Cake Rock Beach

Skip this if repeat projects bore you...more wristlets! This is really about the tenth set I've made, and I loooooove them. It's true, there are a lot of pieces to this. Cutting takes for-EVAH, so I had a couple of hours of production line cutting. I have a stack of flannel lining and fusible interfacing pre-cut, plus several sets of fabric.   So I can sit down and get right to the fun part when it's time to make a new set. My friend Jen H recently had a big, fat birthday. As is our habit, a group of girlfriends in my neighborhood got together for a small celebration. These occasions are especially notable when Heidi bakes. I skipped dinner, and went straight to the perfect cheesecake with lemon curd OR (more honestly, AND) caramel sauce, washed down with a glass of prosecco. Swoon. Back to the wristlets: I wanted this set to be something Jen was sure to like and use, and to that end, I invited her to go "shopping" in my fabric stash to see what she liked. This confirmed what I already knew: Jen has amazing taste. She chose 3 fabrics from Joelle Hoverson's "Cake Rock Beach" line. Why, oh why, hasn't Joelle continued with fabric design? Anyway, this was not anything I'd looked at for this project, and it has turned out to be my favorite set so far.

Conversation Hearts

So my friend Tia told me about home made conversation hearts. More trouble than they're worth? Oh yeah, but so cute. Here's a link to a recipe. My tips: make sure the sugar dough doesn't try out before you roll it out for cutting. Some of mine are pretty grainy for this reason. This is a messy project. Powdered sugar was flying everywhere, and I'm kind of surprised I'm not still stuck to the floor. I also managed to kill my hand mixer (Black and Decker WITH TURBO BOOST) at the end there. If you attempt this, have an extra bag of powdered sugar on hand for the hand kneading. I added in a lot more during this step than I expected.  For flavors, I used peppermint and vanilla extracts, and a super secret ingredient (shhhh...lemon and cherry Jell-O). I would have used Kool-Aid packets, but couldn't find any. Kool Aid flavors would have been excellent.

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

Hey, I learned to make tassels! This scarf  is voile and velveteen - Anna Maria Horner's "Innocent Crush" fabric line. The voile was obnoxiously slippy to sew to the velveteen. It's been much easier sewing voile to voile. I don't have a walking foot for my favorite machine; maybe that would help. The scarf is worth it though, it feels totally luxurious. I went with the 'luxury' theme, and taught myself how to make tassels (much cheaper than adding yachts or polo ponies, but now that I think about it, should luxury be 'cheaper'? I'm going all out on the next luxury scarf...). I used three colors of grey and lavender for the tassels, and I really like the subtle variegated look. This scarf was my first commission, and I hope the birthday girl likes it! Here's a picture I love, because it looks like a rolled up magic carpet:

I had experimented with a first scarf for myself, with a beaded fringe, but I think I'll ditch the beads in favor of: TASSELS!

Ticker Tape & a question for my vast horde of readers

I made this a while ago using teeny scraps. When I started quilting, I read about scrappy projects, using up scraps, scrap swaps, even selling scraps. So I saved ridiculously small pieces, without understanding that for most folks, "scraps" means anything smaller than a fat eighth. But a little ticker tape quilt can use up eensy little pieces. The first one I saw was created by Amanda Jean (tutorial here). This particular quilt is doll sized, and has been used constantly - I'd love to try a lap sized version. Wondering if anyone has made one with pinking the scraps? Does it look weird? Less fraying, less charm? Leave a comment & let me know!

Pay It Forward craftiness

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Originally uploaded by micmacker@gmail.com

Here's my first completed project for my 2011 Pay It Forward crafting whatsis from Facebook. This is for Cheryl, whom I've known since high school. Cheryl gets to be first because last year, I only completed half of my pay it forwards. Oops. I chose a lot of blue for Cheryl to match her eyes, and I just think she'll get a kick out of the owls.

watching the game

I have zero interest in football.  When the Barry and I first moved in together, I had no idea how much he LOVED watching the Patriots.  In the throes of early love, I tried, I really did.  But if you can't find it in yourself to embrace someone else's thing under those conditions, it's never gonna happen.  Watching sports on tv is just. not. me.  The frogs, though, are on Barry's side.

Easy laptop cases

In my desperate run of pre-Christmas sewing, I needed an easy project that a guy would like.  I found this free tutorial by Elizabeth on her blog Oh, Fransson!  If you're new-ish to sewing, check out her patterns, both free and for sale.  Lots and LOTS of photographs of each step, and instructions that simply could not be clearer.  She has a new book out, too, "The Practical Guide to Patchwork" that's high on my wish list.  I don't know Elizabeth personally, nor is this a paid endorsement, I just think her work is terrific.

So I think Zachary liked his laptop sleeve, but I'll bet Elisabeth stole it from him.

 I went on to make another sleeve sized for an ipad - the pattern is customized according to measurements.  

I have a couple of panels of this Italian alphabet fabric - wish I'd gotten more.