Silk Rods Are Back At Larkspur Funny Farm!

If you were interested in the hand dyed Silk Rods that I mentioned in my April 12th post, they're back in loads of gorgeous colors!



You can find them here at Larkspur Funny Farm Etsy shop!

I asked Grace for a couple of custom packs with a variety of colors. If you're interested in something like, drop Grace a message. She replies very quickly!!!

Vintage Style Apron Embroidery

I didn't quite finish the stitching on this last night:



I expect to complete this later today and then next week, I'll take a day and sew the apron together.

For some reason, I prefer to sew during the day. It's probably the natural daylight that makes me feel more comfortable with sewing. I prefer to work on the computer during the day as well. Now for stitching, I can do that anytime!

When I finish stitching up the fruit design, I'll be starting on my next crazy quilt purse project:



Again I'll be using one of my vintage pins from my flea market trip last weekend. I love this little birdie and I love the way he looks on this block. My plan is to give this a very vintage look but sometimes, the block takes over and just tells me what it wants. Many times, they just turn out however they turn out. It's a "go with the flow thing" for me. There are some pieces that although I have a plan for them, I'm not completely set on it having to turn out that way. So stop by again to see what direction this takes!

Vintage Style Apron - Custom Order

I mentioned the other day that I received an order for a custom Vintage style apron. I'll be starting on this today so I thought you would like to see the patterns and fabric that I'll be using:



The transfer is from a Vogart pattern. I never cut or iron on my transfer designs. I traced them onto my fabric using a lightbox that my dad made for me and a washout blue pen. My fruit design is already traced onto my fabric so I'll be pulling thread colors shortly and stitching on the design later today. Once the stitched piece is done, I'll assemble it on my machine. Stay tuned.....

Peacock On Heart Block

I had a good few hours yesterday to work on this Peacock piece:



The fix for the peacock not popping was definitely to outline him in metallic gold. He sure pops now! And that funky earring is a most excellent tail isn't it? I waited to sew that on until I had most of the other do-dads on. I knew that earring would be a "pain in the behind" because my threads would catch on it.

I'd like to say a special thank you to June R. for the pretty little flowers that I used on my signature cat. June, I love them!

So how will I be finishing this? Well, you know I just love to make cellphone pouches so I believe this will be the first in a new line of cellphone pouch designs! When I get to finishing, I'll share the tutorial with you. Once I figure out what "I'm" doing!

If you're into exchanging hearts in the "Chain Of Hearts" group, but don't know what to do with your finished pieces, this might be a fun idea for you so stay tuned. And if anyone is interested, there are still some heart kits in my Etsy shop.

Cellphone Pouch Finishing Tutorial

I was asked for directions on how to finish things like cellphone pouches, purses and so on.

I did the finishing on my Ocean Garden Cellphone Pouch so I thought now would be a good time to give you the tutorial. It's very easy!!!

First, trim your stitched piece to the size you want it leaving and extra 1/4 inch on all sides. Cut one piece of fabric for the back and 2 pieces of fabric for the lining the same size as the stitched piece. In this case, I used the same fabric for the back and the lining:



With right sides together, sew one lining piece to the top of the stitched piece and one lining piece to the top of the backing piece, using a 1/4 inch seam:



Press your seams. Again, with right sides together, making sure that the stitched piece and the back piece are together on the same end, match up your top seams and pin these two pieces together.

Note: if you use a lot of embellishments close to the seams like I do, you will want to use the zipper foot for your machine!

Starting on the lining side, sew your piece together with 1/4 inch seams leaving a 3 or 4 inch opening for turning your piece right side out. The more embellished with beads and do-dads, the larger the opening will have to be:



Your opening should be in the lining.

Once your sewing is complete, trim your corners, turn your piece right side out, blind stitch the opening closed by hand and then push the lining into the pouch.

Hand sew some pretty trim or lace on the bottom, add a snap for closure and a chain or cording and you'll have a pretty neckpouch for hands-free shopping, walking or gardening.



This one was a bit tricky because of all the seashells that I used. If you've never done one of these before, I wouldn't recommend an extremely embellished pouch as your first sewing project. But if you're sure of what you're doing, the tip for something like this is to sew the bottom first, and then the side with the least amount of do-dads on it. Once I had that sewn, I was able to line up the other side where the big seashell is. I simply pulled the lining piece a bit to match up with the edge of the stitched piece and I was able to sew it together.

Turning this one right side out was a challenge too. With a piece that's extremely embellished, you have to take care not to pull on your embellishments. Take your time and work the lining down first and then from the bottom, carefully push the stitched end out.

I'm planning on taking this one up to my showcase in Richmond. I like to offer my blog readers first dibs on my things so if anyone wants this, please drop me an email and I'll reserve it for you in my Etsy shop.

All of the crocheted edgings on my cellphone pouches are made by mom. She will gladly do custom orders if anyone is interested. Just drop me an email.