Quilting inspiration

I really love to quilt.  There's something about seeing colors and patterns to come together to make a larger, even more appealing image. There are so many takes on one simple pattern, just by the way you turn it or by choosing solid colors or bold patterns.  One simple change can make an incredible twist.

The images are a little spotty, but you can get what I'm sayin'.  The devil's in the details at times and other times, you just have to take a few steps back to see what's really going on.

That being said, I came across Luke Haynes today.  He's an art quilter and makes some phenomenal quilts.  I hope someday soon I'll embark on some more art quilts.  His work is so inspiring!

Back to beginnings

Many moons ago when I began the idea of a profitable crafty adventure, I used to make purses and knitting bags. I like how quickly they sew up, they don't use too much fabric, and design strategies are seemingly infinite. Unfortunately, tons of other people have the same idea and when I looked around, I saw that there were almost as many bag designers as jewelry makers. I'm pretty good at the bags I make, but can't compete with some of the wonderful stuff that's out there, so I moved into far less chartered territories. Every now and then, I return to purse making because of a request or just a great idea. This time, I did it for my sister's birthday. When she came to visit in July, we went to Ruby's Gift, a little store in NoDa that sells local, handmade goods. She spotted a writstlet but the design of it was a little flawed so it went back on the shelf. Good for me, 'cause that meant that I could make her something for her birthday that she really wanted without having to dig around and ask her.

The wristlet is made out of vintage linen that's been patiently waiting for me to use in some special project. The button was made by my dad but it's only decorative. I used a snap underneath to ease the flap opening and used velcro instead of a zipper for the body. The purse is lined with fabric from a curtain. It's my first attempt at a wristlet and without using a pattern. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out and hope that she likes it.

Frank's new sling

I've been smitten with my moby wrap except for a couple of things: 1) it's not quick to put on and when the kid's crying, anything that takes more than 15 seconds feels like eternity and 2) I've only got one of them which creates a problem when it's in the wash and the kid starts crying. I use my wrap as a soother, as a way to get things done around the house, and as a carrier instead of the carseat. I've been looking for a new baby wearing piece of equipment for a couple of weeks and I'm too cheap to afford even what's on ebay, so I decided to sew one after finding a pattern from the makers of the Maya Wrap. I found SlingRings through a recommendation from the thebabywearer.com and ordered a couple of pairs.

I made the first one last night around 1am - the only time it seems I'm able to sew - and was able to stitch it up pretty quickly. I was done by 2am. All it called for was a couple of cuts, a bit of hemming and double stitching the ends 'round the rings. We tested it out today and so far, I like it a lot. We still need to practice some with it, but I really like the ease and quickness of putting it on and him in it. I've got some more fabric coming tomorrow for another one, so hopefully we'll continue to get better using it. At least when I'm done with it, I can recycle the fabric into something else.

Frank's floor quilt

I started making this in the last couple of weeks that I was pregnant and basically was racing against the clock. I finished it all but the binding before my water broke and Frank was born and it's taken me 4 weeks to muster up the time and energy to sew the binding (which is actually the backing). The quilt is made of solid quilter's cotton and I've used vintage fabric for the backing. I miscalculated the size a bit and so it's a little bit smaller that what I wanted, but useful nonetheless.

One more sewing project down

I refuse to pay $50 for a diaper bag. I don't care how insulated it is. I managed to get mine 2nd hand from gAndy when I just asked him where he got his bag from. Apparently, he took it as a sign that I needed his and he gladly handed it over to me.
It's a simple canvas bag with a shoulder strap and 2 handles. It's always been a nice murse and I wanted something that wouldn't embarrass the bear when he had to use it. The only problem is that it was so deep and there was only one pocket.

I ended up making an insert for it out of fabric that I've been saving for something special. I think this is special enough. It's basically a fabric box with 4 pockets on the side - nothing too elaborate, but simple enough to make it work. It's lined on the inside and I've added some loops so that it's easy to get in and out. Kind of like the ones they advertise on tv for 19.99.

Kinetic mobile

Kinetic mobile, a photo by bacaorr on Flickr.

Here's the mobile that I finished last weekend. It turned out really well and I'd really like to do more of these in the future.

Zoom zoom

I've been scavenging thrift stores and ebay for art work for Frank's room for what seems forever now. Since my style is eclectic, you'd think I'd be able to find something by now. I actually have found lots of items that I've liked, but most have been out of my price range. I did find some inspiration however while browsing prints on Etsy in N. Eve Dobson's store. She has some wonderful prints featuring cars, motorcycles, helicopters, and many in her transportation series. My favorite was the Chevy Camaro and so I went with a 70s muscle car theme. I chose a Camaro, Torino, Mustang Fastback and a Chevelle. I had originally thought to silk screen them, but since I wasn't going to make multiples, I decided just to cut them out of paper. I got the images online, tweaked them a bit in photoshop and then printed them out. I traced the outlines and major parts that I wanted to accentuate and then grabbed a brand new x-acto blade and cut the images out of fancy scrapbooking paper. I painted some 10 x 10 canvases with some primary colors, cut out some stars and then Modge Podged it all down. They're not as nice as Dobson's, but you get what you pay for.