Gathering Supplies

The squirrels in my yard are busy gathering nuts and acorns. I read a book once in which the people watched the activity of squirrels in the fall as an indication of the type of winter to come - the busier the squirrels, the worse the winter. Yikes, looks like we are in for another brutal one.

So I have been busy gathering supplies as well. My children are at camp this week which has provided me with a few free hours at the end of each day - most of which I have spent either crafting or buying craft supplies in preparation for the cold months ahead.

But I have been good and know exactly what I am going to do with about 85% of all the supplies I have bought....which is perfectly acceptable as far as I am concerned.

Want to see what I have procured?

1. Scrapbook paper - for layouts and card making.

2. Fabric - for pillows. Now I just need to find some pillow forms on sale.

3. Yarn - so many projects on the docket. I managed a trip to the big annual yarn sale in a small town not far from where I live; I behaved myself and only bought yarn for specific projects.

As much as I am sorry to see the summer come to an end, part of me really looks forward to the cooler weather when it is perfectly acceptable to hibernate in ones' pajamas and work on crafts. And I am ready....supplies gathered, ideas bouncing around my head. The winter is coming anyways, might as well be prepared for it.

What crafting supplies have you gathered lately? Have you been busy like the squirrels?

Craftiness Here and There

I love the idea of a handmade home – little bits of handmade craftiness here and there. To me it says cozy and soft, love and happiness, and it adds something unique and personal to a home that cannot be found anywhere else.

Of course some of my larger projects, like my Garden Patch Granny Afghan and my Granny Cushion have accomplished this, adding a very personal and homespun look to my home, but lately I have added a few more small handmade touches.

This layered fabric flower is attached to the little cork board I have sitting on the dresser in my kitchen. It doesn't do anything but look pretty, but that is enough for me.

I made another crochet basket, this time to hold all the tea light candles in the bathroom cupboard. A plastic bag or container would have worked just as well, but I think this looks much prettier.

And with some leftover fabric from making pillows for the patio, I made this bunting. Once the weather turns and stays warm, I am going to hang this either in the tree or along the fence in the backyard to bring a little craftiness outside. I am excited to see how it looks.

What craftiness have you added to your home lately?

Handmade Mother's Day

This year I decided to make Mother’s Day presents for my Mom and my Oma. In years past I have racked my brain on what to buy them for this occasion and admittedly it has been difficult, some gifts have been better than others. So I decided to go handmade this year. Since I am now working full time, my afternoon craft time has disappeared. I have mourned this loss considerably, but I have found that if I am intentional with my time after the girls are in bed, I can get loads of crafting done. 

So in the evenings, which thankfully stay lighter longer these days, I made these gifts. And it was wonderful.

This peg bag is for my Mom. She loves to do laundry and to hang it outside on the clothes line. At first I thought I was going a little overboard with the pretty fabric and the eyelet trim, but what the heck.  Why shouldn’t everyday useful objects be pretty? The pattern for the peg bag can be found here. 

These crochet coasters are for my Oma. Pretty, floral, crochet coasters for her to set her coffee cup on. The pattern for these can be found in this book.

I was excited to give these gifts, and my special ladies were happy to have them.

Mixing it Up

I have been doing a little sprucing up around the house lately. Nothing major, just tidying the bookshelves, framing pictures that have been waiting to be framed for a long time, placing candles around to be lit on these dark winter evenings. I always get the urge to do this after Christmas; once all the decorations are put away, the house looks so bare and I feel the need to make it a bit fuller, a bit cozier. 

Shortly after Christmas my sweet husband was in the book store and picked up this magazine for me... 

.....and it the most beautiful magazine I have ever seen. So many beautifully styled pictures, so much creativity, great articles about designers. I have spent many hours pouring over the pages soaking up the inspiration.

I was particularly inspired by this picture, specifically the pillows on the couch. I love the mixing of traditional patterns – the rose pillows that look like something my Oma would have – with the graphic, modern pillows that look like they could have come from IKEA. And I was inspired to try something similar in my living room.

Using some IKEA fabric that I fell in love with and bought a few months back, I made this polka dot pillow and added it to the others on my sofa. 

The fern pillow came with our couch and looks a bit more traditional to me, similar to the rose pillows in the magazine, while my new polka dot pillow is definitely a little more modern; the same could be said about the tulip pillow that I made a few years ago. 

I am not a decor whiz by any means, and I often fret way too much about how things look, but I am slowly realizing and accepting that if I decorate with things that I love and that mean something to me, everything will come together. I love this polka dot pillow, I love the pillows that came with our sofa, and I think they look good together. I may add a brighter colored solid pillow to pull everything together a bit more – maybe a teal pillow. What do you think? I really like the mixing of traditional and modern – it gives things a collected and timeless look and I love that.

I did put my polka dot pillow on one of my kitchen chairs and I love how it looks there.

And while I was out scouring the clearance aisles this past weekend I found these beautiful dinner napkins for a mere $1.50 each – I am going to sew these into a pillow and see how that looks on the couch. Worth a shot for only $3.00.

So in addition to crocheting (projects to show you soon), scrapbooking, and all the stuff that makes up regular life, I have been working on mixing things up in the living room. And I have really enjoyed doing so - making my home, where I spend so much of my time, a little cozier. It has also been nice to get the sewing machine out again...it had been a while since we spent some quality time together. 

Sew an Envelope Pillow in 7 Steps

A while ago I showed you the first envelope pillow that I ever made.  I was figuring out the process as I went and did not take photos along the way; I was too excited and anxious to see how it would turn out.

Since making that first pillow, I have made two envelope pillows for the patio chairs on my deck.  I love them and am very happy with how they look.  

Today I would like to share with you the steps I follow to make an envelope pillow so that you can make your own.

Let's begin:

Step 1: To make a 18x18 inch pillow, I began by cutting 2 pieces of fabric, one 19x19 inches for the front of the pillow, and the other 19x27 inches for the back.

Helpful Tip: My fabric had a distinct pattern that repeated and I wanted to make sure that the pattern would be centered on the front of my finished pillow. Because of this I needed to measure and cut my 19x19 inch piece of fabric carefully to ensure that the pattern was positioned correctly.  The positioning of the pattern on the larger piece of fabric (19x27 inches) which was used for the back of the pillow was not as important as you will soon see.  To eliminate the need for this additional fiddling, you could choose a fabric with a more random pattern - one that no matter where you cut, it will look the same.  But if you do choose a fabric with a repeating pattern, consider the position of the pattern before you cut.

Step 2: I then cut my 19x27 inch piece of fabric in half.

Step 3: Taking the two halves that I just made, I folded the fabric about 1 inch to the wrong side along the 19 inch edge, pinned it, and then sewed it in place using my sewing machine.  I did this on each half.

Step 4: Next I laid my 19x19 inch square on the table right side up. I took both of my halves and laid them on top, right side down, matching the outer edges to the outer edges on the smaller square, and overlapping the halves in the center.

This is what your pillow will look like from the front:

And from the back:

Step 5: I pinned everything in place and then sewed all the way around, 1/2 an inch in from the outer edge.

Step 6: Next I trimmed my seams and corners. I also over-edged the seams using the zig-zag stitch on my sewing machine to keep them from fraying.

Step 7: I turned my pillow cover right side out and stuffed in my form.

Here is the finished pillow from the front:

And from the back:

Helpful Tip: You may want to press your pillow cover before you turn it the right way and/or before you stuff in your form.  I did not press mine because I was using a fairly sturdy outdoor fabric and there were no wrinkles, but a lighter weight fabric may look more finished after a pressing.  

I hope you find this tutorial helpful.

If you have any questions, please ask?

Happy Sewing!

My First Envelope Pillow

Last weekend I made this pillow.

I love this fabric.  It is called Tulip Dawn.  I bought it online from Tonic Living - an absolutely amazing fabric store. 

This was the first time that I made an envelope pillow - the kind where the back looks like an envelope and the pillow form slides inside through the opening.

I used to make pillows by sewing the bottom seam together once I had put in my pillow form.  This made it impossible to wash the cover when needed without ripping open the seam.  

I have also made pillows by putting a zipper in the bottom seam and then zipping it closed after my form was inside.  This made it possible to remove the cover for washing, but putting in a zipper always causes me considerable grief and frustration.  Plus, a zipper is a little bulky on the bottom of a pillow.    
Now that I have made an envelope pillow, I am never going back.  It was so easy to do, the finished pillow looks smooth and sleek, and I can take the cover off easily for washing.

Since I was figuring this out as I went, and was so excited to give it a try, I don't have any pictures of the process to share with you.

But I have bought some gorgeous outdoor fabric to make pillows for my deck chairs, and I will document that so to share the wonder and ease of making an envelope pillow with you all.

Simple Fabric Bookmark Tutorial

My oldest daughter Bridget has recently learned to read and to celebrate this milestone, and show her how incredibly proud we are of her, I decided to make her a bookmark.

My inspiration for this project came from this tutorial at Make and Takes - an incredible blog full of truly inspiring craft ideas.

I did make a few alterations to the Make and Takes tutorial so I have provided my own project instructions here.

First I gathered all my supplies:

• fabric
• pins
• measuring tape
• ribbon
• sewing machine

I had a piece of fabric 14 inches wide so I folded it in half with the wrong sides together, decided that this was long enough for a bookmark (7 inches), and cut a strip 4 inches wide.

I then cut a length of ribbon and pinned it to the center point at the top of the bookmark on the right side of the fabric.

After pinning the side and top seams in place, I sewed the edges together making sure that the ribbon was secured in the seam.  I also left an opening along the one side seam to allow for turning.  The ribbon was on the inside of my bookmark at this point, and the wrong side of the fabric was facing me.

I trimmed the edges and turned the bookmark right side out.  After slip stitching the opening closed, I pressed my bookmark and ran a line of top stitching around all four edges.  All done!

When Bridget was reading a Cinderella story later in the evening and she needed to pause for dinner, her new bookmark was ready to hold her place.

A very simple project requiring very few supplies.

And a great way to celebrate and encourage reading.     

How to Sew a Window Valance

A year and a half ago we renovated our kitchen extensively and since then my kitchen window has been naked.

I wanted to add a splash of color and personality to the space so I decided to sew a simple valance.

I always wash my fabric before I sew.  I don't want to go through all the effort of sewing something only to wash it and have the color run all over the place; better to find that out when all you have is a piece of fabric.  

To begin, I assembled my supplies: fabric, curtain rod, pins, thread, measuring tape, sewing machine.

The amount of fabric that you need depends on your window size.  You want the fabric to gather, but the amount of gather (or fullness) is really a personal preference.  It can also depend on your fabric.  If you have a very large or symmetrical pattern you may want to make your curtain less full so that the pattern is visible.  If your pattern is small or the design is random you can make your valance fuller.  Bottom line: it is really up to you and how you want your valance to look.

Step 1: Pin and sew side seams.  If they are raw edges, fold over 1/2 inch first and then fold again to hide the raw edges.  On my curtain the side seams were finished since I used an entire width of fabric, but they said "Ikea of Sweden" on them.  I folded the sides over far enough to ensure that this writing was on the back of my curtain.  A typical side seam would be about 1/2 inch.

Step 2: Measure your curtain rod to determine the width of rod pocket (where the rod will be inserted) needed.  My rod was 1/2 inch wide so I needed a 5/8 inch rod pocket to allow for the rod to slid in easily.  You want your rod pocket to be only slightly wider than your rod;  if it is too tight, the curtain will look crammed on the rod, and if it is too loose the curtain will not gather as nicely.

Step 3:  Fold the top edge of your fabric over about 1/2 inch (this fold will hide the raw edge), and then fold the top edge down again towards the center of your fabric accounting for the width of your rod pocket and the amount of fabric that you would like to have above the rod.  Since my rod was 1/2 inch wide, I folded my fabric over 2 3/8 inches to allow for a 5/8 inch rod pocket and about 1 1/2 inches of fabric above the rod.  Pin.  Sew along bottom fold.

Step 4: Knowing the width of your rod pocket, measure that distance from the line of sewing that you just completed toward the fold and pin this point as you move along the length of your curtain.  I measured 5/8 inch from the line of sewing that I completed in step 3. (My rod pocket needed to be 5/8 inch).  Sew along line of pins.  Your rod pocket is now complete.

Step 5: Insert rod into rod pocket and hang curtain.  Determine the final length that you would like the valance to be and pin the fabric at this length.

Step 6: Returning to your sewing table, measure 1 inch from the line of pins you inserted in step 5 (when curtain was hanging and you were determining the final length).  Cut excess fabric off at this line, fold bottom edge over 1/2 inch to hide raw edge, and then 1/2 inch again.  Pin.  

Step 7: Sew hem along fold.  You can use a "straight stitch", but I like to use the "blind hem stitch".

  

Step 8:  Press and hang valance.  Marvel at the color and personality that it brings to your window and room.

 
I am very happy with how my valance turned out.  The kitchen feels much cozier now that the window has something to wear.  

Something More: How Fabric Flowers Transformed my Pillow from Done to Detailed

I recently finished off a project that has been on my list of "Things to Do" for quite some time.

Pillow Front

Pillow Back

I made this 14x14 pillow using leftover flannel from little blankets that I made for my daughters' doll beds. When it was done, I propped it up, stood back, and thought to myself "It's done, but it needs something more."

With scrap fabric and random buttons in hand, I made fabric flowers following this tutorial from The House of Smiths http://www.thehouseofsmiths.com/2010/09/fabric-flower-tutorial.html.

For the petals, I used scraps of striped flannel (the same as I used for the pillow back) and scraps of white flannel.  Coordinating buttons finished off the centers of the flowers quite nicely.  The flowers were so easy to make.  To attach them to the pillow I just tacked them down using sewing thread.

They are the perfect 'something more' that my pillow needed to take it from done to detailed.

And here she is all finished up and sitting on the chair in my daughter's bedroom.  

Wouldn't these fabric flowers look amazing on a picture frame, a lamp, the cover of a scrapbook album, a tote bag?

How would you use these flowers to take your project from done to detailed?