Pushing through my colour boundaries....

 I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that I have my favourite colours that I'm always drawn to when I make, buy or choose something. For anyone who knows me it is fairly obvious that I like all things blue and green, actually I lean towards the blues more but green is often in there too. So when it comes to making things to sell in my Etsy shop I have to really push myself out of my blue and green comfort zone and remind myself that not everyone is a fan of all things blue and green. 

 So this past week I intentionally chose fabrics out of my colour safe zone to make up these nice, bright and happy writing folders/compendiums. Yes I know there is a green one in there :-) but not much blue at all.

 The green one is actually green and brown with a little splash of red and okay just a minor hint of pale blue.

 And here's the inside with lots of pockets for pads and sketch books and pens with not a hint of blue :-)

 Each one has a handmade button like this one on the yellow writing folder/compendium.

 Each compendium is made up of scraps of coordinating fabrics that I then embellish with a variety of machine embroidery stitches in a variegated colour thread.

 For me the fun part of making these compendiums is adding the little details like the different stitches, the pretty ribbon down the centre of the inside and the handmade buttons. All these things do take time but I think that is the beauty of buying handmade items on places like Etsy and Felt. Each item is made with love, care and attention for those all important details that make it unique.

Each of these compendiums can be found here for purchase on my Etsy shop. And if there is a colour I have not made I am happy to make a custom item just for you ;-)

Hand embroidered cushion designs...

Just added to my Etsy shop are these hand-embroidered cushion designs that I've been working on for a couple of weeks now in between other bigger projects. The front one is my favourite with the two "lovebird" centred flowers plus I love the colour combination of aqua blue and grey. It looks quite at home on this chair too ;-)

 I've had a bundle of Kaffe Fassett prints in my stash for a while now waiting patiently for that perfect project to use them in.  Each print is so unique, colourful and bold, that I decided to just add some simple hand-quilting in a variety of colours using some Perle cotton threads to compliment the colours in the prints.

A simple wave pattern was added to this bold tropical flower print which I think is enough to add texture but not too much to take your eye away from the print. While the hand-quilting does take a little more time and effort it does give me something to do at nights while watching TV :-)

Each cushion has a handmade button and loop enclosure on the back using some of the featured print from the cushion fronts.

These cushions are now available for sale here in my Etsy shop

New cushion designs......

 

 For the last couple of weeks I've been working on these new cushion designs for my shop but I kept getting interrupted with 'life'. I've had these designs floating around my head for a while now then I drew them out in a sketch pad and that was as far as I got for a while until the time seemed right to actually make them. 

 I'm really pleased with how they finally turned out and how they evolved further as I made them. I like how the grey background makes the prints pop out. The addition of the little buttons on both these cushions was not in my original design but not a surprising addition since I love buttons in general, you know big, small, new or vintage or whatever....

I did my favourite pebble quilting on this one but instead of circles I did ovals to echo the oval applique's. 

Then on this design I just did random loopy squiggles.  The fabrics are a real mixture of prints but I did start off with some of Sarah Feilke's fabric line "On the Pond" she designed for Spotlight.

And my usual handmade button and loop enclosure teamed with some pretty ric-rac :-) on the reverse.

Handmade button tutorial

Well I had every intention of doing this tutorial last week but last week flew by so here it is today just a wee bit later than planned :-) These buttons are super easy to make but because I'm a visual person I have included lots of photos to make each step clear and easy to follow.

  To make the circles I use my Fiskars circle template that I use for scrapbooking. Love it when my craft supplies have many uses :-)!

On a double layer of your chosen fabric and using a fabric marking pen, draw a circle 1/2 inch bigger than your desired finished button size.You can of course make any size you want which is the beauty of making your own buttons. For this tutorial I have drawn a 1 1/2 inch circle which will produce 1 inch sized finished buttons. I do suggest for your first buttons to make slightly bigger ones as the little ones are just a bit fiddly and tricky when turning and stuffing. 

 Cut out the circle through both layers and with right sides together sew around the perimeter using a very scant 1/4 inch seam leaving a finger width size gap for turning and stuffing, reversing at each end to reinforce the seam ends. Snipping into the seam allowance every 1/4 - 1/2 inch will produce a smoother circle once turned right sides out.

 Finger press the opened seam edges inwards to make it easier to hand sew the opening closed once stuffed.

 Using some polyester stuffing and a stuffing/turning tool fill your turned circles as firmly as you can as this will push out the seam ending up with a more even and smoother circle shape.

 Now I've just included this photo to show you what I use for turning and stuffing. It is simply a thin metal rod on a wooden handle with a slot at the end for turning tubes of fabric for handles etc... It was made by a quilting friends husband and I have had it for over 15 years. It is one of my most used tools so I can thoroughly recommend looking out for one if you don't have a tool similar to this. I'm sure you can buy something similar in a quilting shop.

 Once stuffed, carefully sew up the opening endeavouring to keep the curve of the circle as smooth as possible. I use a ladder stitch for sewing up seams like these as it is almost invisible but also strong. A ladder stitch is made by slipping the needle along and inside the folded edge of the seam then crossing directly over to the opposite side and slipping the needle along and inside of the fold. . I also use a double length of thread and poke or pop the knots through the fabric so they are buried inside the button/stuffed circle.

 Here is my tiny little sewn up button which doesn't look perfectly round does it but not to worry because the next step of adding the perle thread will cover up any imperfections ;-) The smaller the button the harder it is to get it looking perfectly round ...

 Using a 10 to 12 inch length of  perle cotton tie a single knot in one end and poke your needle through the middle of the button as shown in the above photo. Pull all the way through carefully pulling the knot through the first layer of fabric so it is buried in the middle. It should 'pop' through the fabric, just be careful you don't pull too hard and it comes all the way through the other side. This method of burying the knot in the layers is what I use when I'm hand-quilting.

 Wrapping the cotton around half the button bring your needle back up through the middle again.

Keep wrapping the cotton around the button and bringing the needle up through that same middle hole, dividing the circle into 6 even segments.

When I've finished wrapping the perle cotton around I leave the remaining length of cotton attached as I like to use it to attach it to a finished project like a pillow closure here or my Boho bags here.

Hope you have found this tutorial easy to follow and are inspired to make you own buttons for your next project.

Vintage floral boho bags

I've been meaning to do a post about 2 boho bags that I made back in January but kept forgetting to which may have been due to the nice weather we have been having which makes me just want to be outside. For the first time in 2 months it rained here for over 3 hours. It's been so long since we had rain that it seemed quite strange but I'm sure the farmers are pleased with any rain they get and for me it means not having to remember to water the veggie garden. Anyway back to the boho bags! The above one is all for me, that is just me and not for my daughter to "borrow" and not relinquish back :-)

One of my favourite colours is green so this bag goes with a lot of clothes. The main fabric is an old curtain remnant that my seamstress neighbour gave to me so it's the perfect weight for a bag but not too stiff for this type of bag. I used a print by Sandy Henderson for the button and pockets. 

Then for the inside I used a vintage print that I've had for ages (years!) that was passed onto me by an Auntie (another clever seamstress). This print is lovely and soft so perfect for a lining plus I love the contrast between the brown print and green prints. Yep this bag is being well used :-) 

This second bag was made for a friends sister as her birthday present. Once again I used an old curtain remnant from my neighbours stash and contrasted it with 2 different red and white polka dot prints from my stash.

I really like the slightly botanical look to the main fabric on this bag and I think the polka dot prints add a bit of a retro look to it.

The print inside has a slightly raised effect to the simple pattern on it and then the print in the pocket has a slightly botanical look too. Love how prints come together so nicely in a project like this cause sometimes it takes me ages to choose the 'right' combination of fabrics. Sometimes I just wish I was a little more decisive in making my fabric choices :-)

Little birdie cushion....

So here is what I've been working on this week which I actually started 2 weeks ago. Yes it's just a cushion cover not a quilt but that would be because the bird fabric that the circles have been cut from was just a very small piece. I would have loved to have had more of that fabric to make a quilt because it's so cute isn't it. Anyway I've had it for a very long time, you know waiting for that perfect project as you do :-)

I really wanted to make the most of the small amount of the bird fabric and cutting out circles seemed like the best idea although before I quilted it I wasn't quite sure whether I liked it but that pebble quilting has to be one of my favourite ways to free-motion quilt. It really makes those birds stand out don't you think...

For the quilting I used a machine embroidery thread which has a nice sheen to it which I think helps make the design stand out more.

To keep with the circle theme I chose some spotty and dotty fabrics to frame it using a traditional log cabin.

The back is my usual off centre button enclosure but this time I used the handmade buttons and loops that I've been using on these bags and these compendiums. Oh and a little bit of ric-rac too :-)

I kinda like these buttons which I think add a bit of  interest to the back. If you're interested in learning how to make them let me know and I'll do a wee tutorial. I learnt them from a blogger who no longer keeps a blog so I can't give her any credit.

My little birdie cushion cover can be found here for purchase :-)

Custom made......

This is the custom ordered writing/journalling compendium that I've been working on most of the week in between the usual housework, washing, baking, dinner making and keeping my girls happy stuff that happens everyday :-) I have to say I'm really loving how this folder came out and it was a joy to work with these sunny happy fabrics. 

 Inside is pretty much the same as the others except just one pocket for business cards and of course it's 3 big pockets hold the bigger A4 size writing pads/journals.

The back showing some of the embroidery stitches I used to embellish the outside with.

And finished with a handmade button and loop enclosure. I'm going to make an effort to break out of my colour comfort zone of greens and blues and work with this happy colour combo more often I think. 

New additions.....

 Now that the school holidays are over I've been keeping busy designing and sewing new items for my shop. I added these 3 writing/journalling compendiums last week made with some more of those vibrant Bali batiks that I am constantly drawn to work with.

The covers of each one are made up of small pieces sewn together 'improv' style then embellished with various machine embroidery stitches which all takes a bit of time but is one of my favourite steps of making these compendiums up.

Yesterday I received a custom order for one of these compendiums in the colour combo of red/orange/yellow and in an A4 size. I rummaged through my stash and came to the sad conclusion that I did not have enough of those colours in my stash so of course a shopping trip was called for. It just so happens that there is a shop about an hours drive away that stock a wonderful range of true Balinese batiks and at reasonable prices. The shop is called "Wrights fabrics" in Morrinsville and has been around for years and the owners are really friendly and helpful. One of the fabrics that I had chosen had a cut in the middle of it so they gave me extra to compensate along with a further extra piece that had been cut previously but tucked into the roll. Once paid for my fabrics were not stuffed into the usual generic plastic bag but carefully wrapped in good old fashioned brown paper. Love that :-) And now my stash of batiks is much more colour balanced :-)