Showing posts with label Appliqué. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Appliqué. Show all posts

Monday, June 10, 2013

Marriage!

I have a thing for pillows (among other things), maybe because they are simple and quick to whip up, but at the same time they can make a room feel different-just with a little color! So here are a couple more simple pillows, they are another version of Mr. and Mrs., just because I feel like I know a few people getting married soonish!I'm definitely a fan or marriage, it's the best thing I've ever done. I've been thinking about it a lot this week, and about how fast the time seems to go when you really like your spouse. Don't get me wrong, we are still human and get on each other's nerves at times, but usually there is a pretty happy feeling in our home.  One example of why I like my Handsome so much is: Saturday night I'm shot because I've been staying up late working on projects, patterns, or just folding laundry to an audio book. I don't even remember how it happened, but I zonked out on the couch around 7 or 8 o'clock that night, and didn't wake up until 6:30am. That never happens to me, I always brush, floss, take out contacts, and scrub my face before bed. Well, when I woke up, I'm disoriented and look around. I spot him on the floor asleep with a blanket, and he had tucked me in and given me a pillow too. At that moment (mind you, I'm usually very grumpy in the morning) I felt such a rush of gratitude and love for this person that happened to find me. Later he told me that he just didn't have the heart to wake me and didn't want to leave me downstairs all alone. I was happy all day and his back hurt all day, poor guy. So now that I've gotten all sappy, I shall stop! I made these by randomly chopping and piecing fabric, and by cutting out letters with my Silhouette Cameo! I love that thing, it's so handy!
 For an update, I'm working on another pillow sham right now that matches a quilt, and that will be unveiled soon! My Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Tutorial should also be getting close. I just need to wax on, wax off. But then I get distracted because I'm having the opportunity to design not one, but TWO nautical quilts for someone! I must say I love nautical and so I just ordered a bunch of very adorable fabric from Hawthorne Threads.  Now that you know a little bit about what I'm doing, how about a picture of the pillows that made me ramble about marriage?! And a fabric sneak! Enjoy!
~Rachel
 



 

 

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Ruffled onesie

I think I've mentioned that I love my Janome sewing machine... Once or twice :) Anyway, another cool thing that I tried on it was the serge stitch. It totally worked and so this ruffled onesie was a good tester project! When sewing on ruffles, you don't want thick seams on the top and bottom of each strip, so people usually serge the edges for a finished edge that won't fray. I don't have a serger so I tried this and am pretty happy with how it turned out (I know it got a bit crooked at one point, but hey, it was my first attempt)! First I "serged" the edges of a couple strips of fabric and the pulled the bobbin thread to get the ruffle effect. Here is a good tutorial for how to make this in case you'd like to try it too! And, doesn't the name of that blog AND project just make you smile? It's exactly how I feel about my own work. Now for some pictures!

Serging the edges

Applique bow on front


The sun was sooo bright!


Just a shot of the back so you can see better. I haven't stitched around the two bows yet, and I don't know if I will, I'm curious to see how well the Heat N Bond will hold up!
Well, that's it for now, I'm off to clean my house and get projects all put away so I can have company. I mean, I have to clear at least a small place for someone to sleep... Geez. My life is so hard ;)
~Rachel

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Onesies

These are two little onesies that I'll probably be selling on Etsy.. I cut the tie and bow-tie out on leftover fabric I had from my brother Ethan's quilt. I used the silhouette of course and then my awesome Janome to machine appliqué them on! I used heat n bond which would have been fine alone i think, and also put Fray Check around the edges but I felt like they needed something more: hence the blue stitching around the edges. I finally got around to buying onesies to put them on! The baby section is not my usual area! So just in case you haven't noticed, I'm really enjoying my new machines! It's fun to have so many possibilities around. Life has been so busy though, it's hard to find a moment of peace to sew in. I counted and I am currently working on six projects (they are all laid out in various locations around the house). My poor husband is having to step around things on the living room floor, not eat at the dining room table, not use the computer desk, and of course I took over the guest room too. Did I mention that I do, in fact, have an actual sewing room? Yes.. Maybe tomorrow i'll get to transfer some of my project stuff up that way. By up, I mean upstairs. It's so nice to have projects everywhere though, because whenever I go anywhere in my house I can just work on whatever is closer :) Oh, I just found another thing I'm working on. Embroidery, so make that seven projects! Picture time.
~Rachel





Thursday, March 7, 2013

Silhouette Cameo

Okay everyone, i wrote this yesterday: Today when I was leaving to go to work, running late as usual, I noticed a package outside my back door. And I'll be danged if it wasn't my new Silhouette Cameo! Ahh! Why do I work?! So I can pay for things like the cameo? Oh, okay. So I grudgingly headed off for my part time gig while being excited to come home to a new toy. After work though, I headed to Joann's to pick up some supplies. I went in and got distracted by the scrapbook paper, which, as a quilter, I never need to buy! So I bought a clearance pack, an on sale pack, and some loose sheets that were too cute to resist. I may or may not have also bought a gold holographic page.. Like a magpie, I am attracted to sparkly things! (Don't judge me, lol.) Next, I picked up some Heat N Bond and some sheets of vinyl. Then on to Target because I was on a role, and got a pair of clearance pants, an undershirt, and a cute floral top. Once I start it's hard to slow down. So I took all my good junk home and got to work! Then my gorgeous and amazing husband text messages me and asked me to bring him some dinner (pretty please?!). He NEVER asks me to do that so, like a loving wife I gritted my teeth and made a dang burrito and threw a piece of chocolate cake in a lunch box and headed to the station. Then I hugged him and was like, "Peace out man!" He had to work late so I hopped back on the computer and downloaded some images and stuff to cut to my hearts content!
So now as I sit here, crossing my fingers that my new toy will cut felt, I wanted to write a little post about it! I kept reading about how awesome these machines are and about all the projects you can use them for. After hand cutting all the letters for the Mr. Right & Mrs. Always Right Pillows by hand with freezer paper... I thought I'd try the Cameo. So far, I've cut vinyl, card stock, scrapbook paper, and it's chomping the felt now! I was a little taken aback at first, this is definitely something you have to use the computer A LOT for. I got the pack with the design studio upgrade and I'm still trying to decipher all of the little symbols. However, if you have worked with any kind of manipulative software before, you shouldn't have trouble. I had read before that the sticky pad is much too sticky at first and I definitely found out the hard way (ripping off a tiny Moroccan background was NOT fun). After I finally got all the scraps off, I palmed the whole mat until it wasn't going to trash my lovely paper anymore! Then, I tried a little floral border for my "Hi" card. It worked perfectly! Vinyl words have cut the best so far though. My felt came out... not so great, I have to use scissors to clip around the edges! I'll try again later :) I also just did a little tie and bow-tie to appliqué, they worked brilliantly! Okay, a shout out to Cassie for the great coupon code to use, the email, and supportive texts! Now, off to find something else cut-able!











Saturday, February 23, 2013

Dolly Quilt

Haley and I both bought books by Sarah Fielke called Quilting: From Little Things. Here is a link to see it on amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1741967600. We have enjoyed making some of the things in here EVEN though some have tested our skills and patience. Every quilt in the book has a "dolly quilt" to try before you attempt a large version. This is one I did to practice fans! I just used scrap fabric for this and I hand quilted it. This is appliqué, which I hand sew onto the background fabric. Hope you enjoy because that tiny little square took a little more time than I thought it would!
~Rachel