tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92099213738170120342024-03-18T02:48:50.477-07:00Tiny Apartment CraftsGabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-46102202544154734852011-05-26T09:19:00.001-07:002011-06-10T18:08:01.476-07:00SewMamaSew Giveaway Winners<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5243/5273458842_5a2fb1ecd9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="322px" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5243/5273458842_5a2fb1ecd9.jpg" t8="true" width="640px" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I can't believe I waited so long to post the SMS giveaway winners... Sorry about that folks! So without any further procrastination, here are the winners:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span> <br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<strong>Beth</strong> said "LOVE the camera strap - the clutch is fabulous too!" Beth has a lovely blog over at <a href="http://www.themodernladyblog.com/">The Modern Lady</a>, where she sews and crafts, I would totally recommend popping over and checking her out. Congrats Beth!</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<strong>Megan</strong> said "Love the flower on the clutch and the material reminds me of the pair of "train engineer's" overalls I used to wear a long (and I mean long) time ago." That is so funny, I have a picture of me at 3 years old wearing a pair of these too. Megan lives in beautiful Lake Louise, Alberta which is a spectacular place to visit if you ever get a chance. Yay Megan!<br />
<br />
Your packages are in the mail, with some added chocolate. I would have liked to have mailed these sooner, but I wanted to wait and see what was happening with the postal strike.<br />
<br />
Thank you to everyone who stopped by my blog during the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway week. It is always so exciting to get such wonderful comments from so many people.</div>
Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com107tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-60347716198383680012011-05-23T03:00:00.000-07:002011-05-25T23:54:01.818-07:00Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day is Here!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2309/5741723017_e87f57bed1_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2309/5741723017_e87f57bed1_b.jpg" width="640" /> </a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: magenta; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #134f5c;"><span style="background-color: white;">The Giveaway is now closed. I will be posting the winners as soon as they have been contacted. Thanks to everyone who left such kind comments, I hope to see you all again soon.</span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #134f5c;"><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Happy Giveaway Day! I am sure you are visiting a lot of new crafty blogs today, so thank you very much for stopping by Tiny Apartment Crafts. I am giving away 2 handmade clutches, each with a matching SLR camera strap and a fabric flower pin. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Anybody can enter,</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> this giveaway is open to international entries. Winners will be chosen from the comments by random number generator at the end of the day on May 25th and contacted by email as soon as possible. There are no hoops to jump through, but pl</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">ease follow the entry instructions </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> at the bottom of this post carefully </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">so that you don't miss out on your chance to win.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This giveaway was organized by the wonderful people at <a href="http://sewmamasew.com/">Sew Mama Sew</a>; click the giveaway button on my sidebar to see a complete list of all the participants. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2100/5742252994_2d6724a0d3_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="402" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2100/5742252994_2d6724a0d3_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The clutches were made using the adorable <a href="http://www.keykaloupatterns.com/product/pocket-clutch-pdf-sewing-pattern">Pocket Clutch pattern</a> from <a href="http://www.keyka.typepad.com/">Keyka Lou</a>. I adore her patterns, the unique shapes and the detailed instructions that always work out perfectly. If you are interested in sewing up one of these clutches for yourself, <a href="http://milkyrobot.blogspot.com/">Milky Robot</a> has a 20% <a href="http://milkyrobot.blogspot.com/2011/05/keyka-lou-pattern-discount.html">discount code here</a> good until May 27! The outside of the clutch is blue and white cotton ticking, decorated with a removable rolled fabric flower pin. I found a cute tutorial for this flower at <a href="http://mysparkle.blogspot.com/2010/02/how-to-rolled-flowers.html">My Sparkle</a>.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3236/5742273064_46a210fb93_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="374" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3236/5742273064_46a210fb93_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The inside of the clutch has 2 generous pockets and is lined with some of my <a href="http://tinyapartmentcrafts.blogspot.com/2010/12/present-project-kimono-house-shoes.html">favourite</a> Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow print (I even used this print to make my blog banner!). I used a small gold coloured magnetic snap closure, which holds everything very securely. The body of the clutch is double lined with both sew-in woven interfacing and cotton batting so it is very sturdy and holds its shape.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3220/5741715335_a0ce48c500_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3220/5741715335_a0ce48c500_b.jpg" width="486" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The camera straps are based on a pattern I made from the original Canon strap which came with my Rebel XTi. The cotton strap is 23 inches long and about 1.5 inches wide, quilted with a layer of cotton batting so that is it soft and comfortable. The nylon webbing is 13 inches long and a standard 3/8" width that should fit most SLR-type cameras. To use, just remove the original locking sliders from your old camera strap, slide them onto the new strap and adjust the strap to fit. They are very secure, and the real leather ends have been both glued and stitched in place so that they won't come apart.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3353/5742263264_7f4d97f8bc_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3353/5742263264_7f4d97f8bc_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you are interested in making your own custom camera strap, please check out my <a href="http://tinyapartmentcrafts.blogspot.com/2011/05/handstamped-labels-and-custom-camera.html">previous post</a> for more detailed instructions. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2548/5741705845_464d01fa0a_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2548/5741705845_464d01fa0a_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thanks again for visiting and good luck!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">PS: Canada Post seems to be threatening to strike on Tuesday May 24th. What terrible timing! If that happens, and it isn't resolved by May 30th, I will contact the winners to let them know of the delay in mailing their goodies. I might also add a little something to their packages to make up for the wait, and I might have a third wild card draw for a surprise gift when the strike ends (if it even happens). So who knows, maybe this unfortunate turn of events could get you an extra present in the mail :)</span><br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="380" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?formkey=dHNWdWpkVWFCcjNIV3dET3RyRHNCMnc6MA" width="760">&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Loading...&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;</iframe>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com253tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-70811634281794797362011-05-19T20:43:00.000-07:002011-05-19T20:43:09.602-07:00Handstamped Labels and Custom Camera Straps<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2126/5738036487_971f21a34d_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2126/5738036487_971f21a34d_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I did some old fashioned typesetting this week! It seems like </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have wanted to make some custom labels for myself since the beginning of time. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Why didn't I do it before? It is a very rewarding and fast project. I made a whole stack of custom labels, mostly using <a href="http://tinyapartmentcrafts.blogspot.com/2011/04/april-craftbook-challenge-zigzag.html">extra rectangles from this project</a> (I really got carried away cutting rectangles of neutral fabrics - I had about 100 too many). I used a sans-serif clear acrylic stamp set from <a href="http://shop.marthastewart.com/Martha-Stewart-San-Serif-Stamp/A/B003M3LENE.htm">Martha</a> (of course), to typeset my labels. It was tricky to get the alignment perfect, but I reason the slight irregularities just add personality. It was also tricky to recognize some letters backwards - lowercase "a", I am talking to you.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2129/5738624710_143966a01c_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2129/5738624710_143966a01c_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I wanted my fabric labels to be permanent and washable, but I didn't have stamp pads meant for fabric, so I decided to make my own. I used Speedball t-shirt screen printing ink, but I think you could use any medium consistency fabric paint you already own with this method. I squeegeed the ink with a smooth edged butter knife into a small piece of acrylic felt. I went over the inked area several times, removing extra ink until I had an evenly saturated, but not gloopy or wet, stamp pad. The ink will go right through in some places to the other side of the felt, so be sure to do this on a piece of cardboard or some tinfoil to protect your workspace. I kept the pad covered with a piece of plastic wrap when I wasn't using it, and I was able to get about 30-40 stamps out of it before I thought it needed replacing/reloading. Making your own stamp pad means you don't have to buy a new craft item you might not use very often, and also, you can mix the colours of fabric paint you have to make any hue you want. I don't think they keep though, I threw mine away after I was finished. When you are done stamping, dry your labels and set them using the ink's directions.</span><br />
<a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5229/5738047207_9ddb668ed3_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5229/5738047207_9ddb668ed3_b.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Don't they look nifty? I have to admit, some of them were not as perfect as I would like, but after playing with a real commercial stamp pad later, I think this mainly boils down to technique; my stamping skills are sadly lacking.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Of course, armed with a stack of freshly minted labels, I had to come up with a fun (and branded!) sewing project to use them in. What did I <span id="goog_897145395"></span><span id="goog_897145396"></span>make? Camera Straps! </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This one is mine: </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5064/5738063745_f7bc00dba4_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5064/5738063745_f7bc00dba4_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have been saving this pretty Heather Ross print for a special project and the mermaids and sealife swimming across the strap look so cute. The back of the strap is pieced with a label printed in blue on natural linen and some of Joel Dewberry's new woodgrain fabric. My strap is lined with one layer of cotton batting to make it quilted and soft. I followed the basic idea from a <a href="http://www.mysewcialhour.com/2011/02/scrappy-camera-strap-tutorial.html">camera strap tutorial</a> over at <a href="http://www.mysewcialhour.com/">My Sewcial Hour</a>. I picked the stitches from my original camera strap, pried it apart, inserted my new strap into the pleather end pieces and sewed over the original stitching lines....</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5142/5738082911_cd35d69cda_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="362" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5142/5738082911_cd35d69cda_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And then I made 10 more! These are pretty addictive to make: quick, pretty patchwork that looks both professional and useful. To make them from scratch, you will need 3/8" nylon webbing, a small piece of leather or vinyl, contact cement, and a leather sewing machine needle. You will also need the proper 3/8" locking sliders, or you could get your friends to use the original hardware from their old straps on their fancy new ones. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Make your straps however you like, topstitching them to reinforce the strap and keep the seams from rolling. I tried to taper the last inch of the strap ends slightly so that it would tuck into the end pieces neatly. Cut 2 pieces of the webbing to the same lengths as on your original strap, finish one end of each by holding it to a flame. Then use some tracing paper to make a pattern for the leather end piece, placing the narrow end on a fold line. When you cut out your leather (or vinyl) the resulting shape should be like little bow-ties. Cut a center slit to fit your nylon webbing and slide it into the end so that the webbing is 1/4" from the inside edge. Coat the inside of the leather piece and ~1/2" of the end of your handsewn strap (both sides) with contact cement. Let dry about 10 minutes before carefully assembling and pressing everything together tightly. Sew around the edges of the end peice and also sew a box with an "X" that goes over both the webbing and the strap. It is important to sew through all the layers like this so that your new strap is secure and won't ever drop your camera.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5105/5738645426_1ddc9cc235_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5105/5738645426_1ddc9cc235_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I am participating in the <a href="http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/2011/05/may-giveaway-day-3/">Sew Mama Sew Giveaway</a> next week, and I will include some camera straps like these, so if you would like one, please come back on Monday, May 23!</span>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-26915375075779419252011-05-01T21:36:00.000-07:002011-05-01T21:44:05.879-07:00Pretty {little} Pouch Swap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="386" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5063/5677969825_cb43a63605_b.jpg" width="640" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I made this cute little zippered pouch for my very first secret swap partner. Tomorrow I am going to package it up with a few little surprises and send it off across the globe to its new home. I love the idea that someone right now is making something special for me too... Secret Swaps are like surprise birthdays! It's all very exciting, I think I might be addicted.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5067/5623136626_37c1208cfc_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5067/5623136626_37c1208cfc_b.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/1633419@N20/">Pretty {little} Pouch Swap</a> was organized by Michelle Lizcano of <a href="http://www.ilikeorangetoo.blogspot.com/">I Like Orange, Too!</a> and Kelly from <a href="http://kelbysews.blogspot.com/">Kelbysews</a></span>. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Its a wonderful group, everyone in the swap has been so involved and it is like a storm of inspiration over there. Besides the creative fun, there is also the fun of internet stalking your swap partner and trying to decipher from little snippets of information what they really want. I <i>think</i> that my partner likes rainbow piecing. I'm not really giving away too much saying this because rainbow pieced projects may actually be turning into some sort of internet meme for the quilty/crafty set. I know that they feature heavily in my own Flickr favourites, which sort of surprised me, but who can resist beautiful colours? No one. That's who. I had a really good time pulling fabrics from my stash and arranging them into an attractive ROYGBIV. I had an even better time sewing them together into tiny hexagons. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5267/5678001873_f9ea0a5f24_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="410" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5267/5678001873_f9ea0a5f24_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The back of the pouch was inspired by the ocean. I free-pieced the aqua stripe and then cut it into a gentle wave. The tricky part was the curved piecing of the linen strips, but with a lot of pins, it worked out on the first try. I added some rows of handstitches to accentuate the wave pattern. My favourite part of the back are the sleepy moons from Heather Ross's Far Far Away 2.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5025/5678008335_e1149df571_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5025/5678008335_e1149df571_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The inside of the pouch has a little label (sorry, pictures would give too much away!) which I made using a fine <a href="http://www.sharpie.com/enUS/Products/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=SharpieOil-BasedPaintMarkerFine%28Sharpie%20Catalog%29">sharpie paint pen</a> and a little square of white muslin. It took a some practice to write on the fabric without pausing and making ugly blobs, but once you get it right, it makes a really lovely permanent label. I found that taping my square of fabric down on a piece of cardboard made writing easier. Then I just folded and ironed all the raw edges to the back and sewed it to my lining fabric. If you were in a hurry (or if you forgot to make a label before your project was finished) you could use a little row of steam-a-seam tape instead.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The sun seems to finally be making regular appearances in the sky nowadays, hopefully this will lead to more pretty beach photos. Happy belated spring everybody :)</span>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com58tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-16107394712331349432011-04-06T16:50:00.000-07:002011-04-06T16:50:34.567-07:00April Craftbook Challenge: Zigzag Quilted Cushions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5171/5595885913_30aae316c3_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5171/5595885913_30aae316c3_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This week I have been busy making some chair cushions for my mom's wicker rocking chair. I think they came out really nicely and I wanted to share them with you. While I was visiting her I used 2 big pieces of newspaper to make my templates, and traced the shape of the chair back and seat onto them. I also marked on the newsprint where I wanted the ties to go, 2 at the top for the chair back, and all 4 corners on the chair seat cushion. Then I took my newspaper home and started looking for a great pattern.</span><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fresh-Quilting-Fearless-Design-Inspiration/dp/1596682353/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1283772437&sr=1-1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQAgm6nMIoJvchnGOZYrUZhmUen8ijBOc-2vftpCtEiLgYcFI4AaTw0EJ9Fe8iuxNou2uNXd63cJa3Stk5jYdujopJL372CzGHqLu2bi7LdOTI0rJcY7-J0tJpDacyQ-2RE5KCdTjVnvM/s200/Freshquiltingcover2.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I wanted my chair cushions to coordinate with quilt I had made my mom before, so I dug out all my leftover scraps of Midwest Modern from that project, and added a few coordinating prints and some neutral solids to fill in the gaps. Her quilt was very geometric and modern so I was looking for something similar.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I decided to adapt the pattern for the ZigZag pillow from <a href="http://stitchindye.blogspot.com/">Malka Dubraswky's Fresh Quilting</a>. If you haven't seen this book yet, it is filled with all sorts of great projects and I would really recommend it to anyone interested in trying quilting and looking for some modern, colourful inspiration. I was also really inspired by the neutrals in <a href="http://www.redpepperquilts.com/2011/03/zig-zag-baby-quilt.html">this baby quilt</a> by Red Pepper Quilts, based on the same pattern.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5103/5595918717_a8615d6862_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5103/5595918717_a8615d6862_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This pattern is really fun to put together. The blocks are all perfect squares, made up of one print and one solid rectangle, and the pattern emerges when you alternate the direction of each block. I really like Malka's suggestion of using close parallel lines of quilting to accentuate the zigzag pattern, so that's what I went with. I made each quilt top a little bigger than my templates and them trimmed them down to size. I used all the extra rectangles that I had cut up to make pieced ties. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5104/5595914383_02ba8ddbbb_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strike><img border="0" height="640" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5104/5595914383_02ba8ddbbb_b.jpg" width="500" /></strike></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The seat back is just a mini quilt, bound with grey linen and backed with natural linen/cotton blend. The seat cushion was quilted, and then sewn to a two piece back with a lapped zipper. I made my own cording with the same grey linen cut on the bias. The cushion itself is 1 inch thick foam. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They don't really fit on my little antique chair, but they will look perfect on the wicker rocker.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here is a peek at the quilt that I made my mom last year:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5305/5596490190_90d534da14_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5305/5596490190_90d534da14_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The pattern for the quilt top is <a href="http://www.ohfransson.bigcartel.com/product/mixtape-quilts-modern-patchwork-pdf-pattern">Mixed Tape</a> from Elizabeth Hartman of <a href="http://www.ohfransson.com/">Oh Fransson!</a> I used a big stack of Amy Butler Midwest Modern that I had been hoarding, along with lots of natural linen for the sashing. The backing was my own improvised design; I used all the extra rectangles from making the pattern blocks and pieced them into a huge square. This was my very first try at free motion quilting, and I chose to use a stippling pattern which turned out pretty well. Elizabeth has a whole series of <a href="http://www.ohfransson.com/oh_fransson/quilt-tutorials-.html">tutorials on quilt-making basics</a> which I found really helpful.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5227/5595926103_13a9d7e66e_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5227/5595926103_13a9d7e66e_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I think that the Mixed Tape Quilt and the ZigZag Pillow may be two of my favourite quilting patterns. I love their simplicity, mix of solids and pattern, and how they show off your fabulous prints. Do you have a favourite modern quilt pattern? I would love to hear about it and why you loved it.</span>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-67701568461556527792011-03-27T21:17:00.000-07:002011-03-27T21:17:58.758-07:00Mini Quadrilateral Quilt and Tutorial<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5304/5565535642_f3f6c8eda0_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5304/5565535642_f3f6c8eda0_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Okay <a href="http://www.twomoreseconds.com/p/mug-rug-madness.html">Mug Rug Madness</a>, you got me. I had never before seen the point of making a tiny beautiful patchwork quilt and then hiding it (and/or risking its life) under a cup of tea. That is, not until I came up with a quilt project idea that I would need to test out on a smaller scale first. Now I get it: a quick and easy way to try out new and possibly daunting techniques, to try unexpected colour combinations or to just play around with your scraps. Yay Mug Rugs! Thanks to Erin over at <a href="http://www.twomoreseconds.com/">Two More Seconds</a>, I might be hooked.<br />
<br />
The inspiration for my miniquilt (and the large scale quilt which as of yet lives only in my dreams) comes from this gorgeous modern print I found while perusing Etsy the other day.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/66783126/block-abstract-art-print"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://ny-image2.etsy.com/il_570xN.225206850.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/66783126/block-abstract-art-print">Block Abstract Art Print</a> by Melanie Mikecz of <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/twoems">twoems</a> </div><br />
Melanie's palette choice of bright saturated hues combined with neutrals, and the colour blocks in the design reminded me so much of everything I love about modern quilts. In fact, a lot of her prints look like they would make amazing modern quilt projects. They are so inspiring, <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/twoems">you should really go take a peek</a>. At first glance, I thought that I could achieve this look with improvisational piecing, but then I noticed that each quadrilateral colour block intersects at a single point and I would need to make a pattern. I also realized that sewing the rows of blocks together would require use of the dreaded Y-seam, which is why I tried a tiny version of this before committing to a huge quilt.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5134/5565758504_037c698af2_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5134/5565758504_037c698af2_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Choosing the fabrics for this project was a lot of fun. Are you a fan of the blog <a href="http://incolororder.blogspot.com/">In Color Order</a>? Well you should be. Jeni's series on <a href="http://incolororder.blogspot.com/2011/03/art-of-choosing-light-vs-dark.html">The Art of Choosing</a> has really helped me to develop an eye for how to use the fabrics in my stash. I decided that I wanted a palette of neutrals and cool colours, with a few hits of bright pink and yellow for contrast. I also chose to use only solids and colours+white to keep the focus on the geometric quality of the design.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The solids were a combination of natural and white linens, Laura Gunn's Magnolia Lane, Robert Kaufman's Quilters Linen and Pat Bravo's Pure Elements. The prints were from Alexander Henry, Joel Dewberry and Kate Spain. I also used a medium weight turquoise woven, and a lighter weight peach cotton sateen from my stash of fashion fabric. </span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For my pattern, I measured an 8" square onto the papery side of some freezer paper and added a 1/4" seam allowance around all 4 sides of the large square. Then I took a little ruler and started making 4 sided shapes with intersecting points to fill the square. You really can't go wrong here, but I tried to vary the width of the rows as well as the angles of each shape. Basically, the wonkier your <a href="http://www.mathsisfun.com/quadrilaterals.html">quadrilateral shapes</a>, the better. Number all the pieces, with your numbers facing the same way up so that you will be able to fit it all together again (underline your 6's and 9's!!). After I had carefully cut them all apart, I came up with the idea of drawing some horizontal lines on the pattern to indicate the direction of grain, so you might want to try that too. I just aligned the pattern pieces on the fabric grain as best as I could guess.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I wanted to ensure an element of randomness, so that the colour placement didn't get too fussy and predictable. To achieve this, after I cut out all the shapes, I put them in the randomizer (or "bowl" as some people call it) and then sat at my ironing board, with my stack of fabrics, choosing a piece at random from the bowl and ironing it to the wrong side of whatever fabric came next in the stack. When I had run out of fabrics in my original stack, I picked out all the neutrals and made a new stack, and repeated the process until I had ran out of pattern pieces. This is a variation on the theme of the <a href="http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=401">Paper Bag method</a> devised by the queen of improvisational quilting, <a href="http://www.dsquilts.com/workshop_detail.asp?PageID=136">Denyse Schmidt</a>. Of course, as supreme ruler of your own quilting universe, you have the power to veto anything the randomizer chooses that you really dislike.</span> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5308/5565279691_efbfdf916a_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5308/5565279691_efbfdf916a_b.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After ironing the pattern pieces to my fabric I trimmed </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">each piece to</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> include a 1/4" seam allowance around all sides (except where the edge seam allowance was already included) with my rotary cutter. Being really careful in this step makes everything easier to line up later. I left the paper patterns on for the whole sewing process to help make sure I was sewing accurately and then ripped them out gently at the end. How you choose to sew your Y-seams will affect how you proceed to the next step. There are a lot of schools of thought on this, and lots of online tutorials and videos to help you out; this was my first time trying to sew a Y-seam with my machine so if you know a better way, go with your gut.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I chose to align each pair and chain piece them, sewing the seam through each seam allowance. I used my 1/4" foot to make piecing faster and more accurate. When aligning the pieces, I poked a pin through the fabric at each corner to be sure that they were lined up properly. It is trickier to get these right than you would assume due to all the funky angles so I checked each one individually to be sure. (I forgot to take a picture of this, so in the photo below, they are already sewn together). Press open the seams and then attach all the pairs to make complete rows. Press again, although not too enthusiastically, you don't want to steam them or distort them too much.</span><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5027/5565293601_4787b4db8c_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="326" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5027/5565293601_4787b4db8c_b.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I tried unsuccessfully to get a picture of how I sewed my Y-seams together. Please accept my apologies and watch this helpful <a href="http://www.videojug.com/webvideo/how-to-easily-quilt-a-y-seam">video from videojug</a> instead. Sew each matching side together, stopping at the center of each seam, then rotate the top row to line up the next pair of matching sides and sew again. Repeat this process of matching up seams and rotating the row until you reach the end. Again, it is helpful to poke a pin through the seam to check that it comes out at the same point on the other piece. I rotated the top row with the sewing machine needle down in the center seam, and I found that the fabric aligned smoothly.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5300/5565880914_a0429cd401_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="322" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5300/5565880914_a0429cd401_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Look how neatly some of my points line up! A few seams were off by a millimeter or so, but the finished block lies flat and with no waves or wrinkles so I was pretty happy with my first attempt at sewing Y-seams on my machine. I backed my mini-quilt with the beige linen, and used the dark blue quilters linen for the binding. I had a tough time deciding how to quilt this, but eventually went with a light grey thread and my walking foot to make parallel lines of stitching along all the seams. I think it accentuates the geometric pattern perfectly.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5310/5565205667_79554cb5c0_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5310/5565205667_79554cb5c0_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And now the obligatory pretty mug rug shot with my cute little cupcake mug from <a href="http://lovemomiji.com/">Momiji</a>. I love my little mug, my mom got it for me for my birthday years ago and it always makes me smile when I use it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So the goal now is to try to translate this project into a full size quilt (or maybe a lap quilt?). Making the full size pattern might be challenging, but I think it is still doable. I am not sure how I would quilt a larger version. I like my quilting pretty dense, so maybe alternating directions of close parallel lines in each block, or even an angular spiral within some of the blocks will accentuate the overall design.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Did any of you make mug rugs for <a href="http://www.twomoreseconds.com/p/mug-rug-madness.html">Mug Rug Madness</a>? I would love to hear about your inspiration. I hope some of you try making a cute little quadrilateral quilt like this, it was a great way to practice a tricky skill, and it makes a really modern and spectacular looking block.</span></div>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-16349197484195100422011-03-20T20:28:00.000-07:002011-03-30T14:46:47.114-07:00Pattern Review: Family Tree from CozyBlue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5026/5545068286_50899e2037_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5026/5545068286_50899e2037_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/71141282/custom-family-tree-embroidery-pattern">Update: Pattern is now for sale in CozyBlue's Etsy Shop!</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When Liz from <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/cozyblue?ref=pr_shop">CozyBlue</a> asked me if I would like a free review copy of an embroidery pattern she was developing based on her custom screenprints I jumped at the chance. I had seen her <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/65130042/custom-family-tree-blue">screenprinted family trees</a> before and I really love them. They are the perfect modern family tree. The design is fresh and striking, I love the clean lines, and that little heart at the center of the tree rings is adorable. These family trees would make wonderful presents for Mother's Day, or for the nursery of a new baby. I made mine for a good friend, as a housewarming present for her new home.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Liz did a really good job with her instructions for transferring the pattern to both light and dark material, and the pattern includes different shapes and sizes of extra leaves, so you can customize your tree however you like. The design is almost fool proof, all the lines are slightly irregular, so even if you make a minor mistake with your stitching, nobody will ever know the difference. Depending on how much extra embellishing you want to add to your family tree, I think this is a weekend project for most crafty people, from transferring the design to framing.</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5014/5543352545_39dda60ff9_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5014/5543352545_39dda60ff9_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I really loved the </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">indigo and greenish yellow</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> that Liz used in her print so I kept the colours the same in my project. I have been really inspired by the work of <a href="http://checkoutgirlcrafts.blogspot.com/">Melissa Crowe</a> and that is where I got the idea to add some felt applique for both added texture and solid colour. If you would like to do the same, I traced the original pattern onto the matte side of some freezer paper, lightly ironed the paper shiny side down onto my felt and then I was able to cut out the pieces easily and accurately. After removing the freezer paper, you can flip the felt pieces upside down and lightly spray them with spray adhesive so that they stay in place while you stitch them down. I used tiny running stitches with a single strand of embroidery thread to hold the felt in place.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Some of my favourite parts: I really love the tiny little french knot umlauts, the perfect little yellow leaves and the tiny stitches in the felt bark. I also love how the concentric rings of backstitching look, leading to the little knot and heart in the center of the log. It was very soothing and hypnotic stitching these rings, turning the piece around and around in my hands as I went.</span><br />
<a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5099/5543917972_cb0d70dcf1_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5099/5543917972_cb0d70dcf1_b.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To frame the finished family tree, I stretched the linen over a 10" square wooden canvas. I think it would look just as good framed in a 12" embroidery hoop. The only problem I had with this pattern is that people with very long names might find it difficult to fit them into the limited center space in the design. I think it would be relatively easy to work around this using a copier to enlarge either the whole design, or just increase the center heart design and eliminate one or two growth rings to make room for the larger center.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Liz is planning to have the pattern available in her <a href="http://www.cozyblue.etsy.com/">shop</a> in the next two weeks, but in the mean time she has lots of other cute stuff available, including all sorts of customizable family tree prints, heart pillows, and adorable welcome baby prints with fabric bunting. Check it out at </span><a href="http://www.cozyblue.etsy.com/" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" target="_blank">http://www.cozyblue.etsy.com/</a>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-66654695384384239372011-03-17T09:44:00.000-07:002011-03-17T09:44:57.791-07:00Happy St. Patrick's Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5011/5534483501_9fa8730b22_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="528" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5011/5534483501_9fa8730b22_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here is a little peak at my vintage button stash; I pulled out all the pretty greens and a few pearly shell and lacy translucent buttons too. My favourite of the bunch is the little green button with a rhinestone center. I like to imagine that it came off of a kelly green 50's cardigan worn by some elegant red haired beauty. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I don't have any Irish heritage, but growing up St. Patrick's day was celebrated in our house with much enthusiasm. My mom would make all of our food green, which was that special mix of gross and tasty that little kids love. There was a lot of green food colouring involved, some vegetables and lime jello for dessert of course. Nothing about drinking limeade and eating kiwis and avocados for breakfast have anything to do with being Irish, but it was a lot of silly fun, and they are really happy memories.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I hope today you take a moment to think of something from your own past to make you smile. I know we all could use some cheering up. Trying to help in any way we can makes a difference too. I've sent in my donation to the <a href="http://www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=002372&utm_source=donatenow&utm_medium=button_en&utm_campaign=onetime">Canadian Red Cross</a> to help with the Japan earthquake/tsunami relief, have you?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And now for something completely different:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5053/5535077336_d00511d5a4_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5053/5535077336_d00511d5a4_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Green Bird is tempted by the sunflower aroma wafting out of his favorite cafe...</span></span></div>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-3671196128742620932011-03-10T22:59:00.000-08:002011-03-10T22:59:49.744-08:00Retro Oilcloth Shopping Bag<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5259/5505142386_5ee7703f6c_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="479" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5259/5505142386_5ee7703f6c_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's not all arts and crafts in the Tiny Apartment, sometimes I make the useful things that people in my life need help with. Still, I like to make practical things as pretty as I can manage, don't you? My sister wanted an upgrade for her wheeled shopping cart bag. The one which came on the frame was made from the cheapest polyester canvas-type material, it was black, ugly, flimsy and poorly designed. We went shopping for some oilcloth and had a lot of fun deciding which retro print to choose for its replacement. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oilcloth was the perfect choice because it is sturdy, needs no lining or interfacing to give the bag body, and is waterproof, which means my sisters groceries will arrive home safe and sound. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> In the end she settled on a very pretty brown and white traditional print of flowers and baskets, and a cool faux bois wood in dark brown.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I copied the basic pattern for the shape of the bag from the original, adding a more generous flap over the opening, velcro closures for the flap at two positions, so that the lid stays in place even when full (did I mention it rains a lot here on Vancouver Island?), grommets at the top to help the drawstring closure work smoothly, and a zippered pocket at the back.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5300/5504521973_1ab82eea85_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="590" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5300/5504521973_1ab82eea85_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After sewing this and a few other oilcloth projects I have some pointers for those interested in using this great material for the first time:</span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Wrinkles: lay your oilcloth open flat for a couple of hours in a warm room, or if you are in a rush, use a warm hairdryer at a distance of at least a foot to coerce it to flatten out. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oilcloth doesn't like irons! Finger press, or use the smooth edge of a spoon to press open seams or crease folds. Really, put away the iron, you will have only yourself to blame for the mess created by thinking that you could use a lower setting or a pressing cloth and then melting your project onto your iron.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A Teflon foot really helps. Oilcloth is slightly tacky so if you don't have a Teflon foot, you can use masking tape on the bottom of your foot to help your project go smoothly.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Use a long stitch length (I set my machine to about 2mm) which is less likely to cause rips.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Pin your project only in the seam allowance, or better yet, use binder clips to hold everything in place, as pins will permanently mark oilcloth.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For the bow applique, I used some adhesive spray to hold it in place (remember, no pins!), and then zigzagged over the edges.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In order to reinforce the seams, which could be stressed by heavy loads, I used french seams to sew together the body of the shopping bag.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When you are designing your project, remember that oilcloth doesn't fray, so you can simplify a lot of designs that would require a finished seam if you were sewing with a woven material. </span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you have never sewn anything with a french seam, give it a try! The first time I attempted it, it felt funny sewing everything right sides out, but when you are done, you have a strong, clean finish inside. It is a great way to make laundry/shopping bags or little bags for organizing things in your home. Remember to add extra seam allowance to your projects if you use a french seam, as it eats up extra fabric. There is a great <a href="http://pm-betweenthelines.blogspot.com/2009/04/drawstring-bag-french-seam-tutorial.html">tutorial for making simple linen drawstring bags</a> with french seams over at <a href="http://pm-betweenthelines.blogspot.com/">Between the Lines</a> if you are interested in trying it out yourself.</span>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-45025217632557755822011-03-05T11:11:00.000-08:002011-03-05T11:11:20.985-08:00Felted Brown Mushrooms and Lichen Covered Rocks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5499588179/"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5175/5499588179_23d8171032_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I am working on another small terrarium. The inspiration for this one comes from hiking in the dry open forests of the Gulf Islands. There is not a lot of rainfall in the summer and the forest floor is covered with moss and beautiful lichens. When the first real rain comes in the fall we go on mushrooming expeditions. My favourite wild mushrooms to eat are the Chanterelles, but the smooth rusty brown-capped Bolete mushrooms are always exciting to find. If you would like to try making these little brown mushrooms, check out my <a href="http://tinyapartmentcrafts.blogspot.com/2010/12/needle-felted-terrarium-and-mushroom.html">needlefelted mushroom tuturial!</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My favourite mushrooming field guide is <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883">All That The Rain Promises and More</a>... by David Arora. The book is small enough to fit into your jacket pocket, is filled with wonderful photos, and is really easy to use. The best thing is that while it is not a complete compendium of every mushroom species known to man, it has all the really tasty mushrooms you want to look for, and very carefully compares and contrasts these with any local mushroom "lookalikes" which are actually poisonous. The book is also filled with hilarious stories, interesting recipes and poems. It is very unique and I think it appeals to the quirky people who run about the woods on their hands and knees searching for elusive and delicious fungi.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I know that fall is long way away, but don't forget that those elusive <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morchella">Morels</a> come up in the spring!<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">**If you have never been mushrooming before, it is wise to go with a more experienced buddy, or join a local mycology society. I have been hunting mushrooms since I was a child but if I am ever less than 100% sure of my identification, I leave it behind.</span></span>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-90672921121593494362011-03-04T15:03:00.000-08:002011-03-04T15:03:28.299-08:00Intertidal Embroidery Project - WIP<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5178/5498053158_185b9b9796_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5178/5498053158_185b9b9796_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have been working for a while now on an embroidery piece inspired by the tidepools surrounding the rocky beaches of Southern Vancouver Island. It isn't really a finished work, I feel like it is more of an embroidered sketchbook for a future project. I am using cotton embroidery thread on white linen, with a little silk applique. Above is a Purple Ochre Star, which is the most common starfish where I live. Depending on what part of the coast you live on, Ochre Stars will vary in colour from the deepest purple, to bright pink and orange. The purple variety is the most common here, but in every large pool there are a few salmon pink sea stars too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One of my favourite things are the sea anemonies. Even though my first instinct is to make things really challenging and complicated, I am always most impressed with artists that are able to use very simple shapes and effortless looking styles to say more. I wanted to show the way the anemonies aggregate and squish together without being too fussy. I really am in love with their irregular oval shapes, made with just radiating straight stitches.</span><br />
<a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5135/5498034582_d9457a74b8_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5135/5498034582_d9457a74b8_b.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I added some bright green silk applique and heavy satin stitching to make green algae. I also really like the feathery red algae, and it is very easy to get carried away sewing the branching fronds with finer and finer thread. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br />
</b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5254/5498046362_f0cbc187e4_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5254/5498046362_f0cbc187e4_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I am still trying to figure out the best way to make embroidered barnacles. I think that they would look best done in white or light grey on a darker background like navy blue. I would love to see all their angular shapes, like living prisms, feeding with their feathery appendages.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The part of this project that has me stuck is how to execute the embroidery composition so that it looks modern, unfussy and striking. What I have right now is a jumble of things tangled together, which is how they live in real tidepools, but in my opinion is not the most effective presentation. I think that embroidery can be a very modern feeling medium, but you have to be careful with its treatment to do so. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I really want to be sure that this project doesn't tread into stuffy "embroidery sampler" territory.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5212/5498026846_d8d3fd4c90_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="630" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5212/5498026846_d8d3fd4c90_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I am thinking about making 3 or 4 small pieces, each with only one or maybe two different species, but linked by style or by how they are framed. I think it might be make them feel more modern to frame them simply in their hoops. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What do you think? </span>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-49296272167726585402011-02-27T13:56:00.000-08:002011-02-27T14:03:43.606-08:00"Shoelace" Stitch - mini handsewing tutorial<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="350" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5220/5482234717_23da977ff2_b.jpg" width="640" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I decided I could do a better job explaining the handsewing technique that I was trying to tell you about in my<a href="http://tinyapartmentcrafts.blogspot.com/2011/02/needle-felted-succulent-terrarium.html"> last post</a> so here is a little mini-tutorial in case you would like to try it. In my example above I have used a contrasting 6 stranded embroidery thread just so everything shows up nicely. You would want to use a closely matching, strong sewing thread in your real work.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As you can see above, the needle is inserted into the felt from the inside of the seam into one side and then from the inside of the seam to the other side, each time moving forwards a few millimeters and alternating directions. When you pull the thread tight the stitches bite into the felt and become almost invisible. I tend to sew about a half of an inch or so and then pull the thread tight, then sew another half inch, tightening my stitches as I go. Below you can see the untightened stitches on the left, and on the right are stitches which have been pulled tight.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5138/5482839798_3fb06d08b8_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="450" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5138/5482839798_3fb06d08b8_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Gently pulling the stitches will result in leaves that look slightly notched. Pull the thread tighter, and you get distinctly notched leaves that curve outwards. Pull very tight, more on one side of a leaf than the other, and you get leaves that twist and bend (pull the thread too tight, and it will snap and you will have to stomp your feet and start over). It is a great way to add simple three dimensional shape to a plant. Also, the thread seems to disappear into the felt, but without crushing the outer shape the way that blanket or overcast stitches seem to do when they are pulled tightly. To help shape the leaf the way you want, sometimes you can take the leaf and tug on the shape slightly to redistribute the gathers you have made.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5096/5482278295_4719769f96_b.jpg" width="640" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Above are three leaves that I have stitched using this technique. Each leaf started exactly the same shape and size. By tightening and gathering the stitches you are able to make progressively more curved leaves. If you find that you aren't able to tighten the stitches easily and want a more curved leaf, you might have to try spacing your stitches out a little more.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You could use leaves like this to build your own <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5475364959/">succulent felt plant</a>, or you could pair a leaf with a felt flower to make a pretty pin or clip. If anybody knows the real name for this stitch I would love to find out. </span> </div>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-26619202620520152482011-02-25T01:12:00.000-08:002011-02-27T14:02:25.309-08:00Needle Felted Succulent Terrarium<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5475396417/"><img border="0" height="562" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5100/5475396417_913aaae61e_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ever since I made my <a href="http://tinyapartmentcrafts.blogspot.com/2010/12/needle-felted-terrarium-and-mushroom.html">first felt terrarium</a> I have searching my local thrift stores for the perfect glass containers so I can make some more. This week scroungers luck was with me and I now have 4 glass terrariums waiting to be turned into special little microcosms! It is snowing outside and I am thinking of summer, so I decided to make my terrarium out of felted versions of sun-loving succulents. I love the colours and shapes and I wish I had a patio where I could expand my collection - <a href="http://blogdelanine.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-babies.html">have you seen Geninne's</a>? I am so jealous.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5475352605/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5139/5475352605_378dc8eab6_b.jpg" width="448" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Succulents really lend themselves to being made from felt because their leaves have a natural "plush" look to them and the wool seems to take on their soft palette of greens and blues easily.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Because the beautiful colours of these plants was such a big part of my inspiration, I have to admit to being really fussy about colour with this project. I hand-dyed the sheets of wool felt, starting with either cream or white, to get different grades of blue-greens. To achieve the yellow-green of the tiny filler plants in the front of the terrarium I over-dyed very light blue-green felt with natural turmeric (<a href="http://www.lionbrand.com/cgi-bin/pg.fcgi?page=turmeric.html">handy tutorial from Lion Brand for dying wool with turmeric</a>). For the jade plant, I layered wisps of wool roving in white, light green, bright magenta and soft lavender, in order to get the leaves just right.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I knew I would have to make some tall succulent plants in order to make my terrarium look full. I decided that I would start with a jade plant, as I had a real plant in my living room to study. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After searching the internet, I think I may actually be the first person crazy enough to needle-felt a jade plant. Trust me to make an everlasting version of a plant that already is drought resistant and impossible to kill! It is made with a pipe cleaner armature. I needle-felted a smooth stalk and smaller side branch around the pipe cleaner in light green wool. The leaves were attached to the stalk, alternating directions with each pair. Oh, did I mention, I also stabbed myself about a hundred times? I need to figure out a better way to felt the edges of thin leaves that doesn't involve sandwiching my barbed needle between my fingers.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5475979676/"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5096/5475979676_37c57ce8cd_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The "Hens and Chicks" type succulents were made almost the way you would make a rose. I started with a small cone of needle felted wool, and then built the plant around this, starting with the smallest leaves and adding larger and larger leaves. The outermost layers are not only double felt, but stuffed with wool roving. I also made a second tall succulent with many cone-shaped leaves, some tiny filler plants, as well as some large curling leaves that I used for the background. Everything was arranged and sewn down to a terracotta-coloured needle felted base.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I also discovered a new (probably only new to me) stitch for sewing together two layers of felt;</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I am going to call it "Shoelace" stitch, because that is how I sew it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1299036041"><span style="color: #0b5394;">**Update: I have moved the description for the Shoelace stitch to its own mini-tutorial </span></a><a href="http://tinyapartmentcrafts.blogspot.com/2011/02/shoelace-stitch-mini-handsewing.html" style="color: #0b5394;">here</a><span style="color: #0b5394;">.</span></span>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-22206246202300961422011-02-13T21:56:00.000-08:002011-02-13T21:57:53.035-08:00Valentines Day Craftbook Challenge Fail<a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4073/5444288642_81e179c880_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4073/5444288642_81e179c880_b.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Check out this cute little frog! A dear reader, Raquel, made him following my instructions for the <a href="http://tinyapartmentcrafts.blogspot.com/2011/01/felt-owl-measuring-tape-free-pdf.html">felt owl measuring tape</a> and was kind enough to send me a photo of him. He is so great, good job Raquel. (I really love getting this kind of mail, if anyone out there completes any of my projects, please please please send me a photo!)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I want to thank you all again for entering the giveaway, your kind comments were overwhelming as always. Congratulations to the the winners! Gem of <a href="http://gemmajoy.blogspot.com/">GemmaJoy</a>, from Brisbane Australia, and Kristin of <a href="http://www.kleas.typepad.com/">Kleas</a>, from Minneapolis MN, your keychain clutches and earrings are in the mail. You both have lovely blogs and I am so happy that the randomizer picked you :)</span><br />
<a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/5444326208_c7908da0ce_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="322" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/5444326208_c7908da0ce_b.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So I had this fabulous idea to make myself some cute zakka-style oven mitts for Valentines Day. I don't even have plain-old regular oven mitts and I burn myself every time I try to take something out of the oven so I was pretty excited about this project. I gathered up my materials: some pretty vintage cotton rickrack and Japanese crochet lace trim, some linen-esque fabric with a cute red stripe pattern, pretty red and white dot lining and some space age silvery batting. And to make my project over the top, cross stitched little fawns from the wonderful book, <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780823014781">A Rainbow of Stitches</a>, by </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Agnes Delage-Calvet, Anne Sohier-Fournel, Muriel Brunet, and Francoise Ritz</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">.</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">How can this go wrong I ask you? OK, on to the <i>FAIL</i> part of my Valentines Day Craft Book Challenge project...</span><br />
<a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5099/5444283744_5efb15812d_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5099/5444283744_5efb15812d_b.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Do you see what I see? Maybe we need to do a little closeup:</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilFmVnwpccI1yhn4mMDOAuNmmX3qUjhT5ptyWxJAfdapl5Z2I4tl9vdc90qeKHoYhNiNXY1yvFTmN7mWb-kq06VjjcfTU_B0IGy9fgD5u91JD54mv3K7usB1Nyqutk0c_k2Qi-r44DDV0/s1600/Little+Evil+Deer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilFmVnwpccI1yhn4mMDOAuNmmX3qUjhT5ptyWxJAfdapl5Z2I4tl9vdc90qeKHoYhNiNXY1yvFTmN7mWb-kq06VjjcfTU_B0IGy9fgD5u91JD54mv3K7usB1Nyqutk0c_k2Qi-r44DDV0/s400/Little+Evil+Deer.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Is it just me, or does that little fawn look, sort of, well, <i>Grinchy</i>? I think it isn't just me. These little fawns are evil twins. I can't have them on my oven mitts. They look like they might burn me with their disapproving stares. Really, I don't know how I didn't notice this until I had appliqued the little red hearts and rick rack around each of them.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I think maybe it is just one of those problems that eyes are so dang expressive, and my little half-stitch is somehow making the deer all squinty and mean, and if you tried this, your half-stitch would make the deer look sad, or happy, or confused etc...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The project picture of these little fawns in the book look decidedly sweet, which is why I chose them in the first place:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRrnyS2b6EnEAFhsh2L92y8DtFU-qsq2Cc0kWWQ6qTLkdBEAnuk0Fzo-gJiqzRsl69bGmJDrqG_bxzfYDHLwdnsalzKMjB-dKTgnTQqeXalwwY9xzCzjrsUacZowyJ5KrzrkrjoendExA/s1600/forest+friends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRrnyS2b6EnEAFhsh2L92y8DtFU-qsq2Cc0kWWQ6qTLkdBEAnuk0Fzo-gJiqzRsl69bGmJDrqG_bxzfYDHLwdnsalzKMjB-dKTgnTQqeXalwwY9xzCzjrsUacZowyJ5KrzrkrjoendExA/s640/forest+friends.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So what am I going to do with these little hearts? Should I make them into snarky anti-valentines? Give them to someone nearsighted? Carefully unpick all the stitches and burn them so they can't come alive at night and do the bidding of an evil overlord? (perhaps I have watched too much science fiction)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Happy Valentines Day everyone! Tell a friend how much you care about them. </span>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-89762807040427656322011-02-05T12:33:00.000-08:002011-02-09T22:23:50.872-08:00Surprise! Another Giveaway!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5418485463/"><img border="0" height="394" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5094/5418485463_d6188515c4_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: magenta;">The Giveaway is now closed, thank you so much for visiting, and thanks to all of you who participated. I will be announcing the winners soon.</span></b> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Every time I see how many people have visited this blog I am amazed. It is wonderful to be able to share ideas around the world and to be part of this online community of talented, crafty and artistic people. So to show my appreciation for all the wonderful feedback I have been getting, I am hosting a little surprise giveaway!</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I am giving away 2 keychain clutches, and inside each clutch I am adding a pair of pretty silver earrings, all handmade by me. I will be randomly choosing 2 names from the comments and contacting the lucky winners by email. The giveaway will close Wednesday, February 9th. Anybody can enter, I am willing to mail these anywhere in the world. Please check the bottom of this post for entry instructions.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5419110592/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="394" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5020/5419110592_7ef988c202_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">These cute little keychain clutches were made using a <a href="http://www.keykaloupatterns.com/">Keyka Lou pattern</a>. I really enjoyed sewing with this pattern, which uses little darts to give the clutches a nice shape. I used a different Kokka linen canvas for each one: a <a href="http://www.fabricworm.com/ecfa20byesfu16.html">patchwork Echino</a> by Etsuko Furuya (above) and Ruby Star Rising by <a href="http://melodymiller.typepad.com/">Melody Miller</a> (below). They are both lined with a turquoise tiny heart quilters cotton and accented with vintage buttons I found at my local thrift store. I chose to interface the clutches with felt to add extra structure and to make them a little padded. The closure is a Velcro strip under the flap. The clutches are very small, approximately 2.5" by 4", but are useful for holding a few precious items such as a few cards and some small cosmetics like a lipbalm.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5419103988/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="394" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5096/5419103988_203bab820e_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5253/5418453573_72cc2345b9_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5253/5418453573_72cc2345b9_o.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The silver drop earrings are made from some really cool crystals and dark purple pearls which I brought home from my trip to Taiwan. I bought them from the craft and jewellery district just north of the Taipei Main Station, which is crammed full of stores selling crystals and kits for making tiny beaded animals, purses, desserts and dolls. I actually bought one of these kits, which was a minor disaster I will have to tell you about some other time.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I haven't been able to find faceted metallic rondelle crystals like these anywhere at home and they are very special and unique. The beads dangle from a delicate silver chain and have lovely movement when wearing. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They hang approximately 1" long from sterling silver earwires. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Everything I used for making these earrings is new, and they have never been worn.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The design is modern with just a little edginess and they are perfect for a lunch out with friends or a night on the town. I guarantee you will get some compliments... you can tell them they were handmade for you by a friend!</span><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5418467367/"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5020/5418467367_c2eee53748_o.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Never want to miss a spontaneous surprise giveaway? Subscribe! Thank you all so much for visiting</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. Good Luck!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: magenta;">The Giveaway is now closed, thank you so much for visiting, and thanks to all of you who participated. I will be announcing the winners soon.</span></b> </span>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com71tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-72562100869532627242011-01-26T19:47:00.000-08:002011-01-26T19:47:16.240-08:00Year of the Rabbit Sewing Kit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="452" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5175/5390676873_fb4a0d06f3_b.jpg" width="640" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Have you heard 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit? That sounds good to me; rabbits have always been associated with luck, so I hope this will be a lucky year. Rabbits are also symbols of the coming spring, and I am pretty sick of blah winter rains and no sunshine.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I wanted to make a little "extra present" for my sister, who just had a birthday, but has been studying hard and deserves a little extra something just for being herself. As<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> she and I both have a fondness for cute little woodland animals, I decided to make her gift rabbit-themed, to go with the new year, and lucky, sunny wishes.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> I made her a cute little sewing kit, <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">including a needle book, a white rabbit measuring tape, and a little needle felted rabbit teacup pincushion. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="580" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5097/5390654345_1f249341f5_b.jpg" width="640" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The tail of the white rabbit measuring tape is a ball of needle felted cream wool, which also serves as the pull tab for the measuring tape. I used a tiny shell button in the center of the rabbit to trigger the mechanism for retracting the tape. I decided to keep the design simple and not include any details in the rabbit except for a green eye. The rabbit body was made in much the same way as <a href="http://tinyapartmentcrafts.blogspot.com/2011/01/felt-owl-measuring-tape-free-pdf.html">my owl tape measure</a>.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5390738159/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5252/5390738159_487ab4b688_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The needle book is 6" square, with one center page. I fused <a href="http://www.ctpub.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=1258">Timtex</a> between the layers of fabric and felt to make the books cover very rigid (more "book-like" than most fabric books). On the inside, I used little panels of felt to separate each type of needle. There are also some pockets for holding sewing machine needles, a needle threader, and a pair of Japanese thread snips. I found a little piece of vintage velvet ribbon use as the tie. For the heavy needles, I sewed down two rows of a Japanese crochet cotton lace I purchased from <a href="http://www.daisocanada.com/">Daiso</a> in Vancouver; the larger needles can thread easily through the holes in the lace.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5390659087/"><img border="0" height="522" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5175/5390659087_0d56582ec2_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is the inside of the needle book:</span><img border="0" height="640" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5260/5390750573_8ce13c248d_b.jpg" width="580" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The pin cushion was the most fun of the three little projects to make. I really love needle felting. It feels like magic crafting. Before I tried it, I didn't know what all the fuss was about, but now it is my favourite thing to do late at night. My rabbit is made of grey and white felt wool, his eyes are black seed beads and his nose is a few stitches with pink embroidery thread. I really like the expression on the little grey bunny. He looks like he was disturbed from his lunch of felt buttercups by a nosey crafter, and he is just waiting for me to look away so he can go about his business. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">There are a lot of other teacup pincushions out there. The first time I saw the <a href="http://mimikirchner.com/blog/archives/2010/11/4-more/">beautiful little world</a>s in a teacup made by <a href="http://mimikirchner.com/blog/">Mimi Kirchner</a>, I knew I wanted to try to make one. My teacup is like a very simple version of the beautiful scenes she creates. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5391274520/"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5097/5391274520_6ac05bf850_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy Chinese New Year!</span></div></div>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-80326129527473179562011-01-17T20:40:00.000-08:002011-01-17T20:41:52.994-08:00Green Felt Bird<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="440" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5208/5366016920_1b3fd850ef_b.jpg" width="640" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I really love birds. I think this came from my Mom, who took me on a lot of nature walks as a kid, made beautiful feeders and birdhouses for our yard and always took the time to point out the different species we saw and how she identified each one. She is also a very talented artist and carver, and filled our home with gorgeous, and sometimes quirky, wooden birds.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lately, I have found a lot of other crafty and artistic people who find inspiration in the beautiful shapes and colours of birds. One such person is Geninne, from <a href="http://blogdelanine.blogspot.com/">Geninne's Art Blog</a>, who paints the most stunning and vivid watercolours. Her work is very modern, filled with colour, and every time I visit her blog I feel inspired to get out my paints and practice. If you haven't already stumbled on her, I highly recommend taking a look.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Another blogger whose love of birds inspires me is Abigail Patner Glassenberg, from <a href="http://whileshenaps.typepad.com/whileshenaps/">While She Naps</a>. Abigail is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1596682388/1n9867a-20">The Artful Bird</a>, a book filled with projects for sewing amazing birds from all sorts of different materials. My little green bird was created using a pattern from this book for a wren. It is made of hand-sewn wool felt, with needle felted and embroidered details, and legs made from craft wire. I really love how it stands on its own two feet! The colours I chose, the bright chartreuse and emerald green, were inspired by the fearless use of colour in <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/geninne/5310220313/">Geninne's paintings</a>.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5366021834/"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5165/5366021834_42f83831be_b.jpg" width="640" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This little bird is for you Mom!</span></div>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-43806598078654017602011-01-17T13:15:00.000-08:002011-01-17T13:19:08.360-08:00Sewing the Negroni Shirt with Male Pattern Boldness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.colettepatterns.com/shop/negroni"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://www.colettepatterns.com/shop/images/382" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Is it possible that I have just bitten off more than I can chew? I just retrieved my sewing machine from the repair shop and I am feeling over ambitious? Maybe I am crazy? This is violating all the Craft Book Challenge ethic that I have been striving towards, but I just ordered the <a href="http://www.colettepatterns.com/shop/negroni">Negroni pattern from Collette</a> so that I can participate in a <a href="http://malepatternboldness.blogspot.com/2011/01/mpb-mens-shirt-sew-along.html">Sew-Along</a>! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Never mind that I have never sewn menswear before. Let alone anything with a collar. Or a sleeve placket. Or that when I picked up my sewing machine I had to ask them to show me how the button hole foot works because I have had my machine for almost 4 years and have <i>never once</i> used it. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Perhaps crazy doesn't do me justice, maybe I am <i>insane</i>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But I have faith in Peter over at <a href="http://malepatternboldness.blogspot.com/">Male Pattern Boldness</a>. He has been making some really terrific clothing for himself and his partner and he only started sewing in 2009! I have been sewing since I was a teenager, so I should be OK, right? Right?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Negroni pattern looks really retro-cool and the relaxed fit of the collar appeals to me. I think it is time I expand my sewing horizons beyond bags and accessories and very simple clothing, so I guess I'm sewing a hipster shirt for the other person living in the Tiny Apartment! The Sew-Along with MPB starts February 1st, making this project my Valentine's Day Plan. I sure hope the pattern arrives in time!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Psst! there's a promotional code for participants of the <a href="http://malepatternboldness.blogspot.com/2011/01/mpb-mens-shirt-sew-along.html">MPB Sew-Along</a> that gets you a discount on the Negroni pattern at Collette; click the button in my sidebar if you are interested.</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.colettepatterns.com/shop/negroni"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://www.colettepatterns.com/shop/images/383" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What are you working on for your sweet Valentine? Are you like me, attempting something huge and difficult? Are you more sensible and normal and you make heart cookies or bring them their coffee in bed that day? Is it a secret? I personally like surprises, but I have to measure him pretty extensively for this, so I think he's going to figure it out. He's all smart like that.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Also, have any of you had any experience with Collette patterns? Or attempted a mens button-down shirt? How did that go?</span>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-17940318208318181132011-01-14T11:21:00.000-08:002011-01-14T11:21:57.515-08:00First Craft Book Challenge Project: Palm-Size Softies<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5352577117/" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5290/5352577117_7f47a5af85_b.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5007/5353212016_5550803b13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5007/5353212016_5550803b13.jpg" width="257" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As I was going through my craft books at the start of this challenge I found an alarming number of knitting and crochet books bought when I first tried learning to knit and was convinced I was going to be amazing at it. Turns out not so much. So this year it looks like I am going to have to try my hand at knitting and crochet again in order to keep this challenge going! But for now, I am going to stick with what I love, and what I really love at the moment is sewing things out of felt. I made this tiny little red fox as my first project in the <a href="http://lieslmade.wordpress.com/2010/12/29/craft-book-challenge/">Craft Book Challenge</a>. </span></div><div class="separator" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: medium; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: medium; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Palm-Size-Softies-Patterns-Ideas-Stuffed/dp/1589235614">Palm-Size Softies</a>, by Hitomi Takahashi, Mikiko Matsui and Akemi Tsubo, is actually my newest craft book, purchased just before Christmas as a little present to myself. The projects in here are so adorable, I will probably be making most of them. Below is a picture from the book of "Mimi", the pattern I used. She is actually a pet for one of the other softies in the book, so she is really really tiny! I altered the tail a little bit, and added white patches to the ears and chest to make a little red fox instead of a little cat.</span><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5130/5353218266_ebf7f3657f_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5130/5353218266_ebf7f3657f_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This pattern was my first time sewing a gusset into a stuffed animal but the book has great cartoon-like illustrations explaining each step and it was easy to figure out. Abigail over at <a href="http://whileshenaps.typepad.com/">While She Naps</a> is writing a great series of tutorials on making soft toys and has just made a <a href="http://whileshenaps.typepad.com/whileshenaps/2011/01/elements-of-soft-toy-design-underbodies.html">post all about gussets</a> in soft toys. If you are interested in learning more about making or designing your own soft toys you should really check it out!</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I have yet to name this little guy, but here he is, in all his various foxy poses:</span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5353173118/"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5126/5353173118_b732bfcf8a_b.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: medium; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I think the scarf really adds that little <i>je ne sais quoi</i>. You can see just how small he really is when he stands beside some little spools of thread!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5353178728/"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5201/5353178728_6443727c80_b.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Are you participating in the Craft Book Challenge? It's not too late to make something for January! Click the button in my sidebar if you are interested in joining in on the fun.</span></div>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-5148322341001546362011-01-11T22:18:00.000-08:002011-01-11T22:18:36.001-08:00Snow Day Vanilla Pudding<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5047/5348508580_08419e74b6_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5047/5348508580_08419e74b6_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's Snowing! And according to Deb over at Smitten Kitchen the best thing to do when it is snowing is make this <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/01/vanilla-bean-pudding/">homemade vanilla bean pudding</a>. Never one to question an expert I made some immediately. She is right, this is so wonderful, and simple, and good, and comforting on a cold day, especially when you have a cold.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Underneath my little pot of pudding is some fabric that just arrived in the mail today! If you live in Canada you should really check out <a href="http://www.omiyage.ca/">Omiyage</a>. They carry all sorts of super cute Japanese craft supplies, fabric, washi tapes, stationary and other cute stuff, and they ship for just a 5$ flat rate. I bought 2 meters of this Kokka print in both the blue and purple colourway and I can't wait to cut into them! </span>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-41033142747639900572011-01-11T16:12:00.000-08:002011-01-11T18:15:52.161-08:00Felt Owl Measuring Tape + Free PDF Pattern<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5345084731/"><img border="0" height="390" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5285/5345084731_0c36418fc9_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">OK Internet, <a href="http://tinyapartmentcrafts.blogspot.com/2010/12/tiny-apartment-crafts-giveaway-winners.html">as promised</a>, an owl craft made just for you! You can download a PDF pattern for this little Owl at the bottom of the page.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have been stuck in bed this week, hit hard with the worst cold I think I have ever had. So if you want to try this at home, it is so easy it can be done under the covers, on a lap tray, while drinking tea and hunting for a good movie on Netflix. I just hope your partner doesn't mind little bits of felt and fluff in the bed!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I made this little owl out of some of my wool felt scraps and a tiny Japanese measuring tape which I had picked up ages ago at my favourite local fabric store, <a href="http://galafabrics.com/">Gala Fabrics</a>. Our little owl friend is hand sewn and embroidered with cotton embroidery threads, and stuffed, along with the measuring tape, with a little polyester fiberfill and some quilt batting. It is hard to see in the pictures, but the tape has a pull tab which comes out just behind the owls wing. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you don't have a tiny tape measure, you can still make a stuffy version or applique him onto any of your projects for some added cute.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5345742706/"><img border="0" height="500" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5245/5345742706_24983d57a8_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The first step is to decide what colours you like for your owl and cut out all your felt pieces. This took my sick-addled brain a long time, but I finally I chose some of my favourite colours, a soft heather purple and pink with light browns. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you design your own felt animal for this project, notice in the photos below that you need to make the body at least a 1/4" bigger than your tape measure on all sides</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Next, sew on the felt features and embroider the body of your owl. I used 3 strands of embroidery floss for most of the decorative stitches, 6 strands of brown for the owl body, and 2 strands to sew down the eyes and beak. I also used a little bit of stuffing in the beak to make it puffy. All my stitching is just simple straight stitches and overcast stitches. If you are not under the influence of a big mug of NeoCitran, you might want to attempt something fancier, but it's not really necessary (I had this idea to cover the back of the owl with lazy-daisy stitch "feathers", but that seemed too exhausting).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Decorate the front of each wing as you like and then sew the wing fronts and backs together with 2 strands thread, adding a little stuffing before closing them up. Stitch together the little toes. I used 1 strand of floss in a fine needle to make sewing the tiny little toes easier.</span><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5345739726/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="394" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5242/5345739726_1dcb7faf53_b.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Cut out two pieces of cotton quilt batting a little smaller than your owl body. I used a little quilt baste spray (yeah, don't do that step in bed!) to attach the batting to the wrong side of each brown body piece. Position your measuring tape button side down, on the back side of your owl body, so that the tab comes out behind where a wing will be. I held the tape in place with a couple of basting stitches which I pulled out when the owl was finished.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I sewed the body together with overcast stitches, starting from the middle of the head and working my way around clockwise. Stuff as you go, both around the edges, and adding a little stuffing on top of the tape.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When you reach a spot to insert wings or feet, tuck them between the two body pieces and make sure your stitches catch all 3 layers as you sew. When you reach the tape measure tab, cut a little slit in the felt so that the tape can move freely (see picture above). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Keep sewing and stuffing until you reach the top of the head again, make a knot and then draw your thread through the owls body. Clip the thread close, the tail will be pulled back into the owls body. Pull out the basting stitches around the measuring tape from the back.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5345113363/"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5088/5345113363_0b62f41d3d_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This little owl would be a great gift for a crafty friends sewing box, but a handy little measuring tape in your purse is really useful for thrifty shoppers too! I find carrying a measuring tape to garage sales and thrift stores helps me be sure that one of a kind finds will actually fit and be used in The Tiny Apartment and won't be a waste of money. I also carry a tiny notebook with the measurements of things I hope to find: the height of my chairs, the width of a shelf I could use, yardage for sewing projects, the diameter of the Pyrex lid I am missing, etc...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/uc?id=0B0HiN0dFCcKVNmE1NDE3YTgtOWZjNi00MTljLThiZmYtYzEwZmI4YTQ3Y2Ey&export=download&hl=en">Download the PDF pattern here</a> </span>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com64tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-23586625380606845982011-01-04T23:11:00.000-08:002011-01-04T23:14:30.460-08:00Chunky Beaded Ring Tutorial<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA2KUezDSjvz0UGMDv8K9EvONdQGaMdGoSmYW3vNZHzkFrczFWC7Oo81NJK7TjmQr6DPqenSkjzRF8uKK04t54JNICfHxrObCVlmLdxuo06MqdL6NiV_gE19fZPW2CEhkqukwcut_1gq0/s1600/Dancing+Leaf+Ring+from+Jen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA2KUezDSjvz0UGMDv8K9EvONdQGaMdGoSmYW3vNZHzkFrczFWC7Oo81NJK7TjmQr6DPqenSkjzRF8uKK04t54JNICfHxrObCVlmLdxuo06MqdL6NiV_gE19fZPW2CEhkqukwcut_1gq0/s640/Dancing+Leaf+Ring+from+Jen.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My <a href="http://maybeweshouldntbeeatingthis.blogspot.com/">Best Friend</a> gave me the most beautiful handmade beaded ring for Christmas this year. She found it at <a href="http://www.smokinglily.com/">Smoking Lily</a>, which is one of my favourite places to find unique handmade gifts. Their headquarters are in Victoria BC, but they have a <a href="http://www.smokinglily.com/location.php">handful of stores</a> scattered around Vancouver and a few other Canadian cities. If you are ever in the neighbourhood you should definitely check them out!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The ring was made by <a href="http://dancingleafdesign.blogspot.com/">Dancing Leaf Designs</a> and has a mix of vintage beads, pressed glass flowers and leaves, a band of tiny metallic seed beads and a backing of soft leather. This ring design is very comfortable to wear, and for those with metal sensitivities like me, the glass beads of the band won't irritate your skin. I have been wearing it every day and I love it so much that I have been trying to make some more beaded rings of my own. These two are what I have come up with so far:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5325832218/"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5246/5325832218_e15cea5dd2_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I thought you might like to give it a try, so I have put together a little tutorial (of course, you can always just head over to Dancing Leaf's <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/thedancingleafdesign">Etsy store</a> and buy one instead!).</span><br />
<br />
<u><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What you need:</span></u><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A metal bead cap (see photos below) with many small holes, to serve as a base for the ring</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Monofilament beading line</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A few large feature beads, with some medium and smaller beads for filler (about 10-20)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A little pile of seed beads or very small beads for the ring band</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A tiny scrap of leather (or you could probably use vinyl or felt)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">E6000 or other very strong craft glue</span></li>
</ul><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5325305049/"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5081/5325305049_f3f87720d9_b.jpg" width="640" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. Start by flattening the bead cap with a pair of flat pliers. I think you may be able to buy a special flat perforated metal disc made just for beaded rings like this and if you can find one, use it instead of a flattened bead cap.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. Cut about a meter of monofilament line. Insert the two ends of the line into 2 small adjacent holes from the underside and begin beading the band from this spot.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. Choose whatever beading pattern you like and continue until the band is long enough to fit just a little bit loosely around your finger (you want the band a little loose because the fit will be smaller after you add the leather under the ring base).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5325738119/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5087/5325738119_07ebcfa5bf_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. Insert the two ends of the line into two small holes opposite where you started the band (be sure there are no twists in the band). Tie the line using a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reef_knot">reef knot</a> on the underside of the metal base. Don't trim the excess monofilament lines.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5. Using one of the long ends, begin adding beads to your ring. Go up through the center hole, add your largest bead, followed by a small seed bead. The line then goes around the seed bead and through the large bead again. Feed the line down through the center hole and pull tight. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Continue adding beads, working outwards, filling any gaps. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The outermost ring of beads can include overhanging leaf shapes, loops of seed beads or your smaller beads stacked like short kebabs.</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> It's a good idea to try it on occasionally to make sure the design looks balanced on your hand. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5325712723/"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5124/5325712723_e995bcc796_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 6. When you are happy with your ring, pass the monofilament lines to the underside of the ring and tie together with another reef knot. Trim the ends short. Cut a small circle of leather to fit under the flattened bead cap. Coat the sueded side of the leather with E6000 glue and firmly attach to the inside of your ring. Let the glue set according to directions before wearing.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tadaa! A sparkly and impressive looking ring you made yourself! Good for you!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5326469250/"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5121/5326469250_8953fd4462_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><ul></ul><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span id="goog_2058495567"></span><span id="goog_2058495568"></span></span>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-15795639078686427852011-01-03T17:14:00.000-08:002011-01-11T18:16:44.497-08:00Little Fabric Scrap Earrings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5321447817/"><img border="0" height="190" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5089/5321447817_2b88c6d7ca_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Last year I had the opportunity to travel to Taiwan. The country is an amazing place to visit, with beautiful temples, fantastic natural landscapes and some of the nicest people I have ever met. In the shopping districts in Taipei, there are hundreds of cool little shops, many filled with trendy, zakka-style handmade jewellery, bags and clothing. In one of these, I saw some tiny little fabric earrings. They were so simple and cute, I still don't know why I didn't pounce on them immediately. The memory of these little earrings has been nagging at me ever since, and today I decided to go ahead and make some of my own.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">These earrings are a great way to use up little scraps of a favourite fabric you just can't throw away. They work best with tiny prints, or with a really eye-catching solid like an iridescent silk. Of course, if you have a tiny Japanese kawaii print, that would be great too! Along with the fabric, you need a tiny amount of fiberfill or wool roving, a pair of stud earrings, a needle and thread, and some strong craft glue such as E6000. It is best to use earrings that have a "cup" shaped end, instead of a flat surface (see first picture below).</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5321488217/"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5082/5321488217_d29cb94215_b.jpg" width="588" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. Flip over your fabric scrap and trace a small circle (I used a quarter as my template). Cut out 2 circles of your fabric. In Taipei, they were selling these as mismatched sets, so feel free to use 2 coordinating prints, or simply use different areas of the same fabric so they are not identical twins.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. Sew a running stitch around the circumference of your circle (you should use a matching thread, I used red to make the stitching clear in the photos).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. Roll up a pea-sized ball of your stuffing, place in the circle of fabric and pull the thread tight to gather into a ball. Make a few stitches across the gathers to hold the little ball tightly closed. Knot your thread and cut off.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. Put a tiny amount of E6000 glue on the earring, then carefully attach your fabric ball. Let glue harden overnight before wearing them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I was considering giving these away but I think I might have to keep them for myself! I really hope you try making yourself some of these. They take only a few minutes to make and are great little accessories.</span>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-13877538617724217072010-12-31T13:12:00.000-08:002011-01-11T18:17:19.359-08:00Happy New Year!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5309994751/"><img border="0" height="330" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5004/5309994751_4ef090688c_b.jpg" width="640" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I wish you a wonderful New Year filled with creativity, learning and fun!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My blog is only one month old, but already I feel it has had a positive impact on how I approach crafting. I feel more motivated to complete projects that in the past may have lingered with neglect. Documenting my creative process is a challenging new creative outlet; using props, staging and lighting my photographs and making tutorials are all new to me and I hope to get better at it with practice.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I want to keep up my blogging momentum in 2011, and while I have never held much stock in New Years Resolutions (I am usually breaking them by the first week), I do want to set myself some achievable goals for the New Year:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">#1. I am participating in the <a href="http://lieslmade.wordpress.com/2010/12/29/craft-book-challenge/">Craft Book Challenge</a>! I like the idea of really USING the books and patterns I already have (see resolution #2). It will also ensure that if I ever suffer from "crafters-block" I have something to fall back on, so I always have something to share with you. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">#2. Stash Busting! The Tiny Apartment is crammed full of fabric, trims, beads, paints, paper, glue, tools, canvas, wood, wire, and all manner of odd junk I think could be useful. I want to try to use as much from my own stash as I can, instead of buying new materials every time I have a new idea. (Um, except for this weekend, when my local <a href="http://www.fabriclandwest.com/">Fabricland</a> is having a huge sale. You see what I mean about breaking these resolutions??).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">#3. At least a post a week. I managed 13 posts in 30 days! That's pretty darned good if I say so myself, but if I am realistic, it might not be achievable throughout the whole year. So I am promising you a post a week, and I mean to follow through.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So that's it from me. What are your plans for 2011? Are you setting yourself some goals too? I would love to hear about them! And if you have a big stack of beautiful pristine craft books on your shelf somewhere, I encourage you to join <a href="http://lieslmade.wordpress.com/">Liesl's</a> Craft Book Challenge too (see the link in the sidebar).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Happy New Year from the Tiny Apartment!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9209921373817012034.post-3633848563041106002010-12-29T10:12:00.000-08:002011-01-11T18:18:20.497-08:00So Cute! Tiny Needle Felted Fawn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5128/5303229823_11bc86a2cf_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5128/5303229823_11bc86a2cf_b.jpg" width="628" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Just a quick post to show you this little needle felted fawn. I think she is the cutest thing I have made all year! </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I was inspired by <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/28064808/darling-deerest?show_panel=true">this little deer</a> made by <a href="http://www.etsy.com/people/luckynielsen">LuckyNielsen</a>. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I figured out how to make my little deer by breaking down the body into a series of simple shapes. You know those "How to Draw" books we all had as kids that start with simple ovals and cylinders, and with a few extra lines to smooth between them, you have suddenly drawn a dog or a horse or something? I used the same idea, but imagined the shapes in 3D. When you connect the shapes together, using your needle, you smooth the transitions, and with a little extra poking, refine the shapes to look more like the animal you want to achieve. I think you could make anything you can imagine using this principle.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I used pipe cleaners inside the legs for added stability, but I didn't make a wire armature for the whole body, as I have seen other people do. I did it this way because I wanted to felt each leg individually (which is easier) and then attach them one at a time to the body.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabby-girl/5303871770/"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5203/5303871770_1727e2a441_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This little fawn is only 3" tall. For the base, I made a grassy knoll out of felt that fits inside a large glass tea light holder from Ikea. Then I added a little Japanese cotton lace and some vintage flowers to up the cuteness factor to 100. I considered adding a little bow around her neck, but I thought that might make me pass out from a cute-overload so I held back.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">PS: When you start making a super cute little fawn like this, you are just stabbing at blobs of brown felt. But when you add the eyes and the ears and it really starts taking shape, it is like you are repeatedly stabbing Bambi. Which can be a little disturbing. Forewarned is Forearmed.</span></div>Gabriellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324951315910092807noreply@blogger.com8