Three Purses

  Three Purses

       It was so much fun to English Paper Piece these 3 panels.   Clamshells and hexagons are fun to work with and in my imagination I saw them as cute purses.    The fun stopped when it was time to attach handles to them and make actual purses.  I hemmed and hawed on what to do and eventually hung them with my other WIP's (works in progress) until inspiration came.  There they remained.  Sigh. 

     Today is the day I am going to finish all three of them!   

Purse #1 - I am attaching to a tote that was purchased at Target for $1.99 (in their front of the store bins) because then I don't have to make any handles.

Purse #2 - I purchased 2 handles at JoAnn's for $4.95.  I decided to just use one of the handles and attach it on the sides of the purse.  

Purse #3 - I decided to make into a pillow! 

Unframed Embroidery

Isn't it fun to finish those projects that somehow never were completed when they were first started?   
I was excited to finish 3 embroidery projects at my house this week!   

After an embroidery is completed, the next question is how to frame and hang it.   The three options I considered were:

 framing, hooping or using bias tape.

1. Framing: Okay, so I already have lots of framed pictures around the house and didn't feel like spending money on more.   Plus, that hard and defined look is not what I was going for.    

FRAMING

2. Hooping:  Hooping is popular right now and can be very cute.   My three projects were the wrong shape, though. 

  3.  Bias  Tape:  This seemed like the right answer.  Bias tape is inexpensive and can be purchased in all kinds of colors and patterns.  It is a narrow strip of fabric that is cut at a 45 degree angle from the selvage edge of the fabric.  It has been folded into the center, so there are no raw edges to deal with.   It is very easy to make your own bias tape.    

  Here is an excellent tutorial with pictures and instructions on how to make your own. 

Below are pictures of my 3 finished embroidery projects, framed with bias tape.  It was easy and fast to attach the tape. The tape was attached to the front with my sewing machine and then simply blind stitched on the backside. 

It gave me a result with a softer look, than either the frame or hoop would have given me.  

Coats and Coverings

I was surprised to learn from my favorite blogger Flossie Teacakes, that a majority of people really don't care if most things around the house have a label slapped on it.    I am one of those odd people that notices things like that.  I will be happily washing my hands and my eyes will inadvertently wander to the DIAL label on the plastic soap bottle.    I want to stash the little bottle under the sink so I don't have to stare at it!

Not only that, sometimes you have to live with a color that you would never choose.  Purple, orange  and yellow are not colors that I have ever decorated with.   Yet those are the colors that seem to crop up on tissue boxes and even vacuum cleaners.  

I love the look of glass jars filled with rice, flour or even laundry detergent.  It brings me genuine pleasure to pour honey or maple syrup into a shiny glider bottle.  Some things are easy to decant but others are easier, just to cover.  
 So next, enters the lure of the donning of coats on various items.   Tumblers are an easy fit.  The fussy cutting is fun and a little quilting makes them sort of puffy. These below are 1 inch tumbler paper pieces sewn into strips.  Four strips cover a tissue box rather nicely.

   Watch out though, because donning coats on things can get pretty addictive!   There is the added portability benefit of grabbing this project for a trip in the car, too.   Friends seem to like them for presents - so it's all good.   For now, I will keep my needle, thread and tumbler handy and ready to grab and go.

What to Put Inside?

Do you ever start sewing but have no idea what you are going to do with it?

Then I got an idea and found a helpful tutorial Thank you, Craft Couture!

I found the purse clasp at Michaels for $2.99!  

And looked through my scraps and cut out this linen piece, for the other side.  

Now, what to put inside??

Nickles & Dimes

Description

‘Nickels & Dimes’ is Sandra Boyle’s, of Everyday Quilts, new pattern published in January 2018.
In Sandra’s wonderful style of scrappy quilts this is a great pattern to use lots of pieces of your favourite fabrics to create your very own. Sandra’s quilt measures 76.5 inches square, made up of blocks that measure 8.5 inches square. You can make your quilt to the size you desire by the number of blocks you want, more or less !
This is a great quilt for using small pieces of fabrics !
The pattern comes with the template needed to cut your fabrics !

Animals To Mark Your Page

Having fun making little bookmarks today.  Do you think these would be a cute present to give, with a favorite book?

The small ones are 1/2" hexagons and the larger are 3/4".  They are fast and easy.  Five hexagons are hand sewn together in a row.  The back side is felt that was attached around the edges with my sewing machine.   

Wouldn't they look cute tied in with ribbon on top of a present with a book inside?  or just tucked inside a birthday card?    Watch out though, it is hard to make just one!

Hexie Love

  

        Do you sometimes find your hands idle and wish you were creating something?   Maybe something to do while waiting at the doctor's office or watching TV?  

I personally like working with hexagons because of the immediate reward they give.  It is very self satisfying to spend just a few minutes basting - and ta-da, you have something cute!

Hexagons are the perfect "grab and go" project.  I like making up zip lock bag kits ahead of time, to throw in my car's glove box or behind a couch cushion.  Then, I just grab it to start sewing while I watch CNN or waiting in my car for someone or something.  

If you have never worked with hexagons before, they are easy peasy. 
The blog, PrettyByHand, has such a nice tutorial.  If you need hexagon templates, you can find some different sizes here.

Color Attraction

     
What makes a person find themselves attracted to certain colors while at the same time, disdaining others?   I wonder why.    
     My mother recently redid her condominium and chose the colors green, grey and purple.   It sounded strange and I was not so anxious to see how it turned out. 

 
When I finally did visit, I liked it much better than I thought I would.  At the same time, I knew I would never choose the same color palette.  There is just something about green and purple used together, that does not appeal.
    

 

I  have always loved  white and the color green together.  But lately I have been attracted to the color scheme of blue and pink, especially in a bedroom.  It seems to be popular now, especially in Scandinavian countries.  I am attracted to the simple look they have adopted.     

It use to be that a couple would save up, and purchase a "bedroom set".  The bed posts, armoire, nightstands and dressers would all be made out of the same wood, stained with the same shade.   That mode of decorating has somewhat  gone away.  I say, "Good riddance"!  

 Cath Kidston, the English designer, has been responsible for some of the changes made in home decor.   She goes for bare wooden floors,  flowers, birds and little chippy cups.  Her way of  thinking, is mine, too.  Her items bring a little ray of happiness, wherever they are  placed.  

        I once read that when decorating, think of your home as a landscape.  Just as you would look out of a window to see a beautiful scene in nature that feeds the soul, so should the inside landscape of a house be.  

 

    Ikea is another huge success story and has changed the landscape in many households.   Their philosophy consists of, "change it up and make it yours".   It is fun to have a home reflect the love and interests of the owners who occupy it.  In our home it consists of quilts,  many books, animals, vintage samplers and items brought back from England, our favorite place to travel.
   

    William Morris said,   'Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.'  If you believe that life is short and meant to be enjoyed, this is an important philosophy.  
 HERE IS THE LINK TO GIVE CREDIT FOR THESE PICTURES.