Inspiration

There are a couple gifts I got this Xmas that have gotten my mind rolling a bit with some ideas.

I have embroidery on my list of to-dos this year. And fan based themes are always fun. So expect some Who'isms and Stargate goodies in the sort of near future. And depending on whether or not you travel via Tardis, that could be any time.

The little Lego guys were not part of my gift, but they may still find there way into a frame somehow.

And this watch was for my son. We found it on Think Geek...I just love that place! I now have some math related geekiness swirling too.


Now how soon I get started on creating is yet to be determined. I at least created a Stargate themed blog post. Does that count?
I still have some stuffies to finish, some clothes and new bags to start. But I have started watching the DVDs, so that's something :)

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?

To Be Hooped

I have a bunch of embroidery pieces that I have been, well, procrastinating about. I did turn my skull piece into my purse.

And the Fruity Oaty Bar girls into a pillow (reminder: list pillow in shop).

I think I may just do the rest as wall pieces in the hoop. The crafty bunny is on a silky linen like material and the roses are on silk, which do make better pillows than hoops, but there is not quite enough fabric around the images for that. And if I hoop them, they can always be reworked into something else if someone wants the piece, but in a different form.

Now to decide how to finish them off...paint or wrap or keep the hoop bare? Back it with sewn fabric stretched across or felt or even scrapbook paper stamped & glued on the back? Or maybe a combo of each to see which I like the best :)

Drapery Two...Finally!

I finally got around to making the second drapery for the window at the sewing machine. It is turning out just right light-wise. The sheers are just that, sheer. Which brings in a great amount of light without the glare. I liked the look just fine with one, but two makes it easier to open.

And now I need to move on to the kitchen and/or front room. I think I may have ideas for both. The kitchen may be similar to those I just made, only not sheer and with two "loose" strips to use as tie backs. I even have a set of sheets that have a fun print in the right colors for the strips.

The front...still on the fence. I was thinking of bubbles. Appliqued pieces in various sizes running along the top 1/3 of the curtains. The material for the front room can't be too sheer by request of pretty much everyone in the house. We like to see out, but do not like feeling like we are in a fishbowl as people walk down the street. That is actually what made me think of bubbles in the first place :)

Almost Back

My sewing table is in place. Fabric is once again overflowing my shelves. And ideas are rapidly spinning out of control in my brain. But first things first...my draperies. I will be starting with the "dining room" which is where I sew. There is only one window, so no matching treatments required. Not that I feel the need to match :P

I have a picture in my mind, which I tried to recreate on GIMP. I "plan" to use a basic white linen or something with enough sheer to let light through but not enough to see through clearly. I want to take thin ribbon-like strips of quilting cotton to be both the loops and the applique. They will not be all the same length and will meander on down the length after they make the loops. Does that make sense? No? Guess that is what final pics are for :P




I decided to do a mock up of my mock up...maybe now it makes more sense. The strips will probably be thinner & greater in numbers. I also plan to keep the edges raw for a bit of fray.

I am not sure if I will start this before little guy heads off to school next week. But i do intend to do some more mock ups of ideas...before they spin so out of control that they fly outta my noggin' :P

How Should I Fix This?

I really like this bag - it is just so fun with the sparkly pink kitties. The only problem is how badly I flubbed the handle area. I tried a pink felt overlay...it did not work! So I experimented with more stitching. I figured why not, I was gong to cut it out anyway.
So my question is this: Do I try to salvage the design and recut the handle or take hours to remove the felt & resew another overlay or just chop off the top portion along the bottom curve of the handle and put on straps?
Any other ideas are greatly appreciated.

Addition: After reading some comments that were asking what was wrong because they didn't see the problem...I decided to add these last two pics. And yes, I know I can be a tad picky...aren't we all about our own work? But it's just uneven & kinda shoddy. I have been thinking that I may try to cover it once more with a solid piece & think of the felt as padding or interface :) Worst case - I am back to where I started. And I like the PIF idea if I can't get it the way I like.

This was the first handle of this sort I have tried and the many instructions I have read for this type were all confusing and contradictory. If anyone has seen a clear tutorial please let me know.

Thanks again to all those who responded.