White Plum Creations

Flowers

2011-05-08T23:36:00.000-05:00

I have been working at a Prom dress shop for the last few months. I do alterations and I make straps to add to the dresses. When I have extra fabric I make hair flowers like these to sell there too. Here are a few I have made.

Some of these have been custom orders, its been fun to make these and it has gotten me in touch with my girly side which is sometimes pushed aside because I live in a house full of boys.

Ann Marie's Quilt

2010-11-24T23:45:00.000-06:00

My mom and sister's designed and made this quilt for my sister Ann Marie's wedding. She was married Nov. 13th. We did the quilt in her wedding colors. She and her husband really liked it.

This is the front. My sisters and mom did the blocks for it. I would have helped but I was in the process of moving across the country. We all helped with the layout of the blocks.

I pieced the back and my mom and I sandwiched, and basted it. Then I quilted it.

Here are the two block from the back up close so you can see the quilting.

The quilt turned out to be a king sized quilt 100 by 114 inches. I really like how it tuned out.

Small news

2010-11-21T22:51:00.000-06:00

I'm working on a new pattern! Details later...

Life Happens...

2010-10-11T00:18:00.000-05:00

So remember last post I said I had been on vacation? Well Before we had been back even a month my husband was laid off from work. It has been a roller coaster ride for us but here's the short version:

My husband was laid off Sept. 2. We don't live by any family. We decide now is the best time to go back to live by family and look for work there. So we do. We sold a bunch of stuff and gave a bunch of stuff to goodwill, dejunked, packed, fixed up the house and moved across the country from Houston to Salt Lake City in three weeks. For those that are wondering we drove our car with our kids the whole 24 hour drive.

So we are in Utah now living with family until our house sells and we can find a house for us here. Oh and my husband found work just this week.

I've been on vacation...

2010-08-11T16:32:00.000-05:00

just in case you were wondering what happened to me. I got CRAZY busy the month before I left and then I've been gone from home with kids in tow for 6 weeks. But I'm happy o report I'm back and I have a thing or two to show you once I get the pictures off my camera...

Until then..

A mess of playing musical shelves

2010-05-10T21:42:00.005-05:00

It all started about a week ago, but let me give a bit of back round first. For the last 5+ years I have been storing my fabric stash on some wire clip together shelves from target, which have held up well. They are now starting to bow and once in a while un-clip them selves from each other because of the weight of the books and fabric.

Before: wire clip together shelves

So I have been on the hunt for a sturdier shelf to use and last Tuesday I thought I had found one. Enter the white 6ft shelf from the thrift store. It was perfect until I had taken all my fabric out of the old ones and was ready to put it all back in the new white shelf. It had less space then those cheap clip together shelves!

I am now in a bit of a panic, this was just supposed to be a quick one day reorganization job and now its not. There is no way I'm putting all that fabric back on those clip together shelves that were starting to bow. So now I'm stuck. By the way I'm in the middle of sewing some curtains for a client, but with fabric taking up any and every flat surface, umm I can't really sew.

I call my husband and tell him all about how this new shelf is not going to work and I need something different now. We decide to build some from a really cool blog called Knock off wood
but then we discover while we are at Home Depot (2 days later) that it would be cheaper and less time consuming to just drive down town to Ikea and get some of their Expedit shelving units. So we drive 45 minutes down to Ikea at 8:15 at night with 3 tired kids. What were we thinking?

We get the shelves and get out of there at about 10:15pm to drive 45 minutes back to our house. We are never going with 3 kids at that time of night again. We were crazy. So anyways, I now have better shelves. I just had to play musical shelf to get there. My sewing room is getting organized again and I think I might get to sew tomorrow.

I should have taken pictures of the mess but didn't. But when I'm all done I will post before and afters.

What's black & white & red all over?

2010-04-28T14:01:00.005-05:00

This room that I just finished making a few things for! I posted about it here. I will tell you right now that I did not make any of the bedding, but I could have. This first picture is so you get an idea of the whole room.

My friend Jana wanted several things made to help make the room more finished and pull in the bathroom that is attached. First I made the window valence.
Then I made the seat cushion out of an extra duvet cover that she had. The cushion is completely lined and finished on the inside and it has a zipper so you can remove and wash it if needed. I also made the piping that is on it.
Then I made a valence for above the shower curtain. It is the same style as the one for the window, but with piping added.
To finish, and tie in the bathroom with the bedroom I made this wall hanging. It is hanging on a curved wall. It has a piece of boning in the top so that it will curve with the wall.
I cut the flowers out of what was left of the duvet cover and appliqued them on to a red fabric that I got to match the red of the bedspreads. Jana just let me be creative with it. I love how it turned out.

Double sided Ruffle curtains

2010-04-16T14:55:00.004-05:00

The other day while talking to a client I realized that I had never put up the pictures of these curtains that I made a few years ago before I started this blog. They are double sided with ruffles all the way around.
She wanted them for her play room so her kids could have a "stage."
Here is the top. There is a hidden sleeve for the rod to go threw.
Here you can get the whole effect.

My favorites

2010-04-06T15:00:00.002-05:00

Babies and Blue Bonnets are some of my favorite things.

I've been busy

2010-04-01T16:04:00.004-05:00

I can't believe it's been a month and a half since I last posted. Time flies when your busy with life. Aside from taking care of my three boys I have found some time to get some sewing done, I have actually been sewing fairly consistently two to three days a week for a few hours.

I wish I had more pictures to show you all the things I've been sewing but you will have to just wait or live without.

These first few pictures are of a wall hanging that I made to complement some other pieces that I have been making for a client. This wall hanging is the last piece to complete a guest room and bathroom.
I cut out the flowers from a different fabric, laid them out and sewed them on to the back round.
The check is like the picture frame. I love how this is turning out. The picture below is sideways (sorry). I'm considering putting a bird in the corner that doesn't have any flowers in it. What do you think?

My friend was having a girls night PJ party a few weeks ago so I decided to make myself some new pajamas. I picked up the fabric at Joanne's. It's knit fabric, the cream is rib knit.
I haven't worked with knits a whole lot, but they are in hot competition to become one of my favorite fabrics to work with. I know pajama pants are so easy, a little trickier with a knit but still easy. I wanted to make it a bit more of a challenge so I decided to make a shirt too.
I think they turned out great! I didn't have any puckering or stretching as I sewed and I haven't had any popped seams since I've been wearing them either. Oh and they are SOOO comfy!

What kinds of things have you been making lately?

Slow and not so steady

2010-02-17T14:09:00.004-06:00

Sewing and crafting time has been a little harder to find lately. I can't seem to get my two younger boys to nap at the same time in the afternoon long enough to get much of anything creative done. But I have managed to do a few things.

This pencil holder is made from a frozen concentrate juice can. I just modge podged on the paper and ribbon. With my oldest in school now it seems like we have started collecting lots of pencils lately.
I also made another coloring book and marker carrier. This one is for my 3 year old who loves anything trucks. The first one I made is the snail one.
Here is the front above and the inside below.

He loves it.

I have also been working on making some things for a friend of mine. I'm helping her with her guest room, but I don't have pictures yet. Soon.

Cookie sheet Calenders

2010-02-04T13:32:00.005-06:00

I have been meaning to post this for a while. I made these for two of my sisters for Christmas. They are cookie sheet calenders. All the pieces have magnets on the back. Here is what I did to make them.
I got some basswood at Hobby Lobby (love that place), and some number stencils and stickers. I also got a pack of 3 cookie sheets for about $4 at Walmart. I took the wood and drew how big I wanted the pieces for the days, months and week on it. Then I used an exacto knife to cut them all out. My hands hurt after that. It was over 100 pieces of wood to cut out!
Then I cut scrapbook paper to the same size as the wood pieces and modge podged it on. Next I put on the number, day or month and sealed them with modge podge.
When they were all dry, I put magnet strips on the back of all of them. Above is the one I made for Lynette and below is the one for AnnMarie.
I thought these were so fun. Every month you just change the month sign at the top and then move the days to where they are supposed to be and add any holidays or birthdays in. Below are the months.
Here are the holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries. I made them generic so you could use them for more then once a year and so the calender can grow with them (they won't have to add more for each addition to the family).
Here is a close up of the calender. When the pieces were done all I had to do was drill two holes in the cookie sheet and tie the ribbon on it.

Dreams

2010-01-07T17:02:00.003-06:00

I have dreams, big dreams. With the beginning of the new year I have been thinking about dreams that I want to have become reality some day. So for today I think I will share a few here. I think that will help me get one small step closer to achieving those dreams.

Here it goes:

* I want to design fabric that people love! I don't really know where to start but some day I want to do it.

*I want to develop, produce and sell sewing patterns. When I go to make a garment from a pattern some times I get frustrated because they add in steps that you don't need or they want you to do something the hard way. My patterns will be strait forward and none of the stuff that takes extra time. I like seeing the finished product as soon as I can. It is exciting!

*I want to finish decorating my house sometime in this decade, hopefully sooner then later. I have two bedrooms done. I still have everything else.

I think that is good for today. Those three will take some time to achieve. I'm not saying that I am planning on getting these all accomplished this year but I want to start in that direction.

What are some of your dreams for someday?

Curtains make a difference!

2009-11-11T14:06:00.007-06:00

Remember this post, where I showed you a drawing of some curtains I made but I didn't have the pictures yet? Well here they are. I have to say my friend loves here curtains, and spending time in her living room now. Before the windows let in so much heat that the room would get really warm in the afternoon.

I put black out fabric on the back to help keep the heat out, and it has made a huge difference.

Pink is for girls

2009-11-11T13:43:00.005-06:00

This is a nursery that I did for a friend of mine. I actually did this a few years ago but I am just now getting around to posting the pictures. My friend drew me a picture of these curtains and I made them. It was really fun to figure out how to construct them to look like the picture.

I also did the pillow in the chair and the crib skirt, bumper and pillows.

The pillow below was my favorite one to make. This picture also shows a close up of the bumper pad. It has custom made piping and covered buttons. I really love how everything turned out.

The hem of the bed skirt was roll hemmed to help the fabric flow and puddle more.

If I had a girl I would love to do a room for her like this.

Trick or Treat

2009-10-27T22:44:00.007-05:00

I am so excited for Halloween! Not because I'm dressing up or anything but because I designed, drafted and constructed my very own pattern for my baby's costume. Isn't that sweet! (pun intended)

He is going to be the cutest little candy corn. The costume has felt on the outer and is lined with a cotton muslin on the inside. There is a zipper in the back and snaps on the bottom between the legs openings.

In other news here are a few shots of some things I'm putting up in my shop. The first is a set of burp clothes. They are two layers of flannel with ribbon on one side.

The second picture is of some kitchen towels I did. I'm really digging the ric rac on these.

Bloggers quilt festival!

2009-10-09T10:42:00.005-05:00

I am so excited to participate in the online quilt festival again! Amy from parkcitygirl has done a great job! As I was thinking about what quilt I wanted to share, I realized with all that happened this summer I have only made one quilt since last market. But I have to say it is one of my favorites, so I will share it with you.

My sister just younger then me was getting married in June so I made this quilt for her and her hubby. You see below they love it! It has dibs on the bed, while the other comforters they got are being stored in a closet somewhere.

I started out making it a queen sized quilt, or so I thought. Originally it was going to have 5 columns of "huge coins" but once I got them all sewn on I realized it was way to wide and to short. I'll just blame that over sight on being pregnant (because I was). So I took off one column and picked it apart and then added sections of it to the bottom of the first four. Problem solved, but it turned out I made a very large queen sized or should I say it was a king sized one. It was a good thing though because my sister got a king sized bed, so it worked out perfect.
The picture above is a pieced strip that I used for the back of the quilt. Below is the quilt done except for the binding. This was a HUGE quilt to machine quilt on my little Bernina, but I managed. I don't think I will make one this large again, for awhile at least.
Here is the back. It was so big I had to wait to get pictures until we were at my parents house and there was a few extra hands to help. Those three heads you see are my two brothers and my husband. Oh and the arms at the bottom belong to my sister.
Here is the front. I was trying to get a nice picture of the quilt just hanging there but umm... it was a bit windy that day.
See what I mean...
Many of the coral fabrics are from Jennifer Paganelli's flower power line. The blues are from my stash and some are vintage given to me from my grandma. I had a lot of fun making this quilt for my sister and I know it will be loved by her and her hubby as well as from me from afar.

Checking in

2009-10-07T16:26:00.002-05:00

I thought I would check in really quick and let you know how things are going. I was thinking the other day about how much I haven't been sewing when I realized I have actually done some just not as much as I was pre-baby. So here is a small list of what I have sewn post baby. I'm hoping to get pictures up here one of these days.

-Mai Tei baby carrier

-replace the back portion of the bouncer chair cover

-2T size jumper for my shop

-7 burp clothes for my shop

WIP (work in progress)

- working on designing/fitting a pattern for a Halloween costume for my baby. He is going to be a candy corn. I'm really excited about this because it will be my first "clothing" pattern that I have made from scratch.

I mentioned my shop up there but I'm still working on getting it going. If anyone has advise on shipping options and what they find works best I would love to hear about it. Oh and I will be participating in Amy's bloggers quilt festival, so check back in a few days to see the quilt I picked.

I'm still here but...

2009-09-16T14:18:00.003-05:00

I've been a little preoccupied with our family's newest arrival. I forgot how much time they hog, not that I blame the baby, who wouldn't want to spend time with this little cutie?

I'm just popping in to say hello and hopefully I can post a few things soon (no time line on that). Soon is relative at this point. I hope you are all having a great September and looking forward to Quilt Market.

A bit of service

2009-08-01T17:26:00.003-05:00

There is a local quilt shop that collects and donates quilts and blankets to the area hospitals and shelters so anyone who needs one can have one. The majority of the quilts are given to children.

I was cleaning up my sewing studio and found these finished and waiting for me to drop them off. So today I took them over to the quilt shop.

The red and blue one is about 32x32in. The top was made by my friends mother and then it found its way to me. I just added the batting, backing, quilting and binding.
These two green ones are premie sized 16x20in or so. I know the fabric is not very baby-ish but some dad out there is going to like them because they remind me of hunting and the outdoors.
This last one I made from scraps I had of another baby quilt I made and sold a few years ago. Its a premie sized one too.
It's a win win situation, the kids get a new comfort blanket and I get more storage space in my studio and the great feeling you get when you serve others in need!

Pillow cases with french seams!

2009-07-21T22:50:00.004-05:00

I whipped these up from cutting them out to finished in about 2 hours flat! They are so easy; I'm wondering why I haven't made more before this?

I was at Walmart the other day and my son spotted this fun turtle fabric, he asked me right away if I could make him a blanket out of it. I said how about a pillow case instead, he said "Yeah, mom that's what I want, its really cool fabric."
I made 2 so that both my boys could have one, no fighting over it that way. I also made them with french seams. An extra step yes, but I didn't have to retread my serger that way. I think retreading the serger would have taken me longer, plus I wanted to try it with the french seams and I have to say I will be using them the next time I make a pillow case.

Updates from the last month

2009-07-20T22:04:00.008-05:00

Wow, it seems like forever since I've had a moment to post on here, so I'm going to try to catch you all up on everything that has kept me away.

First I got a sewing job using this wonderful home decor fabric to make 2 sets of curtain panels and 2 cornices for the sweetest lady I think I have ever met.

Here is the drawing of what she wanted them to look like when they were done. I'm still waiting on actual pictures of the finished product but they are coming.
Then I went to a sewing get together and we all made or worked on making pillow covers to go over forms. This is the back of mine, and it is so soft I love it.
Here is the front. This pillow will be making its home in my sewing room, but I did make sure and put a zipper in it so if the kids get it dirty I can still wash it.
This next little creation was one that came to me in the middle of the night about a week ago. I had an idea and then I got heartburn (due to being in my 9th month of pregnancy) and couldn't sleep so I just got up and started working on it.

It's an I-Spy game for kids. I was just testing out my idea/pattern so I used scraps from my scrap drawer and left over bias tape.
I made two of them so each of my boys could have there own after they both wanted to play with the first one. These were pretty easy to put together and they didn't take long so I will be making more to sell soon (no time table on that). If you would like to order one just leave me a comment with your email or email me and I'll get back to you with the details.
This is the final project that I have been working on. It is a dress for a client that needed something for her up coming high school reunion. Here is a close up of the front detail,
and here is a full view. It looked great on her, but I don't think she thought it did. I felt a little bad, but it was her choice of the pattern and fabric. I really did do a great job of fitting it to her.

I guess you just can't please everyone all the time even if you do your best work on something.
So, now on to other things. I'll be making some fun pillow cases for my boys this week and I want to start on a Mei Tai carrier for when the baby gets here.

What creative things have you been up to lately?

The Hungry Catepillar

2009-06-26T18:39:00.004-05:00

I have been working on this quilt for the last little while, that is when I get a chance. We've been busy here rearranging furniture in bedrooms to make room for the new little one that will be here in about 6 weeks, but that's another post so on to this one.

This is for my friend's little girl. She just became a big sister to a little brother and she really loves the quilt I gave him. So for her birthday (she just turned 2) I found this panel of the Hungry Caterpillar and added the squares on the edge because that was her favorite part of her brothers blanket.

The top went together really fast, the part that took longer then I thought it would was the quilting. I did circles instead of the stipling that I usually do.
Here it is before I put on the binding (above). Below is after the binding was done.
I love how the circles give it a pebble like look, I may use this pattern again on another quilt.
You can see the pebble look a little better here. This little girl is going to love this quilt, one of her favorite books is "The Hungry Caterpillar," her mom tells me she reads it to her almost everyday. Happy Birthday little one!

For a trip

2009-06-14T10:39:00.004-05:00

As I mentioned in the last post my sister got married recently. We had to travel to Utah for her wedding (a 24 hour drive for us here in Texas). I thought it would be a good idea to make up a few smaller things to bring with us.

This is a coloring station for my 5 yr old. He really like the crayola color wonder sets, but the markers seem to get all over the house so I made this to hold everything together.

This is the front, I used about 2 1/2 fat quarters to make the whole thing and some scraps of thick sturdy interfacing. I love the yellow button on the front.
Here is the inside. The markers are in the pocket on the left and then the coloring book on the right. I thought about putting something above the marker pocket but opted not too.
Here you can see the orange buttons that hold the flap down so the markers don't fall out as it is being carried around.
The pocket that holds the coloring book in place.
And a view of the markers in there place.

My sister asked me to make four bow ties for her wedding. They are for the four little nephews that would be there. This is one of them in progress, I didn't actually finish them until I was in Utah.
The last time we went to visit family we had to put every ones clothes in suitcases. Which would be fine if we didn't have to bring one for each person, and try and fit it all in the car. This time I made the kids small/medium sized duffel bags with a drawstring top. They fit better in the car, because they can be put in any space.
The first one is my 2 yr old's bag. I let each of my kids pick out the fabric they wanted for there bag. He is in to fish lately so this is the fabric he picked. My 5 yr old picked the Thomas the train fabric below. The bottoms of the bags are a jean circle so there is a more weighty fabric to lend more support.
These were easy and fun to make and I'm sure they will be used on many trips to come.

The wait is over!

2009-06-10T16:05:00.010-05:00

Oh, I am so glad that I can finally post about this! I found out that my sister was getting married on March 21st and then and there decided to make her a quilt for her wedding. I asked her favorite colors (which are corral and light blue) and then got to work to find fabric. I already had plenty of blues but hardly any corrals. So I sent an email over to Jona at Fabritopia asking her advice on what fabrics to get that were mainly corrals. She was so quick to get back to me, and she is great to work with. I ordered fabric the next day and it was here within 2 days. I will be getting more from her in the future.

Finished top view-in the wind

I decided to make a coin stack quilt top because I had a limited amount of time. My sister was getting married June 6th; that's 12 weeks folks! I knew I needed all of them. I cut out the rectangles for the front and then used the scraps for a pieced stripe across the back. I used almost everything I ordered. By the way the majority of the corral fabrics are from Jennifer Paganelli's fabrics, she is so nice and has a great blog too.

Here is the finished pieced corral stripe for the back.

This is the top all sewn together and the corral strip for the back next to it.

Here is the quilt all quilted. It took me about 3 weeks doing about an hour to an hour and a half of quilting on it each day. I had to take it easy because I injured my right wrist painting my sons room just before this. It all got done on time though so its all good!

Waiting for the binding.

Here is the top finished and spread out better so you can see the whole thing. The blues are from my stash and some of them even came from my grandma, so that's a fun bit of history to add to this quilt.

It was so windy that day I took the pictures. My two brothers and my hubby are holding up the quilt and my sister is holding on to the bottom of it.

(in case you're wondering my sweety is on the right)

Here is the back. I love, love, love it. I think in total there is about 7 yards of fabric just for the back. I love how it turned out.

I was a little scared to quilt this baby on my machine but it when great. There were only a few puckers on the back but they are small and you can't even see them unless you are really looking for them. Now I don't think I will be so afraid to make a big one for my bed.

Busy

2009-05-16T22:56:00.006-05:00

I've been busy. Sewing my heart out but I don't have pictures of anything done. I've been working on a surprise for someone and it is killing me that I can't post pictures or talk about it, but the person this is meant for reads my blog sometimes. So I will tell you about a few other things I've been doing.

I have been making little bow ties for my sister's wedding. There are 4 little boys (mine among them) that will be wearing them. They are coming along nicely.

I took the time the other day to recover this pillow. I got it from Target, then there was an accident which involved it needing to be washed and the fabric unraveled it self in the washer on the gentle cycle (cheap pillow). So I encased it in some cotton muslin and then made the cover with an invisible zipper so I could easily wash it when needed.

I think that's about it for now, oh I also hemmed a prom dress this weekend, so that will add to my savings for a super cool machine that I want but can't afford yet. Aahhh, some day....

What projects have you all been working on lately?

Small and Large

2009-04-30T18:41:00.004-05:00

It has been raining a lot here lately. Thanks to the rain I have not felt like getting out much, but who would? This last weekend we had 10" of rain in 12 hours. So I've been holding up in my sewing room working on a very large project that I can't say much about because it is a surprise for someone and some smaller projects in between.

These are some flannel burp cloths I made for my friend Jena who is having a little boy anytime now. They are 2 layers with ribbon on one side. I love these. After I had my 2nd baby I made a bunch of these and they work great. They are about 12 by 16 inches so they cover your whole shoulder and then some, which is a blessing if you have a baby that spits up a lot!
They were so cute I just had to keep one of them to add to the ones I have and will be using in a few short months; so I kept the one with the yellow ribbon on it.
This is the only picture you will get from me on the big project that I doing right now, at least until after the person this is meant for has it. I have to say that I just love all those fabrics together. Jennifer Paganelli's fabrics were perfect for this project. She has a great blog too!
This is a painting smock that I make for one of my boys. Sorry no shots from the front, but the back is more interesting anyways. I put a placket on both side of the center back mainly because I wanted it to be a little more roomy so he won't grow out of it so fast. I love how the stripes on the placket are perpendicular to the rest of the smock. and then I added some Yellow buttons for a little pop.

For a future project I am recovering one of my through pillows that didn't make it well in the wash. The fabric just started to come apart! I guess that's what I get for getting cheap pillows, but now I'm reusing it as a pillow form; so how's that for a recycling project. I'm excited for it and I will post about it soon.

Park City Girl: Quilt Festival - Spring 2009

2009-04-23T14:21:00.001-05:00

Park City Girl: Quilt Festival - Spring 2009

Here is the link to the quilt festival in case you missed it in the last post. Amy has done such a great job putting it together. It's going to be a place to make new friends and get great ideas as well.

Online Quilt show!

2009-04-23T13:56:00.004-05:00

I saw that there is an online quilt show happening over at park city girl so here is my newest favorite. I made it for my second son for Christmas last year. He is two and loves trucks, cars and trains. I didn't want to do an actual pattern so each block is one of a kind and they are all log cabinish. I even added some ribbon to some of them.

Here are the first two blocks I did. I started adding the ribbon after these.
Here it is finished and washed. B loves it and gets upset if it is not there when it is time for bed. Below is the front.
And the back. I pieced the binding which is a first for me. I normally use all the same color but I didn't want to get more fabric. I really love how it turned out. You know you did well when your son says, "I luv my tuck blankie" to you on a regular basis.

Goals for April

2009-04-07T15:19:00.003-05:00

Over at modish BIZtips she wrote a post about making small goals to help you with long term goals for your business. She ask others to give their 5 goals for the month on their blog and link it to hers. Since my business is not set up yet, but in process, here are mine:

1. write policies and procedures for shop

2. take pictures of items to sell and post them

3. figure out twitter.

I don't have 5 but I think these 3 will keep me busy.

B's Quilt Finished

2009-03-27T11:27:00.005-05:00

I realized that I forgot to show the finished quilt, so here it is. B. loves it and gets mad when his brother tries to take it. The blocks are just a random log cabin-ish style that I made up as I went. They also have pieces of ribbon sewn in there too. This is the front.

And this is the back, I was just going to make it all in the car fabric but I didn't have enough so I put in a strip of the red stars with some ribbon across it. I also added some green pok-a-dots to the edge. The binding I pieced mainly because I didn't want to buy more fabric and I thought it would give it an interesting element.
Here is a close up of the top.
I had one small rectangular piece of the car fabric left over so I put a flannel back on it with some strips of the other fabrics and ribbon I used on the main quilt. B. loves flannel so this is his new lovey.

Point Turners and Darning Feet

2009-03-19T18:45:00.003-05:00

I have been meaning to post about these for so long and some how never got around to it until today. One of my favorite tools is a point turner. It is great to use when you are sewing on gathers or working with shifty fabric. Its also great when you are turning a seam or corner because you can get a nice crisp point when you use this tool.

If you like to sew clothes or are wanting to start I would highly recommend this tool. It is wonderful.
The other tool I really like right now is my darning foot a.k.a. free motion quilting foot. I picked this up about a year ago and I have loved it. My machine is and older Bernina model so I was unable to get one with the stitch regulator on it.

I have discovered that I can do all kinds of quilting designs with it and with some practice I am doing much better at controlling my speed and stitch length. I can also do free motion applique with it. I am really enjoying it and experimenting with it.

March of the tools month

2009-03-02T16:17:00.003-06:00

Over at Heather Bailey's blog she is starting March of the tools month. For those of you who don't know what it is, its where you share about your favorite tools that you use. They can be cooking tools, building tools, gardening tools, sewing tools or any other kind as well. I think its going to be fun to learn about the favorite tools that everyone uses. If you want to participate hope over to here blog and sign up, she is putting together a list of everyone who will be joining in.

I have been neglecting my sewing blog the last little while; not because I wanted too but because I am going though a crafting brain freeze. Meaning I haven't been in the mood and the creative juices are taking a brake in that department for a bit. I think its caused by the fact that I have been going though the first 3-4 months of my 3rd pregnancy and its been rough on me. Thankfully I'm getting more rest now (sometimes) and the nausea is waining so I feel the creative juices flowing again.

I've got a few projects I'm working on right now. Both are for me, I'm making myself a few shirts because I'm at that awkward stage of your regular clothes not fitting well any more but the maternity ones are still huge. So hopefully I will have pictures soon.

Lunch bag Finally!

2009-02-28T17:42:00.004-06:00

I made this lunch bag for my dad for Christmas but I forgot to get a picture of it before I left for home. I have been waiting for a while to get them and they are finally here. I took my dad with me to the fabric store to help my pick out the fabric that he wanted (and because I thought it would be fun to see him in a fabric store).

The outside is a home dec. weight cotton poly blend and the inside is a nylon type that you might see used for a tent. We picked the inside fabric because it was semi-water resistant and it was thick. My dad just really liked the outside fabric.

I made it taller (12in) than your average lunch sack because he wanted to be able to fit his water bottle in it and still close the lid. Other wise it is the same dementions as his old lunch sack. I also lined it with some stiff interfacing on the front and back but then put lighter weight interfacing on the sides so they would fold easier.

Fabric stash

2009-02-06T14:19:00.003-06:00

Over at Sew Mama Sew they are asking about everyone's stash so here is a bit about mine.

What do you usually sew? Lately it has been quilts and small crafts but I like to sew all kinds of things, I have a few shirt patterns and fabric calling my name.

When you shop for fabric, what size cuts do you usually buy? (i.e. If you see something beautiful, but you don't have a use for it right away, how much do you buy?)

Every time I am at a store that sells fabric I check the remnants. Sometimes there are some really great prints in there. If I see a print I can't live without then I will usually get at least a yard but sometimes more.

Do you buy on impulse or do you go out looking for something you need?

I usually go looking for something I need. Unless I'm in a super store with a fabric section(i.e. Wal-mart) then I will be more tempted, but I try to keep it under control.

Are you a pre-washer? If you are, do you wash your fabric before you need it, or only when you're ready to use it?

I very rarely pre-wash, I don't like to iron much and I don't like having to wait for it to be done so I can start using it.

Do you iron it? If it needs it, but if I can get away without doing it then I don't.
How do you sort it? (color, print size, collection, etc.)

Color mostly, I also have stacks of novelty prints and stacks that are for a particular project. I also sort by fabric type: cottons, flannel, fleece, etc. I would say only about half my stash is really sorted, the rest are all mixed up.

Do you have any special folding techniques? Nope, I just fold it so it's about the same size as the rest and stack it.
How do you store you fabric? I store some of it on open shelves but I don't have enough shelves so the rest is in totes, boxes, and a few baskets. The shelves are organized the totes... not so much.

What tips do you have for building up a well-rounded stash?

Umm, look for colors you don't have very much of, and always check the remnants.

When do you say enough is enough? I think I'm getting to that point, I'm starting to run out of space for new fabric so I better start using it up.
What are some of your favorite stash-busting projects? I'm thinking a crap quilt would be good, but I'm up for any other ideas.

Do you have a current favorite print in your stash? Let's see it!

So many, I really like Farmers Market prints right now but I wish I had more of them.

What's your definition of the perfect stash? I would say one where you can just go pull something off the shelf and be able to make what you want with it, without having to go to the store...but then again I love going to the fabric store.

I missed you all!

2009-01-27T16:07:00.003-06:00

Wow, it has been so long since I have blogged, but I'm back. I had a great Christmas with family but unfortunately didn't get pictures of the stuff I made for everyone. I'm working on that.

Our big project right now: Fixing up the siding and repainting our house. The original color is that peachy color on the garage doors. They painted the whole house to "match" the brick. I don't know what they were thinking, but we have hated the color since we moved in. I love the green we chose I think its going to look great when it's finished.

Holiday Vacation

2008-12-17T22:15:00.000-06:00

I'm on vacation in Utah right now but I'm still sewing so I will have lots to share when I get back!
Merry Christmas everyone, and Happy New Year!

Winner!

2008-12-05T14:10:00.002-06:00

The winner of the napkins and fabric is Caroline. Congrats I sent you an email please respond with your name and address so I can send you your prize. Thanks to the rest of you who participated. I had a lot of fun reading your traditions.

Its finished

2008-12-04T18:29:00.001-06:00

The giveaway is now closed. I will have a winner shortly. 64 comments what a great turn out!

Welcome to my first give-away!

2008-12-03T10:51:00.007-06:00

It's my first give-away! I just created this blog a few months ago and I'm excited to have you all visit me over here! So on to the give-away. I'm giving away a set of 4 napkins (about 15" square) that would be great for late summer or fall and some fabric to help you get started on your projects for spring!

The napkins are double sided so you can use either side. I love these!
Here is a close up of the fabric. There is half a yard of the pink one and the yellow one is a strip that is about 8 1/2" by 43/44."
Just leave me a note and tell me a tradition you share with your family during the Holidays. I'll pick the winner tomorrow night after 6pm. So you had until 6:00pm (Central time) tomorrow night!
I almost forgot I will only be shipping in the US.

A suit and travel bags

2008-11-25T17:05:00.008-06:00

My Hubby has been asking and asking to the point of pestering me to alter this suit. We found it at a thrift sale at the local school. It fit him perfect except the sleeves and pants were a little to long. So pants hemmed, check; sleeves taken up... ummm in progress. When I was in school I worked as a seamstress in the theater costume shop and so I had a lot of experience hemming and doing all sorts of alterations, as well as making new costumes from scratch. To this day I think it was my favorite job. But I digress... anyways fixing his suit has brought back some fond and not so fond memories (think getting in a fight with the pins and loosing) of the shop.

On another unrelated subject. We are leaving to go spend time with my family in Utah in 1 1/2 weeks and so I thought it was high time I make my self a soiled clothing bag. I hate it when the clean ones get mixed up with the dirty ones, and I hate using plastic grocery sacks for this because I always have issues with them. So here we are a bag just for the soiled stuff that is labeled and NOT plastic. Yeah.
I am trying to use up some of my stash and so I just found some fabric I liked together and started sewing. The ribbon pull string I really like. I sewed the pink one to the shear white one and then made a bit of bias tape to enclose all the frayed edges. I love it.
Of course I couldn't have it just plain, so I added some applique and a bit of hand embroidery. I haven't done embroidery much ever so this was a fun experiment, I enjoyed it so I think I will do more in the future.

Christmas cheer anyone?

2008-11-24T21:25:00.005-06:00

I made these for my churches women's group. They are some square table cloths and a quilted table runner. I have to give some credit to Kathy from Pink Chalk Studio

for the basic table runner idea I saw hers and just had to try it out. Kathy's was featured on the cover of Quilting Arts, she did a post all about it.

Anyways, this was so fun to make and I am in love with it so now I will have to make one of my own. If I only had the time, it might have to wait until next year... we'll see.
I love this snow flake that I designed, but I didn't like appliqueing it on. It took so long!
What are you making for Christmas?

A give-away from film in the fridge

2008-11-20T13:38:00.001-06:00

Over at Film in the Fridge there is a give-away going on. She is celebrating 100 posts on her blog, great job! I'll get there some day. Anyway, she is giving away pot holders, napkins and fabric!

A gift for a cute little guy

2008-11-19T21:06:00.001-06:00

One of my friends from college recently (about 2 months ago) had her 3rd little boy; and because I believe every baby should have something new I made these:

They are double sided burp cloths. Both sides are made of flannel from JoAnn's, I added ribbon to one side of each to dress them up a bit. The green one was so plain so I also appliqued the cowboys by the fence on it too. They are also bigger than most other burp cloths I've seen. In my experience this is very helpful to the mother (she doesn't go through so many shirts a day). They are about 12'' by 17.''
I made a bunch of these after I had my second baby, mainly because the others I had were very worn. My son loved these, they are simple, cute and fast to make. If I have another one I think I will make a bunch more- you can never have to many burp cloths.

Quilt Festival

2008-11-12T12:58:00.002-06:00

Quilt Festival was great! There were so many inspiring things that I forgot to take pictures until the very end. My friend Jena and I went together and we got there just as it was opening. They had 20 isles of booths with about 12-16 booths per isle on each side I think. Then they had a whole other section that was just quilts on display, We didn't get to look at all of those we never would have gotten out of there.

This is the fabric I got there. A charm pack of Moda's Woodland bloom line by Lila Tueller, a fat quarter butterfly print (I can't remember the line), ginger blossom by Sandi Henderson for Michael Miller, and the red and pink apples from Farmers Market. I was the most excited for the apple print because I have been wanting it for awhile but all the places I have seen it online have been out of stock on this color. So when I spotted it I had to get some right away.
These are pictures of some giant size ric rac that I saw; and if I can dream up some project to use them in I will be ordering some. If you have any ideas let me know.

This is me at the serendipity booth where I got my fabric.
I put this picture in here for fun. Its a huge shirt to advertise a steamer iron I think. I just saw it and thought I would never want to make that or iron it.

2008-11-01T19:49:00.000-05:00

A give-a-way

2008-11-01T19:45:00.000-05:00

Over at See Katie sew she has a give-a-way for her 2 year blog anniversery. Congrats Katie! I really like reading her blog it inspires me with what I do.

Handmade Holidays

2008-11-01T18:17:00.000-05:00

Over at sewmamasew they are dedicating a whole month to handmade gifts for anyone and everyone. I think it will be great to get some ideas.

Houston Quilt Show

2008-10-27T23:05:00.000-05:00

I'm going to the Houston Quilt show! It will be my first one, I am so excited. I wish I would have known that they had a meet and greet for bloggers this last weekend earlier so I could have gone to that too but maybe next year. I'll let you know how it is.

Sewing is slow these days

2008-10-27T22:59:00.001-05:00

It seems that I have been busy doing lots of things but have no finished projects to show for it. So I will show you all pictures of the finished top and back to a quilt I'm making for my youngest son. He is really into cars and trucks.

Nursing cover

2008-10-16T15:38:00.001-05:00

I have been waiting to post about this until I got this blog up and running so here it is. I was teaching a small basic sewing class and this was one of our first projects, (most of the students were young mothers). Here are the fabrics I used. The darker fabric is for the back.

Here is the completed cover all rolled up and ready to go into a diaper bag.

Here is the strap that goes around the mothers neck, it is adjustable which I love.
This is the whole cover, the pattern I used was for a one sided cover but I wanted it to look nice from either side and I also wanted it to be a little larger because I know babies like to wiggle a lot.

It's great to be created!

2008-10-16T15:16:00.000-05:00

Hello all this is the new blog for just my crafting whims and anything else I want to talk about. Welcome Please leave a comment so I know you have been here.