How’s your B-L Stash coming along?

Remember tomorrow is the draw for the Birthday-Love Stash……how is yours coming along???  I’ve been working on these deep-dish pincushions and getting them finished…… but other than that, all that’s been happening at my place has been LOADS of de-cluttering…..and it feels good! I’m missing my sewing, and I’ve got a couple of blocks in the Aiming for Accuracy Quilt-A-Long to catch up on, but I’ll get there, little by little….I’m off to cut block 13 out now and then stitch it tomorrow night….well, that’s the plan anyway.   I’m finding it easier to think a little more clearly now that the area I work in isn’t so messy…..do you find that too???  It’s even nice to sit down at my desk now…..Love that feeling!!!!  And I’ve even given myself permission to not expect it all to be done…….YESTERDAY!!!!….and you know what??   It get’s done faster that way!  It’s wonderful! Anyway, I’m off to cut out blocks……if you haven’t already signed up for some Birthday-Love, you can read about it HERE and then click on the link on my sidebar to take you to the sign-up page, and you’ll see this month’s prize too.  I’ll be drawing the winner tomorrow evening (before I sew those blocks together!!! *wink*) Sugary hugs xo :o)  

How’s your B-L Stash coming along?

Remember tomorrow is the draw for the Birthday-Love Stash……how is yours coming along??? 

I’ve been working on these deep-dish pincushions and getting them finished……

but other than that, all that’s been happening at my place has been LOADS of de-cluttering…..and it feels good!

I’m missing my sewing, and I’ve got a couple of blocks in the Aiming for Accuracy Quilt-A-Long to catch up on, but I’ll get there, little by little….I’m off to cut block 13 out now and then stitch it tomorrow night….well, that’s the plan anyway.  

I’m finding it easier to think a little more clearly now that the area I work in isn’t so messy…..do you find that too???  It’s even nice to sit down at my desk now…..Love that feeling!!!!  And I’ve even given myself permission to not expect it all to be done…….YESTERDAY!!!!….and you know what??   It get’s done faster that way!  It’s wonderful!

Anyway, I’m off to cut out blocks……if you haven’t already signed up for some Birthday-Love, you can read about it HERE and then click on the link on my sidebar to take you to the sign-up page, and you’ll see this month’s prize too.  I’ll be drawing the winner tomorrow evening (before I sew those blocks together!!! *wink*)

Sugary hugs xo :o)

 

Last day for hopping..

in the Wool Lovers’ Blog Hop…..so why not hop on over to our last contributors for the week?  Here are the links to follow…. Friday, September 27 Hallbrook Designs Karen's Quilts, Crows and Cardinals Mummzy Stamps Meadowbrook Friendship Crossing Fryeber Color Point Quilter Have a great time hopping and thanks to Denise for inviting me to join in, and to all the girls …..I’ve had a ball! Sugary hugs :o) xox  

Last day for hopping..

in the Wool Lovers’ Blog Hop…..so why not hop on over to our last contributors for the week?  Here are the links to follow….

Friday, September 27

Hallbrook Designs

Karen's Quilts, Crows and Cardinals

Mummzy Stamps

Meadowbrook

Friendship Crossing

Fryeber

Color Point Quilter

Have a great time hopping and thanks to Denise for inviting me to join in, and to all the girls …..I’ve had a ball!

Sugary hugs :o) xox

 

My turn to party……

….at the Wool Lovers Blog Hop Party!!!…. When Denise asked me to join in on the Blog Hop, I was flattered and stunned at the same time!   Of course I’d love to be a part of the blog hop……..but what on earth would I make????  I don’t work in wool very much at all…….My mother was the knitter and a great one at that, so I never needed to learn, despite her trying desperately to teach me……I think it had something to do with me being left-handed???!!!   Neither of us crocheted much (she did more than me) and I’ve played with fabric and embroidery threads for as long as I can remember…..making full-on fabric dolls, dolly baskets, blankets and clothes for my neice when I was still in my early years of high school. I tried to convince Denise that maybe I wasn’t up for it, but she assured me I was…..so with thinking cap on……I decided to work in wool felts to create something with a little bit of stitchery (has to be some of ‘me’ in there!!!). I’ve decided to call it “Coffee Shots” for all us coffee lovers out there……. you may just have the perfect person to gift one to!?!  And yes, you can make one yourself!     Print out the tutorial using the ‘Print Friendly’ button at the end if you like and follow along.  Here goes…… Coffee Shots fat 1/8 wool felt in caramel scrap of dark/coffee brown wool felt DMC embroidery threads in colours of your choice to match (I used DMC 816, 434 and 839) embroidery needle no. 9 greaseproof paper lead pencil fine black marker pen fabric craft glue scrap of light fusible interfacing such as weaveline quick-unpick small sharp embroidery scissors sewing machine cotton thread to match felt

1. Print out two copies of the mug template and cut one ‘mug’ outline and one ‘inside mug’  outline (that’s the oval shaped piece at the top with the dotted line going through it!)
2. Pin the mug template to a double thickness of wool felt in your choice of colour (I used a caramel colour) and cut two ‘mugs’, ensuring you cut away the felt within the handle.  This will give you a Mug Front and a Mug Back.
3. Pin the “inside mug’ template to a scrap of dark or coffee brown coloured wool felt.  Mark the dotted line onto the right side of the felt and cut out one of these around outline. Don’t cut along dotted line at this stage.
4. Place a few drops of craft glue onto the reverse side of the dark brown felt and position it at the top of the mug front to resemble the coffee inside the mug.  Make sure you don’t place the glue too close to the outside edge, nor too close to the centre……you only need a few drops to hold it in place as once it dries sufficiently, you will blanket stitch around the outside edge of the dark brown using  two strands of DMC 434 and if the glue is too close to the edge, it will be difficult to stitch through.  Same goes for the centre as when you cut through the dotted line, you want it to be as easy as possible so you don’t cut too far – dried glue through the centre would make this more difficult!
5. 
6. I have provided two sayings to stitch onto your mug. You will find these on the page that prints out when you print the mug template. You choose which one suits your ‘coffee-lover’ best or you could come up with one of your own.

Now, here’s where I have to be honest and tell you I had to try MANY different ways to plan my stitching onto felt as I hadn’t done it before and it’s certainly different to stitching on cotton fabrics.  Lots of them just didn’t work!   I started by trying printing the design onto freezer paper and ironing that onto the face of the mug, stitching through it, dampening it and tearing it off, but lo and behold, the freezer paper was just too tough, and even when I dampened it (made it sodden more like it!) it pulled the threads out and left big clumps of freezer paper under the stitches that proved to be too difficult to remove.  Same went for when I tried using  Tear-Away……..I traced the design onto the Tear-Away using a marking pen and a lightbox, placed it onto the felt and stitched through both, then, obviously, tried to tear-it-away!!!  Aaaargh…….why does it have to be so difficult????? Third time I tried plain old greaseproof paper (I think it’s called lunch wrap in the US???  Correct me if I’m wrong……just what someone told me!)……and this was the one that worked best of all (for me, anyhow!)  Here’s what I did…..

6. Trace the saying onto greaseproof paper….you won’t need a lightbox for this as the greaseproof is quite transparent.   7. Position the greaseproof paper onto the Mug Front so that it is centred and pin in place.  (you may like to tack it down, that’s up to you.) 8.  Fuse lightweight interfacing onto the reverse side of the mug front, behind where the stitching will be.

9.  Stitch the design through the greaseproof paper, felt and interfacing using 2 strands of DMC threads …..I used 816 for the main words and 839 for the words “Strong Coffee”

(this is what the reverse side will look like, but don’t worry…no one will ever see it!) 10  When you have finished stitching, tear away the greaseproof paper.  You will need to use your quick-unpick to remove any small, stubborn pieces of paper that will get lodged under a stitch….be careful not to pull them out. This is what the Mug Front will look like to this stage…. 11.  Here is when you can hand blanket stitch around the dark brown ‘coffee’. 12.  Using the quick unpick, carefully ‘cut’ through both the dark brown felt and the lighter felt behind along the dotted line.  Use the sharp embroidery scissors to ‘expand’ the opening, by neatly trimming away the edge of the  marked dotted line.  This will create a cleaner opening. 13.   Place your Mug Front and Mug Back together, right sides out and pin.  Using  your sewing machine with matching thread, stitch around the entire outside edge using a 1/8 inch. You may find that some edges don’t quite match, even with the best intentions…….use your sharp embroidery scissors to trim these up evenly. 14.  Place your coffee ‘shots’ in the pocket and send them off to a dear coffee loving friend.

**NOTE – Since using this technique (which, don’t get me wrong,  worked very well and quite easily and with good results I thought) I discovered Saral paper, which is a  graphite transfer paper  you can use as in step 6 but directly onto the felt.  You would have to use a ballpoint stylus of some sort though as the Saral paper is quite fine and may tear easily.  I had some success but it still wasn’t perfect. After that I ordered some Sulky Iron-On Transfer Pens and these seemed to work a treat.  You have to be careful with the hot iron though, to ensure you don’t ‘shrink’ the felt.  I might try these alternative techniques properly with some more Coffee Shots….. I need to make  some of these for my Birthday-Love stash box…..I know just who to make them for!!!! *wink* I hope you liked my tutorial and find it useful and fun.  In the meantime, don’t forget to go and visit the rest of the contributors and share the woolly love! Big woolly hugs to Denise for hosting the hop……  Here is the schedule for the rest of the week…. Thursday, September 26 A Quilt and a Prayer Kat and Cat Quilts Rosebuds Cottage By The Bay Neddleart Sugarlane Designs (that’s me!) Sheila's Quilt World
Pieced Brain Friday, September 27 Hallbrook Designs Karen's Quilts, Crows and Cardinals Mummzy Stamps Meadowbrook Friendship Crossing Fryeber Color Point Quilter Sugary sweet hugs xox :o)

My turn to party……

….at the Wool Lovers Blog Hop Party!!!….

When Denise asked me to join in on the Blog Hop, I was flattered and stunned at the same time!   Of course I’d love to be a part of the blog hop……..but what on earth would I make????  I don’t work in wool very much at all…….My mother was the knitter and a great one at that, so I never needed to learn, despite her trying desperately to teach me……I think it had something to do with me being left-handed???!!!  

Neither of us crocheted much (she did more than me) and I’ve played with fabric and embroidery threads for as long as I can remember…..making full-on fabric dolls, dolly baskets, blankets and clothes for my neice when I was still in my early years of high school.

I tried to convince Denise that maybe I wasn’t up for it, but she assured me I was…..so with thinking cap on……I decided to work in wool felts to create something with a little bit of stitchery (has to be some of ‘me’ in there!!!).

I’ve decided to call it “Coffee Shots” for all us coffee lovers out there……. you may just have the perfect person to gift one to!?! 

And yes, you can make one yourself!     Print out the tutorial using the ‘Print Friendly’ button at the end if you like and follow along.  Here goes……

Coffee Shots

fat 1/8 wool felt in caramel

scrap of dark/coffee brown wool felt

DMC embroidery threads in colours of your choice to match (I used DMC 816, 434 and 839)

embroidery needle no. 9

greaseproof paper

lead pencil

fine black marker pen

fabric craft glue

scrap of light fusible interfacing such as weaveline

quick-unpick

small sharp embroidery scissors

sewing machine

cotton thread to match felt

1. Print out two copies of the mug template and cut one ‘mug’ outline and one ‘inside mug’  outline (that’s the oval shaped piece at the top with the dotted line going through it!)
2. Pin the mug template to a double thickness of wool felt in your choice of colour (I used a caramel colour) and cut two ‘mugs’, ensuring you cut away the felt within the handle.  This will give you a Mug Front and a Mug Back.

3. Pin the “inside mug’ template to a scrap of dark or coffee brown coloured wool felt.  Mark the dotted line onto the right side of the felt and cut out one of these around outline. Don’t cut along dotted line at this stage.

4. Place a few drops of craft glue onto the reverse side of the dark brown felt and position it at the top of the mug front to resemble the coffee inside the mug.  Make sure you don’t place the glue too close to the outside edge, nor too close to the centre……you only need a few drops to hold it in place as once it dries sufficiently, you will blanket stitch around the outside edge of the dark brown using  two strands of DMC 434 and if the glue is too close to the edge, it will be difficult to stitch through.  Same goes for the centre as when you cut through the dotted line, you want it to be as easy as possible so you don’t cut too far – dried glue through the centre would make this more difficult!

5. 

6. I have provided two sayings to stitch onto your mug. You will find these on the page that prints out when you print the mug template. You choose which one suits your ‘coffee-lover’ best or you could come up with one of your own.

Now, here’s where I have to be honest and tell you I had to try MANY different ways to plan my stitching onto felt as I hadn’t done it before and it’s certainly different to stitching on cotton fabrics.  Lots of them just didn’t work!   I started by trying printing the design onto freezer paper and ironing that onto the face of the mug,

stitching through it, dampening it and tearing it off, but lo and behold, the freezer paper was just too tough, and even when I dampened it (made it sodden more like it!) it pulled the threads out and left big clumps of freezer paper under the stitches that proved to be too difficult to remove.  Same went for when I tried using 

Tear-Away……..I traced the design onto the Tear-Away using a marking pen and a lightbox, placed it onto the felt and stitched through both, then, obviously, tried to tear-it-away!!!  Aaaargh…….why does it have to be so difficult?????

Third time I tried plain old greaseproof paper (I think it’s called lunch wrap in the US???  Correct me if I’m wrong……just what someone told me!)……and this was the one that worked best of all (for me, anyhow!)  Here’s what I did…..

6. Trace the saying onto greaseproof paper….you won’t need a lightbox for this as the greaseproof is quite transparent.

 

7. Position the greaseproof paper onto the Mug Front so that it is centred and pin in place.  (you may like to tack it down, that’s up to you.)

8.  Fuse lightweight interfacing onto the reverse side of the mug front, behind where the stitching will be.

9.  Stitch the design through the greaseproof paper, felt and interfacing using 2 strands of DMC threads …..I used 816 for the main words and 839 for the words “Strong Coffee”

(this is what the reverse side will look like, but don’t worry…no one will ever see it!)

10  When you have finished stitching, tear away the greaseproof paper.  You will need to use your quick-unpick to remove any small, stubborn pieces of paper that will get lodged under a stitch….be careful not to pull them out.

This is what the Mug Front will look like to this stage….

11.  Here is when you can hand blanket stitch around the dark brown ‘coffee’.

12.  Using the quick unpick, carefully ‘cut’ through both the dark brown felt and the lighter felt behind along the dotted line.  Use the sharp embroidery scissors to ‘expand’ the opening, by neatly trimming away the edge of the  marked dotted line.  This will create a cleaner opening.

13.   Place your Mug Front and Mug Back together, right sides out and pin.  Using  your sewing machine with matching thread, stitch around the entire outside edge using a 1/8 inch.

You may find that some edges don’t quite match, even with the best intentions…….use your sharp embroidery scissors to trim these up evenly.

14.  Place your coffee ‘shots’ in the pocket and send them off to a dear coffee loving friend.

**NOTE – Since using this technique (which, don’t get me wrong,  worked very well and quite easily and with good results I thought) I discovered Saral paper, which is a  graphite transfer paper  you can use as in step 6 but directly onto the felt.  You would have to use a ballpoint stylus of some sort though as the Saral paper is quite fine and may tear easily.  I had some success but it still wasn’t perfect.

After that I ordered some Sulky Iron-On Transfer Pens and these seemed to work a treat.  You have to be careful with the hot iron though, to ensure you don’t ‘shrink’ the felt.  I might try these alternative techniques properly with some more Coffee Shots….. I need to make  some of these for my Birthday-Love stash box…..I know just who to make them for!!!! *wink*

I hope you liked my tutorial and find it useful and fun.  In the meantime, don’t forget to go and visit the rest of the contributors and share the woolly love! Big woolly hugs to Denise for hosting the hop……  Here is the schedule for the rest of the week….

Thursday, September 26

A Quilt and a Prayer

Kat and Cat Quilts

Rosebuds Cottage

By The Bay Neddleart

Sugarlane Designs (that’s me!)

Sheila's Quilt World

Pieced Brain

Friday, September 27

Hallbrook Designs

Karen's Quilts, Crows and Cardinals

Mummzy Stamps

Meadowbrook

Friendship Crossing

Fryeber

Color Point Quilter

Sugary sweet hugs xox :o)

Fabulous Friends and FNSI winners….

I just can not wait for our sewing days, when 4 gals, who not 12 months ago, and who didn’t know each other, (well, not as a group!), get together and just stitch and chat and eat the yummiest of foods, (yes we do that well ….. and don’t you just love Miss Jen’s deliciousness she whipped up this week?), (notice Blossom’s early crafty handiwork???….we each had one of her Debbie Mumm inspired placemats she made, many moons ago, to drool over…literally!) We laugh till we just about burst,  (notice the oh-so-gorgeous bovine shower cap???) …and I don’t know what was really in that salad (or maybe it was the juice??!!??), but Miss Heather went' all ‘hippy’ on us!!!! Honestly, we just enjoy each others company for every second we spend together.  We discuss the woes of the world, our lives, our children, our plans for the future and of the past and we bounce ideas off one another and inspire each other exponentially, each and every visit….. Jen brought out some of her projects she’s made over the years to show us and Heather just about got lost under the ever-increasing piles ….she even tried to sneak some into her bag (I think next time she’s bringing a ‘small’ suitcase!!!! LOL).  After a couple of hours of inspiration from the first big plastic bin, it was almost time to go home…..we didn’t even get to open the other two!!!   But we all left with love in our hearts and an insatiable itch to stitch….I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re all up till late every night until we meet for another stitchy session!!!! LOL And yes, there was a LITTLE stitching done, but do you think I photographed that ????……..naaaaaah…….we chat, giggle and solve the problems of the world whilst we’re stitchin’!!!!!!!   But you can see evidence of what Jenny got up to over on her blog. For the rest of us, you’ll just have to trust me! *wink* Now it’s a three week wait for the next stitching day…..as it’s school holidays, Nonna Heather has grandchildren duty………how are we going to cope without a stitching day for three weeks???!!!   Stitching days with friends really are such good therapy…..cheaper than a shrink by far, and waaaaay more effective, I’m sure!!!! *cheeky grin* Now if you’ve read this far, I’m sure you’re waiting to read who are our winners in this month’s FNSI…….. Well, there were 57 of us this month…….if you haven’t had a chance to go and see what everyone got up to, you can go through the links HERE and visit everyone……we had so much fun! Mr RNG did the spinny thing and came up with these two lucky ladies…… Tracy                   and                 Kim Congratulations to both of you …..just email me your snail mails, and I’ll get your prizes out in the mail, tout suite! Dont forget to visit the bloggers in the next scheduled Wool Lovers Blog Hop Day…….. Remember, some ladies are overseas so their Monday posts might not be up yet……. here they are, so far…. Monday, September 23 CJ Stitching and Blooms Negligent Style Sweet P Reluctant Quilter Racie Baby Patchouli Moon Studio The Raspberry Rabbits Tuesday, September 24 Marla's Crafts Secretly Stitching Marjorie's Busy Corner Sew Many Yarns Val Spiers Sews
Quilted Crow Girls Design Big Sugary Hugs xox :o)