Sewing - 12 bright quilt squares with hand stitched collage hearts in their centers

These are very bright and joyful!!!  I finished stitching the hearts while on holidays after Christmas and have finally added some bright fabrics to them.  I used a light weight substrate and added pieces log cabin style and then trimmed them (9").  It was a fun day of stitching and they are beautiful all together.  I will have to see what I can sash them with to make a small blanket for a child.  It was so fun to dig out fabrics from my brights bin and make them into wonderful squares.  Therese
 

Sewing - trivets with wool and cotton batting

 I had a made up some hot pad inserts from a wool sweater, cotton batting and cotton.  I have finally given the two small ones cute cotton covers.  I tied the corduroy one - love the pattern of red and orange floral shapes and a classic white and black design for the other one which I machine stitched with diagonal lines.  They are about 6" square and suitable to be used a trivets for a tea pot, a small pie or a warm bowl of soup.  They would be great coasters for a large mug as well.  Therese

Sewing - medium hot pad with a double denim reversible cover

 I made a double denim cover for the medium hot pad insert (wool, cotton batting and cotton)  I had made which I also covered in dark flannel and tied in 5 places with blue crochet thread (8.5" x 8").  This cover is not double but I did make a deep hem and added lace on the bottom edge.  Again, it is pillow case style and the hot pad is easily inserted and can be settled to the bottom by shaking it a little.  All cotton and wool it is the perfect size for any side dish.  Therese

Sewing - hot pad - wool and braided cotton - covered with flannel and a double sided reversible pillowcase cover

Another hot pad project!  For the hot pad (9.5" x 13")  is made up of a braided cotton mat with a layer of wool fabric stitched to it.  I covered this with a dark flannel.  It was too thick for the sewing machine so I simply hand tied it in six places to keep all the layers secure.  

I created a double pillowcase cover with blue and white bands on one side and a intricate floral on the other side making it reversible.  This design worked well and is how my sister, Sylvia, made hers.  The hot pad is easily inserted and can be shaken to the bottom just like you would a pillow in a pillow case. 

I added some wavy lines of chain stitches on the striped cover and then added white stars to them.  It gives one side a bit more texture and interest.  I stitched up the side seams to keep the two pieces together and more stability when it gets washed.  All natural fabrics - cotton and wool. 

Therese

 

Upcycling - braiding used bedding

I have been going through a few boxes and found some older bed covers which I decided to dismantle and have braided the tops for making projects.  I have yards of braided cotton. I have researched ways to use this braided cotton and will be blogging those projects as I go.  Have considered dyeing the braids and then using them in projects.  They will certainly make mats and trivets.  Therese

 

Sewing - removable and reversible cover for a large hot pad - GA

I made a cover for one of the large hot pads (insulbrite, knitted wool, cotton batting) I made a while back using four different fabrics.  It is removable for washing and also reversible with four different options.  The pad measured 11" x 17".  I cut my rectangles to 11.75" x 18.75" and sewed a 1/4" seam when I was putting it together.  I left an opening on one side and turned it right sides out and then hand stitched the opening closed.  I top stitched both edges and then added two more rows of stitching to keep the cover integral when washing it.  We have such beautiful fabrics available for sewing!!

Therese

 

Sewing - jar openers with an extra strip - GA

I made up five jar openers for our next Gramma Link Africa event.  I cut three pieces of shelf liner to six inches and had leftovers that allowed me to make two more if I pieced the shelf liner.  I decided to add a small strip of fabric that covered the joint and it also works as stabilization of the pieces to each other.  I cut 8" cotton squares for each square of shelf liner.  I started with the pieced ones so I laid the two shelf liner pieces to the wrong side of the fabric, laid the strip (both edges pressed to the middle) over where they joined and stitched both edges.  I was very happy to see that I did not have to use paper to protect my sewing foot from the rubbery shelf liner.  Excellent!!!  To finish used the self binding method I use for quilts and potholders.  I folded the raw edges in, then folded the edge over the shelf liner and stitched into place all the way around. This does not need any protection from the shelf liner.  So as I went on I cut strips for the full ones too and added them in the same way as I had for the ones that were pieces.  It worked perfectly!!  No need for paper!!  Works for me!!  I will make more now that I found a way to avoid using paper and having to tear it away from the stabilization stitches.  Therese
 

Sewing - a book bag with little embroidered flowers Gramma Africa

With the leftovers from my first bag I created a smaller book bag (15.5" x 16") with handles (21") and a lining similar to the other bag.  I used a strip of the embroidered flowers as the accent for this bag - love it!!  This one does not have boxed corners and is suitable for running errands, a trip to the library or book club!!!

 

Cardmaking - a few butterfly cards for IWIN and two more to my stash

 I was in cardmaking mode after finishing all the cards for donation and so when I found a few interesting backgrounds in the box I decided to use them to make up a few more cards.  I made three butterfly cards which I can add to my IWIN stash.  The floral cards I will add to my stash and they will come in handy later.  The blue butterfly has a wax resist background with watercolour, the pink one is a rose embossing folder (SU), the rainbow ones are background paper adhered to cardstock and embossed.  I simply added focal elements and embellishments and mounted them onto card fronts.  

Therese

Sewing - a large tote bag in blue and yellow blend fabric - Gramma Africa

I started the weekend of sewing with this project!!  I am using cotton poly blend which we received last year in our fabric sale donations.  We bagged these scraps for our sale last year and I am storing them at home for this year's sale.  I opened a bag of each colour  - blue and yellow - and started creating a large piece of fabric using the long scraps to their best advantage and created the main fabric for this bag.  I had in my stash a band of embroidered flowers which was the inspiration for this bag.  I cut them apart and added white cotton to the back of each one to give them opacity.  I added blue sashing all the way around to make the width of my bag (16").  I did have to add several more strips to my fabric to make it the same width.  I cut off a strip of about 4" and stitched my floral piece in between the two.  I cut my fabric to about 19"  (17" plus 2" for the bottom) to create the front.  I added wide strips to which I had stitched pockets on each end for my sides.  I cut another piece to 19" to make the back piece and stitched it to each side to make a cylinder.  I cut two strips of blue for the strap (49") and stitched them together to make the handle.  I trimmed a 3" or so piece for the inside of the bag to which I stitched my lining pieces.  I created a pocket with a zipper and a little loop and stitched it to my lining piece before I added the blue strip.  Nice neat finish for inside.  I pinned the strap ends in place and tucked them about 3.5" deep on each side and basted them in place along with another loop on the top edge.  I assembled the bag by sewing the top seam which joined the outer bag and the lining and secured the handles in place.   I stitched the boxed corners on the bag and the lining. I turned it inside out through an opening I left in the lining.  I did some topstitching on the top edge, secured my straps with a bit more stitching and did the same to the boxed corners to the bottom.

I added a length of twill tape (12")  on the front of the handle which allows the handle to be adjusted to a shorter length for carrying on your arm instead of over your shoulder.  To adjust, you simply untie the bow, loop the handle to the length you want and retie the twill tape really tight over the looped area!!

I stitched up the opening in the lining and the bag was done!!  Therese

 

Cardmaking - cards for donation - a few more

 I made a few more cards with a few supplies I found along the way.  The ones with handmade paper were samples I found in the box I was decluttering and were ready to go!!  The blue one is one my sister sent me and I refurbished it with a new insert and envelope.  The feather one was a background I found in the box and worked into a collage card.  These will be added to the previous collections and dropped of later today.  Therese

Sewing - a set of floral potholders for Gramma Africa

I brought these pieces home from sorting fabric last week and thought they worked well together.  I love the blue fabric with little fruit!!  I added a strip of the floral fabric to the blue and should have paid more attention when I added the loops. They should have been in the same corner. I think it still works!!  I used a layer of terry cloth and two layers of flannel for batting.  Another useful addition to our merchandise!! 

Therese

 

Cardmaking - cards for donation featuring images on paper coloured with coloured pencils and layered

 I have been working at decluttering my creative space and in the process of cleaning out a box I found these images printed on bond paper.  They were likely found unsuitable for the project at the time and were stowed away for later use.  Unfortunately, the location was not conducive for me finding them again.  I will work on that!!  Because they were printed on bond I was hesitant to watercolour them so decided to use a dry medium  - pencil crayons  - instead.  I don't use them very often but they worked very well in this case.  

Before starting the colouring I had cut white cardstock bases, trimmed decorative papers and layers for the images so it was fairly easy to pick at colour for the flowers. It was fun to pick colours and layer them to get some shading and variation. My fingers got a workout so fortunately I did not do all the images in one day. I added paper piercing to the images, adhered them to the layers, added the backgrounds to the card fronts and then added the focal elements. I am happy with how they turned out!!!

Therese