Juicy Bits

200: holidays

Phew!  Nice little "blog breather" there.  Wish I had something more monumental to share on this, my 200th post, but alas, just a bit of catch-up.

In my usual delayed fashion I haven't really talked about the holidays.  Of course they were busy, busy, busy over here.  I made a bunch of gifts, but I'll have to share most of them at a later date.

But to start with, this is an awesome project I did for my sister.  She just moved into her very very own city apartment and of course I had to help with the decor.

This is a large canvas that I painted and then mod podged on some fabric.  The inspiration is actually from a bedding set, but it was totally different colors, in a different scale, and had no print fabric.  So it's not a copy at all.

But I did make it to coordinate with this bedding set I got her.  I'm not going to put a link because I'm sure by the time anyone cares, it will be long gone, but it was from Macy's.  

It was fun to do.  I normally sew stuff so painting was a departure.  Actually if I could have found a background fabric that coordinated well, I probably would have sew this too, and then stretched it on canvas, but time was limited.  Painting is always a bit more difficult than I think it will be, but I'm quite pleased with how it came out.

Our holidays were mostly spent at home.  I enjoyed my newly converted wood burning fireplace and spent lots of time just hanging out with the kids.  I've even completed an entire quilt since the new year! (More on that later).

Here are a few of the basic holiday holiday portraits.  Aurora chose her own dress this year which she was just dying for, so I went with it.

Hope you had great holidays and that your new year is shaping up to be a good one.

JT

199: bean bag checkers tutorial

This was a Christmas gift I made last year for my then 3-year-old son.  Bean bag checkers!  So simple, and yet I knew he would love them. 

I didn't take a ton of pictures as I went along so this is a more basic tutorial intended for those who already sew/quilt.  If you're a total newbie, it's really not an advanced project at all, but you may need to look up instructions for things like binding etc.

Materials:

 The fabric I used was from the Hooty Hoot collection, designed by Shari Butler of Doohickey Designs for Riley Blake.  As far as I know it's no longer available.  But you can use any fabric (doesn't all have to be from the same collection) that has small creatures or motifs on it.  Check out some of Shari's other collections for cute animals.

1/4 yd each of two contrasting board fabrics (also used for the back of the pieces)

16x 16 piece of backing fabric (or 1 fat quarter)

1/4 yd of binding fabric

1/4 yd of pocket fabric

Enough of the fabric for pieces to cut out 12 of each motif (you need two different motifs that are about 1 1/2"-1 3/4" square)

12 1/2" piece of Velcro

Grain for the "bean" bag pieces

 

The basic rundown of the project is as follows:

            1. Make a mini patchwork quilt board.

            2. Add pocket on back and then bind the whole thing.

            3. Sew little beanbag pieces.

 

Use 1/4" seams unless otherwise noted.

 

The Board:

Cutting:

2 strips , 2 3/8" x WOF, of each of the board fabrics

Construction:

Sew the 4 strips, right sides together, alternating colors, along their long edges.  Press seams in one direction.  Crosscut this strip set in half perpendicular to the seams.  Sew the 2 smaller sets together so that you have 8 alternating stripes.  Press the seam in the direction of the others.

Crosscut this strip set into 8 rows 2 3/8" tall.  Sew these rows together along their long edge, flipping every other row to create the checkerboard pattern.  Press seams to one side.  You will have a board top 8 squares x 8 squares that is about 15 1/2" x 15 1/2"

Sandwich the backing, batting and front and quilt through the layers.  I simply used a straight line on the diagonal through the darker blocks.  Baste around the edges, 1/8" from the edges on the front.  Trim the batting and backing close to the edge of the front.

 

The Pocket:

Cutting:

2 rectangles 5 1/2" x 15 1/2" (you might want to measure your board top and cut these pieces a little wider if needed) (for the pocket pieces I used 2 different fabrics, but you can use just 1)

2 rectangles 2 3/4" x 14 1/2" (for pocket flap)

Construction:

Sew the pocket pieces with right sides together along the top and bottom long edges.  Leave the sides open.  Turn right side out through a side opening and press.

Sew the flap pieces with right sides together along each side and the long bottom edge, leaving the top long edges open.  Clip corners, turn right side out and press.

Center the Velcro strips on the top outside edge of the pocket piece and the bottom inside edge of the flap piece.  Sew them in place about 1/4" from each edge.

Place the pocket piece on the back of the board so it's top edge (with the Velcro) is about 1 1/4" from one of the board's raw edges.  The pocket's raw side edge should align with the board on 2 sides.  Pin in place and baste 1/8" from the raw edge.  Flip the board and align so the pocket it at the top.  Stitch-in-the-ditch along the bottom of the 3rd row of squares (this should catch the bottom of the pocket all the way across.  If it doesn't work out right, you should move your pocket to make sure this seam will sew it on.

Place the pocket flap so the raw edge is centered on the top raw edge of the board.  Baste 1/8" from that edge.

Next, bind the edges of the board using your preferred method of binding. 

 

The Pieces:

Cutting:

Fussy-cut 12 squares 2 1/4" x 2 1/4" of each of the motif fabrics

12 squares 2 1/4" x 2 1/4" of each of the board fabrics

Construction:

With right sides together, sew the pieces fronts and backs together (one color of the board fabrics should got with all the same motif … like my white/blue owls have a blue backing and the green brown ones have a brown back).  Sew around all sides, leaving a 1" opening in the center of one side for turning.  Trim the corners.  Turn them right side out through the hole.

Make yourself a small paper funnel and use that to stuff the squares with some kind of grain.  I think I used barley because I had it and beans seemed too big.  You could also use rice or really any kind of grain.  I guess in theory this could become a snack for mice depending on where you store it, so keep that in mind…

Sliptstich the openings closed.

You can now store the pieces in the pocket and you're ready to play at any time!

 

I originally thought of including a ribbon or a button elastic closure so it could be stored rolled up.  But in the end I like to simply fold it in half because it's flatter.

Enjoy!  And please do share picture in my flickr pool if you make one...

JT 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

198: small pleasures

I just made this new wood pile and it makes me unreasonably happy.  Such a simple thing, but it bodes of warm, cozy, nights by the fire to come.

Currently we do have a nice fireplace, but it's gas and I'm in the process of getting it converted to wood burning.  The smell and feel of a real wood fire just can't be beat.  I've been meaning to do this for years (really since we moved into this house) but with all the trees that came down in the last storm, I just can't fight the urge to gather.  I've been stopping along the curb all over town to pick up wood, and I even used a chainsaw for the first time.  I can't quite explain it but it seems so urgent to me to not to let it go to waste.  And really this wood won't even get used until next year because it needs to season, but still...

It's getting cold around and I'm ready to nest in.

JT

 P.S. Some how I missed my 1,000,000 hits mark.  Yay, me!

197: Errol and Hermione

It's time for this year's Halloween creations... a continuation of our Harry Potter mania.

I didn't really have to make much for Aurora's Hermione Granger costume, because I had already made most of it for her birthday party.

But, Theo decided to be Errol (The Weasley family's owl. He couldn't be Hedwig because she's a girl.)  That was more of a challenge.

In reality he first wanted to be a Chihuahua, but really?  How exactly does one make that?  I mean I can do pointy ears, but he'd just look like a cat.  So with some mild suggestion he went with owl.  Yay!  So much cute potential.

So, no, I did not use a pattern.  I referenced a hood on a commercial pattern, but that's about it.  I started with this Beenie Babies owl called "Hoot" I have and used it as a model.

The body is made of fleece.  It's lined and stuffed with polyfill and batting.  The tail does stick out a bit and has more stuffing.  Then I added the "feathers".  They are flannels, fleeces, and wools and because I didn't want some to fray more than others I fray checked all the edges.  Yes, I'm psycho like that.

They are sewn on everywhere but around the face (where they are glued).  I also added little pleats in the tops of each one to add volume.

The body is velcroed (is that a word?) at the shoulders, as are the removable wings.  There were even little pockets to keep his hands warm (which was a good idea considering that, indeed, that is snow on the ground).

He was a big hit everywhere we went.  He had two Halloween parades and he was able to go trick-or-treating this year (he was sick last year).

 

Aurora was an adorable Herminone.  I had attempted to make the cloak accurate to the movie, but really did you know they change from movie-to-movie?  So I went with my best interpretation.  The patch was bought.  The tie was made (I even made the striped fabric by sewing on ribbons) because the color of the commercial ones was all wrong.  The sweater was from a thrift store with ribbons sewn at the collar.

I made the wand also, which I will go into on the posts about her party, whenever they are.  Sadly, it was a casualty of the night as it got dropped and ruined.

The funnest (don't care that that's not a word) accessory was the book.  It was an old book, and we didn't bother to change the title or anything.  But what we did do was make it scream when you opened it.  I bought one of those recordable greeting cards and we all yelled really loud and told you to "shut the book, would ya!".  The idea was like it was one of the magical books from the restricted section of the library.  She loved it and enjoyed showing it to all her classmates.  Plus, who is Hermione without a book?

Hope you had a Happy Halloween!

JT

 

 

196: winner

It may have taken me a while to draw a name, but the winner of the Modern Mix Blog Tour giveaway is:

Carolyn who said "I love the camera case! That's the scale of project I can handle, LOL. But I love your fabric collection, and I'm thinking that I would use the prize to make some quilted holiday ornaments. That is the gift I'm giving out this holiday, and I've been using holiday prints. But the purples and blues of your fabrics would be really pretty as well."

She has already been notified via email.

Thanx to everyone who played along.  All winners were notified via email by the author of the blog on which they won.  If you didn't win, fear not!  Just put it on your Amazon wish list for the holiday season. :)

JT

 

195: trick or treat

I'm only 1 day late on this post.  You'll understand since we didn't have power yesterday.  It's crazy weather here in NJ.  Snow before Halloween?!?!?  And the trees still had leaves so they down all over the yard because they couldn't handle the weight.

I missed some of the action because I was away at Quilt Market this weekend.  I rushed home yesterday so I could join in on the trick-or-treating fun.  Yes, I did make costumes (wait til you see the owl...) but you'll have to give me a few more days to get those pictures up.

In the mean time, I made these pillows for a friend of mine to use as decoration at her family Halloween party.  I used this tutorial, but made the following changes:

I used the font Lobster 1.3.

I used fusible web for the letters instead of making stencils.

        I traced the letters onto the paper of the web.  Then fused it to orange fabric.  Then sprayed the fabric with the Glitter Blast.  Then cut out the letters.  Then fused them onto the fabric from the back (I didn't think ironing right on the glitter would be a great idea.)

They're still not washable, but I figured they'll only be used once a year so it's not a big deal.

I also made her these simple spiderweb cupcakes.  The night was beautiful and fun for all!

So, as I mentioned, I was away at Quilt Market.  I'm not going to blog it this time around.  I didn't take many pictures and since I usually get to it months after everyone else, I figure you'll be sick of it by then.  But the summary is: much fun was had!  I got to do a book signing which was awesome.  

JT

194: last stop

If you read the crafty/sewing blogs and you hadn't heard of my book before, you probably have by now.  A wonderful group of bloggers have helped me host a blog tour for Modern Mix and it has been all over the web.  It's been a whole lot of fun.  There are plenty of thoughtful and amusing interview questions about me out there, so if you're interested, have a look at the schedule. (Also a few of the giveaways are still open so check it out...)

Today is the last stop and obviously it's here.  I won't toot my own horn, but let you go back and read all the reviews and interviews to learn more about the book.

But I do get to give away a final copy of the book and the winner at this stop will also receive a bundle of fat quarters from my latest collection of fabric called Kingdom. (Shown here in some shops...yay!)

To win all you have to do is leave a comment here and tell me either your favorite project in the book that you've seen so far, or the one you would make first.  (And really folks, I'm dying to see what you make so PLEASE share pictures when you do sew something...)  I will keep the contest open until Oct 26th.

JT

193: design wall debacle

I suppose the design wall episode wasn't so much a debacle as pretty fruitless.

What I decided to do on my birthday was to make myself a design wall.  Truth be told, I've never really seen the need for them.  I've always just used my floor and it works fine.  But lately I had been envying some sewists with their works in progress sticking up there for a long time while they mull over the design.  Sounded like a cool idea.

So, following the directions here I set out to make a movable design wall.  I wanted it big, but to be 3 separate panels that would fit perfectly into the corner of my studio I had picked out for it.  So I bought the foam insulation but only had one choice of type at my local Home Depot.  It was pink but I didn't see the problem in that.

It was a problem.  I had to add an extra layer of white fabric underneath so the whole thing looked close to white.   Between that and cutting the panels down to size, it ended up taking more than my birthday to complete and wasn't particularly inexpensive.  

Then I brought them upstairs and realized I was totally kidding myself.  I was never going to put these away in their intended corner. Right now they're still set up in the hall area outside my studio and this is 3 months later.  They're not going anywhere...at least not very often.

They are pretty cool and the blocks I have on there now are from my first ever online Bee - The Busy Bees.  It's fun to play around with them and nice to really be able to step back.  But let's be honest, the same effect could have been achieved  by tacking a big piece of batting to the wall whenever I need it.  And it would have saved me a lot of headache.  Live and learn.

Two other notices:

The Modern Mix blog tour is still going strong.  See the list on the last post and don't miss your chance to win a copy and learn some funny stuff about me...

We're finally going to have a New Jersey chapter of The Modern Quilt Guild.  Hoo-ray!  See the fancy new button on my sidebar?? If you're in the area stop by our new blog and find out about how to join in the fun.

192: it starts tomorrow

The blog tour for Modern Mix starts tomorrow!  Hoo-ray!

Now, I know at this point you've probably been to a ton of blog tours, but I promise it will be fun.  You'll find out some interesting stuff about lil' ol' me and have 16 chances to win a copy of the book.  There will also be a free pattern from the book available and at the last stop I'll give some of my Kingdom fabric away. Plus if you don't already read all these blogs, you'll be in for a treat.

So here's the schedule:

10/6/11 - Sew Mama Sew

10/7/11 - Jaybird Quilts

10/8/11 - Blue Nickel Studios

10/9/11 - Handmade by Alissa

10/10/11- Stop Staring and... Start Sewing

10/11/11 - Quilting is My Therapy

10/12/11 - Stitch Magazine Blog

10/13/11 - Oh Fransson

10/14/11 - Gen Q Magazine

10/15/11 - Quilt Dad

10/16/11 - Confessions of a Craft Addict

10/17/11 - Amy's Creative Side

10/18/11 - Pink Chalk Studio

10/19/11 - Connecting Threads Blog

10/20/11 - Keepsake Quilting Blog

10/21/11 - Juicy Bits

And we're off....

JT

 

 

191: places you can stalk me

'cause you know I'm a big celebrity now...

Anyway, this is a bit late, but I will be doing my first book signing tomorrow, Saturday Oct 1st, at 1:00, at Pennington Quilt Work in Pennington NJ.  If you stop by and tell me you're a blog reader I'll be thrilled!

And next week I'll be at The Little Shop, in Haddonfield, NJ Friday Oct. 7th from 4:30-8pm.  They have a cool outdoor art/music/shopping/eating type festival on the first friday of each month.  So weather permitting I'll be hanging out on the sidewalk.  Should be a fun night.  The shops look great...

Finally, if you don't live near me (and most of you don't), please stop by for more details of the blog tour.  You'll have 15 chances to win a free book (one at each stop) and get to know a bit more about me and the book.  It kicks off on Oct 6th so I'll post more details early next week.

Yay!

JT