Sweet Southern Sewing

Sweet tea is a Southern staple, but what's a girl to do when restaurants do not have the appropriate sweetener?

 

 

Further proof that I am turning into my grandmother, I now carry Sweet n Low around in my purse for just such occasions.  I still have a long way to go before I am at her level (she also has honey, tea bags, hard candies...and pretty much anything else you could need), but I am getting there. 

DISCLAIMER: I am a Florida Belle, not a true Southern Belle.  Yes I like my tea sweet, but actual "sweet tea" that restaurants serve is too sweet.  So I order unsweet (blasphemy!) and add my own sweetener.

Linking up to Fabric Tuesday over at QuiltStory.

Frenzy of Finishes

I didn't realize how much I had accomplished this week until I sat down to write this post.  Suddenly I am feeling very productive! 

My finishes, in no particular order:

#1. QuiltStory's Lucky Stars QAL Quilt Top

 

I was so excited to be sewing the last seam on this yesterday, I ironed the top, stuck it up on my design wall, stepped back ...and realized there were supposed to be borders.  So today I took it down and added the borders. 

 

Do borders take you forever to put on too?  I have realized that I do not like sewing long seams and I will procrastinate like crazy when it comes to doing them.  We are talking 2 full episodes of The West Wing for me to cut, iron, and sew on these four strips of fabric.  Sad I know.

 

 

#2. Lilly Pulitzer Pin Cushion

 

I enjoyed making pineapple pin cushion so much last week that I decided some fun pin cushion sewing was needed after finishing the above quilt top.  This little guy was whipped up in no time (seriously, less time that it took me to add those borders).  The Lilly Pulitzer fabrics are actually a belt/sash that I had.  I just sewed it up like a jellyroll race quilt, folded it in half, sewed up the sides and there we go.  It is filled it with the crushed walnut shells again, since I have quite a large bag of them now. 

#3. Cat Carrier ID Tags

 

And from the world of totally random things I think of to sew, I introduce you to luggage/ID tags for my cats' carriers!  Can you say #crazycatlady?  In all fairness there was a little bit of logic, I had to take my cat to the vet earlier in the week and he stayed for a few hours.  I left his carrier and they put a sticky label on it with his name and my contact information.  It seemed like a good idea to have that info on there, but obviously a much cuter solution was needed :)

 

 

A little bit of coordinating fabric (more thought that I care to admit was given to finding appropriate fabrics for this project), some stabilizer, a tiny piece of Velcro, a piece of paper with the address information and "laminated" with clear shipping tape, and this little ID tag was born.  And yes, I excitedly showed them off to my husband the second he got home.  He was very supportive and said "oooohhhh" and had a big smile on his face, and didn't tease me once about making them.  #heisakeeper





Attack of the Crafty Wife

Hubby is back in town after working in Texas for the last 7 months- YAY!  While he was gone they moved things around at the local office and he was kicked out of his cube.  What was he to do?  Swipe one of the open offices of course!  And what was his crafty wife to do?  Make something to decorate his walls (and help him claim the office) of course!

So what do you make for a executive's office?  Needs to be professional.  And I was told "no pink, purple, or Lilly [Pulitzer]".  Hmm...

Enter fabric covered board boards with custom pushpins-

Just a few cork boards from Walmart, some fabric, some spray glue, and some hot glue = custom cork boards.  I figured it would add a pop of color but still be practical too.   

As for the pushpins-

 

I found baseball themed buttons at Walmart (pure dumb luck, definitely did not expect that), grabbed some thumbtacks and the hot glue again and suddenly there were custom pushpins. 

 

 

I think he likes his office (and decorations :)

 

Cat Carrier Surgery

My cats went on a little vacation to visit my grandparents last week, they really like it there, so much so that my youngest cat tried to escape his carrier when I was getting ready to bring him home!  I had scooped him up and put him in his carrier, but I wasn't ready to leave yet and went into the room next door.  I could hear his fidgeting in his carrier, but when I went back in I saw what he had done- ripped two good sized holes in it!  In true diy fashion, before going out and buying a new one I decided to try and fix this one.

I decided to use some netting I found at Joanns and WonderUnder to attach it.  I didn't want to attempt trying to get this under my sewing machine.  Getting it on the ironing board wasn't that much easier though- thank goodness I haven't put away all the moving boxes yet- this one was very handy for hold the carrier up so it could reach the ironing board.

And here is the outside of my patch.  See the nice rips that kitty made!  I made sure that the patch was well attached on the inside, otherwise kitty would just pull it off I'm sure. 

What is the most unusual thing you have ever sewn/fixed?

Easter Basket Refashion

What do you do when you are having a Spring wedding and the florist wants to charge you $25 each for baskets for your flower girls?  Hit the Easter clearance sale at Joanns of course!  Some fabric, some ribbon, and an hour with my machine and I had two cute baskets for $15 total.

 

 

I took the lining out of one of the baskets to make a pattern. 

 

 

And grabbed my new favorite sewing notion- my Clover Wonder Clips- to assist me in holding the sides and bottom together.  Thank you to those that talked me into them :)  They were much easier to use than pins.  Also, why can I sew a circle like this with no problem, but Applecore and Drunkard's Path blocks intimidate me?  Isn't it essentially the same skill?  Sewing a curve?  ...

I used ribbon as an accent on the liners (just for fun, not because I forgot to make a casing or anything....)  I'm so happy with how these little baskets turned out.  Much cheaper than the ones from the florist and I got to play in my sewing room- win win!  A before pic of the basket can be found on the previous post here, if anyone is curious.

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday

 

One down (right), One to go (left)

Teacher Tote

As a kid I have fond memories of working on a class gift for my teacher.  The roommom would come in and we would get pulled one by one out into the hallway to work on something special to give our teacher for Christmas or at the end of the year.  So I was shocked this past Christmas to find out that the school I volunteer at does not have roommoms (I help out in one of the kindergarten classrooms, and no I do not have kids yet, my neighbor got me involved at the school and I am loving helping out with the little kids).  I don't know if this is a sign of the times or just a sign of the area we live in, but I decided right then and there that I would help the kids make an end of the year gift for their teacher.

The teacher's favorite animals are sheep and goats, and since I can't draw a goat I decided to do something with sheep :)  I sketched out this little guy and used it to make a template.

Helpful hint- if you don't have any card stock lying around, a file folder works too :)

I used white fleece for the sheep's fur and black cotton for the face.  As you might have noticed, I did not make feet for the sheep.  I wanted the kids to be able to personalize their sheep a little so I bought some fabric paint and decided to let the kids make their fingerprints into the sheeps' feet.

Here is the example I made.  I used my pointer finger to make the feet, I figured that was closer in size to a kindergartners thumb :)  I had bought a fabric marker and was going to have the kids write their name on their sheep, but when I tried the marker mixed with the fleece just didn't work out and there was no way the kids could have written anything even halfway legible on such a small piece of fabric (I couldn't even do it).  Embroidery machine to the rescue!  I kind of like it better since it will look more uniform, but I would have liked the kids to be able to write their name- its so cute at that age with backward letters and such.  Instead I think I am going to have them write their names on a piece of white paper for me with a black marker and I am going to see if I can create some fabric on Spoonflower with their names- I think it would be a cute lining to the bag.  Oh, yes!  This is going to turn into a tote bag, I probably should have mentioned that.

(please excuse the icky cutting mat, basting spray+a cheap Walmart cutting mat + 4 years= ickiness)

See, there is my little sketch.  I love it!  I really (really, really!) hope it turns out as well in reality as it does in my head!  Very possible I will be more excited to give this to the teacher than the kids are.  I will make an excellent roommom one day (or certainly an enthusiastic one :) 

Rag Wreath (tutorial)

Easter is over and therefore my Easter tutu wreath needed to come off the door.  I have a board on Pinterest of wreath ideas and decided that a rag wreath would be my next project.  I pulled out bunches and bunches of fabric scraps with the plan to make a pink/purple/green/yellow/orange/summer-y wreath but as I looked at my fabrics my plans changed.  I spotted a stacks of nautical fabrics instead- red, white, blue, navy, gray, perfect for summer and for the patriotic holidays during this time of the year as well. 

I started by cutting my fabric strips into 4"x1" strips (mostly because my fabric was already cut into 4" blocks).  Sorry, no photos of this part, but I'm sure you can manage it without photos :)

 

I grabbed two strips and made an X, then put a pin in the middle.

Insert the pin into a foam wreath form and push it into the form- it will help the fabric stand up a bit.  Also, on my last wreath I cut my wreath form in half to get two for the price of one- don't do that with this wreath (unless you have very short pins).  My pins were poking out the back of my half-a-wreath-form so I had to run out and buy a new form.

I thought I would just work my way systematically around the wreath, but after a few fabric strips I realized the error of my ways.  Not only was I worried about the fabric patterns not being evenly distributed, but it was hard to tell if I had too many pieced of fabric in one area or not enough.

I decided instead to insert a set of fabric strips and then turn the wreath a few degrees before inserting the next set.  This method worked much better. (note: my original section is still in the photo above, but I did take it out and redo it).

 

Working my way around

 

Starting to get full now!

Perfect (except for being a slightly blurry pic). 

Ahh, that's better.  Much less blurry and shows the colors much more accurately.  This wreath also is a nice contrast with my cream door, my Easter one did not stand out as much as I would have liked.  (and for those that are curious, the magnet on the door says "in case of emergency, please save our 2 cats" - made it on Shutterfly a few years ago).

I have no idea how this wreath will hold up in the Florida sun and humidity, but I am hoping for the best (there is a glass door in front of this door, so that should help).  All of the fabric was scraps, so if it evens up getting yucky I can toss it without feeling too guilty (though lets be honest, tossing any fabric no matter the condition it is in will make me feel a little guilty).

Linking up to QuiltStory.  Also- eeekkkk!!!  Just looked at QuiltStory and they featured my patchwork pillow from last week!!!  Day = MADE!  AND it was featured in the same post as a feature from SewSara- a blog I have been reading for years! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!!

 

Nauti Tees

I found a great website the other day full of embroidery designs- and when I created an account they immediately sent me a 50% coupon!  I purchased a few designs (ok, maybe a few more than a few :) and two cheap mens tees from Walmart and transformed them into these cute beachy tees!  Perfect for this Florida Belle.

 

 

First up to transition the tees from cheap to chic- a little nautical monogram.  Yes, that is right, monogram- those nautical flags spell out AJG!  (I can't take credit for this brilliant idea- I saw it on a friends Etsy site, Sweet Tea Monograms). 

 

Also it is important to note here, do not trust everything you see on Pinterest!  It is a little hard to tell in the photo but on the white tee the first flag and the middle stripe in the second flag did not stitch up very well.  There are skipped stitches and I was so bummed.  I had seen a pin that suggested putting wax paper between a tee and the needle of the machine- supposedly it prevents the fabric from bunching, but it turns out a good sew on stabilizer does the same thing and keeps the stitches much nicer.  Once I pulled the paper away I got much better results.

 

 

 

 

Here is a shot of the front of the navy tee (with the backwards monogram thanks to my mirror :)

And a little something to really cute-sy up the tees - tiny little embroideries on the back!

 

 

And the back, with my messy hair and all. Yeah, can't believe I am posting this pic either. Also, have you ever tried to take a photo of your own back? Not easy to do.

 

I LOVE the way these tees turned out.  They are perfect to run around town in - comfy and cute, an unbeatable combination in my book.  I also like the way the designs stitched up (without the wax paper :) - you never can be too sure when you order online. 

 

And to the lady at the Singer shop in Dallas who told me it was "impossible" to embroider a dense design onto a tee without puckering like crazy - HA!  I did it! Score one for Brother machines over Singer!  Or at least, score one for good stabilizer and a girl smart enough to use it :)



For Sam

Those few little extra scraps from yesterdays quilt for Sam where mixed with a few other scraps-

and after a little sewing-

(ok, maybe alot of sewing- trying to make it baby proof!)

 

 

I had this-

 



And after some minky was added to the back-

(wow, huge difference b/w daylight and nighttime photos! Will remember that for the future- promise!)

 

 

Tada!  A tiny taggie toy!  The tags are made of ribbon, jersey knit, canvas, and ricrac.  And FYI- jersey and canvas are not the best things for a taggie- at least not when it comes to sewing them on.  Trying to sew over fabric, two layers of canvas, and a layer of minky was not easy!  I'm still not sure if I will actually send this along or not.  It is the first taggie I have ever made and I am slightly worried about how it will hold up to a baby. 

 

Would you send it?  

Tutu Wreath Tut

I have a bunch of oh-so-cute door decorations that have graced my front door over the years, but when we moved into the rental house most of those decorations could no longer be used.  The door here is metal so I super glued magnets to the back of a Command hook so I can hang things on the door, but I can only hang lightweight decorations

Not one to accept a bare door as a fact of life, I turned to... Pinterest!  I had pinned a few wreaths and finally had the perfect excuse reason to make one!  I figured a tulle, tutu-inspired wreath would be lightweight enough to work and was thrilled when I wandered into Hobby Lobby a few weeks after Christmas and found huge rolls of red and white tulle on sale for 60% off!  The wreath was perfect on the door but now that Valentines Day is over it needed to be changed out.  I figured as long as I was making one, why not make it my first tutorial! 

Making a Tutu Wreath

 

I started by removing all of the tulle from my current wreath so I had the plain wreath form.  I managed to get double duty out of the wreath form by taking a bread knife and slicing the form in two - each with a flat side for the back, so it sits even better against the door.  (the purple polka dot ribbon is what I use to hang the wreath.)

I chose six colors of tulle and cut them to 21" in length.  They were sold in rolls, so I just used the width of the roll.  If you are buying tulle by the yard and need to cut the width too, I would say it is about 8".  I then folded the tulle in half and placed it under the wreath form.

I put my pointer and middle fingers through the loop that was created by folding the tulle, and then brought the other side of the tulle over the top of the wreath and placed it between my two fingers.

I was then able to pull the tulle easily through the loop

and pull it tight.  You may have to get closer to the knot afterwards and wiggle the tulle to tighten it a little more.  On the new tulle that I had just used I had to do this, but on the colors I reused from the Valentines wreath, the tulle was already bent from being on the wreath before and it fell into place without really needing to be tightened.  Continue in this manner until you have made your way around the wreath.

Here is a photo of the back of the wreath, the purple polka dot ribbon / wreath hanger can be seen here.  I tied a piece of ribbon onto the wreath form as I was making the wreath and just made sure that the tulle covered the ribbon on the front, but not the back. 

And, of course, a photo of the new Easter wreath on the front door!  I love this wreath and think it is so fun and spring-y, and the color combinations are endless!  If you have any questions, I will answer them in the comments. 

Do you feel the need to always have something festive on your door too?

Edited to add: I love my Easter wreath, but the colors really do not show up well from a distance.  Even pulling into the driveway you can tell there is a wreath on the door but it all kind of blends together.  If I were to do it again, I would make sure to have more contrast in my colors.