Cutter Quilt Embroidery Hoops

I made these embroidery hoops last fall for a festival where I shared a booth with a friend.  I was looking for a way to display the artistry of a quilt that I found at an antique store.  The quilt had a huge hole in the middle and someone had used it as a drop cloth as well.  It still had beautiful patches that I think make beautiful animals on my embroidery hoops. 

I love the way this rabbit appears to be bouncing!

Squirrel with an embroidered acorn.

Squirrel with a clover at her foot.

I'm trying to decide what to give AJ for Valentine's day and I was thinking of hanging one of these in her room for her gift.  This year I feel like I can celebrate the holidays a little more with her since she now notices the decorations.  For about two weeks she's been calling every heart she sees a "balentine."  She also loves to help so last night we made Valentines to hang in our picture window.  I cut hearts from brown cardboard and she (with Micah assisting) decorated them with glitter, sequins and crayons.  They look festive hanging in our front window and bring me cheer during these short winter days.     

Sweater refashion #3

Heres another refashioned sweater that I have loved wearing.  I really like a cardigan since it doesn't have to go over your head and mess up your hair or give you more static cling.  This is the before:

And here is the after:

You can see the placket a little better here.  I cut the sweater down the middle and measured the cut where I thought I wanted the placket to be and then just kind of winged it.  I added three button holes and originally wanted to use big leather buttons but made the button holes too small so used the off white buttons.  I've really enjoyed this sweater and love that it is a wool sweater, you need that when the wind chill makes it feel like zero degrees! 

Vintage wrapping paper

I thrifted this vintage wrapping paper for pennies and just adore the scenes on it.  I am hoping to use the images for embroidery patterns on baby items.  I love the mushrooms and creatures that play around them.  As I child I know I would've loved imagining all intricacies and lives of the animals that lived in those mushroom houses...what fun!

I love the thought of using the images for embroidery patterns but what should I do with the actual paper?  I thought it could be cute modge podge but a lot of things I've modge podged I eventually got rid of.  So what could I make with it that might be lasting???  I'm open to suggestions. 

Valentine's Day creations

I've been working on some new items to consign for Valentine's day.  The idea behind them was that they would be nice travel pouches to put a camisole or other undergarments in (my sister likes to call these things "unmentionables" :).  I also think they could function as a nice clutch or jewelry pouch.  They have velvet on the outside and most have soft silver silk on the inside.  I've hand embroidered wool hearts on several of them and a silk bow on the other.  Maybe in the future I'll do a tutorial on how I made these. 

This is the silk bow and the beads are small sterling silver bugle beads.  The edges are hand embroidered hem tape. 

This isn't the greatest picture but you get the idea.  It is lined with red polka dot cotton fabric and actually drove me a little bonkers.  I tried to sew it right sides together and turn it and its just too difficult to do with either slippery silk or velvet. 

This is a close-up of the details on the last one I'm making.  I love the aqua against the royal blue.  I hope to make something for AJ for Valentine's day too.  I'm thinking of making her some kind of bean bag toss game or velcro paper dolls.  Happy Valentine's creating to you in your neck of the woods! 

Refashioned sweaters bonanza!

Recently I've been inspired by the blog http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com/ and I've aspired to refashion several sweaters for myself.  My goal was to pay two dollars or less for each sweater.  Here are a couple of my sweater remakes.  They look better on than they do on a hanger, the light blue one is the same sweater I have on in my profile picture.  I have had so much fun wearing them and will post more of them in the future.

Sweater #1: Before

 After...

I took up the sweater along the sides for a better fit and added lace down the front along with new rhinestone buttons.  Everything was thrifted and cost around 2.00 total! 


Sweater #2:  Before

After...

Again I took this sweater up on the sides (it was an XL) and then removed the buttons.  I added crochet lace around the opening and a sort of frog closure where I put a length of elastic under each button and then had the elastic wrap around the opposite button to make a closure.  I've really enjoyed this one too!  The sweater was thrifted along with the buttons and the lace was given to me by my Mother-in-law.  The lace is really beautiful close up.  I believe this one cost around 1.50!  I'm totally hooked on remaking sweaters now and love that I can give an old sweater new life.

Finished Toddler Crown Unveiling....ta da!

My husband finished decorating the crown for our sweet pea before Christmas and just as I suspected she would, she refused to wear it for us.  Bummer.  After much coercion on the day after Christmas she finally wore it.  It looked adorable and I had hopes that she'd show it off to family but alas I was, again, disappointed.  What can I say...she's two.  Any-who I think that Micah did a fabulous job!!

I love my husband who is so willing to go along with so many of my schemes.

What you can get at the thrift store...

I've promised my sister more pictures of "what you can get at the thrift store..." and of items that I have been sewing...do these promises count as new year's resolutions?  I hope so because this means I will actually follow through on a few resolutions! 

This fabric was thrifted in the past couple of months, I just love the shamrocks and have used them as the front placket on a thrifted/redesigned sweater.  The brown, grey, aqua and mustardy yellow are all favorite colors of mine.  The blue and yellows flowers fabric is lightweight and I think qualifies as a voile.  The yellow polka dots are a vintage sheet. 

 This wall art was thrifted this summer with my Mom and it looks like its circa 1970's, but I just love its folksy look and the mother natureness of it all! 

I was going to post about some sweaters I've refashioned but that will have to happen another day.  My allergies are going nuts today and after a benadryl I'm feeling pretty drousy.  See you next post.