Recovering can be fun

We had an old chair from Ikea. The kimsta looks like the Poang only it has no head pillow. I decided that we could recover the seat and it would be perfect in the nursery. I did not like any of the covers that Ikea sold, so I took my color scheme of brown and blue and went searching for some fabric. I found the perfect print for the room. Modern, not too kiddie.
The task of recovering started with examining the old cover, and with a few quick sketches we had a plan. I was going to sew it like a big pillow sham. I did not want to have to do the zipper, so in the back the fabric over laps like a pillow sham.
It was coming together smoothly, but when we gave it a try on the chair the top was a little too big.
Not to fret, with a quick zip across where the back and head connect, the bulkiness was eliminated, and the cover fits nicely.
I really like the way it looks in the room, and I guess that is what matters most!

38 day countdown

I found the first craft fair that I will participate in here in Florida. The 3rd Annual Panhandle PhunFest! I have been in the sewing room all day, thank goodness for a little rainy weather. Cutting, sewing and ironing describes the activties for today. With only 38 days until the festival I have to get busy and make as many of my eco friendly items as I possibly can. This festival supports a good cause, the Fisher House on Eglin Air Force Base. It is a place where family members can stay when they have a loved one recovering in the hospital.
If you are in the area on September 26th go to Navarre, and stop by the Phunfest! Looks like they will have a ton of craft vendors, and some good music. I hope to see you there!

Folded Fabric

Here is my stash after many days of sorting, folding, and purging. It is a great way to get rid of those unwanted pieces. Just take all the fabric from the shelves, and re-fold it. I took advice from Turning Turning, when it comes to folding. I improvised on the way she organized and folded her fabrics. My shelf is 10 inches deep, so I went with 8 inch square folding.
With an 8 inch square of cardboard, I folded each colorful fabric selvage to selvage. Then rolled it like a mini- bolt on to the cardboard, slip the cardboard out and finished folding it into a square.
Time consuming? Yes. Organized and beautiful? Yes!

Now when I go looking for my fabrics they are separated by color, and the patterns are easy to see on the shelves. I recommend this folding technique to anyone looking to reorganize their fabric stash!

Quilt... for the Birds

The time that I spend with the sewing machine is usually dedicated to the production of bags for Threadbeaur, however, I was in the mood for a new quilt. I looked on the shelf to see if one of my quilting books would lend me a little inspiration. Usually I will pick out the fabric then the pattern, this time I only had one fabric that I wanted to use. I picked up a book that I got for Christmas called Making Antique Quilts by Rita Weiss. The book has great pictures, and easy to follow instructions. I rarely use a pattern, so it is very important that they are easy to follow. I found a quilt called King David's Crown, and it was perfect for me. The title of my quilt will be Quilt...For the Birds. I took my fabric which happened to be Alexander Henrys Bird seed in yellow, and matched it up to all the fabric in my stash. I would post a picture of my stash, but it is a little messy at the moment. I will reorganize it and post pictures later. I had a ton of fabric to choose from and this is what I came up with.



I like to make a tester block, and this one came out great. I will finish this into a 3x4 throw blanket. Off to cut more pieces!

Project Un-Named

My latest project, is still unnamed. I started it a few days ago, and was in such a sewing frenzy, I made the 4 large blocks, and 3 small blocks in two days time.
The idea came to me as I was chatting on the phone, drawing out quilt patterns on paper. Then suddenly it appeared, the blocks with shadows tumbling down the paper, and it was perfect. The conversation ended, and the process of trying to piece the quilt started. My mind was whizzing, my pencil hardly keeping up, "I got it!" I said aloud, as if talking to a crowd. The only one there now, was the dog. She looked at me with her sad eyes, then rolled over with a sigh.
I grabbed my first color fabric and started cutting, and sewing, and I had a block done in no time. It was perfect. My favorite square I had ever made. Then more were following, I did not want to stop. The quilt is coming together, now I will applique the squares on to the starry night batik fabric that I got today. If only I could come up with a name.