Another Grungeboard Cuff

I made another Grungeboard Cuff. The Grungeboard is easy to sew and not as stiff as you would think a paper product would be. Again I used distressing ink and a coat of sealer. I then sewed the grunge to suede, added embellishments, and fastner. I'll still thinking of uses for this product. I might try using it in my next fabric book. I need to decide on a theme and get going.

Fall Mini Quilt

I know it's far from fall, especially here in Arizona. This little quilt packet was given to me by my friend Susan a year or so ago. She purchased it as a kit. I took it to Ky last fall and couldn't remember how I was supposed to make the kit. I made the nine-patch and sewed it to the background piece. That was as far as I got. I'm in the process of finishing some of my UFOs. Today I added a backing and binding, added the chenille pumpkin that was part of the kit, and then tied on buttons. I'm very pleased with the results. It will look great in my living room this fall. I also sewed the binding on another small art quilt today.

Apronall

I spent some time yesterday designing a item for my Etsy store. This is my prototype for an item I plan to call an "Apronall". I will design small aprons that I will attach to children's overalls. They will tie in the back just like they were a separate apron. The pocket will be sewn onto the bib and apron attached. This one has a curved edge on the apron with vintage eyelet trim. It will not be sold on Etsy unless I do some touchup. It has some imperfections that I'm not happy with. I plan to try this with various shapes of aprons. Of course, the overalls are recycled from thrift store!

Aprons are very popular at the moment. I'd love to hear your comments as I work through this design.

I'm finally on Etsy

Check out my Etsy store. I listed two items this morning. Hopefully will add more later today. I would like to have a number of items listed within the next few weeks. I will try to figure out how to put a permanent link on my blog. I think I may have notes from my Etsy class with Mike. If not, I'm sure I can email him.

Recycled Denim Vest -Vintage Fabric

I finished this recycled denim vest. The fabric is vintage fabric from the thrift store. I also used vintage rick rack. The back panel has a layer of light batting and has been machine quilted.

This is another of my ReDoozies. This item is completely thrift store. It will be listed on Etsy by the end of the week.

Recycled Infant's Denim Jacket

I just finished this item for my Itsy store. It is a recycled infant's denim jacket. The jacket is embellished with machine applique, rick rack, and lace. I plan to call my recycled items ReDoozies. - It's recycled and it's a "doozie" (meaning something unique or outstanding) This will be my first Redoozie listed on Etsy. My next task is to determine the format for photos. I hope to have a least one listing by tomorrow morning.

I am now working on a woman's vest made from recycled denim vest and vintage fabric. I am quilting the back panel and adding rick rack. Haven't decided what to do for buttons yet. I may make covered buttons. Should have the vest finished and ready to post tomorrow.

Grungeboard Tag - Make & Take

This is the tag that we made on Saturday at Mystic Paper's Make-and-Take. We made the tag with Grungeboard Letter. I brought it home and completed the embellishments. I thought the plastic cowboy boot was the perfect display stand.

I have one more grungeboard/suede cuff in the works. Will post picture later today.

Grungeboard experiment

I had been reading about grungeboard by Tim Holtz and wanted to experiment with it. I attended a Make-and-Take at Mystic Paper on Saturday where we added color to a grungeboard letter with distress ink and cat eye ink. I had also read that you could sew on grungeboard. Today I decided to give it a try. I had a leather suede coat from the thrift store. I cut a section of suede and washed and dried it. I decided to make a suede cuff incorporating a piece of grungeboard. I selected the grunge swirls and went to work. The board was very easy to color and sew. I did put on a thin coat of sealer before stitching. I think the swirls look like suede after I added to color. The butterfly is a vintage pin that was sewn to the wristband. I added a loop and button. I will probably list this on etsy but I want to experiment with a few others before listing.

There are so many possibilities with grungeboard. I will post picture of project from Make-and-Take tomorrow.

Susan's Garden Apron

This is an apron I made for my friend Susan. Her birthday was this month and I just delivered her gifts today. The fabric is from Granny's Attic Quilt Shop in Kentucky. Buttons are from my button box. Thought they were the perfect colors for the apron. This is the last apron on my list for awhile but I do have a couple of more cut out.



I'm planning to work on Etsy stuff this week. The bird was just a fun addition to the apron since the fabric has birdhouses. The bird pattern is available for free at spoolsewing.com. I saw the birds on my yahoo friend, Norma's blog recently. They are so cute and easy to make. I bought a small birdcage sometime ago at the thrift store. I knew I would find a use for it. I think it will make a perfect home for a couple of these birds.

Mocha Java Shower Gift

I recently received an invitation to a wedding shower for my cousin, Kacy, and his bride-to-be Christen. The wedding will be in Lexington, Ky and unfortunately we weren't able to arrange our schedule to attend. It promises to be a lovely event with the dinner/reception in an airplane hanger in Nicholasville, heart of horse country. The bride is from the Lexington area and a family friend offered the use of his hanger for the occasion. I'm told it comes complete with a bandstand and dance floor! The shower will be held at the small country church where most of our family attended when I was growing up. It's a tradition at the church to host a wedding shower for all their members. I can remember attending the one for my aunt (Kacy's grandmother) when I was a pre-teen.

The couple is registered at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. This is a photo of their dinnerware (Mocha Java). I tried to select a fabric that would go with the pattern. I love the resulting apron. I then added a bit of the fabric to two tea towels. The gift goes in the mail today. I think I will take a break from aprons for awhile and begin to work on items for my etsy store.

Camille's Quilt

This is a quilt I made for Camille as a baby gift in 2003. Camille is the daughter of my niece (I guess that makes her my grandniece!) They live in California. When I visited California in May, my niece mentioned that Camille's blanket had been washed many times and the binding was fraying. I brought the blanket home. Today I put a new binding on Camille's blanket.

The quilt is what I would call a whole cloth quilt. It has machine embroidery animals on a pastel floral fabric. After the embroidery was complete, I added batting and a backing of the floral fabric. The entire quilt was then machine quilted. It took many hours to complete the embroidery. When you look at the quilt, the embroidery looks like new. It was done with ARC polyester embroidery threads. Obviously they hold up very well to washing. I also used my embroidery machine to make a label.

So glad Camille has enjoyed and loved her quilt. When I gave it to my niece, I told her the quilt was made to be used. So often people are afraid to use their quilts. I wanted this one to be used and it has been. It's now ready for many more washings.

Fabric Fortune Cookies

These are fabric fortune cookies for a swap on Fabric in Altered Arts. I think I am finally caught up on my swaps. I got behind when we were gone for over two weeks. The fortune cookies are due the end of the month. I finished them last evening while watching the horrible Diamondback game. My Diamondbacks are really struggling these days. We went to Sat and Sun games and they lost both. We will go on Thursday for the afternoon game. We usually go to every other game but our ticket partners needed to exchange some tickets recently to accommodate work schedules.

Fortune cookies went in the mail this afternoon. Can't wait to see the cookies I receive in return. I bought a kit for making carryout boxes at Mystic Paper and sent one of them to Cathy the host of the swap.

Goodies in the Mail

This week I received some wonderful goodies in the mail from swaps on Fabric in Altered Arts. The women in this group are so creative. It's so much fun to open the packages when they arrive. The apron was made by Kathie, my partner in the Red, White, and Blue Apron Swap. See the apron I made for Kathie here. The aprons were designed to be worn on July 4th. This one is just lovely. The apron is completely lined. The front pocket is made from patchwork and the button brooch is made from vintage buttons sewn on to a piece of thick interfacing (like Peltex). I love the apron and will wear it with pride on July 4th.

The tea towels were made by Cathy and Pamela. Aren't they wonderful. Pamela's is made completely of vintage fabric. Cathy's coffee towel is made from a purchased towel and decorated with coffee fabric and trims. They are too lovely to use. I will probably just display them somewhere in my vintage kitchen.

June Quiltie - Garden

This is my June Garden Quiltie. I again used recycled items for the quiltie. I used a mesh tomato bag and the label from the bag. The fabric has a garden theme and I added a Sun in the upper corner. Another fun "GREEN" quiltie for the swap on Fabric in Altered Arts.

June Quilties-Orange Sherbet

This month's color theme for quilties is Orange Sherbet. I was inspired by Quilting Arts Magazine's emphasis on Going Green. I decided to make both June quilties from recycled items. This orange quiltie is made from a orange mesh bag that contained fruit. I believe it was nectarines from Fresh and Easy. It was the perfect color for the quiltie. The mesh made a lovely lacy flower. I added a little silk flower and button. The mesh was hand sewn to the edge of the quiltie. I left the mesh on the bottom of the quiltie and tied with bits of fabric. This swap in on Yahoo group Fabric in Altered Arts. Now I'm working on my June Garden themed quiltie.

Fabric Heaven

As most of you know, I love to visit the thrift stores. Monday is $1.00 day at Goodwill but I didn't find any dollar wonders today. I did find this fabric. There were two bags stuffed full of wonderful fabric. Each was $3.99. It was difficult to see everything in the bags but I could see enough to know I just had to make the purchase. When I arrived home and opened the bags, I thought I was in FABRIC HEAVEN. The more I took out of the bags, the more excited I got. These are beautiful high quality fabrics. There were 29 flat quarters, eleven 1/2 yard lengths, two pieces of 1 1/2 -2 yards and other odd shaped pieces. Most are prints but there were some hand dyed fabrics. I figure I spend about 50 cents a yard.

They are now in the washer. All of my thrift store finds go immediately into the washer and dryer. If they fall apart, I haven't lost much. I have successfully washed silks, wools, laces, and a number of evening gowns. They may shrink but I'm not wearing them, I using them in my art projects.

Last week I found 11 packets (new and unopened) of Warm and Natural products. The size was about that of a flat quarter. Two of the packets were Insul-Bright (used for potholders, oven mitts, etc.). The rest were various weights and colors. Total cost of these packets was $2.98.

If you aren't shopping at thrift stores, you are missing out!

Father's Day

This is a picture of my father. He served in World War II from Sept. 1942 to Sept. 1945. This photo appeared in the local newspaper in his hometown in Kentucky. The photo was taken in London and shows him being interview by the BBC radio. I have a copy of the original newspaper article. My father passed away in July of 2000. He was a great Christain man who lived his life as an example to our entire family. We all miss him but have many cherished memories. On Father's Day I pause to remember my Daddy.

Paperdoll Swap

I signed up for a paperdoll swap hosted by Tammy Moore. When I returned home yesterday, these wonderful dolls were waiting for me. Aren't they the greatest little creations. I plan to mount each one on a piece of cardstock and place in a plastic sleeve. I will photocopy the info on the back of each doll on the back of the cardstock. I can't wait to make a little book of paperdolls. There is such variety in the dolls.

Kentucky Home

We just returned from our vacation home in Kentucky. Our two granddaughters visited Ky for the first time. They were so excited to see the wildlife that roams near our home. They were able to watch a deer and her fawn romp in a field. One night we drove by a cornfield that glowed with fireflies (called lightening bugs by us locals). The oldest granddaughter said over and over again: "It is do beautiful"! They visited the Louisville Zoo and the Kentucky Horse Park. The picture is of one of the horse at the Horse Park. They also fished at a relative's pond (Ours isn't stocked with fish yet, we are waiting for it to fill with water.) The girls were not impressed with the large catfish caught by their dad. They left after the week's visit with many memories of their first visit to Kentucky. We too are now back in the Valley of the Sun. I didn't do anything in the way of art on this visit but I was able to shop at my favorite quilt shop, Granny's Attic. I purchased reproduction fabric for aprons.