Some Art Talk

Moebius Cowls

2012-01-24T13:07:00.000-05:00

I crochet, I really like to crochet. I took a knitting class, I don't knit, yet. For the holidays I wanted to make something classy for my my mom and my friends and I searched and searched on the free patterns at Ravelry. Scarves are pretty easy and so are hats, they seem more like guy gifts. I tried slippers, they never ended up the same size, maybe I can't do matching or maybe I can't count. So Cowls...

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Introducing... YARN

2012-01-15T19:15:00.001-05:00

So yes, yarn. it is not so much a new thing as just new to Some Art Fabric. At our next show, Quilters & Stitchers Marketplace, One Stop Shop Hop in The Villages, FL we will introduce recycled - reclaimed yarn. I am not sure if it should be called recycled or reclaimed.

Recycled: to pass again through a series of changes or treatments: as a : to process (as liquid body waste, glass, or cans) in order to regain material for human use b : recover 6 c : to reuse or make (a substance) available for reuse

Reclaimed : to rescue from an undesirable state; also : to restore to a previous natural state <reclaim mining sites>

I am working on some tag info to go with each center pull cake of yarn:

Out on a trek to hunt and gather new materials, I came upon this forgotten sweater hanging forlorn in a thrift store. I took the sweater home and gently washed it. Once the sweater was dry, I carefully dismantled it, creating yards and yards of beautiful fluffy yarn that would soon be used by countless creative individuals to make new and amazing things.
This used to be a sweater! What are you going to do with it?

New Bad Habits

2012-01-09T09:37:00.000-05:00

I'm sure it really began way before 2011. My oldest daughter took her first crochet class in 2008, she is a natural and picked it up easily. Fast forward to the spring of 2011, J decided she wanted to make Amigurimi creatures. Introduce Janet, the crochet teacher at out LYS (Local Yarn Shop), she is amazing, we love her. Since they did not have a children's class, I purchased private lessons, I decided to hang around and refine my limited skills.

First Show of 2012!

2012-01-08T09:24:00.001-05:00

Sanford North Carolina was hopping this week with the annual Quilting and Fiber Arts Festival. You guys missed a good time! Got in around 2 am last night, did not mean to drive the whole way but I did. The girls have a Girl Scout Cookie Rally today and I wanted J to be home for it.

We had a Great Show, lots of friend vendors and friend customers. Everyone was excited that a Sewing Expo will be happening in Raleigh NC this summer, dates were just announced (June 21-23), no additional info yet.

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Wow 2012 Already

2012-01-02T10:02:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!
It has been ages since I have posted and man do I have an excellent excuse.

2011 will always be "The Year Some Art Fabric Did 25 Shows."

Yep, I was in somewhere USA every other weekend in 2011. That is not really how quilt shows work, I was on the road for entire months, then home for a week or a night, then on the go again. This is a bit stressful for my family and my children. We started to homeschool this year so the girls could travel with me, but my youngest can be such a pouter that she is now only allowed to go on shows if one of her grandmothers can come along as chaperone. My older daughter is a rock star of customer service. This causes conflict, since big sister gets to go to shows and little sister does not. As a plus, I have seen friends and family that I have not seen in years, my girls got to meet my cousins' children in Cincinnati, my BF's children in Chicago, my aunts in Florida, etc.

We are wrapping up the longest break of the year, our last show was in West Palm Beach in mid November and I have been home and in theory, recovering. The show season starts again this week in Sanford, NC. So I am cutting and folding lots of new fabric. We will be cutting back on shows a bit this year, I think we are at 13 shows right now, with a few pending.

Here is a calendar so you can see when we will be visiting you!

I love you(r DNA) quilt

2011-09-30T05:00:00.000-04:00

Last night I taught a great group of ladies this quilt. I just updated the info. I will post new photos later today.

I just finished my second instructable for the great quilt I designed this weekend.

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Chicago, really Schaumberg

2011-05-22T08:31:00.000-04:00

Well the travel really never ceases these days. May has been light for travel, June starts a new series. Right now I am working on an overdue Birthday quilt that needs to be done for this cute child.

Before View Master was cool!

2011-05-07T17:05:00.000-04:00

In the final summer of the Atlanta College of Art, my older daughter and I decided to continue our education with some community ed. It was a sad summer to be at ACA, feelings were mixed, their purchase by Savannah College of Art & Design did not fit well with all. As a SCAD grad I understood, but I know that you can't mess with SCAD it has a life force all it's own.

Anyway this post is supposed to be about me being cool before my time:

See the view master disc, I though I was all that. Melody Miller eat your heart out, granted she is the one with a fabric line not me :-)

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Crystal Anninversary

2011-05-04T12:13:00.000-04:00

15 years of wedded bliss...

Kyoko and Beverly Bell

2011-04-23T10:15:00.003-04:00

Samples are so fun! I just picked up 2 beautiful samples from one of our sewist. Are you surprised? I would love to do all the sewing for the booth but then there would be no booth. The only thing I consistently make in our booth are the quilts and I am on the fourth top for the week, those I will post later, back to cute children in cute clothes.
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Lordy Lordy....

2011-04-22T11:57:00.000-04:00

The love of my life is FORTY!

Our first date - kinda maybe - clean up on the barrier Islands off the coast of Georgia.

Decatur -- Illinois

2011-04-17T09:30:00.001-04:00

I was a novice traveler, when we started Some Art Fabric 6 years ago I never thought I would travel far and wide to bring cool fabric to the masses. I also never thought I could back a trailer or drive 12 plus hours a day to get to a show or more likely, to get home.

This is so my life now and I want my children to see both how different and how much alike all people are, so on this first ever 3 weeks of shows with no going home I brought my oldest child. She is amazing! over the top and that is not just because I am her mother. She took to building the booth like a duck to .... , she is a charming sales person with skill. I could not have birthed a better helper if I tried.

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One night in Paducah

2011-04-07T07:41:00.000-04:00

On with the Some Art Fabric Spring Odyssey, it is not as fraught with danger as Homer's, but it is my personal journey through America in search of ... well that is still to be determined.

So first big decision before departing for Deactur, IL, ... am I pulling my oldest child out of school for 8 days to ride shotgun? This is HUGE for me, it is my thought that all of this travel should not be wasted on the old (me) and that my children would reap great rewards from being with me. Yes I am talking HOME SCHOOL or really hotel school. So should I start now? Should J come along, learn the ropes. The final decision is YES!

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March Madness

2011-03-29T08:44:00.000-04:00

The quilt show season started with a BANG! the first weekend of March Some Art Fabric was on the move. The mobile shop is all over. Our first stop was in Watkinsville GA for the Cotton Patch Quilt Show. This is one of my favorite local guild, their show is amazing and they feed the vendor so well. This year they did a CD to purchase so we can enjoy the quilts all year long. Here are some of my Favs!!

On to the Sewing Expo, Some Art Fabric taught Sneaters and the I Love Your DNA quilt.

The Sneater Invasion

2011-03-11T22:40:00.000-05:00

We had an outrageous time today at the Original Sewing & Quilt Expo in Atlanta.

Colleen Maria Casey (that's me) led a group of adventurers on an expedition to discover a band of wild Sneaters.
Actually it was a blast, but no one had trapse through the jungle.

In a lovely classroom at the Expo, we gathered Sneater kits got to work.

Do you see your Sneater in the photo?
Like our post on Facebook and show your friends your handywork!

Like this post on Facebook and claim the Sneater YOU discovered!

We are so thrilled with the new plushies. What surprises will you put in their pockets? What adventures will your Sneater take?
These cuties are made from felted wool sweaters and love hugs.

Universal Studios is NOT Gluten Free Friendly

2011-02-23T07:41:00.002-05:00

I am not a fan of grump posts but if I don't share this info about eating at Universal Studios, well other folk with Gluten sensitivities will be as clueless as I when they visit the park.

To preface this post, two years ago we went to three of the many Disney parks, we purchased the meal plan and loved it! When you purchase a Disney meal plan they ask you about food allergies. While at the park you carry a magnetic card with all of your info, at each restaurant they swipe your card and THEN the chef comes out to talk to you about what is Gluten Free and (in our case) Dairy Free and what can be prepared GF DF. AMAZING! They even had GF brownies for dessert and soy ice cream. At the pop stands they were aware of your allergies and at one stand they ran out of GF brownies and an employee went to another location to get one for my daughter. So WOW and way to go to Disney Parks' customer service for folks with food allergies.

Back to this weekends trip to Islands of Adventure at Universal.
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Saint Brigid Day February 1

2011-01-31T07:04:00.005-05:00

One day Dubhthach takes his daughter in a chariot to the King of Leinster to see if he can strike a deal to make her a member of the King's court. Brigid is left outside in the chariot, and while there, a leper approaches her, seeking alms. Without hesitation, Brigid hands over her father's sword, an item of great value. In the warlike province of Leinster, this says more than words can capture about Brigid's system of values. Needless to say, these values do not correspond with her father's, and he is furious when he discovers her action. Fortunately for Brigid, the King of Leinster is present as Dubhthach begins to chastise her, and he checks Dubhthach rage, saying: "Leave her alone, for her merit before God is greater than ours." Thus Brigid returns home, and through this incident of being praised by the king is also delivered from bondage. In time, Dubhthach tries to arrange a marriage for his daughter (another way of making her someone else's responsibility), but she isn't interested. Beautiful Brigid consecrated herself to God at a young age, choosing a life of virginity, dedication to God and service to the poor.

Lego Bracelet Tutorial

2011-01-15T15:03:00.001-05:00

Yes, I took another trip to the Hobby Lobby. I went for the first time before Christmas and now I am a bit hooked, they have tons!!! of great junk.

Remember my warning about not reinventing the wheel. Well this is a super fun wheel and a great project for little ish ones, (Choking Hazard) as long as Mom is in charge of the E 6000.

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Babycakes Mini Muffins

2010-12-30T12:38:00.001-05:00

For Christmas this year Bella asked for an Easy Bake Oven, with her Gluten allergy, I felt like the oven would be disappointing. One day during the last month we found ourselves at the JC Penny Store, we walked through the Home Appliance section and on one of the the end caps was this cute PINK Babycakes Mini Muffin maker. It is cheesy, and yet another appliance that will be stored under the cabinet or left on the counter to get in the way. The basic idea is that it has 8 wells to pour batter into and then is closes to create perfect round top muffins. Little Bit LOVED it, so Grandma went on the sly and got one for her. The recipe book that comes with it is not so helpful, all gluten recipes. Our first attempt we used a gluten free chocolate cake mix, it worked great. There was too much batter, we (I) made four batches, that does not seem like much but each batch takes 9 minutes and my helper lost interest after the first batch.

So this morning I sat down to create a gluten free recipe that would make about 2 batches, which is perfect cause the first batch get gobbled up as soon as it is cool enough to eat and than the next batch is ready by the time you have eaten the first.

Gluten Free Babycakes Fruit Muffins
Makes Approx 16 mini muffins

1 Egg
1/3 - 3/4 cup rice milk (start with 1/3 cup add more if needed after mixing in dry ingredients for good pouring consistency)
1 tsp vanilla
1 Frozen banana thawed and mashed or 1/2 cup Apple Sauce or 1/2 cup Fruit Preserves
6 shakes of Cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar (if you used perserves you may not need any additional sugar)
1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pancake Mix (this is what we had on hand, the mix is good cause it already has Baking Soda and Xanthan Gum in it)

Whisk together all of the liquid ingredients before adding dry ingredients (start with 1/3 cup milk add more if needed after you finish mixing in the dry ingredients to create a good pourable consistency or to extend the batter to get 2 batches).

Use spray oil on the muffin maker, the machine is non stick, our first batch stuck a little. We use a half cup measuring cup to pour the batter into the wells. DO NOT OVER FILL, the lid will come down and make a super big mess. I try to get A to under fill.We are still practicing.

Close the lid and set a timer for 9 minutes. Check to make sure they are done, Carefully use a spoon to remove the muffin, both the muffins and the maker are HOT.

Spray the oil on the maker and refill for another batch. Gobble down the first batch.

Go off and play, expect mommy to finish up.

In my experience, Gluten Free breads are good for the first day, then they get weird, moist gooey or super dry. So the Babycakes may be wonderful, it is easy to wipe down and it makes just enough to enjoy with no leftovers.

Yum Yum Yummy

2010-12-24T08:31:00.000-05:00

I am not a baker, my sole purpose in the kitchen is to make coffee. Yesterday I decided I needed to step to it if I wanted any Gluten Free, Lactose Free yummy treats for the holiday.

Thanks to Dot at Food Whirl's twitter messages there was an amazing cookies recipe, originally posted at Delicious Delicious Delicious. The Chocolate, Cinnamon and Peanut Butter Cookies recipe is NOT gluten free, I subbed in Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Flour and dark chocolate chunks. The dough was super stiff and did not bubble up and melt flat like wheat cookies. Next batch I will probably add an extra egg and more baking soda. If I have it in the fridge I will add some Xanthan Gum, which is supposed to help make gluten free flour less absorbent or something (it is in all the GF bread recipes). The cookies taste great and look good but they are a bit heavy.

PIE!

What is a holiday without Pie! My children informed me that they prefer Pumpkin Pie to Pecan Pie. FOOLS! I made both.

I used a the Gluten Free ready made crust from Whole Foods, these crusts are not dairy free. The crusts have butter, which does not seem to bother my daughter (butter should have very little lactose if properly made), very good cause I am no crust maker.

Dairy Free Pecan Pie recipe came from Dairy Free Cooking, this recipe does not use corn syrup, just brown sugar. Pick you poison I guess. My mom gave us whole pecans in our holiday gift bag, so Arabella took the time to make mandala style designs on the top of the pecan pie. I followed the recipe, the only sub I made was to use tinned Coconut milk for the soy milk and the margarine and GF Flour. The top of the pie crusted beautifully before the middle was done, I hovered a bit to make sure the crust did not burn.

Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie recipe came from Food.com. This is a pretty basic recipe, I subbed in tinned Coconut Milk for the liquid part. I think it could use a bit more sugar, it almost taste healthy and maybe more spice. The crust did get a little too brown by the time the center was done, I should have lowered the temp to 350, I think 400 was too hot.

Hopefully there will be pie to bring to my dad's house tomorrow, last night we had pie for dinner. PIE is healthy, I went through a dozen eggs yesterday and nuts and coconut milk and beta carotene. All very good for you. Hubby asked if we had any veggies yesterday, only if baked beans count. Yeah for the holidays and yeah for yummy food.

Going to the Birds

2010-12-22T08:19:00.001-05:00

Okay I am moving on, this holiday season feels pretty over, at least from a making standpoint. I need to think about spring and what is better than birds and birdhouses. So to that end, I started searching for patterns of plush birds I could fiddle with and make my very own. I found a lot of patterns for flat birds (no gussets) and some folks who are making 3 -D birds and the Spool bird pattern.

So I just started with a traditional shaped bird, slopey back and tummy added a gut gusset and a head gusset. Kinda liked them, my cat LOVED them, which is why they are covered in hair and other gunk. I thought they needed a tail. I added a tail to the last one and called it finished, I can't find that one, thanks kitty. They felt more like ornaments for the tree, I think I was still in Christmas mode.

So I made one of the Spool birds and it is too fat, too big and too puffy. I like the one back seam and how the tail was part of the body but ...

Let's modify! I put the pattern on a diet and reduced the overall size, then I significantly changed the tummy gusset and the tail, much sleeker. I added a head gusset but it looked wrong I kept changing the shape of it, still wrong. Finally, hubby suggested I make the head seam "correctly" or on the inside and let the other seams show. I knew I married him for a reason, he makes the hard choices. The inside head gusset made it look like a bird head instead of a bird with a hat on. On the last one I added some legs, that are seriously weird and I need to work on them.

Still not sure if this will get past the prototype stage but if you have been looking for some bird tutorial here are a few I looked at:

Here is a very cute mobile and tutorial using the Spool pattern made by Jen at House of Wood.

Retro Mama has an adorable Partridge pattern, just right if you need to make yourself crazy before Saturday.

Here is a cute Robin pattern from Bird's Party

Lunarcy

2010-12-21T07:59:00.000-05:00

What could be more fun than waking your seven year old up for a lunar eclipse on the longest night of the year. Arabella was so game, she understood the concept of solar eclipse, it took a bit to get that it happens to the moon too. We set the alarm for 2 am, we brought out our sleeping bag, pillows and bunches of quilts and made a snuggly bed in the truck. We only saw about 4 glimpses of the moon as it flashed through the cloud cover but that was enough.

We giggled, laughed and make silly jokes that can only be made at 3 in the morning while you are getting sneaky glances at the moon, snuggled into the bed of your truck with your family. Daddy keep hushing us cause he was afraid we would wake the neighbors, silly daddy the neighbors should be outside with us. I missed our big girl and I hope that my mom took her out to watch the night show.

Made in America--Kinda

2010-12-20T11:55:00.001-05:00

Why is a Jeep Commercial so heartbreaking? I saw this ad and the words made me cry. I don't give a rat's backside about Jeep, they are cashing in on a moment, a realization that as a culture we have lost something.

We all have our soap boxes and I realize mine is a bit shaky. For all of my buy local, support the arts and grow your own foodism--I feel like a hypocrite, in a very big way.

This holiday as I make make make our gifts I realized that even if I am making the final product, many of the components are not made in America (MIA), they are made in China (MIC) or Japan or some other country far away. Since the ones MIC don't have a disclaimer, they were probably made by children and prisoners.

This leaves me in a quandary, do I abhor all things manufactured outside of the USA? I think I allow myself to temper that thought with the fact that there is not a MIA option. As an artist, crafter, educator and local/online shop owner, I support the making of things. The things I make and sell feed my family, not feeding my family is not an option.

Thinking sucks.

Comedy Of Errors

2010-12-16T08:05:00.002-05:00

Have you ever had an idea, then bumbled your way through figuring it out, spent way more than you anticipated and yelled at your kids because it was all for them?

That would about sum up the holiday gifts we (I) made (are making) for my daughters' friends and teachers.

Idea!! Magnets are cool but who wants them for just the refrigerator. I want to make a necklace with magnets that kids can swap (cause I am so over silly bandz).

Research: I see it on etsy, looks doable. A lot of folks use bottle caps, those make me nervous they have sharp edges and you fill them with epoxy, yuck! I see that they now have an epoxy style sticker, still sharp edges. My best bud has a 1 inch button maker I can borrow. DONE! Let's order the magnet button supplies (100 is the minimum, we don't have that many friends, we will give multiples) and something that we can make into a pendant.

Reality: I am cheap, I don't want to order bezel pendants, so what else would work? Dog tags out of stainless steel, much less than pendants.
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Dear Mommy

2010-12-09T10:18:00.001-05:00

To the gifts you keep forever, written by my 9-year-old for her little sister, a gift to me for my birthday.

Handmade Shopping til Dec 24th

2010-12-07T06:42:00.004-05:00

Find Sloth Craft Holiday gifts and others crafty artists all month at these amazing locations:

Naked Art
3831 Clairmont Avenue
Birmingham, AL 35222
Monday thru Saturday 10:30 - 7, Sunday noon - 4

Craftland
235 Westminster Street
Providence RI 02903
Craftland Show is a month-long annual holiday sale in downtown Providence, RI that celebrates all kinds of sparkly handmade objects and the 170 artists who make them.

Atlanta Events

Spruill Gallery
4681 Ashford Dunwoody Road
Wednesday-Saturday, 11am - 5pm

Young Blood Gallery
636 N Highland Ave. Atlanta, GA 30306

Arts for All Gallery at VSA arts of Georgia
Suite R-1, 57 Forsyth ST NW
Atlanta, GA 303903

ICE Pop Up Shop

Open Every DayNovember 26th - December 30, 2010
Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30309

Support the arts,

purchase one of a kind handmade gifts for the holiday!

Delivering Ornaments

2010-11-07T07:39:00.003-05:00

Before I leave for the West Palm Quilt show I have to send out the first batch of my ornaments to galleries. Here is where you can find the exceptionally awesome stuff I make.

Naked Art, Birmingham, AL
They just moved into their new location
3831 Clairmont Avenue
Birmingham, AL 35222

Craftland
235 Westminster Street
Providence RI 02903
Craftland Show is a month-long annual holiday sale in downtown Providence, RI that celebrates all kinds of sparkly handmade objects and the 170 artists who make them.

Atlanta Events
Spruill Gallery

Opening Reception: November 18
4681 Ashford Dunwoody Road
Atlanta, Georgia 30338

The Work of Our Hands

Opening Reception: Thursday, November 18, 2010
The Work of Our Hands Artists Market will be held from November 18 – 21 at The Cathedral of St. Philip. This acclaimed show features nearly 90 local and regional artists. Proceeds from the show support the Emmaus House and the Agape Center.

Indie Craft Experience
November 20 + 21 at Ambient Plus, 11am-6pm both days.
The Holiday Shopping Spectacular will be our 11th show and will feature 100 of the best indie crafters from the Southeast and beyond! Can't wait!

Opening Reception: Friday, November 26th - Black Friday - 4 -9 pm

November 26th - December 30, 2010
Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30309

Young Blood Gallery
636 N Highland Ave. Atlanta, GA 30306
Gotta Get back to makin' stuff!

Ann Rosener WPA Photographer

2010-11-04T08:53:00.001-04:00

Once upon a time I was a photography teacher and I created a bunch of presentation to share with my students.

Here is some info on Ann Rosener

Woman Photojournalist: Library Of Congress

More images and a bit of info at Shorpy Historic

Ann is not the most famous WPA photographer but she is certainly out there and her images are powerful documents of our country in a time of crisis.

Georgia Quilt Show 2010

2010-10-17T10:05:00.001-04:00

Four years into doing shows and I think we created out best booth ever. My other mother, Barbara, insisted that I create a layout for this booth. Two weeks ago we were in Chantilly and I was a wreck, I keep rearranging the fixtures and I was never quite happy. It took a lot of paper, crumble up and recycled, before I came up with a good open design.
So here is my paper draft:

So amazingly enough, it did not fit quite as drawn cause there were poles in the back, which I thought I accounted for and power cord issues BUT!
Here is the finished booth:

And Another View:

Wow! it took a long time to build this booth, mostly cause it was so different from our previous booths but I really love it and folks can see all the wonderful patterns and fabric.
Just as an aside, we did cover all the understock and boxes before the customers arrived.
Thanks Mom Barbara for pushing me to build a better booth. And Thanks Georgia Quilt Council and all the amazing folks who stopped in to shop, this was our best show this year!

Odyssey of the Mind Characters

2010-10-13T07:10:00.000-04:00

Pippi Longstocking

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde transformation

Oliver! - 'What you starin' at?'

A "Very" Cool Quilt

2010-10-04T06:53:00.001-04:00

One of our customers just emailed me some great pictures of a quilt she made using Eric Carle's Very Hungry Caterpillar fabric. There are now three lines out by the amazing children's author.

I bought the fabric from you earlier this year and firstly made a cot quilt for a baby grandson. Then I made this larger single bed quilt for 2 year old William. Just wanted to say thanks - the fabric is great quality and easy to sew with. The colour are bright and very effective together.
Although I also bought some of your panels, I decided to make the pictures in this quilt with applique. The appliques are mostly from the Hungry Caterpillar fabric, too. i'll do some with the panels next!

Alison, Thanks for sharing! I love the applique.

Egg Muffins, Yum!

2010-08-14T10:06:00.005-04:00

Thought I would share our favorite breakfast with you! The girls love this and it is fast enough to happen on a school day, requires almost no prep and the leftovers are a hit for snack or another breakfast.

Ingredients:
Organic Free Range Eggs (we use the whole dozen)
Gluten Free Pre Cooked Sausage (We Like Wellshire Maple Pork) or Lunch Meat
Spray oil

Muffin Tin
Fork
Small Bowl, If you don't like eggs with visible yokes.

Prep:

Night Before: Pull the sausage out of the freezer and pop it in the fridge.

Morning of: If you are using lunch meat or want to add peppers or cheese dice it up into small chunks.
- Set Oven to 350

Spray your muffin pan with a spray oil. This helps keep the eggs from sticking to the pan and make cleanup a breeze.

Crack one egg and deposit the egg into one muffin compartment (is there a better term for that?). I break the yoke with a folk. If you don't want the yoke to be so evident then crack the egg in a bowl and give it a good mix with the fork first (sometimes the eggs that are more mixed will stick a bit to the muffin pan). That is what I did on the bottom row of eggs.

Slice half of a sausage link in with each egg, gently press down so that the egg covers the link.

OR add whatever good stuff you like with eggs: peppers, cheese, salsa. Press gently into the egg.

Cook at 350˚for approx. 20 minutes. This is a personal decision. The girls like runny eggs so I will occasionally pull it from the oven after 15 minutes. If I know we are eating at home.

Serve up or if you are late for school tell them they can eat them in the car. After the egg muffins are cool, I put them in the fridge for another breakfast or snack.

Why do I love these so much!

The pan is usually easy to clean up, more so than my cast iron after making eggs.
I can walk away from the eggs once they are in the oven, which makes for a great breakfast that I don't have to hover over.
It is already in serving sized bits.
It is not messy to eat with your hands (if needed).
The girls love it!
Oh, and it is a power packed protein meal that sticks a bit better than toast.

Castle Peep Quilt Kits & Summer Camp

2010-07-26T04:00:00.001-04:00

For the Knoxville AQS show I made up the Castle Peep Quilt kit from Andover. It was a great hit and I have a few left in all of the colorways. The quilt kit shown in the pattern is in green, but there is also a red-orange-pink color way and a blue colorway. I made more of the green but sold more of the blue, go figure. It only takes about 30 minutes to make and looks super cute.

The kit includes all of the fabric for the 44 x 50 top and binding

1/2 yard of 4874
1/2 yard of 4871
1/2 yard of 4872
1/2 yard of 4875
7/8 yard 4876
1 5/8 yard 4373

I love the Lizzy House designs and this summer she is sponsoring a Castle Peeps Summer Camp with fun downloads and great ideas for her fabric. Run over and visit with her and then hop over to our shop and pick up your supplies so you can make some of the cool project she is sharing.

Izzy and Ivy come to play

2010-07-25T12:13:00.005-04:00

Have you heard of the cool children's clothing designer Izzy & Ivy? Well they are one of my new favorites. Their patterns are easy to make, and the go up to size 14, which means I can make an outfit for little bit in size 6 and her big sis in size 14.

We have a bunch of her patterns in stock and we are working on samples of many of them. I will post pictures as soon as they are done.

Avery Olivia Dress

is all about sweet shirring, and girly ruffles.
The middle ruffle is pieced so that you can include all of your favorite fabrics.
This is an easy to sew dress that any girl would love.

Beverly Bell Top

This was one of our most popular patterns this past week at Knoxville and I am working on a sample right now.

This is a fun Babydoll top....with a twist!
The stripes swirl around the skirt of the shirt.

Jack n Jill Hat

So sweet and can be made for a little boy very easily, our sample is made with the Be a Man fabric. Sized up to a 22 inch head, so can be made for most adults.

Macy Giggles Dress

Easy and breezy as a bright spring day. As refreshing as a child's giggle.
This sundress is cute enough for a party, and comfortable enough for play.You'll love how fast this dress comes together.Make it with or without pockets, and with a thin or wide band on the skirt.

We are also working on a sample of this one. Can't wait to show off the cutie pies in my life wearing clothes made from these adorable patterns.

If you life the Castle Peep fabric from Lizzy House, so does Izzy & Ivy her most recent blog post shows off a redone bedroom for her little one.

Recycling for Christmas

2010-07-21T04:00:00.004-04:00

Those of you who make your holiday have already started, right. Since I make holidays for others I started working on our Christmas line back in March. I am prepping aluminum cans to the made into ornaments, earring & bookmarks.

My friends and family save all of their cans, but then I have to cut them down to make space. Usually I don't need thousands of cans but this year I went global and two of my ornaments will be in a VERY BIG CATALOG, which will remain nameless until the print date.

Here is a sneak at the glamorous back side of using recycled cans for creating art:

Once I get them all cut down and washed they head to the basement to be stored or if I still feel like standing for another hour I run them through the accucut. Making 500 items was easy, I think making 3000 may be a huge challenge.

Drink up and save your cans cause I need them to make Some Art.

Kokeshi Make & Take from Melly

2010-07-20T09:02:00.000-04:00

Late yesterday I received an email from a customer that put a huge grin on my face.

Hello ladies!

I stopped by your booth at the AQS show in Knoxville and picked up your embroidery special - 2 DMC thread colors and a hoop, then you get the linen with the pattern stamped on it. so cute! Of course I'm addicted to embroidery now! Finished that cute doll pattern, and have downloaded several more :) My question for you is: I loved the linen that your free pattern was printed/stamped on. What is it called? And do you stock it in your store? And do you stock any more embroidery patterns?

Thanks ladies - for introducing me to hand embroidery! What fun fun fun!

Good Ferments Explode

2010-07-09T15:38:00.001-04:00

This morning, I went to check on my ferments and there was a MESS.

Yesterday I added more flour, sugar, soda starter to my gluten free kinda Amish Bread starter. Some time during the night it oozed out of the loosely closed jar.

When I opened the jar this morning to pour it into a larger jar it EXPLODED!

It ended up everywhere. All over me, the floor. I am sure to find it for days.

The dough starter, which is one cup gluten free flour mix, one cup ginger soda stater, one cup sugar, has some kick.

Not sure how it will work when I bake with it but should be fun. I added another one cup of all after I moved it into a larger container. I will try to make a cake with it tomorrow.

Food Allergies & Fermented Foods

2010-07-02T09:23:00.002-04:00

I am crafty, right now most of my craft energy is happening in the KITCHEN. Yikes. I don't cook, I can make 3 meals really well and that is what we eat: Meatloaf, Spaghetti, Baked Chicken oh and Tuna Casserole, so four meals. I make enough for leftover and it is a really good week if I make three, otherwise we are likely to have cereal for dinner. NOT so right now! in the last two weeks we have seen new and amazing dishes like homemade gluten free pizza, homemade granola, sauerkraut the list goes on and it is really kinda fun. Some of the fun comes from the fact that the girls are old enough to clean the kitchen up when I am finished, some from moving outside of my comfort zone. I have been feeding a family since I was 16, that was my job. I made the list, went to the store and made all the meals. It was not really a huge bit of fun for a teenager and that is where I mastered my four meals.

So fast forward my life, married with kids, and in charge of feeding and watering, but there is a glitch, my youngest is allergic to milk and wheat (Dairy Free/Gluten Free are we!) and apparently so am I. I was not before I had Arabella, I ate bread and cheese all the time, was I tired, cranky, yes probably but many would say I still am, so how did I become "allergic" after I had my second child. Here is the story:

Read more »

Fermentation Insanity

2010-06-28T17:47:00.003-04:00

I have gone off the deep end. When I do things I tend to go overboard but this is a fun crazy new level, even for me.

A few weeks ago I went to Tennessee to see what I could see about eating real food. Well, I came back with a Jun scoby (fancy kombucha scoby) and some just started Mead. Today behold the top of my refrigerator.

It is crazy fun that maybe only I will eat.
From L-R:
Ginger Soda Starter
Blueberry - Cherry Soda (Day 1)
Kombucha
Mead
That is the first row anyway.

Read more »

A "Very" Simple Quilt

2010-06-24T21:36:00.007-04:00

Next month my nephew will celebrate his second birthday. Jacob will move from babydom to childhood and he needs a new quilt to go with his new status.

So what other fabrics to use than the wonderful designs of Eric Carle. There are now three fabric lines from Andover Fabrics showcasing this talented artist & children's author. I used fabric from all three to create this "very" simple quilt. This quilt & a kit with all of the precut fabric will be in at our booth in Knoxville next month. When I break down the show the "very" simple quilt & corresponding books will be on it way West to my delightful nephew. I hope he drags it through the dusty roads of his childhood and loves it dearly.

Eric Carle's newest line is called the Very Series and it has images from:

The Very Busy Spider
The Very Lonely Firefly, 1995

Featured in the panel:
The Very Hungry Caterpillar, 1969
The Very Clumsy Click Beetle, 1999
The Very Quiet Cricket, 1990

Making Hooch in a Hotel

2010-06-17T22:43:00.003-04:00

Okay, I am not actually making hooch. I am making Jun, which, I think, is just fancy Kombucha. I received a mother scoby two weeks ago at the Food for Life event at Sequatchie Valley Institute. As soon as I got home I made a batch of strong Green Tea & added honey. I let the brew sit overnight so that the chlorine would dissipate from the tap water. The next morning I carefully placed the scoby into the room temperature tea / honey mix and thus started my first batch of Jun. I was told that this mother scoby was different from a kombucha mother scoby because it needed honey for food and not white sugar. I can't really speak to that, this is my second experiment in fermented beverage (first is the mead we also made that weekend).

Anywho, I left for the Quilt Symposium of Alabama in Cullman three days later, leaving the Jun to do whatever it did. I arrived home on Sunday, kissed the kids and checked the hooch (the mead and the Jun). The mead looked good, the Jun scoby, which was floating peacefully on the top when I left, was all kattywampus. My beloved stirred the wrong concoction. Oh NO!!!

No fear! I would see what the Jun tasted like after a week and start a new batch. I was happy to discover that even thought the Jun had a rough week, the mother scoby created a daughter scoby and the mixture had a sweetish fermented / vinegary smell. Using CLEAN hands I scooped out the scoby and placed it in a clean container, decanted about 80% of the Jun into another clean plastic container and put it in the fridge.

Drum Roll Please!!!

After chilling the Jun for a few hours we had a taste test. And the results are:

Daddy - Yum!
Red 1 - Supper Yum, makes her feel as good as an hour of Yoga. Drama much!

Red 2 - Yuck!
Mommy - Hmm... This taste like really tart unsweetened carbonated tea, not sure I can swing it with out some juice mixed in.

From what I have read and what I was told this mixture could be carbonated (ours was), should still be kinda sweet after only a week (ours was not) and should have a very low alcohol level (did not perceive any alcohol reaction).

So you might want to know where I came up with the title of this entry. Well, I am getting there.

Double fermentation, I read an interesting article at Food Renegade that had you pouring some fruit juice into a mason jar, adding your kombucha and closing up the jar for another 48 hours. I figured it might be better for me than adding straight up sugar to the Jun and it should work cause I kinda think that Jun & kombucha are the same basic process. Using a mason jar, I added a cup of Cherry juice and then filled the the jar with Jun. Then I tossed it in the car and drove it to Ohio for a quilt show. My mason jar full of Cherry Jun got an odd reaction from my other mother and super quilt helper. She smelled it and tasted it and promptly decided I was brewing hooch. If you have consumed homemade kombucha or made it yourself you know that once you separate from its mother it get lonely and grews a new mother. Not really, it just continues to do whatever fermenting it was already doing and a scum forms on the top that will become a new mother. Still not a darling image.

How is it that I am fermenting Jun in my hotel room? I had a glass of Jun the first day, on the second day I realized that I would run out of Jun before I returned home to my stash, I mean the new Jun I started before I left. What to do, go without?? Well I have only been drinking it for 3 days so it would not be a super tragedy. OR I could go to the free breakfast buffet and make a cup of super strong green tea and get a glass of cranberry juice (which might have been a bad choice cause I think cranberries are antiseptic) and add it to my mason jar of hooch, I mean Jun.

So we got home from the quilt show this evening and I checked on my Jun, it is well on it way to making a new mother and it is very carbonated. I will check it in the morning and see if it is palatable.

Just for the record, I think I am actually just making carbonated juice and it probably has very few of the esteemed and oft lauded wonders of the miraculous kombucha (maybe aka) Jun.

Summer Sewing Camp

2010-06-08T16:11:00.000-04:00

Do you know someone between the ages of 12 and 18 that wants to be an indie design superstar? Send them to fashion camp!

A Very Sunny Tea Cozy Tutorial

2010-05-31T09:42:00.000-04:00

When I saw the NEW Hungry Caterpillar panel from Eric Carle & Andover, I knew I wanted to make my mom something with it.

Not actually with the caterpillar part, with the sun. Every time I look at it I hear the song, You are my Sunshine, which my mom used to sing to me when I was a child.

My mom loves hot tea and she needed a newr tea cozy, so here it goes.
Supplies:
One New Very Hungry Caterpillar Panel
1/2 yard of Cotton Batting or Pellon Thermolan
1/2 yard of lining fabric
Basic machine sewing supplies.

I cut the panel in half and measures my Fiesta tea pot, mom's teapot is a bit bigger,

I folded a large piece of brown paper in half to make the pattern.
To make the half circle I made a compass with a piece of twill and a pencil.
My pattern is approx. 16 x 10. It may be a bit large for most tea pots but I did not want to cut off too many for the sun rays.

Use the pattern to cut 2 each of liner, batting or Thermolan, and the front Sun panel.

Make a fabric sandwich.
Lay liner WS up then the batting or Thermolan, then the sunshine RS up.

Use your walking foot and or your free motion foot to quilt the three layers together. I used a combo of free motion quilting and straight line quilting. Sew around the outside edges.

The quilting is decorative so go wild. I outlined the sun rays and then did free motion inside the sun face.

For the small loop at the top.
Cut 2 x 6 inches of the liner fabric.
Fold in half WST
Sew 1/4 inch away from the fold.
Trim excess seam allowance down to 1/8 inch.

Use a safety pin to turn.

Trim to the stitch line.

Pin the skinny strap to the center top.
Baste in place.

Put the Sun sides together. Line up the ground. Sew 1/2 inch seam on the curved top.

Finish the inside seam.

Cut a strip 2.25 x WOF of the liner fabric.
Fold in half.
Iron
Sew the raw edge of the strip to the bottom raw edge of the Sun side of the cozy 1/4 inch SA.
This is just like binding a quilt.

Fold the strip over the raw edge and hand sew it down inside the cozy.

Turn it Sun side out and pop it on your favorite teapot.

Stawberry Fields

2010-05-30T18:26:00.000-04:00

Yummy Yummy Strawberries for us! You Pick Um!

Flower Book Belt

2010-05-10T06:26:00.000-04:00

More fun with the fabric flowers. Here is the tutorial on how to make the flowers.

Supplies

Finished Fabric Flower

2 D rings

Black Felt circle 2 inches

Grosgrain Ribbon in a size that fit your D rinds

Super Thick Tacky Glue

Measure around your book with your ribbon add a few inches to be safe, you can cut it down later.

Slide the 2 D rings onto the end of the ribbon.

Fold over at approximately an inch.

Stitch Down the ribbon.

Sew the 2 inch Felt circle to the ribbon WST.

Smear on some Super Thick Tacky Glue.

Press the gluey felt circle to the existing felt circle on the finished back of your flower. Let it dry.

A Book Belt!

Look good at the pool with your very fashionably attired book!

More Front Garden Pictures

2010-05-09T07:27:00.000-04:00

Can you see MOM?

2010-05-09T04:00:00.001-04:00

Fabric Flower Wreath

2010-05-03T19:52:00.001-04:00

So I made some (like 12) fabric flowers. I love my MIL, she is not going to wear one much less 12. So onto the making of a wreath.

I had a wire wreath in my stash.

I placed it on some green felt and marked around the wreath about an inch away from the edge.

Then I cut out the felt.
I snipped ease into the outside and inside curves to make it easier to glue.

Use a hot glue gun to attach felt to the wire.
Start on one exterior side, then attach a flange on the opposite side, then to the top, then to the bottom.
This should help keep it wompus instead of caddy wompus.

Looks pretty good if you don't check the back.

Evenly distribute your fabric flowers ( I only used 8) and hot glue them down to the felt. I am pretty in love with this I need to make a few in my favorite colors.
The tutorial for the flowers is here.

Fabric Flowers For Mother's Day

2010-05-02T10:22:00.002-04:00

What to do? What to make for the super mom in your life? I am not fond of dead flowers, more commonly known as cut flowers. It bothers me that they are chopped off at their prime and stuck in sugar water for my personal enjoyment. If you want to give me vegetation it should have some roots. So to that end, every year I purchase my mom & myself a new (old) antique rose. I usually visit our local nursey Hastings. If you are in the Metro Atlanta area and have never visited, it is a treat, my kids love it: turtles, fish, parrots and sometime even bunnies along with many hard to find plants. The antique roses are amazing and they thrive with no spraying or extra work. They make me smile for months instead of days. This year after they bloom I am going to try making some rose cutting and see if I can make more of my antiques roses to share. I have successfully rooted only one rose and it was an important one. I took the cutting from the roadside of 515 near Blue Ridge during one of the many round trips I make 3 years ago during my mom's chemo. This rose has not bloomed yet but it has buds this years and I will share as soon as I have pictures.

Wow, What was this post supposed to be about? Fabric Flowers! Let me get back on topic!

So since I don't give cut flowers and fabric flowers last forever here is how to make some.

Pick out your favorite (or their favorite) colors. My MIL loves lavender / purple. Cut out some circles.
For each flower you will need
4 large (5.5 inches)
4 medium (4 inches) circles,
1 small (2 inches) circle Brown or Yellow Fabric,
1 small (2 inches) circle Green Felt.
Thread, Glue and a Pin back.

Cut the large (5.5 inch) circles in half. Making 8 half circles.

Fold the half circles into quarter circles RST and stitch down the straight edge (1/8 inch seam allowance). Snip apart.

Flip right sides out and make a bunch of cute tents.

Fold Down the cone so that the seam falls in the back of the petal.
Using a strong thread, like upholstery or hand quilting thread, begin to gather the raw edge. The bottom may not line up perfectly, do not worry, just be sure to catch both layers.
Sew 8 petals together. Form a circle by sewing the last petal to the first petal. Tighten up your gathered edge and take and extra stitch then tie of your first layer.

The second layer of petals uses the medium full circles.
Fold the circle in half WST and start gathering on the curved raw edge. Make sure to catch to top and bottom layer. Using the full circle makes a soft rounded petal. Sew four petals, sew the last one to the first one. Tie off BUT don't CUT your thread.

Place the smaller layer on to of the larger layer.
Stitch them together through the hole in the middle.

Center Stuffed yoyo.
Use the 2 inch circle. Sew around the entire circumference of the circle, place a small bit of poly fil and gather up your stitches. Tie it off but don't cut the thread.

Sew the plush yoyo down to the center front of the flower.

Using Super Thick Tacky Glue put a bead of glue on the green felt.
Place it on the back of the flower, thus hiding all the raw edges.

Glue down the pin back.

Cut a scrap of green felt the width of the inside of your pin back.
Glue the rectangle of green felt over the bar of your pin back

Hot glue could be used if you need instant pin backs, I prefer the Super Thick glue.

This option has a covered button in the center, I found those a bit of pain to put in, since you have to wait until the green felt circle on the back is dried. If you want to try a covered button we did a tutorial on making covered buttons you might want to see.

This example uses only full circles 5 large & 5 Medium, it is the sample for my students' MD project.

This example uses 5 large full circles and 5 medium half circles.

This is the tutorial flower with a yellow center.

Other ways to use your flowers:
Use a wreath form and make a fabric flower wreath for the door. Last year we made a wreathe of paper flowers that was a hit.
Attach a thick pony elastic to the the back (sew this in a I doubt the glue would hold)
Glue / sew it to a headband.
Sew it to a Farmers Market Tote

Singlet Grocery Tote

2010-04-25T16:52:00.003-04:00

I have a confession to make. Sometime I start a project and it never gets done. Some folks call these UFOs:Unfinished Objects, some WIPs: Works in Progress. What ever you call them, at some point in time you need to finished them, throw them away or donate them to another fool. Yesterday I spent the entire day moving, cleaning and reorganizing my multi craft room. I found a lot of unfinished items.

This particular unfinished project was started back in December of 2008. I wanted to make reusable bags for all of our gift giving. The tutorial up at Craftster is amazing. I started out great, made a prototype, finished it . Then I decided to make 25. The difference between one and twenty-five is HUGE. Just washing and ironing all of the fabric took a day.

Well it is now the spring of 2010 and I finished 15 of the bags today (where are the other 10?? I am not sure). I simplified and skipped steps and used my serger. They don't fold up cute and fit into a pocket because they don't have that pocket.

I did the side and bottom seam differently, mostly because I wanted to experiment with some bottom/side finishes.

To make the triangle fold in the side seam you sew the bottom seam first then you fold the bottom seam up an inch so that the bottom seam is caught up in the side seam.

When you flip it RS out you have this cool triangle flap. I had to do this 3 times before I got it right. My first time the flap ended up on the bottom, then then second try was still not right. Third time a charm.

As a Stash Buster this is truly great, I used about 3/4 of a yard for the exterior and 3/4 for the lining. It is perfect for all the weird novelty fabrics you purchase for a special someone, then you don't know what to make with the strange turkey, cartoon, frog, Strawberry Shortcake fabric.

Mother's Day is right around the corner and I know what my moms will be getting.

Our Front Garden

2010-04-23T11:42:00.004-04:00

We are working towards an edible landscape in the front yard for us and for the birds and butterflies. Last year we had beautiful tomotoes in the very front of the house, right up by the street. We replaced the tomatoes with blueberry bushes, apple trees, pomegrante, strawberries and a BUNCH of flowers.

We need to start pruning and shaping these brand new apple saplings. Research has been done, we need to create a good crotch in the trees, so they will be able to bear the weight of their fruit.

This look like lot of green. In the background are daylilies, some lavender and a bright pink perenial that I swapped seeds for. To the very right is out new Pomagrante, it is more like a shrub than a tree.

Second year Holleyhocks. Can't wait to see how they look.

Love the pink dianthus.

Bachelar Buttons. I am not sure when these were planted they must be from the seed mix I put out last year.

Strawberry plants from last weeks farmers' market. Not sure if we will be harvasting these or they will just be ground cover.

Bronze Fennel, which is official an annual but this is the orginal plant I put in the ground last year. Maybe it is a half hardy perennial. The butterflies are supposed to like it.

These are lots of plants, but most are daisies. I got hundrends of their itty bitty seeds last fall at the farmers' market.

"Stash Buster" Zippered Wallet

2010-04-20T09:06:00.010-04:00

Got right on this tutorial since Dollar Store Crafts stash busting event wraps up on my husband's birthday, I mean Earth Day.

1/2 inch Seam Allowance.
Supplies Needed
Scraps of cotton fabric
7 inch zipper
Split ring
Pellon Fusible Fleece

Using Scraps cut the following:
Front top
4 x 8 Cotton
2 x 8 Fusible Fleece
Front Bottom
8 x 8 Cotton
4 x 8 Fusible Fleece
Middle Divider (optional)
11.5 x 8 Cotton
Back
12 x 11.5 (or 2 pieces 6 x 11.5) Cotton
No Fleece in back.
Strap
3 x 8 Cotton

Fuse the Fleece (refer to manufactures' instructions) to the top & bottom front pieces.
Fold the top & bottom front pieces over the fleece and press.
Fold the Middle divider in half (4 x 11.5), press & top stitch.
Fold the 12 x 11.5 in half (6 x 11.5), if you cut two pieces just lay them out WST.
For Strap fold in the raw edges, press and top stitch both long sides of strap (.75 x 8).

Putting in the zipper! Don't sweat this, I did not even use a zipper foot. The fleece give the 2 front pieces some depth which makes it easier to sew in the zipper.
Place the finished edge of the bottom front piece up right next to the zipper teeth. The zipper tape should be 8 inches long just like your front piece. Slowly sew down the edge of the fabric about 1/8 inch away from the zipper teeth.

AS you get close to the zipper pull, put your needle in the down position.
Lift the presser foot.

Use a chop stick to push the zipper pull past the presser foot. Some zippers will only move if the pull is going in the correct direction, so if you are struggling just flip the pull over and try again.
Lower the presser foot and continue to the edge of the fabric & zipper tape.
Line up the finished edge of the top front piece with the other side of the zipper and repeat.

Zipper Done!

Make a sandwich with most of your parts.

Lay the front piece with finished zipper down first.
Layer the folded back piece or the 2 6 x 11.5 back pieces, ALIGN to one of the short sides.
add the folded divider align to the same short side and to the bottom.
THE BACK PIECES ARE LONGER THAN THE FRONT.
Sew the sides with the zipper side UP!!! Sew one of the short sides. Watch out for the metal ends of the zipper. You should miss them, but move past them slowly cause they will snap your needle right off.

There will be a bump in the back fabric.

Trim (if needed) and finish the seam. I used my zig zag stitch.
Look, the edges of the back poke out and you can see them from the front.

If you were to flip it to sneak a peak, this is what it would look like . BUT don't do it cause you will just have to flip it back to finish it up.

Put the strap into the split ring then slide into the sandwich, pin to the front top on the same side as the zipper pull when the zipper is closed.

Please note that the slightly wider back is folded and extends past the front pieces.

Pin the top and the bottom. This is a view from the back.

Here is view of the front.

!!! Make Sure the zipper is open before you continue to the next step!!

Sew the top and bottom egde. Finish the seams.

Turn right side out. Poke out the corner.

I added a few strands of dmc floss to make a zipper tassel.

All Done.

In retrospect: for my next tote and wallet I will make the wallet first and then attach it to the top edge with 2 straps from the top of the wallet, while I construct the overall tote. I will not need the ring and clasp. OR if I really want to have the wallet removable I will shorten the straps, cause as it is now constructed the wallet will drop into the bottom of the bag and perhaps end up under my veggies.

Far Far Away - Heather Ross

2010-04-20T05:49:00.000-04:00

How cool is my hubby. It is important that he use his video skill for the good of all (fabric;-)).

"Stash Buster" Farmers' Market Tote

2010-04-18T18:58:00.005-04:00

Using up lots of fabric here. This weekend I decided I needed a new tote bag for the farmers' market. I love our "Save the World" tote bag, which is great for the grocery store. The STW bags is tall and when I take it to the farmers' market I kinda crush the veggies in the bottom of the bag, plus I lose my money & keys in the depths.

What I need in my new tote:
A shortish bag - so I can't overload it and crush the lettuce.
A wide base / bottom.
Stiff sides so the bag does not collapse and will stay upright when placed it on the ground to pack up yummy fresh veggies.
A few clips that I can attach my keys and a yet unmade wallet to.

I made one early this am which met most of the requirements but it was not quite what I wanted (a craft fail).
Made some modifications after lunch and I am pleased with the results.

Please remember I am stash busting, at one point in my sewing life I was certain that I would love primitive quilting and only wanted to work in browns. I have a lot of brown fabric. Some of this fabric dates back to the Moda Quilt challenge of 2004 (?).

Supplies Needed:
8 Fat Quarters or equivalent fabric (about 2 yards).
1 yard Pellon Fusible Fleece
Walking foot on Machine
Optional
Cotton Strap Webbing
Swivel Clasp

1/2 inch seam allowance

Make your pattern! The pattern is super simple.
Fold a 18 x 20 pieces of paper in half.
At the top of the paper measure 5 inches from the fold. Mark it.
Measure down the fold 12.5 inches. Measure out from that point to 6 inches. Mark it. Draw a line from the 5 inch mark at the top to the 6 inch mark 12.5 inches below.
Using the 45 degree angle marks on you cutting mat and a straight edge. Mark the 45 degree angle from the 6 inch mark to the fold. (the length after the 12.5 inch mark to the tip of the pattern in about 6 inches).
Cut out your pattern.

From Pattern
Cut 8 of quilt cotton.
Cut 4 of Fusible Fleece.

Press Fusible fleece onto the wrong side of 4 cotton pieces following the manufacturers instructions.

From scrap cotton cut 2 straps 5 x 15
cut 2 fleece pieces 4 x 6
Fuse the fleece into middle of the wrong side of the strap fabric.
Fold the fabric in to hide the raw edges and top stitch down.

From the cotton strap webbing cut two longer straps. I measured from my waist over my shoulder to my waist again (about 40 inches). I think it may be too long. I am going to drop it back to 30 inches on the next one.

Take 2 of the cotton and fleece piece to a flat surface.
Mark the center top of both pieces.
Pin the short fabric straps .5 inches away from the center mark.
Pin the longer straps. 5 inches away from the fabric straps.

Stitch the straps down.

Optional Step:
Cut a 3 x 8 ish length from 2 other scraps of cotton.
Fold in the raw edges and top stitch.
Slide the strap into a swival clip and pin into the center of the remaining 2 cotton/fleece pieces.
Stitch in place.

Take a plain piece of cotton and a cotton / fleece piece.
WST line up the top edge.
Sew across the top 1/2 inch from the raw edge.
Open, flip RS out press down.
Repeat 3 more times.
You now have four side with a finished top.

Take 2 pieces, one with straps, one with a clasp.
Lay them on top of each other. MAKE sure that the fleece cotton piece in on the inside.
Start stitching at the finished top edge BACK STITCH.
Pivot at the corner and then sew off the bottom point.
Repeat with other 2 pieces. Make sure you sew both side the same way.

Finish the side seam. I used a serger. A zig zag stitch will also work.

Open and turn one of the 2 sewn pieces.
Place finished side into the other finished side, you can see the raw edge outside.
Align and Pin.

Start sewing from one finished top, down the side, pivot, careful of the bottom seams, pivot at the side and back to the other finished top.
Back stitch at the start and stop.
Finish seams.

Detail inside bottom.

Top stitch around the top finished edge.
Make sure the swivel hooks are falling inside the bag.

Outside bottom detail.

I am pleased with the bag. I used up about 2 yards of fabric. It stand up by itself. It is roomy with out being over large. Hopefully by next Saturday I will have the change purse with zipper and clasp ready so I can find my money to pay the farmers.

Eric Carle Swishy Skirt

2010-04-17T15:44:00.001-04:00

A's school celebrates different authors every month. I used the basic idea from the stash Buster Skirt to make a very hungry skirt. The new Eric Carle Line is up at the store.

Super Stash Buster Skirt

2010-04-14T17:26:00.003-04:00

My good friend Rena showed me how to make this multi tiered skirt and now I will attempt to share it with you. You sew this skirt out flat, once all of your tiers are done you put one seam up the back of the skirt.
Disclaimer: I am not a seamstress; I am a quilter who occasionally makes clothes. I will do my best to explain.

Materials need:
Fabric (How much depend on how big the person is you are making the skirt for.)
My 9 years olds skirt uses about 3 total yards
My 6 year olds skirt uses about 1.5 total yards
1 inch elastic

For these skirts I actually use every working machine in my house,
A serger
A machine with a gathering foot and
A machine that will do a straight stitch and a zig zag.

Can you do it with one machine? Sure.

THE MATH

Measure the waist of the person you are making your skirt for, then measure the length they want their skirt.
For Julia
Waist 34
Length 22
Add 9 inches minimum to the waist measurement
34 + 9 = 43 New Waist
Add 4 - 6 inches to the length
22 + 6 = 28 New Length

This skirt has 3 tiers and a 4th tier I use as a hem.

28-2 (tier 4)=26
26/3=8.???
Tier one = 9 inches x Waist 43 inches
Tier 2 = 8 inches x (2xs the first tier) 86 inches
Tier 3 = 9 inches x (2xs the second tier)172
Tier 4 (which is actually how I hem the skirt = 4 inches x 172

These are just an estimate of what I need. I double the length for every tier. If you don't have a lot of fabric you could tweak the length. If you gather by hand or by machine you will have more control over your fabric consumption BUT the more you gather the better the SWIRL.

Since most fabric is only 40 inches wide, you will sew multiple strips of fabric together to create the length for each tier. A long tape measure helps measure the length. You can be very scrappy or you can just put the same fabrics together. Each seam you sew should be finished with a serger or a zig zag stitch. Unfinished seams, especially in garments will fray and eventually fall apart after a few washings.

Short Video on how to finish a seam with a zig zag.

How to gather fabric by machine.

Tier 1 - No Gather
Tier 2 - Gather
Tier 3 - Gather
Tier 4 - No gather

Gather the top of tier 2
RST Sew the gathered edge of 2 to tier 1
Finish the seam with a zig zag or a serger.
Top Stitch

More info on top stitching.

Gather the top of tier 3.
RST Sew the gathered top of tier 3 to the tiers 1& 2
Finish the seam with a zig zag or a serger.
Top Stitch.

Finished hem (tier 4)
Tier 4 is 4 inches x 172 inches
Fold in half lengthwise to 2 inches and press down the length
RST Sew the raw edge of tier 4 to the bottom of tier 3 (Tier 4 is not usually gathered, if it was it would be about 344 inches x 4, a lot of fabric).
Top Stitch.

Your skirt is not quite a skirt yet. Lay the skirt tiers RST. Line up tier one and put in a pin, tier 2 ,etc. Sew the back seam of the skirt, finish the back seam.

Last thing to do: Waistline Elastic
Finish the top edge of the skirt.
Elastic!!
The elastic should be a few inches shorter than the waist measurement, so for Julia, 30 inches works, If your child is very slight, measure the elastic on them, give a gentle tug to tighten it, then cut it (write this number down so you don't need to wake your model up at 2 in the morning to finish their next skirt).
Sew elastic into a loop. Overlap the elastic about ¾ of an inch; sew a square with an X to secure the elastic loop.
Mark the elastic in quarters.
You should have 4 marks on the elastic equal distant apart.
Mark the top of the skirt in quarters.
You should have 4 marks on the skirt equal distant apart.

Pin the overlapped elastic seam into the back seam Wrong side of the fabric to elastic.
Pin elastic & skirt top at the other 3 marks.

Switch your machine to a zig zag.
Carefully pull the elastic so that it aligns to the top edge of the fabric.
Zig Zag along the top edge of the fabric and the elastic. Move slowly, you need to keep tension on the elastic and keep the top edge of the skirt and the top edge of the elastic aligned. Sew around the entire top of the skirt.
Fold the elastic / top of the skirt over.
Switch your machine to a straight stitch.
Tug the elastic and skirt and sew around the bottom edge of the elastic and fabric.

Your elastic waist band is done.
Oh yeah! so is your skirt.
Get your model; take a picture.

I know lots of folks would like me to add pictures. I may.
Here are a bunch MORE Tutorial, some of which have great pictures.

7 Layer Studio "Twirly Skirt"

Hopscotch Skirt This tutorial is EXCELLENT. She does her elastic the exact way I do (but better cause there are pictures).

Kuky Ideas Tiered Skirt Tutorial

Travel Tissue Cover Tutorial

2010-04-10T08:25:00.003-04:00

April is officially STASH BUSTER Month, per one of my favorite blogs Crafting a Green World.

What, you may ask, is a fabric shop owner doing participating in such an non buying event?

WELL, I am an extremely talented hunter and gatherer of wonderful fabrics. I am there, I love fabric. Now I own a shop full of it, BUT what do I do with all the great fabrics that are languishing unused in my sewing room. Well, one thing for sure, I can't use them for shop samples, I did that ONCE and I finally took it down after explaining over 100 times that NO we did not have that fabric. So this month will be about sewing for me, my family and maybe for craft shows next November & December.

These 10 inch square were swapped from all over the world, but until yesterday they were sitting in a container on a shelf, forgotten, unloved, with out hope of ever being sewn into a useful and beautiful object.

On to the tutorial:

TRAVEL TISSUE Cover:

I started this tutorial about a week ago by searching for other folks' tutorials, there are a bunch out there. After reading a few of them I found I needed to change them, so here is my version of how to make this super simple gift.

Cut out 2 fabrics:

Outside cover 6 x 7

Lining 6 x 8
All Seam 1/4 inch

Place fabric RST.

Using a 1/4 seam allowance. Sew one short side.

Line up the other short side, sew.
Then flip the tube right sides out.
There will be approx 1/2 inch of the liner fabric showing in the front of your cover.

Press one side so that no liner shows.
Press the other side with 1/2 inch of liner showing.
The two pieces of fabric should now be flat.
Optional, top stitch the exposed lining fabric.

BIG CHANGE from other TUTs

When I made my first couple I butted the two finisheded edges up. I did not like this, they were gappy and you could see the tissue inside, which meant that the tissues would get dirty! YUCK!

MY WAY:

OVERLAP the front of the travel case, thus hiding the tissue, keeping it clean and safe.

Fold over the finished edge with the exposed liner first.

Then fold over the plain finished edge. Stick a pin in it.
Rotate it to the other end and do it again.

Tricky Tricky

Now for the hanger. If I don't attach a hook or a loop of some sort, everything ends up in the bottom of my purse, never to be seen again.

I used a 2 inch piece of twill tape (but you could use a scrap of the fabric from the cover) and a split ring. One of the dud examples I used a very nice Clover snap thingy, but I decided if I was going to sell these that the hook would make them too expensive (I think they retail @ 2.95). Plus in my stash I have loads of split rings.

Loop the Twill tape into the split ring.

Slide the twill tape and the ring into the top end (top is only important if the fabric is directional).

Make sure you are sliding the ring between the two layers of the COVER fabric and NOT between the liner and the cover.
Make sure the ring is in far enough so that you will not hit it with your sewing machine foot.

Put a pin in the tape so it stays put.

Sew both short ends.

Optional: Finish the raw edges with a zig zag stitch.

Turn right sides out and you are done.

Unless you are me, then you make 20+ more

Maybe I am done now, but I doubt it cause I barely made a dent in the pile of fabric.

Two Great Tastes - Heather Ross - Valori Wells

2010-04-06T08:12:00.000-04:00

This was a super quick quilt using Heather Ross' Far Far Away Double Gauze and Valori Well Free Pattern Urban Baby. I made in about an hour yesterday. It took me longer to figure out how many of each size blocks to cut and to fussy cut them then it did to whip up this quilt. I am mailing it off to my super quilter today for the summer shows!

Saints ALIVE

2010-03-24T11:22:00.001-04:00

Sew Excited and Thanks to the customer who gave me the heads up on Terrie Mangat new line from Free Spirit, Los Sanctos. I love Our Lady of Guadalupe fabric and there are Saints!.

Here is Free Spirits blurb on the fabric:

Loaded with Icons, the Los Sanctos line is a must for Our Lady of Guadalupe fans, as well as anyone who loves those other popular New Mexico Saints: St. Anthony(helps you find things), ST. Theresa the little flower, Saint Raphael, Saint Michael, St. Joseph, Santo Nino and a smaller version of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Included in the line are 5 color ways of a larger more ethnic looking Our Lady of Guadalupe surrounded by campy flowers, 6 bright colors with little gold crosses, and a zippy zig zag that can be cut across the zigs or along the zags. Put it together to create energizing shrine quilts, special intention pillows, aprons, and Saint protected hand and shopping bags.

Is it the weekend yet 'cause I gotta sew some of this stuff up NOW!

Tampa Sewing Expo

2010-03-06T11:14:00.001-05:00

What a week this was! Tampa was freezing, no joke, below 32º, not pleasant, especially for all the locals. The whole family went on this trip, which may never happen again. We had a big birthday to celebrate. The kids & DH visited the sites, while Oma, my other mother & I worked the booth ( I did get to run off to Busch Gardens with my kids one day).

One of our very dedicated customers brought us a Show & Tell. On Friday she purchased some great batiks & the Whimsey Bag pattern from Lazy Girls, on Saturday she had her bag finished! Thanks!

Visit us this week in Atlanta. We will have TWO booths, our main booth (930) with all the Melly & Me, Kokka, etc and a SALE booth (136) with over 400 bolts of our beautiful older fabric, 2 cutting tables. Be patient, I hope both booths are super busy so we can make room for new, fun fabrics. Amy Schimler has a new line I can't order till I make some space.

How To Make a Mola Video

2010-02-08T08:03:00.007-05:00

Teaching this today @ school thought I would share:

Craftser info

Sneaters

2010-01-26T06:53:00.004-05:00

Little Bit is lovin' all the new Sneaters! I dropped them at Young Blood Gallery & Boutique last week. I will have more soon, promise!

Hey what is a Sneater?

A Sneater is a snugglie plush creature made from recycled sweaters. Hug them, hold them, share them with a kid. Each one is a unique one of a kind creation. These Sneaters have a special pocket to hold your very best smile.

More Can Can Earrings

2010-01-18T08:58:00.004-05:00

New dies came in this week and we have more unique earrings, book marks & necklaces. Each charm is hand cut then attached to an appropriate dangle.

2. Scalloped Heart Can Can Earrings, 4. AeroPlane Can Can Earrings, 5. Alien Head Can Can Earrings, 6. Shamrock Can Can Earrings, , 8. Celtic Clover Can Can Earrings

Valentine's Day @ Sloth Craft

2010-01-09T09:10:00.006-05:00

>We are working hard to prepare for the next big holiday, Valentine's Day.
With 2 girl children and a birthday to celebrate we get a bit heart happy here at the Sloth Craft abode . In December, I was busy working up ideas and getting dies made for February. Here is our first launch of new items available at our parent store Some Art Fabric.
Peace Heart Can Can Earrings: Sparkly & Eco minded

Made from felt backed recycled soda cans, these lightweight earring are available in a bunch of different charms and cans.

Can Can Bookmarks : We love to read!

Made from felt backed recycled soda cans and a 3 inch wavy metal book mark.

Can Can Necklace: More fun with our new charms!

Love me, love you! Our felt backed charm is now on a 22 inch rubber necklace.

Are you makin' cards? we sure are and banners too! With our DIY collage and banner kit.

Filled with over 80 die cut hearts in 5 different sizes, these are perfect for stringing in your windows or using for your one of a kind Valentine's Card.
The hearts are cut from a variety of discarded books including Romance Novels, please make sure to tell us if you will be using them with children and we will try to keep it clean.

One More THING and it is the best, only available during the season of love!
Venus of Willendorf "Stone" soap : The most famous fertility goddess in your bathroom!

The perfect gift for an artist, a new couple or just about anyone who bathes!
Available in Cloves, Chocolate & Sunshine

We hope you guys are looking forward to the season of love, we sure are!

microlove @ Naked Art

2009-12-27T09:23:00.007-05:00

Next cool show from the wonder team of Naked Art in Birmingham Alabama.

microlove

Miniature art and handcrafted jewelry from a wacky pack of artists

Opening reception February 5 & 6
Gift Guide for Valentine's Day will be up online soon.

The one eyed ring is by your truly!

Papa Ho Ho & his ballerina

2009-12-14T06:23:00.005-05:00

This past week was little ones first ever ballet performance, she rocked the house for about 5 minutes of a 2 hour long performance. My dad (aka Papa Ho Ho to my girls) came down in his gig outfit and cause a bit of a ruckus.

Green Sleeve Fashion Show @ whitespace

2009-12-05T16:24:00.008-05:00

Last night we went out to a very fun event, The Green Sleeves Fashion show. The weather was a bit nippy for Atlanta. My daughter grabbed my camera and was front and center to get these shots of the runway.

Shannon Mulkey of Patina did a collection using drop clothes. The neutral fabric of the dresses allowed for their classic designs and couture style waists line details to delight you. I felt they were the perfect compliment to what truly took front and center, her extraordinary zipper accessories and elaborate neck cuff. Our images do not do them justice, they are wow!!

Another highlight from the evening was the "trash" puppets made from Tangled Tentacle Puppets of Atlanta. If you think they look like fun, you should contact the gallery as they have NO info about them on their website whitespace.

What are you Thankful For?

2009-11-26T04:11:00.000-05:00

Working the Window @ VSA

2009-11-25T04:00:00.001-05:00

Last week I got to sit in a window @ the VSA Gallery for 4 hours and make ornaments. Lots of folks stopped to watch. Good Fun was had by all.

Sloth Craft @ ICE

2009-11-24T09:28:00.005-05:00

Wow ICE was a blast. The place was hopping all day long. The soda can ornaments were a huge hit. My nephew came along for the ride and found some gifts, mostly for himself. I slept for a couple of days to recover.

E*L Sapo's 11th Annual Holiday Artist Market

2009-11-22T03:42:00.005-05:00

Handcrafted Artful Gifts from over 25 local artists!
folk art to fine art and everything in between

Opening Party Wed, Dec. 2, 2009 (6pm - 8pm)
Thur, Dec. 3 (10am - 5pm)
Fri, Dec. 4 (10am - 4pm)
Sat, Dec. 5 (10am - 4pm)
Sun, Dec. 6 (1pm - 4pm)

I have all of Thanksgiving Holiday to power up on crafty goodness.

Madly Preparing for ICE

2009-11-20T07:24:00.004-05:00

The 2009 Holiday Shopping Spectacular will be November 21st at Ambient Plus Studio. 100 vendors!

See us in booth 10!! ICE ROCKS

Talk of Alabama

2009-11-18T14:00:00.003-05:00

The Naked Art Gallery's Veronique Vanblaere showcases few unique gifts for the holidays.
Three Sloth Craft ornaments are in the video clip.

Craftland Show 2009

2009-11-18T11:10:00.004-05:00

Just boxed up my work to send off to Craftland.

Craftland Show is an annual holiday sale in downtown Providence, RI that celebrates all kinds of sparkly handmade objects and the people who make them.

DATES: December 4 - 31
HOURS: Seven days a week 10am - 6pm
Open late: Thursdays and Saturdays 10am - 8pm
LOCATION: 235 Westminster St Providence RI 02903
CONTACT: 401.272.4285 or info@craftlandshow.com
Check out their blog for our exciting news, artist interviews, updates and more!

Spruill Holiday Market

2009-11-16T10:30:00.003-05:00

Get Ready
Get Set
GO!!!!
Let the holiday shopping commence. This Wednesday is the sneak peak for the Spruill Artist Market. Lots o Sloth Craft Ornaments and a bunch of other cool artists.

Collage Necklace Redone

2009-11-13T04:00:00.005-05:00

I originally saw this on the wonderful and inspiring Threadbangers program and thought it would be a cool use of the new Honey Buns from Moda. Yea howdy it worked great. Since the rolls are already 1.5 x WOF there is no prep work. Here how I did it.

Fun & Fast way to adorn yourself with one of the cool new Honey Buns from Moda.

Originally aired on ThreadBangers.com

1. Pick a cool new Honey Bun (1.5 inch stripe x WOF)
2. Fold strips in half and stitch ¼ inch from the fold. (save at least one)
3. Trim raw edge to within 1/8th inch from stitch line.
4. Use a bobkin or safety pin to turn the tube.
5. Stitch all of the selvage tube ends together (use a denim needle) Sew Slowly. Trim ends to even.
6. Cut some of the tubes shorter or knot them.
7. Line all of the other tub ends together and stitch slowly.
8. Trim ends to even.
9. Lay one side over the top of the other to form a circle and sew down.

THIS IS VERY THICK AND WILL BREAK YOUR NEEDLE IF YOU DON’T SEW SLOWLY.

10. Take the saved strip and wrap it around the raw sewn edges.
11. Stitch down.
12. Slip it over your head and sport a cool new fabric necklace.

Here is my inspiration the Thread Banger Episode. WELL the video appears to be compromised. Here is a link

String Quilt Tutorial

2009-11-02T19:15:00.011-05:00

Are you familiar with the amazing quilts done in Gee's Bend Alabama? My students and I studied the work of these creative and industrious women; discussing their motivation, their utilitarian quilts, and their fame, ultimately the quilts ended up in museums across the county.

Then I taught them to sew. Keeping with the theme of reuse, I brought my students all of the first rips that I save when I square up a fabric.

Most of the kids had never sewed. I decided we would create a string pieced log cabin styled block on a muslin foundation. Pretty easy and if their stitches got a bit too big the foundation would sturdy it all up.

Start with a center block and a second piece that is the same length as one side.
Lay the bottom piece RS up on the foundation and then lay the top piece RST, aligned on one edge, see the tiny sliver of the bottom piece peeking out.
Sew approx where I stuck the pins in. Instead of harping on the quarter inch, I told the students to measure the seam with the nail of their pinkie finger, which is usually approx 1/4 inch (except for the really big boys, they made a jig to measure with).

Flip open the first seam and press, then add the third piece , which should be long enough to catch the raw edges of the first two pieces. (Notice my students used the selvage, I told them to remove it but most missed that part).
Flip open the third pieces and press.

Add a fourth and continue around the block until you reach the edge of the foundation piece.

Here are a few of the finished blocks. One student even tried a triangle. I am so proud. They will ultimately make a large pillow with four blocks or a small quilt. If you look too close you might see a raw edge that did not get completely sewn down, no worries they will also learn the fine art of raw edge applique, yo yos and always, we can fix it when we quilt it. I love this project!

Fall 09 Fabric Festival

2009-11-01T05:42:00.004-05:00

Well the weather outside was frightful, but the deals were so delightful.

Thanks to all of you who braved the rain and cold to make our 4th Annual Fall into Fabric Festival a huge success.

Thanks to my girls for stepping up and adding the third generation of worker bees. Another year or two and I can retire and let them take over, right?

Thanks to my moms (Joyce & my other mother Barbara) who got here from Blue Ridge faster than they did from my MIL's house (only 9 miles away). The scenic tour included Acworth and historic Roswell. I know from my childhood that my mom can get you there but she can't always get you back.

November's month long birthday celebration will commence shortly so join our newsletter or follow us on Twitter so you can be the "First to Know"

Fruit Leather Tutorial

2009-10-29T04:27:00.004-04:00

1. Slice up Apples or other fruit, add 1/2 cup water and place in a large pot. *

2. Usa a pot with a tight lid. *

3. Set you stove to LOW. *

4. Cook until soft, use a fork to check tenderness and to aid in mashing the fruit. *

5. Keep cooking until fruit disintergrates. *

6. Set up your food mill. If you don't have food mill you will need to do more prep work, peeling and seeding fruit. *

7. Most food mills need a bowl to catch the peelings and the seeds and a bowl to catch the puree. *

8. Slowly spoon the hot fruit into the hooper of the food mill. *

9. Return puree to your pot (add the seeds and peelings to your compose pile). Add about 1/2 -1 cup of sweetener (personal choice but even a little sugar will vastly sweeten the fruit leather). I was working with about 8 cups of puree. Cook on LOW for another half hour. *

10. Allow the fruit puree to cool slightly. Cover your dehydrator tray with plastic wrap, parchment paper or a teflon sheet. *

11. Spoon fruit puree onto the covered sheet. *

12. Smooth the fruit puree out until it is approx 1/8 inch thick. I drop the pan lightly to help smooth out the puree. *

13. Put the puree into your dehydrator, start checking after 4 hours. If you don't have a dehydratoy you can use your oven (plastic wrap will melt, protect the pan with teflon or parchment) on the lowest heat or if you have a gas oven you might just be able to leave it in the oven overnight. *

14. Fruit leather is done when the top is firm but slightly tacky. Use a pizza cutter or clean scissors to make strips. Roll the strips up so you can slide them more easily into snack containers. Store in an airtight container. *

This tutorial is a bit late in the making. This fruit leather has been eaten and more has been made since.

* Image Details.

Naked Art Kitchmas

2009-10-28T13:29:00.003-04:00

Looky Looky, One of our Sloth Craft's ornaments is on the Naked Art Postcard for their holiday Kitchmas show.

Recycled Pop Can Skull Earrings

2009-10-28T06:54:00.005-04:00

Nothing like being timely. This die came in last week. So this weekend during our playdate Miss Shannon from Patina showed me how to make the skulls into earrings. Perfect for Christmas, right??

Creative Reuse

2009-10-27T04:11:00.000-04:00

Okay I have been crowing about this since I found out, not an attractive attribute I know.

Now my copy of the book has arrived, it is chock full of amazing stuff and I am really proud. I am honored my work was accepted into this over the top amazing publication.

These images are the very first ornaments I made last year as gifts, the birth of Sloth Craft.

These crazy little guys are snittens, I started making them last year from mittens.

The book is available from Amazon and although it is not officially out until November 1, I already received mine.

You will love the book if you are a crafter, cause it is full of beautiful things to look at, aspire to immulate, or to find online to purchase.

You will love this book if you are an environmentalist cause it is drop your jaw amazing what folks can create with a bit of odds and ends!

Simple Pin Cushion

2009-10-26T14:17:00.008-04:00

Today I taught 30 + teenagers to made this pincushion by hand. They seemed to like it, those that tried. These could be used for almost anything, bean bag, sachet, etc. all depending on what you stuff it with.

1. Start with one square of fabric.*
2. Fold in half RST, Sew down both short edges.*
3. Open.*
4. Pin RST at the seams.*
5. Leave a GAP. DETAIL.*
6. Sew down long seam, stop leave a gap, sew to the edge.*
7. Turn and push out corners.*
8. Stuff.*
9. Use a ladder stitch to close the gap.*
10. Add an embellishment.*
11. Maybe a Wool Butterfly.*
12. Maybe a Wool Flower.*

We started with a 6.5 inch square. I can think of hundreds of ways to fancy this up. It took me about 5 minuted to make this on machine, it took most of my students 90 minutes to make it by hand, some of them had never even threaded a needle.

* Link Image Detail

Fall 09 Fabric Fest

2009-10-26T06:57:00.002-04:00

It is that time of year! Our annual fall fabric blowout sale! Saturday, October 31 from 9 AM - 2 PM

What you'll find:

Over 2000 pre cut items: fat quarters ($1.00), charm packs ($6.00) and one yard cuts ($3.00).

Over 300 bolts of fabric.
All quilt cotton is $4.00 a yard.

This is our biggest local event and you don't want to miss the great deals.

Here is a link to the sale Flyer!

Sugar Skull Paper Banner

2009-10-19T14:21:00.006-04:00

Well it was time!

I wanted to update the family room to celebrate the season: new paper die cut window treatment and a new banner for the mantel.

The window treatment was originally done 2 summers ago and I keep changing out the paper die cuts to fit my mood or the season. This is the original blog entry with instructions.

The mantel banner is a new idea, the sugar skulls are so easy to string horizontally. You just slide the string through the existing decorations in the forehead.

Look like we are almost ready for the wicked.

Wool Covered Buttons

2009-10-17T08:42:00.007-04:00

I buy a lot of wool sweaters for my projects and not all of them felt as nicely as I want. The sweaters are already cut up before I wash them so there is no wearing them or re thrifting them.

SEW!!! I decided to try covering buttons with the not quite felted wool. I ordered my button blanks from Atlanta Thread & Supply Company. They are open to the public. They sell in bulk with no real packaging (also great place for zippers) with excellent prices. The buttons come with two parts: a front domes cap and a flat back with the letters PRYM. You don't need any additional tools, other than scissors (if you don't have e die cutter with a circle die).

Cut out the correct size circles for your buttons, mine are 1.5 inches.

Center the metal top on the fabric.

Gently push the fabric onto the prongs inside the button cap. Push in one side then the opposite side, all around evenly. There are more images up at flickr.

Back Cap

Carefully snap the backing piece onto the front cap. Once this is done it is very hard to get undone so make sure all of your fabric is neatly pushed into the cap.

Pretty covered button.

Hairband with wool covered button.

Wool Gift Bag Ornament

2009-10-15T20:02:00.004-04:00

I kinda love these new gift bags but I am quickly becoming aware aware that I like the design part....

AND not the lets make 30 of these to mail out to various shops & shows the first of November.

Kinda having a YIKES week!

I did complete the headband goal for today.

Many Faces of the Poly Ball

2009-10-02T06:09:00.008-04:00

This week I have been looking for and making more Polyhedron Balls out of found recycled materials, Romance Covers, Album Covers & Atlas Books. I love the ones from the paper I made but I don't have time to make another batch of paper (I Keep Saying, maybe I should just go out to the garage and crank up the Critter). So this past week has found me at thrift store and book sales looking for cool new thin cardboard for the ball.

1. Recycled Fabric Paper, 2. Billy Squier Album Poly Ball, 3. Romance Novel Poly Ball, 4. Photo Ball, 5. Recycled Fabric Paper, 6. Atlas Poly Ball

Last night at KraftsWorks these were a huge hit to pick up and marvel, unfortunately I had as many at the end of the night as at the beginning. I did not hang them on a tree but left them in a bowl that truly looked super wonderful, perfect for every hip house on the block.

Many of these balls will only be available at the upcoming local shows since they are very much one of a kind. Keep an eye out for them!

Sugar Skulls Banners

2009-09-30T07:20:00.002-04:00

Sugar Skulls Banners
Originally uploaded by SomeArtFabric

Making these for Kraft Works at Young Blood Gallery this Thursday.

Romance Novel Ornament

2009-09-27T18:28:00.001-04:00

Romance Novel Ornament
Originally uploaded by SomeArtFabric

Where can I find lots of these covers?

Happy Birthday Baby

2009-09-22T15:46:00.000-04:00

Help Hospitalized Veterans

2009-09-16T05:58:00.003-04:00

On Sunday my father had a mild stroke. My dad lost most of the use in his right arm, he was tilting wildly to one side, he could walk with help. He had forgotten how to use a spoon and could not sign any of the paperwork.

BUT while spending quality time at the VA hospital I discovered a cool new organization, Help Hospitalized Veterans. HHV comes around and gives out free craft kits that are donated to them to keep the vets engaged while they are incapacitated. The web site indicates that they do a great deal more than just craft kits. I was impressed.

My dad decided that he would start his own occupational therapy using the Moccasin Kit they provided. He struggled with the instruction but once I helped get the two pieced together and the first stitches in, he was off. This is the man who started me down the wicked way of sewing. I was thrilled to see that he could thread the lace through the holes and line them up correctly. What an amazing physical recovery.

Physically he is vastly improved, in good spirits, feeling pretty okay. He completely flunked his cognitive tests yesterday, he could name all of the Presidents in order backwards, but he cannot recall certain words and he lost numbers in a very big way.

I am very impressed with the VA, I think they are doing a great job with my dad. They are very supportive of the family and his aftercare, which is great since I will be in charge of most of what happens after he leaves the hospital.

Wonky Wool

2009-09-15T05:57:00.005-04:00

Between being sick last week and sitting with my dad at the hospital this week there has been a lot of enforced down time which is the perfect time to get some sewing done.

I love to make plushies, my favorite part is the face so I elimated the body and just did the face as a wool Trivet. I am a bit OCD about trivets right.

Hmmm

2009-09-13T07:56:00.001-04:00

Wool Trivets
Originally uploaded by SomeArtFabric

What is happening in my work room when I leave.

Looking for Love

2009-09-03T06:06:00.003-04:00

In the way of people to purchase your handmade stuff. Here are some shows (mostly local Atlanta) with deadlines NOW.

Consignment Shows
September 1 --
Mable House and South Cobb Arts Alliance
Christmas House
This is a direct link to the application, which is kinda buried in their site. The deadline was Monday but I have it on good authority that they will continue to accept applications for judging until they reach capacity or they hit the jury deadline (9-15)

September 4 -- VSA Art of Georgia Holiday Art Sale This is a very long sale and I am not familiar with it but I think it looks like a good organization.

The Call
VSA arts of Georgia seeks artists with and without disabilities to participate in our 2009 Holiday Art Sale. The sale is an opportunity to sell your work in a prime retail location in Downtown Atlanta at the height of the shopping year. The sale is one of two annual fundraising events for the organization; our mission is to provide access to the arts for Georgians with disabilities and with low income.

Tent Shows

Candler Park Fall Festival
Fall in the 4th
Athens Indie Craftstravaganzaa - Their app is not up yet so check back

The best of all shows locally!!!
Indie Craft Experience

National Shows

Renegade Craft Fair

Bazaar Bizarre

This is a very small list and I am sure there are more out there so feel free to leave other shows in the comments.

Wicked Wool

2009-09-02T17:34:00.006-04:00

I started getting ready for holiday shows and I pulled out the wool sweaters this weekend. I was dismayed to find that many of them were not neatly folded in boxes as I (cue the dream music) remembered, they were wadded into boxes. Now they are wrinkled and need to be pressed (or rewashed).

Under the direction of the EXTREME wool goddess Betz White (her blog not her personally), when I felted a sweater I cut off the sleeves and then cut the sleeve down the seam. Well in these boxes I have wadded sweater bodies and even more wadded sleeves. This obviously is not a very workable method for me and the boxes make finding the color I needed almost impossible.

THIS year I am slicing the sweaters open a bit differently, to eliminate the loose sleeves I am slicing them up the side seam, through the armpit and down the sleeve. So far I am please with the amount of workable felt.

This new method of cutting the sweaters open allows me to hang them effectively. So I purchased a wood closet pole and put it on the existing shelves in my sewing room. I used shirt hangers for most of my sweaters, on the miscellaneous sleeves I used skirt hangers.

Cause I now could, I color coordinated them and realized I have a lot of red and turquoise and only one blue. I am please with the final results but realize I need another pole for the yet to be felted ones. Wonder if hubby would give up some of his closet space.

Easy Hem Tutorial

2009-08-31T16:08:00.005-04:00

I love to buy my daughter's jeans at the thrift store cause they are far less expensive and she tends to trash them pretty quickly. Unfortunately, they need to be hemmed and I do not like to hem. My poor child has been seen wearing jeans for an entire year that I have just cut off and left to fray. This is a very grunge look for an eight year old. Granted the new look is very goth. What is a mom to do?

This method of hemming is painless and quick. You only need a small amount of cuff fabric, and a few minutes and it is done.

Pictures Only;-) (see the PDF for all of the the steps)

For the full scoup here is the PDF tutorial.

Felt Sugar Skulls

2009-08-30T11:18:00.009-04:00

Not as super sweet but loads of fun.

Ready for the one of the best celebrations of the year? Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos), a two day celebration, that corresponds with All Saints and All Souls Day, November 1 & 2, is a celebration meant to honor loved ones who have passed on. How will you honor the ones you love who have gone on?

How about making a sugar skull. I have never made a real one but I have designed a cute felt bag from the ones we have at the store.

Here is the tutorial.

The bag is cute and small (4.5 x 5.5), just the right size for a change purse or a cell phone. These are made with Kunin Eco Felt which is made by recycling plastic bottles.

Want to put them on a tee shirt or tote bag? A set of 4 (one of each color) with 4 black backs is also available.

Don't sew a lick but love them all the same. Finished pouches can be made to order.

Artistic interpretation by the number 2 child.

Creating Repeat Patterns with Photoshop

2009-08-27T13:40:00.005-04:00

School is back in session and I really want my students to get excited about the textiles class I am trying to get started. Sew my photo / graphic students are using Photoshop to make fabric. Cool trick right!

The kids started with a simple logo, for the example I used this heart peace symbol. We use the free transform tool to take the single logo and make different sizes and different tilting angles. When we tiled that in Photoshop it was kinda boring, and there was too much negative space (which is not the space that makes you fell bad about yourself).

So I found a better tutorial and this one ROCKS!(tutorial site was hacked I will relink ASAP We followed the instruction and .... here it is.

Now I need to call Kinko's and see how much a large color copy on acetate is. That will determine if we have to keep it small or if we can print the maximum size for our screen. We will not be creating continuous yardage, the kids will only print this once or twice, we may even have to do additional cropping to incorporate a number of students designs onto one screen. Hopefully, they will make a pouch or pencil case.

Stay tuned, we will not get the screens burned until next week, I am working on a tutorial for using the Yudu Screen printer with wood frame screens.

Introducing Sloth Craft

2009-08-22T20:21:00.008-04:00

Drum Roll Please!

Sloth Craft: the division of Some Art that is all about the crafty things we make.

Last year we designed an ornament to give to friends and family and it was a huge hit. Fueled by the success, I designed a few more and they are ready to go PUBLIC. (Although if you were at the last Kraftworks you got a sneaky peek).

The Sloth Craft elves are ready to get the holiday season started with a beautiful line of repurposed, reclaimed and reseen holiday ornaments that you can feel good about giving and of course keeping for your holiday heirlooms.

Each ornament is made by hand in the USA using a variety of materials with an eye towards unique and creative misuse.

Featured Exclusively at SomeArtFabric.com