Jenny of Elefantz (BOM)

In the current issue of Quilters Newsletter Magazine, there is an article, page 28, Stitchery from Down Under.  One of the quilters interviewed is Jenny Reynolds from Queensland, Australia.  QNM did not list Jenny’s website, but it was easy enuf to goggle her --http://www.elefantz.blogspot.com/

I just love the way she combines quilting and simple embroidery.  And she is so generous in giving away her designs for free.  She makes them available for a while and then you have to go to her Etsy shop to purchase some of the older designs. Her prices are very reasonable.

Jenny has a Block of the Month coming up – Daisy Do on July 1.  Her sneak peeks have got me hooked. 

I love doing embroidery every once in a while.  It calms the soul.

Little mini gifts

I’ve been working, here & there, on some little gifts.The above is a “Travel Tray” from Angie’s site  
http://ajpadilla.com/freebies
I think it will come in handy on trips to hold things that might otherwise get misplaced.  There’s velcro in the corners which makes it possible for the tray to lay flat. 

Once you make one, you can figure out how to make them in any size.  Angie suggests to use a solid color fabric for the floor of the tray, but, I chose a fabric that “reads” solid and I like that.

And here’s Angie’s “15-minute Flower Brooch”.  I must say, it took me a little longer!  I am very pleased with the way it turned out, especially with the little beads I decided to sew to the center.  This can be used as a brooch as there is a pin sewn to the back.  And when you pin this brooch on your shirt, it becomes very handy to stick some pins in while hand sewing as the center is stuffed.  Sure beats sticking pins in your shirt!

I wrapped a gift in a Fat Quarter and pinned it shut with the brooch.  It made a nice presentation.

I made myself one of the Travel Trays, too.  And am going to have to make a brooch for me, too.   Or maybe I’ll try one of Angie’s “Finger Pincushions” made from a 3-1/2” fabric square.  Or maybe both!

Frugal bits holder

Every once in the while, I like to do hand embroidery.  It soothes the soul – at least, my soul!  This pattern came from my American Patchwork & Quilting magazine, but it is available to all, online, at AP&Q’s website -- http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/projects-ideas/bags-pillows/sewing-caddy_1.html

I used some felted wool that I had in the stash.  It is so pleasing to embroider on felted wool.  I would recommend it, if you are looking for a relaxing stitching experience.  You can get lost in your Zen.  The stitches go thru like a knife thru softened butter.  Used 2 strands of DMC floss.  Yes, I have a stash of DMC, too!

Instead of making French Knots for the flowers that go up the sides of the appliqué, I used beads.  I like to use beads instead of French Knots, cuz then it justifies the purchase of the beads.  Yup, another stash! Aaaaah, but why are there threads hanging from the bottom of the caddy?  Those threads are the Frugal Bits, of course.

I read (or saw) a sewing machine tip some time back that said to “floss” your thread guides each time you changed your spool thread.  That is, instead of pulling the thread up and out when you remove the spool, clip the thread at the spool and pull it down and out and through, just before the needle. 

That seemed like a waste of thread to me.  So, instead of throwing away that 27” of thread, I save that Frugal Bit of thread and it drapes from a pin on the back of the caddy, until I’m ready to use it –

That Frugal Bit of thread is the perfect length for me, for hand sewing and basting.  It is very easy to pull a thread out and away from all the others.  Right now, there are lots of colors to choose from, as I haven’t had the occasion to use any.  Sometimes, there is way less thread draped over that pin.

I’ve read where some sew-ers use a stuffed animal that they have beside their machine and drape the threads on it. 

I like seeing that pretty embroidery that hangs from a pegboard hook, convenient to my sewing area. 

Nothing is in that pouch on my caddy, but if I were to get some extra cash, that would be a good place to stash it!  Nicely folded up bills.  Oh, wouldn’t it be grand to have a stash of cash?  That would require a much bigger pouch!

A Needlebook Saves My Needles

I don’t know about other parts of the world, but I do know in South Florida that if my handsewing needles are exposed to air when they are stored, a corrosive-type thing happens to them. I like to keep them handy and out in the open, so I thought some kind of needlebook would work. And it does. Some time ago, I searched the WWW and found a few sites that had needlecases, books. I liked what I saw on http://www.thehappyzombie.com/blog/, click on “Strawberry Delight Needlebook”. I wanted to put it on the lamp base behind my serger and it wouldn’t fit, nor fill that space. So, I thought to make my own shape. A kidney shape would do rather well.
DD Kim saw it and asked if I’d make her one. She also liked the kidney shape, even though she didn’t need that shape. So, I went into EQ6 and designed one for her. It had to have a butterfly in it. The butterfly is a symbol of life, joy and hope. And those are the things I wish for my daughter. I have given her lots of butterflies over the years.
I do not attach the pretty embroidered cover to the needlebook. It would take more room to open out a hinged cover to get at the needles. With 4 layers of felt, the bottom half acts as a pincushion when it is in use. The black felt is stitched down the middle and either side opens like a book. And I haven’t had any corroded needles since I’ve been protecting them in the needlebook.

Thread-painted wallhanging

A new year. 364 days left to accomplish many things. Some big. Some small. Resolutions? No. I stopped doing that many years ago. All I do now is make “to do” lists and then try to cross things off my “to do” lists. Yep, I’m a list maker. And a bean counter.

I subscribe to thequiltshow.com. In 2008, they presented an appliqué Block of the Month – “Bouquets for a New Day” designed by Sue Garman. Although I don’t usually do appliqué, I find I am doing more today and then thread-painting parts of it. Something about the August block caught my eye. And I liked that I could incorporate some beading into it. And here’s the finished wallhanging. I love the bright colored flowers and the lime green leaves.

I’ve also made a slideshow with some close-ups of the thread-painting and beading.
http://anotherpat.com/ss08bathwh The appliqué is the raw edge technique. I used basting spray to hold the layers together for quilting and thread- painting. I used cotton batt. For the backing, I used sew-in interfacing. I like to use interfacing for small wallhangings as it adds stability to the piece and I don’t have any stabilizer to remove after thread-painting. If the back looks really bad after all the stitching, I make a “false” back of fabric, sewn in place just before I sew on the binding. I quilt in a few places to hold backing in place. I like to take a pic of the back to record all the stitching before the “false” backing is sewn in place.

I love the bright colors of the fabrics in this wallhanging, especially on that burgundy background!