Picture Change Up

I spent some time last week playing around with my pictures. I have tried in the past to make my backgrounds black & white on GIMP but never got the hang of it. Then last week or so Handmadeology had a quick run through on doing this very thing with Picnik. So easy. I love it.

Now my backgrounds don't look so busy.

I don't mind the cork background, but changing it up with the rest makes for a more uniform look in the shop.

...Or dingy...as in my couch, which is yellow anyway & does not make for a nice backdrop.


...Or just odd when there is too much behind my items and not enough of the stuff to look like an actual something.

I still want to do a total re-shoot of everything (at least for the main item pic).
I get a little wishy washy on the black and white. Sometimes it works better than others.
What do you think?

The Last Diamonds...For Now...

Orange this time. And I thought I'd use it for something Halloweeny. Nope.

And a smaller version in purple...which I still need to make the insert for. I seem to have no problem making the cover for the forms, but the reverse needs some work. I am on my second try to get the insert to fit.

Pink Diamond Pillow

Yes, more diamonds. This time in hot pink. Um, nothing more to say...on to the pics...

Wordless Wednesday

Blue and Green Diamond Pillows

More diamond reverse applique pillows. These two were made with Matelasse like my first yellow one. The green one has pink and yellow stitching, although the yellow is difficult to see in this pic.

And the back...

The blue...with a too bright flash that washed out the color. Darn me for finishing the pillow at night :P

And the back side...

I like how these close ups show the stitching. I semi-randomly chose the stitch paths. I like how they run into the other diamond sometimes.

Lime Green Pillow Post-Wash

I made a smallish diamond applique pillow the other week & have been flip flopping on washing it to see how the raw edges react. Well, I think I like it even better now. I know that rag quilts & such need that washing to get the fun fuzzy look, but I was still nervous to try it on my pillow. Why? Dunno. But I like it.

The backside was never quite lined up correctly, so I am not entirely sure if the cover shrunk. But I do not think so. Now I am left with the same question as the blue stripey pillows...to pre-wash or not to pre-wash. Which do you prefer? Washed or unwashed raw edges?

Ocean Blue Stripey Pillows

I made two of these pillows last week using the leftover strips from my drapes. I love the shade of blue for the pillows. I may need to trim down the size just a scooch though. Or not. I suppose it depends on whether or not people prefer tight fitting or loose pillow covers. Well? Opinion anyone? Thanks :)

And this is the backside. I kept with the coordinating cover piece that snaps the overlap. The other pillow has a slightly smaller piece with only 2 strips.

You can see a the window behind the sewing machine that I took the idea from.

Given that the strips had raw edges, I thought I should toss them in the wash to make sure everything held together. I knew I ran the risk of destruction, but I did not want to risk destruction happening to someone who buys it :P I still need to trim the edges, but they turned out great. Well, I like them. But then again, I love the raw edge look.

This is a close up of the rawness. The color is off, but the edges show very well.

So now the question is to pre-wash or not to pre-wash. Perhaps I will not pre-wash and just use these pillows as examples of what the pillow would look like post-wash. And let people decide from there what they want. Depending on how the pillows would be used, they may go ages without a washing, especially if they were more for show than actual use. How often do you have to wash your throw pillows?

Wordless Wednesday

Pillow WIPs

I made a couple diamond reverse applique pillows the other week and decided to make some more. The pink, blue, green & orange will be for a 14" square pillow form while the purple is for a smaller rectangle. Remember that oops of a pillow size I made last time? Well, the purple will be using the first mis-sized pillow form :)


I had some strips leftover from the window coverings I made and decided to make a couple pillows with them. The blue pillow base flows better in person than it does in the pic. Crossing my fingers that once the strips are sewn on that it gives the effect I am picturing in my head.


And lastly, I plan to use this red print for a reverse applique on the olive...but in circles. I think have enough to make matching coasters & a table runner too. Those will come later.

Wordless (kinda) Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Yellow Diamond Trio Pillow

The lime green one turned out all right so I moved on to the yellow. In the correct size this time. I gave it a trio of diamonds this time around. The material is a Matelasse. This material is supposed to be good for throw pillows and it fells nice & comfy. I plan to make more argyle diamond pillows until I use up all the print fabric. I think pink will be next.

I kept the diamond with the snap on the backside also. But with the correct amount of overlap this time. I think the next pillow will get the stitched lines on the diamond too.

Lime Diamond Pillow

I am getting back into the swing of things...but still just for me. Although, this is something I plan to make more of for the shop. For now, it will be a much needed pillow to rest my arm on when I read on the couch. The colors are perfect for our new walls & couch.


The twin lines are supposed to be an abstract'ish argyle...kind of. I do like how it turned out. But I will fess up to a goof. I usually arrange my cut piles in order to be sewn. This pile apparently got knocked over at some point & not put back correctly. I had reverse appliqued AND sewn the argyle lines before I realized that they were put on what was supposed to be part of the back. Oops. I think I was just so excited to sew again that i forgot what size pillow it was supposed to be for. Easy fix though...I just made my own pillow form to fit.

The back side has a simple slit opening, but because of my goof the pieces were not quite wide as I like for the overlap. Solution: Use a snap on an extra diamond pieced onto the overlap.

I chalk this one up as a happy accident. I love the snappy piece on the back & plan to use this idea in the future...but on an opening with the correct overlap :P

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 :)

Wordless Wednesday

Drapery One Done

I made the first drapery based on my mock up yesterday. And I think I like it :)
I do tend to prefer window covering that are not bulky, but I will probably still make another to add to this window. They are thin enough that it won't be bulky. And worst case, I move one to another location. But I do think the drippy strips will work well bunched more, almost waterfall'ish.

That was taken in the morning, so artificial light only. I plan to take another when the sun is out in the evening since the window faces west.

I also want to get a silver rod instead of the white. Hoping to find one today. And then to make matching pillows. See, there's that spinny brain again :P

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

Wordless Wednesday

Gone Longer Than I Thought

It looks like I will be away from this blog longer than I originally anticipated. If you follow my other blog, Crafts, Kids, Home & Life, you know why. Here's a hint if you don't....

Floors & walls...both are looking awesome, but having my whole downstairs redone means little to no time for creating. It will be complete next week, but I expect it'll be another couple weeks until everything is back in it's place & ready to go. So come September & the little guy is in all day Kindergarten...I hope to be showing off some newly made goodies. Until then....