New bag

Well, the last few days got swallowed up by sewing. I made a few 2008 planner covers and was commissioned to create a handbag. The really fun part was creating a handbag out of recycled military BDU fabric. Her name is 'Cami',

Cami

She's a beauty that 'Cami'
all dressed in her camouflage,
ready to take on the world.
Just like you she's a tuff one on the outside,

but really very feminine and girly.
She is a wash me in delicate type
and with her convertible strap
she will cross-over or hang on you shoulder.

kira bell ©2007

Stitching up samples

Today is sample day - so I shall be locked in the sewing room all day. I am taking a break this morning to post and off I shall go. This is what I have gotten done so far today:

I'll post more info later, and maybe a little tutorial ;0)

Quilt Star Motif

I was asked about the quilting I used in the baby quilt. You can click on picture to get a closer look.


Well, for starters I used the same quilting as in the pattern 'Tennessee Waltz' for all but the snowball blocks. Inside the snowball blocks I used a simple star, made into a continuous line. You can see here my crude cardboard template, I scanned it to show. (you can save this, re-size and print it out, if you would like to use it).



You can easily create quilt motifs out of any simple shape. And with time, patience and practice even some complicated designs.

Babies and the Tennessee Waltz

Well, here it is.
This is the baby quilt made for a special friend. I used the pattern called Tennessee Waltz. It turned out wonderful, although this is not the first time I have used this pattern, but in these bright colors it was wonderful!! Quick easy pattern designed for beginner to intermediate quilters. The use of the snowball blocks makes this a very interesting quilt.

I used all cotton fabrics, batting, and threads.
I had a heck of a time deciding what to quilt in the snowball blocks. I ended up just mimicking the stars using a primary variegated quilting thread, which turned out great.

The backing is a cute flannel with stars and dots. I can't wait to
see pictures of the baby crawing across the quilt.

What does this fabric have to do with Tennessee

I can't say just yet, because I am working on a special project for someone (so its a secret, sssh) but its a fun piece that's for sure.

Do you think they can dance well together? (that's a hint)

I have been stalking the mail box in anticipation for the catalogs and fabric swatches. I just know the postal carrier is starting to wonder about me. My fingers are itching to get started playing in dyes. I have a list of the dyes I must have on hand (not that I don't already have most of them) : lemon yellow MX-8G, golden yellow MX-GR, deep orange MX-2R (one of my favorites), Chinese red MX-GBA, fuchsia MX-8B, cobalt blue MX-2G, cerulean blue MX-G, turquoise MX-G, sky blue MX-R, new black MX-CWNA, & grape MX-G. I get most of these from Dharma Trading .

Now you don't have to have all of them, you really only need the 3 primary colors and you can make a world of color. I just like color and love playing to see all the variations that I can make. I only used fuchsia, turquoise, and lemon yellow (these are very bright colors) when I first started dyeing fabrics. Then once bitten by the dye bug I slowly started collecting colors.

On a crafty note, I love these flower pins . They would make great package/present bows, and the recipient could use it after unwrapping their present.