Another Two

.. and sew it seams that Mr Elephant has been rescued from an unfortunate accident ..

You may (or may not) recall that my laziness in transferring applique designs resulted in mixed success at the deskjet printer. Well, Mr Elephant wasn't all that successful ... but he did actually print .... anyway, with some textile micro surgery he has been mended to a full recovery .....

I used the in built "honey comb" type stitch to do some multiple rows around his shape, a cute button eye and the ever so bobbily pom pom braid to top it off.

The back has an invisible zip - I would have shown a photo, but you wouldn't have seen the zip anyway .... (oh dear)

And next on the catwalk today we have a rather demure Japanese Motif centred on this black cushion.
The cushion edges were bound as one would a quilt, with only two sides featuring the hint of some more Japanese fabric ....

And that might be it for cushions for a while .....

My First Quilt

and sew it seams that after sewing for many years, in 2008 I finally learnt how to make a patchwork quilt. I joined the lovely Chris and Sharon at Belmont Patchwork Heart and my first project was called "Pandora's Box" featuring some beautiful Japanese fabrics.

I was intrigued at the cleverness of how quilt designers worked out patterns and cutting etc. I was also impressed at how quickly it all came together - well, the patching of the quilt top was pretty quick.

I hand quilted the whole thing together, which, I must say will probably be the first and last time I'll ever do that. I really enjoy hand sewing, but hand quilting is just plain tough on your fingers, and the quilt becomes very heavy and hot to work on..... which is why they made machines....

Overall, I was bitten by the patchwork bug and I'll show you a few more of my projects in coming posts.

By the way, these photographs were taken at the breakwall of MY beach - I've been waiting and waiting for a non-windy early evening to photograph all of my quilts, but it was not to be. We had to shove them all back into black garbage bags and trudge back to the car .......

Two More Cushions

and sew it seams that cushion making knows no bounds .....

Here is my ruffled cushion - I saw the idea in a mag which stated the cushion cost $77(AUS) so I'm thinking this may be lucrative ...(ha!). Anyway the fabric is just delicious - it is Anna Maria Horner - Green Tablecloth - if you really want to know the range I could find out, but not right now... the selvedge is not within reach at this second ....

I used the Ruffler attachment which I thought was fun, but then I thought that I vaguely remember that overlockers can do the same thing .... hmm ... will have to investigate that...



Just by the way, I used a Clover Chalk marker to mark the sewing lines for each ruffle, and, as you do, I press everything at every step of the way, and the pink lines didn't come out easily - I had to wash them out - just a little warning - some of those fabric markers become heat set by the iron ..

Introducing the letter 'g' ....


I used my inkjet printer to directly the design onto the fabric - which, as I previously mentioned, sometimes works and sometimes doesn't - I'm fine tuning that .... anyway, I used some batting strips on the flange edge of the cushion to give it some soft body - I tried spray adhesive to keep it in place while I turned it through, but that didn't stick, so I tried some "No More Pins" that I had in the cupboard for eons and had never used... and it worked!
I used the walking foot to sew multiple lines around the border, and I didn't give it a buttoned back - opting instead for the generous overlap method. Just by the way, I use Goldies Cushion Inserts, they are definitely b-b-b-bouncier and keep their shape really well, unlike the ones from large chain variety stores that virtually flatten with the first bottom placement! You can order on line from them, and they are very nice people too!!!

I have a feeling that there may be more cushions on the horizon ....

Happenings

and sew it seams that time can get away ..... it's been a while since my last post. I've been very busy finalising the organisation of my new teaching space - the studio is all set up and functioning! Sew, what have I been sewing?

Firstly, I've made some sewing machine covers - not particularly exciting but totally necessary. I live near the beach and our beautiful coastal breezes are salt laden, so I need to protect my valuable possessions. The white material is table protector vinyl from Spotty. I attached a red cotton tape to the bottom. My first try at this wasn't great ..... lots of puckers ...

So, clever Clover came to the rescue ...

So I tried the walking foot and voila! I love a happy ending!

Next, and equally as functional, I attached some more red cotton tape and a red button to my red towels for the studio - I have gone a bit mad on the old red colour of late. So they performing nicely too.

Next, I'm working on some sample projects to display, to inspire my students ..... Here is my LOVE cushion...

and the back .....

I've been trying to transfer some appliqué designs straight from my computer to the fabric via the printer......... a friend told me about using the paper that photocopy paper comes wrapped in - the waxy kind, not the plastic feeling kind. Anyway, I have tried it a couple of times, you just iron the fabric onto a precut piece of the wrapping paper - I think it is much the same as freezer paper.

The paper acts as a "carrier" to carry the fabric through to be printed on - can't be done in a laser printer. I know that there are commercial products available that do the same job - mostly used for transferring photos onto fabric for memory quilts etc. anyway, they are really expensive. Basically, I'm trying to avoid the manual tracing method.

I had mixed success today - I did manage to print a "g" letter that I am appliquéing for a cushion, but I missed the top of Mr Elephant's ear (I know... a test run would have prevented this...!) - and after that nothing cooperated with me. So, I'll leave it again for another day. Does anyone else do this? Any handy hints?

A few more projects on the boil, sew watch this space!