Quilt Haiti

We are holding a quilting bee of sorts at Make and Mingle. This will be a collaborative effort for all who attend. Jennifer Paganelli will be there to sew along with all of us as we each make a block or two with Sis Boom scraps that will then be pieced together, quilted, and sent off to Haiti. The wonderful blogger, Tammy Gilley, has started this quilt drive and quilters from all over the world have been sending their love to those in need. I can't think of a better way to spend the last Sunday afternoon in March. Please come to Make and Mingle and join us if you can.
*No previous sewing or quilting experience necessary!*

Strip because it's fun.

I've collected leftover strips from quilt trimmings, some 90'' long. Cut to 2 1/2'' widths, sew together in one long consecutive roll, then cut to 70'' each. Placed randomly along side each other vertically. That simple, that spectacular. All of the fabrics are from Sis Boom.

Aprons a plenty!

How much do I love aprons? Well, it all started with my mother in law, Clarita. She always had an apron for each day, each outfit, even "day-prons and night-prons". The evening wear aprons were often made of black lace or organza, with a romantic rose or heart appliqued onto the pocket, while the day version was white. They were always laundered and starched to perfection, and I am lucky enough to have inherited a few of these treasures.
Tim and I have carried on the tradition of apron wearing. We have special aprons for gardening, horse grooming, wood working, sewing, and even cooking!
When we got the job shooting aprons for Jennifer Paganelli's new line, (thanks ,Jen), it was a natural fit. Good thing we had so many organic ideas for aprons, because we now shoot tons of them! We haven't run out of ideas yet.
More good news! I now carry some of my favorites in my Open Sky shop! I have some of Jennifer's and a few of Anna Maria Horners. More to come as they become available to me, so keep a look out. They are fabulous, and I see them becoming family heirlooms in their own right.
The lovely models in the Sis Boom aprons (Miss Willy Full Apron with Pink Stripe) are Jennifer's sister Meghan and her niece Sophie. The half apron and others should be available by the end of this month!
The bonita chicas in Anna Maria's aprons are (left to right) Tessa from Make and Mingle, Glenda Dougherty ( whose dad started CRAFT Magazine!), and my niece Sophie Geaney! We get to see Sophie some weekends, as she is a student at NYU- smarty pants! How lucky are we to have such fab models at our finger tips??? And the shoot was done at Make and Mingle- such a cool place to teach! Can you see how much we love what we do?

Spin cycle.

I am fortunate to work with one of the most talented fabric designers around today, Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom. She is so inspiring, and I often leave her studio dreaming about my own fabric designs and what they might look like. My Lotta Jansdotter book is the perfect introduction to printing my own yardage. I am starting with the most elementary of techniques by using rubber stamps and water proof archival ink pads. Not only has she got a great eye, but she gives lots of great hints and there are great projects to do. Lotta's Printing Studio is available in my Open Sky Shop, and don't forget that UNTIL SUNDAY JANUARY 17TH 100% OF ALL SALES MADE THROUGH OPEN SKY (FROM ANY SHOPKEEPER!) WILL GO TO HELP HAITI!
I wanted to make a salad spinner, like my mother in law, Clarita used to use. My husband and his siblings would be more than glad to run outside and spin the sack over their heads until the greens were nice and dry.
I used 2 pre washed all cotton flour sacks from the American Chair Store. They are perfect for making a salad drying sack because they are lint free.
Lotta recommends you put a bath towel on the work surface and smooth out with your hands.
Put the flour sack you want to print on right side up, smooth it out and print your design with the rubber stamps.
When the ink is dry, heat set with your iron.
Stitch the two sacks together at one side seam, right sides together.
Then I folded over the top 1'' and stitched the tube for the drawstring, leaving the ends open.
Then I stitched the other side seam, right sides together, careful NOT to stitch close the ends of the open drawstring tunnel.
Now stitch the bottom.
Turn right side out, and using a large safety pin pull ribbon or seam binding tape through the tube.
Draw shut after putting washed lettuce in the sack. Take it outside and let the kids spin it over their heads until there is no more water splattering about.
Toss in a bowl and dress!
***DON'T FORGET to check out Design2Share, Cooking with Friends, Amy Powers from Inspire Co, Tasra Dawson and all of the other fabulous and talented shopkeepers who are so generous at this time of need. ***

Still stuck in neutrals.

A new member of the Dark Horse Farm extended family has arrived. His name is Dove and he is a Rocky Mountain Horse. His earthy toned coat and silvery mane and tail would be envied by any Orange County Housewife! His coloring has inspired another project. Placemats with a kind of primitive horse motif, brown and buff like him, with a bit of a sloppy zig zag boarder to give it that folk like hand made feel.
Cut the pieces 16''x 20''. Fold over edges 1/2" and sew seam. Sew a row of zig zag next to that, and anther straight seam down the other side.
I think we will have fun with him while he's here, and I know that Tys will no longer be lonesome, now that we have Dove.

Cleansing my palette.

I'm getting ready for the next wave of sewing, color, fabrics and making by clearing out my head a bit. I've been working with white, black, and neutrals and plan on slowly introducing color back in. A "visual fasting" if you will. "Sensual deprivation". I wonder which color I will crave first.
Black and white quilted pillows, and a quilted throw and pillow made with Ralph Lauren nautical blueprint fabric, bound with ticking. Simple choices, simply stunning.

Green Grocer Bag with Wooden Handles Tutorial

Cut one piece of oil cloth or lightweight upholstery fabric that measures 42" x 18". This will be the front, bottom , and back of the bag.

Cut 2 more that measure 14"x 10". These will be the 2 side panels.

Cut two wood 5/8" dowels cut to 16-16 1/2".

lay out the long piece lengthwise and measure 6 inches from one edge of the 18" end and make a cut 6 inches deep. Do the same from the other edge. Cut across making a 6 inch cut out that will be for the handles.

Do the same for the other end.

Make a small 1/4'' cut diagonally at each corner, and turn the edge over. Stitch in place. Stitch right next to this seam to reinforce it.

Turn ALL raw edges over 1/4'' and stitch. All edges of the big piece should now be turned, stitched and finished before the next step.

Fold over 1/4'' and stitch all 4 raw edges of the 2 smaller (14"x 10") pieces of fabric.

Mark the very center of both long sides with a pin. You can find the center by simply folding the fabric in half and marking the fold.
Do the same with the 10" side of the smaller (side panels). Mark with a pin.

Putting RIGHT sides together, match the pins of the small piece to the longer one. Stitch in place with a 1/4'' seam. Do the same with the other side panel.

Now stitch up the side panels (right sides together) to the front and back. Now you should have a 3 sided box (inside out).

Now, take the part that will create a casing to hold the handles and fold over 1 1/2" and sew. Now sew ONLY the outside edge of that casing. This will keep one end of the dowel from slipping out. Do this with the other 3 handle casings- leaving the center ends of the casing un-sewn. Slip the dowels in.

Turn the bag inside out. I guarantee you will love this bag!

I hope this is clear enough... I'm learning the fine art of instruction writing the hard way!

Green Grocer Bags

I finally got my reusable grocery bag situation stylin' big time. Actually, this set is a gift for my friend Linda. I made sure that I included plenty of the sheer reusable produce bags as she is always buying carrots and apples for her bunny rescue. If you are concerned about the weight of these bags,they are only .2 to .3 ounces more than a plastic bag. The big bag with the wooden handles is great for cereal boxes and other large boxy items. The smaller square bag works best for milk and juice cartons, and the large soft sack is perfect for all of your fruits and veggies in their reusable tule bags. These bags should make grocery shopping a more, if not enjoyable, at least "glamorous" daily excursion. I will try to include patterns and directions in my next post- anyone interested?

Needle felting makes a "cameo appearance".

I have been going crazy trying to find time to do this project! I love needle felting, and now you can fall in love too. I have the "felting mat" (which looks more like a grooming brush for my horse) and the felting needle tool available on my Open Sky sore. I only mention this because after seeing Martha Stewart do a demo on her show, I had some difficulty finding these tools. These are not her tools, but they work the same. You can use wool felt, shrunken (felted by the hot water wash and hot drying process) wool sweaters and vintage blankets, or even plain old felt from the craft department. That's fine for a tree skirt or a x-mas stocking, but for a pillow or a project that will get more day to day manhandling you may want something more durable and lasting. Wool felt is actually quite luxurious!
Cut the wool shape to be appliqued onto the background fabric.
Cut the background fabric the same size as the pillow you are using- if you are making a pillow. So, 16" x16" if you have a 16"x 16" pillow.
Start felting the cut shape by placing it where you want it on the background fabric and place this over the felting mat.
Start in the center and work out toward the edges.
If you have the finer point needle tool use this at the edges of your silhouette as shown.
You will begin to see how to the two fabrics start to mesh together and get fuzzy on the back side. (I rather like this ghostly effect on the reverse side, too.)
When the appliqued silhouette is completely at one with the other fabric, you can sew the felt squares wrong sides together, leaving one side open.
Squeeze the pillow in and stitch up the fourth side. Trim the edges with a pinking shears. Felt doesn't fray! YEAH! Dress her up with a vintage pin or earring.