Break Time in the Studio

Guess what this means?

It means this!

In my house, this behavior can mean:

a.  I'm so cute and I look fantastic in the sunshine right on top of your work.

b.  I want something, yes food, and I'm not moving off your work until you go get me some.

c.  This sunshine is so wonderful, and even better right here where you've been ironing, ahhhh, nice and warm.

d.  I love being near you mommy, and so this is the best way I know how.

e.  All of the above.

f.  None of the above.

Jack's block finished

Jack's block is finished.  That is I've finished the embroidery but still have to bind it (I've cropped the raw edges out in the picture.)  The two close ups are my favourite bits on the block.  The first is a row of long bullions to make a small seam that doesn't intrude onto the photo of Jack.  I can see that they are not nearly perfect, but honestly they look better in reality than in the photo.  I used Edmar thread on most of the stitching, and it is more difficult to work with than perle, but It does give a nicer look, and is worth the trouble of ironing each length of thread!  The second favourite is the patch with the feather stitch filling up the centre with the double cretan on one side the buttonhole and chain on the other.    

Farewell, My Friend

I'll miss you.

Posting the Winner!

I am posting the winner of my Hopping Down the Bunny Trail giveaway and it is:

Donna of Sugar, Spice & Southern Life!  I will email you and you can send me your address so that I can get your pattern and fabric asap!

Congratulations Donna and thank you to all who entered and now follow my blog!  This was a lot of fun, and I know I will be having another giveaway in May!

Until tomorrow, happy quilting!

Time is still flying away

This is becoming a mantra (or a weak excuse at that). The reality is that there are just not enough hours in the day to do everything that needs to be done - anyone know how to extend the number of hours in a 24 hour day?

On a more serious note, I went on a road trip to a city (Johannesburg) about 600kms from my home town. I had to take my 2 beautiful Giant Schnauzers to the weekend dog shows and pick up my Burmese kitten from a good friend and bring her home. The Giants excelled at the shows. My little Giant (a contradiction in terms) collected her last point she needed to earn the title "Breed Champion". She was also Reserve Best of Breed on both days. Her litter brother won Best of Breed both days - we kept it in the family - :LOL. My big Giant Schnauzer excelled in her Obedience tests winning her Beginner's Obedience class with 98%. She then went into the Novice class ( a test twice as long and twice as difficult) and failed to qualify by 2.5% without any advanced training. I am really proud of both my Schnauzers......

 In places the scenery was awesome - from the Drakensberg mountains through the flat open lands of the Free State to the mine dumps of Egoli (Johannesburg, the city of Gold). The cosmos fields were absolutely stunning - the camera was packed away (am still kicking myself) so I didn't stop and take any photos. I've had to Google for some images of cosmos flower fields.

There are also kilometers and kilometers of electricity pylons running across the landscape. Most people would only see how their ugly gray steel structures pollute the landscape but.... have you noticed how many types there are and how intricate the designs are? Inspiration for a quilt? Aah yes, we are back to that elusive concept, "time to quilt". Maybe....one day soon, there will be photographs of a electricity pylon inspired quilt. "Hope springs eternal"

Creative Cue: Rich

Last week's Creative Cue word was rich. I am rich with kitty love, so that is how I came up with my sketch.

Here is the finished mosaic collage face quilt. I've named her Cira. It's an Italian name meaning sun. It measures approximately 23" x 25.5".

And here is something small I made. I don't know about you, but I happen to have fabric scraps. One plastic tub of scraps that I have are those fabrics that have Mistyfuse pre-applied. The scraps in the tub are mostly from other projects. Well my tub is full to overflowing and so I wondered how I might use some of them up.

So I applied some of the Mistyfused scraps to a batting scrap (yes I have scraps of everything). After I had the batting scrap filled with fabric, I then free-motion quilted the entire thing. Once that was done, I then applied some white textile paint. When dry, I thread sketched a girl. Then I applied a backing fabric, hand stitched around the edges, and affixed it temporarily to a blank greeting card. It's a mini quilt/greeting card combo.

On the Go

Remember Ice Cream Boy from my last post?

He turned 2 today.

A couple of weeks ago I found this really great half-yard set of fabrics in a line called Wheels by Riley Blake. Now I have told myself over and over, that I have enough fabric. But really. "Enough" can have such a flexible meaning. It's so, uh....relative. But still, I couldn't really justify the purchase.

Until I talked to my daughter-in-law, Christa, and asked her about the theme for Levi's birthday party.  Here's kind of how that conversation went down.

Me: Have you thought of a theme for Levi's birthday party.
Christa: Cars.
M: Cars. Like the movie "Cars" (which we have watched a gazillion times)?
C: No, cars. You know, just cars. Levi is really into all kinds of cars.
M (lightbulb going off in head, thinking about that line of "Wheels" fabric): Uh, is there anything you need in the way of decorating? You know, like a table runner, bib....?
C: A table runner and a bib would be GREAT.
M (to myself): SCORE!!!

Ordered the half-yard set of Wheels fabric. So cute.

And then it came time to go to Quilt Camp in February. Even though we each pack more projects for the weekend than we could possibly get completed, it is tradition to stop at Bear Paw Fabrics. Just in case we find something completely "necessary." Like "On the Go" by Clothworks. Besides the fun fabric, they also have a playmat-style panel. Remember the flexible definition of "enough"? Uh, yeah....

I machine quilted on the inside of the railroad track, around both sides of the road, and around the airport landing strip. Easy peasy.

I had purchased three half-yard cuts of fabric for the back.

Used the rest for a scrappy binding.

and this is all that was left. I'm pretty pleased with myself. In fact, I probably need more fabric since I used it all up!

And what did I do with all that "Wheels" fabric? Used probably a max of a 1/4 yard and made a bib, of course.

And you may recall the whole sew-in label dilemma, as in "what color should I pick for the base? gray? brown? black?"

Well, now that I'm opening a new etsy shop, the color is all a moot point. Because I now need labels that say
"Sewing on the Edge." So this bib will probably become a collector's item as the only product made by "one in every color." You know...probably something to be handed down from generation to generation.....?

And Levi's car party? Creative decorations and yummy food. (check out the license plate cookies--completely amazing).

Powered by cake, I'm pretty sure Levi will be a boy on the go!

Japanese Fabrics... Yum, Yum!!

I managed to jump off the hamster wheel this week long enough to attend a big quilt show. While I was a bit underwhelmed by the quilts on display, I was able to get some lovely fabrics...


such as these Japanese striped Yukata fabrics, which traditionally would be used to make a man's lightweight robe. They come in long rolls that are only 14" wide. I thought they would be perfect for making table runners.


Here's one that I just started... will probably add some patches to it, and then bind it and wash it up... I love the washing part as that's when all the texture emerges.

I also found these wonderful Japanese prints...


The texture is like bark cloth, and the fabrics have all these terrific hexagons in various prints, which I am hoping to cut apart and use for hexagon patches.


And just to note, I know I said that I would be listing a few more pincushions for sale at the end of this week, (which it is right now) but I've decided to hold off until I get some of these runners made up and hopefully some more various items as well, as it would be nice to offer a variety again... wish me luck that I can manage to keep my focus and stay off the hamster wheel!

Stacked Cups and TAFA

I created another version of this design. You may recall that I first did this design for my Twelve by Twelve quilt reveal on March 1. I wanted to try the design in some other colors. I plan to do some more of these, but don't have time right now. This one will probably be added to my etsy shop in the near future.

I joined a new-ish group called TAFA: The Textile and Fiber Art List. There are many talented artists in this group and you can see them highlighted on the site.

Hope you are having an enjoyable weekend. I am planning on getting the mosaic face quilt finished. I am currently hand stitching the binding.

How to make a Softie

After machine quilting all day I needed a change so I started to make a new softie without much of a plan.
I drew the outline on Glad Bake. It's not that clear on my tablecloth. The main thing is that whatever you draw, you need to remember that the limbs can't be too skinny because you lose a quarter inch in seam allowance all the way around.

I drew a body, a claw type arm and an ear.
You need to cut 2 bodies, 4 arms and 4 ears.

The material has to be laid back to back. I chose to do the inside of the ears a different colour to the outside.

Once the shapes are cut out it's is a good idea to iron them. I also cut out a piece of felt for the face.

Sew the face on with 2 strands of stranded cotton. You can use running stitch for the outside and for the main features I usually use running stitch or split stitch. I added felt cheeks and lips and goggly eyes which I bought from Spotlight.

Sew up the arms - with fabric right side facing. Snip the corners as it helps when you turn the pieces around to the right side. I always check the front and back of my sewing as sometimes I miss an edge and it is not sewn in properly. Turn the arms around the right way and stuff them. If you are stuffing ears or feet, do the same for all of them.

This is the bit I messed up and had to fix. Take the main body of your softie.
Place the back body on the table with the right side facing up.
Place the arms and ears on the body facing inwards so that the edges stick out of the seams. You can see my ears sticking out of the top of the head.  The arms' ends are sticking out of the shoulders.
Place the front part of the body on top with the good side facing inwards.
I flipped the edge over to show you the arms inside.
Pin everything into position.
If you are sure everything is in the right place make the stitch length on the sewing machine really small as it makes the seams stronger.
If you forget to put in your ears, like I did the first time around, it's a killer to unpick.
I usually start sewing about 3cm under the armpit, going over the first arm, around the head, catching the ears, over the next arm, around the legs and up to the ankle of the second leg.
Stop, leaving about 6-8cm open to turn the toy around. Double back on the sewing machine because it strengthens the edge.  When you turn the toy around it really pulls hard on the seams.

Here it is turned around the right way. It looks like a lamb! Oh well - not what I had expected. One leg is skinnier than the other but that is the fun of all this. You never can really plan something totally. On the right side of the photo the seam is open on the leg.

Pinch the seam together and try to roll the edges in as you slip stitch it closed. I had to continue stuffing the legs as I made the hole smaller. I use a plastic chopstick to do it. I tried a bamboo skewer once but it kept poking holes in the fabric. The chopstick has a round edge, is really strong and not too thin so it actually can push the polyfil in.

I sewed the ears down so the pink is showing.

Not my best work but it kept me amused while the boys watched the footy this Saturday night.

and we have a winner...

Thanks to everyone who made a comment regarding the name of my new etsy shop. Lots of good suggestions and feedback!

I added up all the comments left during the two days and gave that total to Random Number Generator to work its magic and the winner is Laurie, who said:

OK - I'll change my vote to Sewing on the Edge :)

And indeed, that is the name of the new shop, Sewing on the Edge. As much as I loved the name Selvaged, it came with its own problems and confusion. People simply have a hard time spelling it. American version (selvaged)? British version (selvedged)? And easy to confuse with Salvaged. When elpf pointed out that there was already an etsy seller with the name Selvedged, the decision was made.

Some people questioned the wisdom, or sanity, of using the word sanity as part of my etsy shop name.

However, Kristen had an excellent idea: to add a tag line. So, the etsy banner will read:

Sewing on the Edge

Selvaging my sanity, one stitch at a time

I thought that was the greatest solution. So, Kristen, you will also be finding a pincushion on its way to your mailbox. So will Becky, my niece, who came up with Sewing on the Edge in the first place.

Thanks so much to all of you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts and ideas. I hope you all have a happy and productive weekend. Me? I'll be selvaging my sanity, sewing on the edge, making items to stock the new etsy shop!

But first I'll leave you with this little visual. No matter what the question is...ice cream is the correct answer.

School's Out

Yahoo, school holidays have begun and with that comes an empty staffroom and the perfect quilting table for me to use. Every holiday I take over the staffroom and baste my quilts. I did my niece's quilt today. It is so much easier to sit on the tabletop than sit on the floor.
The backing is a Kaffe Fassett Liberty fabric. It feels beautiful.

More on Grippers

First, I would like to thank all of you for your wonderful comments on my mosaic collaged face. Your input has been a tremendous help.

A couple months ago a call was put out to make a quilt block for a special quilt for Yvonne Porcella. The first photo shows the block I made to contribute. You can see the completed quilt here on Jamie Fingal's blog and she shares a bit about the process. The quilt turned out so great!

I made my quilt block with the gel glue resist method and added color with Jacquard Dye-Na-Flow paint.

I wanted to share with you that I tried the gripper pads while free-motion quilting yesterday and found them extremely wonderful. I will definitely be keeping these by my sewing machine to use often. I had a couple of questions on how to use these. Simply lay the gripper onto your quilt in the position where you would normally have your hand, then just place your hand on the gripper and start stitching.

As I was cooking supper yesterday, (I was making manicotti) I looked closely at the plastic trays that the manicotti shells came in and wondered if the tray would be useful in my studio. While they are a bit flimsy, there were two plastic trays and I have them nestled together, I thought perhaps they might make a nice thread spool holder for the threads I pick out to use on current projects. I'm not sure if I'll like this or not but thought I'd give it a try. I like re-purposing things that are meant to be discarded, and do it often. Do you? What's your favorite re-purposed item and how do you use it?

Round 2

First of all, thanks for all the great feedback and suggestions on my etsy shop naming dilemma yesterday. Here is the update:

After elpf did an etsy search, she found there was already a seller by the name of "Selvedged." That happens to be the British spelling, by the way. But for my purposes of trying to have a unique seller name, it knocked "Selvaged" right out of the ring.

Then my niece, Becky, sent me an email with the suggestion of "Sew Edgy." As soon as I read that name, I knew that was it!!! So I was already writing my blog post in my head when I thought, hmmm, maybe I should do an etsy search on that name. Bah. There's an etsy seller named "Sew Edgy Designs." So that became a non contender as well.

But Becky had another good suggestion.

So in one ring, we have the reigning champion, weighing in at 17 characters,

                                                      Selvaging My Sanity

And new to the fight, in the other corner, we have the new contender, weighing in at 15 characters,

                                                      Sewing on the Edge

I like them both a lot, although maybe questioning my sanity is not good from a business standpoint. On the other hand, sewing actually saves my sanity.

I also like the other name because it incorporates the idea of selvages while at the same time leaving product options wide open.

Same rules as yesterday. The pincushion is still up for grabs. If you commented yesterday, go ahead and comment again today. That way you will have two votes thrown into the ring for the prize.

Are you ready to Hop Down the Bunny Trail?

Come and join everyone as they "Hop Down the Bunny Trail", a great way to visit blogs and enter into our giveaways!  This is so exciting for me because it is also my first giveaway!  There are a total of 29 blogs to visit counting mine!  This was all made possible thanks to Sandi at A Legacy of Stitches--whoo hoo, I can hear all of the applause going on right now!  Just become a follower of mine and leave me a comment on this post only!  That is it to enter to win here--quick and simple.  Please make sure that I have your name and email to reach you if you are the winner, if I can't reach you I will move on and draw another name.  I will draw the winner on Sunday at 7:00 p.m. EST.  My giveaway is open to anyone.  If you want to Hop with other blogs, click HERE or click on the bunny on my sidebar.  Here is what I am giving away, just in time for Easter:

Can't wait to meet new followers!  Have fun Bunny Hopping!  Until tomorrow, happy quilting!

As a footnote, click HERE to link to a wonderful new blog to me, Poems My Way, which I just found today--I know you will love it; the poems are so enjoyable to read; and they are also part of the Hop Down the Bunny Trail blog hop!

****Please Note:  This Giveaway is officially closed and no additional comments will be accepted.  Thank you all for participating and good luck.  *****  I will post the winner on March 29, 2010.***

My sanity could depend on your comments...

You might remember that I have mentioned my obsession with love of selvage edges from quilting fabric.

I'm quite sure I will never make this but it is highly likely that  at some point I will make something similar to this gorgeous quilt.

Photo courtesy of Tallgrass Prairie Studio

And that brings me to the reason for this post. I am starting a new etsy shop. We already have One in Every Color and to this point that is where we have stocked everything we have for sale: fused glass, quilting patterns, selvage-edge pincushions. With no cohesive thread to tie them together. After reading a marketing tip that such diverse items could be confusing for the buyer and harder to brand you as a seller, I began thinking about opening another shop, just for things I sew. And since most of those things will involve incorporating selvage edges, it became important to pick a catchy name.

My first choices were already taken: On the Edge (just a buyer, not a seller) and The Cutting Edge (soldered glass jewelry). One afternoon I started brainstorming with Jessie and George while they were in the hospital with Sue. They came up with a bunch of names. Some good possibilities, like Edge to Edge. George's big contribution was Bordering on Insanity. Really, George?? I quickly vetoed that name....until we were back in Sue's room visiting, and this time Mark and Jessie's fiance, Luke, were there as well.

By that time I had settled on what I thought was a great name, one that I had thought up all by myself.

Selvaged

I liked the kind of play on words, well, just one word actually. Salvaged selvages.

To my amazement, everyone thought it was a boring name. Bah. Okay, guys, what do you think of  George's suggestion, "Bordering on Insanity?" I asked with a snicker. Luke, who is also in marketing, said he thought it was a really interesting name. Jessie said she could definitely click on that name just to check out what kind of items the seller had. Okay, so I did an etsy name search.

It was already taken!!! Unbelievable! Again, apparently just a buyer, not a seller.

More brainstorming. Along the same lines as Bordering on Insanity, I came up with Selvaging My Sanity.

So here is where you all come in. It's up for a vote.

In one corner is Selvaged, weighing in with a lot fewer letters, straightforward. I think it could be a good contender.

In the other corner, weighing in with a couple more words and a lot more letters and just under the 20-letter limit imposed by etsy is Selvaging My Sanity.

What do you think? And if there are some of you who occasionally read this blog but don't usually comment, this would be a good time to come out of the woodwork and make your voices heard. You can remain anonymous but I would still love to know what your choice would be.

Would a giveaway sweeten the deal? I reserve the right to make the final decision, but I'll throw a pincuchion into the ring for the comment chosen by the random number generator on Thursday at 6 p.m. PDT.

And as long as we're talking selvages, look what came in the mail about a week ago. All the way from Australia. From one of my favorite inspiring quilters, Red Pepper Quilts.

I have lots of product ideas. But first things first. Help me find my name.