Sewing - a tote created with blend fabric with a quilted star and a front three pocket panel

I have created this tote bag to highlight the flexibility of the cotton/blend fabric donation that we received for our Fabric Sale which is happening in a couple of weeks.  This fabric was used to make scrubs for health care professionals and is of very good quality though it is all solid colours.  I used white, red and navy for this bag and lined it with a cotton fabric featuring scenes from London.  This is my first star block made with half square triangles and solid squares (2").  I added two pieces of navy to each side to make it the width I wanted and then added a piece at the top to make a nice finished edge for my pockets.  I added a piece at the bottom as well to make it proportional to the bag but on hindsight I should maybe have increased the size of the top section to center the quilt block.  I cut a large layer of red  (16" by 32" or so) and stitched the bottom edge of the pocket panel in place after folding the edge under.  Then I stitched on each side of the quilt square which created three pockets.  I created two handles (1.75" by about 18"long) using red on one side and navy on the other.  Next, I created my lining using the London fabric.  I had to cut two pieces so I could get the graphics to be in the upright direction.  I added some navy and red strips to make an accent on this piece as well and stitched the bottom and two sides leaving an opening on the one side so I could turn it inside out.  I put the outside into the turned in side out lining and inserted my handles in between the two and then stitched the top edge all the way around - triple stitching at the handles.  I turned it inside out and pushed the lining into the bag and stitched a couple more times all the way around the top.  I turned it back to inside out and stitched box corners (2") on both the bag and the lining.  Turned it back to right sides out and tucked in the lining and stitched the box corners together with a few little lines of stitching which makes it reversible!!!  I hand stitched the opening on the lining closed and pressed it well.  I am happy with how it turned out.  My quilt square could have been more accurate but for my first one it was good to go.  It will be featured at the Fabric Sale next to the quilt I made with the same fabric to help people envision what can be created with these fabrics.  We will be selling these scraps for $2 for a 2lb bag.  Therese

 

Cardmaking - butterflies and flowers with thinking of you greetings on coordinating tags with a crystal brad

 I made up these cards from a set of tags I had tried out as a card for my March Card Club.  In the end the combination of the four layers of cardstock and the embellishments ended up making the card not suitable for mailing to I abandoned the idea.  So to use the elements I had assembled I cut the tags apart, replaced the fiber with a crystal brad and then mounted them to coordinating card fronts.  I printed some "Thinking of you" greetings, punched them with the large oval punch (SU) and then layered them onto scallop ovals.  I had already added butterflies and flowers to the decorative paper layer so they will go into the IWIN card stash for the fall!!  I am glad I was able to work the tags into cards!!!  Therese

March Card Club - Card #3 - quick and easy with embossing and ribbon

 For our last card we made this quick and easy card!!  We embossed a layer of white, ivory or metallic and added ribbon before layering onto a coloured card front.  The one on the left was not as effect as  I expected it would be - very reflective and therefore very bright.  I added four lines of paper piercing after embossing with the little floral stems (Quick Kutz).  I used double sided tape on the back to secure the ribbon ends and then tied the remainder to the front using a single knot to simulate a bow!!!  It was then mounted to a navy card.  For the other card I used the Manhattan Flower (SU) embossing folder and then trimmed the right hand edge following the edge of the embossed flower.  Added the ribbon in the same manner and the other one and mounted the layer to a black card front.  I provided a few different colours  of ribbon/seam binding in case the girls wanted a non monochromatic look for their cards!!  It was a great way to finish up our evening and so good to see all of them again!!  Therese 

March Card Club - Card #2 - colour blocking with strips of cardstock and fun images for every occasion

 As it happens these card kits were very much the same - envelope, white cardstock and a extra background layer!!  It was not planned that way but when I was making up my instructions I realized how similar they were!!  For this second card we glued strips of cardstock to a layer to create our background.  I had cut strips for my scraps so there was a variety of widths and well as colours!!  Again, they chose their images first so they could make coordinating backgrounds.  Once the strips were all glued to the substrate we simply trimmed to the edge to create our background.  We embossed the backgrounds and then applied Versamark ink to them to get some contrast without adding any colour.  We adhered our backgrounds to the white cards and then fussy cut our colour printed images.  Some of the images did not require any trimming so they were just added using 3D foam tape.  The little truck is from CLKER and the butterfly is from Pixabay.   These were all very unique and looked very interesting!!!  Therese

March Card Club - Card #1 - decorative paper squares and embossing for a background with a fussy cut focal element

 We had a wonderful time making cards again this month!!  The weather was nice enough for several of the girls to walk over!! Spring is on its way!!

For this first card we created a background using 1" squares of decorative paper in a variety of colours to coordinate with each person's chosen image.  We used a ruler/straight edge across the 4" x 5.25" scrap layer and used it to set our first line of squares overlapping the sides.  The next row was added by eye and then the third row as well.  Some of the girls had more rows and one even made her landscape so had longer rows.  No problem!!  Everything works!!   Once that was done we trimmed our squares to the edge of the layer and we were able to use some of them to fill in the little spots that were missing.  After that we embossed the area that was free of squares to add some texture.   We glued this background to our white card fronts and then fussy cut our images - some right to the edge and other leaving a white border which simulates a die cut image.  Then the images were coloured and mounted to our cards using 3D foam tape.  The cupcake and wreath are both from Melonheadz and laser printed.  This is a very versatile sketch and the squares really can be glued on in any way you wish!!  It is also a technique that uses up your scraps and provides a large variety of colours for very fun backgrounds.  I fussy cut the cupcake right to the edge and ran a black Sharpie along the edge to remove the white line created by the cardstock.  Makes it pop!!  I left a margin of white on the wreath because of its very wavy edge and it worked really well.   Therese

Cardmaking - cards from card kits from my January Card Club which feature used Canadian postage stamps

I have really enjoyed making up these cards!!  They are all different colours to coordinate with the postage stamps featured on them.  You can check out the details and the other cards I made here.  These will be going into my card stash for later.  Therese

 

Cardmaking - cards made up for January card kits - fun backgrounds with a bookmark on the front

 I have just got around to finishing up the card kits from my January Card Club session!!  These 

ones have bookmarks tucked under the strip on the front which is a gift in a card!!!  You can check out the details and the other ones here.   Therese

Cardmaking - cards from kits featuring a wobbly line of embellishments

 Just got to the kits left over from my January Card Club.  These ones feature a wobby set of embellishments which are mounted on a thread. Totally fun and it is not often you can get movement 

when you are creating handmade cards.  You can check out the details and the other cards here.  Therese

Sewing - reusable make up remover pads from a donation of new flannel

In the donation that we received the other day was a ziploc bag of small flannel scraps.  I decided that they would be perfect for making up make up remover pads.  I used two layers of flannel sewn with good sides out (3"square) and then pinked the edges to preven too much fraying.  I washed them after I made them and they get really all scrunched up so I have indicated that they should be washed by hand after use and laid flat to air dry.  I have packaged them in fours so buyers can pick the colours they like!!!  Therese

Slow Stitching - stars for another baby quilt

I have decided to make another baby quilt using the cotton scraps from Gramma Link Africa.  I traced this star from an image from the internet - I wanted the soft points and then I added the swirl to give it a bit of interest.  I have traced it with the yellow marker from the Crayola Ultra Clean Washable markers set and will stitch them up in yellow as well.  I will use the same stitch as I used on the hearts.  Therese

Sewing - baby blanket in green, white and yellow with embroidered hearts

I have finished up the baby quilt using the embroidered heart & star squares I have embroidered.  I created the pattern for the heart and star, printed it the size I needed for the 6.5" square and then traced them with a gray marker - Crayola Ultra Clean Washable marker.  After they were all embroidered I cut the remaining squares from cotton scraps which were donated our our Gramma Link Africa group.  I stitched them all together and am really happy with how it turned out.  When I brought it to show the girls they agreed to add batting and a flannel backing.  In the process of getting it ready to go I decided that I needed an outer sashing so I cut and stitched up some yellow strips and added them to the outside.

It looks more finished with the outer sashing so I am glad I took the time to make it.  It also gives the quilt a bit more width which might be more appropriate for anyone wanting to buy it at our next event.  

Fortunately, I also realized that they would not have the appropriate fabric to make a binding so I cut that also for the quilt.  I handed over the bundle and they will finish it up!!  They are a great group of sewing/quilters and always do a great job!!!  Therese

Slow Stitching - heart and star for a baby quilt

 I wanted to make up a baby quilt with some cotton fabric scraps donated to our Gramma Link Africa group and so I designed an heart and star pattern, printed it the right size for my 6.5" white squares and then traced them on with the gray marker from my Crayola Ultra Clean Washables marker set.  I stitched the heart in green to coordinate (3 strands) and the star in yellow to coordinate (2 strands).  The green is done up in a new stitch which I cannot recall what it was called.  You start with a small stitch, bring your thread up a stich length away and then pass your needle behind the stich and bring to the back where you came up and it resembles a chain stitch.  You continue with the same stitch pulling your thread behind the previous stitch.  I like that it is more defined than the chain stitch and with three thread made a very well defined line.  The yellow star I did in stem stitch and the star in single running stiches emanating from the center.  I made up 7 of  them - one for each row of the quilt.  It is a win win when you can stitch squares and then include them into a quilt.  Therese

Cardmaking - leaves featured over an embossed background highlighted with ink and accented with leather zigzag

A card for a family member with a birthday coming up soon!!  I started with a large brown card and added an embossed background which was highlighted with ink to bring out the details in the gears.  I adhered it to the card and added a zigzag die cut of leather.  The leaf (SU) was stamped several times, watercoloured and embellished with paper piercing thanks to my pattern tracing wheel.  I found some coordinating  scraps to make flagged accents for them and adhered them into place.  Therese
 

Cardmaking - outdoorsy paper with beavers, birds, and bear along with some leather leaves

I started with a large kraft card base, embellished it with some stamping (SU) to add a bit of texture.  I framed three pieces of  this fun paper which I found in my scraps that features birds, beavers and bears along with a few funky snails!!  I layered them with coordinating cardstock and adhered them with 3D foam tape.  I added three leather leaves in the space to emphasis nature.  

Therese
 

Health - Dr. K Boogie Woogie piano on YouTube

 A great channel for great boogie Woogie music which is excellent to exercise to!!!

Dr. K Boogie Woogie

Therese

Sewing - a repair on a denim bag

 

I did a repair on a denim bag that we received in our fabric donations a few weeks ago.  It was headed to the second hand store but I thought it was more likely to be offered for sale if it has not damaged.  

You can see that there was a tear on the top edge of the bag so I added a denim scrap and stitched it in place to repair the tear.  It did not look elegant so I found a tag in my stash that had woven edges and would fit to cover the repair.  I stitched it over the repair and now it looks much better.  Understandably it is not perfect but it does look neat.  On hindsight a little fabric collage would have been more designer!!  Next time!!  Therese

Gift in a gift - a cute package for a small gift

Here is a cute way to wrap a small gift and give a gift in a gift which easily transforms a potholder into a little container to package a small gift.  So fun!!!

You simply need a needle and thread!!!  Almost any thread will do though one with a little weight works best - crochet thread, embroidery thread, yarn, fine cording will all work perfectly.  Take a length between 7-12" and starting with one corner poke through the corner diagonally and continue to capture all four corners in the same way.  Pulling tight will bring the corners together at the top and you simply have to tie a bow to secure the package.  See photo below.  

Any small gift can be packaged this way though you might consider wrapping it in a small box or some tissue paper to prevent it from falling out of one the gaps on the sides.  No waste!!!  

Simply place your little gift inside with your tie loose and then tighten and tie off.  

Environmentally friendly can be very cute!!

Therese

 

Sewing - potholders featuring Canadian hockey fabric with coordinating fabrics

I picked up a few scraps from sorting last week.  We are preparing for our Fabric Sale in April.  I thought this Canadian Hockey fabric would make some cool potholders for Dad's or guys for the upcoming BBQ season!!  I found some blue and red cotton as well so it worked really well to make up a couple of sets of potholders for our merchandise table for our upcoming Gramma Link Africa events.  

I added three layers of flannel as batting in the between the front and the back and stitched several lines of sewing to keep all the layers together.  I self bound them by bringing the backer to the front and stitching it down through all the layers.  I added a corner loop in the process.  

Therese

 

Sewing - potholders featuring teapots framed in red and blue

Another set of potholders for our next GA event!!!  I love how these worked out!!  

The teapots were cut out of a Debbie Mumm fabric scrap and I dug through my stash to see what I could find that would work with the teapots.  I chose to use red and dark blue fabric and different ones on each side and switched the orientation as well because that worked best with the scraps I had of each fabric.  I really like how they worked out.  I cut the fronts to be 7" square after I framed the teapots with the red and blue fabrics.  The backer was created by framing the tea pot to 9" with red and blue fabric.  I added three layers of flannel as batting in between and then stitched a square around the teapots which framed each of them.  I added the loops to the top right hand corners through only the front and batting and they get stitched again when I bind so that is enough to keep them stable. I bound the set by folding over the backer once to the edge of the front and next folding it over the front and stitching it down.  I did the corners like you would for a quilt.  I am really loving this set!!  Hopefully, they will be just the thing for someone's kitchen!!  Therese 

Fish Fry starting on March 7th!! Best fish in town!!

The best fish in town and only for the next month or so on Fridays!!!!  

Make a date with your friends and come and have a wonderful evening out with the best fish!!!  

Therese