A new cover for the bedroom bolster...

I had a wonderful father's day! How about you?

I've been meaning to recover the bolster pillow on our bed since we put the drapes..and that has been since 2011!!!

bedroom post 2011

 It's all a bit white here. Not bad.. but I wanted to bring a bit of the drapery fabric into the room, specifically on the bed. 

I started with a rectangle of the check fabric. I sewed on the French silk ribbon. A tip not to forget when working with ribbon: use as hot an iron as your fabric allows and steam the ribbon. This will shrink the ribbon and save you tears later on when the ribbon shrinks in the laundry or dry cleaning. I also had this gorgeous, very antique lace. 

I chose to leave it in it's vintage state. I thought about hand sewing it to the fabric along the straight pieces that you see on the left above. But decided against that. I went ahead and used my Bernina but instead of regular sewing thread, I used a 60 weight thread through the needle. It's all cotton and much lighter weight so it barely shows.

On each end, I tied a tassel tie from the old bolster cover. Sew very easy.

Here's a closeup of the ribbon. It's truly a work of art. This bolt came from Quilter's Resource in Chicago. Sorry to say, it is no more. 

The sewing fairies were working with me today! You cannot see the seam in the back, well on the plaid fabric anyway. I always prefer to seam a piece so that the seam is almost invisible, so not in the middle of plaid strip.

One more tip, when inserting pillow forms into covers, cover the form with a plastic bag (or if you purchased a new form, leave the wrapper on but slit it open on one side). Once the form is in the pillow, you can remove the plastic bag. Thanks so much for dropping by today! Be blessed.

A Walk through my Garden

I changed out the quilts hanging in the studio. Something lighter and more spring-like.

Luckily, I label my quilts. Made this in 2001. For a Bernina publication. Was it A Touch of Artistry? How can I not be sure? Woe be me. 

I embroidered the flowers on stabilizer only and then used a heat tool to melt the stabilizer away from the embroidered piece so that all the embroidery were separate pieces. I could layer and add at will.

I used free motion stitching, straight line stitching, stitch in the ditch quilting. One of my favorite things is how the piping peaks out of the binding. 

I also couched some threads down around the center. I'm all about texture!!

Those decorative stitches on your machine are just dying to be used.. Let them out, they can create some fun pieces of art!

Update: I found the publication in which this quilt was featured.

Available HERE.

The sewing room is taking shape

Welcome to the redo of this room. I am turning it back into my studio/sewing room. It used to be an extra bedroom, but since the boychild has removed his furniture.. I got the room back!!!

Isn't this transition just lovely? Oh yeah.. so much had to be removed from the room and the hallway seemed the natural choice. Wouldn't this be a great shot for "Hoarders"?

 This is really the hardest piece to move.. I have two Horn sewing cabinets and a file cabinet under the solid core door. This piece has worked so well for about 20 years. Once I had that where I wanted it (it is getting skirted cause really who wants to look at that?), then I used blue painters tape to place the remaining pieces of furniture on the floor. I use the tape to outline the pieces and see how that will work for traffic flow and efficiency. That to me is the greatest tip of all time. I sometimes photoshop furniture into pictures to see the look, but for existing pieces you know you are using, this is just great!

Then my sweet husband went into building mode. These cube pieces came from Target. They are relatively sturdy and serve my purpose totally. My son volunteered to build shelves, but that would have taken time and I was into instant gratification. After the first 3 sets (there are nine cubes in one unit), my husband wondered if I would have enough to fill up the shelves. See the second photo.

Since there is still so much to do in here, You'll be getting snippets today. I need to order curtains, find some rods for art displays, a new desk lamp, skirt the desk, I do want my son to build a new cutting table, need to hang art work, and continue to purge excess supplies. But I do love how this looks. Oh the empty cubbies are now all filled and more fabric has been added.

I found this painter's tray at an auction for a pittance. Of course it came home with me. It's housed many things in it's time. This time around it's the keeper of some photos and lots of religious artifacts and other travel odds and ends.

I had to make room for my mom's Horn sewing cabinet. It's great for the second machine! Next to it sits an antique German thread cabinet that was a gift from my godmother. I love all the drawers and compartments for housing all those pesky little things.

 Some favorite things sit on top of the unit. I could have gotten a larger 12 cube unit, but that would have left me with no display room. I really wanted to have a spot for some pictures, my mom's doll wardrobe, and the few books that are too large for the cubes.

A few items in the cubbies themselves. This last photo is of two projects on which I'm currently not working. My son wants his Texas placemats!!

 Now just what's in those sweet "drawers" made for this cube system you ask? Well let me show you! One has antique lace on boards, one has lace each in it's own plastic bag. I had to untangle that mess from a tub! Not happening again.

 This antique German snap box holds my buttons, however all white ones are in the crystal jar!

 One holds anything in a can: 505 spray, starch, gold paint, glue, etc...  And another holds all the note cards I am going to send.

And then there are paints, inks, stickles, glitter.. ooh the mess!

So far. I'm quite pleased with the progress.

As is Regan. He thinks the desk is his new habitat! Put there just for him. He can guard me, watch the door and see outside. A heavenly perch.

He's also got to keep an eye on this little one. Yes, softy husband has started feeding this malnourished little one. If we can ever get him/her to trust us, then I think Regan might just have a playmate.

Have a blessed day!

Chris✞mas in July - Handcrafted Gifts

Chris✞mas in July continues.. Yvonne at Stone Gable has come up with a great idea to get us ready for the holidays. She is has a party going on this week to bring us some holiday cheer early in the year. Are you ready?


The believe banner is located HERE



I love new door danglers.. this would be a great idea. For me see HERE.



A new Advent calendar is always much appreciated. This is a two part post HERE and HERE.



Or a really cute idea to help show off the pictures, seen HERE.

Or embellish a tablecloth for your best friend. I know she will love it. Seen HERE

Hoping you got some good ideas.. Had fun having you here..
 

Heirloom Sewing in Texas - part 7c - the last one

 Religious vestments.. a beautiful job. 

 A Christmas tree skirt with embroidered panels and purchased trim.

A truly precise job putting the applique motif together. Great colors on the yellow mini check background.

 Another applique piece. The gold bias is purchased (?) and then applied. I have some and mine is actually iron on. but you still need to sew the edges for the perfect finished look. Great table runner, great use of color.

 This quilt is outstanding. This is another piece wherein all the blocks were embroidered individually and then sewn together to create the whole quilt look. A really great job putting the pieces together. The colors are amazing too. And perfect for the subject motif. 

 How much fun would that be in a dressing room?

 You know - a girl's just gotta have fun!

 A wonderful ensemble.

 Look at the detail of this sewing kit.. and the colors.. so dreamy. Would make me enjoy hand sewing!

 Look at this mantel cloth.. Wow. I'd be concerned getting it all lined up!

 A sweet design. Great color combo!

 Okay, now this is perfect alignment! 

and to finish off this series.. well what makes you smile more than something great for the kids or grandkids to play? This cute and darling and precious play mat.. it's got hook and loop tape on both pieces (quilt and animals). You can use it as a toss game and/or a sweet place to place a young child to attach and remove those cute animals!

Thanks so much for dropping in and spending time with me! I cherish your visits. 

Many Blessings.