Maybe that surprises you. I do other stuff too!
I had saved an empty Pringles can because I feel like I have to reclaim almost everything... I also have a ton of jute that needs to be used up. I started hot gluing the jute around the base of the can, made it up a couple inches, and decided it shouldn't go all the way up to the top. I grabbed some scrap muslin and hot glued that on above the jute. Just to be sure the can didn't peek through, I wrapped some more jute around where it met the muslin. I also wrapped the jute around for about an inch at the top of the can. Viola! A vase.
I'd been seeing wonderful arrangements of budding or flowering branches and thought that would be great with this vase. I grabbed a few dead branches from outside and made some pink flowers from tissue paper laying around, then hot glued them onto the branches.
I hope everyone had a great weekend! I spent it with my mom who came to visit me - yay! I figured a random generator would have been the same as my mom picking a numbered piece of paper out of a cup and voila! We have winners.
And the winners are:
#8 Seamingly Smitten who said
Love the idea of aprons from men's shirts! Upcycling at it's best!
and #2 Deborah in Atlanta who said
I'm a follower, and would love to win one of your aprons. I don't have a single one. Isn't that a shame???
Thanks for everyone who entered! I hope you'll keep finding a reason to stop by and read my little nook on the web :)
Sorry it took me so long to take more pics of the other aprons I have in my stash. I've had a super busy week filled with presentations, job interviews, getting ready for my mom to visit, blah blah blah... Remember you have until the end of the day tomorrow to enter to win one of these! I have 2 of the red/white plaid one, so it's not a mistake it's in both pictures :D
Happy Friday everyone! Is anyone else as ready for the weekend as I am??
Today marks my one year anniversary in the blog world. I'm excited because I've learned a lot of things and met some great people this past year!
It seems like the thing to do on your blogiversary is host a giveaway, so that's what I'll do! I'll be giving away not one, but two great prizes! This whole blog started when I was super excited about making aprons from men's dress shirts. I had a whole sweatshop type setup going on when I started blogging. I haven't really shown them on my blog before, but here's what is up for grabs. Two winners, selected via random number generator, will get to choose an upcycled one-size fits all apron made by yours truly. I'll take more pics of the others I have to choose from and post this weekend. I have flowers, stripes, plaids, etc!
How do I win? There are several ways!
Leave a comment for each of these that you do.
1) Become a follower
2) Blog about my giveaway
3) Tell me which picture you are most inspired by on my Flickr
Good luck! I'll leave the contest open until next Friday, March 25, when I'll choose two winners. Domestic US only please! Be sure I have some way to contact you if you win :D
I sort of have this rule that I try to stick to when working on quilting projects. I try not to begin a new project until I've finished one. Since the pinwheel baby quilt seemed to be coming to an end, I jump started my next project just to see how quickly it'll come together. The verdict - I'm already halfway finished with the blocks!
This pattern is the Ritzy Cracker Box pattern for charm packs from Moda Bake Shop. You'd think I don't look for inspiration anywhere else, right? They just have such wonderful ideas spewing out all the time! I'm using half of my Moda Central Park layer cake for this project. I'm totally in love with this line! I'm going to have a hard time choosing borders, backings, and bindings (oh my!) because I think every single print is fantastic!
Last Friday I was feeling rather ambitious. Armed with my saute pan and a few bananas, I decided to make Bananas Foster for my bf to impress him with mad skills other than quilting so he doesn't think he's dating an 80 year old.
Bananas Foster are the cool desert that people order in fancy pants restaurants where the pan is lit on fire at your table. I wanted to light something on fire! I found out that coconut Malibu does not ignite, no matter how many times you try. I suppose the alcohol has to be more than 21% by volume :( Needless to say, I was not impressed with my own skills. The bananas tasted fine, but would have been way better if they had been on fire, if only momentarily. The blackberries on the other hand, turned out super delicious.
So for future reference, use dark rum if the recipe calls for it!
Well, not in a bad way! I just finished my third quilt of 2011 this weekend! For this quilt, I used the Moda Bake Shop Baby Pinwheel pattern with Prairie Points and Moda A Breath of Avignon fabric. The background is white Kona, backing is a quilter's cotton from JoAnn, and the binding is a solid from Moda Bar Harbor since I couldn't find anything else that matched at the LQS.
For the quilting, I stitched in the ditch in the main body of the quilt. That's harder than it seems, especially when you're using white thread on such brightly colored fabric! After I finished, I went and bought the edgestitch foot for Frannie so it should be much more precise in the future. In the outer border, I tried out a feather design. I'd never done this before and was planning to use a stencil, but got frustrated and just drew it on freehand with a pencil.
I was super pleased with the way it all turned out until I took it out of the washing machine and noticed all the pencil marks were still there and the bright colors were showing through the white! Doh! Panic ensues!! Back to the washing machine - still there! Aaackk! I did some research and decided to try to wash it with ammonia and it finally came out. Yippee! Quilt is saved. Good news, since my mom is buying it from me to give to her friend's baby boy on the way.
I'll be honest, this past week I didn't get much sewing done. I went to a wedding over the weekend and had a lot of travel time due to stormy weather in the Midwest. However, I do have a couple things to share with everyone :)
First up, my Cathedral Window WIP. I've added more blocks and now it's maybe 12" x 20". Doll quilt sized? Sure, we'll go with that if I don't decide to keep going! I have a stack of white blocks ready to add more when I get around to it. Fabrics are a mixture of vintage sheets, Moda Bliss, Fandango, Verna, men's shirts, and 30's repro prints.
I'm also working on another charity quilt top. It's super girly and I think it'll be a great hit with the little girls at the hospital! Oh and do you like my design wall? I read somewhere that a person bought a cheap vinyl tablecloth with the felty backing for theirs. Target clearance section $5!
I hope everyone has a great week! Thanks for stopping by.
