Creative Prompt #25: Magic

Magic is everywhere.

The Magic Kingdom.

Harry Potter and his magical adventures.

Wizards, witches, warlocks, fairies, fairy tales.

See the Creative Prompt page if you have questions about this project.

Post the direct URL where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. It will keep all the artwork together.

There is more information on the recently updated Creative Prompt Page.

Leopard Tote

Turquoise Leopard Tote
Turquoise Leopard Tote

This is the Leopard Tote I made for my sister back in February. I am not sure why I never posted it. Here it is now.

It came back with me after my trip down south in June, because she ripped it along the spot on the inside where I turned the whole piece and then sewed it up by hand. This time, I sewed a bit, made a knot, sewed a bit and made a knot. I also warned the fast moving sis to not load it with heavy stuff.

Hopefully those strategies will keep it closed.

Leah’s Curved New York Beauty

Leah left a comment here and, kindly, included her blog address, so I went and took a quick look. Her blog is very colorful! I loved this curved New York Beauty piece that she shows on her most recent post. It reminds me that I could just draw something like this and sew it.

One of the great things about looking at new blogs for me is that my mind opens up and I look at things in a new way. Or I see the same things in a way that inspires me to think about them in a new way.

Thanks to Leah for stopping by and for updating her blog!

clipped from colorfulartgirl.blogspot.com

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Opposite Tote

Striped Tote with Flowers
Striped Tote with Flowers

You might think that this is the same tote I posted last week. It is, however, the opposite of the one I posted last week. I used the stripe for the main part of the fabric as opposed to the flower fabric, which I used for the accents this time.

I think that this may be the best tote that I have ever made. I don’t think that I made any mistakes (knock wood). One thing I did with this tote was sew on the button before I sewed all the pieces together. It was a lot easier!

I guess it is time to move on to another pattern. We’ll see.

Sketching #24

Creative Prompt Response: Remember
Creative Prompt Response: Remember

Creative Prompt Response #24: Remember

I have had memory making on my mind, so this drawing seemed appropriate.

See the original prompt as Friday’s post.

If you want to participate or see other Creative Prompt type projects, see the Inspiration page.

Catch Up Saturday

I have come across some interesting websites lately. Also, many things have been running through my mind. As a result, today is Catch Up Saturday! That means that you get a bunch of random links, some photos that have been hanging around, and other miscellaneous stuff.

Janome 9K
Janome 9K

1. In my post, Caring for Tools, I talked about taking my Janome 9000 into be repaired. Cost=$$$$$. The monster needs a new screen; apparently it could not be recalibrated.  What a shocker; I need to find a consulting job to cover the cost. Anyone want to buy a quilt? 😉

The cost notwithstanding, I have more good things to say about Lafayette Sewing Center. Before they started the work, they called me and went over the estimate with me very carefully. I spoke with Audrey who said that she wanted to make sure I wanted the work done and understood the costs so I wouldn’t get sticker shock. No assumptions there! Great service.

2. Suzanne Cabrera did a series of drawings of her home, which I really like. They are simple in an architectural kind of way. She has added comments about various pieces of furniture, which satisfies my need for words. She also has a sense of humor in her drawings, which I appreciated in her post about learning to cook with her husband. See them at her blog, An Open [Sketch] Book.

3. Felt Food (FF). I love felt food. It makes me smile. I first got interested in felt food when I heard CraftSanity podcast episode #66 (what else? My one source of craft information!) with the owner of Lilly Bean Market, Hillary Seabolt. Her sandwich is still my favorite. I saw some pictures of felt food somewhere recently and that has reinvigorated my Felt Food Mania and led me on a multi-day Felt Food Flickr Journey (F3J).

Flickr has tons of FF to show. There is a group called Handmade Felt Food with such fabulous creations as elaborate birthday cakes, cups of coffee and espresso, sushi, shrimp stir fry and a pancake breakfast and ice cream treats and I am also quite fond of Sam McLean’s full on turkey dinner and …. The list goes on and on. . I am going to save up for the felt gingerbread house. That is much more up my alley than making a real gingerbread house – or perhaps I’ll sew a felt one. I could put some of the decorations on with Velcro and change them. Or, perhaps I’ll buy one. You can also make your own FF from patterns created by Umecrafts or you can make a Lilly Bean Market cherry pie from the pattern on Martha Stewart website.

The F3J led me to general felt creations such as softies (we called them stuffed animals back in the day; apparently that term is no longer PC), including a journey around London by Lumpy Bear (made/arranged? by GiantButton), felt sea creatures including a Hammerhead Shark and squid and an unzippable ocean complete with islands by Lizette Greco.

You have to look at this stuff to believe it!

4. Stewart, Tabori & Chang and Melanie Falick: Once again, I was listening to CraftSanity podcast #30 the other day (I really do do other things besides listen to CraftSanity, I promise). Melanie wrote Knitting in America, seminal book on the state of knitting in the US. She is the craft editor at STC AND has her own imprint. WOW! I have heard of her before, because I love STC books and she is the editor who acquires them. I really loved hearing about her journey to that job and found a lot of similarities to my life (you can stop laughing now, thanks).  She gave really practical ideas about getting a book published, especially in the area of writing a book proposal. Thanks, I needed that! That was really food for thought for me, since I have a dream…..

You can follow Melanie on Twitter at STC_Craft or take a look at her website.

Tessalated Tile
Tessalated Tile

5. Beth sent me this image when she lived in England. I had asked her to take photos of mosaics and tile. This is a particularly good design for quiltmaking, because it would just be squares and rectangles. Yes, you would have to plan a bit, if you were doing anything more than a 2 color quilt, but it would be quite stunning once finished. Note the L shape at the top.

6. Toy-a-Day: This project is definitely like the Creative Prompt (which you should join) but much more intense. The Wild Things characters, KISS, Pikachu, the Mario Bros, Michael Jackson and Michael Gorbachev are all included in this project. I noticed that the author has PDF downloads of some of his toys so you can make your own.

Creative Prompt #24: Remember

What do you remember?

Memory albums and scrapbooks help you remember.

Flash cards help you remember for tests.

Remember when?

See the Creative Prompt page if you have questions about this project.

Post the direct URL where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. It will keep all the artwork together.

There is more information on the recently updated Creative Prompt Page.

Enamoured with Fabric Envelopes

I have no good reason for liking these. They are not practical, take a lot of work and are single use in many cases. Still I like them. I have seen them before and when I found out Design Sponge had posted another supply list and pattern, I had to take a look. Perhaps if I make one I’ll get over being enamoured.
clipped from www.designspongeonline.com
diy wednesdays: fabric envelopes

envelope_beauty
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Completed Tote

Candy Tote with Flowers
Candy Tote with Flowers

As you may remember, I bought some fabric at Always Quilting on the day I went to longarm.

After finishing the Clear tote, I looked around for my next project. I had tote bags on the mind, so out came the fabric and off I went.

I cut out two totes. This is the one where the main outside part of the bag is made with the flower print from the Ginger Blossom line by Sandi Henderson. I have used the stripe fabric from the same line for the accents and the lining [inside].

One GREAT thing about this project, aside from geting a new tote bag out of the work, was that I learned to use the button hole function on the Jem. It is much easier to use than the button hole function on the 9000. Now I don’t have to go to Seattle in order to make button holes! TFQ’s machine makes GREAT button holes. The Jem button holes will be a suitable facsimile, not as good as going to Seattle, but suitable.

I have enough of the stripe to make another bag. It is already cut out, but I didn’t do very well making two bags at once, so I just cut both out and lined them. Once that was done I limited myself to sewing one at a time. I’ll sew the other one this weekend.

I also have some blue flowery fabric that I bought for a tote. Perhaps I will get that done as well. It feels like a good time to make tote bags. TFQ asked me if I was still using the Favorite Things Eco Market tote pattern. I am, but she made me think that, perhaps, I should dig out those other tote patterns I have purchased over the past year and try one of them out. I really want to try the Liesel tote. I am a really big chicken when it comes to 3D things, so I’ll have to gear up.

Art and Inspiration

Laume has a nice piece of art posted on her blog, whose source is actually the El Milagro Studios: Little Miracles of Art blog (http://elmilagrostudio.blogspot.com/2009/07/200th-post-and-giveaway.html).

I have been thinking about big, thick, gold, French-Louvre type frames lately as we work on refreshing our living room project. I want to frame an old beveled mirror in that type of frame. This fits right into my thought patterns.

Laume also has some thoughts about inspiration. If you have someone who has inspired you, I would love to hear about it. Post your thoughts to the comments section and I may write about those comments later.

I come from a long line of needlewomen, some of whom I have written about before. One of my great grandmothers would crochet bread bags into little rugs. These rugs were pretty sturdy and we could wipe our feet on them when we came in from outdoors. They just got hosed off when became too dirty.

My mom tried the technique with plastic grocery bags and they worked ok, but weren’t as sturdy. Still it is a good recycling tip, don’t you think?

clipped from laumesstudio.blogspot.com

Actually, that’s a good post theme – who inspires you? In your art or in your life? Pick one (or more) people who have made a difference in your world and let them know. It doesn’t have to be a big thing, just drop them an e-mail or give them a call, mention it the next time you see them face-to-face. It will make their day, maybe even their week, I promise you.
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More Submission

Cotton Patch, Lafayette, Calif, July 2009
Cotton Patch, Lafayette, Calif, July 2009

A week ago Monday, I trekked over to Lafayette to take the 9000  in to be repaired.

Failure. They were closed. I thought about calling, but then didn’t, trusting that they would be open. I had to be over there anyway for a family event, so it worked out ok.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on whether you are my wallet or not), the Cotton Patch is right across the street. I went over and looked around. I resisted a lot, but did buy a few things including those ever-so-tempting Japanese Quilt magazines. I bought 2 issues of Patchwork Quilt Tsushin.

Purchases, July 2009
Purchases, July 2009

See the turquoise and pink on the covers of those issues? I am like a bird magpie with shiny things when I see that color combination.

I bought the pear pattern for my Grama, who perpetually needs something to do. We’ll see if it sparks her interest.

There were a lot of nice fabrics, though I do miss their solids room. I tried to be restrained and just bought a couple of must have pieces. Dots, of course. The background of the green dot is the accent color of my living room.

The magazines were the coup de grace, however. Those Japanese quiltmakers are dedicated. The intricacy of their work is a never-ending source of inspiration for me. I was pleased to see a couple of coffee/tea/cup quilts with block patterns in one of the issues! YAY! Now I can consider the purchase research for the Tarts.

I am still working on that one last section of the Tarts, so these designs will be good inspiration. I thought of using a pattern to piece that section, but was disabused of that idea pretty quickly. Back to the drawing board!

I almost never rip the patterns sheets out of magazines. One of the issues’ pattern sheet was already ripped out and I didn’t notice until I got home. I took the opportunity to look at it and had no idea what I had been missing. I am not much of a maker of patterns, but the inspiration  on that sheet is worth the price of admission.

Marsha McCloskey has a new ruler out, which I bought from her website. I bought it because of the 1/16th inch measurements. I was trying to cut pieces with 1/16th inch measurements for the Omega Teacher Pillow and was wildy unsuccessful.

Feathered Star Ruler
Feathered Star Ruler
Feathered Star Ruler, back
Feathered Star Ruler, back

My New Best Friend

Janome Roller Foot
Janome Roller Foot

As soon as I got home on Friday, I pulled out the Jem and set it up. I figured that if I didn’t do it right then, I would put it off and all of my sewing projects would languish.

Janome Jem, July 2009
Janome Jem, July 2009

I pulled out the vinyl tablecloth tote bag parts, put on the roller foot and tried it out. I used Valdani quilting thread that I bought at the Chicago Quilt Festival Show a number of years ago. I am now the proud owner of a tablecloth vinyl tote bag.

The roller foot worked really well. REALLY WELL. AMAZINGLY WELL. It really got the job done and I have high hopes that I can make the bathroom “quilt” as well. Perhaps I can even get it done before the 9000 comes back. Perhaps I’ll make one for each bath!

The roller foot worked really well, but wasn’t perfect. I have always had some trouble with the curved corners of the Eco Market tote bag pattern from Favorite Things. Going around the curves with two layers of vinyl was difficult.

Clear tote, July 2009
Clear tote, July 2009

I didn’t line the bag. I didn’t really think it was necessary so the seams all show and it looks a bit unfinished. There are a number of thread blobs that I would have unsewed with normal fabric, but were pretty difficult to deal with the vinyl, so I left them. On the plus side, the bag was very quick to finish.

I get the feeling that I won’t be able to stuff this bag full of heavy stuff either, but I will try it out and we will see.  It sounds dumb, but I felt like a renegade working with the material. In general, I highly recommend the roller foot if you are going to make something with tablecloth vinyl.

One of my CQFA colleagues, as I may have mentioned, borrowed my Jem machine for about 5 months while her Viking was in the shop. She saw some oilcloth type fabric (vinyl or something on one side and flannel-like fabric on the other) pillows and totes and decided to make them. She made them using the Jem and didn’t have any problems. I was amazed that she could do that. I know now that the flannel probably allowed the oilcloth to feed through the machine. I am interested in trying some of that fabric to make a tote bag.

Clear tote, July 2009
Clear tote, July 2009

Creative Prompt Participants

Here are a few of the Creative Prompt participants’ blogs:

Dana Warner Fisher – The Quilted Librarian

Elsha – Mistress of Well Intentioned Decision Blog

Kathy – Finishing Lines

Linda M. Poole – Linda M. Poole’s Quilt & Color Blog

The Quilt Rat – Quilt Rat Blog

Sarah Ann Smith – Art and Quilting in Camden Blog

SherriD – Walking with Walker Lady / Lazy Quilter

I apologize if I missed you. I may update this; I may not.  Thanks to everyone for participating!