Gift Ideas
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Great Gifts For Sewists for Any Occasion
Finding the perfect gifts for sewists isn’t the easiest task for an “outsider.” Finding a gift for ourselves? no problem! If you have any friends who need a good gift idea for YOU, send along this post. Gifts For Sewists An Amazing Seam Ripper – Like it or not, we all reverse sew, so why not have a beautiful seam ripper. I adore this one from Barney Pens. They are hand crafted and custom made, but at $35, they will not break the bank. My favorite is the one that hangs around your neck because it just looks like a great piece of jewelry! If you see my hubby, tell…
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Cancer Fighting Zipper Bag Tutorial
When we think about Breast Cancer, we naturally think about the 1 in 8 women that will be diagnosed with this disease, but did you know that approximately 2,190 men are diagnosed with breast cancer every year? Not only that, men with breast cancer have a higher mortality rate than women because they are less likely to suspect breast cancer and therefore get diagnosed much later. There are a lot of myths about breast cancer, you can read about them on the National Breast Cancer Foundation website here. This week, I decided to make a little pink zipper bag. This is a great little bag for all kinds of things from sewing supplies to…
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Cancer Fighting Wall Hanging Tutorial
Cancer Fighting Wall Hanging Tutorial I went and got my mammogram a few weeks ago. I have to admit, they are not fun but they aren’t the end of the world either. The nurse was really sweet, they got me in and out pretty quickly. Truthfully, I’d rather get a mammogram than go for a 5K run :). The results came back normal, which is great. Have you gotten your mammogram done? One of the things National Breast Cancer Foundation does is help women get their mammograms through a National Mammography Program. They partner with medical facilities across the country to provide free mammograms and diagnostic breast care services to…
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Cancer Fighting Tote Bag Tutorial
Cancer Fighting Tote Bag Tutorial As promised, here is the first of several tutorials to go with our Pink Ribbon Thread Sets that 10% of the proceeds will go to National Breast Cancer Foundation. This a cancer fighting tote bag can be filled with thoughtful things for someone who is going through Chemotherapy treatments. If you happen to be unfamiliar with chemo, it generally works like this. The person with cancer has to go to a room full of chairs that are all equipped with IV’s. They get hooked up to an IV and their particular “cocktail” of drugs is given through the IV. This usually takes several hours and…
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Fun Hand Embroidery Project – Business Card or Credit Card Holder
In an attempt to not snack at night while I am watching TV, I have been doing some hand embroidery every night. Part of the inspiration for this is Indygo Junction’s “Stitched Style” book. It has 20 great hand projects that are easy and hip. They are a modern take on the 70’s which I love. The designs are a perfect size to add to a ready-made item, like a purse or jacket or you can incorporate them into a project you are making, like a dress or a quilt. The book does have projects you can make that use the embroidery designs, which is what I did with the…
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Sandpaper Seashell Coasters
Yesterday, I did a tutorial on Sandpaper Crayon Art and I ended up with these lovely seashells. I decided they would be perfect coasters and a great way to practice my free-motion quilting skills! I took the fabric and layered it with batting and backing, securing everything together with Sulky KK 2000™ Temporary Spray Adhesive. I also picked some thread colors. I used Sulky 30 wt. Cotton Blendables in Hyacinth #4079 for the shells and Foliage #4009 for the quilting. I used a Sulky prewound bobbin the the bobbin. Set up your machine for free-motion. For my machine, I lower the feed dogs, put on the free-motion foot and use a…
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Christmas in July – Mug Hug tutorial
COFFEE SLEEVE MUG HUG PATTERN Earlier in the month, I made this Mug Rug using the scraps leftover from making the Speedy Spiral Christmas Tree Skirt. One of my wonderful readers asked if I would do a tutorial for a Mug Hug pattern as well. Without further ado, here it is! TO satisfy all coffee (and hot beverage) drinkers, I did 2 Mug Hug pattern sizes. The first is the kind you use on a tapered cup, like the kind you get when you go to Starbucks. Why use that silly cardboard sleeve when you could use one of these! These are pretty easy, first download the mug hug pattern…
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Quick Gifts – Make These In Less Than An Hour!
Sometimes you just need a really quick gift. Maybe you forgot about that bridal shower you are supposed to go to this weekend, or maybe you thought Father’s Day was next weekend (it’s not, by the way, it’s Sunday), or maybe you are just really good at procrastinating like me! Whatever the reason, sometimes a quick, yet thoughtful gift is in order. Before I go any further I do want to clear something up. Just because a gift is quick to make, doesn’t mean it isn’t meaningful. I mean you could have just stopped by the grocery store on your way to that shower or Father’s Day lunch, picked up…
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Easy Computer Bag
Remember I did a tutorial on Matchstick Quilting awhile back? (if not, here it is). I took those pieces and made them into a very simple bag to carry my computer! Here is how I did it. I took my 2 pieces that I had Matchstick quilted and squared them up to 2 matching pieces at 15″ x 17″. Next, I added a zipper to the top (The top for me was the 17″ side). Sometimes people are a little nervous about zippers so I thought I would walk you through this one. Start by unzipping the zipper a couple inches, then lay the zipper face down on the right…
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Mother’s Day Embroidery Club Round-up
Mother’s day is just around the corner and the Sulky Embroidery Club has some great designs to jump start your creativity. Here are a few ways I came up with to use these great designs: Tote bag – Who doesn’t like a nice tote bag! You can put the design on a regular store-bought bag and then put a great gift inside as well. Maybe a gift certificate to her favorite store or nail salon. A Card – Did you know that you can embroider on paper? When we see embroidery designs we automatically think they need to go on fabric but many of these designs would look great on the front…
