Special Order

I've discovered a new favorite craft. It is called Japanese Temari. It is a cross between weaving an embroidery and is really fun. I made this as a spell ball for Amtgard, since I felt that a magical spell ball should look like magic.

There are so many mathematical  and interesting patterns once can do with a temari ball. This was my first try. I put it up for sale on Etsy with my typical not of loving special orders, and I got a note asking if I could do it in miniature for a key chain.

I haven't finished, but it is turning out so cool, I had to share. It is approximately 1 inch in diameter and will have exactly the same pattern as the ball above. I reduced the threads from 6 ply to two and the silver from three ply to one. I'll post again when it is done.

Dragon Quilt

I made this a few months ago as a Christmas gift. I was going to a Chinese coin look and tried to match the red couch in their living room.

This was made mostly from scraps, so I was happy I had enough to make a full quilt.

I really liked how the block turned out, so I may do this pattern again.

The quilt is a baby size, so it is perfect for a lap quilt.

The back was a bit short, so I added a border on the back.

Hipster Baby

My cousins are hipsters, so when they had a baby, I knew I needed something more than just a normal baby quilt. I had thought something with pin up girls and cars would be fun, but I couldn't find the right fabric. When I stumbled on the mustache fabric, I knew I found the right one.

The quilting is in black and aqua, with the thread going opposite of what the block color was.

The watercolor fabric was a happy accident. I didn't buy enough fabric by a lot. So, I went digging through my scrap bin looking to supplement. I think I licked out with all the colors. I just sewed strips in order until I ran out of fabric, rotating every time so I was one step down the color wheel each block. I took the remaining scraps and added a strip to the border to help lengthen the quilt.

 

This picture is a bit on the pink side. I didn't realize that the sun was shining through, so the pink backing give all the blocks a pinkish tint. Mom and Dad loved it, and hopefully Baby Scarlett will hold onto it as a sign that she was born in 2014, when mustaches were the coolest thing ever.

How Many?

I am often asked how many quilts have I made, and to be honest, I have no idea. So today, I am going to attempt to count them all. I may have to update the list as I think of more I forgot about, and once the list is made, I may add to it to help keep track. I'm going to guess that I have made more than 90. we'll see if I am right at the end of this post. Only ones that are completely finished count. I may add the partials at the end of the list so I can keep track of them and add them to the list later. This will likely be the only post I regularly edit to add more, but I will clearly mark when I start adding.

To make things easier size wise I'll stick to this: S = tree skirts, table runners and other oddities, M = mini (12"x12" or smaller), W = wall hanging (13" x 13" - 44" x 59"), B = baby/lap, T = twin, F = full, Q = queen, and K = king.

Roughly Chronological Order by Finish Date:

Blue Log Cabin  for me - T 98
Green Forest Pinwheel for Dad - T 98
Star for Mom - Q 98
Star for Ming - W 98
Happy Trails for Deb - W (also M) 99
Double Irish Chain for Micah - T 99
Fan for Josh and Rayna - Q 00
Fan for Mom S 00
Kimono Applique for me -W 00
Pokemon Dog Bone for Jacob - B 01
Veggie Tales Triangle in Square for Luke - B 01
Musical Log Cabin for Dr. Hardy - W 01
Taz Double Irish Chain for Marty - F 01
Double Irish Chain for Garfield - W 01
Lavender and Blue for Anna - B 02
Crazy Teacher for Sara - F 02
Pinwheel Sun and Stars for Merlin - W 02
Kimono Applique for Haiku - W 02
Green and Blue Log Cabin for Connie - W 02
Fancy Pinwheel for Mulan - S 02
Cat Outline for Siam - W 02
Double Irish for Sakura - W 02
Ballet Boxes for Neeva - B 03
Blue Willow Log Cabin for Jeff - W 03
Blue Willow Log Cabin for Jeff - K 03
Blue Willow Log Cabin for me - M 03
Pink Log Cabin for Sofina - T 03
Stars and Bars for Hermione - W 03
Stripes for Gandalf - W 03
1/2 Log Cabin for Dandelion
Blue and Green Log Cabin for me Q/K 03
Christmas Pinwheel for The Popejoys B 04

*this is where it gets murkier and poorly documented*

Star Sun Flowers for Deb B 05
Joyful Kaleidoscope for Joyful Heart - M 06
Trellis for the Brookses - B 06
Cream and Sun Flower Pinwheel for unknown - W or B unsure 06?

*back to decent documentation, though I may have missed photographing some in my forgetful excitement to wrap and give*

Star Quilt for Maria - Q/K 07
Boyd's Bears for coworker's daughter - B 07
Quilted Sewing Machine Cover for me - S 07
Rose Lap Quilt for Rose  - B 07
Strawberry Shortcake for unknown baby - B 07
Hot Air Balloons for Abdiel - B 08
Pinwheel Log Cabin for KariJo - Q 09
Care Bears for Joyful Heart - B 09
Bunny Table Runner for Deb - S 09
Squares for Nandock - K 09
Calico Cats for unknown - B 09
Sea Glass for Joyful Heart - M 10
Mending Hearts for Joyful Heart - Q 10
Camping Quilt for Rick - T 10
Music Table Runner for Teresa - T 10
Watercolor for donated - B 10
Four Seasons for Rhonda - W 10
Ballet Bear for donation - B 10
Fairy for donation - B 10
Blue Cat for donation - B 10
Pink Cat for donation - B 10
Windsor Star for Deb - W/M 10
Fruit Punch for donation - B 10
Flannel Kitty for donation - B 10
Brown Lamb for donation - B 10
Pooh for donation - B 10
Bears and Bubbles for commission - B 10
Monkey Pinwheels for Landon - B 11
Autumn Leaves for me - W 11
Mountain Log Cabin for Dad - W 11
Log Cabin for Deb - W 11
HS T-shirt Quilt for commission - T 12
School District T-shirt Quilt for commission - K 12
My Little Pony for Nova B 13
Lavender and Lace for commission - B 13
Spring Applique for Grandma Kary - Q 13
Watership Down Landscape for me - W 13
Lamb Quilt for commission - B 14
Horse Quilt for commission - B 14
Lamb Quilt for Ragnar - B 14
Chinese Quilt for Matzes - B 15
Mustache Quilt for Scarlett - B 15


*So, at this point I have 78 listed. I'll have to see if I magically remember 12 more to make my guess right. I am sure I missed one or two, but I doubt I missed 12*

Little Cabin in the Woods for Dad - K 15
Puppy Fun for Nathan - B 15
Baby Animals for Amanda - B 15
Dragon for Elania - B 16
Elephant Zendoodle - B 17
Fox in Hearts - B 17
Fox in Hearts Wall Hanging - B 17
Deer - B 17
Sea Turtle - B 18
Log Cabin for Chris - Q 19

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In the Queue

Watercolor Stripes for Micah Q/K - blocks done, needs borders, backing, binding, and quilting
Garden Trellis for me or Etsy F - have fabric
- have most of the fabric
Happy Birthday for Dad - K
Breast Cancer Set for me W - tops sewn, needs backing, quilting and binding
Star for Zach F - have fabric and some cutting

Plush Pattern

I've been wanting to try making plush animals for the furry population that are personalized to match their fursona. So, I set out to make a pattern for a dutch angel dragon. I began by looking at this teddy bear, because it was rather close to what I was imagining in my head.

After making the pieces, I pinned them together and did some adjustments.

Then I set out to cut the fabric. Unfortunately I didn't have quite enough brown and black, so I will need to run to the store.

I was going for a hand-stitched aesthetic, so I used a button hole stitch to quilt the different colors together.

I am short one arm and one leg on the fabric, so I will have to run to the store.

The head shape almost looks right, but I may need to do a little more pulling stitches to get it just right. I am also debating about whether or not the black stitches on the white fabric are too much. I've been staring at it too long, so I am not sure.

For those wondering, this is Telephone. I met her recently and thought she might enjoy having a plushy. She happens to live near me and invited me to hang out, so I'll let you know if she liked it.

Winter Garb ~ Old Garb Part 10

After a day of fighting in the snow, I realized I needed warmer garb. This outfit was a quick solution. I'll likely upgrade it at some point with some embroidery, but for now, it is warm and comfortable.

This was one of my first experiments with a different edging. I was trying to tie the black of the brocade trim I used by using black elsewhere.  I was also having fun with the opposite colors on each side.

The trim was the expensive part... I just love trims that are well done. The ribbon was something I had in my stash, and I felt like it helped anchor the whole thing together.

Back view... much like the front. I seem to have many belt favors.

Darkmoon Tunic ~ Old Garb Part 9

Darkmoon, the amtgard park I was a part of, had a silent auction and they were looking for donation items. I wanted to try my hand at a more elaborate applique, so I designed this tunic for the auction based on the Darkmoon heraldry.

I added nearly 100 eyelets because I wanted the tunic to be truly one size fits all. 

The front also features a keyhole neck, again making it so anyone could wear it.

At the time, I thought it was about the hardest thing I would do. Since then, I have done many more difficult appliques on a regular basis.

Tibber's Garb ~ Old Garb Part 8

Tibbers is a bit camera shy. I don't have a good picture of all the garb I made for him, and I likely never will. So, please imagine that he is also wearing a green cloak. Tibbers's outfit is two pieces - a light weight under shirt with faux leather gauntlets and brown tunic.

The tunic has metal nail heads running along the V shaped insert. It is rather a cool design, and I wish it was visible.

 

The gauntlets lace up and are directly attached to the tunic.

Again, sorry for the bad pictures. I forgot to take any on the dummy before giving him his garb.

Bruin's Tunic ~ Old Garb Part 7

Bruin was very specific about what he wanted, so I made his tunic to order. The knotted frogs were done by hand from rope.

His house heraldry is a bear paw yin yang. I experimented on it to see if embroidery would be required when using the non-sew heat n bond. Sadly, it did not work, and I had to go back and embroider. It would be such a time saver and help out so many new to amtgarders if the heat-n-bond actually worked through multiple washings.

Sun's Haven Sundress Tunic

This is what I finished today. I had a post earlier about the pintuck pleated wave, so here is the final result. I wanted something halfway between a sundress and a tunic that would be cool to fight in when it is 110+.

The pintucks act a lot like elastic, which makes it fit comfortably snug. It does not fall on my like it does on the dummy. I had a double mastectomy, so it hugs my boobless chest and then flows out much like a baby doll dress.

I gave couching a try as well. Couching is where you use embroidery to sew a thick thread/yarn/ribbon/etc. to the project. In this case I used a variegated #9 pearl cotton to attach a maroon polyester twill tape (I was out of ribbon, so twill tape will do in a pinch). 

 

The applique features my park's heraldry. It is the first time I tried using the stained glass quilting technique on clothing.

I wanted to try making a houppelande trim, so I created a pattern that nestled in on itself and then got two trims from one piece of cloth. I cut it on the bias so that it would accommodate the curves of the tunic's hem.

I finished with a pair of capri pants with the same houppelande. I was hoping that the dual colors would help make the outfit look like garb rather than like a sundress.

100 Posts

This is post 100, so it just feels like I should do something different. I was going to do a top 10 list, but I couldn't pick only 10 and doing many categories was clunky, so I've decided that I am going to post a random selection of my favorite projects.

This was my first and only scrap quilt. It is queen sized, and I really enjoyed making it. I have plenty of scraps and really should make another. I donated it to the Joyful Heart Foundation.

This quilt (which I use for my background) is a mini quilt and is only 6" by 8". I loved the fabric and loved how it turned out framed. This one was also for the Joyful Heart Foundation.

This was a baby quilt for a first time mom who wanted to have something in gray and lavender that was somewhat inspired by India. I loved that it was such a non-traditional baby blanket, and I went overboard on making it perfect. This may be my all-time favorite thing I've made.

Like the mini quilt, I just love this color combo. I thought this purse turned out really nice with all the extra embroidered details.

I've been meaning to post this, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Landscape quilting is rather different from normal applique, and I always wanted to try it. I really love doing it, and this may also be one of my all time favorite things.

This was the first time I tried doing applique on a tunic. It was in an auction for Darkmoon, and I still need to give a post for it.

Stained glass quilting is super cool, and I love the look. I am also a huge fan of Celtic knotwork.

 I loved that these wings used so many different skills. It isn't often that basket weaving, crocheting, beading, wood carving and floral all go together. It was a fun and imaginative project.

I haven't posted these yet either. They are spell balls made by using the Temari hand embroidered method. It has become a new favorite craft for me.

During chemo, I spent a fair amount of time doing zentangles. It was about the only thing I had the energy to do because even holding a needle and cross stitching was too hard and took too much brain power to count. I have a book full of tangles, and this was my favorite.

This was my very first super mini quilt. I wasn't even sure it would work. I love the colors and how they blend, so I ended up making this quilt 3 times... once as a tester wall hanging, once as a king sized bed quilt and finally as this super mini sample.

This was not my first wedding dress, but it was the first time I set out to make a wedding dress. The other wedding dress I made surprised me. I made the dress and found out later that she liked it so much she got married in it. This wedding dress was really fun. It isn't too often that a bride is so interested in having that much color. I really love how it turned out, and she was thrilled.


It is so hard to just stop there, but there are just too many things that are cool.

Best of the Best ~Old Garb Part 6

A week before Rakas, I learned that there was a contest called the Best of the Best where you can enter only one item. I thought I should give it a try, so I made this dress in about 30 hours.

It is all one piece, with a grey liner.

 I took the time to hand embroider the diamonds and pearls across the top.

 Gauntlets attached by ribbons.

The back. The bullion fringe is  a little annoying because it is not colorfast. I discovered this when I spilled coffee on the dress as I was working on it. So, in the future, Dry Cleaning!