.  Same goes for cording and embellishments – they all go according to the size of the bag you’re making.

How To:

Cut out fabric:

Create drawstring casing - fold over one long edge so that your drawstring will fit inside and stitch close to the edge: I went back and did another row next to that line of stitching to make it extra-sturdy.

Turn to the right-side and embellish your bag: Here I used ribbon** from my etsy shop.

Now fold, right-sides together and stitch around three sides – starting just below your casing: I trimmed all edges with pinking sheers when I was done.

If you like, you can fold up the bottom edge and sew across the two corner triangles that are formed.  This will create a cute flat bottom for your bag.  You can make very large triangles, too, if you want to make a wider bottom for your bag (it all depends on what the bag is for.) Bottom inside-out view: Next, you can trim off those pieces on the corner so they’re not lumpy in your bag:

Turn right-side out: Sorry about the smudge mid-picture… I thought I was getting sun-glare.  Turned out I just needed to clean the lens of my camera.  Must have been from yesterday’s snowy pictures – guess I wasn’t as careful as I thought I was protecting it from wetness.

Almost done!

One more thing is to thread the cording.  In the past I’ve used a safety pin or a pair of hemostats, but I picked up this “Elastic Pull-Thru” by Dyno at an antique store and it’s been super-handy.  I found something similar online:

Threaded, knotted, gift added, cinched and now it’s ready to go:

Let me know if you make any of these, and add a link in the comments to share.

Happy Artful Thursday! 

**I’m kind of tired of selling ribbons in my shop – if anyone wants all the yardage that I have left (it’s not all listed)– make me an offer, please!

7 comments Artful Thursday, fabric, gifts, recycling, sewing, tutorial

You Can Take It With You

You can take it with you and be stylish in a one-of-a-kind handbag!  I love making purses, although I don’t do it too often.  A sneak peek:

Been stitching and experimenting on some new bag designs for a craft fair coming up this Sunday.  I’ve known about this event since the summertime – do you think I’ve been sewing since then?  Not so.  It’s hard for me to sit still and make one thing from start to finish so my creating has been sporadic and full of interruptions.

Won’t have a big inventory, but what I have will definitely be unique.  If you’ll be in southern NH this coming Sunday, December 5th, be sure to stop by!

1 comment bags, sewing

Sewing Do-Over to Get it Right

Flowers from my husband.  A nice blast of color in the house.

Thanks for your comments over at the hand-sewn skirt post.  Thea, here’s the kind of sticky thimble I used to try before I found the leather ones - Colonial brand ... finger pads. Jane, the fabric is jersey knit, t-shirt material, so I hope it holds up well under gentle washing!

And thanks for the horror-movie post comments!  Jacqueline I will have to check out those films when I get a chance.

Been working on handbags, and trying to get things “just right”.  Started quilting the outside of this one when I realized the bobbin thread was white… and I wanted the inside to look nice, so took out a few rows and did it over.  Before:

After:

Now I just have to add some handles:

Love this fabric:

I bought yards of this a long time ago, thinking to make it into clothing for my girls, but never got around to it.  Will try to tackle handles today.  Do you have any luck with things you buy for one purpose and end up using for another?

4 comments bags, sewing

Hand-Sewn Skirt

I’ve got to get back into the swing of things!  I’ve been creating and photographing, just not blogging about any of it. 

Here’s a skirt I’ve been hand-sewing for a while & it’s almost complete:

It’s a shortened version of the skirt in the Alabama Stitch Book. (My girls insisted that they wouldn’t wear anything past their knees, but you can be sure they won’t leave the house without a nice thick pair of tights on underneath this.)  The hand-stitching wasn’t hard to do, didn’t even take that long, so I’m encouraged to try this again.  The only thing left to do is stitch down the side seams and add an elastic waistband.  I’d like to make one of the tops from the book for myself, may try that next.

I never thought I’d enjoy hand-stitching that much, but it was relaxing.  I think it helped that I had a new sharp needle and a comfortable leather thimble that just about covers my finger (the Clover Natural Fit Leather Thimble).  The glue-on kind, or even the rubber ones for a fingertip didn’t work well for me. 

Have you ever done a sewing project entirely by hand?  I’ve found it so rewarding, and am pretty confident now that I can do this again.

5 comments sewing

Artful Thursdays – Crochet Hook Roll - Sewing Tutorial

Artful Thursdays are back!  I have a super-quick project to share, made this in under an hour this morning – even with interruptions – it’s a great useful project and would make a nice gift, too.

What to do with all these?

Make a case!  Somehow I’ve misplaced and re-purchased my size G hook three or four times.  It’s a good thing I have a daughter who crochets now and needs somewhere to store her own hooks (and all my doubles!). 

The first piece of fabric I grabbed out of my scrap basket happened to be the edge of a sheet – brilliant!  No hemming needed!  A pillowcase edge would work for this, too.  Of course, you can add an allowance for hem to all these directions, iron and stitch them in place, too.

The fabrics:I like the light-weight cotton fabrics best for this project without any interfacing or batting necessary.  Your completed project will roll up better this way.

 

Directions:

Cut 2 fabrics 10” x 7.5” – one of the outside fabric and one of a contrasting  lining fabric.

Cut two more pieces 10” wide, making sure the hemmed edges are on the 10” edge.  One will be 1.75” high and the other, 4.5” high.  (Remember, if you need to add your own hems to these pieces, cut them about 1.5” taller, fold, press, fold, press & hem.)

Working with all the fabrics right-side up, lay the 4.5” piece on your lining fabric along the bottom of one long edge.  Now you’ll stitch vertical lines over this piece.

Close-up of stitching vertical lines below.  I usually use my presser-foot as a guide, but most are about 1/2” or a little more apart.  It’s easy to just lift and turn the foot at the end of each row and make your way back up again in the other direction.  If you have thicker hooks or those with cushioned handles – be sure to make wider rows.

Clip loose threads and lay a hair elastic along one side, tacking it down with a few stitches.  Next, lay the 1.75” piece, right-side up, across the top edge of your lining fabric.  Hair elastics are great for these projects, very sturdy!  (In the picture my elastic appears in the middle of the fabric – I think it works better if it’s more toward the top third of the piece.)

 

Turn your outside fabric piece over and pin it to the layered pieces, all right-sides together.

Stitch it around all edges, leaving an opening along one side.  I use a 3/8” seam allowance.

Next, trim around the piece, making sure to clip diagonally along the corners.  I have pinking shears, but they’re not necessary.

Poke out corners with a round-tipped stick.

Once your piece is turned right-side out, give it a quick press with your iron and stitch closely around the edges, making sure to capture the opening and stitch it closed.

It’s done!

  Ready to be a home for crochet hooks.

Rolls up easily for storage.  

My case is almost all filled up.

Mother-daughter crochet hook cases, complete!

Have a happy Thursday!  Stop by and visit all the other crafty folks participating in the Artful Thursday project, too:

5 comments Artful Thursday, crochet, sewing, tutorial