Monday, June 22, 2020

Nifty Needlework Finishing

Hello friends - I'm back for a quick evening post - it seems this is the quietest/easiest time of day to sit down and visit with you! I thought I would stop by tonight and share some recent needlework finishes I completed for a favorite customer. These needlework pieces were all for one wonderful customer...and she is THE BEST to work with - a box of needlework arrives with the instructions of "do whatever you think works best" - these are the type of orders that make the time in my studio rewarding and fun. I get to choose all the backing fabrics, shapes, and embellishments...and truth be told, that is my favorite part!! I had fun picking coordinating fabrics for the backs, picking trims (special thanks to Lady Dot Creates) and making the twisted cord...and, as always, adding the finishing touches...

One piece I should share more about - the little Queen Bee tin. This is one of those pieces where I had an idea in mind and it turned out just like I planned. I have several different sizes of tins on hand (this round tin has a diameter of approximately 2.5" and has a screw top lid) and worked quite well. I mounted the cross stitch on the top and a little padded circle of coordinating cotton fabric inside (both embellished with Hand-dyed Pom Pom Trim by Lady Dot Creates)...attached a black gingham ribbon around the top perimeter...and I covered the base of the tin with black wool fabric. This worked out so well, I will definitely be using it for future finishes...a BRD signature finish to add to my list!

I hope you enjoy these images...and maybe you will be inspired to pull out your most recent cross stitch piece and do a little needlework finishing yourself. Designers/details are listed with the images when available...fabrics in the photos are used for backing and/or lining...

Queen Bee Mini Card - Prairie Schooler

Queen Bee Mini Card - Prairie Schooler

Set Free Pinkeep - Scattered Seeds Sampler

Set Free Pinkeep - Scattered Seeds Sampler

Tired Trio - Plum Street Samplers

Apple Pickin - Little House Needleworks

Autumn Urn - Ewe & I & Friends

Bloom Where You’re Planted - Brenda Gervais


Chris Moose Berry - Erica Michaels

Chris Moose Berry - Erica Michaels
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Seasons Greetings - Little House Needleworks


O Christmas Tree - Lizzie Kate


Flowers and Plaid - Trail Creek Farm


This order also included several project bags that are shown above - the awesome bicycle fabric was used for an Artist Bag....and the adorable sheep fabric was used for a Small Project Bag and a Large Project Bag.

Tonight I am working on a couple large piles of project bags...and then I will be back on needlework finishing for a bit - I have a BUNCH of Christmas ornaments to finish for several new customers. 

I also have a couple really fun projects to work on for Poppie Cotton - I have a couple of their gorgeous upcoming fabric collections to work with for two blog tours later this year. I truly adore their fabrics, so I am thrilled to be working with them on some very special projects. I will stop back soon to share some images of these beautiful fabrics and give you a couple hints about what I am working on...

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Garden Gala

Hello friends - I'm happy you stopped by for a visit today. I can't believe it has been over a month since my last post - I guess I just need a few more hours in each day so I can chat with you more often. I have been staying extremely busy in my studio, as my finishing business has substantially  increased (thank you to all my new customers) and my project bags continue to be extremely popular - I am blessed. My studio bins are full and I am steadily working through projects in the order received.

 Today I thought I would share a quilt with you that I finished last month - this cheerful quilt (titled Garden Gala) was the project in the April Sew Sampler Box from Fat Quarter Shop.

The April box was filled with all sorts of goodies, including: an At Home Jolly Bar by Bonnie & Camille for Moda Fabrics, the Garden Gala Quilt Pattern, a Scallops & Waves Quilting Template by Fat Quarter Shop, an Alphabitties Expansion Pack, Beeswax Thread Conditioner by Posey Handmade and the Greatest Hits Album Quilt Track #1 (mystery block of the month quilt pattern one). After seeing the At Home fabric collection, I knew I had to make the Garden Gala quilt...and I had yardage in my stash that was perfect for the background, binding and backing. I really enjoyed the easy straightforward traditional piecing and it went together rather quickly! There was a lot of talk on social media regarding the center of the quilt and the negative space - many were making an additional pieced block or doing a special applique or machine embroidery in the center...but I personally loved the "wreath" look of the quilt with the white in the center and had a plan to do some specialty quilting in the center.




I received a lot of questions on my quilting. No, I do not have a longarm quilting machine (it is my dream of dreams to one day have one!)...yes, I quilted this on my regular domestic machine...no, I did not do it free motion...yes, I used a design I printed out on my computer - made a few paper templates and used a fricton pen to draw the design on the center of my quilt (then just quilted on the lines). Yep, necessity is the mother of invention - I had an idea of how I wanted to quilt it and I made it happen with what I have. After quilting the center, I used a wavy line stitch on my machine to quilt all four sides.I used a transparent thread for all the quilting...



....and YES, I am keeping this one! I have made WAY MORE quilts than I can count...and this is only the second one I have kept for myself (the other is a quilt I designed and created for Quiltmaker Magazine). I am trying to work towards keeping some of my work for our home...so far I have been terrible about it...I would like to have quilts throughout our new house, so I am going to do my best to make some projects that are just for me.

I enjoyed this fabric so much - I am working on a few little pincushions for my Etsy Shop with the leftovers. I saved ALL my little scraps...plus I am adding wool and button embellishments. I have several larger pieces left for backings. The tops are done...now to find time to back and stuff. Here is a peek...


The May Sew Sampler box was also filled treats...and I have plans to make the quilt pattern that was included in this box, as well (I am waiting for the border fabric to arrive and my workload to slow down a bit). The quilt is called Rose Garden and it uses fabrics from Bloomington by Lella Boutique for Moda Fabrics.


Finally today - I am not sure if this is in the happy or disappointed category. On the happy note - I recently made a baby gift for a person in my life...I sewed up four reversible burp cloths and four reversible baby bibs. They are made from the softest quality cotton flannel. I had fun putting thought into them and choosing fun fabrics for a girl. They have a cute coordinating fabric on each side, so they are reversible and they are all nicely top stitched...I even washed them in scent-free gentle detergent before wrapping, so they were ready to use...plus the baby bibs have a velco tab to make them easy to put on and take off. I wrapped them on white cards with gift gloss and tied with a pretty pink ribbon and attached a label with all details and washing instructions...I even found what I thought was the most perfect card. All of that was happy, happy, happy!! The disappointing part was the gifting - the recipient could not have cared less - sat them aside and barely said thank you...and it was never mentioned again. I'm not going to lie - I was super excited about this surprise and was really trying to do something nice and unexpected (this wasn't a shower gift - just an act of kindness)...it kind of ended up being a MAJOR bummer. I did enjoy the process of planning, creating and wrapping, so I am choosing to focus on that...and the fact that they turned out super CUTE!




Okay, on that note, I MUST get back to work....the HUGE stack of project bags on my table are not going to sew themselves....so, I am off to my sewing studio...the stacks are cut and ready to sew, so I plan to spend the evening in my happy place!

Thanks for visiting - I have piles of needlework finishing to share with you, so I am hoping to be back real soon...