Friday's Fabulous Finds...

I spy with my Spoonflower eye some...

pale peach.

Beautiful fabrics courtesy of Spoonflower.

Friday Fabric Finds and a Merry Christmas to you!

I think I might start up a Friday Fabric Finds post this next year and to kick it off, I'll feature these adorable prints. Wouldn't these be darling for a Christmas quilt? We'll start with this inspiration fabric...

Quilting Treasures "Christmas Doors - Ecru"

Kona Cotton "Shadow"
 

Cotton & Steel "Garland Illuminate - Cherry"

Hoffman California International "Grafic Brick Wall - Gray"

Quilting Treasures "Pixie Square Dot - Turquoise"

All together...

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

Fabric choices...

Yesterday I featured some fabric choices for quilts with a more masculine bent. Today I'm showing you some beautiful fabrics from Hawthorne Threads that are definitely more feminine. I'm not sure I've ever met a collection from Hawthorn Threads that I didn't love. Here's a couple of collages from their Nectar collection, but check out Autumn Fawn, Thumbelina, Blackbird, and more. They are on the pricey side, but oh so worth it for their lusciousness...

Textile Tuesday...

Generally speaking I'm not much of a quilter. Years ago I made a couple of large quilts -- queen size -- and almost died of frustration and boredom. I like projects that whip up in a day or less. Lately, however, I've seen some small, baby quilts that have inspired me, so I got the urge to try a smaller, more bite-size variety. I absolutely love some of the fabrics they have at Hobby Lobby right now, so I picked some up and decided to do a disappearing nine patch quilt. This quilt is probably one of the easiest, most forgiving quilts one can make. Here are the fabrics I've chosen...

Wish me luck!

Ric-Rac Receiving Blankets...

A few years ago I created a tutorial for my Ric-Rac Receiving Blankets. These are large 42" x 42" soft, flannel blankets that accommodate a growing baby. Most receiving blankets that are offered in stores are 30" x 30", which is barely large enough to wrap a newborn. The store-bought kind are also only one layer of fabric and are made from cheap flannel, so they don't hold up to frequent washings. I still use some of the receiving blankets I made for my babies for our grandbabies today, so that gives you an idea of how well these receiving blankets hold up.

Recently I made a couple of these blankets for our granddaughter due in June. One soft soft gray with pink whales...

And another with pink giraffes and chevron...

I bought all of these fabrics at Hancock Fabrics. They have some adorable flannels. Did you hear that Hancock Fabrics is going out of business and closing all their stores? This makes me sad, and I think this proves the online fabric stores are taking a huge toll on brick and mortar businesses. Plus, I think Hancock Fabrics was always two steps behind at keeping up with trends. In any case, they will be having some good sales as they liquidate their stores. I'll be heading there later today to check out their sales.

These receiving blankets take minutes to make and the double thickness makes the blanket so soft and durable...

Find the tutorial for making these blankets here.

Have a wonderful day!

Textile Wednesday...

"Textile Wednesday" doesn't have the same ring to it as "Textile Tuesday," but I'm a day late, so it'll have to do.

Today we are having a one of those spring blizzards that makes Colorado famous. Yesterday I was sitting reading a book in the chair in the photo below in 70 degree weather at 4pm in the afternoon. Sixteen hours later those chairs look like this...

It's a good thing I made a quick trip to Hobby Lobby yesterday and snatched up some of these beautiful, new metallic fabrics...

I absolutely adore these fabrics that have a sprinkling of gold metallic. So cute. I'll be hunkering down with sewing on my mind  today. It's a good day for hot chocolate and slippers. Even the puppy is content to stay inside in this kind of weather!

Textile Tuesday...

I'm back home for a little while. In the last month I've been to California, Washington D.C. and back to California for two weeks. It feels good to be home, but I had a wonderful time at each place visiting with family. Today on Textile Tuesday I'm featuring some beautiful prints by Katarina Roccella for Art Gallery. The collection is titled "Indelible", which means "making marks that cannot be erased or removed." Her artwork is just beautiful!

Clockwise, starting top left:

Deer Coal

Spirodraft Ocre

Flutter Folds Ash

Stylus Text Sky

Stamped Grove Daylight

Textile Tuesday...

Take a look at these adorable fabrics...

I'd love to make a tent or a quilt or a hat or anything else for a little boy with these cute fabrics!

Clockwise, starting top left:

Timeless Treasures, "Under the Stars," Feathers Cream

Timeless Treasures, "Under the Stars," Fox Camping Steel

Quilting Treasures, "Camp Cozy," Animal Campout Blue

Timeless Treasures, "Tossed Arrows," White

Timeless Treasures, "Bright Eyed & Bushy Tailed," Large Forest Animals Cream

Shannon Fabrics, "Minky Cuddle Classic Kids," Forest Tails Kiwi

Fabric Pumpkin Tutorial...

A girl has to keep herself busy somehow, and last week while our house was being painted I had plenty of time on my hands. I got busy making some of these...

Years ago I helped plan a women's conference for our church. Along with workshops and classes, we hosted a lunch for about a million and three women. {A slight exaggeration, but that's what it felt like.} I can't remember how many of these types of pumpkins I made for table decorations, but after that event I swore I'd never make another. It's taken me approximately 15 years to decide I could have another go at it.

These fabric pumpkins are a cinch to make. 

You don't even need a sewing machine!

Materials

Pumpkin: Scraps of fabric, like: linen, corduroy, satin, velvet, muslin, faux suede, etc.
"Leaves" (optional):  Scraps of fabric
Sewing needle
Thread: heavy-duty quilting thread or DMC-type embroidery floss
Filler: white beans or rice
Filler: polyester stuffing
Jute or Twine
Stem: tree branch, cinnamon sticks, or brown felt

Instructions

1.) Cut a circle out of fabric for the pumpkin. Look for objects in your kitchen for a quick circle -- pizza pans, round trays, etc.

• Small pumpkin - Cut a 12" diameter circle, (for a 5" diameter pumpkin)
• Medium pumpkin - Cut a 16" diameter circle (for a 7" diameter pumpkin)
• Large pumpkin - Cut a 22" diameter circle (for a 9" diameter pumpkin)

2.) Hand baste 1/4" from outside edge of fabric with strong quilting thread or cotton ball thread found by the embroidery floss in craft/fabric stores. Use a double thread for both.

3.) Gather edges of pumpkin by pulling the basting threads till it is in the shape of a "ball." Stuff the inside of the pumpkins with 1 to 3 cups (depending on size of pumpkin) of beans or rice. To that add polyester stuffing to the pumpkin until full.

4.) For stem: A piece of a dead tree limb is ideal. Cut the limb in 3" - 5" length. A bundle of whole cinnamon sticks would also work, or cut a piece of brown felt about 10" long and 4" wide. Fold in half lengthwise. Roll felt lengthwise and stitch edge to make a stem.

5.) Finish gathering the top of the pumpkin, insert stem, gather and tie threads in a knot around the stem. If you made a felt stem,you may want to baste the stem to the pumpkin at the base of the stem.

6.) Use jute to divide the pumpkin into six or eight segments and tie at the bottom. I pull the jute tight so it doesn't show much but is in the creases of the pumpkin.

7.) For "leaves": Tear fabric about 10" long by 3" wide. Tear strips along the length of the fabric every 3/4" or so and baste the top of the fabric, like this:

Gather and tie the "leaves" around the base of the stem. See below...

You can also hot glue twine around the base of the stem to hide the jute that is used to divide the pumpkin into segments.

These pumpkins are pretty throughout the fall -- for Halloween or Thanksgiving.

I think they'd be beautiful in a centerpiece or a big basket on a hearth...

Later this week I'll publish a post about some artificial pumpkins that I painted with chalk paint. Here's a little teaser...

Yummy Floral Fabrics....

I caught sight of these yummy floral fabrics tonight, and I thought I'd share. They are a line by Alexander Henry, called "Bella Strada." I'd love to walk along the beautiful path where these flowers grow...

The dark backgrounds are so beautiful for fall and winter. 

Enjoy!

Chevron & Floral Tote...

Yesterday I was busy creating a tote. All I have left is to build a little fabric flower to adorn it, but I thought I'd show you a sneak peek...

I love mixing traditional fabrics with more modern ones -- like this classic yellow and gray floral with the more current chevron fabric below. You'll see the finished product soon!

Wishing you a nice day,

Home Again...Fabric...Tutorial...

I returned home last evening from a wonderful week with one of my son's and his family. They had a new little one join their brood a few weeks ago, so I went to help the family. So much fun! I miss them already. Here's an adorable photo of his older sister. She and I took a lot of walks together. It made me realize how much a two year old enjoys the journey. She hopped along picking up treasures and holding them in her chubby little hands loving every minute of the adventure. As an adult I usually set my sights on the destination, rather than appreciating the journey. It was a good lesson for me to learn.

As much as I miss that little newborn baby boy and his family, it was good to get home. These beautiful fabrics were waiting for me when I returned...

I have a lot of projects that I'm going to be working on this fall for Christmas presents. These will definitely come in handy. I ordered them at Fabric Bubb (Etsy shop).

Tomorrow I'm looking forward to publishing my tutorial for the Child's Play Tent that I posted about last week. It's such a fun, easy project that anyone -- regardless of their sewing ability -- can tackle!

Deer Silhouette Wall Art Tutorial...

Here's a tutorial of my favorite creation for quite some time. It has everything I love in one beautiful package ... gorgeous fabric, an animal silhouette, damask, a variety of textures, nature, and bold colors!  For me, it's a perfect bundle of lusciousness.

You might remember the little wall that I painted with stripes a few weeks ago...

As you can tell, it's an unusual grouping of walls in our basement because it follows the curved staircase going up to our main floor. I have a short bookcase that goes in that middle panel of walls that I will be refinishing soon, but I knew I needed something to hang above the bookcase.When I saw the fabric below, I knew exactly what I wanted to create. I'll share with you how I created this Deer Silhouette Wall Art.

 Fabric: Finnelopy in Indigo, Novella Collection by Valori Wells

Materials Needed:
1 - 18" x 24" artist canvas
1 - piece of 100% cotton fabric, 30" x 36"
1 - piece of fusible bonding web, 17" x 23"
 1 - piece of black imitation black leather fabric, approx: 18" x 24"
Upholstery stapler and staples
Fabric glue

Directions: 

Begin by buying the least expensive artist canvas you can find. You can purchase an  18" x 24" artist canvas for $13.99 at Hobby Lobby -- much less if you use the 40% off coupon. Cut a piece of 17" x 23" fusible bonding web. (Fusible web -- sold on the bolt as Stitch Witchery, Heat N Bond and other trade names -- fuses two fabrics together.)

Cut a piece of 100% cotton fabric (I used "Finnelopy" in Indigo) 30" x 36" to wrap around the front of the canvas. Center the fusible web onto the cotton fabric and fuse the web to the fabric. Next lay your fabric right side down on a counter and place the front side of the artist canvas over the fusible web (the canvas will be 1/2" larger than the fusible web on all four sides).  Fuse the canvas to the fabric by ironing through the back of the canvas. This step will give the cotton fabric more body and secure it to the canvas while you are stapling the fabric to the back of the frame of the artist canvas. Is it necessary to use the fusible web? No. But, for me, it made it much easier to align the fabric properly on the canvas by fusing it to the canvas first and then stapling the edges. Trim the edges of the cotton fabric to cover the frame on the back of the canvas. When finished with these steps you will have a framed canvas that looks like this.

Front:

Back:

Next, google "deer silhouette image" and shop around for an image that strikes your fancy. It was easy to find an image that I particularly liked. There were many to choose from:

I enlarged the image I chose (bottom left) on my printer/copier so it was about 22 inches tall then cut out the image and traced the mirror image onto the back of the piece of imitation leather fabric. The "leather" I used had a lighter fabric backing on the underside of the fabric (see below), which made it easy to trace.

After cutting the image out of the fabric, I carefully ran a black permanent marker along the edge of the fabric of the deer image to make sure the edge looked as black as the front of the fabric. The leather silhouette is below. It's difficult to see the texture of the leather, but it's really gorgeous and the leather fabric doesn't unravel at the edges at all!

All that's left to do is to glue the leather fabric onto the cotton wrapped canvas. Use a good quality fabric glue for this part of the project. Lay your image on top of the cotton wrapped canvas and position it carefully. Then put straight pins through the canvas around the image to help guide the placement of the leather as you glue it down, like this...

 

Using the fabric glue, glue the "leather" fabric down starting at the bottom of the deer and working your way up to the antlers. Be careful not to put the glue too close to the edge because you don't want any glue to seep out past the edge of the deer. Remove the pins. Carefully turn the canvas over onto a counter and place some heavy books on top of the back of the canvas to help join the two fabrics together more fully.

Now you're ready to show off your masterpiece!

There are, of course, many variations to this project. You could paint the canvas and cut the deer out of some beautiful fabric and attach it to the painted canvas. That's what I had intended to do originally, but I decided I wanted more of that luscious fabric to show, so I used the fabric as the background in mine.

My next project is to refinish a vintage bookcase {update: Click here for that tutorial)
 that will go beneath the deer silhouette.

I'm going to refinish it in the beautiful lighter blue color on the damask design
 that the arrow is pointing to in the photo below..

I hope it will become the perfect compliment to the deer silhouette.

Update: Go here for another version of a Deer Silhouette!

Linked to:
Knock Our Socks Off Party @ Jo Jo & Eloise

Friday Favs Party @ Naptime Crafter

Show Me What Ya Got @ Not Just a Housewife  
The Inspiration Board @ Homework

Show & Tell Tuesday @ I have to Say

Knock Your Socks Off Party @ JoJo & Eloise  

Made by you Monday @ Skip to my Lou

Featured on: