Super Size Me!

Since I've been in an everything in XXS phase lately, I thought that it was high time that I come back to the land of normal size. Oh, don't get me wrong, I think that I could probably carry on for a good number of months, enough to write a book Kitty suggests, but I do love a good distraction! 

So, to get back to normalcy, I thought it would be fun to super size my mini mini sunburst pattern to make a little something for myself, and I've shown a good amount of the process on Instagram. It actually took me a good bit of thinking, planning, and test cutting to figure out the seam allowance and size of the inner connecting piece for the two opposite sunbursts. Since I was making this into a pillow, I wanted to hit the right size from the beginning since trimming down would cause me to loose some of my design.

As far as other design choices, you might be a little confused thinking... hey, wait, I thought she didn't like solids?!? If you know that much about me, then you are absolutely right! I don't like working with solids, but in the same breath I can sing my never ending praises of Basic Grey grunges, which can work like a solid, but have so much more depth, in my opinion, than a true solid. I really mean it when I say that I have them in almost everything that I make!

Another off the beaten path detail that you might notice are my color choices. I guess I have a pretty true and standard palette that I tend to grab for first, sometimes without realizing it until the project is together, but it would seem that I have favorite colors to sew with and favorite colors to decorate with. Since this pillow is for my living room, you get a taste of the Art Nouveau inspired color range that adorns one of my favorite rooms in the house.

Quilting? Now that was my bear! Seam ripper... oh, how I love you! Let me count the ways... and the number of stitches that came out of this one!?! I started out simply outlining and then shadow quilting the sunbursts, but that just didn't look right. Then I started spiral quilting with the intention to spiral quilt on both ends towards the center... and as you can see, that didn't work out either! So.... simple, no fuss, (as usual) and after having lived with it a few days, I'm pleased with it.

Background: Essex Linen, Espresso from Robert Kaufman
Points: Basic Grey grunges
Quilting Thread: Aurifil cotton 50 wt 2326 Sand
Rashida Coleman Hale, "Mochifloral" purple 

Linking up to WIP Wednesday.

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Buttoned-Up Pillow

It's no secret that I have a weakness for buttons. I love to add that extra little detail to a project that says I remembered everything... even the very smallest part. So in tribute to my passion for the pint-sized notion, my teeny little friends get to steal the show... and this time in XL size! It's been oh, too long since I've worked on a freezer paper applique project, and once I had started, I remembered why I swoon about the technique so much.

 

Another low volume fabric project was at the top of my list (and trust me, there will be more to follow!) Right now I am still "crushing" on the AGF Studio "Makers" fabrics... these fabrics are just so brilliant, and with that being said, one favorite deserves another with color accents of Basic Grey grunge.

I thought it would be fun to add an embroidered thread detail so the buttons would look like they had actually been sewn on.

... and I finished the back with two of my favorite Anna Maria Horner prints with a simple envelope closure.

 

...next week I'll share a full tutorial on how I made this pillow, including the button template!

... and when I said that I really adore buttons... it was no exaggeration. I even gave these sweet, little accents thier very own board on Pinterest. What about you... any weaknesses for any other fun notions? 

Low volume fabrics in Germany from the "Makers" series can be found here.

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Transitioning

My original plan when I started making sewing models for our Kreativ Hamburg stand this fall was to make a mock skirt that I could later transition into something else. It made no sense to me to make something that could only be used for the show.... especially since my model has a (ah hum), slightly "trimmer" waistline than mine.

I used this great tutorial here for the arrow blocks... not to fret, no paper piecing involved. So, I thought that simple straight line quilting would show off the off-center design the best... and that's how I ended up with yet another pillow! (much more practical than a skirt that doesn't fit, right?)

After having cut my strips for the arrow tail into 45 degree angles, I thought it would be too bad to just throw away the sewn scraps... so, I decided to sew them together and make a cosmetic bag out of them, which has now become my sewing notions bag with my favorite and highly used sewing tools.

I love it when I find a way to use those wasted scraps. How about you, do you have any projects using leftover scraps or that you've transitioned from one project into another?... leave me a link!

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