Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Pink Kitty Quilt

This is another version of the original kitty quilt. I wanted to try another color scheme since the blue kitties disappeared on the blue sky background.



I am still not happy with the eyes and nose. I used buttons for both which look nice, but I don't like having potential choking hazards on my quilts. I think the key will be not using chenille. It is very hard to embroider on, so if I pick something more like fleece, I'll have better luck.



I like how the butterfly turned out this time. I added lace to the design which I think helps make it look a little less like a bow and a bit more like a butterfly.

(Kitty & 9-Patch, 36"x51" Sept. 21, 2010)

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Karli's Wedding Dress Part 2

I've been back from Canada for a week now, and I thought you might like an update on the wedding dress. I did end up having to put in a lot of work. Both brides maid's dresses needed alteration, as did the flower girl dress and the wedding dress.




As I was working on the wedding dress, I made an extra little dress for the maid of honor's 4 month old because she was so cute I couldn't resist. It turned out to be a very smart move. The original flower girl got sick on the day of the wedding, so the 4-month old got to be the flower girl. I never got a good picture of the original flower girl in her dress, so I am hoping I can talk her mom into sending me a photo.





I ended up having to redo the front bodice of the wedding gown. Everything else fit fine, but the dress was too low cut. The original flower girl dress wasn't so bad. It was about 2" too big, so I just had to take in each side a little bit. The brides maid dresses were ordered through a company and both were too big in the bust and offered too little support. I added clear straps and a lace up back to both dresses. I didn't get a good picture of the back of the dresses, but each black dress had a 3/4" red ribbon with 5 crisscrosses imitating the lacing in the back of the wedding gown.


Karli was very pleased with her dress and how the other dresses all turned out. I only have non-professional photos at the moment, so I may post again when I get the professional ones.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Lavender Eye Pillow



We forgot to go to Wal-Mart last night, and when I looked at dad's list, he had listed an eye-mask. He apparently forgot his in Arizona the last time he visited. I suggested instead of buying one, I could easily make one. I even teased him that I could put some lavender in it (I got a bunch on sale when I was doing soap making). I made the mask and started to think about how easy it would be to sew rice and lavender eye pillows. Here is the design I came up with:

I have noticed on other eye pillows that they are either too full, and therefore feel like an elephant is sitting on your eyes rather than a relaxing pillow, or they are about half full and everything slides down to the sides so your temples get all the rice. I designed this pillow to solve both problems.


I sewed the pillow into 4 chambers. The rice is then held roughly in place, with enough room to still have it conform to your face. It is also much lighter then the elephant-style ones.


As always, I couldn't leave well enough alone, so I added in some finishing details, including a little bow and some lace. The bow actually helps make the sides much more stable, so it serves two purposes by looking nice and adding strength.


I used white rice and lavender buds inside the pillow. It doesn't look like a lot of lavender, but a little goes a long way. My whole sewing room now smells of lavender!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Black Dragon Purse




I got a bolt of this fabric on clearance when I was working at Jo Ann's a few years ago. I was saving it to make an outfit, but I think it also works nicely as a purse. This one has the same lining and pockets as the burgundy one. One of these days, I am going to keep a purse rather than sell it. They keep turning out so nicely and my current one is falling apart from love.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Brocade Purse

Here's the latest variation on a theme. This is the same purse pattern as the "Teresa Purse," but this time with a satin oriental brocade. The lining is still cotton (mostly because I hate it when purse linings are made of satin and shred after the first use). The pockets inside have a metallic gold pain that highlights the design. I thing that this is one of the nicest key fobs I have made so far. This purse will be on sale on Etsy, but you saw it here first!