Stitching fun....

At the end of her online Crazy Quilting class, Kathy suggested a Yahoo group that we might be interested in called StitchMAP.

The MAP in the name stands for Mentor Apprentice Program.  Since they are offering a further class in Crazy Quilting  I decided to join up. Not just for the CQ but because they offer so much more.

"Crazy Quilting, Hardanger, Redwork, Silk Ribbon Embroidery, Surface Hand Embroidery, Brazilian Embroidery, Needlepoint, Quilting, Blackwork, Color Theory for Stitchers, Cross Stitch, and other Counted Thread techniques."

I think this group will give me the much needed push to learn new stitching techniques and keep me focused:) 



In order to be able to take the CQ class you first have to complete two initial programs...Colour Theory and Red Work Embroidery.  Since those classes are currently running and can't be joined mid way they offer quite a lot of fun stuff to do while you wait.

Such as "Fun Friday Tut".......to make an Origami Lotus Drawstring Bag.

You can find the how to's here......Exchanging Fire.

The challenge is to of course make the bag but to also add some embroidery. The area you have to work is very small so I decided to do a tutorial and motif that I saw on Mary Corbet's Needle 'n Thread.

Buttonhole Stitch Leaves.........find the tutorial  here

Be warned.......those leaves are so cute and so addictive....LOL

Here's my finished bag.

I didn't do too bad on the leaves but the flowers....hmmm. Too teeny tiny for me.

Take care:)

My Spring Block......

I went with bright greens and yellows as they just seemed to make me think of spring.....bright sunshine and new green growth.

The smaller sized block was much easier to deal with as the embellishments were just little snippets instead of major productions:)

At first I got out all my yellow and green trims and beads but then I realized that it was all wrong and very boring. I had some pretty variegated pinky peachy DMC embroidery thread that I won from So September in October 2012. I made some little "flowers" with some iffy (don't look too close) French knots and that was it. Away I went:)

By the way, if you want a few ideas on how to couch rick rack and ribbon, Corinne at So September has just done two tutorials recently that you might find interesting.....here and here.

I made a cardboard window frame of sorts so you can see what it will look like once I bind it. I stole this idea from my buddy Vee over at The "Bearister" Bookcase. She made one so she could pick out areas on her white work for her pin pillows. I thought it was a brilliant idea:)

I have no idea how to describe my crazy quilting style...it's different from what I see in Bloggerland. I haven't learned the "rools" yet.

Lean to the left to view:)

Forget me whats.

The flowers are all different...don't look

I really really REALLY need to practice some embroidery stitches. I've been doing cross stitch so much that I've gotten out of the way of doing other stitching.

The next block is Summer.....sun, bright colours, buzzing bees...no snow...no freezing temps...heat:) 

Asian lilies in my garden... summer 2013.

I'll leave you with that image.

Take care:)

Paper, Scissors, Glue.......

The on-line doll club that I belong to had a challenge to make an album or book out of old CDs.

Source: Cloth Doll Artistry

I've never done any mixed media stuff before but I as I had about 40 old CDs I figured what the heck. I have to tell you that this was too much fun....so much fun in fact that I may make another one:)

I started out thinking I'd do a Steampunk book......as I love Steampunk......but I'm not sure if I truly stuck to my theme.

It may be more like Steampunk meets Monty Python....LOL

So here is what I made...

The Cover...

Inside....

I really didn't have a clue what I was doing but I persevered. I got a bit carried away and instead of four or fives pages I have a few more:)

Below is a video showing how to do a simple album. I chose not to punch a hole in the CDs because I simply didn't have anything that would put a hole in them. Instead I used ribbon as hinges and it worked out well.

A little hint. If you are going to make one of these books and use ribbon as I did then put your hinges on first and put the book together. That way the hinges won't show because you will be covering them with your paper:)

After I was finished I covered the edge of each of the CDs with a thin gold cord. The majority of the images I used came from The Graphics Fairy. There are lots of places where you can get free images. Here are just a few that I have on my blog list.

Digital Two For Tuesday

Stampin D'Amour

Free Vintage Digital Stamps

My Fanciful Muse

Magic Moonlight

Vintage Holiday Crafts


Take care:)

10 Minute Blocks & Quick Tricks

Handmade bags with textile artist Marilyn Pipe

I thought this was pretty interesting. I'm still looking for an idea to use the bag handles I received from the Felt Fairy in January....maybe I will give this a try.....

Textile art - creating new surfaces using fabric scraps

So after I found out all about yo-yos and puffs I did a bit more searching and I found this video...



I have lots of little bits of fabric as my mum taught me by example never to throw any fabric away no matter how small and insignificant a bit. She had a lot of sayings one being "waste not, want not". She used bits as trim on aprons and pillows and anything and everything. She really liked to make her own buttons too.

So I looked for some bits that were sort of coordinated but really I was looking for the smallest pieces I had.

Some...:)

I had two pieces of muslin about 14 in x 15 in that I used for the backing and just randomly placed the bits to cover the muslin.

 
I didn't have any organza but I did have some scraps of bridal tulle so I used that instead. Then I randomly stitched here and there both ways. Anyone who is a whiz at FMQ would be able to make a lovely pattern but as I was just experimenting I did any old thing. My goal was to make sure the bits were anchored down.

The result....it did tone down the colours of the fabrics but I now have two very sturdy  pieces of fabric to make something with....maybe a pillow for my sewing room:)

I added some odd pieces of fiber threads

Would I do this again...absolutely. I can see all kinds of uses for this idea. I have box of bridal tulle and crinoline netting in pale mint green from my DIL's prom dress and I have been wondering what to do make with it....hmmmm:)

Take care.

Sewing Fabric Yo-Yos and Suffolk Puffs....

I don't know about the rest of you but I seem to have lots of little scraps of fabric that I don't want to throw away. I was looking around for an easy project to use these bits up that I could do while watching TV or listening to the radio or even sitting outside on the deck. I've also noticed recently that yo-yo puffs or Suffolk puffs have had a revival of late so....


I found this idea on www.hancockfabrics.com.....under Free Projects - Sewing Projects. It's a PDF but I have copyied it here for you to see.

It reminded me of a tablecloth I made many years ago. You could make it in any size or any shape.

http://www.hancockfabrics.com

http://www.hancockfabrics.com

Just in case you have never made a puff before..... here are two videos to show you how.........

 Here is the link to the file that she mentions in the video......http://www.knitting-and.com/embroidery/pdf/yoyo.pdf......if you page down you will find a graft for your yo-yo designs.

So puff away...................:)

Take care.

How To Make A Mannequin Pincushion......

I thought this was kind of cute and very easy too. A nice gift for someone who sews......

Here is the website that it comes from for further information and the template..........DIY Dish.

Take care:) 

p.s. Is it just me but these girls remind me of Marie Osmond...?

Fabric Postcards.....

My online doll club is having a challenge to make Fabric Postcards with the theme "Lazy Summer Afternoon".

We can make as many cards as we want as long as they are made from fabric...the card can be stitched, painted, have small amounts of paper, photographs and embellishments but predominantly it must be made from fabric.

These cards are not going to be exchanged as it is a "show and tell" challenge only.

I have only made one fabric postcard before for a swap and at the time I didn't know that there are "rules". So this time I thought I'd do a bit of research.

Here are some videos I found on YouTube........there are lots more:)

I found a couple of Flickr groups for inspiration too.....

• Fabric Postcards Pool 
• Fabric Postcard Exchange 
• Fabric Postcard Swap

Take care:)

Printing on fabric.....

Recently I received an advertisement email from Joggles.com and in it it had a blurb about using Scratch-Foam as a way of printing on fabric. Now I had been looking into methods of printing images on fabric but this wasn't what I was looking to do.

However, I saw another blurb about it today and I wondered if anyone out there might be interested. I guess it's the new thing to do:)

This is the Joggles tutorial video and blurb here....."Making A Print Plate With Scratch-Foam"

"Scratch-Foam" is a product and I'm not endorsing the use of it because I think you could re-use those foam meat trays that you get from the supermarket to do the same thing. Don't you think???

Here is another little blurb from The Hive.........."Easy Printing On Fabric".

I love the fact that she has paint all over her fingers because that's what happens to me. I usually get covered in paint:)

I think this would be an excellent rainy day craft project for kids (with regular acrylic paint instead of fabric paint).......save those foam trays ladies:)

Take care.

It could be Marie Antoinette's shoe.........

 I found this tutorial at Artful Affirmation...isn't it beautiful. 

The Elegant Shoe Tutorial

 Take care:)

Vintage Bouquet Tutorial....

In or around 1947 a group was established called the National Hand Craft Society and it continued for about another 25 years. It was also known as The Fad of the Month Club.

Basically you paid a membership fee and you would receive a surprise craft kit each month to complete. Some of them were amazing and some of them were very very whacky.

Each kit contained all the supplies you would need to make the craft with full instructions and a colour postcard with a picture of the finished project.

Membership Form......


I had recently done some research on the club and was really surprised today when I recieved an email  with a tutorial for one of those monthly craft projects. What a blast from the past. When I was a kid my next door neighbour belonged to this club and I loved to see what she got each month.

The story behind the tutorial is very nice too and I'd thought I'd share it with you:) Go see:)

Here is the tutorial at Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom

Enjoy:)