Pretty In Pink Mixed Media Art Quilt

I have a few finishes to share today.  I spent most of the day on Sunday running my sewing and doing the hand finishing on these projects.

First, my Pretty In Pink Mixed Media Art Quilt:



I love this!!!  I used one of my great-aunt's knitting needles as a hanger.  The tassel was given to me by my friend Cherry Petersen and it just so happened that I had some of that yarn in my own stash so I zig-zagged it around the outside edge of the quilt.  A nice finishing touch!  I signed and dated the back of the quilt as well.

I really love mixing fabric and paper and glitter and embroidery and just about anything I have laying around in my stash.  I'm certainly planning on doing a number of these and I have started on my Spring Song quilt but I'll save that photo for tomorrow.

The next time I put a couple of art quilts together, I'll write up a tutorial on how I do them.  Stay tuned for that.

Next, I finished up on my 2 newest Crazy Quilt Hanging Pillows:



Although I love both of these, the green and pink one is my favorite!  Ya'll know I just love pink!

Last but not least are my Sweet Dreams Lavender Sachet Hearts:



Cottage Style Crazy Quilting!!!  If anyone has trouble sleeping like I do, a lavender sachet hanging on the bedpost does help to quiet the mind.  Trust me, I know!  Anyways, I made several of these and had a good time filling them with lavender.  The scent is just so soothing!

So those are my finishes for today as far as needlework goes.  I have some pretty Trash To Treasure finishes to share tomorrow.  And we have a big flea market on Sunday in Grayslake, Il. so there should be some great flea market finds next week.

As for my next projects, definitely more art quilts.  It's my latest thing!  I'm also working on a few little Marie Antoinette brooches and in the craft department, Mom and I have both started on a few July 4th do-dads!  FUN!!!

If you'd like to see more photos of my finishes or larger images, please click here.

So that's my post for today.  I have some laundry to fold (what else is new?) and then I think I'll switch to my laptop in the Living Room and see what everyone else is blogging about!

Have a great evening everyone!

Glittered Fabric Leaves Tutorial

Good Morning Everyone!  Breakfast?



I made these for my dad the other day.  Devils Food Cupcakes!  YUM!

Well, I'm just about done with my Pretty In Pink Mixed Media Art Quilt:



I'll be finishing up on this today.  I have some of my great-aunts knitting needles and I'm planning on using one for the hanger.

If you click on the image, you can see a larger version at my Flickr site.  I made glittered leaves from Sparkle Organza.  I thought I'd write up a quick tutorial for you in case anyone else wants to do this.

Ok, so it's not rocket science, but if you're a perfectionist like me and come from the "old school" of sewing, like me, you might be a little intimidated about putting glue and glitter on fabric.  It took me a long time to "get past the rules".

GLITTERED FABRIC LEAVES TUTORIAL

Supplies:

Wax Paper
Fabric Glue
Fine Glitter (transparent is more attractive)
Small Brush

First, cut your leaves from the fabric.  I didn't use a pattern, I just cut simple leaves freehand.



I always use paper plates when glittering!  Anyway, step 2, brush one side of the leaves with fabric glue:



It's best to do one at time so the glue doesn't start drying before you get the glitter on:



Sprinkle on your glitter, shake off the excess and lay out on wax paper to dry:



I sewed them on my quilt using a stem stitch with #5 Perle Cotton.

Again, it's not rocket science but I thought some of my readers might enjoy giving it a try.

I must say, Mixed Media Art Quilts are quite fun.  Wait till you see how I finish Pretty In Pink!  And my next one will be this:



This will be called, "Spring Song".  Ya'll know how much I love Spring!  Anyway, not sure if I'll get started on this today.  I'll be running my sewing machine most of the day and finishing up on some projects.  Stayed tuned for those!

Quick Note:  Today is the last day to take advantage of our Free Shipping offer.  Our Mother's Day Special ends tonight.

If you would like me to add you to my mailing list for our Kitty & Me Newsletter, please drop me an email.  I'll be including updates on our Etsy shop and including special offer coupons from time to time.

Gifts For The Bride

Looks like Mom has weddings on her mind!  Makes me laugh because she doesn't like going to Weddings!  Anyway, the lovely wedding items for the Bride To Be are mom's latest finishes.  First, are her Ring Bearer's Pillows made from vintage handkerchiefs:







All are hand-beaded.

Next, are mom's Wedding Card Bags:





Made from a vintage pattern, these are hand embroidery and hand beaded.  From what mom tells me, back in the day, brides would be given a special bag to keep their wedding cards in.  Neat idea!  These could certainly be used as a purse and trust me, they are so much prettier in person than they are in my photos!

Lastly, mom made this sweet little hanging pillow/tuck pillow from a vintage kitchen towel:



Again, mom added beads!

I'll tell ya, my mother is 70 years old, has serious vision problems & depression problems like I do, but I can't keep up with listing her things!  I keep telling her, "mom, would you please slow down so I have some time to make some things!"  Ha, ha, ha! 

Hey, it gives her some purpose and the opportunity to share her talents.  My mom is an expert seamstress.  Before she went to school to become a nurse (she's retired now), she used to sew models for a fabric store.  Mom made my wedding dress and my bridesmaids dresses.  So beautiful!!!  One of these days, I'll pull out my wedding photos and share.

Well, here is my offering for today.  I started embellishing my Pretty In Pink Art Quilt:



I've already hand-dyed some lace daisies and butterflies for it.  When I finish up here, I'll be glittering some fabric leaves.  Stay tuned.  I feel another tutorial coming on!

Finally for today, I've started a mailing list for anyone who would like to receive our Kitty & Me Designs newsletter.  I'll be offering specials now and then and keeping our customers up to date on our latest projects.  I thought it would be nice for anyone who doesn't have the time to read my blog everyday but would like to stay up on what we're doing with the shop.

If you would like to be added to my mailing list, please drop an email and I'll get you added asap!

That's all for today folks!  Happy Stitching, crafting and sewing!

Sneak Peeks!

I've been doing quite a bit of stitching lately!  In fact, I need to take some time to sew up a few things.  I may do that on Sunday but I also want to get some things planted.  I bought some Hollyhock bulbs and some seeds at WalMart today.  I don't have the energy yet to work too much in my yard but I've been wanting Hollyhocks for years!  They're so old-fashioned!  Anyway, I may do my planting on Sunday morning and then run my sewing machine Sunday afternoon.

Here are the couple of things I want to finish up.  First, I have 2 crazy quilt hanging pillows that I stitched:



I don't know which one I love more but I am leaning towards the green and pink one!

Next, I stitched up several crazy quilt cottage style hearts.  These will be Sweet Dreams Lavender Sachets:



It's kind of hard to tell from the photo what they'll look like when they're done!  Stay tuned for that!

Ok, so it's not a ton of stuff that needs to be sewn up but it will take me a bit of time.

My next project that I'll be starting on is this Pretty In Pink Mixed Media Art Quilt:



I'll be starting on this shortly and believe me, I plan to embellish it!

I have a couple of other finishes to share with you today.  First is my mom's Pink Heart Cottage Pillow:



I think I've turned mom into a monster! She's really liking pink these days and never cared for it too much in the past!

And then there's my Strawberry Fields Birdbath:



I can't help myself!  I just love doing these birdbath's with vintage glassware.  I'm already planning on some Autumn and Christmas birdbaths but I have to find some more old glassware.  Since Garage Sale season and Flea Market season are getting underway, that shouldn't be a problem.

And speaking of strawberries, here's my little Strawberry Basket:



Don't you just love strawberries?  I love the way they look and the way they taste!  Strawberries are my favorite fruit!  Have you ever tried slicing some up into some some sugar free vanilla pudding?  YUM!

MOTHER'S DAY SPECIAL!!!

In other news, I'm offering FREE SHIPPING on MULTIPLE ITEM orders in my shop.  PayPal & USA orders only please.  The offer runs from now through Sunday May 2nd.

We offer so many lovely things that would be appropriate for Mother's Day gifts.  Please take advantage of this offer.

Well, I'm off to stitch.  Wait, must fold laundry first.  Argggg......

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!!!

How To Block A Crocheted Doily Tutorial

Happy Sunday everyone!  I've been busy, busy, busy!  Yes, too busy and I'm winding down now but I am the way I am!  My ADD motor is always going!

I made a big pot of soup, 2 batches of cookies and a loaf of wheat bread.  I have all the laundry caught up and added 2 more of my mom's Victorian Tussy Mussy's for Mother's Day to our Etsy shop:





Aren't they pretty?  Mom really has a knack for these!

Another thing I did today was to block a couple of crocheted doilies and I thought I would write a tutorial for anyone who doesn't know how to do this.  Many crocheted pieces can be ironed into shape but there are some that just won't cooperate unless they are blocked.

This one for example is quite large.  My mom made it for me years ago.  I had it out for quite some time but decided to wash it and put it away for awhile.  I have never had any luck with ironing this piece into shape:



I pulled it out today because I knew it would fit my new little vintage table which I'll show you at the end of this post.

HOW TO BLOCK A CROCHETED DOILY

You will need a cardboard cutting board, a big box of pins and a misting bottle of water.  I scent mine with lavender.

Step one is to lay out your crocheted piece on the cutting board.
Step two is to start pinning it to the board:



I just started with the center of each scallop around the outside.  One pin in the center of each scallop.  After going all the way around, you may have to make some adjustments for shaping purposes.  It's a matter of eyeballing it.

The next step is to add more pins around the scallops.  This rounds them out:



Add as many pins around the outside as you have to in order to shape it properly.  It seems like it might be a lot of work but it actually only takes a few minutes. 

Once you have all the pins in place and the doily is shaped appropriately, mist the entire piece with water and let air dry.  It takes about an hour for large doily and about 1/2 an hour for a small one.

Here's another type of doily that needs to be shaped this way:



Those little flowers are terribly difficult to iron.



Just pin the flowers open, spritz with water, let dry and then remove the pins and enjoy the beauty!

Be sure to click on the photos to see the large versions.  That'll give you a good idea of what to do.

Also, if you have small children, dogs or cats, you may want to do this in a room where you can close the door while it's drying.  They may be a little too fascinated with the pins.

Here's my large doily on my new vintage table:



My husband bought me this beautiful vintage sewing table at a flea market back in February.  It was only $15.00!  He repaired it, stripped it and refinished it for me and added new knobs.  The sides open up!  It's really too cool!  And it's not as dark as it looks in this photo.

Anyway, that was my day!  Now, it's time to relax with a cup of tea and some stitching:



Have a good night!