Get your I Can on!

I am pulling out all sorts of fabric scraps in Christmas colors and diving into drawing of all kinds of Christmas  ideas to put together in preparation of a blog hop I have agreed to do.  See the link on my sidebar. 

The big reveal will be July 30th!

I love that I committed myself to show something I have never done before.  (That statement has just a touch of sarcasm  but only a touch because it is thrilling to learn a new thing.) 

My friend, Becky reminded me that the first time I met her she was showing me how to weave baskets and I told her on that day, "I have always believed I can do anything.  I just need the instructions."

That may sound like a touch of arrogance but the truth is it is just the sort of upbringing that enabled me with a confidence to try new things.   Now, that does not include trying things like sushi....I just can't go there!  I am not a great admiring of things fishy.  And trying new things does not mean you master it all or that you enjoy it all but just that you are willing to give it a good try.  

So here I go....trying a new thing.

Paper Piecing is the new direction I am heading!  

So I have drawn out my plans and am trying to figure out how it all works together...

Stay tuned!  

July 30th is my day to show it all off.  

I have a month.  

I also, want to put in a plug for all of you people out there up for a good Sketchbook Challenge.  

I recieved my copy of the book.

Sketchbook Challenge  (Amazon link)
by Sue Bleiweiss 

Sue's blog

and have been pouring over it.  

It is top notch!  

I recommend it and I am not getting any sort of royalties 

and have no connections to anyone in the book other than being a follower on some of their blogs.  

I am just recommending it because it is a good book and to my surprise it has connected my painting interests  with my new found fabric arts into some of the sketchbook projects.

So today, get your "I CAN" on and try something new!

I promise it will make your day better!

Summer Heat Up

Even in the shade today the temperatures are rising and it is just plain hot!  

I think our temps are getting up into the 100's now and yesterday it was 106 which is how hot it is expected to be today.

I went to Lowe's the other day and purchased misters to hang in the trees where we like to sit in the evening while the kids play outside.  It is supposed to make the temperature seem about 10 or 20 degrees lower.  But so far, no one has volunteered to hang them for me.  I may have to figure it out myself and just do it.  I can just see me hanging from the trees...and stuck!

It could be a new version to the "Help!  I've fallen and can't just up."
It could be, "Help!!  I've climbed up and can't get down!" 

Aside from the heat I have been working on little sundresses for the little girls.  (I say, it is for the little girls but actually, I have seen grown women wearing the same thing for blouses and with the width being at least 42 inches around if you fit it you can wear it. I have not gotten up the nerve to even try it.  I don't want to know if it doesn't fit me.  I can remember when I would have had room to wiggle in it.  Long ago!)

  I have designed the fabric panels for two different pillowcase dresses that are adjustable in size from 2 to 6X or thin women.

Usually a pillowcase dress is made using wide ribbon for straps but   my grand-daughters didn't like the big bows on the tops of their arms because the ribbon tickled them.

Instead I just made straps for them that are not adjustable. (Ran it through the casing and tack it in place once I established the proper width)

 Without the embellishment of the big bows on the top of the shoulders I felt the dresses needed something more.

For Reese who is six I added a silk flower pin.  I disassembled a silk flower from Walmart I had on hand and re-glued the flower pedals to the back of a rhinestone piece and then glued all of it to the back of a  pin back.  It can be removed during washings.

I pinned it to the base of the strap on the upper bodice. 

 Blakely is only two and a little petite girl.  I added a touch of daisy trim I found on her straps and made a ribbon bow glued to a  pin back

and pinned a bow on each side.  Her bows can be removed for laundering.

Look pretty!

Feel cool! 

Fabric Pillowcase Dress Panels are available.  The pattern is printed directly to the fabric so all you do is cut and sew.  Two styles available in my Spoonflower Shop.

Hearts all a Flutter (pinks and minty greens)
and
Blakely's Pillowcase Dress (Bright yellow, pink and a touch of green)

Hearts All A Flutter fabric collection is available by swatch, fat quarter or yards.

 

Peppermint Candy Christmas Quilt

Quilting Mamas are all around me!  

I could not escape it if I tried.  

Linda, my sister  is biggest into it and she is the one responsible for twisting my arm into doing fabric design on Spoonflower.

So when I finally caught the bug most of them said, 

"Finally!"

Oh, boy, did I feel dumb when I had questions on every step I took.   I was determined to complete it all myself including the free motion stippling.

I made it through the construction fairly simply because I was using a cheater panel I had created and had printed on fabric.  How hard is that?

But then I wanted to start the real quilting part....the sandwiching of the layers with stitches....
The Magic.....Free Motion!


I twisted and turned all the dials on my old machine that I possibly could trying to make the magic that you would know to be free motion stitching.
I twisted it to the left and found the knots of thread waiting for me under the quilt.
Then I twisted to the right and thread hovered on top
... and still no magic happened.
I twisted my fabric from the right to the left,
 from the left to the right.
Still no magic!
Well, it just couldn't be me because after all.....I CAN DRAW!!!!
How hard can this be?

 It MUST be my old machine!
 
SO...I tried my mother's machine.

Still no magic!

Linda sat down and in about five seconds....magic!

I went back home and practiced!

Well, it may not be magic yet....but I am learning the tricks! 
I have a renewed respect for you quilters out there.  It really is an art. 

And as a side note...I almost completed the quilt on my old machine but...not quite!  As I was putting on the binding around the edges, my old machine ground to a stop and then it would sew only in reverse.  So time for a new machine.  I'm shopping around.

 This quilt is all

Mine!

Mine!!

Mine!!!

All the fabric designs in this quilt are my personal designs available through my shop on Spoonflower .  

This quilt was made from Peppermint Candy Christmas Cheater Panel, Mints for All and Peppermint Candy Christmas.  Other coordinating fabrics are available.  

Find them here.

My friend Mary Ann from Rocknquilts has a Giveaway you may be interested in checking out. The winner will be announced on the Fourth of July (2012).

Check in here to see what she has available.

Thanks, Mary Ann for a great opportunity.