Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Pretty Pins Tutorial and Claiming my blog with Bloglovin'







It's not difficult to create your own pretty straight pins.  They are fast, easy, and make thoughtful gifts.  Pincushions and needle books are fun for swaps but they are infinitely more attractive with some custom pins.

Here's how to do-it-yourself:

Step 1: Gather Materials

  • Straight pins.  
    • I like long, glass head, quilting pins but this is up to you.
  • Beads.  Go wild!
  • Adhesive.  
    • I use E-6000 (Found at many craft and hardware stores...and just good to have around the house.)
  • Toothpicks or other applicators.
  • Surface protection.  
    • I put down some paper to protect the work space and dispose of sticky toothpicks.
  • Drying "rack."  
    • Pincushion or a placemat/towel/small quilt hung over the back of a chair works too.

Step 2: Glue It

  • Apply a dab of adhesive to the base of the pin head.  
  • Slide on a bead and press into the glue for a few seconds. 
  • Repeat for a layered effect.


Step 3: Let if Dry
You can make a ton or just a few.

Enjoy!


As a housekeeping note, I'm claiming my blog with Bloglovin' today.  I use it to follow bloggers whose work I enjoy; it compiles new posts in an easy format so I can browse everyone I like at one time.  (It's a great way to spot trends in the blogosphere and keep up with sew alongs, giveaways, and news too.)



Here are just a few scenes from around here this week:

Panda's here to help me sew today.
Panda


Fat cat, sitting on the couch
Probie



What is it with Thursdays?

Happy Spring from Minnesota!

Sticky snow! (perfect for snow forts, snowballs, snowmen...) wanna play?


Thanks for stopping by!
-Kristin

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Have you seen my horse?

Meet (well I don't have a name yet) Dresden!



This little colt is from the "Henry" pattern in Jill Hamor's lovely pattern book, Storybook Toys.  It's the first project I've made after more than a month of ooh-ing and aah-ing and generally drooling over the dollies within.  I added an applique (the barn from Violet Craft's Madrona Road) but otherwise stuck straight to the pattern; one thing I might change would be to make the  mane longer.





I used fabric and yarn I had on hand but I still have the saddle to sew up.  I can't get over how cute this little guy is!  He stands well but his back legs splay out a little and it could be the direction I cut the fabric or uneven stuffing but his head tilts a tad.  However, I believe these two mistakes features really add to the newborn foal appeal.

What do you think?



Coin Strips in hot colors
Otherwise in the sewing world I'm woefully behind on the quilt I was supposed to be working on all month.  Instead, I've been tinkering with smaller projects.  I made a name tag (it's a secret!) and two blocks (four actually) for tomorrow's MMQG meeting.  

It's also my month as QUEEN BEE in the Modern Stash Quilting Bee on Flickr.  I picked an original paper-piecing pattern by Marcia Hohn at Quilter's Cache; it's called the Tallahassee block and I'm really pleased with my first few tries at it.





I call them "Blooms." Sewn together, four make a 12 inch block.  The inspiration for all of this was the Quilter's Cache block I bookmarked almost one year ago (before I knew how to paper-piece!) and this pillow made by Jennifer LGB on Flickr; it's one of my all time favorites in my "favorites" on Flickr.

All month long, my quilting bee "hive" mates will be stitching up these little goodies for me; I can't wait until all those awesome little packages start to arrive!  Did I mention my birthday is in April?