Now I can officially start getting things ready for the Baby Boy :)
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Flickr Favorites Friday 11.18.2011
1. Rainbow Reflections, 2. Rainbow Crystal ball cave (Marble, crystal, geode, Refracted Sunlight,prism, light, refraction, focus, RGB), 3. a fuzzy rainbow, 4. “The true harvest of my life is intangible - a little star dust caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched”, 5. There once was an ugly duckling. With feathers all stubby and brown., 6. bright rainbow colours, 7. Rainbow Rose, 8. Sewing_Rainbow Wrap Skirt_DSC_5967, 9. Purple and Yellow Strip and Flower Pillows, 10. 'Rainbow Bokeh', 11. Straws 1, 12. A Flowing Spectrum, 13. finally..., 14. Bands of blue..., 15. Rainbow Chandelier Crystal Necklace, 16. Ring of stitches* * * * * * * *
I haven't done one of these in awhile, and it's a crying shame. My thoughts:
1. This makes me want a nice macro lens for my camera something serious. Maybe someday.
3. I don't felt nor do I have the desire to, but these sure are pretty to look at.
5. Must learn to use the selective gradient tool in Photoshop....
8. I love love LOVE this skirt! I smell a possible Christmas present for the little girl.
9. Must learn to make pillows, stat. And to sew with felt :)
12. I really want to make one of these melted crayon canvases for my daughter's new room.
13. If I ever get the time, I WILL learn to paper piece hexagons.
14, 16. And if I can get the motivation, I WILL get back into some embroidery. It's so relaxing!
15. I have the itch to make jewelry. Now for the motivation...
1. This makes me want a nice macro lens for my camera something serious. Maybe someday.
3. I don't felt nor do I have the desire to, but these sure are pretty to look at.
5. Must learn to use the selective gradient tool in Photoshop....
8. I love love LOVE this skirt! I smell a possible Christmas present for the little girl.
9. Must learn to make pillows, stat. And to sew with felt :)
12. I really want to make one of these melted crayon canvases for my daughter's new room.
13. If I ever get the time, I WILL learn to paper piece hexagons.
14, 16. And if I can get the motivation, I WILL get back into some embroidery. It's so relaxing!
15. I have the itch to make jewelry. Now for the motivation...
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Big Girl (rainbow) Bed Quilt
With Baby #2 on the way it is time to move Baby #1 into a bigger room so we can turn her room back into a nursery. To ease the transition this means my little girl will be getting a nice, newly decorated room complete with her own bed-sized quilt.
I struggled at first with the design. I have managed to pass down (force) my love of rainbows on to my daughter, so I decided I'd like to make some sort of rainbow quilt. I also wanted it to be a relatively quick one as my last two were quite time intensive and I have a lot of crafting for my daughter, the new baby, and holidays that I'd like to do. The solution came when I came upon the "Parisville" quilt over at Fresh Lemons Modern Quilts. It's design is based upon a string quilt, which I've made before, and it also involves large blocks of fabric. I like this idea for two reason: (1) less sewing :), and (2) it allows me to showcase the particular fabrics that I choose.
These are the fabrics that I chose for this quilt. There's a vast array of modern prints, and my (and my daughter's, I think) favorites are from Kaffe Fassett. I took these pictures right before I started cutting and sewing, and since then I've finished the red, orange, yellow, and lime green rows (pictures to come). After seeing the fabrics in the quilt I have since gone back and ordered some additional ones to swap in place of some of the above because some of them just don't look how I'd like. It's just one of those things that happens once you actually start sewing. Also, as much as possible I've tried to give my daughter the reigns in fabric selection. She's certainly old enough to have opinions on what she does and doesn't like, and I wanted to make sure she was entirely pleased with her quilt.
Since this is, in a sense, a simplified string quilt, I needed to decide on fabric color for the "strings" in the middle of the blocks and also how wide to make them. I chose white Kona cotton for the strings, because I wanted the color to go with all of the fabrics, and as I tell my daughter, "white goes with everything." I cut them to 1" by 18" (approximately), because the individual quilt blocks are 12" square before being sewn together (11.5" square after sewing).
The entire quilt will measure 103.5" x 92" when complete. I wanted it to be large enough to allow for plenty of drape over the sides of the bed and over the foot of the bed. I have yet to decide on a quilting pattern and will post my ideas later when they come to me.
There will be plenty of leftover scrap fabric and I hope to use it to make a mini quilt for my office as decoration. The Rainbow Room can never have enough rainbows. :)
I struggled at first with the design. I have managed to pass down (force) my love of rainbows on to my daughter, so I decided I'd like to make some sort of rainbow quilt. I also wanted it to be a relatively quick one as my last two were quite time intensive and I have a lot of crafting for my daughter, the new baby, and holidays that I'd like to do. The solution came when I came upon the "Parisville" quilt over at Fresh Lemons Modern Quilts. It's design is based upon a string quilt, which I've made before, and it also involves large blocks of fabric. I like this idea for two reason: (1) less sewing :), and (2) it allows me to showcase the particular fabrics that I choose.
These are the fabrics that I chose for this quilt. There's a vast array of modern prints, and my (and my daughter's, I think) favorites are from Kaffe Fassett. I took these pictures right before I started cutting and sewing, and since then I've finished the red, orange, yellow, and lime green rows (pictures to come). After seeing the fabrics in the quilt I have since gone back and ordered some additional ones to swap in place of some of the above because some of them just don't look how I'd like. It's just one of those things that happens once you actually start sewing. Also, as much as possible I've tried to give my daughter the reigns in fabric selection. She's certainly old enough to have opinions on what she does and doesn't like, and I wanted to make sure she was entirely pleased with her quilt.
Since this is, in a sense, a simplified string quilt, I needed to decide on fabric color for the "strings" in the middle of the blocks and also how wide to make them. I chose white Kona cotton for the strings, because I wanted the color to go with all of the fabrics, and as I tell my daughter, "white goes with everything." I cut them to 1" by 18" (approximately), because the individual quilt blocks are 12" square before being sewn together (11.5" square after sewing).The entire quilt will measure 103.5" x 92" when complete. I wanted it to be large enough to allow for plenty of drape over the sides of the bed and over the foot of the bed. I have yet to decide on a quilting pattern and will post my ideas later when they come to me.
There will be plenty of leftover scrap fabric and I hope to use it to make a mini quilt for my office as decoration. The Rainbow Room can never have enough rainbows. :)
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Halloween 2011 - Princess Leia
My daughter has recently fallen in love with the Star Wars trilogy, and we figured a great way to celebrate this would be with a Princess Leia costume from A New Hope.
This has to be one of the easiest costumes to make. The only supplies needed were:
To make the "cinnamon buns" on the side of the wig cut three (roughly) equally sized fleece strips measuring around 1.5" by 60". Then braid it and use the glue gun to glue each end together. Then start rolling the braid into a bun shape, gluing it to itself as you roll. After you finish you then glue the entire bun to the side of the head. Then repeat for the other bun.
To make the costume take an old white sheet and fold it in half lengthwise. Then fold it again sidewise. Next take the child's measurements from midchest to fingertips, armpit to fingertips, neck to floor, and midchest to shoulder. Then draw that shape on the sheet and cut it out. When you unfold it you will have the entire shape of the costume with only one set of cuts. Then sew the edges together (except for the neck and feet openings). Serge or zigzag stitch if desired. Then at the neck hole find the back and the middle and make a 4 inch cut downwards so the head will fit in all the way. Fold the edges of the cut over and sew down for a more polished look.
To make the collar cut a section that is roughly the same length as the neck opening from the tailored edge of the sheet, making sure to add a little extra room for the curvature of the neck and to make the edges look polished. Also cut some small lengths of fabric to make ties to keep the opening closed. Fold the ends of the sheet used for the collar twice and sew down. Then fold the sheet in half and iron flat. Next make ties to close the costume and place inside the collar. Sew down and top stitch all the way, except for the unfinished edge. Next pin the collar to the neckline and sew down and you're done.
Finish off the costume by cutting a length of gray ribbon to make the belt. Make it long enough for your child and heat seal the ends with a lighter to prevent fraying. Super simple.
In all the wig took around an hour or so to make and the costume was made extremely last minute (as in minutes before we had to leave to trick-or-treat) in about an hour-and-a-half. Not time intensive at all and definitely much loved. An added bonus with the costume is the dress part can double as an angel costume for Christmas time (or next Halloween if not outgrown). All you'd need are some wings and a halo.
This has to be one of the easiest costumes to make. The only supplies needed were:
- Brown fleece and matching thread
- Elastic
- An old white sheet
- Gray ribbon (and lighter to heat seal the ends)
- Necessary cutting devices
- A glue gun
- A sewing machine.
To make the "cinnamon buns" on the side of the wig cut three (roughly) equally sized fleece strips measuring around 1.5" by 60". Then braid it and use the glue gun to glue each end together. Then start rolling the braid into a bun shape, gluing it to itself as you roll. After you finish you then glue the entire bun to the side of the head. Then repeat for the other bun.
To make the costume take an old white sheet and fold it in half lengthwise. Then fold it again sidewise. Next take the child's measurements from midchest to fingertips, armpit to fingertips, neck to floor, and midchest to shoulder. Then draw that shape on the sheet and cut it out. When you unfold it you will have the entire shape of the costume with only one set of cuts. Then sew the edges together (except for the neck and feet openings). Serge or zigzag stitch if desired. Then at the neck hole find the back and the middle and make a 4 inch cut downwards so the head will fit in all the way. Fold the edges of the cut over and sew down for a more polished look.
To make the collar cut a section that is roughly the same length as the neck opening from the tailored edge of the sheet, making sure to add a little extra room for the curvature of the neck and to make the edges look polished. Also cut some small lengths of fabric to make ties to keep the opening closed. Fold the ends of the sheet used for the collar twice and sew down. Then fold the sheet in half and iron flat. Next make ties to close the costume and place inside the collar. Sew down and top stitch all the way, except for the unfinished edge. Next pin the collar to the neckline and sew down and you're done.
Finish off the costume by cutting a length of gray ribbon to make the belt. Make it long enough for your child and heat seal the ends with a lighter to prevent fraying. Super simple.
In all the wig took around an hour or so to make and the costume was made extremely last minute (as in minutes before we had to leave to trick-or-treat) in about an hour-and-a-half. Not time intensive at all and definitely much loved. An added bonus with the costume is the dress part can double as an angel costume for Christmas time (or next Halloween if not outgrown). All you'd need are some wings and a halo.
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