work in progress - quilted placemat

I feel like a rebel quilting in darker thread than the quilt squares. To quilt in a lighter colour seems more normal. An interesting experiment, which I haven't decided if I like or not. 

random fiesta

My apples needed going in a bowl.. so this little "scape" came to be... I'm sick, I really like the apricot in this..

kanzashi flower broach

This was fun and quick to make using a kanzashi flower maker from Clover - way easier than i thought it would be. It isn't quite done - just needs a backing on it and a broach clip but that part is easy. I'm really happy how it turned out through my choice of fabric, from the scrap bin, was a little chintzy. Still I have some pink tops this will go nicely with

Next up one in red with a black centre as an alternative to a remembrance day poppy as i always seem to lose those so quickly. 

my halloween purse

Yes, I really made myself a Halloween purse. So its silly for a grown woman to have a theme purse and so what I can only use it between Thanksgiving and Halloween.....

 My friend Bonnie who blogs at Jasper's Gems mentioned a blog she was reading that had a challenge going on to make a vintage halloween  piece of jewellery. Well making jewellery didn't appeal to me but I thought why not make a bag.... hence my having a Halloween purse

The bag is made of material that is from a jacket I wore when many sizes bigger - the very thought is haunting. The inside is a vintage sheet I thrifted and the other emblishments are some dyed delicate crochet work that reminds me of my Nan - though its not her crochet work ... i'd not cut that up.

purselete bag

I saw a picture of the purselete bag on the  make something's blog and couldn't resist - the size looked perfect for tossing into my tote bag and grabbing when running into a store. So i ordered the pattern, produced by Fig Tree quilts.

It went together easily enough but I'd have liked more pictures of the various steps - I'm still not sure I did it quite right but .. hey it turned out pretty cute. I really should write Fig Tree and see if they have a more indepth tutorial than is provided in the pattern. The halloween bag i posted a few days ago is based on the same pattern but with a slightly different handle.

Bag

I am trying not to buy fabric but i couldn't resist this. Bought and made today. Had the fun of using a friend's serger so things went together fast .. okay all except the bias binding. I'm still not a dab hand at them. But this fed my creative need tonight nicely.


I'm going to enjoy using this at the store way more than those yucky "let us advertise the grocery store for free bags" or those "wonder if it will get the groceries home" bags.

Do you have some fun vintage sheets or other large pieces of material you want to keep but don't necessarily need it in its present form? Why not consider making a bag out of it? Fun, green and a nice way to use something that would otherwise be tucked in the back of the closet. 

Recent Creativity

 Gathered clutch from noodle-head

purselete

One of these is the lil pouch from noodle-head - the other is a generic pouch.

Playing with Fiesta

 Playing with dishes is fun when one has insomnia.

The first cloth was a gift from a friend. I love polka dots. Note the combination of Kitchen Kraft, vintage fiesta, square fiesta. It looks black in the photo but the dark plate is actually chocolate.

The second tablecloth was thrifted from a Salvation Army store in Ohio - the fiesta is a combination of P86 yellow, scarlet, black and grey, with one sunflower plate thrown in for fun.

My first try at a buttercup bag

I made this buttercup bag by Rae for the first time. The material is cute and i'm happy about the i selected for the lining.  The instructions are written up well.

Thoughts for changing this if i make it again. 

1) The straps need something - interfacing .. something.. 

2) I think I'd prefer detachable or attached differently straps .. longer .. thinner. 

3)  consider a zipper or doing the lining in two parts with the fashion fabric on both sides. 

4) i used a heavier lining fabric but the quilting weight exterior fabric needed some more body - interfacing there would likely have made a nice difference - or a home dec fabric vs a quilt weight fabric. 

Don't get me wrong i like the bag, i just would like to tweak it. Hey its a miracle i didn't tweak it already. 

I may leave it how it is or redo the straps.. not sure.

refashioned earrings

These originally started their lives as clip on earrings with a few modifications.

Purr Pads for Cats

I'm a volunteer with  Annex Cat Rescue. One of our big projects right now is a TNR program. TNR stands for Trap Neuter/Spay Release. Cats in the colonies we care for are trapped, spayed/neutered and given any needed medical attention. They then go to a recovery home until they are well enough to return to the colony from which they came. Feral cats who have lived outside their entire lives are wild animals and don't want a lot to do with humans.

And we don't desert them when they go back to their colonies. We feed them regularly (daily or every other day) and keep a close eye on them in case they might need medical attention. They are quite happy when we feed them and provide them fresh water but for the most part that's all they want to have to do with us. They are never too thrilled about being caught nor about the medical treatment we get for them. However the average lifespan of a feral cat is 4 years. I'm happy to say the feral cats in our colonies are healthy and often live to double the average lifespan of a feral cat - if not even a bit longer.

Of course any strays or tame cats we catch during this process do not go back into the cat colonies but get put into our foster program and we look for forever homes for them. We also put any young kittens we catch in our foster program and find them forever homes - thus saving them from a hard life on the streets.

I have been on a mission to cull down my fabric stash and clean out my linen closet. I have some still very warm but "too warn out for the bed" polar fleece sheets - the ones that make you feel like you are sleeping in a soft fuzzy warm cocoon. I've taken a double layer of these and some quilt fabric I'm not likely to use for anything else (quilt fabric with grapes is not my style but i got it for a song at the Salvation army), and made a purr pad. I'm hoping to make enough of these for our recovery homes who want them. So their cats have a nice pad to snuggle up on that can easily be washed and that will fit nicely in their recovery crate.

Here is the first one I've made. I'm hoping to make the next one a wee bit more square but I'm sure the cat won't mind. The wonkiness however just makes me want to cringe. Still its the right size and I'm not going to let that deter me. I can make non wonky quilts surly i can make a non wonky purr pads. Too late to make one tonight to prove it though.

Mug Rug and Fiesta

A coaster just hasn't been cutting it on my bedside table so I made a tiny "mug rug" quilt  (a.k.a. placemat). It holds a fiesta fruit bowl and a mug just perfectly! The mug rug is far from perfectly crafted but its perfect for what I want it for!

Stacked coin baby quilts with different sashing.

I bought a honey bun of moda swanky last summer. One day cruising on the web and was inspired by the stacked coins baby quilt tutorial  to make a coin quilt - found out I actually had enough material to make 2 .. so did one with white sashing and one with black sashing.

For the same pattern and materials, other than sashing, its amazing how different they look.

Add capti

 

 

 

on

A simple bracelet

I wear a lot of grey and got it in my head to make a simple bracelet.

Not exciting at all. 

Bracelet Redo

Before - a bracelet bought on ebay. Missing a stone.

 

After - the plastic blue beads replaced with Aurora Borealis rhinestones. I love how this highlights the intricate metal work on the bracelet. And now I can pretty much wear it with anything.