Tag : fabric

65 posts

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T Tuesday: scrap quilt edition

Thanks for joining me today for T stands for Tuesday with Elizabeth and the gang. I missed last week completely and for the life of me, I can’t even remember what kept me from my weekly post!!! Oh well…on with the show!

I’ve been sorting through my bins of fabric and separating out all the long strips and random shapes to be cut down for my new string quilt project. This pile is 70% blues as I was collecting them for a little boy quilt over a decade ago. After ironing, I cut each piece down to between 1.5 and 2.5 inches wide.

I am piecing the quilt using paper squares with a white strip down the center to serve as a design element in the completed quilt. I’ve used a gluestick to adhere it to each sheet so they are ready to go as I sew. I just eyeballed it so they won’t be perfect but I’m ok with that. It is a scrappy quilt after all.

I shortened my stitch length so that the paper gets perforated and is easy to remove from the fabric once trimmed.

I have a nice little stack of them already.

And look how fun they are going to look when sewn together.

Colorful and scrappy. The other really fun thing for me is that it will be sort of a memory quilt or perhaps fabric journal of previous projects, clothing I’ve salvaged and reminders of people who have passed on but a little part of them lives on for me in the fabric as a memory. Now just look at that, I’m getting all nostalgic.

Since this is a post about quilts on T stands for Tuesday, I thought it was a good time to share a bottle of wine my in-laws brought over. I remembered to nab a photo at the very last glass.

It’s called Barn Quilt Red. This winery is one of three in a small town west of here. The soil must be good for grapes out there. This wine gives a nod to the barn quilts of Carver County.

The barn quilts are really cool. I haven’t seen all 24 but the ones I have seen are really cool. In fact I think I have a photo of one here on the blog somewhere…hmmm….must look now….here it is!

This one can be seen from the MN Landscape Arboretum.

Anyway…more sewing, ironing and cutting,,,not necessarily in that order are in store for me as well as the standard household duties.

What are you doing today?

Blog | Crafts | Creativity

fabric, quilt, scrappy quilt, scraps, T Tuesday

15 Comments

halleday

201608/16201608/16201608/16

T Tuesday: girls weekend edition

This past weekend Mini-me and I went on a little adventure back to my old stomping grounds…well at least summer stomping grounds. We were fortunate to be able to stay on two different lakes in the Alexandria, MN area.

We first traveled to my cousin’s cabin. It’s been about 22 years since I’ve set foot on the property but instantly I was flooded with memories from my childhood. I spent countless weekends here with my cousins growing up until my parents bought a cabin about 10 miles from there.

We arrived at the lake about the same time as a little cloud burst. Mini-me went wading as soon as the rain cleared. Rogue was there to supervise. She is so pretty. I wish the photo showed the expressiveness eyes.

After supper it was time for some water sports. Since our side of the lake was pretty choppy, we traveled the mile across the lake to the calm waters to try out some of the new equipment.

This is another cousin just about to pop out of the water on the wakeboard. I thought I got one of her on top of the water but I was mistaken. Both her and her husband were very skilled at this. I’ve never tried and wasn’t about to…although I did give waterskiing a go again. Since I am 25+ years out of practice I thought getting up on two skis would be easier than one like I used to do. Now I’m thinking one ski might have been a better choice. I got close to getting up but my skis went apart and I went face first into the water and swallowed/inhaled what felt like half the lake on my attempt and decided I better not continue. No one snapped a photo of my valiant attempt so you’ll just have to believe me. Honestly I was hoping me getting in the water and trying something would inspire Mini-me to try. She was a little timid and likely a little freaked out after seeing mom face plant it in the water. I did remember how to haul myself back up over the side of the boat in deep water though, so I hadn’t forgotten everything.

After a quick trip back to the cabin, change of clothes and passengers (including two dogs) we headed back out for a little lake tour at sunset.

It was simply beautiful. After that we had a bonfire including s’mores…yum! Mini-me and I slept in the loft of the cabin just like I did as a kid…only now there are better mattresses…thank goodness.

In the morning I grabbed a cup of coffee, went out to the dock and sat…in my jammies…with my feet in the water and listened to the loons calling and the water lapping at the shore. I can’t think of a better way to start your day.

Eventually Mini-me and I headed into town to explore while we waited for the next leg of our weekend adventure.

We went to see Big Ole. He is now nestled in a small park next to a bike trail about a block from his original home which was at the end of the main street. The 28′ statue is always great for a photo op.

We did a little shopping and found these fun tea items…

The manatee or manatea was by far our favorite. He just cracks me up every time I look at him.

I also picked up some fabric. I was looking for some neutrals but then I stumbled upon these fun ones and just couldn’t pass up some fat quarters.

I really love this one. Fabric dedicated to Minnesota and all the things we love about our great state.

After shopping and lunch at a local cafe..sorry no photos…we drove back out of town to the second lake. The weather was not very cooperative. I was lucky to get this photo while we waited for our resort cabin to be ready. I think this was the most sunshine and the calmest water we saw until we had to leave for home.

My in-laws were planning to stay all week but we had to head home since all the school activities kicked off yesterday for both kids. Busy, busy day and days ahead. This summer just flew by!!

Today I’ll be taxi driver, laundry fairy, accountant, personal shopper and chef just to name a few.

What are you doing today?

Blog

fabric, T Tuesday, vacation

11 Comments

halleday

201607/10201607/10201607/10

Holy scrap!

I made this barn wood and fabric cross piece entirely from scraps. Yep, leftovers from other projects…not a dime spent.

The printed fabric was from the curtains I recently shortened and lined, the barn wood came from the same gal as they had leftovers from remodel project and the brown suede was from a jacket I cut up long ago.

My inspiration was from Pinterest. There were no directions but the idea seemed simple enough. I used a staple gun to attach the fabric and a hot glue gun to adhere the suede center piece. Five minute project…seriously. I gave it to the family that just remodeled as sort of a “new space” warming gift since it perfectly matched the room. :)

Blog | Crafts | Creativity

barnwood, crafts, fabric, inspiration, Pinterest, scraps, suede

3 Comments

halleday

201604/02201604/02201604/02

A second look: Upcycling Projects

Since it’s April and this month is Earth Month I thought I’d share a second look at a bit of upcycling from a few years ago.

Oct 6, 2013

Upcycling Projects

We all know how to recycle and I’m sure most do it daily. Newspapers, cardboard, glass and plastic are all readily recyclable in most cities, at least across the USA.

This is wonderful! But I’ve been really focused on upcycling lately. Finding a new use for something that would ordinarily be tossed out. Wine corks, bottle caps, worn out clothing, stained linens, broken plates…you get the idea.I showed a sneak peek of these a while ago. I made a wine cork tree last year but this time I decided to change things a bit. I used a Champagne cork cut in half for the trunk. I think they turned out really cute.

I’ve also been using some scraps from previous projects such as the denim remaining after completing a quilt or two. As well as the remainder of the dress shirts that I made wine bottle gift bags from.

In addition I’ve been making a bunch more cards. I’ll show more of these last two projects at a later date. The cards have much less upcycling in it’s truest sense but I am still attempting to include elements that might otherwise be considered unusable such as tiny scraps of fabric and yarn. As well as photo trimmings. I have a cigar box full of photo trimmings…they have such vibrant colors that it’s a shame to toss them out.

It doesn’t have to be Earth Day to be a little “green”. Do a little more every day to be kind to our planet. Last time I checked…it’s the only one we have. :)

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If you’d like to see more recycling and upcycling projects please use the tag cloud on my sidebar.

Art | Blog | Crafts

Christmas, fabric, greeting card, scraps, Second on the 2nd, sewing, upcycling, wine corks

6 Comments

halleday

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T Tuesday: upcycled can project edition

For several years I’ve had a boring tin can on the counter for a pencil holder. You’d think that I’d have made it a bit more visually appealing before now…but no….I’ve mostly just hid it behind other things.

As I was working on a completely different project I noticed a scrap of burlap from my wreath project appeared long enough to wraparound the can. I had to trim it a bit but was very pleased with the look. I added a torn fabric strip around the middle then used hot glue to attach some paper flowers. It looks nice enough to have out in front now.

I have a mini office space on top of the recycling cabinet in our kitchen. Keeps the essentials close for list making, homework, wine sipping… :)

I also have to show you the art journal page I finished up yesterday.

The orange flowers and words were cut using my Silhouette Portrait. They were started out as sage green cardstock.

I used spray mists to alter them more to fit my page. The bunny was cut from an envelope. He looks like a happy bunny to find such yummy flowers.

The page used more of the green fabric used on the burlap wrapped can.

I’m off running errands this morning but look forward to dropping by and visiting my T stands for Tuesday friends later on.

Art | Blog | Crafts

art journal, fabric, recycling, scraps, silhouette, upcycling

14 Comments

halleday

201509/16201509/16201509/16

Only darkness

I’m linking up today with Art Journal Journey. This month’s theme is Through My Window.

I wasn’t sure I was going to play along with the theme this month. It didn’t really speak to me. But as I was searching through my bin of found text, this sentence appeared at my finger tips.

Generally I don’t work backward like this. Usually I create the spread then finish with words.

I began with a crazy paint splattered background that was super ugly. To many colors that didn’t quite mesh. But this often lends itself to depth in a page when adding layers.

I had intended on only using paint for the page but It became clear to me that having more texture would be the way to go.

Since I was going all in with texture I decided to keep my color palette small.

I’m glad I decided to play along. Challenges have a wonderful way of drawing me out of my comfort zone. It’s strange really that sometimes those are the pieces I’m most proud of at the end of the day.

Art | Blog

art journal, Art Journal Journey, challenge, fabric, found text, paint

7 Comments

halleday

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Sew Somerset feature article!!

Several weeks ago I mentioned an upcoming article but wasn’t at liberty to discuss until now…

It’s here! My complementary copy of the Summer 2015 edition of Sew Somerset.

Last September I was approached by an editor of Sew Somerset about my fabric collage cards I had listed on etsy. She asked if I’d send some to her for possible publication. You betcha! (sorry my Minnesota is showing) So I sent off a dozen cards and didn’t hear anything more until February when I get an email requesting that I write an article to go along with the cards they planned on publishing. YES!!