You Go Girl!

Revelations of Quilt Girl

Tah Dah...

I finished the little purple quilt. It was not my first quilt, but it was the first quilt I've quilted on my sewing machine. In the process of creating this little slice of cuddly goodness, I had some revelations:

1. Picking the right combination of fabrics for a quilt is not as easy as it seems. Wow! My head was spinning.
2. The final quilt is a metamorphosis of the original vision. The fabric that was my inspiration piece didn't make it in to the final quilt. Weird.
3. Piecing a quilt together is the bomb. Love it.
4. Machine quilting is not for wimps. There is a reason people send their quilts out to be quilted on a long-arm machine. Quilting on my little Bernina made me want to throw my scissors, say naughty words, and poke needles in my eyes. I didn't do any of those things, just so you know.
5. Perfection is a cruel mistress. I thought I was out from under her hand. Turns out, I'm not. My quilting stitches are not consistent in length. Two of my quilting lines have a whoopie in them. There is one pucker on the back. Nobody else will notice. But I do. Drives me crazy. Makes me feel insecure. I don't want to be under the spell of perfectionism. I will continue to battle her. Tah-wan-da!!

There you have it. My profound revelations. I will definitely quilt again. Next time, though, I think I will send it out to be quilted. Or maybe I will have a go at hand quilting. Ooooh, I like that idea.

Happy day~

Cassie

PS--This would be my fourth post in November...just in case you were counting. :-)

Felt Ornament Tutorial...Finally!

Remember the tutorial I hinted at here?

Well....

I'd like you to meet the Nuts...

Hazel...(And the crowd goes wild. Okay. Not really. But that would be cool.)

and Filbert...(More raucous cheers...in my own mind, anyway.)

And now for your warm, fuzzy enjoyment...A tutorial.

Collect your supplies:

• Squirrel-colored felt
• White Felt
• A puff of fluff for stuffing
• A pen for tracing
• Embroidery floss
• Embroidery needle
• Scissors
• 2 black beads or small buttons for eyes
• 10" hanging string (Divine Twine, Ribbon, Emboridery Floss, Yarn, etc.)
• Powder Blush (optional)

Download the pattern here (Squirrel Ornament Pattern). Warning: Pattern is not fancy. If only Heather Bailey was my neighbor (sigh). Pretend my pattern looks like one of her faboo masterpieces. Okay?

Cut pattern pieces out and trace them on to the felt. (Tip: I use a Uniball Roller pen to trace my pieces.)

 

Cut pieces out of felt. (Tip: I like to cut just inside the pen line.)

 

Stitch belly to body. Then stitch on ear piece. Use any kind of stitch you like. (See picture below for placement.)

Embroider nose and mouth. 

Add black bead eyes.

Hazel has a little powder blush on her cheeks. Apply with a q-tip.

Embroider a design on the tummy if you want. Here are some ideas.

I like to embroider a date on the back. (Tip: Make sure you are stitching on the correct side of the back. Not fun to find out you've done it wrong after you've put in all that work. Yes. I am speaking from experience.)

Match body front to body back and blanket stitch around the edges of the ornament. Before you sew the ornament completely shut, you can add a fluff of stuffing if you want your squirrel to be plump.

Add a string for hanging. I used Divine Twine. Other ideas...yarn, ribbon, embroidery floss, etc.

Say hello to your new squirrel friend. Perhaps you will name her Chessie. Get it? Chessie Nut. Chestnut. I think that's funny. Are you feeling warm and fuzzy yet? I hope so.

Happy stitching, friends.

***Ornament pattern not intended for resale. Ornaments made from this pattern are for home use or gift-giving. Please do not sell them. If you share your ornament(s) made from my pattern on your blog or facebook page, I would surely appreciate a link to the tutorial. Thanks much. ~Cassie

Flirting

I am flirting a little bit with this whole quilting process. Not sure I am in love. Definitely not ready to go steady or get married. More later...

xoxo~

Cassie

Bad, Bad Blogger and Some Blue Birthday Boots

I have been a bad, bad blog friend. One post in October. ONE! It's not that I didn't make some fun stuff. I did. It's not that I didn't see beauty and take photos of it. I did. It's not that I didn't think of things I wanted to show you and tell you. I DID! I just didn't take the time to post. Bad, bad blog friend. I am thinking that I will commit to at least four posts in November. I was going to say eight, but, come on, who am I kidding?

During my absence, I had a birthday. Look at my new beautiful, blue, birthday boots. They are the bomb. I am certainly crazy about them. We had a little bit of snow this morning. My blue boots almost made the snow okay. Almost.

Well, look at that. Post number one for November is done. Easy as that! I'll be back soon, friends.

Take care,
Cassie 

PS...Thanks for all the kind words about my crappy tooth, or lack there of. Almost healed. Yay!