Confessions of a Craft Addict

Another one checked off my Try It! list! Can a get a wooohooo?

I spent Mothers Day parked in front of my sewing machine (more or less) and this is one of the projects I cranked out. It looks a little sloppy because I need to mount it on the canvas (it’s just taped down right now), so please excuse the not-quite-straight lines and floppy corners.

I have to admit that I was a little nervous about venturing into the world of quilting. I have trouble following directions and the one thing I’m getting about quilting is that it’s vital to be precise. But I thought it out and worked at a reasonable pace, and this is what I created.

No pattern, no directions, just some fabric, trims, photo paper and cotton batting. I used the blank stitch on my sewing machine to sew down the pink panel; I think it’s pretty cool. The photo I tacked down with a straight stitch before adding the trim around the edges. In retrospect, I wish I had used a fusible adhesive first so it would stay nice and flat.

I was a little nervous about the corners, since each of the border pieces overlap. I spent a while trying to figure out that one and ended up leaving a bit of seam allowance open on the first one so I could get the last edge lined up there and that did the trick. (The crochet lace at the top and bottom are sewn in between the pieces.

Really happy with the results and I’m probably even more excited about taking it into the quilt shop this week to show it off.

The inside of my fridge is so shiny and clean.

Empty, too.

Nope, not a fit of spring cleaning. More like a victim of major appliance failure. Yeah, my refrigerator died. We’ve had it less than five years, so I’m a little less than thrilled with this development. I think what bothers me most is having to throw out all that food.  What a waste.

Oh, well. It gave me a chance to really clean the fridge and freezer, right? See that packed shelf on the right? That’s my stash o’ yummy. Pickles, olives, garlic, horseradish and an assortment of hot pepper sauces. One jar actually combines two of my favorites: Wickles (pickles and peppers). (Lightbulb! Now I remember why I’ve got a touch of the heartburn.)

With that chore out of the way, I was able to finish up the gift for Miss L’s teacher. Ca-yuuuuuuttttteeeee! And that’s all I’m sharing right now. You’ll just have to wait for the tutorial. I promise; it’s worth it.

I’m on Honey’s laptop tonight and finally got a chance to see what my blog looks like in IE.

Oh. My. Bob. “Hot mess” doesn’t even begin to cover it. Y’all, I’m sooooooo sorry. As soon as I can get the last of these customs sewn and out the door, I’ll get this messed up. In the meantime, if you download Firefox, it will look much, much better in the interim.

And, of course, there’s always this:

Back when I moved my blog, I gave a little peek at a non-sewing project on which I was working. Boy, that seems like forever ago! Today I finally finished it, as well as a companion piece (of sorts).

“Lovely” (above right) is a 12×12 canvas featuring white gloves and pearls. I soaked a pair of vintage white gloves in a mixture of Mod Podge and water (probably 3-1 ratio) and then squeezed them out and arranged them on the canvas (which already was painted blue). After they were dry, I brushed on a little pearlescent paint to give them a little sparkle. I used the same paint for the swirls and title, and affixed the pearls.

“Fancy” (above left) is another 12×12 canvas. This one is painted a dark/hot pink, which I mixed with a little pearlescent paint to give it a slightly marbled look to the background. The “necklace” is made from faux jewels and embellished with a bit of silver paint. The title and swirl are both chipboard; the letters are embellished with silver glitter and I used just some silver paint on the swirl.

This is my first experiment with this type of mixed-media art and I had loads of fun playing with the different elements. It’s definitely given me a lot of ideas for other works, not necessarily like this but not fabric-based, either. I think anything that inspires me is a worthwhile endeavor.

My sweetie pie cousin and her honey came for a visit again this weekend, this time so we could all go to the RenFest. While the weather has been pretty nice all week, it rained yesterday. On and off. All day.

Any plans I had to take lots of great pictures at the RenFest were dashed, since I didn’t have much interest in ruining my 30D. We did manage to snap a couple of pictures in the parking lot before heading inside. Gotta love that scenic backdrop! LOL!

My cousin does Civil War re-enactments and alos likes to attend the occasional Renaissance festival, so she’s got an extensive costumer wardrobe. I love her pirate ensemble. You can’t see them but she’s got the coolest boots and fishnets on. Her sweetie bought his kilt and sporan during their vacation in Scotland a couple of years ago. He even grew the beard just for the occasion! (It was Scots & Kilts weekend at the RenFest.)

I asked Miss L if she wanted to be a pirate or a princess for the trip. “I want to be a princess pirate,” she declared. A peasant top (from her Halloween costume), pink tiered skirt, sash and flowered crown later — ta da!

And then there’s me, all decked out in my Regency era finest. I have been wanting to do some Regency sewing for some time (and this most definitely will be the first of many for both me and the little missy), and since many people where all kinds of costumed dress at the RenFest, I figured “why not?” The pattern is by Sense & Sensibility; the fabric is a cotton/linen blend from Joann’s. I love it! It’s very comfortable, although I do wish I’d made the sleeve bands just a teensy bit wider. Also, I have not yet made a set of stays for underneath, so I had to wear a sports bra to get the bodice to fit even close to the proper way. Which meant I spent much of the day fighting to get the straps hidden under the neckline.

This was the first time I’ve ever dressed up to attend the Ren Fest and I think it won’t be my last. It was just such fun and really added to the experience. I’m already thinking ahead to next year and what I can make for the kids to wear. Now if I can just get Honey to agree to wear a kilt …

Earlier this year, I won a giveaway at The Domestic Diva’s blog, the vintage sewing box shown above. I was thrilled because I thought the box looked super cool and I :heart: Lisa. I could not have known that what would be arriving on my doorstep was nothing short of magical.

Seriously. You are looking at a magic box.

I don’t know how she did it but Lisa filled the box with things I did not know I needed at the time. Every time I realize I need something, I simply open up the box and it’s there. For instance, I know I’ve bored you all to tears with my ongoing thread misadventures. You’d think I’d actually buy it when I buy fabric but I never do so inevitably, I get ready to start sewing something and realize I don’t have any thread.

I kid you not, y’all, the past five times this has happened, I’ve opened The Magic Box and matching thread is in there. Every time!

So far, the magic has all been sewing related. But the day I open it and the winning lottrery ticket is inside, y’all will be the first to know. After Lisa, of course.

Lazy, that is. Because instead of walking down the hall and applying my makeup in front of the bathroom mirror, I fired up Photobooth on my MacBook and used that instead.

Hey, at least I wasn’t using the rearview mirror while driving L to ballet …

Find more at Wordless Wednesday!

One of my Try It! projects for the year is to add some tutorials to the Craft Addict blog. I’ve had several requests for tips on creating the inset ruffled panel seen on the outfit on the left, so I decided to share a tutorial so you, too, can add this fun and decorative touch to your sewing projects.

I’ve used these ruffles to embellish the underskirt area showing between the peek-a-boo panels of this top’s overskirt, but you could easily use them anywhere you can imagine. Think of a tote with ruffles cascading down the sides. Or pants legs. Or even the hem of a skirt. You can do as many rows of ruffles as you want; it’s up to you.

The tools I use to create mine include a rotary cutter and mat, a clear acrylic ruler, a fabric marker or chalk, pins, a sewing machine and a serger. Is the serger absolutely necessary? I don’t believe so but it will require that you gather each ruffle by hand and then basting them to a strip of narrow binding or ribbon. Using a serger is infinitely easier and faster, and this tutorial is illustrated with serger-created ruffles.

Before you begin, you will need to decide how large of an area you want to inset with ruffles. On the top shown here, I measured the opening between the overskirt panels and added a half-inch seam allowance to compensate for the additional seams I would be adding to the underskirt. If you are adding ruffles to a pattern piece and will extend them from edge to edge of the pattern piece, you won’t need to worry about adding seam allowances.

Next you’ll want to determine the size and number of your ruffles. I wanted a fair amount of pattern showing between the ruffles, so I measured the height of my panel and subtracted one inch to allow for the seam allowance at the top of the bodice and a 1/2-inch hem. The resulting number was easily divisible by four, allowing me to place my ruffles about every three inches. I then cut strips about twice as long as my panel by two inches deep. Before gathering the top edge, I hemmed the bottom edge. (Why? Because it’s a lot easier to hem a flat piece of fabric than one that’s already been gathered — especially when the gathered edge is so close to the hemmed edge.) I then used my serger to gather and overcast the top edge of each ruffle strip. It’s OK if your ruffles are longer than the panel (mine often are) because you’ll trim everything up neatly after you’ve finished sewing them down.

Use your ruler and fabric marker/chalk to draw guidelines for your ruffles. If you are adding ruffles to a panel that has a curved edge, use your pattern piece to make curved lines at regular intervals instead of straight lines. This will let your ruffles follow the natural curve of the hem.

Now we’re going to do something a little wacky: you’re going to turn your panel upside down. Why? Stop asking so many question and just do it! LOL! Actually, it’s much easier to pin your ruffles if the fabric is turned this way. Obviously, YMMV and if leaving it right-side up works better for you, then by all means do that. What does matter is that the ruffles should be pinned to the panel with right sides together and the top edge of the ruffle on top of the guide lines. This is the exact opposite of how they will hang when you are finished with your panel. when you are done with each row, you’ll have something that looks like this:

Yes, I pinned all of my ruffles to the panel at the same time. If you prefer, you can pin and sew each row individually. This is what works for me, so that’s what you’re getting in this tutorial. When you’re ready to sew, take the panel to your machine and set your needle position on your sewing machine so that it’s just to the left of your gathering/serger stitches. (If you’ve done your ruffles by hand and basted to a binding strip/ribbon, you will instead use that as your guide.)

Continue to sew until all of your ruffles are attached to the panel. If you did not remove the pins as you were sewing, do so now. (I’m trying to break the habit of sewing over pins; please ignore the photo evidence to the contrary).

Your pin-free panel is getting that much closer to being finished! Take it over to your ironing board and press the ruffles down so the wrong side is touching the panel and the ruffles are hanging in the proper direction (see photo below). You may need to gently tug the ruffles down and away from the fabric panel to make sure you are pressing a nice, clean top edge without any “bubbles” of extra fabric.

When all of your ruffles are pressed down properly, return with the panel to your sewing machine and topstitch closely to the top edge of each ruffle. This will help keep your ruffles neatly hanging properly, as well as hide the attached edge below. I used a contrast stitching on these ruffles but you could use a coordinating thread to make the stitching less obvious.

Now use your ruler and rotary cutter to trim of any excess ruffle hanging over the edge of your panel (see photo below, left). Your finished panel will then be ready to insert into your garment! (photo below, right)

The edges of the ruffles will be caught in the seams of your garment, like so:

So I have two yards of this Alexander Henry fabric and I have no idea what to make with it. I bought it intending to make a messenger bag from it for my friend Eryn’s birthday; she liked another fabric better, so this one’s been curing in my stash for about a year.

Each girl is about 12 inches tall, so it’s definitely a bigger print than I normally use. And I’d rather make something for me with it than for Miss L. My default item these days seems to be a skirt, and I guess I could do that but I was really looking for something different — not that I think I could name what it is.

Throw some ideas at me! Please! I’m really trying to work my way through this stash of mine and I’m itching to sew up this one.