Winter Deer

Another finished blanket...

This one was a customer order.

Buck & Doe in Snow, Fleece Panel

Purchased at JoAnn Fabrics.

Back side of blanket: I used a faux fur in a bluish gray color.

Trim is black quilt binding.

Above: Front of the blanket

Below: Closeup showing fabric used on the back

Shelby's Giant Floor Pillow...

(Above: Pillow shown with the pillow case on)

A special request...

this GIANT floor pillow!

A friend of mine asked me to make her one of these pillows.

Because it can be quite expensive to make these, I try to thrift shop as much as possible for the supplies needed in order to make them.  I got lucky and found a ROLL of brown corduroy fabric for only $5.99 plus sales tax at a St Vincent DePaul Thrift Store!  I was able to use some of the corduroy fabric for the pillow itself.  I also found a bunch of brand new (still in the packages) zippers at the same thrift store for about $0.25 each, and bought them all, so I had an inexpensive investment into the zipper for the pillow as well.

I did purchase the printed fabric, which I used on one side of the pillow cover, on eBay, but could only get 1 yard of it, so I had to compensate with a different fabric for the opposite side of the cover.  I used some soft furry off-white fabric I had purchased from JoAnn's Fabric, for the opposite side, and filled in the sides of the pillow case with some of the brown corduroy fabric.  I used remnants of the printed fabric to make ties for holding the pillow case together at the opening.  I wish there had been enough remnant fabric to make 3 or 4 ties, but I only had enough to make 2 ties.  2 ties work, but a couple more would've looked better.

The most expensive part of making these giant floor pillows is the cost of the filling.  This particular pillow is 54"h x 54"w.  My filling of choice would be to use shredded foam...safer than styrofoam beads, and keeps it's shape longer and better than poly-fil.  However, for a pillow this size it's impossible to find any local retailer who sells shredded foam by bulk.  JoAnn's Fabric sells it, but in small bags.  I could purchase it online for real inexpensive, but then the shipping costs are what kills me!  If I use poly-fil, it can cost over $100 just for the fill because I'd have to buy so much of it.  So here's my solution to this problem...  I buy body sized pillows at Target for $9.99 +tax each...this giant floor pillow took 5 body sized pillows.  I leave the body pillows in tact and put them in the giant floor pillow.  The body pillows can be removed and replaced at any time if necesary!  (Like if they lose their fullness and go flat as most pillows do over time).  It's easier for my customers to replace the body pillows inside the giant floor pillow than it would be for them to replace shredded foam or hundreds of dollars worth of poly-fil.  It may have cost $50 to fill this giant floor pillow, but it's way cheaper than the alternatives!  It saves me money and in turn saves my customers money!  ;o)

Anyways...here are some more pictures of the pillow...

(Above: My son next to the uncovered pillow to give you an idea of its size)

Ice Creams Cones & Polka Dots!

A few weeks ago I had made some quilted, reversible ice cream-themed placemats to put into an Ice Cream-Themed gift basket I had donated to a good friend's husband's benefit.

Well, I had just enough fabric leftover make 2 more placemats.  This time I used a pink trim rather than brown and ivory.

Here they are...

"Birds of Autumn" Blanket & Pillow Set

I wanted to make a blanket for my mom
for her birthday so I went fabric shopping...
I found this absolutely gorgeous bird fabric

and coordinating leaf fabric

at JoAnn's Fabrics in Watertown, WI.

I couldn't resist buying it for a blanket.

I wanted a soft fabric for the back of the blanket

 so I went with a brown "oh-so-soft" fabric
that I found at JoAnn's as well.

Since I had a little leftover fabric,

I decided to make a matching pillow.
And I'm so excited!

Last year I had spent over $40 on a ruffling foot

for my sewing machine, but for the life of me

I couldn't figure out how to make it work.

I had recently bought myself a book:

The Sewing Machine Attachment Handbook

By

Charlene Phillips

I HIGHLY recommend this book to everyone!

I learned how to use my ruffling foot because of this book!

I used the ruffling foot for the ruffles on the ends of the pillow.

And here's what I made...

(The above pictures were taken w/my Blackberry,

so the coloring and clarity isn't as good as the pictures below.

The pictures below were taken w/my digital camera).

The hardest part of making the pillow was

hand sewing the buttons on

because of my carpal tunnel

and having to pull them so tight.

But the end results turned out fantastic!

Time For A Picnic

(If you click on the picture, it'll open it up to full size so you can see the whole blanket, then hit your back button to come back to my blog)

Just completed:

Patriotic Picnic Blanket

with

Quilted, Reversible Carry Tote

I found some wonderfully cute patriotic fabric on eBay,

featuring blueberries, strawberries and watermelon.

I couldn't resist pairing it with the watermelon seed fabric,

which I also purchased on eBay.

The fabric made the cutest picnic blanket

for a summer-themed swap that I'm participating in.

For the top of the blanket, I cut and sewed squares from each of the different cotton fabrics.

For the bottom of the blanket I used a navy blue heavier fabric which I purchased at JoAnn's.

I used red satin blanket binding for the trim, then decorated the corners w/red bows and purple buttons.

I pulled through yarn knots at the cross intersection of each square to give it a quilt-look.

With the leftover fabric I made a matching tote, which I quilted and made reversible.

"Tea Time" Tablecloth

I found this really cute teapot fabric at a rummage sale for only 50 cents...I got a whole 2-1/4 yards of it for that price!  Rummage sales are great for finding fabric and sewing supplies!

Anyways, I decided to make a tablecloth out of half of the fabric.  I used an off-white linen for the back and some off-white eyelet "lace" trim for the borders, both purchased from Wal-Mart Supercenter.

I had found a cute oval basket at a thrift store and wanted to use it for one of my themed gift baskets, so I decided to put together this tea-themed gift basket, which I am going to be donating to the George Krebs Benefit on July 17, 2010.

Additional items in the gift basket donation include:

Assorted Teas

Black Ceramic Mug & Small Tea Spoon

Handmade Tea-Bag Holder w/Matching Handmade Coasters (I did not make these)

Handmade Mug Holder/Bag (I did not make this)

Handmade "Tea Time" Tablecloth (I did make this)

Wall Ornament/Sign that reads...

"Women are like tea bags

They don't know how strong they are

Until they get into hot water."

Traveling Baby Blankets (With Attached Toys)

This is another project I've been working on after seeing something similiar in a Ben Franklin Crafts store.

When shopping at a Ben Franklin Crafts store, I noticed these cute handkerchief sized "blankies" with attached toys.  The blanket alone was $30, and the toys were each priced individually too!

I thought it way too expensive for something so small.

I decided to make some very similiar, only mine are bigger...and they come with the toys attached.

I call them Traveling Baby Blankets because they are perfect for taking in a stroller or car seat.

Here's one of my finished Traveling Baby Blankets...

I use a soft fleece fabric on both sides, and a satin-type blanket trim around the edges.  I use fabric ribbon sewn onto the sides where I can attach the toys.  The toys are removable.

The following Traveling Baby Blanket was one that I made withouth the satin blanket trim.
I like the looks of the blanket better with the trim than I do without, but the one below was my first attempt at making these blankets, and it became a baby shower gift for my cousin.

SpongeBob Squarepants

I actually made this blanket a couple months ago, but forgot to post it here on my blog.

My son was invited to a birthday party and his friend likes SpongeBob Squarepants, so he and I went shopping at Wal-Mart in Madison, WI for some SpongeBob fabric.  This is what we found for fabric.

My son enjoyed helping me make the blanket, as you can see in the pictures!

He loves to help me with my projects once in awhile,

and I thought it was great that he had a part in helping to make his friend's birthday present!

Ice Cream is the Theme!

A very close friend's husband was recently in ICU for 4 weeks struggling for his life.  The family is having a benefit to help raise money for them and all the doctor bills that have accumulated.  The benefit is going to take place on July 17, 2010.  I was asked if I could make a few things to donate to the raffles and silent auction.  So here's one gift basket finished...an Ice Cream themed gift basket!

I made a couple of quilted, reversible placemats with some awesome ice cream cone fabric and polka dot fabric that I purchased on eBay.  Then found the rest of the items in local stores and shops.

Included in this ice cream themed gift basket are:

2 sundae dishes

2 ice cream bowls

ice cream scoop and sundae spoons

2 ice cream cone bubbles

ice cream cone sidewalk chalk

ice cream themed erasers

Smuckers Hot Fudge Topping

a box of cake cone cups

and of cours the 2 placemats that I made.

Harley Davidson - Blanket Makeover

My Landlady asked me to make a Harley Davidson blanket for her to give to her boyfriend for his birthday, and I couldn't find Harley Davidson fabric anywhere...not even online.

So I purchased a basic fleece Harley blanket and transformed it into this cool, double-sided blanket.

Both she and her boyfriend absolutely loved it and I'm happy with the way it turned out!

I purchased the Harley fleece blanket and the red skull fleece fabric on eBay.  The flame fabric I got at Wal-Mart Supercenter in Beaver Dam, WI.