My Big Debut!

Okay, it's not really all that big - but it is kind of a big deal to me. If you look right over there in my sidebar -----> you'll see that I've opened up a wee little Etsy shop! It's true!

This is the deal: 100% of the shop's proceeds are going to benefit the Arthritis Foundation's Camp JAM (Juvenile Arthritis Matters). Yep 100%. That's how much I love this camp and what it does for families like mine who have a kiddo dealing with arthritis. You can read more about our family's experience at camp here.

I don't intend to go into "production mode" and have a zillion things for sale but this is a small thing that I can do to feel like I am doing something in the face of this disease. Over 46 million people suffer from arthritis and over 300,000 of those people are children. There is not yet a cure.

New (Old) shower curtain

We've been living in our house for over three years and I finally hung a shower curtain in the down stairs bathroom. We've mostly been using this as a powder room and it's where the kids take baths so a shower curtain hasn't really been a necessity. But when I cleaned out my sewing space a little while ago, I went through all of my vintage sheets/linens and decided to make my very favorite flat sheet into a shower curtain.

This project was so easy it's almost embarrassing. Just measure the length you need and fold over the top to create a nice wide "hem" at the top of the curtain. Mine was about 2 inches after trimming the excess. Then I fused some lightweight interfacing to the top. At this point you could stitch the top hem in place or be lazy like I was and just steam-a-seam it in place.

By far, the hardest part was measuring the grommet spacing. Now that I am smarter and wiser I would suggest just laying your shower curtain liner on top and using the spacing that someone else has already figured out. Sure wish I'd thought of that sooner. Oh well.

Putting on the grommets is really fun and involves hammering!

And now we have an awesome new old shower curtain. We have a clear liner on the inside. I love that I can just take it down and throw it in the laundry when I need to. And I love that I get to see this beautiful vintage sheet every day. Even the men in the household think it's pretty cool, so that's a bonus.

I'm planning to make a simple tie back with some of the extra fabric that I trimmed off the top, but I haven't gotten around to that yet. Hopefully, it won't be another three years before I can make it happen.

Custom tag tutorial

Okay, finally! Here's a tutorial for how to make your own custom tags/labels.

These are a really fun and easy way to add some (more) personality to your projects.

First gather your supplies. I use twill tape for most of my tags but you can use regular cotton fabric as well. I'll show examples of three different products: StazOn ink pad, Versa Magic ink pad, and Micron pigma pen. You can use regular rubber stamps with the ink pads.

You will also need an iron to heat set the ink.

Here's a better look at the three marking products I used:

Using the StazOn ink, I stamped some small images on the tape. I made this little swatch scrap just for demonstration.

Then I did the same with the VersaMagic ink.

Here's the Micron pigma pen.

On the bottom tape I did a combo of stamp and writing. Once you're done stamping or writing on the tape or fabric all you have to do is heat set it using your iron. I have no idea if there's an optimum time to iron in order to set the ink but I just press for about 10-15 seconds.

So, here's what everything looks like after being stamped, written and ironed.

And here's what it looks like after going through the washer and dryer. I washed with detergent in warm water and tumbled dry on low (just because that's what I always do) but you can dry on high heat as well.

I use these to add a personal touch to my handmade items like the snack sack and patchwork pouch above. I also sew them into the back of pajama pants so I know which is the back and which is the front. You could even make a quilt label!

Be creative and have fun making your own custom twill tape tags!

Brace yourself

I've actually been working on a quilt!

This is Bailey's "I Spy" quilt, made from the leftovers/scraps from making one for Owen. I've had the spying squares done for ages but only just now added the pink sashing/border and did the quilting. Why now? Well, her birthday is next week so it was now or never!

And looky - I did some more free motion stippling! The quilt is small, maybe crib or lap size but I was pretty impressed with myself that I got all the quilting done in one evening after the kiddos went to bed.

The binding is already cut, just need to press it, attach it and hand-sew it. A trip through the washer to crinkle up and it will be all done! I think I can manage to get that completed before the festivities. And then I can say goodbye to I Spy quilts. Not that they weren't fun and all but I'm ready to move on to other projects.

And then there were MORE

Apparently, I can't stop making pincushions.

This one (below) was made from linen and a scrap from a vintage tablecloth. There was enough of the vintage goodness to actually make two of these so I'll be putting one in my new, as-yet-to-be-opened etsy shop. More on that at a later date.

This one was made as a gift although I will be more than a little bit sad to see this happy wee bee go. Isn't he cute?!

I have one or two more pincushions up my sleeve and then maybe I'll move on to something else. Maybe.

Pincushions and PMQG

The Portland Modern Quilt Guild meeting last week included a new segment called Ten Minute Tutes, where members can share a quickie ten minute tutorial with everyone. Jen did a great presentation about pincushions! I had never made a pincushion before, though I've often found myself lingering on the many flickr groups devoted to them. Here are my first attempts:

And the backs:

The linen and orange one was completely and totally inspired by one that Jen made for the presentation. It has some of my very favorite orange prints in the patchwork.

And this little fella measures only 3 inches square - perfect for tucking away into a travel sewing kit. I love the little gnome peeking out and waving to everyone.

I'm working on a few others including one to take to the next PMQG meeting for a pincushion swap. And I'll be making one for a giveaway here!

Quilty love

Isn't this how everyone wants their quilts to be used?

My sweet pea just got out of the bath and snuggled up under her quilt on the chair. By the time I got her brother out of the bath and in his jammies, this is what I found. I love seeing my kiddos wrapped up in a quilt I made. I know I can't be with them every moment of every day, and this makes me feel like they're wrapped up in my love even when they're crashed out on daddy's recliner.