Thursday, August 26, 2010

west elm







While visiting friends and family in Atlanta a few weeks ago, I came across a West Elm shop and popped in for a look around.  I love all the textiles available for ordering furniture.  That wasn't going to happen, so I strolled over to the kitchen area and found napkin sets on sale. 

This "Hourglass Novelty" pattern caught my attention, and in my studio yesterday, it was matched up with some cozy wool suiting for pillow covers and added them to my shop.   
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SMALL Elephants in red
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Have you been by Spoonflower today for your free 8" swatch?  It took a while to find a small pattern to make the swatch useful, and I decided upon these elephants in red.  I can see it as a pocket on something or the front side of a zip pouch.  Stop over there and get yours.  Spoonflower is also participating in a fundraiser for Heifer International, so you can put your swatch money there if you like. 

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

calicodaisy slip scarf


A keyhole scarf design was weedling its way through my creative mind over the weekend.  I wanted to get to it all day on Saturday but put it off until housework and computer work was complete -- or at least attempted.  Finally, I made it to the studio late Saturday evening and started with the prototypes.  This is the third scarf finished last evening while watching our family favorite, The Closer.  
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I'm naming it "The Slip Scarf," as one end of the scarf slips through the other.  It's reversible and is self-bound with the main fabric.  This scarf is sewn up with an amazingly gorgeous paisley and backed with a brushed cotton plaid.  If you stop by the shop, you'll see more views. 
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I made another for my friend's birthday gift.  She lives in South Florida, so she doesn't get the chance to dress "warm" too often there.  Thus, I made hers with two cottons in shades of brown for a fall look but a Florida weight.  
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Another set of All Boy charm packs at The Handmade Fair, too.  These packs featuring a Ride Em Cowboy print from the Happy Trails line.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

All Boy Charm Packs

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Over the last year I've been collecting manly and boy cotton prints to use in my projects and to create my "All Boy" Charm Packs.  The packs today include 60 - 5 x 5 charms, six each of ten prints. 

The fabrics are prewashed before cutting, so you know that your projects will turn out true to size, and the worry of colors bleeding is taken care of.  Add some great solids to the charms, and you'll be all set for a great design.  Just remember, prewash any fabrics you use, so you won't get any sizing surprises. 

Two are listed in my - The Handmade Fair - shop today.  Some David Walker "Oh Boy!" dinosaurs are in these sets.  I have lots more to put together, however, I'm already stressing over color and theme combinations.  Geez!  I wish I could just go freestyle and zip, zip, zip, but, no, I think of what the blocks will look like together.    

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

pile of pillows

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Some new pillow covers were finished for the shop this week.  I'm very drawn to the numbered designs for linens popular at the moment.   I spotted a printed design like this some time ago and combined embroidery software files for my own version of the look.  This one is ready to go, but the design can be custom ordered in any color combination and embroidered out on a totebag or dish towel. 
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This 14" pillow cover is sewn up in a blue and brown home dec fabric that has a flocked design.  The chocolate brown piping creates a great frame for the floral scribbles.  Find this pillow cover here
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My favorite is this one, though.  I bought the whole length of this home-dec toile off the remnant table at Hancocks last year intending to do something big with the fabric in a room but haven't decided what that is yet.  While searching about my stash for just the right look for a friend's monogrammed pillow for, I couldn't resist using some of it for her.  Hope she loves it as much as I do.  I have just a bit more set aside to sew up one more monogrammed pillow cover in this style if you'd like one.   

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Next

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Have you heard about the "Next" button yet?  Michelle at greetingarts posted about a new Google Reader feature she found through the blog grapevine that led back to directions from Oops

Essentially, you put the "Next" button up on your favorites bar, and when you hit it, you automatically go to the next blog post in your reader line up -- onto the actual blog!   So, the blogger gets her "hits" for google analytics (if that's important to her/me), and the reader actually lands on the blog and can get back to experiencing the blog site and all the little pretties, the sidebar, and the other features the author designs on her site.  I mean, we don't decorate just for our own pleasure!  Anyway, it's easy, you should add it! 

Quick edit:  I've been strolling through my next button for the last little bit since I posted.  Rather than just scrolling down your reader list and only catching the words and a thumbnail shot of the blogs you like to keep up with, the next button is like turning the pages of a magazine.  Someone should figure out how to connect the next button with the right arrow key, so the hand isn't always on the mouse. 

My next studio completions this week were the camera strap cozies / covers yesterday, the Manly patchwork cover posted previously and the blue medallion one above. 
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Towel Set Monogram
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My previous next (get that?) was the monogrammed towel set for my friend's son who is off to his freshman year in a couple of weeks.  We moms must keep them stylish and clean! 

Putting A Little Man In the Mix

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Generally when buying fabrics and thinking up new items to create in the sewing room, it's all about what the girls want.  In the last year, though, I've been concentrating on picking up fabrics suitable for the men / guys / boys in my customers' lives.  It's getting easier, as a number of designers are putting out really up to date prints for men.  However, I've taken my college-aged son with me several times to the fabric store and had him take a gander through the quilting cottons to see what he likes.  All I see first are the flowers and pinks and trendy looks that I like for myself.  He sees the darker colors and geometrics I rarely notice.  My eyes are getting keener for suitable fabrics, though, and I've rounded up quite a few great prints over the last year for my man-stash, as I call it. 

Over the holidays last year, I nearly put together two quilt tops for my husband and son.  Alas, not finished yet, but the fabrics are great.  I've been slicing and dicing the leftovers, too, to put together manly charm packs for my shop.  All fabrics are prewashed, so no worries about shrinkage or colors running. 

You can see several of the fabrics in my Manly Camera Strap Cover I've listed today in my "college savings" shop, the handmade fair.  I've got to get on with all that saving!! 

The manly and boy charm packs should be in there soon! 

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Just Getting By ...

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Do you ever feel like you're running and crawling at the same time?  That's my mode at the moment.  At the beginning of the day with the promise of about 17 hours before me, anything seems possible.  Lying back in the bed at night, I can't remember if I did anything important. 

I'm just chugging along in the sewing room.  A One Block Over Bee block was completed last night; uh, that's the June one.  Now for a paper-piecing July block, and I haven't opened the envelope for the August one, though I know it's a strip block, and I'm familiar with that pattern.  
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Baby gifts and going-to-college items such as embroidered pillow covers and towels are going out as well.  Isn't the little firefly darling?  Another custom bridal garter to make and send out this week.  Then, as has been planned for some time, 5-inch charm packs for boys quilts (prewashed fabrics) are getting organized for a photo shoot and listings in my shop this week or next.