So first off I’d like to tell you all that I’m going to try and sell some stuff on Etsy. My store is called “Ethel&Wayne” and will hopefully one day be a whole line of fun stuff made by me. Dare to dream!
For now the store just features one quilt, my Gate at the Lake blanket, that is very affordable, and was recently featured on a treasury ! So there’s that!
Hey Gang! Libby the Bat got a new present from yours truly, an adorable (if I do say so myself) faux-fur vest. I used this pattern from living with punks, but I made it a little longer and I used a wooden toggle button instead of ribbon.
Isn't she the cutest?!
Filed under Clothes
My husband re-painted our front door a gorgeous blue. In celebration, I made a wreath.
I bought a wire frame and some fake leaves and berries and secured everything with some wire and just sort of went nuts.
It’s purple and orange, and looks lovely against the blue, although I wish our wreath holder was a bit longer so it could be more centered on the window.
Still good, though…
Filed under Crafts
I am pretty much obsessed with the thimble blossoms SWOON pattern. I got mine from pink castle fabrics.
I have three Swoon-rific swoony projects in the works:
A pillow for my friend’s baby bedroom. Two pillows for ME and another quilt for ME. I have all my fabrics (I think!) and have already cranked out one pillow:
I had to use my skull-meat to covert the block-size, as this is a pillow-cover going over a pre-existing pillow form. But I did it!
This will go in little Irene’s bedroom. You may know Irene as Princess Leia or a Unicorn or the girl who got this awesome quilt.
Flipping through a Crate & Barrel catalog the other day and came across this table runner:
Click on the image to purchase from Crate a& Barrel
Super cute!
But I knew I could make something similar…
So first I shaped some store-bought bias tape on a piece of homespun cotton. I cut some of the strip in half and re-folded it for the skinnier branches…
Then I folded some fabrics right sides together and sewed circles (berries?) and leaf-shapes. I sewed all-around each shape using a very small stitch length and then cut out each shape with a scant 1/8inch border. Then, pinching just one layer of fabric for each shape, I cut a slit and turned the unit right-side-out. This resulted in many almost-perfect circle and leaf-shapes with nice edges. Easier than needleturn for me, and I like the look more than raw-edge applique (personal preference).
I hand-stitched each piece in place. Then I sewed on a backing (right sides together with the runner-top, left a gap, turned right-side out, top-stitched around the border).
Cute acorn fabric for the back.
I think this cost about $3.00 total for me considering the only things I purchased were two fat-quarters for the leaves. A lot better than $40 + shipping and handling : )
My friend Marti is making an awesome, colorful, fun quilt and asked me to sew her a little embroidery pattern to fill in a square. My pleasure!
Here’s what I came up with:
sorry for the crappy picture!
The dots are all french knots. Super fun! I was glad I took the time to pre-thread a bunch of needles before sitting down and getting started.
I’ll be sure to post how the whole quilt comes out once it’s all put together. I’m anxious to see, myself!
Filed under Embroidery
Time to kick everyone out gracefully, sweep up the cupcake crumbs, collect the empties and pour myself a glass of wine. The costume party is over and Halloween is behind us once again.
A link to all of the tutorials can be found by clicking on the COSTUME PARTY tab located near the top of this page, right there next to ABOUT.
Thanks for following along! I’ll bring this up again next year, if I’m still at this, and maybe I’ll even have some more ideas! xoxo
At our most recent meeting of the Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild, we did a Yankee Swap of handmade accessories for home or person.
I made a covered notebook with two matching pens using this tutorial (minus the button).
It features the last of my scraps (almost – still saving a tiny square I just can’t toss) of Heather Ross’s Mendocino mermaids. It’s a bit of a funny strip – boobs and butts! But I knew the designer loving fabric fans in the guild would appreciate it.
Brenda from Pink Castle Fabrics snagged it!
after I stole her beautiful scarf made by Emily, that is! But look at how well it matches my fall coat!
Here is our most complicated costume yet! It’s not too difficult to construct (the tail can be a little tricky), but there are quite a few components…
We’ll start with a hooded sweatshirt and add to those:
and also….
Read on for tips and instructions!
Okay today we’re tackling a more complicated costume. A goldfish!
These are the components you can add to a hooded sweatshirt to make the costume:
Read on for instructions on how to make each component:
jenna brand 