Reading Pillows

Earlier this year a friend had asked me to make reading pillows to sell in her shop. I tried to make one up as a sample to send her and I just didn't like how it turned out. I altered it a few times and no matter what I did it was not acceptable. 

With a craft fair coming up soon, I thought I would give it another shot. I had this idea to use up novelty fabrics I had lying around. So I picked out my half-yard cuts. I chose some camping-themed fabric for my first try and I had this idea to use my embroidery machine to make the front pocket.

I didn't use a big enough piece of fabric so I ended up adding a band to the top and bottom to make it large enough. It really gave it a nice finished look. 

I used a free online tutorial to make the pillow. It helped me determine the right sizes for the pieces. The only real change I made is instead of using fiberfill stuffing, I used a pillow form. That meant I had to make a overlapping back piece to insert the pillow form. I discovered that was what I needed to do to improve my original pillow. It was the lumpy-looking fiberfill that was unacceptable. The pillow form really made a difference. 

Even from the back, the pillow had a nice finished look. Now that I solved the quality control issue, I needed to make some more. I had so much fun matching embroidery files with my fabrics that I ended up making a bunch more so I went on Amazon and ordered a bunch of pillow forms. 

While looking through Etsy for embroidery files I came across the cutest bird file. I fell in love with it. And now that I'm gaining experience with my machine, I conquered this file with over 34,000 stitches. It took a few hours to stitch out but I sure had fun with the colors. I chose them from the colors in the Tula Pink fabric scraps I had leftover from a quilt I made last year.

I made this little beauty into a reading pillow as well. 

I will put this one up for sale along with all the others, however this one will be a little more expensive. I'm not so sure any of these will sell but if they don't, I can always ask my friend who owns the boutique if she would like to put them up in her shop. It feels like a good business plan.

Wooden Gnome-like Santas

I used to do a lot of wood crafts. In fact, I sold many of them at craft fairs. I don't know what made me stop, but it's been years since I dabbled in woodcrafting. I saw a photo on Pinterest of these wooden gnome-like Santa and I thought I could certainly do that without purchasing a pattern or instructions.

After a some thought, I drew multiple sizes of triangles on paper using my 10-degree quilting ruler. I cut them out to get a real visual of the sizes I wanted to make. I then determined the base sizes from scraps of wood my husband had lying around his woodshop.  When he saw what I was up to he volunteered some pallet boards and dowels for the legs. I loved the idea of using pallet boards! This was going to be fun. It also made him clean up after himself so I had room in the workshop to cut on the bandsaw and sand my pieces. I did most of the work myself however I did ask Jeff to drill the holes for the dowels. After painting the pieces, I glued them together and stained them. Once the stain dried I took them outside and sealed them with spray matte-finish sealer.

And viola...

The real fun was choosing buttons for embellishments.

They are ready for my craft fair next weekend. I can't wait to see how they fare. Then I will know if I should continue with woodcrafts. I hope they do well because I had lots of fun making them.

Dancing Bears Quilt

I had 2 kits that were designed to make throw pillows along with some matching yardage. I decided I didn't want to make the pillows so I took the kits apart and sorted through the fabrics. In the end, I had a little more than 1 yard of each of 3 different prints. So I got out my 3-yard quilt books and found a pattern that I thought would be great to use with the fabrics. The pattern is called Dancing Bear. Since there are trees and bears on the prints it felt appropriate to do a bear paw type quilt block. Like the bear is in the woods - haha!

The 3-yard quilt books have a different technique for binding than I usually use. Their version uses less fabric so I didn't have enough fabric left over to do it my way. So I found some green fabric in my stash that matched very well to use as binding and there was enough to use for backing as well.

I longarmed the quilt using a leaf pattern that complemented the tree prints. I like how it looks on the green background.

I will add the quilt to my stash for craft fairs. I can usually sell a few quilts when I vend at a lower price point so this one will work for that purpose.

Hillside Coffee House Holiday Bazaar

I set up my space at the coffee shop first thing the morning of the bazaar. I usually like to do these things a day ahead of time but there was a snow storm on Friday.  It was just enough snow to make it miserable while trying to unload stuff from the truck. I was surprised how easy it was to do everything just a few hours before opening. Usually I would panic at the possibility of not being ready on time but I guess over the years I've learned to relax.

The bazaar is a wonderful event and I've had the most success there. I sell aprons, wine gift bags, bowl cozies, pot holders, table runners, table toppers, gnomes, quilts, bags, zipper pouches, and other homemade items. It's a great way for me to make some money to help support my quilting habit. Sort of a self-supporting hobby. So the bazaar is worth my efforts.

The hard part about working at the bazaar all weekend is that it's December. I have a tough time thinking about crafting and prepping for the upcoming holidays at the same time. I guess I have to learn to manage my own stresses better. 

Once the weekend was done, I was happy I attended and yet happy it was over. Now I can think about Christmas without distractions. Tomorrow we will put up a Christmas tree!

Girl Scout Quilt & Minecraft Quilt

I finished these two quilts just in time for the holiday market. I've been hanging on to so much cute fabric that I really needed to start using it up. Sometimes I let my charity projects get in the way. At the last two events where I had a booth I sold more lap sized children's quilts than bigger ones so it makes sense to make some more.

I took a Girl Scout panel and just put some borders around it. It is so cute that it didn't need much embellishment or fancy blocks around it. 

I quilted it using a pantograph that has a lot of swirls and curls adding to the cuteness.

I found some cool swirly purple backing fabric at the quilt shop. It's a perfect compliment to the quilt top.

If it doesn't sell at the market I will probably find a reason to give it to a Girl Scout.

I got Minecraft themed fabric from our local Ben Franklin Store. It was going out of business and I spent two hours just loading my cart with lots of cute fabrics. I hate that it's not there anymore. I chose an easy pattern called Favorite Things that had large blocks to show off the focus print. 

I have a really fun pantograph that was a perfect match to the fabrics. The backing is green shadow blush that picks up the many shades of green in the Minecraft print. 

I really enjoyed digging into my stash and feel inspired to make some more. 

Outside there's a hawk hanging around the back yard. We can always tell when it's near because the birds and squirrels all disappear. I spied its hangout - on the very top of a tree! What a pretty sight.

Gnome Ornaments and Table Runners

I made up my own version of a gnome Christmas ornament. I've been working on it for the last month. After cutting various sizes of yarn beards and little hats I think I've come up with the exact size that I want to make. They might be a big hit at the upcoming holiday bazaar this December. 

I'm also working on a few table runners. Last year's bazaar was so successful that I sold all the Christmas themed runners I had and have none left. What a nice problem.

I have a few more in the works and hopefully I can get them all completed before the month end. Sometimes the issue is the kitten. She just loves to help! 

Table Toppers and Upcoming Projects

When every new year comes around I like to try to complete old projects before starting anything new. So far I finished a large applique quilt and some charity quilts that were started last year. 

Now I have some table toppers on my radar to complete. I made them back in spring and quilted them over the summer. And then they sat.

I dug out the binding fabrics and got them done today. It felt good to get them finished.

I will post them to my Etsy page by the end of the week and get them packed away. There's no better feeling than when an old project gets finished.  With these completed, I broke down and started some new things.

This will be a travel tote bag when it's done:

This is Lori Holt's Zippy Bag panel. I can't wait to make these:

And this is a new quilt project:

I do have a few more old projects to complete yet but I felt like I could reward myself by starting some new ones. Haha!

Holiday Market at Hillside Coffee House

My friend owns a coffee shop and she offers up events throughout the year. This weekend she held a Holiday Market where she invites crafters and artists to sell their items. I purchased a table space for the event. I sort of regretted it - at first. All I could think of is it's the first weekend of the Christmas season and I have so much to do and this was a distraction. But I persevered.

I set up my booth on Friday afternoon. After years of attending craft fairs I have learned to relax throughout the process. Years ago I fretted and did not sleep the night before worrying about whether I had everything I needed. Now I don't even think about it. I am so lucky for that.

The holiday market ran for 2 days, both Saturday and Sunday. It was a pleasant surprise to meet new customers. Of course, I did my own social media posts and quite a few of my friends and past customers stopped in to see me. I am so grateful for all of them. I was also happy to see my best quilting friend, Sue. I can always count on her stopping by.

What a weekend! I made 24 gnomes and I sold all but 2. I made so many sales I couldn't believe it. After I got home I inventoried everything, packed up my craft fair bins and stored it all away. Even with all the hard work that goes into setup and teardown, in the end, I have no regrets for attending this event. It was exhausting and rewarding at the same time. 

See you in spring, Hillside Coffee House!

Christmas Gnomes

I had this moment of clarity when I recently looked that this gnome that one of the ladies from my basement quilters group made. Everybody got one for Christmas last year. 

I picked up the gnome, pulled the hat off to sort of re-arrange it on the little guy's head and I realized that it looked pretty easy to make. 

So I started to look for free online patterns or tutorials to make my own version - well, actually someone else's version, haha. 

I'm not the most ambitious when it comes to hand sewing so I had a few requirements. There would be no stuffed nose, a bead would be preferred. It had to be smaller than mine and I absolutely hate fleece fabric so it would be made with cottons or flannels. And luckily I have a bag of plastic pellets that my daughter gave me probably 10 years ago. I will finally get to use them. She also gave me 2 bags of stuffing that she wasn't going to use. She suggested that I take them to the senior center to donate but I chose to keep them. What she doesn't know won't hurt her. 

I found this pattern from LearnCreateSew and it was perfect. It came in multiple sizes so I could choose the one that best suited my plan. 

The hard part turned out to be the search for the beard fabric. I ended up at a Joann Fabrics store that I don't really care for. My local Joann's has some really nice employees but this one just isn't all that inviting. But they had the fur! The bad thing was that the fur was 44.99 per yard. I was happy to find that it was 40% off without a coupon so I figured if I got one-third of a yard it wouldn't be terribly expensive and there would be plenty. When I got to the cutting table the clerk unrolled the bolt and there was very little on it. She offered me the end of bolt for 50% off. I asked if it was 50% off after the 40% off and she said yes! I left this Joann's a very happy customer with almost a yard of fur for less than I would have paid for the one-third cut. What a pleasant experience after all.

I dug through my scrap stash and I made these:

I absolutely loved how they turned out so I posted this photo on Facebook and within 5 minutes I had friends asking me if they could buy them from me. So I made a few more.

While I was at it, I made a few wine gift bags. At the end of the week I had made 24 gnomes. I had so much fun making those little guys. Thank you LearnCreateSew for the great instructions.

Fall Craft Fair at All Saints Church

Each spring and fall my church holds a craft fair. Yesterday was the fall craft fair. It's a very popular fair. The people in charge only allow actual crafters to rent tables. No Scentsy, Pampered Chef, ThirtyOne, etc....none of that. Only crafters. The craft fairs are extremely popular. So much so that it makes the top ten lists of craft fairs in southeasters Wisconsin. The tables are difficult to get. You must fill out your table rental requests almost 2 years in advance to get in. I've been renting tables from them for almost 30 years. It's also my church so I love that.

Since the pandemic the church only allows about half of the crafters to rent tables. So we are spread further apart and from a vendor point of view, it's much nicer. People seem more willing to stop and linger since they aren't crammed so close together. It just seems more relaxing for everyone. However, the desire for homemade things seemed to have increased. There are more people attending than before and they are definitely purchasing. My sales have tripled which is really nice for me. The funny thing is that I don't really care if I sell much, I just like attending the craft fair. 

This year besides making the usual table runners, aprons, bowl cozies, and pot holders I made use of my embroidery machine to make things. I've learned over the years that it's not a good idea to wait until the last minute to start making things so I make crafts all year long. The week leading up to the craft fair is spent dusting off my display racks and setting things up to make sure everything goes together like I want. Price tags are pinned to products and signs are made to make items easier to find. 

Here are some zipper pouches I made.

I also made some mini zipper pouch stockings.

I used up leftover holiday fabric to make some reusable gift bags. 

I had a great time at the craft fair. Many of my quilting friends stopped by and even one of my clients came to say hi. I just finished making a quilt for him a month ago. It's funny that now the fair is over, I'm not sure what I want to work on next. I'm thinking about Christmas gifts or maybe finishing a UFO. It's fun to imagine what comes next.

A Busy Summer Week

I love the television show The Office. It is my constant companion while I sew. Since I can find it on a cable station almost any time of the day it's easy to have it on even if it's just background noise. So I wanted to make a project bag using The Office themed fabrics. I got it started this week.

At this month's basement quilters group I finished up the baby blankets and burp cloths I started at the beginning of summer. I am so happy to have all these done before my next craft fair. I completed 18 blankets and 38 burp cloths. I think I won't have to make more for a little while - haha!

Our beloved Milwaukee Bucks are world champions and we've been dying to go downtown and take a photo next to the Fiserv Forum. We chose to do so this week because there's an art fair in the Deer District. What better time could there be? 
 

I sold a quilt on Etsy so I decided I would spend some of my earnings at the art fair. Sort of a pay it forward kind of thing. At least that's how I justified my purchase. I bought this cute little business card holder from a welder who repurposed old metals into new things. The "hairs" on this little guy were made from political yard signs. I'm so glad those are something else now. Tee-hee.

On another note, I picked these vegetables from my garden this week.

It's hard to tell but the entire bottom of the bucket is full of carrots. My garden is doing pretty well this month. It's hard work, but I love it.