Sunbonnet Sue potholder

I told you I had been busy making potholders, didn't I? Even busier than I imagined. I just found 6 more I forgot I had made, packed away in a bin to take to a craft show that didn't happen. Yep, still tons of other stuff to show off.

I'm not a fan of Sunbonnet Sue in general--I don't know why, she just doesn't inspire me like other designs do. But I like the basket she is carrying, and I thought she'd be good for a potholder. She did turn out very nice, if I do say so myself. :)

And yep, she's in my etsy shop now.

Santa potholder

I think I love working on vintage transfer patterns because even though my own childhood did not contain nostalgic items, I picture going forward creating memories around household things. Not so much, "Remember the time that favorite chair got ripped?" kind of memories, but just of images of things that were around. "I remember my grandma had one of those," kind of memories.

This Santa is almost a little bit frightening, isn't he? He's pretty exuberant. Like the last post with the angel potholder, this one really is a square shape, the photo was just taken at a slight angle.

He can either be useful as a potholder, or to hang on the wall as kitchen decor, or on the table as a trivet. The reverse side is a solid piece of the red snowflake fabric. 

angel potholder

I managed to find the time to embroider a couple Christmas-themed pot holder way in advance of Christmas (I know, I amaze myself sometimes!).

Isn't this angel sweet? And do you know how much shopping I had to do before I found Christmas fabric that matched the feel of what I was going for? Okay, two trips, but boy did I get lucky.

It really is square in person, but the photo was taken at a slight angle and really makes her look crooked. If she'd turned out a little funny looking, I'd be saving her for myself--but she's in my etsy shop now. :D

kitty goes a-shopping

I have a boatload of vintage transfer patterns. And yet I can't stop buying more. I keep finding patterns I love, and can't wait to sit and embroider them into something sweet.

Like these kitty cats. Did you see the other one, the housecat at her ironing board, that I sewed onto a clothes pin holder? Go check my etsy shop, she's there. Along with this charming man.

pony potholder

I think I may have shown off this guy earlier when I finished him, but he's in my etsy shop now. I have got a stack of potholders like you wouldn't believe. But you will, once I've shown them all off....

I have a stack of potholders ready to go

Did I say the venue I expected to sell at in person next month told me I was too late to sign up to sell? So sigh, and everything will be rolling out on etsy. Maybe two pieces a day between now and Christmas, I have that much ready to go. I was really counting on the local show. My own fault for not signing up earlier, but 4 months in advance I wasn't sure I'd be able to fill out a booth. I was thinking much too small, I totally have more than enough for a booth.

So on to etsy we go!

A charming cherries potholder, available right this minute. Time's a-wastin'.

making covered blank books

Remember I made a tutorial for making a book cover? I used the same principle, and covered notebooks and journals. Yay for me!  I made all different sizes, from perfect to carry in your purse to large enough to use for note taking in class.

This blue cover fits a standard class size notebook. The exact word for it is escaping me. The cover is removable so it can move on to your next blank book when the time comes.

The fabrics are Lucien Flower Sugar. This is my favorite fabric line by far.  Here you can see how the flap hold the cardboard front piece of the composition book -- ah, that's the word I was looking for. Easy to find, so easy to refill. The cover is washable, too.

Perfect for holding all your private thoughts.

The reverse side is Tanya Whelan--I don't remember the fabric line. Love it too, though.

You know, all my photos are coming out dark in my new camera, even though I bump up the color. I need to figure out what's going wrong, because these photos look pretty dark. Tomorrow I'll have a different book to show off--let's see if I figure it out!

Want to make your own covers? My tutorial should show up around here somewhere. It was one of my first posts on the blog.

feather quilt

This quilt was made from a free pattern, I think the designer is Anna Marie Horner. --I did a quick check, yep. The link goes to a free pdf.

I used some scraps of Miss Kate fabric for the feathers.  I blogged about this before, I think, but now that I'm listing it in my etsy shop I thought I should mention it again.  :)  With extra photo goodness.

shabby chic mug rug

This was fun to make, I cut out a rose motif from one fabric and appliqued it onto an aqua fabric with little dots. The simple background makes the rose pop out visually.

Doesn't it look so pretty under my vintage teacup? I made a couple of these, I'll show off the other one in a couple days.

The color combo looks perfect for a shabby chic home. I listed it in my etsy shop this morning. Can you believe Christmas is only 3 months away? I swear I am just not sewing fast enough.....

horse and foal dish towel

We took a short trip and are back now, so I'll be listing one-a-day all the stuff I meant to sell at the shabby chic show this autumn. They said I was too late to sign up. Even though it's still a month away? Oh well, all my stuff will end up on etsy instead! :D

My horse towel won a 2nd place ribbon at the fair. I had left a thread unclipped (I didn't even see it), so now that I clipped it, it would probably win a first place!

I listed it in my etsy shop just now....

I'm back

I'll be posting more regularly now, because I have a ton of things I've sewn that I intend to put on etsy, one day now through Christmas. The shabby chic show I was intending to set up at in person said I was too late to sign up, so, well, their loss. Etsy for me.

Today I will list my cute pig dish towel. I chose the pink fabric with apples because it complements the pig AND the wheelbarrow of produce.

He's so sweet, don't you think?

red white & blue quilt

I've wanted a red, white & blue quilt for summer picnics for quite a while now. Finding one already made has proved impossible, and then when I sat down to make one I realized that balancing out strong colors is problematic in itself.  I wanted there to be stars in the quilt, so it took a while to figure out how to work it. (And no, looking on pinterest to see what other people had done proved no help at all.)

So this is what I came up with. Big enough for a picnic blanket, a bed, or throwing in the car. The solid color squares will have little embroideries for interest, and then I will quilt it all by hand. This is for next summer, giving me all winter to not feel rushed.

Some of the combinations are more successful than others--you can see the white fabrics make up the points of the stars, and the red the centers. The blue is the background.

I sort of feel like once this is made, I'll have made all the quilts I want. But the process of making them is what is enjoyable, isn't it? Once made, well, we move on to the next new thing.  I guess what I want next is a special cabinet to hold all my quilts!  And yes, I've seen exactly what I want on pinterest....

a few of the fair quilts, 2015

I say it every year, "This year there weren't as many at the fair." It could be rabbits, or goats, or quilts. Just not as many. This year the rafters were not filled with quilts, and only two walls. Not entire walls, just part of the wall.  So I picked my favorites.

Yep, I entered my quilt, and won a second place. the notes said I needed to iron my seams to release bulk, and I tell you --  I ironed the heck out of the thing at every step! But still, second place is the best prize I've got in the sewing category so far. So I'm making progress. I'll have this quilt listed in my etsy shop soon.

I entered my table runner, and got a second place. There's no notes on this one, so I don't know why it's only a second place. There's 4 faces on this one, and it's beautiful as a table runner. The Japanese fabrics work well with the lime green. This will be in my etsy store soon, too.

This is a placemat, and I love the fabric. I'm hoping a search of "giddyup" might locate a seller for me.

The time taken to piece all these tiny hexies -- just wow. Paired with the distressed frame, it looks wonderfully shabby.

This quilt is made with the Miss Kate line of fabric. I love this fabric, and this is an interesting pattern. The gray sets off the colors nicely.

LI didn't even notice those button centers when I was standing in front of the quilt. That detail really brings the whole thing together.

The fabric on this one is sort of boring (shh, I didn't say that), but the repetition makes it interesting.

One day I will attempt a wedding ring quilt. So old fashioned, and charming.

I'd like to work on more wall hanging type quilts, and am always looking for ideas and inspiration. This one could be worked in different colors, for different feels.

And a red white and blue. This one looks cohesive and not cluttered. It really is a trick, to balance those strong colors.

Not to worry, there's another fair next week, so there will be more quilts! Hooray!

embroidered pig dish towel

I know, I haven't been posting so much. I've been working on projects, but half-finished projects aren't as exciting as finished things.  This dish towel was embroidered but missing the pink farbic and rick-rack, so I thought I would just spend 20 minutes completing it. Too cute?

a quick walk-through of the quilt-as-you-go method

I think a lot of people are put off of sewing a whole bed quilt, or even a picnic blanket, because the thought of scrunching all that fabric through the small throat of a home sewing machine seems daunting.

And having been a person who has done just that, yes, it's something to be attempted only if you really want to see it happen. And the end result won't be as professional as you envision going in. Or at least mine haven't--and I've made a lot of attempts.

The alternate method is to piece your quilt in small sections, and then sew them all together at the finish.  I made my fox face throw in this method, and took photos along the way so you can see it's not as difficult as you might think.

You take one quilt block, and sew it directly on to your batting material. There is no backing at this point, just the quilt block and batting. I cut my batting large enough for two blocks.

 I quilted one block down, using the straight line method. Then I seamed my second block to the first, right sides together, flipped the block onto onto the batting, gave it a press with my iron, and sewed my quilting lines perpendicular to the first one.

I sewed all my blocks in this method, 16 of them, 2 at a time.

I cut off the excess batting, and joined my blocks into squares of four.

Here I flipped up a corner so you can see there is no backing fabric yet.

Then I sewed my four big blocks together into the complete quilt top. I added a four-inch wide fabric border to all sides, also using the same quilt-as-you-go method.  Then I pinned the top to my backing fabric, and quilted on only two seams; you can of course hold on the backing as securely as you like, but for my purposes the top is what mattered and the backing is not so important.

Does seeing it put together in this method make it seem more do-able to you? I hope so! You can buy the pattern for my Tumble of Foxes quilt on craftsy!

working on foxes

I've been sewing another Tumble of Foxes throw, this time I am going to walk you through creating a throw using the quilt-as-you-go method. This means the process is broken down into bite-size chunks that won't stress your home sewing machine.

But darn, I need to download more photos off my camera. So in the meantime, here are a few views of squares I pieced. Stay tuned for me walking you through the whole process this weekend!

Can you see that blue fox face has a little fox on her forehead? I love that! It's sort of like a foxy hair bow in placement.

Whee--new fabric!

I went into Craft Warehouse looking for a different fabric (naturally), and found 30s prints on the flat-fold table. I NEVER see 30s prints when I am looking for them. So even though I didn't have a project in mind, I bought a little bit of 10 different prints. I knew I would kick myself if I walked away from a good deal.

They are soooo pretty.

So next on my sewing table: A red/white/blue quilt. A horse quilt. And something with 30s prints.  I really want the red/white/blue one done for summer. And then I want to sell the horse quilt by fall. So many things to do! I don't know when the 30s quilt will happen, but of course it will. Maybe even this year!

Sweet William in bloom

I love the Sweet William flowers, they make so many profuse blooms. My favorites are the ones that have striped petals.

Some are actually peppermint striped, but my photos didn't work out right. Darn.

I like the dark reds, too. The burgundy leave me sort of Meh. This next one is dark red, the burgundy are much more pink/purple. I think you can see a hint in the bottom of the above photo.

I shake out the seeds after they've died back, and sow them underneath the bark dust cover for next year. If they fall on top of the bark dust naturally, of course they won't grow. And they will come back more profusely year after year. This year I am very pleased, they are crowding out the weeds.

Mom, two of the geraniums you gave me made it. They have very unusual colors, I don't think I've seen these for sale here.

The Hens & Chicks are taking off, spreading and spreading. I move them around, so the chicks take root in new places. They started off in this wagon, and then overgrew the wagon, literally dropping off the sides.

I have more than I know what to do with.


Look at this one starting to bloom. Is that the right word? I don't think I've noticed them sprouting up like this before. I was just outside and noticed it's even three inches taller than in the photo.

Lastly, if you want a cheap groundcover that gives color all summer, tickweed is the way to go. One $5 pot will give you so many seeds that by year 3 you can have an acre covered. This is the only flower I actively weed out, because it just spreads so easily.

So either it's a weed, or you like it. It's one of those kinds of flowers. It has a light carnation smell, so I like it. The earwigs like it too, though.

happy embroidering

I picked up a new packet of embroidery patterns--they are sort of like fabric, in that there are so many mood choices that you can never have enough. Even if all the embroidery patterns are happy, well, there are different ways to say happy.

And personally, I love animated kitchenware.  I love animated fruit, but I still haven't found that pattern for sale. In the meantime, animated kitchenware makes me happy.

I'm pretty sure I will be making that teapot next. I wish I had more towel blanks to work with....