2019 Finish Along - 1st Quarter Goals

Here is my list for the 1st Quarter...

I have 14 items this quarter...one of the above pictures has two of the same pillow, I'm counting those each individually.

1. Christmas Placemats (started in 2017!)
2. 1600 Log Cabin
3. Iris Log Cabin
4. Tabby Road Quilt
5. Football Dogs Quilt
6. Baseball Dogs Quilt
7. Mini Shoo-Fly
8. Dog in Sweater Pillow
9. Penguin in Sweater Pillow
10. Sugar Skull Pillows #1
11. Sugar Skull Pillow #2
12. Apple Stars Quilt
13. Easy Trip Quilt
14. Mama Says Sew Jelly Roll Race

Wish me luck! And good luck to all the other Finish-Alongers!

2017 Second Quarter Round-up

I really have had a lot going on this last couple of months...finishing up a big annual fundraiser, packing our house, finding temporary housing when our new-old house got trashed (I mean trashed!  As in everything needed to be gutted...down to the studs!), and a machine that needed time at the repair shop!

Sewing got kinda put on the back burner in mid-May....but I did squeeze out a few finishes!

So here is the list from the 2nd Quarter:

And the progress made this quarter...

Diamond Tread: Finished!

Chevron Cats: Sent to Missouri Star Quilt Co. for quilting

FQS Snapshots: I started the embroidery for the label...as soon as that's done I can finish piecing the backing and get it basted.  I think this one will be fun to quilt!

Blue Geese: Sent to Missouri Star Quilt Co. for quilting

Kaffe Ribbons: Sent to Missouri Star Quilt Co. for quilting

You+Me Batik: I got this one basted!

En Provence Variation: I finished most of the quilting...maybe 95%...I just have a few places I want to add a bit more, and then it needs to be bound.  I "gave" this to my mom for Mother's Day...and promised I would have it finished before next Mother's Day!

Batik Chevron: Sent to Missouri Star Quilt Co. for quilting

Red Chain: I have about 75% of the quilting done...

Adore Floral: This one's quilting is about 80% done...

Shoo Fly: Finished!

Color Weave: Finished!

Kaffe Lattice: Sent to Missouri Star Quilt Co. for quilting

Canoe Ridge: Sent back to the scrap basket...just not liking it, the original was great, my version...not so much!

Pins and Paws: Finished!

...And I started three new tops, an Hourglass small quilt from a MSQ tutorial, a quilt using my Tabby Road Fat Quarter Pack, and a picnic quilt using Crazy Mom Quilt's Big Nine block.

I love quilting!

Frugal Friday: Recycled Clothing

I got to thinking, after last Friday’s post about using clothing on a layout...I remembered seeing someone (somewhere) use a cute denim pocket on their layout…hmmm, something to try.

I got a pair of small boy’s jeans from a friend (they were too worn-out to be donated) and got to imagining…

I wondered if my Cuttlebug and new Alterations flower die would cut the denim…

So I gathered up the Cuttlebug, the die and a good pair of sharp scissors…

First I removed the pockets and then a few other bits and pieces like the belt loops and some orange buttons that were inside the waist band.

Then I cut down the seam of one of the legs, and trimmed that into a smaller piece just big enough to cover the die.

I used my A plate on the bottom, then placed the die (face-up) with the jeans on top and topped the sandwich with another A plate.

I ran the sandwich through the Cuttlebug and it cut through nicely on the first pass.

If you don’t have a Cuttlebug and dies, try just cutting simple shapes from the fabric; fraying the edges might be cute…

Here is a layout I made using my recycled clothing…

Now I just need to go through my closet and find all my coffee stained blouses and worn-out pants…

So was the experiment worth it? Here is the tally:

Cost: I had everything on hand…if you don’t have a Cuttlebug or dies, you could simply trace and cut your shapes.

Cats Annoyed: 1 (Rooster was asleep on the old jeans, and I had to wake him up to use them….sorry, Rooster!)

Time: Fast…just the time it would take to rip apart the parts of the clothes you want to use

Skill Level: Basic

So there it is, recycled clothing! Easy Peasy…and Cheap! Cheap!

Frugal Friday: Tacky Textiles

This week on the TES forum Living in the Positive posted a cute tutorial from Studio Calico with instructions on using their new FabRips for the binding on a mini book…super cute! And when I saw the tutorial I had the perfect project in mind! But, alas, I have no FabRips….what is a frugal girl to do?

Well, make my own, of course.

Now, never having seen these fabulous little embellies in person, I am just guessing about how I can make my own...

Gather up various scraps of fabric, at least 12” long and of varying widths. If you don’t have any fabrics lying around, you can get some cute small pre-cut pieces from Wal-Mart (21” X 18”-fat quarter) for about $1.00, or try using up some old jeans or kids clothes that aren’t good enough to donate to charity.

Since fabric weave is loose, a liquid adhesive isn’t really a good option for this project, so I used my Xyron 500 machine.

I simple cut two strips of fabric 2” X 12” and one strip 1” X 12”, placed them all down on the 5” bed of the Xyron and ran them through the machine. The 2” wide strips are destined for the mini album, and so as to not waste space, I also passed a 1” strip through that will be for my embellie stash. The only limit on the width of the strips is the machine whose bed is 5” wide. As you will see in my sample project, I also made on strip 5” wide.

While you are running the fabric through the machine, keep slight tension on the fabrics to make sure they pass through straight and not overlapping each other….but don’t pull too hard or you may stretch the fabric.

After you have run the fabric through the machine, be sure to rub over the top of the fabric really well. I used a squeegee to make sure all of the adhesive transferred nicely to the fabric.

Then simply peel the strips from the backing, don’t throw the backing out, it is fantastic release paper for other frugal projects.

Here is my sample project:

This mini album is to show off my “10 Summer Photos to Take Right NOW” pictures (this is a free class from Big Picture Scrapbooking…check it out!)

My mini is 6” square, cut from 12” sheets of chipboard/book board and hinged as in the instructions from Studio Calico.

Yellow polka-dotted hinge...

I love how the pages lay flat...

And pink polka-dots...

So was the experiment worth it? Here is the tally:

Cost: I had everything on hand…but a fat quarter of fabric is about $1.00 and the refill for the Xyron 500 is $10.00 (from Wal-Mart), making one 5” X 12” sheet about $0.76. The FabRips from Studio Calico are $5.49 for two 6”X9”sheets of rip-able fabric in nine patterns.

Cats Annoyed: 1 (Clyde is a bit skittish and he did not like the squeaky sound of the Xyron machine!)

Time: Super fast…only a few minutes picking fabric, cutting the strips and running them through the machine.

Skill Level: Basic

So there it is, homemade tacky textiles! Easy Peasy…and Cheap! Cheap!

Paper Dolls...and Other Crafty Things

My co-worker (who shall remain nameless) has the funniest saying...anything that is crafty at all is called "paper dolls". And paper dolls scare her. I just have to laugh at that! Apparently it all stems from her childhood (doesn't everything!) and her lack of skills with a pair of scissors...anyway, I am attempting to change her mind...paper dolls are fun.

So I found this cute plastic basket in the dollar bin at Target about a month ago...and well, since it was only a dollar and came in bright obnoxious lime green...I had to buy two of them. So far I have been using them to tote around stuff...scrapbook stuff...sewing and knitting stuff...generally just stuff...

I went back to Target last week and bought another one, this time in pink, to use as a table-top catch-all for un-wanted scrapbook embellishments when I get together with my girlfriends to scrap. I thought I would embellish it, well, because I can...and I think it came out pretty cute.










Now back to the paper dolls...I brought the basket to work earlier this week to take a picture so I could post it here on the blog, and when Ms. Paper Dolls saw it...low and behold...she wanted to make one herself for her granddaughter...see it just goes to show, crafting isn't so scary after all (with a little help from your friends)! So for Ms. Paper Dolls, and anyone else interested, here are the instructions:

I think any small basket will work, as long as it has some small openings on the side:



Using fabric scraps (but of course I would never deny anyone the opportunity to go to the fabric store and buy yards and yards of new fabric, just for the fun of it), tear strips that are about 1/2" to 1 1/4" wide. To do this, simple make a small snip through the selvage of the fabric and tear...the fabric should tear along the warp and be pretty straight...but exactness and straightness won't be a factor here...

Then cut the torn strips into smaller lengths...for this basket the strips were cut to about 3-4 inches. Again, exactness...not a factor!

Finally, and super simple here, just tie them through the openings of the basket...and there you have it! Paper dolls!



I like mine so much, I think I will whip up a few for my little nieces for their birthdays and fill them with all sorts of girly-girl stuff...like bubble bath and Bonnie Bell lip gloss!