Spincushion

Frame of Mind Pincushion

I'm loving those ornately carved, brightly lacquered picture frames that you'll find popping up everywhere these days. Such a great opportunity to add color in an unexpected fashion!

If you've got a single frame friend and you can't quite find the right photo to fix it up with yet, here's a fun tip to dress up the corner of your creative space- turn it into a fashionable little pincushion:

Cut a piece of fabric about 2 inches larger than your frame on all sides. Remove the back and glass from the frame and lay the fabric over the back, being sure that the front of the fabric is facing out. 

Stuff a portion of wadding into the frame and replace the glass. Fold the excess fabric over the glass and replace the back of the frame.

If you want the pincushion to lay flat instead of standing up like a traditional frame would, you could carefully remove the stand on the back and place it flat on the table.

The next time you get together with a creative group of friends, have everyone bring a fun frame and a fat quarter of fabric. Then you can meet, greet, mix, match, make and swap this fun little project!

Rosy Bum Bloomers

 It seems to be the season for having baby girls around here, and so I have had several frilly gifts to stitch up! Here is a sweet way to top off a basic bloomer with a rosy ruffle:

1. Complete your basic bloomer pattern. I used the Bloomers pattern from Heather Ross' book, Weekend Sewing. Thanks to a recent appearance on Martha Stewart in which Heather demonstrated the creation, you can get the instructions, dowload the template, and even watch Heather's segment here!

2.You're going to create a double-fold gathered ruffle, so you'll need a rectangle of fabric that is 4"wide and 2 yards long. You could use the same fabric as the bloomers or a coordinating print. Turn and press all edges under 1/8" and then again 1/8", press and pin when necessary. This will create nice, finished edges for your ruffle.

3. Find and mark the center of the strip by folding it in half, pressing and unfolding.

4. Next, you will want to gather down the center of the length of the strip. You could do this by hand or machine. Since I already had a bobbin wound of elastic thread from making the bloomers, I just machine stitched a seam with a long stitch length down the center of the strip and gently pulled the elastic thread until I had the ruffle density that I was looking for. The gathered strip should measure approx. 28", but you can make it any length you wish.

5. Lastly, find the center back of the bloomers and begin hand-stitching the ruffle into place in a circular pattern until you have filled the back with the rosy ruffle.

Mother Darling

{Mr. Boddington's Studio via The Daily Spark}

This is quite possibly the most darling Mother's Day card I've ever seen! Maybe I'll buy it for myself...

If you're already thinking Mother's Day crafts, here's one from the archives. A nice little fabric corsage sure to delight. Click here for the tutorial: 

Blooming Brooch Tutorial

With bits of bloom popping up all around the house, I've been itching to make one myself as well! I had some of this lovely grey sheer left over from my Sunshine Clutch featured in the current issue of Stitch magazine (hope to share pics soon!) and thought it just might do the trick. The fringed edge and hand-stitching add just the right amount of un-done beauty to this delicate accessory. This would be the perfect touch to your Easter attire, so let's make one now, shall we?

What you'll need:

An 8" by 60" strip of sheer fabric, contrasting thread and perle cotton, hand sewing needle, a 3.5" or 4" diameter circle of cotton fabric and fusible fleece, a brooch pin

1. Begin by cutting the strip of sheer in half to create 2 4" wide strips of sheer.

2. Place the strips together and sew across the short end creating one long strip. Press that seam open and sew along each side to secure the seam.

3. With contrasting thread and using a very small stitch length, sew a 3/8" to 1/2" inch seam down the length of one side of the sheer strip. The wider you make your seam allowance, the more fringe you'll have adorning the outer edges of the flower.

4. Using a needle, begin to release the horizontally running threads through the top of the seam allowance you've just created. The seam acts as a stay stitch and will prevent the fabric from fraying further. Clip the long released threads when necessary and repeat the process down the length of the sheer.

5. Now go back and sew one additional seam 3/8" from the one you've just created. You actually could sew as many seams down the front of the fabric as you like, but remember we'll also be adding hand-stitching, so it just depends on the look you want, and the amount of time you have on your hands!

6. So now as I said, let's revisit the side of the sheer with our need and perle cotton. Make a running stitch down the length of the sheer, between the machine stitches, with as long or short hand stitches as you wish.

7. Now it's time to gather. Make another running stitch just like the one you made previously only on the bottom side of the sheer, about 1/2" from the edge. Hand gather the fabric as you go until you have a length of gathered sheer that is about 6" in length.

8. Following the manufacturer's instructions, fuse the fleece to the wrong side of your cotton fabric. I used a teacup to trace my circles. You've seen me do that before, right?

9. Next I added a blanket stitch to the edges of my circle. This step certainly isn't necessary, but I think it adds a nice touch to the back of the brooch, don't you? Click here for a refresher on blanket stitching.

10. Begin hand stitching the length of gathered sheer to the fleece side of the circle, starting about 1" from the edge of the circle. Continue stitching inward in a circular motion until you come to the end of the gathered sheer and the center of the circle. Now sit back with a cup of coffee and have a little fun sculpting your brooch into it's perfectly floral final form by strategically placing little hand stitches with matching thread throughout the folds till the bloom meets with your approval.

11. Hand stitch the brooch pin to the back of the circle. You've just created the perfect little spring accessory! Wear it with everything! 

Oh, and it requires no watering, but definitely plenty of sunshine!

 

"Oh, Christmas Tweed" Wreath Tutorial

 

As you know from previous tutorials I've posted, I'm a big fan of tweed fabrics, so I've got lots and lots of odd scraps laying around waiting for their day in the sun. I've had this wreath pictured in my mind for a while now, and over the weekend I finally got around to making it!

There's something about this wreath to me that feels very old school English, like the type of holiday decoration Sherlock Holmes may have had in his London flat- festive without being too frilly. You can certainly choose any combination of colors you like, but with absence of the traditional red/green color scheme, you could leave your wreath up and enjoy it all year long!

 

What you'll need:

Various large scraps of tweed, I used about fat quarter sizes of three tweed fabrics with a velvet damask thrown in for a little contrast.

Liquid starch, 14" wreath form, permanent marker, 6" wide lengths of cotton batting, 6" wide lengths of muslin, needle, thread, scissors

Download Leaf Template

1. Wrap the batting lengths around the wreath form until it's covered. Use a couple stitches when necessary to secure the batting.

 

2. Now do the same thing with the lengths of muslin.

 

3. Download, print and cut out the leaf template. Trace 21 leaves onto the lightest tweed using the marker. If you don't have a marker around, lip liner works well when marking on textured fabrics like tweed.

 

4. Stack your chosen fabrics, up to 4 layers thick. Be sure to put the layer with your leaf tracings on top. Pin through each leaf tracing, being sure to secure through all of the layers.

 

5. Roughly cut around each leaf until they are all separated, then go back and cut out the tracing.

 

 

6. Mix 2 cups warm water with 2 cups of the liquid starch in a large bowl. Put the leaves into the starch water and give the solution a minute to penetrate the fabrics.

 

7. Squeeze excess solution from the leaves and lay them out on sheets of wax paper to dry. Allow the leaves to dry for several hours to overnight.

 

8. Once the leaves are completely dry, pinch the bottom of each leaf and sew it to the wreath form.

 

9. Continue sewing on the leaves until you reach the fullness that you like!

 

Trim Time

 

Sometimes Thanksgiving trimmings call for more than just sweet potatoes and stuffing. If you're looking for a last minute dress-up for your Thanksgiving projects or play costumes, try out this quick-to-make trim.

Just begin to cut fabric in a strip that is about 1.5" wide and using a crochet hook (I used size J), make a single chain using the fabric strip as you would traditionally use yarn. I cut and crochet as I go to ensure that I get the correct length of trim that I need.

When you have the right amount of trim, tie off both ends and stitch to your desired project!

Bold Fabric Rings Project

Okay, I admit it! I'm a closet Real Housewives NYC fan! I am so busy these days, I have few precious minutes to sit in front of the TV, but it just so happens that on Thursday nights at 10:00, the kids are in bed, my husband is doing some kind of Fantasy Footbalish thing and I land in front of the television ready to veg out with gals from the NYC.

While obviously the ladies' fabulous fashions are totally out of my price range, I found a way to stitch up even a little bit of their style! I'm a big fan of chunky jewelry, so I love 'The Countess' and the bigger than life accessories she sports around town.This little ring tutorial is a fun way to tackle the trend without breaking the bank!

What you'll need:

Adjustable ring findings, scraps of fabric, medium weight fusible interfacing, needle and thread, optional coverable button, Modge Podge

Click here to Download Bold Fabric Ring Template

I found these silver rings at our local Michael's, and they work perfectly for this project! The yellow/white fabric is from designer Heather Ross.

1. Cut 3 2" squares: 2 from your print and 1 from the fusible interfacing.

2. Fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of one of the print squares. Trace the ring template onto the interfacing side.

3. Place the squares together, right sides facing. Using a very small stitch, sew directly over your lines, taking it slow tracing the shape with your stitches. Leave one of the sides un-stitched for turning. Trim to a tiny seam allowance, but leave the un-sewn side seam allowance a little longer.

4. Use a knitting needle to help you turn the piece right side out and press. 

 

5. Fold in the un-sewn side and hand-stitch the opening closed. This is also the point at which you could add a covered button or other embellishment of your choice!
 

 

6. Hand-stitch the piece to the front of the ring, being sure to only stitch through the backing fabric. I added a little hot glue to seal the deal as well.

 

7. Enter Mod Podge! To add a little shine and clean-ability to the ring I added a couple thin coats of this multifunctional crafty staple! This step is optional, of course, but I really like the look it gave the finished ring.

 

 

Let it dry, and there you go. Big City Style on a Farm Girl Budget!

 
 
 

 

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Anthropologie Inspired Scarf

What a lovely day we had here on Saturday! The kids and I were able to get out and enjoy the sunshine we were blessed with for the day. This also gave me a chance to wear this new scarf I made inspired by the Shadowed Vine Scarf from Anthropologie. Please excuse the strangely lit photo. I'm working on my photo skills, I promise. Here is a bit of a better view with bonus kiddos in the background:

To make the scarf, all I did was cut 2 yards of lightweight knit fabric in half, lengthwise and gave a finished/unfinished look to the edges by running a zig zag stitch over yarn all around the fabric:

To create the voluminous, ruffly texture, I ran four seams of zig zag stitches over the yarn down the body of the scarf and then pulled the yard until I got the fullness I wanted:

To create the grape-like cluster at the ends of the scarf, I followed Pretty Ditty's tutorial, only I used regular old fiberfill stuffing to create the balls instead of pom poms, placed them under the fabric, and then tied off with floss.

We spent our day doing a little of this...

A little of that:

Listening to this:

Looking at these:

And feeling so fortunate for the little this's and that's, the sweet music and overwhelming beauty that fills our home everyday!

Happy Spring!   
 
 

Talkin' Tea Cups

I see by my pageviews that my Tea Cup Flower tutorial has been making the rounds these days! I'd love to see what you've done with your blooms! Send pictures of your finished projects to me at leighanntennant@comcast.net and I'll do a little visual round-up of sorts in the coming days! If these winter days have you longing for spring, you can click here for the tutorial and get a jump on your gardening (kind of!). Here's a little inspiration...

Shoe clips...

Magnets...

Key Chain...

Brooch Pin...

Headband

Thanksgiving Memories Keepsake Project

Thanksgiving may just be my favorite holiday. There's nothing like waking up to a great parade, spending a lazy day with family and relishing the promise of an amazing meal that you've looked forward to all year long!

When it comes to family keepsakes, however, I think Thanksgiving often gets the short end of the wishbone. Here's a quick project I made to help my family remember a lifetime full of Thanksgivings!

The idea is, every year I'll ask my children to give me a list of what they are thankful for and write down their answers without any additions or revisions. I thought I would get a mile long list from my daughter, certainly including "mommy" and "daddy", however, this is what she told me:

I suppose, technically, we are included in the vast subset of "all the people on earth"! Then after the quick turkey picture, I labelled the year and tucked it inside of our little "blessings keeper". Each year we'll add our lists and in time, we'll have a priceless record of what was on our minds each Thanksgiving!

You could also include favorite Thanksgiving recipes, photos of family, or maybe your child's favorite balloon from that year's parade! This would be a great addition to any scrap book, or you could tuck it away next to your go-to Thanksgiving cookbook so that you're sure to remember to add to the mix every year!

What you'll need to make your own "blessings keeper":

Various scraps of "harvesty" colored fabrics ( I chose fabrics from Anna Maria Horner and Amy Butler)

Medium weight fusible interfacing, a fat quarter of fabric for the lining, a button and hair elastic for the closure, embroidery floss, a sheet of printer paper, anti-fray solution.

Download TisforThanksgiving- Click here to download my "T" template for the applique

1. Cut out 35 3" squares from  your scraps. Lay them out in 7 rows of 5. Using a 3/8" seam allowance, sew them together forming a large patchwork rectangle.

 
  
For some reason patchwork says "home" to me, so I chose to use this technique for this project, but you could certainly skip this step and use a solid piece of fabric.

2. Fold the rectangle in half, lay the printer paper on the bottom fold and trim off the edges. If your patchwork piece ends up being a little larger or smaller than this, it will still work fine.

3. Now cut the same size piece from your lining fabric as well as the fusible interfacing.

4. Following the manufacturer's instructions, fuse the interfacing to the backside of the patchworked piece.

5. Place the patchwork piece and the lining pieces together, right sides facing, and pin. Be sure to place the elastic between the layers at the center of one of the shorter sides.

6. Sew around the rectangle, leaving a 3" space from where you started. Trim the hair elastic off and trim the corners diagonally.

 
7. Turn the piece right side out and press.

 
8. Using about a 1/8" seam allowance, topstitch aorund the rectangle, boing sure to close the turning space.

 
9. If you want to add the Thansgiving "T", download and cut out the "T" template. Trace it onto the wrong side of the applique fabric. Cut it out and treat the edges with an anti-frey liquid, then stitch it into place on the center front of the piece.

 
 
10. Stitch the button onto the top center (opposite the elastic).

 
11. The last step is to fold the piece in half, then stitch up both sides directly over your original topstitching.

 
Hope you enjoy this little project!

Here's to a Thanksgiving full of memories...

and sweet potatoes...

and pumpkin pie...

but mostly memories!

~Leigh Ann~