Category Archives: Hand Crafts

Tiny Bits of Silk

I received a few bits of silk scraps in a bag of yummy fabric oddments. I almost, almost swept the silk bits into the bin because they were so teeny tiny.

Then I thought of a friend that loves silk and has been having a bit of a rough time lately. What to do with those tiny scraps?

How about a bookmark?

Made using a heavy-weight double sided fusible inside and stitched the pieces on wherever they would fit. Each seam was finger pressed and then I used decorative stitches on my sewing machine to embellish.

Miracle of miracles, I had a matching Sulky thread that was just perfect for what I wanted to accomplish.

Some stitching detail. This kind of project is always so zen for me!

I know this little bookmark won’t solve any of my friend’s problems, but I hope she knows that I’m thinking of her and at the very least this will give her a smile.

In an effort to spread a little love around this week, I will give giving a free magazines from my stash to 5 different readers!

Ready, set…comment!

Featured Pattern: In A Castle, $6 on Craftsy!

Socks!

There She Sews!

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Remember the lavender Kenmore?

The bobbin case came in the middle of the drama of my week, and there it sat for almost 36 hours before I had the wherewithal to even look at it.

Fortunately, I had one whole bobbin in my collection that fit the machine and it turns out, she sews just fine with all her pieces back together!

Lost & Found

My next simple piecing project is going to be the true test for this old gal. I can’t wait to really put her through her paces!

Use coupon code TACKETT right here on Sewhooked and in my Etsy Shop for 25% off your total order until August 31. This special coupon has been created as a fundraiser for my beloved and sick kitty, Tackett. Tackett is a regular visitor to Talk To Me Tuesday and even has his own Facebook page. The great majority of the patterns I’ve designed have come into life with Tackett sitting in my lap or on my feet.

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Learn to paper piece now through December with my full-lengthvideo workshop available through STITCHED. Registration is now only $40! Click for details

DIY, like crafts, only bigger

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I don’t have much to show for my last few days because I’ve been doing a little DIY!

The faucet above is in my kiddos’ bathroom. I installed an identical one in our half-bath downstairs.

Here it is on Amazon. I picked it up at my local Lowe’s for about half that price.

Not only did I update the yucky old cheap-o faucets that were in our house when we bought it way back in 1999 (why did I wait so long?!), but I also updated the water shut-offs and intake lines so they are now up to current code for our area.

Did I mention my fingers are sore? Ouch! Even the plumber’s putty under my nails was worth it. 😉

Yeah, DIY!

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Souvenir Bag Bookmarks

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Just a craft quicky for today!

My daughter came back from her super-fabulous trip to France with a stack of tiny bags from souvenir shops from buying postcards and small souvenirs. Instead of tossing the bags, or leaving them in a drawer to collect dust, we decided to turn them into bookmarks for bonus souvenirs!

We used a glue stick to attach different pieces of the bags together (fronts, backs, etc.) and I trimmed them to the size we wanted with the rotary cutter I keep for cutting paper (great for blades too dull for fabric!).

Then, I used my Scotch Thermal Laminator and 5mm pouches to laminate the bookmarks. With 5″ x 7″ pouches, we were able to get laminate two at at time. I cut each one out using my rotary cutter. Super simple!

Have you made patterns or projects from Sewhooked? Add them to the Sewhooked flickr group for a chance to be featured on my blog!

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Photogenic Florals

All Sudsed Up – Homemade Hand Soap!

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After seeing this recipe for making a gallon of hand soap on Pinterest, I could not resist giving it a try!

It takes one bar of hand soap, 2 TBS liquid glycerin and 1 gallon of water. So simple!

I used a bar of tea tree soap for my version, and followed the recipe to the letter. My house smelled extra-nice for a couple of days, and the soap smells just as good.

For the first few hours after cooking, the soap looked a bit like milky water, but once it was completely cooled, it was absolutely the perfect consistency for a hand pump.

I doubt the refills will last for a year for my family, but we will get a lot of use out of that one bar of soap!

If you try this, make sure you have containers ready to go. I filled all my soap dispensers as well as one empty soap refill bottle, but I had to improvise with the rest.

See you tomorrow for Talk To Me Tuesday!

STITCHED registration is now only $40! Click for details

Get 10% off your total purchase during June with code SUMMER2012. Offer valid here on Sewhooked and in my Etsy Shop.

Cooking With Crochet

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I have some insanely talented friends. They are inspiring, creative, fun, supportive and just oh-so-many other things!

Amber is one of these people.

She’s the Crochet Princess responsible for Amber’s Originals. She has supported me though many an endeavor and I’m absolutely bouncing to share her exciting news!

Amber has created the most amazing one-woman amigurumi crochet food display, possibly in the history of EVER…

Cooking With Crochet: Tasty Textile Treats features crochet food made by Amber Lowery. The show is live now through July at the Peoria Public Main Library.

Cooking with Crochet: Tasty Textile Treats
Peoria Public Main Library (lower level 1)
107 N.E. Monroe
Peoria, IL 61602-1070
309-497-2000
Monday through Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Amber created 655 pieces for this show AND she made each piece herself over just a three month period!

She’s amazing, creative and insanely talented. I hope you enjoy this glimpse of her show…

Basket Foods
Healthy Choices

Fruit Basket and Some Cheese

Mexican Basket

Dagwood and friends

Sandwich Fixins

Ice Cream!

See more pictures of Cooking With Crochet!

Be sure to visit Amber’s Originals and Like Amber’s work on Facebook!

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STITCHED registration is now only $40! Click for details

Get 10% off your total purchase during June with code SUMMER2012. Offer valid here on Sewhooked and in my Etsy Shop.

A Favor for my Best Friend

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My best friend of close to two decades (holy cow!), had shoulder surgery last week.

Jewells was working on gifts and other obligations (including working full time!) right up to the wire, including making a quilt top for her brand new great-nephew, baby Oliver. I wanted to do something for her as a get well gift and I wracked my brain trying to think of something helpful. It ended up being kismet that she needed a quilt top finished and I needed something special for a get well gift. Long story short, I offered to finish the quilt, and after swearing to her that it would not be a burden to me (it most emphatically was not!!), Jewells sent me all her stuff for the quilt, and I finished it up this weekend.

My free-motion quilting on anything bigger than a wall hanging tends to be a meander or waves (I’m still learning!). This time, I thought meandering was the way to go.

Basted and ready to go!

Quilting, in progress! Look at those happy little monkeys!

Quilting close up!

Fun fact…the border fabric on this quilt is the sashing/border fabric on my Project of Doom quilt!

And more quilting…

More quilting close-ups…’cause I can!

The back!

Quilting on the back.

The awesome label that Jewells made (fabric markers over printed text).

See you tomorrow for Talk To Me Tuesday!

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STITCHED registration is now only $40! Click for details

Get 10% off your total purchase during June with code SUMMER2012. Offer valid here on Sewhooked and in my Etsy Shop.

Patched

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I’ve been patching dishtowels with leftover 2 1/2″ squares. I used random squares and a simple zig-zag stitch, putting a patch on each side wherever my (favorite!) dishtowels were getting thin.

I don’t know why, but it makes me happy to see the different-colored patches sprinkled on these old towels. 🙂

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STITCHED registration is now only $40! Click for details

Get 10% off your total purchase during June with code SUMMER2012. Offer valid here on Sewhooked and in my Etsy Shop.