festivals and craftiness

as i said, lately the words just aren't there, but at least my craftiness still is!

i have been in clutch making mode lately after i realized how easy they are. this is the third one i have made as a birthday gift, plus two more for me - i am on a roll!

if you want to see more of my craftiness in person, i am involved in two different shows this weekend:

the first is the whimsical wares pop-up shop in marietta, ga. i was so honored to be asked to be a part of this group show and i know it will be a huge success! the great thing about it is that the two wonderful ladies who run it do everything. yes, everything-which leaves me free to be at the country living show in stone mountain, ga, friday through sunday. i will be helping out in the modern june booth working the oilcloth table for the second year in a row. at the country living fair, you will also be able to find my aprons, tinsel hearts, embroidery hoops, lamps, etc.... inside modern june's double booth.

three cheers for festivals!

squirrels and a tutorial

well, my year on the May Arts design team has come to an end. i have loved working with their ribbon throughout the year and creating out of the box projects. my goal when starting this job was to transform the ribbon into something it wasn't originally intended for and i think i succeeded. for one of my final projects, i created a stuffie squirrel with a rather fluffy may arts ribbon fringe tail.

this is my first (of hopefully many) stuffie patterns, so bear with me, it definitely gave me some challenges :)

click here to make this cuteness!

bunting and a new festival

i have been busy sewing up tons of bunting for the vintage revival show i am a part of at the end of this month.

check out the website and if you are in the atlanta area at the end of june, come check it out. atlanta hasn't had a show like this in a long time and i am mighty excited to be a part of such goodness. the bunting will be part of my tent decoration, but will definitely be for sale as well!

zippers and a bag

i often joke about it, but i have definitely crossed the line of hoarding with this post. but i have a good reason for the madness, i promise. well, maybe...

here goes - this entire lot of around 600 zippers (a guess) was $4. is that a good reason to be hoarding more zippers that i could possibly use in a lifetime?

some local sewing shop must have gone out of business and dropped off all their inventory at my local thrift shop. they have bins and bins of zippers along with bins and bins of serger thread. at least my compulsion drew the line at buying up serger thread for a serger i hope to acquire in the future.

back to the zippers - fill up a grocery bag as full as you can and pay $2, that was the deal. i stuffed and stuffed and walked away with a bag of zippers in the most amazing colors for $2. and then because i could not stop thinking about them, i went back in the afternoon for another bag. $4 in all, and half of them are metal zippers that i am note even sure if they make anymore. and if they do, they would definitely be more than $2 for a single zipper in any store.

i do have plans for these zippers though - some will be used as intended, others will be crafted into flower broaches and more will be for sale during the atlanta goat farm vintage show at the end of june.

thrifting and sheets

i might be reaching hoarding capacity with vintage sheets.

what? you say this stack doesn't look that large to you? well, it doesn't, but combined with the 8 other stacks not in the photo, i am overflowing! the thing is, i just can't pass them up. the patterns, the softness, the fact that you get about 4 yards of fabric for $2 - all this makes them irresistible to me.

the good news is i finally have a plan for them and i am so excited about the idea. once i make a prototype, i will share the goodness with everyone.

beaches and totes

i am headed to the beach in a bit and was on the hunt for the perfect floppy tote. nowhere i went had what i was looking for. probably because there was a bug in the back of my head that kept telling me i should just make my own.

i designated wednesday as a sew in pjs' day with no other distractions and i was able to knock this out.

i am comfortable enough now to not follow a pattern exactly, so this purse is a mash up to say the least. the bottom portion is from an old oh frannson pattern that has been retired. it has a great pleat and a little loop that hooks onto the button and closes up the bag.

i improvised with the back and added a double pocket with snap closures. i am a sucker for a back pocket on a purse - it is perfect to slip your phone into so it doesn't get mixed up with everything else.

the entire purse is stitched from vintage sheets. i also dared to use some binding for the first time and it wasn't nearly as frustrating as i was expecting.

my favorite part is this little hook. it allows me to make the purse be an over the shoulder bag or longer as a cross body tote. i stole this idea from another bag i have and it is perfect for me because i am forever picky about where i want to carry all my stuff.

i just love mash-ups!

stuffies and fleece

i am currently on holiday from my freelance design work until after the new year and i am loving the time i now have to putter around. the other day, i made a travel neck pillow from this tutorial over on the cottage home. do i travel much? not as much as i would like. do i need a neck pillow? no, not really. but it was so cute, i just had to space out for a few hours and put together this easy peasy pattern. plus, i think i learned a trick for life to avoid lumpy bumpy stuffie stuffing. want to know what it is???

add a layer of fusible fleece to the back of your outer fabric before you sew parts together and stuff. this tutorial didn't call for fleece fusible, just regular, but it was all i had in the house. it gave my piece such a smooth finished look, i am hooked!

what online tutorials have you been hooked on? i have 2 more weeks of this freedom and am all ears for more ways to spend my time.

sheets and memories

a reason i love vintage sheets, besides their undeniable softness, is the memories that are attached to them. i can see a sheet from my childhood and instantly be taken back to the age i was when i slept on them. holly hobby will remain my favorite pattern, and after that, it would be the black and white cats with red sneakers? anyone else have those? i had completely forgotten about them until i spied them in the back corner of a closet at a recent estate sale. i might have to buy some the next time i see them - i think my boys would love the pattern!

i have a friend who is due with her first child any day now. the last time i saw her, she had just returned from cleaning out her late grandmothers house and had bags full of rescued sheets. she had her heart set on a baby quilt made from the sheets that held so many memories for her and i was all too happy to oblige. for her shower, i made a quilt comprised of fabric diamonds to showcase a lot of each pattern and as a surprise, i also made another sweet elephant out of a vintage tablecloth found in the stash. the elephants might have to be a baby shower staple for me since they are just so darn adorable - remember this one from last year?

labels and country living

i've been sewing up a flurry of aprons this past week. i shouldn't say this, but sometimes i get so burnt out on making them, the redundancy of it all, so there is a long time in between batches. but once i get going again, i love mixing together crazy patterns and seeing all the colorful fabric laying around my studio. the best part about this batch? they are the first ones that include my woven business label. i get very giddy over the professionalism of it all!!!

and...

they will be for sale at the atlanta country living fair this weekend at stone mountain along with my hoop art! i will be helping out the lovely kelly mccants in her "modern june" booth and she has graciously offered to sell my creations alongside of hers. i will be there all day long on saturday cutting up a storm of oilcloth and laminated cotton fabrics. and, who am i kidding, probably buying some as well. if you are in the atlanta area, swing by and say hello!

and...

did you know that kelly is the author of this new book? she is going to be doing a signing at whipstitch fabrics tonight if you can't wait for the weekend and want to swing by and pick up your very own copy :)

napkins and lunches

since the beginning of summer, i have had "make lunchbox napkins" on my to-do list. i guess i was stalling, because i didn't know if my munchkins would think them dorky or if people would make fun of them for having cloth napkins in their lunch bags. then just last week, i read this post and decided to wait no longer.

i have a ton of this men's shirting fabric (like 10 yards each, no joke) that you might remember from these cuties. i think it is the perfect big boy fabric because let's face it, my 6 & 8 year old munchkins are teetering on young adulthood and won't want my handmade goods much longer so i have to use all the tricks i can.

i cut 12 inch squares and folded each end in a quarter of an inch and then folded in once again. then you sew up the hems. perfectly simple and a great beginner project!

a quilt and petals

my dining room redo is moving right along. i finally finished the table quilt and am completely smitten. i cut 8 pie pieces out of 4 fabrics from anna maria horner and tula pink. i sewed the pie sections together, then layered it on top of a white sheet for backing and low-loft batting in the middle.

i have not yet mastered free form quilting - instead, i stitched a line along each side of the seams. following along the seam created from attaching the pieces together, gives you a great ruler to ensure a straight stitch. then i measured out and added 2 more lines of stitching within each pie starting on the outside edge and ending in the middle.

once quilted together, i decided to scallop the edge of each section to mimic flower petals. i was worried about the binding going along the curves, but it turned out great.

this room is taking on a much more eclectic style which is so much more me than the formal room i had before. my tastes are always changing, but i think i will love this table quilt forever!

alignment and perfection

i feel like i have been less than perfect in every aspect of my life this summer. i just can't get the days to evolve the way i would like. ugh! i really have to practice the art of letting go. i am trying, really trying to not take everything that happens to heart, but somehow i always do. and the result? i am in a serious funk. double ugh!

thank goodness i have found a few precious moments to create. and thank goodness for the small joy of perfect alignment. the shot above is the start to my dining room tabletop quilt. the fact that i managed to get all 8 pie pieces to match up in the center is pure perfection! hopefully this is a sign of good things to come.

how is your summer moving along, are you in a rut, or have you been able to accomplish all your goals? if so, tell me your secrets - pretty please???

bookmarks and boredom

holy cow, anyone else feel like this summer is flying by? for those of us in the lovely south that have children who go back to school the first or second week of august, well our summer is about half over!

our days have been filled with swimming, movies and general laziness. but sometimes i have to do something constructive to fill in the gaps. when i start to hear "mom, i'm sooo bored" i know it's time for a project. so, anyone who wants a quick, easy craft to do with their munchkins - this one is for you!

the kids and i made some bookmarks out of what else, mayarts ribbon. i really have a thing about grosgrain - i can't get enough of it and usually have a lot lying around the house. if your little ones are too small to sew, no worries, there is always the fun tassel fraying bit.

click here for the downloadable pdf tutorial. happy reading!!!

labels and lists

my personalized woven labels came in the mail a few days ago and i feel so professional now - watch out people!

seriously though, this is such a major step for me, but one that i really wanted to do. the labels are really very expensive for what they are and for the money i bring in, but they are definitely going to add something special to my sewn pieces.

the process was pretty easy, but i must say i am really glad that i am a graphic designer and can edit my logo any way i choose. due to size limitations, i had to edit my "hand-made home goods" tag by taking out the word "home". it took a few rounds to get it right with the manufacturer since i am so very picky, but in the end they are now perfect and i don't even mind the revise tag :)

now i have to run to the fabric store and buy some aqua thread. i only ever sew with white thread no matter the fabric color, but somehow i don't think that will pass for these beauties!

ps: my birthday is thursday so i might be missing for a few days while i am out celebrating. cheers!

table covers and a new room

remember when i posted this cabinet last week? well, it has sparked a complete dining room re-do and i am so excited. i went to our super special fabric store in town a few days ago for inspiration and it might possibly be my favorite place. this isn't just your average fabric store that carries patterns made by big corporations. no sirree. this fabric store carries all the big names... amy butler, anna maria horner, heather bailey - the list goes on and on. the store goes on and on as well with an assault of color wherever you turn!

back to the dining room - i have decided to paint the walls antique white and bring all the color in as accessories. above are 4 fabrics i chose to brighten up the space. from left to right, the first 3 are anna maria horner fabrics while the last, scallop pattern is by tula pink - a new to me designer. it is often difficult to mix and match different designers' fabric, but i think the scallop print compliments the other 3. in my opinion, they were made for each other.

the tula pink print will line the back of the white cabinet and then i big plans in store for the rest of the fabric.

this is a mock up of a crazy quilted table cover i came up with. we have a 5ft round mahogeny table in the dining room and when you include the chairs, the entire look is a bit wood heavy. i love the table and chairs, but really want to soften it up this time around. the quilt will be slightly smaller than 5 feet in diameter which means it will not hang over the table as tablecloths usually do. i will also use very low loft batting when pulling the quilt together so it won't be too puffy. i am so excited to start sewing and i hope it comes out exactly like i have pictured in my head. as every one well knows, this doesn't happen all the time :) however it turns out, i will be sure to document the progress with lots of before and afters.

thank goodness the munchkins have camp next week - between painting, sewing and hanging new crown moulding, my days will be packed!

owls, totes and a tutorial

yay! i finally finished my newest tutorial. it is a sweet owl tote bag created from a store bought canvas tote and lots of fantastic mayarts ribbon. this is my second entry into their design team challenge and i have loved working on this project. they will be posting the finalists soon for voting, so hopefully you guys can help me out a bit - i will keep you updated:)

i love looking at things different ways, so even though these suede leaves come in the form of ribbon, i couldn't help but see them as feathers. with that in mind, i was fixated on making a feathery owl. summer break is quickly on the horizon and i know i will be taking my munchkins to the library quite often, so what better thing to make than a fun library tote. don't need another tote? this owl could easily be applied to an apron or even used as a wall hanging.

want to make? click here to download - happy sewing :)

bunnies and brothers

some new additions to the Linwood Avenue house arrived yesterday in the munchkins easter baskets! aren't they so innocently sweet???

my boys are definitely getting older and would rather be watching icarly than sponge bob, so i know my days of handmade easter treats are winding down. however, i couldn't resist this cute bunny pattern, so i bought it, then adapted it in a few ways to make it more suitable for my boys. i omitted the diaper bottom, and gave them some curious eyes which i think made all the difference. the part i love most is that i used men's shirting fabric to give it that extra masculine look that boys of 8 and 6 desire :)

i couldnt' help but giggle as munchkin #1 snuggled his bunny at bedtime and said he knew the easter bunny would bring him one because he saw it in a store and wished for it.

um, no, but the sentiment was sweet anyways!

rolled and packed

i have been hibernating lately trying to finish up a huge bunch of aprons. my first festival of the season is may 7 & 8, and the deadline is quickly approaching! i think i sewed 25 in one day and wouldn't you know it, i had 3 to go and completely ran out of thread. not bobbin thread, but spools of thread. i have random colors lying around, but since i only sew with white, i was up a creek. i made a quick dash to the fabric store and haven't left the house since.

thank goodness my annual easter box of Sarris Candy goodies from my mom arrived on my doorstep today, i was starting to get really hungry!

custom orders and creativity

i have been getting a lot of custom apron orders lately and this makes me so, so happy because it means that...

a. people like what i am doing
b. people understand the importance of what they wear as being part of their overall festival booth design.

katie, the proprietress of this sweet etsy shop ordered the above apron to wear at festivals. her first festival to be exact. we went back and forth a few times on fabric that best reflects her and i love the overall structured look. i think it represents her style perfectly.

if you had to design an apron for yourself, what fabric would best represent you? i myself am a big floppy floral kind of gal such as this new fabric i am totally gushing over :)

sewing and standards

i popped into our library yesterday and popped back out with this fabulous book - for FREE! there was a plastic bin full of free books hanging out in the lobby and ta-da, a sewing book just for me. i am definitely a sucker for free, but i think i would love this book even if i had to pay for it.

there is no date in the book, but i would guess it is from the 60s. it discusses button holes, hemming, pattern making, drapery, slip covering furniture, you name it. if it has to do with sewing, the instructions are in here. being that it is a better homes and gardens book, i imagine it has graced shelves in many homes.

aren't old craft books the best???