A Cute Guy to Take to a Party

I have been in the wine bag frame of mind since my weekend sewing visit to Madison at Ellen's house. I though it would be fun to combine the wine bag tie and a design element. A scarf on a snowman came to mind. I sketched it out and this is what I came up with. It is just a single layer of wool felt with a few appliques sewn on. The arms are a double layer so they stand out pretty well on their own. He is looking pretty cute on my table - I may have trouble giving him away. Guess I will need to make more! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Hope you didn't overeat and had fun with your family and friends. Jerilynn

Big Bottom Bonnie Bag in.....Wool Felt!

As I talked about in an earlier post, I am having fun using the stitches on my machine to make felt squares. Previously, I had designed this type of stitching using digitizing software and then sewing them out on my embroidery machine. I challenged myself to use just the stitches in my sewing machine and am finding out that this is tons of fun! Using different threads is fun, too, and I have been using a lot of King Tut variegated thread from Superior Threads. The above pocket is sewn out using shades of green. The stitches do not have to line up perfectly in the corners...I give you permission just to play with designs and threads and have fun. I also like the zipper that I used. I ordered the Brastique YKK zipper from Ghees. I love the zipper pull and also the "steampunk" finish of the zipper. I am going to be on the lookout for more colors and a bit longer length. I used a charcoal grey wool felt on the outside, and lined it with a red. It is very soft and fits perfectly in the bag that I made (can't tell you too much about that right now...secret stuff!) Go buy some wool felt somewhere - Sew Complete in Eau Claire, WI, carries a bunch of colors, and you can order it on line at Wool Felt Central. Cut the squares into 5" and draw a diagonal chalk line from corner to corner to help keep your stitched squares square. I usually stitch the first one out about 5/8" from the edge and keep making smaller squares. Once you are all done, give it a good steam press and trim to 4.5". Stitch on to another square for a cute coaster or a fun pocket on a Bonnie Bag. What??? You don't have a Bonnie Bag pattern? Where have you been? Let me know and I will gladly sell you one! Jerilynn

I love Wool Felt!

I am almost at the point where I could be happy just working with wool felt. The colors are pretty, stitches looks great whether they are machine embroidered, machine stitched, or hand stitched. No ravely raw edges. Maybe it is a throw back to childhood craft projects. Years ago I ordered some 100% wool felt from Martha Stewart's web store. I remember it came with some patterns for Christmas stockings. For the longest time I couldn't bring myself to cut into it - it was that beautiful. Well, I got over just looking at it and then started to look around because my stash was dwindling. I found the Wool Felt Central web site and they carry all the colors, and I also discovered that Sew Complete in Eau Claire also carry quite a few of the best colors. I was back in business! Even though the felt I am buying now is part wool, part rayon, it is still very fun to work with. The above little quilt I made for a quilt challenge. The theme was "Baby It's Cold Outside". It is made with appliqued squares sewn on with the blanket stitch in black thread. The snowflakes were embroidered on my embroidery machine. Big red rick rack is tucked between the two backgrounds (rick rack is also a favorite of mine - so cute!). It was a charity fund raiser and the little quilt went for a good amount of money! I was pleased and also pleased that I won viewer's choice. I guess maybe there are others out there that like felt and rick rack. I am working on a new wool felt project, and it is turning out great. I can't really show you a picture yet, because it may become published and I don't want to ruin the surprise! Just know that I am having fun with my big pile-o-felt and lots of colors of King Tut Superior Thread. I promise you will get to see the results soon. Jerilynn