Blue Flower Skirt

This was a quickie skirt I made. I had a customer at work offer me this huge amount of leftover fabric that she had... this was one of the many cute prints.

I actually really like this skirt, but it didn't take more than an hour to do. It's a basic elastic waist, with two side seams. All of them are reinforced though, so there are no raw edges anywhere to be seen. The bottom white trim was actually made from a pillow case that I cut up. I didn't like the feel of it on my head so I just cut up the one I hadn't used. Gave a really crisp feel at the bottom and holds the skirt stiff there which is cool.

So without further ado, the skirt - plus some fun shots where I got carried away jumping. Tried to show off how it puffs out. ;o)









Weeeee!


Don't ask how many times I tried that shot... my legs are stiff from landing in heels! XD

Blocks Apron

Cute little apron that reminds me of cupcake sprinkles! The perfect thing to bake while wearing this!

Patchwork Skirt

This was my large item for MareMare in the Make-A-Friend swap. It took a serious amount of time to sew, putting together the layers, and using a gathering technique to get that little ruching effect. I also had to reinforce the stitches after a certain incident... But they're all very strong seams. Vertical and horizontal.

I love the little house on the prairie feel that this has. Kind of a Cutesy-Shabbyness to it.

Travel Kit

I made this travel kit for MareMare. She's my partner in a swap, and about to go on vacation! So it was perfect timing.

The kit includes two luggage tags, a passport jacket, and a little wallet to hold cards. All in a cute matching fabric!



Luggage tags:


Passport jacket with her name stitched into it:


Wallet with room for 6 cards:

Sloth Art Quilt

Somewhere in the depths of the jungle, the branches climb ever higher.
Reaching towards the sky they compete for the warmth of the sun.
A breeze blows, brushing the leaves side to side.
A heavy, humid, sweet smelling air rustles through the fur of a particularly sleepy fellow...


"Ahhhh, I could lay like this all day!"

(See it big)


Great idea! Let me paint you while you're at it! With thread that is...

This is a close up of his little leg. I used a satin stitch around his outline, and I used a technique called 'thread painting' to do all the shading in there. Basically, I just set the darning foot on it and go all over the place with thread as if I were sketching.

"Pleased to meet you! *shakes paw*"



I did this for the tree as well. I wanted to show a little depth by using a darker and a lighter colour on each side.



His face in close up actually [i]feels[/i] pretty neat to touch. This is all free hand as well. Sometimes I loaded the machine with two threads at once to give him an extra fuzzy layered look. I think it creates the depth that I wanted.

"See, it really does just take eating and sleeping to make a happy life."



All of the leaves are 100% unique - no two are the exact same! Like snowflakes, but in the jungle! ;) They are all quilted to make them extra thick, then I attached them one at a time to give a full layered look.


(Click thumbnails too see larger images)


I wanted to give the sloth and the tree branches a poofy hug-able look, so I used invisible thread to go around them. It's kind of, well, invisible on the front, but you can see the effect from the back.

"HEY! Are you showing them my bum?! You better not be showing them my bum!"




This was definitely a fun project. It was for the Friends of Craftster Wist Swap. My partner Sloth003 named him Monsieur Sloth upon receiving him. It was inspired based on the fact that she obviously loves sloths, and that she had seen a project on here that was art quilt of trees that she really loved. I wanted to create something special, a mascot for her if you will, that she can enjoy as decoration all the time.

I'm starting to notice a theme in art quilts that I've made. The last one was a manatee, this one is a sloth, I wonder if I'm starting to have a certain affection for animals that just don't get enough attention. I kinda like that it's becoming a "thing" that I do. haha!

Anywho, here's Monsieur Sloth again, signing off. Because, well, he's kinda tired from showing off his schmexy lil' bum to all of you!

"Ahhhh, I could lay like this all day!"

(See it big)

Pictures of Vincent

I received some thank you pictures from my boyfriends cousin Cynthia! She put the overalls I made Vincent for Christmas on him and took some shots. Such a cutie!

Ni Apron - Version 2

This is the second version of the Nights Who Say Ni! apron. It's got a more square, modern look with straight lines. (The first was rounded and frilly.)



It also has a different design on the pocket! (Which is bigger and in the centre this time.) Notice their revised battle call at the bottom! haha! I love that part.

We are no longer the NIGHTS WHO SAY NI!!

Orange Skirt

I made this circle skirt for someone, and it turns out it didn't fit. I was so sad! I really love it, it's full and fun, and makes a full circle when you spin! I wanted to re-make it for her or alter it but never heard a response about it. Hopefully she found good use for the fabric and made something she could use. I feel bad about this one, but here's a pic anyway!

Water Bottle Cozy

These things are great for going for a walk or a jog, and can be so stylish! This one is done with the theme of the Spanish Inquisition from Monty Python.



It's quilted for a plush feel that keeps the cold in longer. The applique is of the red uniform from the sketch.

Angry Fruit

These are some fruits with an attitude!

Created by making applique's and also painting for the eyes, and stitching for the details.

THE LARCH Pillows

These are inspired by Monty Python, where a slide projector rolls out a picture of this text, then a picture of a tree. The narrator blandly announces:







I traced in pencil the text, then followed along with a zig-zag stitch for a bold, polished look.
The person I gave these to says she and her husband randomly say this quote to each other. I'm hoping now they'll hold the pillows up like the slide projector while they do it! haha.

Selvi's Bag

Well, my time as Selvi's sponsor is coming to a close. It really deeply saddens me, but at the same time, I'm so happy for her. She's taking entrance exams to teacher training institute. She's really pursuing it. I feel as proud of her as any other family member could, I'm just welled up with happiness. She will make so many lives richer. Everyone please cross your fingers for her. If you are also the praying sort, please say a lil' prayer for her success.

As a graduation present from high school, I'm sending her this bag that I've made from scratch. The pattern is from the book One Yard Wonders. Wonderful book! I don't use patterns often, but there is a lot of great stuff in here. It's something she can use to carry notes and such to and from class. I made it special, not just with her name on it, but I got a friend of mine who speaks Tamil to translate a meaningful quote for me. I used fabric marker to copy it onto fabric and sewed it into the flap of the bag. I want her to see it each time she opens her bag, and realize all the love there is in this world for her.

"What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us. "
-Helen Keller

The intention behind the quote is two fold. I want her to think of the times with her mother, however faded in her memory, whom she lost when she was young. And I want her to also know that even if we're not going to be in contact any more, that she'll always be in my heart.

Frog Mario Pillow

This is a chunky post folks, strap in!

This is one of the biggest undertakings I've done for a swap. This is a revised method to the Megaman Pillow I made for my boyfriend at Christmas. Instead of taking each square, sewing it to the next one, then the next one, then eventually forming a row, where you would then take all the rows and sew them together into columns, pressing open seams each time (which left a bit of a messy look through the semi-translucent fabric), THIS TIME I used fusible web.

For this method, I would line up my squares the way I was going to place them, just like before. But instead of sewing one by one, I got a big piece of white fabric, and I stuck them down on it with the fusible web and an iron. After they were all ironed, I did ONE LONG SEAM across each row, and then when those were all done, I did ONE LONG SEAM along each column.

This meant four key differences in result:

-The fabric wasn't see-through because it had a white backing
-It was SO MUCH FASTER
-It was stronger
-It looked infinitely tidier.

After I had all of this done, I gave him a border, added a back-side, sewed&stuffed him up.
All in all, I think I shaved off a 1/4 of the time that I spent on the first go-around at this.

With all that said, I present Mario in his frog suit, in all his pixelated glory!









All of these are from my 'in-progress' shots. I made sure to take tonnes this time. I hope anyone attempting this type of project finds them useful. Click thumbnails to enlarge.

Layin' out the pieces.








I've been using fusible web and ironing each piece down to the white backing.


It's uh... pretty freakin' huge at this point. Don't panic. It's supposed to be.




Here I'm starting to sew a seam, row by row, to hide the rough edges. This is where the shrinking starts.


Do everything in one direction first. Don't go one vertical, then horizontal, then vertical, etc. Start either vertical and finish across, or horizontal and finish across.




Shrinking! Now that you've gotten everything done one direction, you can go the other way!






Remember how big he was before? This is how much it shrinks!!




Trim the excess crap from the backing piece and give it a proper, clean looking, formal border.


Before Stuffin'.


After Stuffin'!



Et Voila! You now have a beautiful pixelated pillow!
I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see photos of your project if you make one! It would make me super happy to know that I helped someone get inspired. :o)