knick knacks & ric rac

yes, i bought this sewing machine because it matches my car. that kind of thing gives me a thrill.

it is in mint condition and runs like new! also thrilling!

i saw it at the thrift store a few weeks ago and kept my fingers crossed that it would still be there when green tags were half price – it was! 1/2 price gives me a thrill too.

it caught my eye because the case is the same as the sewing machine my mother had when i was little, the one i learned to sew on (although the machine was different, and not nearly as colorful).

wanted to show you this a while ago, but with halloween tomorrow, i guess it is perfect timing! artist Brigid Ashwood asked to use my ribbon print skirt print on a pin-up witch in her ‘witchen kitsch’ series– so much fun!

(prints are available in her etsy shop here)

then her painting was turned into a figurine! so cool that it will live on forever in resin!

(the figurines are available here)

just listed 54 swatch bundles in my etsy shop here!

each bundle is approximately 1 sq. yd.

i end up with a lot of fabric swatch odds and ends from making skirts. these swatch bundles feature sample prints, test ink colors, test dye colors, test fabrics, leftover pieces from print runs and dye lots, prints that i smudged but still have plenty of usable area, and other experimental fun!

based on suggestions after the last batch of swatch bundles, i did not trim these pieces, so pieces may have imperfections like uneven printing (light areas with not enough ink, or blurred areas with too much ink), smudges, stray ink or dye spots or small fabric defects.

just in time for your holiday crafting, use them for all sorts of projects like patchwork, pouches, coin purses, dolls and more!

fabrics are mostly mid-weight cotton twill or duck, and are machine washable and dryable.

putting together LOTS of swatch bundles (40+) today, hoping to get them up in my etsy shop tomorrow!

(update- got about half way through then sidetracked, finishing them up this weekend)

Both new screen printed skirts are 20% off the regular price all weekend!
Debut Discount ends midnight (PST) Sunday 9/29

Sweetheart Skirt

over-dyed navy blue stripes paired with a fresh and sweet folkloric border

Pocketful of Posies Skirt

patch pockets printed with graphic flowers, trimmed with coordinating mini pom pom fringe

have you seen that ‘mega’ ric rac? it’s gigantic! know what you can make with it? gigantic ric rac dahlias! i made a pair of gigantic ric rac dahlia pillows – here’s how…

you will need:

• mega ric rac – large pillow is 13″ circle and uses approx. 8.5 yards, small pillow is 11″ circle and uses approx. 5.5 yards  (i bought my mega ric rac here)
• wool felt to match ric rac – 1/2 yard per pillow
• thread to match
• pom pom
• stuffing

trace a circle on the felt using a plate or tray in a size you’d like your pillow to be and cut out 2 pieces

sew on ric rac onto one piece of felt the same way as these brooches, gathering the bottom V’s of the ric rac and stitching down as you go.

since the ric rac is so big it is easy to sew it on with a sewing machine, and faster!

line it up with the edge of the felt, letting the ric rac overhang the edge by about an inch.

sew the following rows about 1″ below the previous row.

sew a pom pom in the center

pin the pillow top and bottom together and sew around edges using 1/4″ seam allowance.

i’m sewing on the right side of the pillow so the raw edges will be on the outside of the pillow. i like the way this looks when sewing with felt.

leave a 5″ section open for stuffing. stuff, then sew opening closed.

wooden cookie bucket & painted plate

really cute embroidered/appliqued felt belt with edelweiss & toadstool

wood plate with straw design

these new pink safety pins are making me way more happy than they should. maybe i need to get out more.

they’re for my hangtags

action shot!

made me want to freshen up my rims over the weekend with a new coat of paint! which also made me pretty happy.

 i made this little end table a few months ago. i guess i didn’t really ‘make’ it…maybe i ‘restyled’ it? (haha i’m a little tired of hearing reading that word on the internets, but i guess that’s what it is!) i took off the faux marble top and threw an upside-down bowl on it and painted it red to make it into a toadstool. still haven’t decided if i want to paint spots on it or not. i bought this little table at a yardsale when i first moved to california and it’s been outside ever since. it’s cast iron so it got pretty rusty out there. i always thought the shape looked like a mushroom stem. i painted the stem but left the bottom of the base rusty because it’s a nice contrast with the white paint, and it blends in nicely with the wood floor.

i also painted this little stool. i’ve talked about painted furniture before, and how i wanted to try/do it. this was my new years eve project. i feel like i cheated a little because the design is traced from this book, but it made painting furniture seem so much less intimidating that way. i picked up another book in the series until i get up my nerve to do something freehand or make up my own design to trace. but i like the way this one turned out so i want to paint more stuff.

and these curtains! this must be the most perfect lace design ever. and the design is pretty big. and they are made in the USA. of course after i got them i realized i probably should wait to put them up until a certain naughty kitten grows out of the curtain-climbing stage (i think it’s almost over).