Friday Feature: Fingerless Gloves

I had a new love this Fall...fingerless gloves. They are so darn cute. And perfect for those morning walks when it was chilly but not cold & frozen...like now :P

This first pair is from Viola Vintage. Their specialty is "vintage inspired custom made wedding and bridesmaid dresses, 1940s wiggle dresses and 1950s dresses in natural fabrics, silks, cottons, linens and wool mixes." I got lucky and nabbed these a while back. I just love them!

And be sure to check out her Eco-friendly hippie couture shop, Jorja Clare.

Then we have these upcycled cashmere beauties from Cashmere Deja vu. There are still some arm warmers available in her shop if you are looking for some of your own.

You know I could not resist these lovely Jayne inspired wrist warmers from Whitaker Knits.

I even got my son a pair to match his Jayne hat from Ma Cobb's Hat Shoppe :)

Even now they rock when going out. I can wear them indoors to stay a touch warmer while still having use of my fingers. And looking super cute!

Rectangular Ginger Dots

I really liked that first square basket with the round abstract floral applique thingies. So I cut out a few more baskets, 2 smaller and rectangular & 2 larger square.

I have the rectangular ones completed. They are just the right size for pens & pencils to fit longwise. This is one of them...the two look similar.

And then there are the 2 larger ones, which should be done today. I'll post the whole set when they are all complete :)

Big Thanks

Big thanks to my Carried Away Team for posting up my yellow painted tote as the Bag of the Week. Tee hee!! *cartwheel* Made my day! And makes me feel better about making more - only smaller, unless custom - this spring.

This pink one of mine was the first of this "line"...it has changed up a bit with time.

What's Next?

Every year at this time people come together with one common goal...goals. I do not care for "resolutions", but goal is okay. Or game plan. Or even just "I wanna do this".

I have done a "what to keep" before and I actually did better with it than I thought. Not everything made it into the shops and not enough left to show much of a difference in styles. But it was there.

This year I am cutting back even more while expanding. The cut backs are bag styles and the expanding involve non-bag items. I wrote more detail about it on my other blog. Her I am just showing off the examples of what will be continued.

This sketch is a quilt I want to make...or wall hanging or table runner. I am not sure how large I am going to make it just yet. But it does represent something new I want to do. Although it shows it rather faintly...

Pink Paisley Dervil

Dervil? Yes, Dervil. Almost a devil but not quite.

I feel good that I am feeding the hungry stuffies. Someone asked me what they are for...selling or keeping. I am thinking sell. Otherwise my home will be quickly over run.

Now if they meant what do you use them for, um, well, nothing. They are just cute little buddies to have around. Although I have been using one as a pin cushion.

Don't worry, he wasn't harmed :)

Mini Squishee

I said I would get to their buddies and I have. Last night was busy with my son's new bed, but I did sit down to make this little guy.

The original idea was to attach a loop so he could hold keys or hang on a backpack zipper or something. In the end I decided not too, he's just a tad too big.

Of Jellies and Squishees

Say hello to Orange Jelly and Purple Tie Dye Squishee. See, he's waving hi. How sweet.

These guys have been sitting around for ages waiting for me to finish them off. I don't know why exactly I put it off. I guess just because they were for the heck of it and that kind of thing just keeps getting shelved.

So after over a year, yes, a year, of the Orange Jelly slowly being built - he is done and stuffed. And stuffed he is. It took a lot to fill him up. Hungry guy. Guess that's what happens when you aren't fed for more than a year.

And his little buddy has been waiting for quite some time too. Although he sat nearly complete after just one session on the couch. All he needed last night was a final fill and stitch. He sure looks happy about it too.

Next up - finish Squishee's relatives that are waiting in a pink bin on the shelf. Okay guys, I hear ya...I'm coming....

First Use for the Circle Cut Outs

I was going to be making a new batch of fabric baskets...different sizes and shapes. So I decided to decorate some with the circles from the pillows. I love when flowers are done with simple shapes.

Add some stitching to the edges so they don't fray away to nothing and viola! Floral theme. And I love me a little raw edge fray :)

These are pretty small. Perfect for desk tops and vanities. I tossed in a few things to give an idea of size.

Now I have the rest of the bunch to do. 2 larger, 2 medium, 2 rectangular and 1 an in between rectangular size. Oh, and coasters from some cut outs from the basket. More cut outs :P

...again, the colors were too washed out or too, um, off...the last pic shows it best.

Finished Off the Ginger Dot Pillows

It took more than the weekend to finish off these pillows. Not much more, just a couple days. A couple days home with a little boy who had an upset tummy. Poor little guy.

They turned out cute. The pics don't quite capture the colors, but it is close. Taking pics of some yellows and reds don't work well in my home. Maybe it's the green walls?

Anyway...they fit the 14 inch inserts pretty well. I did have to adjust one to fit better.

And bonus with those couple extra days...I came up with some solids ideas for the leftover circle cut outs. I'll get those photoed and edited for tomorrow.

Question for you: Do you prefer your pillow covers with a zipper or envelope style?

Wordless Wednesday

"Balancing Act"

Winter in Style

Winter in STyle

Curated By: tiltcreations

ArtFire.com

Vintage Fashion

Ginger Dot WIPs

I started back up with some more pillows. Actually, I started back up to finish off the remaining pillows I had cut a while back. Either way - I am sewing again :)

These are not yet complete, but I should be able to get to them this weekend.


The lining is a nice spring yellow. And looking outside right now, it looks like Spring...wet and dreary :P

And did you notice the closure? I decided to go with a zipper this time. Why? Just because.


And now for one of the reasons why it is still a WIP (work in progress)...it started out having stacked circles appliqued (kind of) to the front. But it just did not look right.


So now I have these stacked circles. The question is, what will they become? I am leaning towards hair stuff (headbands most likely), accents for a table runner edge or a cute decoration for the front of a burlap fabric basket.

Any other ideas or opinions on what the could morph into?

Wordless Wednesday

Holiday Craft Gifts

First up - for my niece and nephew. My sis-in-law told me that they have their own table top trees this year. It was her idea for tree skirts....one I thought was just perfect. Funny thing is, I had just made a treasury post of some lovely full size versions I found on Etsy.

These were what I came up with...the red one for her & blue for him.



Second...through 18th....
I was browsing around online & found these cute little fabric stacking trees on The Small Object. And the tree skirt fabric bits were just perfect for this project. I gave out a tree to each family at the Xmas Eve get togethers.

As much as I love them, I will have to make a small change if I make them again...sturdier fabric. The solid color fabrics I used were too flimsy to hold up well. I suppose I could just use a fabric stiffener along the bottom edge if I had to. And I am sure to make them again - they were too cute & simple not to!

Happy Holidays

Ho Ho Ho..."MY" tree...the Whedonverse tree...
thanks to all the great participants of the Buffyfest Ornament Swap these past 3 years :)

Wordless Wednesday

Bye Bye Buffy

It was a little hard to package this one up. Every time I check my shop and see this red bag still there, I wonder if I should keep it for myself. I just love it. And I put so much into it. But it has gone off to a new home. I hope it is a happy place. Full of fun & whimsy :)

I also had to say goodbye to these pretties...

I wondered if she had been to the sale in Ypsilanti at the Riverside Arts Center since she lives about one town over. I suppose I could ask, but it'd be weird to bring it up now that I have already acknowledged the order & thanked her.

I must admit - I needed that. It is easy to get discouraged...especially when I haven't been producing as much as I would like. This little boost and the spark I am feeling lighting up inside...I have a good feeling for next year. Here's to creating!

Holiday Sale a Success

These are some of the things that sold during the past 2 weekends at Riverside's Holiday Sale in Ypsilanti. I consider the sale a success because, well, I sold stuff. Which is the whole point. Would I have liked to have sold more? Of course. Am I happy with what sold? Of course.

Now...what to do with the rest? Aside form relist in my shops...of course.

I have been enjoying the pillows and such I have been making. And the embroidered ornaments. So I know I will continue with these and add the quilts & such I planned on. But as for the bags...I need to decide which I will make more of and when. Maybe one batch of home goods, then a batch of embroidery pieces, then bags and repeat.

Someone had pointed out to me that I should be sure to point out just how few of each bag design I made as this only helps to support the one-of-a-kind aspect...and thus lends itself to higher price points without further explanation. She may be right. Where I see a mish mash, she saw a sea of unique items screaming "buy me - no one else will ever have the same one". I like that :)

I need to actually sew more to achieve this. It'll help. Need to wait for a non-snow day though :P

Scribble Tree

I got the first one down, many more to go. This is what I made from those sketches last week. I think I will be spending my evenings embroidering. What am I going to do with them? Not entirely sure. It is a bit too late for listing them in the shop. I suppose I could keep them around for a fun Christmas in July sale. But I am sure some will find their way to my tree & some family trees also.

Now to decide how to finish them off...glue the excess fabric to the inside of the hoop? Most likely. And I will probably keep the hoop bare & natural rather than trim it with a ribbon. But after inserting a thick paper backing with a date so I remember when I made them :P

Wordless Wednesday

a peek of what I am up to at home