Christmas Quilt 2014

Hello!

I have been around, don't worry! ;)  I actually have been working on lots of things behind the scenes here, I just don't always keep up posting.

I made this Christmas quilt top this year in August.  It came together rather quickly, the tedious part was cutting and chain piecing all the little dresdens.  It's a pattern from Gigi's Thimble.  (I added an extra row to the square quilt).   I've had this pattern a year or two and have been waiting for the perfect Christmas fabric, nothing too dark, and bright cheery reds and greens.  This fabric, Solstice by Kate Spain for Moda was just the perfect match.

I started early on this because I'm working on hand quilting this cute little guy.  The quilt will end up about 53X68.  I  nice lap size to snuggle with.  I've never hand quilted before and wanted to try it at least once.

I have one square completed and hand quilted.  I stitched a snowflake I bought a template) in the center of the dresdens and then holly (I made my own stencil) on the corners and swirls that connected the holly.

Snowflake in the center of this dresden

Here in the bottom right corner you can see a little peek of the quilted holly corner.  You can also see how I"m planning on quilting the borders.

I tried using a hoop, but I didn't like it.  Maybe my hoop was too large for me to handle, but I actually like quilting without a hoop, I feel like I can move it more easily and get exactly where I need to see.

I also made my own holly stencil with swirls for the 5 inch border.  I couldn't find anything I liked or that was big enough.  I like a challenge. :)

Last I LOVE the backing fabric- it looks a bit like a fern pattern with berries.  I made my own paper-piecing pattern for the Christmas trees.  I haven't made my own paper piecing pattern before either, that was fun!

Jenny

Zippred Pouch

Hello!

I've made several zippered pouches following this awesome tutorial from Noodlehead.


She has a wonderful and easy to follow tutorial on how to create these.  I've followed them and have also played with a few different sizes myself to get a taller of skinnier bag.  It all depends. 

Here are a few pics of ones I've created.


Here they are:

for my sister

I added a little hexie flower and hand stitched around it

For mother's day gifts

for my son's preschool teachers at the end of the year

I've had fun making these super cute pouches, I bet you will too!
Jenny

Taggie Blanket

Hello!

I know there are man y tutorials out there for these awesome baby taggie blankets.  I thought I'd just show you a few extra tips that I use when making my blankets.  I like the make my blankets a bit longer than just the 12x12 size.  My blankets usually end up about 36 x 44.  Just about the exact size of a yard of fabric (minus just a bit for 1/2 inch seam allowance).

After I measure up and cut the fabric, I turn the fabric right sides together to get ready to sew.  I divide my fabric into sections and then pin the ribbon facing to the inside, so that it sews the right way later.


I sew using a half inch seam allowance and turn them right side out.  I give them a little press and tuck in the area i left open for turning. I then sew all around the outside to close to blanket.  Easy peasy, just like the other awesome tutorials out there. 

But here comes my own next steps that I use:

I use a wide masking tape (about 1.5 inches wide) and measure In 6 inches from the seam and tape all the way around.  I use my long quilting ruler to help keep it straight.

measuring 6 inches in from the seam

I also tape another line on the other side of the ruler, this would be about 12 inches from the outline of the blanket.  This will eventually give me two outlines of boxes on my blanket.

full picture of how I measure my tape lines

Then I take this all to my sewing machine (with a few pins holding all the fabric in place, but out of the way of tape lines).  I sew on the outside of my tape lines.  I try not to run over the tape with my stitching, but if it happens, I don;'t panic because the tape will still come off-remember, it's just masking tape!

Then I peel off my tape and enjoy my blanket!  The masking tape doesn't leave any residue.

You can see the outline of the two boxes.  This type of sewing just keeps the blanket together, like quilting.

Hope that helped you find a new way to make a large taggie blanket more stable!

Jenny :)

Baseball Pants Patch

Hello friends!


I don't know about you, but my little boy has a way of putting holes into his pants.  But he only puts a hole into the left knee. every. single. time.  At least he's consistent :)

So, I've gotten creative with making a patch to cover said hole... enter- the baseball patch!

I made the patch from the twill jeans iron-on patch, but used white.  I used a small bowl to trace the size circle I wanted.  I used red embroidery floss/thread to free-hand the ball stitches.  Then, just iron on over the hole.  Voila! :)

My little guy absolutely loves it-plus it already has some grass stains now to accent the baseball patch.  We put things to work around here...


Enjoy!
Jenny

Wreath

Here's an update to this original post.  I had made a wreath for my sister's wedding shower, and I didn't have a picture.  Well... now I do!

Thanks, sis!

Here's the lovely wreath:

Have a great day!

Mystery Craft Revealed

Drum Roll Please.......

Here is the big reveal on the Mystery project I showed a sneak peak of the other day.

I made thread/bobbin holders.  I needed a place to hold my thread and wanted the bobbins to be able to fit on top so that I wouldn't lose them or mix them up.

Here are a few beginning pictures from the other day.  I started out measuring and marking my wood and making marks where I was going to drill my holes.  See my previous post for those pictures.

I then sanded down my 1/4 in dowel rods.  I had my hubby cut them at 4 inches in length.

I also had some ducks come and hang out on the back porch.  So make sure you have an audience if you are going to sand the dowel rods.  I sanded down the rough edges and rounded the ends that were going to be out holding the thread.

I then drilled the holes at 1/4 inch.

Here are the two boards that I made.  The one on the right has been sanded.  See?

I then gave them two coats of paint.  (I painted the back too).
I used ACE Hardware brand paint: Clark + Kensington.  I used the color cannon ball black.  I also got this paint for free one of the days they had the free paint Saturday.  :)

 

After the paint dried (I hate to watch paint dry!!) I the placed my dowel rods into the holes.  I drilled the holes at a bit of an angle so that when I hag it on the wall, my thread/bobbins won't slide off. I used a little bit of wood glue to help hold the dowels in place.  I also had the world's cutest helper.  He wanted to put the "sticks" into the holes.

"Helping" mommy

Here's a quick view again of the finished thread holder.  I glued some black ribbon to the back and added a cute pink bow to give it some color. 

Here's the cost run-down.
Wood... free
Tools...on hand
Dowels...$4
Glue...on hand
Paint... free (yeah, ACE hardware)
ribbon... on hand

So, this whole project cost my just $4, the cost of dowel rods.  I don't just have random dowel rods on hand.  Lots of other things... just not dowel rods.

Happy Crafting! :)

Sister's Birthday Frame

Since my sister recently got married (see previous posts for all the wonderful decorations) I made a gift using a wedding photo for her birthday just the other week.  I made another flowers and flourishes frame, actually this was my first one and the mother's day frames were the second go at it.

I used a wedding picture I took of their first dance, and then used my editing software to make the colors more sepia-like and "old looking" to fit her primitive country decor.  I used the same flower tutorials as in the previous post and created flowers to match her wedding decor colors, but also trying to stick the the "old country primitive look". :)  Did I get it right?

First Dance Picture Frame

 

Top right frame corner with flowers and rosette

Bottom right corner of frame-flourishes from Cricut Essentials

While I was trying new techniques, I also made a new cascade card.  Here is a great video tutorial I found: Cascade card with Frenchie.

Sorry for the poor pictures; I took them with my phone.  I realized I forgot to take a picture of it after I had sealed the card inside the envelope.  After my sister opened it I snatched it borrowed it for a minute and took a picture. :)

Card folded (and awful fuzzy picture)

Card "cascading" and opened.

Happy crafting!

Jenny

Etched Glass Tutorial

For part of my Christmas gifts I made personalized mugs with the first initial of some of my family members.  I had fun making this simple, but gorgeous mugs.  I even made one for myself, as a "test run", of course! :)

Just a warning... this post has lots of pictures in it to help explain the process.  It's very easy!
Here is what you will need:

• a glass mug ( I found mine at Wal-Mart for $2.50 -our Dollar Tree doesn't have much selection or I would have gone there)
• vinyl or contact paper (I used contact paper from my days as a teacher)
• a die cut machine or a way to cut letters in your contact paper
• etching cream: Armour Etch is what I used... it's very powerful and works well.  You can find it at most hobby stores. 
• sponge dauber

You are ready to go!

Step 1:
I cut out the initials using my Cricut Expression 2.  I love my Cricut, so many great uses... I taped down the contact paper so it wouldn't move while cutting.

Step 2:

I took out the initial, you want to be left with the negative image cut for this project so that you can etch the actual initial onto the glass.  Before I peeled off the negative, I actually covered the letter with a second layer of contact paper.  This helps hold all the little details in place to lay it over the mug.  I know you can't see it in the picture, but there is a second layer here!  You'll see what I mean in a minute.

 

Step 3:

Now you peel off the backing of the contact paper, or vinyl so that you are left with the sticky side.  Peel off all the little pieces, but make sure none of the second layer comes off, very important!  I had a few little pieces peel off for me, and I had to stick them back on.

Step 4:

Carefully place your initial onto your mug.  Carefully line it up and make sure it is straight.  After you have it on there, peel off the top layer of contact paper.  You will leave the letter layer on the mug.  This is your stencil.  Make sure you don't peel up any of the tiny pieces from inside the letter. ( I did a few times and had to put them back!)

Step 5:

Now you are ready to put on you etching cream!  (You'll see different letters because I made several of these at one time- but it's all the same process)

Step 6:

Add the etching cream with your sponge dauber.  You'll need to add a very thick layer.  But make sure you don't go outside of the contact paper or you'll have random spots on your glass.  (I did that to mine, the "test run", see why I made one for me? :)

The cream says to wait about 5 minutes for the etching to take places (essentially it creates a frosted look on the glass by taking off a top layer of the glass).  However, this was a very thick glass mug, so I gave mine an hour.  I've used this cream before and had to wait about 30 minutes for it to set.  I gave it 1 hour this time.  I'm glad I did.

Step 7:

After the 1 hour, use the sponge dauber and scrape off the excess cream.  Save it!  You can use it again for other projects, just put it back in the original container.  This cream is expensive, you don't want to waste it.

Step 8: 

Rinse the mug under the water and get all the excess cream off.  Give it a good scrub to make sure it all comes off.  You don't want any residue.

Step 9:

Dry off the mug just a little bit, and then peel off all the contact paper, even the little tiny pieces. :)  They can be hard to find...

Step 10:

Now you have a beautiful handmade mug ready to gift (or keep for yourself!!).  This can be put in the dishwasher, it won't ruin your hard work.  It's scratches off the top layer of the glass and frosts it, remember?  You can't undo this! :)

Now enjoy some hot tea, or hot chocolate!! You deserve it! :)