Craft Test Dummies

Or tote, or purse. Whatever. For my Mom’s birthday, she asked me to make her one of these “boutique bags.” I’d purchased instructions from an e-bay seller, and made up one for myself as a sample. Mom selected two coordinating prints from the collections I’d bought from Keepsake Quilting, and I made a bag up for her in an afternoon.

The bag has 3 pockets built in, and I use the really stiff Peltex 72 (fusible on both sides) for the interfacing. This bag stands up all by itself!

I have to admit, I think it turned out well… I added the 3 Swarovski buttons on the front for a little bling. Folks who know me know I LOVE Swarovskis….and a little sparkle never hurts!

Now I’ve got the hang of them, I think I’ll be making more….

Ahh, spring is here and it’s time to put those sweaters away. Or is it?

Maybe it’s seen it’s better days. Or your weight has changed, and it doesn’t fit like it used to. Or you’re just itching to go thrifting and engage in some Earth Day craftiness.

Well, I’ve found an idea for you! Over at Erica Makes Stuff, she’s posted a step-by-step tutorial on refashioning your old sweater into a spiffy new cardigan. According to her, you only need about 1/2 yard of quilters cotton, 1/2 yard of interfacing, some buttons and thread, and about 2.5 hours. (Heck, I probably have enough fabric and notions in my stash to convert every sweater in North America!)

It really looks like this would be a do-able project for beginning sewers… the toughest part is making the collar template, since she doesn’t provide a pattern. But don’t be afraid… you could make a tracing of a collar you already have. (Here’s a little help for drafting a collar pattern, too.) Or, if you’re not ready, just skip the collar altogether.

Anyway, just coordinate your sweater color(s) with fabric for the button placket, and go for it. I think this could be done in a super-funky retro 50’s style (and how about adding that gi-normous monogram to the left shoulder!!!) or use a sweet 30’s print and add some (here it comes…) cute yo-yo’s to dress up the neckline! (You knew it had to have a yo-yo, right?)

There’s no doubt that recycling/refashioning clothes is a hot trend right now - and with Earth Day approaching, give it a shot and earn yourself some bragging rights!

PS… Fellow crafty blogger Woof Nanny sent me a link to this photo, of her repurposed sweater. She added the cool zips. Funky!

Whoo-hoo! One of my favorite magazines, Quilting Arts, now has a television program. I’ve heard that they’ve shot many segments already - and some in Cleveland, no less - but so far I haven’t seen them on our PBS channels. That’s about to change!

It’s set to air on WEAO PBS 45 & 49 on Saturdays at 1:30PM starting on 4/19. I’m so excited! The DVR is all set and ready to go!

To learn more about Quilting Arts Magazine, or Quilting Arts TV, just visit the links. I guarantee loads of eye candy and inspiration!

I was checking out Martha Stewart’s Craft of the Day, and today she was showing off oil cloth lunch bags. Since I’m all for reusable lunch bags, I thought I’d share it here with you.

The only problem? Martha doesn’t give a pattern. But Jumilla Bugs did! This is her version:

i made a cardboard template that is a little ragged but still works. the bag is a very simple 6 pieces:
back / flap - about 61/2 by 14 inches
front - 6 1/2 by 8 1/2 inches
sides - 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 inches
bottom - 6 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches
it is stitched wrong sides together. starting with attaching the front and back pieces to the bottom piece; then the sides to the bottom; then joining these to the front and back, starting the stitching at the bottom.
i put a strip of velcro (hook) horizontal, about 2 inches from the top edge of the back piece, on the wrong side
i put two shorter strips (loop) vertically on the right side of the front piece (to attach to the piece on the back, which folds over to the front when the bag is “closed”.
i also add a little pocket to one side, which you can kind of see here with the bag on the far left. i also add a strap at the top.

If you follow her link to the finished ones, you’ll find some super-cute monkey lunch bags… just great for wee ones or hip chicks! I really couldn’t tell you which ones I liked better.

Now, a few words on oilcloth: if you haven’t used it before, here’s the low-down. It’s really a cotton fabric that has been embedded in vinyl. It’s pretty durable, not too crunchy, and wipes clean. Please don’t throw it in the washing machine, or try to iron it. Bad news. But the fabric doesn’t fray or  stretch, and you can make a cute edge by using your pinking shears or scalloped rotary blade. You can even leave your seams to the outside for a fun look. Use a denim needle on your sewing machine & regular thread. For more tips, visit Sew,Mama,Sew.

Who thought a boring old sack lunch could be so cute?!

Friday at the Expo started bright and early, and then went pretty much non-stop all day. This was the agenda:

• 7:30 AM: Up at the hotel, barely moving. I had gotten up at 4:30 AM and had a wicked time getting back to sleep. Wishing I could blow off my morning class…
• 8:30 AM: Quick shower and quicker breakfast later, I’m taking “Crocheted Flowers” from Megan at Stitch Cleveland. Except it’s not Megan, it’s Erica from River Colors Yarns. No matter. We got a great class kit with 3 skeins of yarn, a needle, instructions for 3 flowers, and a little plastic purse to keep it all in. Now, I have to start by mentioning that long ago in my life as a Music Therapist in a medical facility, I’ve had a number of patients try to teach me to crochet. What I figured out is that there are often multiple terms for the same stitch, and nothing was too consistent. So my big challenge was matching up what I knew how to do and what it was called. Oh, and how to do it correctly and consistently. Two hours later, I had a flower and a half that looked pretty darn cute. Yea for me!
• 11:30 AM: Time for coffee and Barb Callahan’s fashion show. She also does jackets (I’m sensing a theme, here!) and sells her patterns. She picks me out of the audience and makes me model the bracelet that we made in class last night. (OK, I was in the front row and I’m no shrinking violet. Still, it’s funny….)
• 12:30 PM: Back on the vending floor to pick up supplies and ideas. I even sat through a demo for an felt embellishing machine (Husqvarna’s version) and oh, yeah, I want one of those! If only $350.00 would fall out of the sky!
• 1:30 PM: Quick lunch of baked potatoes. And there’s that sweatshirt-into-a-jacket lecture again….
• 2:00 PM: Nicole is off to her felted clog class, and I’m wandering. I run across Susan Schremph’s demo of silk ribbon embroidery by machine, only to discover she’s doing a class at 2:30. Quick! Where’s Nicole??? She has my free class ticket!!! I call her cell, I find her class… well, hijinks ensue and I get to the class in the nick of time. Susan spends the hour showing us how you can use tacking by machine to create ribbon flowers. My mind starts to whirl. ATC’s! Postcards! Fabric cuffs! Literally, I get so wound up I get a headache. Consequently….
• 3:30 PM: I’m spending my kid’s lunch money on “Simple Silk Ribbon Embroidery by Machine” and enough silk ribbons to weave my own blankie.
• 4:30 PM: Get to the rest of my wandering. I decide to skip the trims, beads, and quilters’ cottons. I do pick up some silk fat quarters and a new pattern. (Editor’s Note: I bought 3 patterns last year from the same vendor. I haven’t made a-one. Hmmm.)
• 5:30 PM: I try to get out to find Nicole, but I get swamped in the end-of-day-giveaway melee. No choice but to wait….
• 6:15 PM: The day’s done. I’m exhausted. We both agree that we’re done. Fini. We won’t come back for Saturday. Dear daughter is still running that fever, so we go pick up some Chinese and head back to the ranch for some family time. And to gloat over our classes and purchases.

To read about Day One at the Expo, read here.

Well, I’m back from the sewing expo and my head is swimming. I took four classes over 2 days this time, and a good time was had by all.

My good friend Nicole made the trip up from Charlottesville, Va, and showed up to celebrate my birthday with some serious girl time. Three days of shopping, sewing, and girl talk. Whoopee!

For those who’ve never been to the Expo, it’s a pretty gi-gundous show. It goes over 3 days and boasts oodles of hand-on classes, demos, trunk shows, fashion shows, lectures, and vending out the wazoo. Here was my agenda on Thursday, the opening day of the show:

• 8:30 AM: “Really, Really Broken Dishes” applique class with Kim Montagnese. She is a great person, designer, and teacher. She taught us to use Do-Sew to back our appliques and use a blind hem-stitch to mimic needle-turn applique. Great class. (Great person, too. I love Kim! She’s the one who took this silly picture of me.)
• 11:00 AM: Snack break and fashion show. We saw a lecture on how to open up a generic sweatshirt along the side seams and create a festive jacket. Looked cute and easy. And when they passes around a toddler version with yo-yo’s on it, I just about had a coronary it was so cute!
• 11:45: Wandering about vending floor. Made a point to get to Cotton Candy Quilts which had the Do-Sew for sale. Also picked up some really cute fat quarters with my mini-patchfolios in mind.
• 2:00: Lunched on a tuna croissant (standing up) while taking in another fashion show. Another sweatshirt-jacket take by Londa, but more upscale.
• 5:30 PM: Completely overstimulated, we head over to the hotel to check in, only to find that they don’t have our reservation. And I don’t have my confirmation number. Undaunted, we work it out and schlep up to the room. I grab a quick snack, then head back down to take the shuttle back to the IX center to get to my class. Whew. I’m getting tired!
• 6:30 PM: Take Barb Callahan’s Vintage Beaded Bracelet class. (Easy peasy. Just stitch buttons onto elastic! I know what I’ll be teaching next time we have a Young Jewelry Artist series during summer camp at Silverthorne!) Barb was a hoot, too. Hope I get to take a class from her again.
• 8:00 PM: We’re done early. My shuttle doesn’t come until 9:30. I make calls. Nicole tells me the shuttle will come early. I find out that my sweet baby girl is still running a fever. I wait until 9:15, and some complete strangers from Pittsburgh take pity on me and drop me off at the hotel. Thanks, ladies! You’ve done PA proud.
• 9:30 PM: Meet Nicole at the hotel bar. I’m hungry, damp and ready for a drink. Nicole and I share some Mediterranean quesadilla thingy, and I down 2 Great Lakes Brewery Porters.
• 11:30 PM: Exhausted and with a sore back, I hit the sack. Even the hotel bed feels good after standing on a concrete floor all day.

To read about Day Two, click here!

When I first got on my “yo-yo” kick, my mom commented to me that when she was a young teenager, she made a clown doll out of yo-yo’s for her first nephew. (She says all she can remember is cutting out zillions of circles!) Anyway, I did a little research and found the pattern at Sunshine’s Creations. There are great step-by-step instructions. It’s a great “retro” craft, and a fabulous way to use up some fabric scraps.

Since I’m also into crafts that serve as mementos, this would be a lovely way to utilized a loved one’s clothing after a passing. It would be like saving a little bit of them to pass on through the generations. I know, I’m just sentimental that way.

If you’re interested, you can also read my review of the Clover yo-yo maker that will make this craft easier, or my post about heart yo-yo crafts. If you’re on a kick, like me!  And if you are an uber-fan, join the Yo Yo Ga Ga/Fuxico Ga Ga group on Flikr. You won’t believe the yo-yo goodness you’ll see!

I got a chance to get to the Lake Farm Park Quilt Show on Saturday - all by myself! It was lovely just to walk quietly through all of the quilts, without distractions from kids or hubby, and soak it all in.

Coupla things I noticed:

1. The show seemed smaller. I really think there were fewer bed-sized quilts this year.
2. There were more art quilts than traditional ones. And they were fantastic. Lots of food for thought.
3. The contributions for dolls, clothes, and bags were slim. Only 4 or 5 jackets that I can remember. (Note to self: Make wearables for next year!)

I took some random photos of quilts or details that spoke to me, and I’ve put them into this slideshow to share with you. Enjoy!

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Oh, my mailman has been busy! Among the many goodies that came yesterday was a package from CPS swap hostess Rachel, containing tie bag purses from Diane and Cindy. Whoo-hoo!

I really love how everyone put their own spin on them. Diane constructed hers using the long skinny end on the back as a pen holder, and included a little composition notebook.

Cindy used the middle section of the tie as a handle, and beaded it up with these cute pressed-glass flower beads. How fun!

To see my tiebags for the swap, click here.

To see the post with the original instructions from Sulky, click here.

And for another site of great inspiration, check out the Artful Ties blog. She has some great links there, too, and eye-candy. FUN!

Val at Val’s Altered Heart Journey has come up with the coolest idea - she uses caulk to create texture in her artwork. She has a full step-by-step tutorial on her blog, so I won’t repeat it here. But I love the texture and flexibility she gets from a non-art medium! Great thinking outside of the box, Val!

The picture I’ve selected to highlight her technique is one of 3 “inchies”- if your a new to them, they are 1 inch by 1 inch pieces of mini art. Yup. ONE INCH ONLY. Why only 1 inch? Well, usually they are made in stages, and the first part is rather serendipitous: you create a large background texture, usually with some layers, and then you chop it up into the squares. You’re never sure just what you’re gonna get. Then, you take each one individually and add extra adornment, paints, embellishments, what-have-you, and make it a little mini work of art.

What do you do with them? Another good question. Make them into mosaics, attach them to altered quilts, books, collage art. Put a hole in them and make them charms or jewelry. Really, they are just small components for other larger pieces of artwork. I keep a few on a small ball chain attached to my quilting tools…that way when I go to a workshop, everyone knows they’re mine.

Here are a couple of pics of other artist’s inchies, fabric and fiber:

And when you make them 2 inches by 1 inch, they are called “twinchies.” How clever is that! Wendy made some great ones, and she even sent me one!

Anyhoo, they’re fun and rather addictive. Get thee to Home Depot and get caulkin’!

(Or sewing, or gluing, whatever!)