Custom Bedding for Mary

Mary asked me to make her a queen coverlet and matching shams using mostly Jennifer Paganelli fabrics~ her favorites being Loopy Vintage Floral, Tanya & Siobhan. We ended up with the ruffle on the sides later and I think it makes the set look sweeter! Its got patchwork on one side, Loopy Vintage on the other, no batting in between. It was a pleasure working with some of my favorite fabrics! Hope she loves it!

Update: check out Jennifer's colorful new blog & the post she did on the bedding: http://www.sisboom.com/blog/

Hobo Bag for Robin

Just finished a hobo bag for my sweet friend, Robin. I used a pdf pattern from Sweet Pea Totes. I purchased it from http://pinkchalkfabrics.com. (You can also get it directly from http://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetpeatotes ) Kathy has a great selection of patterns that I love browsing. I've made her mail bag before and loved it. What I love about pdfs is you can have it up on your computer and follow along with pictures. So great for people like me who love to have a visual! I posted more pics on my flickr & you can see Tina Givens' Opal Owl on the back~ a beautiful surprise & compliment to the Glam Garden, Bubble Burst & Henna Garden all picked out by Robin.

Saturday Night Finish

Hey! Wouldn't it be great if I could finish one order a day?? I'm on a roll, watch out! :) I just finished this set and hate to ship it out because I love it so much!!! Jennifer Paganelli, Anna Maria Horner, Joel Dewberry & Amy Butler~ how can you go wrong? This is one of my patchwork & minky blankets that have no batting in between & are topstitched around the edge twice. The sham has a quilted front, ruffle & envelope back. Its getting mailed out on Monday. I love creating these random patch lovlies! The fabrics are a work of art themselves!

Friday Finish

I started working on this selvedge edge & patchwork dresser in August. It has taken a while for me to figure out which fabrics to highlight on the drawers & of course some time to add all the selvedges to the dresser exterior. This was an idea I came up with while in the shower. I seem to have the best uninterrupted time then, that and when I'm trying to fall asleep. :) I am in the process of adding on a bigger sewing room and thought this old dresser needed a facelift, and have been so inspired by people who've been creative with selvedge edges. I was going to do the same to the drawers, but being a quilter at heart, this was a great opportunity to put quilted pieces on the front.

For the dresser exterior, I spray glued each selvedge edge starting at either the top or bottom and working my way up or down overlapping on the previous. I found that I liked when I left a little fabric attached to the selvedge. I really learned as I went. Then I mod podged all the strips in place.

For the drawers, I sewed scrap strips together, put batting on the back and just attached the layers in a few places 1/4" from the seams. Then I attached a selvedge edge and quilted that down along the sides of the selvedge. I either applied spray glue or elmers to the drawer front~ either worked fine. I marked and snipped the spot where the knob was going to be before I glued the patchwork. Once the glue dried, I just used a staple gun to attach it to the drawer.

For the knobs I tried a few different ways. I first glued some of them to the knob then cinched it to the knob base with embroidery thread tied. Then I did it without the glue & first tied the fabric to the knob (as pictured) with cotton cording & then cut off the excess. The last technique was the easiest. I just screwed the knob back on and then the drawer was ready to go. Hope you enjoy seeing your fav designers on this dresser~ I know I will! Linking to amy's Sew & Tell friday! http://www.amylouwho.com/

WIPs of the Week

Thought I'd share what I'm working on this week~ and one finish! :) Woo Hoo to the dish towels! Actually, it is something to celebrate because they are for someone's JUNE bday!! They have a spanish style house & I thought Fandango by Kate Spain would be perfect for their kitchen. I have decided not to use flour sack towels in the future. They are just not square, and it drives me nuts!! The random patch blanket is going to have a matching pillow sham when its all done. Hope to finish by this weekend. Finally, the bird block has more additions of 1.5" strips to add to make an 18" pillow cover to match a throw I've made with another Valori Wells fabric. Just thought I'd try to sell a set rather than just a throw. Love the pinky~peaches, lavenders, gold & red together. What are you working on this week?

Fiddle Dee Dee

There are so many popular themes out there~ owls, birds, large florals, mod. Its fun to play with those because the fabrics are easy to find! I was contacted by Mel to make a random patchwork quilt using the new Gone With The Wind fabrics~ I excitedly accepted. I ordered the Scarlet Toile, Movie Poster & #2 damask and added the rest from my stash. I can't wait to play with these fabrics!!

Grape Crush Throw Finished!

I posted my WIP earlier this week playing with the new Innocent Crush fabrics. Looooooove them! I guess I'm on a purple kick lately. I'm excited that so many new lines are including different shades of purple. Love it with blues!! This one has reds, too for a kick. I combined Innocent Crush with some Amy Butlers, Valori Wells and the woodgrain is Moda. I kept it mostly Anna's fabrics including Garden Party, Good Folks & Drawing Room. They all play nicely together. I went back and forth~ minky or a traditional quilt? I ended up with the minky backing using the thicker fleece minky since we are coming into cooler weather & this would be a great snuggler. More pics posted on my flickr. Happy Friday! Linking to Amy's Sew & Tell~

http://www.amylouwho.com/

Fall Wardrobe

One of my favorite quick & easy projects is appliqueing fabric to tshirts. My mom uniform consists of jeans & a tee or sweats and a tee, so I enjoy adding beautiful prints to the shirts. Paired with a coordinating cardigan or zip sweatshirt and I'm good to go! Fabric lines I used from top left: Nest by Valori Wells, Glam Garden by Josephine Kimberling, Innocent Crush by Anna Maria Horner, Bliss by Bonnie & Camille and Bell Bottoms by Jennifer Paganelli. Its all raw edge applique & I use thread to attach in the same color as the tee with a zigzag around the edge. The Bliss & Bell Bottoms I used pinking shears & then just straight stitched just inside the design so the edges fray a little. Which one will I wear today??

Grape Crush

Got my order in from Whipstitch Fabrics and Hawthorne Threads with Anna Maria Horner's Innocent Crush line. I have to say, these colors do not disappoint!! Even though I am really partial to this grape group, I love all of them!! I am really drawn to the plum/navy/ice blue combo, so I was excited to piece some of the fabrics together. As soon as I got Lovesme Lovesmenot #1), I knew my plum woodgrain fabric would look awesome with it~ its from Basic Grey's Eva. These fabrics would look great on a fall bag or throw~ even baby bedding for adventurous moms!! Can't wait to see the rest of the line~ home dec, voile, velveteen.