Hello All,

I am now two picture frames richer thanks to momwith3kids. Yesterday, I got 2 great frames that were absolutely wonderful. One is a denim/jeans fabric with yo-yos (I love denim,*and* i'm a quilter so the yo-yos are a special treat). The other is a completely unique idea: a frame covered in a commerical clothing pattern. I can't wait to use this one, considering how much I sew. I already have the picture I'm going to put in it (one of my husband and kids wearing clothes I made). Thanks so much momwith3kids!



detail of pattern frame:




They are great and I can't wait to show them off,
lisaquilts

Hello All,

I am now the proud owner of an elegant hot pink clutch courtesy of hawaiilove. I love it.

The fabric is bright and vibrant. It moves (with the lighter pink swirl). This is a perfect example of form (the parallellogram) meeting fabric (the unstructured swirly pattern).  I also like the black flower detail, very Audrey Hepburn.

Well, see for yourself.







Thank you so much, hawaiilove. Your work is wonderful. Keep it up!

Happy sewing,
lisaquilts

I used a cotton swap and a mixutre of greens, black and yellow to try to duplicate the tree. 

I free handed the flowers and grasses on the bottom.

Finally, I added a three-dimensional dragonfly and lilac.



I feel as if the page is still missing something.  I am going to take a break and come back to it later.  Any suggestions??

I wouldn't change a thing. IMHO, and simply as a gawker to this wonderful swap, I think it's already perfect. The tree sprouting from the binding is a rich symbol. And well executed, too.

--lisaquilts

Hi Swappers!
hawaiilove asked me to post pictures of our swap. Here's some of the bag/wallet I made for her. I'll post her creation when it arrives. I can't wait!
--lisaquilts

Hi,
I've been intrigued by the delightful looking wine tubes in the huge bins at our local Michael's craft store. They are currently on sale at Michael's for $2.99. (The following image is from cuisinaide.com where they sell for 5.95)



Wine tubes are larger than a Pringles can, have a partially detachable lid (which opens so you can slide a wine bottle inside the cylinder, but remains attached to the tube by a heavy string.)  Tres cool.  I think a swap like this would be great, along the lines of a Pringles can, but a bit more elegant.

You could put a range of individually crafted items to fill your wine tube, but I think fabric crafts would be best. A minimum of two items is required, though you can add more.  For instance, I was thinking about putting in a fabric photo frame, a fleece hat and/or scarf, maybe even a little hand bag.

To make things more interesting, at least one of the swapped items must feature red fringe. {I'm cooking up a *funky* little bag with red beaded fringe). 

The sign up could start next week, last for two weeks or until we get a good number of swappers and aim for delivery by Valentine's day (though I am flexible on this point). Since this is my first swap, it would be limited to the U.S. and maybe Canada:  the point is to buy your wine tube cheaply from your local Michael's (please believe me when I say that I *don't* work for or endorse Michael's: the tubes are a bargain, though.) If people want to purchase wine tubes elsewhere, that's fine too as long as it meets the standard criteria:  made of hard board, cylinder shaped with semi-detachable lid held on with string.

 I think shipping won't be a problem if you wrap your tube in brown paper (from a grocery bag), but I can check with the post office before the swap starts.

Any thoughts? Takers?  Let me know by personal message.

Best,
lisaquilts

Hello,
I recently saw a version of this for sale in TJ MAXX. (I must add that i'm not trying to copyright infringe or otherwise infringe: i just DIY something I thought was neat. I'm not selling these or anything. I sincerely hope that those TJ Maxx frames are not someone's life work or livlihood.)  It was a three panel, fabric picture frame with a dowel through the back and a string. Even though it was not expensive (only 10 dollars), I am probably as cheap as I am crafty  . So I decided to make individual versions of the thing.

It is a fun thing to do, especially if you happen to have photos of things/garments that you've made *and* have scraps of the fabric you used to make them. I'm working on a cute one now of my kid's frog prince costume using the scraps from the costume itself. Tres Fun!

Here are the pictures (you only need two 8.5 inch squares to do a 4 by 6 inch photo.)

Happy crafting,
lisaquilts

Hello Everyone,
Here are a few pictures of the fish costume that I finally got finished.


The head was made a while ago, but I couldn't figure out how to finish the outfit off, so thanks to crafters I went with fish pajamas.



Now let's just hope he doesn't change his mind. I'm also on the look out for as many costume, trick or treat parties as I can find, just so he can get some major use out of this baby!

Help, my kid's being eaten by a fish . . .



Happy Halloween!
lisaquilts

 

Hi,
I've made one of the Amy Butler Madison bags. I think this is the uptown purse. For interfacing, I used Timtex for one bag  and Pelltex for another.

bag with timtex:


bag with pelltex:


These are great options for stiff interfacing. Just be sure *not* to fuse into the seam allowances: if you cut your timtex/peltex about one inch smaller than your fabric, you will get great shaping and it will be easy to turn.

Have fun,
L

Hi Everyone,
Here's a dress I finished recently from some fabric I'd had forever. I bought it years ago, but didn't know what to do with it. I'd look at it and ask: "are you a tunic? A bell-sleeved shirt? What are you?" The fabric said nothing.

So I had to get dressed up for a semiformal event and needed something swanky (or what I consider to be swanky). The fabric finally spoke: "I am a glam dress." I listened to it and here it is. 



I made the dress from a Butterick pattern (I added a inner curved seam down the back to make it fit better.) The fabric is a spandex type knit, with small round shiny circles inside the squares to give a glimmer effect. The spaghetti straps were really easy since I bought a "Fasturn" tool from Nancy's Notions (it is a gadget completely worth buying: a metal cylinder and a thin steel rod with a twisty tail. It's great for straps, belts, and other fabric tubes.)  I made the drape from a Vogue pattern, but all it is is a 1.5 to 2 yard length of fabric 58" wide fabric folded with the selvege edges together. Stitch the along the two selveges, leaving a space to put your arms through the middle (I can't believe I had to pay to learn that.) Happily, the drape was totally cheap, being made out of Halloween costume satin for about $2. The pattern was more than that 

There was bit leftover, so I made a matching bag, which is kind of lost in the following picture


(BTW, i didn't wear ye big old timex running watch) I had a lot of fun making and wearing this dress. And since the fabric was in my stash, it was a very cheap thing to do. Listen to your fabric!

Take care,
L

Greetings Craftsters,
I'm a newbie here, but I'm really enjoying this forum. I'm writing to share a few images of some fabric bowls I made a while ago. Today, I'm working on a few fabric boxes. Hopefully, they'll be as fun and easy as the bowls, but will I get as much use from them? I'm not sure . . .
Here's one I made for my sister



and here's the filp side



Here's a furry one I made for my best friend:



Thanks for looking and wish me luck as I move on from bowls to boxes!

Take care,
L