A Wreath from Hands!

Has anyone ever made a Holiday Wreath out of a child's hands?

This was a lot of fun!

I traced my nephew's hands onto fusible web backed fabric (8 times) and ironed them into a circle.  Then I added some red berries and a bow.  Instant quilt wreath!  

:)

I honestly can't remember where I got the idea.  I do know I didn't work off of a pattern. 

Instead of a traditional zig zag or a blanket stitch I used a crazy free motion stitch to fill in the wreath around the hands.

It was all sort of improvised but I was happy with the results!!!

Happy Quilting!

Oh, you probably can't tell but I'm posting this at 12:30 am.  I shouldn't have had that soda with dinner.  Whoops!  Too much caffeine late in the evening!!  :)

Heather

Renovated Quilting Room!

Since I knew I was close to leaving my job, I started a renovation of my quilting room a couple of weeks ago.

 

I knew I wanted more storage that also looked nice.  I was VERY tired of not being able to find anything and the uncomfortable clutter associated with keeping so much on the floor.

 

Yuck!  This was no way to work and expect productivity. 

 

 

So…I knew what I wanted.  I just needed to make it happen.

 

I went to Lowe’s and got the necessary shelving materials. 

 

Here’s the start of my shelving.  I did the work myself!

 

 

Here’s what the shelves looked like once I moved everything back into the room.

Whew!  It was a bit of work!  This was the first time I have put up shelving.  I am SO HAPPY with the results!

 

Here’s what my “Wall of Rulers” looks like.  Oh my gosh, I can now find a ruler when I need it!

 

And here’s what the room looks like all put back together!  It is such a TREAT to use this room!

 

 

 

I think I have finally found the best way to utilize the space in this small room.  I just realized, I don’t have any pictures of the “fabric closet” or the design wall. I’ll have to include those later.

 

Woo-Hoo!  I’m LOVING this room!

It’s Time for Easter Dog Collars!

I know it’s not Easter yet but I’m so excited because I am WAY ahead of the game!  Most of the time I’m scrambling a week before the holiday hits.  I stay up late at night with a general feeling of crankiness at the amount of work I still have to get done.

That’s no good- this is supposed to be FUN!

 

If you remember from my last post, here are the fabrics I chose for Easter.

 

The part of the collar that takes the most work is turning the fabric into the long “strap” or “band”.  Adding the hardware is actually the shortest step.  Here are some of the smaller sizes of collars made into bands, already Scotch guarded and ready for the hardware.

My dogs tend to get dirty so the Scotch guard is a must!

 

 

 

I love these fabrics….so cute. 

 

 

 

Next step…assembling the finished product!

Another Custom Order

I mentioned in my last post that I recently got a request for dog leashes. This prompted me to get busy and figure out how to make them. Turns out it was an easy process once I knew where I was going with it!


I’m excited to make more leashes for my upcoming shows this year. I’m committing to doing at least one dog related show a month starting in May. I’ve got a couple on my radar but need to find others. This will be fun but I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me designing the booth and getting the necessary supplies not to mention making a LOT of collars!

The shows will mostly take place in warmer months and outside so I’ll need an overhead “tent” (don’t know what else to call these things). I’ve seen plenty of them at craft shows, now I need to figure out where I can get a reasonably priced one.
Anyone know?


Another recent special order was for a pair of greyhound collars. In addition to the buckle collars, I also make martingale collars which are great for dogs with heads smaller than their necks. The sizes I had in stock at a local store weren’t quite what these customers were looking for so I made 2” wide bands in much smaller lengths. Presto- Greyhound Collars!

Here’s what they looked like. The customers picked out the fabric.

There’s an extra collar in there, the red one with the birds was also requested by the store.

Next post, my St. Patrick’s Day collars!! They’re SOOOOOO cute!