PINCUSHION TUTORIAL

I saw this idea on our local crafts TV show.
It’s a very cute pincushion, easy and quick to make.

So I made this pattern

And cut two fabrics in this shape

Sewed the right sides together and left
an opening on one of the narrow ends
(through which I was going to stuff it)

Stuffed it with the kind of soft material you use to stuff pillows and cushions

But only the wide section, which makes the body of the heart. The narrow ends are left unstuffed so that you can tie them in a bow.

Closed the opening with invisible stitching

And tied the ends into a bow.

Voilá !

Isn’t this easy to make?
Great for party favors, Christmas gifts, or just pampering friends.

Some CROSS STITCHING this week,

for a little bit of relaxation

YELLOW TABLE TOPPER

Winters in Sao Paulo are usually very mild.
Not too cold, not too humid, very little rain.

 

But the last two weeks have been pretty tough
(for Brazilian standards, that is).
It has rained pouringly non-stop
and the temperatures hovered around
the 10 degrees Celsius.

 

So I guess I needed some sunshine,
and bright yellows.

I receveid my fabrics from Quilthome (http://www.quilthome.com/)
and was so uplifted by the colors and
freshness of the print that I sat down
immediately to sew something.
I started with a small quilt for my coffee table

And will go on sewing some throw

pillows for the couch and two armchair protectors.

On the same day, the animal print
I ordered from Fatquartershop (www.fatquartershop.com), arrived too.

I still don’t know what kind of baby stuff
I will be making with them,
but tag blankies are definitely a must.

CAMERA COZY

I just finished this Camera Cozy. I made it with Spa Fabric from Lavin. I’m in love with this blue and brown print. Luckily I bought a yard of each, so I can play around with it for lots of fun things.

The cozy was quite easy to make, since I followed Rebecca’s tutorial. Check her tut on http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=740

By the way, button and elastic band isn’t such a great idea for the closing.

Too much fumbling.

I will finish the next one with Velcro strips,

although I don’t like them either (I get my hands scratched).

Maybe just a snap button will do the trick. Anyhow, I’ll keep you posted on my experiments.

This is what I am working on right now:

It's a simple EMBROIDERED border for a hand towel. The inspiration came from an old Marie Claire Idées, but I rearranged the butterflies to fit the border.

EYEGLASSES CASE

Inspired by Kata Golda

(http://blog.katagolda.com/),

I made this EYEGLASSES CASE yesterday.

Felt is very easy to sew with.

No seams, just finish it off with mattress stich.

I used Spa fabric from Rosemary Lavin in blue.

and a light blue button for the closing

All very quick and easy

More from Katherine Shaughnessy

Check her site, and look under archives to see her paintings

http://www.doegirl.com/portfolio/paintings/27.html

I’ve been wanting to embroider for a very long time. Any kind of craft you make is definitely upgraded when you embroider it. (even paper! Like collages, cards, boxes, notebook covers, just about anything). But since I am very slow at it, it seemed like too much time for such a small result.

Well, it looks like the old saying “the right time for the right thing” is true.

I had this very well fitting shirt, nice and soft fabric and all,

but the ruffles on it really bothered me since day one.

After buying The New Crewel, by Katherine Shaughnessy, (http://www.amazon.com/New-Crewel-Exquisite-Contemporary-Embroidery/dp/157990680X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278881837&sr=8-2-catcorr)

I thought it was a great opportunity to practice and came up with

the idea of replacing those ruffles with some embroidery.

I made some spider webs in three colors.

Red, blue and green

Pretend this is an artistic photo, he he.

I'm learning how to use PSE (Photoshop Elements 8)

and haven't quite mastered it yet. But I have a good

(and patient) model.

SOMETHING NEW

 

I'm trying something new (for me at least).

I started embroidering something I sketched on fabric.

I am going to try to assemble a panel which will combine

embroidery, painting, collage and knitting.

I don't have a clear picture in my mind of how I want it to look,

but that is how my creative process works.

In the beginning, this uncertainty used to freak me out,

but now I have grown to get used to it.

(I know now that I can remake and remake again

untill the results satisfy me).

I've actually started to like this "not knowing where

it goes" kind of feeling. It makes the process so much

more fun and enjoyable. And less stressing because of

that too.

TAG BLANKIE

Well, I just made another tag blankie.

This time I made a little pillow

and a fabric bag to enclose it. It's so much fun to

choose the fabric and to coordinate the tags !

and the fabric bag adds value to the kit.