Color Play

Today I share a spot of bright color.  The projects I have been working on recently are not blog-worthy (or picture worthy).  They mostly involve cleaning out closets and entire rooms in my house.  When I moved into my house four years ago I designated one of the basement rooms as a craft room but it has been nothing more than a storage room for all of that time.  Recently I have reached “critical mass”, so to speak.  I am frustrated at my inability to find things I know I own and often resort to buying more since that is easier than unearthing the missing items.  So I have been trying to unpack boxes, create storage and generally whip things into shape in that room.  But like any project, to clean one room usually means to clutter another (I always think of that tile game I played as a kid with one empty space to move tiles to) so this project will take some time to complete.  I’ll post a picture when I am finished.

The colorful bits above, though, are one project I have finished amidst all of the chaos.  Next Wednesday, September 15, I will be teaching the program at my local American Sewing Guild Neighborhood Group meeting.  We will be making kanzashi flowers (you can see some examples by clicking on the Kanzashi tab in my Category listing) and I have been prepping all of the necessary materials.  So this is also a little sneak peek for those of you who are coming to the meeting – these are the fabrics and buttons we will be working with.  I love how these fabrics work together.  They are from Sandy Gervais’ Frolic collection by Moda.

I hope to see lots of you at the meeting next week and look forward to seeing what you create with bits of colored fabric.

Bag of the Week 35

The Jitney Tote Bag

With the summer season drawing to a close I chose to feature this bag this week because of its versatility and usefulness in carrying books and other school supplies and also because it features an apple-themed fabric which makes me think of back-to-school.

Several years ago I took a class at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo from Tammy O’Connell of Peacock Patterns (then Jitney Patterns).  The class was entitled The Perfect Tote Bag and Tammy had clearly put a lot of thought into what would make a bag perfect.  According to her website this pattern is sized for a woman’s frame, is ergonomically designed and can hold a large amount of items in an organized fashion.  It is awfully pretty to look at, too. 

At that same Sewing Expo I picked up a couple of tapestries that one of the vendors was selling (these were HOT that year) and decided to combine them with some decorator fabric to create my own perfect tote.  Here are some of the features of this pattern:

• Customizable pockets on the inside of the tote include organizer pocket with hidden Velcro opening, business card pocket, pen/pencil sleeve, waterproof umbrella sleeve, drink sleeve, cell phone/sunglasses pocket;
• Designed to be a comfortable size/length for carrying on the shoulder on in the hand;
• Zippered top gusset which folds down into the bag to create an open topped tote;
• Attractively piped outside pocket;
• Sturdy construction;
• Designer look with leather handles.

I love how this bag turned out but learn from my mistake:  use a sturdy fabric for the inner pockets.  I used a quilting weight cotton and they just don’t have the necessary body.  If you choose to use a lightweight cotton I recommend using a fusible interfacing like Décor Bond to increase the stability of the fabric.  Tammy sells the leather handles on her website along with this and other patterns. 

Sharing Another's Creativity

Today I want to post a link to one of my very favorite blogs, celebrate CREATIVITY in all its forms.  Lisa Tutman-Oglesby does a fantastic job of creating inspiration on her blog.  Her pictures are wonderful, her instructions clear and easy to follow.  Her topics run the gamut of craftiness from paper, fabric, edibles, knitting, woodworking.  She posts on the 1st and 15th of each month and her projects never disappoint. 

Take today's post, for instance, entitled Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!  She details how to make adorable (and yummy-looking) animal crackers (and is giving away a set of the cookie cutters, too!) and provides the recipe.  (All pictures are by Lisa Tutman-Oglesby).

One of Lisa's hallmarks is her packaging.  In many of her posts she shows how to create stunning packages for her creations, whether they are for bake sales or gift giving.  In her current post she shows how to package the animal crackers in a way that would be just darling for birthday party favors (I may have to try this for my youngest's upcoming 2nd birthday!)

Please take the time to check out Lisa's blog.  But I should warn you:  You probably can't stop with reading just her current post.  When I discovered her blog I worked my way through her archives, soaking up the inspiration she provides.  I'll bet you do the same.

Machine Stippling

I recently finished a very large project, large both in the actual size of the item and the time it took me to complete.  I have been working on a 4-foot by 6-foot banner for a group holding a religious retreat weekend and it has taken me about two months to finish.  I was given a picture of the design that I was being asked to recreate and had fun putting together lots of brightly colored fabrics.  I can’t show you a picture of the completed project just yet – it wouldn’t be fair to post a picture on the internet when no one involved in the weekend has had a chance to see it.  But I will show you a little piece of it because I want to explain how I did the stipple stitching on it.

At the center of the design is a large butterfly.  After fusing the various pieces in place I thought it needed some stitching to add some detail.  Let me tell you right now that I am a lousy machine quilter.  I try, I really do.  I’ve created dozens of projects with free motion quilting but I am never really happy with my work.  I even used to practice by making quilts to donate to charities who gave them to children because I figured the kids didn’t mind if my stitching was not perfect.  I love the look of stippling but again, have never mastered it.  I certainly wasn’t going to attempt it on a 4x6 piece of heavy, pieced canvas.  Instead I used a machine embroidery stipple design (you can find one similar to mine here) and let my embroidery machine do the stippling for me. 

I have used this design so many times and on so many different projects.  This time I had to apply a little creative thinking since I wanted to embroider a butterfly-shaped area instead of a rectangle.  I set up my machine as usual and began by walking through the first several stitches of the design, advancing one stitch at a time to ensure that the stitches fell within the area I wanted to stitch.  I started stitching the design and whenever I got to an edge of the design where I wanted the stitches to stop, I stopped the machine and manually advanced the design a few stitches at a time until the needle was once again within the area I wanted to stitch.  This sounds time consuming and tedious – I certainly thought it was going to be – but I was surprised at how quickly I was able to complete the task.  I had to stitch the design twice, once on the left side of the butterfly and once on the right.

I’m pleased with the way this stitching turned out and am going to store away this idea to use on other projects.  I really have found so many uses for this stippling design – it is probably my most-used file.  Give it a try.

Bag of the Week 34

Girly Girl

I love this little purse.  Hope Yoder never fails to create beautifully elegant patterns with a touch of whimsy and the Girly Girl is no exception.  The 9 ½” tall by 8” wide purse is created using three coordinating prints -- the fabrics I chose come from Sandy Gervais’ collection called Flirtations by Moda.  Details on the purse include an outer pocket with a bias raw edge ruffle and three yoyo hearts, another ruffle at the top opening of the bag, an inner pocket, directions for installing a magnetic snap closure and self-fabric strap with hardware.  The pattern also includes instructions for creating a matching headband. 

Hope’s instructions are always thorough, easy to follow and full of excellent photographs.  She notes that this purse was designed to allow custom embellishments on the many “blank” areas.  I had forgotten how much I love this little bag (this one was sent off as a gift a while back).  I think this would be the perfect purse to carry at an upcoming sewing show I plan to attend.  I think I’ll have to get busy on Version 2.