Fun craft that can be adapted in many ways!

Over on Crafting A Green World, they have posted a really cool way to use old embroidery hoops to make Easter eggs. But guess what? You could do this with any hoop, any fabric, any embellishment, and have a really cool item to hang on your wall or give as a gift. I always see these hoops at yard sales and know I have a few of my own. I hooped embroidered pictures many years ago and had just about forgotten this method of crafting.

Image used by permission courtesy of  Crafting A Green World

Think of three round hoops with your favorite fabrics, quilt blocks (who says all blocks have to be made into pillows?), photo printed fabric, a button art piece, or just about anything, and hang them on the wall in a triangle or straight trio of art.

You may want to follow Crafting a Green World's blog. They have some amazing ideas that tickle the gray matter and make you think "I can do that!" Lots of their ideas have been jumping off points for me and get me thinking about a variety of ways to create. Have fun with it!

Oh, it is so time to sew!

I really, really need to sew. I have way too many ideas running around inside my head. I want to sew for my 18" dolls, for my great-niece (her dress is cut out and ready to rock and roll), for myself, for my home (I have a set of hand towels I'm working on that basically need to be sized/trimmed and edge finished), and just for fun.

I always have my hexagon quilt to work on. That's 100% hand sewing. i want to fire up the Bernina and get going!

I think my plan is to take advantage of my now semi-retired state. Sewing with Nancy used to tell us to make time to sew every day, even if it's only 15-20 minutes. I may not make it every day, but I'm going to shoot for a few days a week until I figure out my rhythm. My hand sewing has taught me patience; I do not need to finish everything lickety split! That should help with sewing in small spurts. My machine is set up (that's my machine in the picture) all the time and so is my ironing board. My in-progress pile has shrunken over the past months. I have no excuse. None. I need to just do it.

So, here's hoping I have more to share with you soon - how-to's, just stuff about what I'm sewing, pictures, or whatever. I finished Adam and Sandy's baby quilt. I'll take pictures of that in a day or so. It looks a lot like the progress photo, but now it's complete with hand made, bias ruffle binding. I could do a how-to of that, huh? Note to self: Do that!

Get to sewing everyone!

Scrap stitching - sort of - Handbag out of an old book!

I saw this link on Crafting for a Green World and thought some of you might enjoy giving it a try. You use fabric and an old book to make a purse. Fun idea, huh?

Hop over to Curbly and check out the tutorial.

Feel free to share your scrap stitching ideas for stuff!

New project added - gift tags

Years ago, I worked on a site called SewingWeb. I don't think it's still with us, but that's another story for another day. I did several projects when I had the site and am sharing one with you today. It's a simple way to use fabric, Wonder Under, and some string/yarn/ribbon that you have around the house.

Use this as a jumping off point. Let your imagination take hold and use the concept for greeting cards, embellished stationery, putting a new bit of artwork on a used greeting card, business cards, name tags or any other paper/fabric fusing you can think of.

Take a peek. It's gift tags!

Another baby quilt! Brian and Joanna

Another nephew's wife is about to give birth. This time, they know it's a boy! I made a quilt for their first baby out of an old quilt from one that dad's mother had made. This time I'm doing something different. Here's a graphic representation. It will be made of 3-1/2" hexagons using Michael Miller's Krystal blue and read, as well as a beautiful hot air balloon fabric. I'll start it as soon as I get home from vacation. I can't wait to get going!

Adam and Sandy's baby quilt almost done

So, I changed my mind and didn't do the Dresden Plate quilt I had originally planned. I started really working on it and decided to go with a primary color Log Cabin design that would work for a boy or a girl. Adam is a big Eagle's fan, so the background fabric is their logo and the back of the quilt is made from this as well.

I posted an "'almost done" item on Facebook and here's the result:


I tagged both Sandy and Adam on purpose. Lil stinker, ain't I?

I am working on a binding that includes a ruffle made of Eagles fabric. I had to add a ruffle after I found out the baby is a girl.

For their younger daughter, I'm making a Smurf's dress and rehabbing an 18" doll and dressing her in essentially the same dress. I have the daughter's dress cut out and ready to go, but it's not quite ready for prime time, and I have to figure out what to do with the doll's hair.

And to add even more interest to it all, another nephew is having a baby in July, a boy. What to do, what to make? Eeep!

This is indeed a scrap project, by the way. I had the primary colors. I keep a stash of Michael Miller's jewel fabrics for all sorts of sewing. I did buy the Eagles fabric, but you can't recycle all the time! Plus, this thing will be washed a lot. I make baby quilts to use and abuse.

Mug mats gone awry!

I started a mug mat project. I wanted to give a friend of mine a little something for a favor she had done. I picked out some vintage quilt top, muted batik backing, and some batting, and got ready to get going.

I used a glass for a pattern and then cut 1/4" around that. The blue line is disappearing ink. Love that stuff. Here's where I made my first error. The circle should have been about an inch or more larger. 

I made a sandwich of backing wrong side up, batting, and quilt piece right side up and reinforced the seams of the vintage quilt top with a zig-zag stitch. 

I had some blue bias binding left over from another project and began to stitch it in a 1/4" seam on the right side of the mat. It was about now that I realized this was not going well and the mat itself may not lie flat due to its size. 

I folded the bias binding to the back and hand stitched the reverse side. As you can see in the photos below, I had almost cup shaped mats!

They're cute, but not even close to what I intended to make. 

PLAN B!

I actually tossed them aside and then decided to dig them out of the trash and make a mini wall hanging. I got some white ribbon and made a loop for the top and attached each circle to the ribbon. 

You can see where I made a "fringe" of extra ribbon on the bottom for a touch of fun.

So, no mug mats for my friend, but a tiny wall hanging for me and some lessons learned. A 4" square of fabric does not make a good sized circle mug mat. I will try again for sure. I have three vintage quilt tops to play with. I can make bias binding in my sleep. And batting? I have enough to keep an army warm. 

If you're interested in trying your own hand at mug mats/mug rugs, here are a couple links to patterns and one link to binding instructions. I'll have to read over these myself before I try to make another set!

Tip Nut Mug Rugs

Curious Quilter Mug Rug Patterns

Chicken Julie''s binding instructions