I’ve inherited that need to craft too, so when I’m traveling, I absolutely must have a bundle of pre-cut yo-yo circles, needle and thread so I can merrily “yo” along while my DH drives

I love the portability and “instant gratification” of ending up with a bag of finished yo-yos at the end of the drive.  I can tuck everything I need into my purse and not have to haul around anything bulky.

And let’s face it, I enjoy sewing yo-yos!

Do you have a favorite traveling fiber art project?  Are you an on-the-road cross stitcher?  Do you fingers itch if you can’t crochet?

image: C Findlay-Harder

Post from: Blisstree

Traveling Fiber Art Projects

For some reason, September hits and I get the urge to clean.  I don’t know if it’s the knowlege that I’ll be cooped up in my studio for the next several months or the cold and snow that are set to descend.  But there’s something about this time of year that makes me want to get my studio whipped into shape.

What have I actually been doing?

Making yo-yo garlands!

Okay, that’s not entirely true… I spent my morning downstairs in my basement, cleaning & organzising.  But, it will help my studio out because the majority of my fabric lives down there.  So, if it’s more organized – I can use my studio better too!

Erm, fuzzy logic?

image: C Findlay-Harder

Post from: Blisstree

it’s that time of year again…

Now, I personally like the slow & meditative pace of hand-sewing yo-yos, but this method sounds fantastic for those projects that need to get done right now.

Basically, you’re using the embroidery hoop of your sewing machine to stabilize the yo-yo fabric as you sew around it.  Go check out the article for the complete details.

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a faster yo-yo

image: Daily OM

They were originally created in Northern India to bring good luck – I’d like to try making my own. I think that if I used Bettsi McComb’s (of Tender Arts Studio) pattern for little birds, I could create something quite lovely.

I’ll keep you posted…

Post from: Blisstree

blue prosperity hens

My name is Kelly Saunders and I write with my best friend, Karen, over at Thrifty Mommy. Our goals are to save you time and money in your everyday lives. Recently, I have begun a quilt. It was the biggest mistake I could have ever done because it is very addictive. I love to sit down and relax with my handwork. But I hated it when my thread would get tangled up and I would get so frustrated.

Then a co-worker told me about Thread Heaven. You guys might already know about it but it is a wonderful tool. It is just a simple little box of wax that you press your thread into and it keeps your thread from breaking and tangling. It has been a God Send for me. Hope this helps your sewing. It sure has helped my quilting.

image: Stock.xchg

Post from: Blisstree

Thread Heaven for peaceful sewing

It’s summertime – the kids are on vacation from school… and they’re bored!  What’s a fiber-aholic to do?

Why, get them crafting of course

I’ve got a few different kid’s crafts in the Tangled Thread archives, so I’ve pulled some of my favorites together for you.

• Hand-painted t-shirts.
• Create a bouquet of felt flowers.
• These sewn projects would be great for an older child or teenager.
• I’d recommend painting instead of embroidering these felt sweethearts if you’ve got younger kids.

There are more great kids crafts from other bloggers in the Lifestyles channel too!

• Paint your own soccer ball from Play Library.
• Make your own play clay from Hankering for Yarn (I’ve used this recipe for years and it’s great!)
• Be creative & Earth-friendly with a recycled doll house from Tree Hugging Family.
• Use egg cartons to make caterpillars with Inside Motherhood.

Happy crafting!

image: Stock.xchg

Post from: Blisstree

Kids crafts for summertime

 To this:

In a few weeks!

• Step one: making the silk paper.
• Step two: adding layers of paint.
• Step three: making cartoons to help visualize the completed work.
• Step four: painting the canvas background.
• Step five: embroidering the canvas.
• Step six: attaching the silk paper to the canvas.
• Step seven: free-motion embroidering the silk paper.
• Step eight: playing with the background colors.
• Step nine: quilting the fabric background.
• The final step – gallery mounting the entire piece.

So there you go – all the links, now go and be creative with them

Post from: Blisstree

how-to of the day – making silk paper – all the links

I’ve sewn the canvas onto the quilted background, using straight stitching on the edges and just tacking down the top and bottom. I want to gallery mount the quilted fabric onto canvas, but I think it’s easier to show you how, rather than try to explain it

Ginger Cook has created a great how-to video on gallery mounting canvas – it’s the same process for mounting quilted fabric.

Here’s the finished piece – I’m quite pleased how everything turned out!

I hope you’ll try some of the techniques we’ve explored over the past couple of weeks – there are a lot of fun things you can do with them

image: C Findlay-Harder

Post from: Blisstree

how-to of the day – making silk paper – gallery mounting the fabric

I’m going to make a quilted background, so the next step is to cut out the batting (I’m using Warm & Natural cotton batting) and the two pieces of fabric to “sandwich” the batting.

I cut the fabric & batting approximately 4 inches wider than the finished dimensions of the piece, enough so I can stretch it onto a canvas.  I’m using spray glue to lightly baste the layers together (I like Elmer’s spray glue, but try some different products and see what works best for you)

We don’t really need to quilt the center, where the silk paper will sit, so I’ve marked the corners and then drew a rough rectangle to show where I don’t need to quilt:

I’m using a water-soluble pencil, but you can use chalk, or even soap if you prefer.

Time to quilt!

I’m doing free-motion embroidery, using rayon machine embroidery thread.  I prefer to use a metallic sewing machine needle for free-motion embroidery – I find the thread slips through the larger eye a little more easily.

Now, I’ve got a choice…  First of all, I can leave the background as it is, with just the green embroidery that follows the lines of the leaves.

But I could also…

Use black thread to quilt lines that mimic the lines I embroidered around the silk paper.

Or I could also use very dark reds/burgundies and purple to echo the shape of the flowers.

Ah, decisions, decisions

all images: C Findlay-Harder

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how-to of the day – making silk paper – quilting the background

I quite like the way it looks on black – it’s clean, simple and doesn’t add any extra clutter:

But how about red? I pulled out my trusty photo editing software and started playing.

I think the red is a little too much – it’s overwhelming everything else… green perhaps?

I’m still not thrilled with it – but there’s purple in the flowers & stripes, how about a really dark eggplant?

I think it’s a tie between the purple and the black. By playing around with different colors, you can see what’s going to work best. It will also show you how different colors affect the piece – there’s such a dramatic change with every change of the background.

all images: C Findlay-Harder

Post from: Blisstree

how-to of the day – making silk paper – playing with the background colors