Guess What I'm Working On...

Quilt Market 2015 is just a few weeks away.

I've been busy scheming up ideas, and drawing patterns...and now I've finally started sewing...trying to get ready for market.

Where did all the time go??? I wish I had another month to prepare.

Thankfully, I have other talented crafters also working with my fabrics for market. Thank you, Mom, Shari, and Jessica.

It's been so much fun to sew because I got a new machine this last year, a Janome Memory Craft 15000. It's very similar to their popular 12000 model, but with a few new features. I love that it can sew, quilt, and embroider.

My old machine was barely clunking along. I was borrowing my daughter's Hello Kitty Janome, which sewed great...but it was small.  This one...well...it's a dream to sew with. I haven't wanted to do a review until I can learn more features...each time I sit down, there's so much more to learn! I hope to review it after quilt market. I LOOOOOVE my machine...swoon.

One of the cool things about the machine...You can connect it to your iPad with a great app. The app shows you the visual progress of your design, and where it is in the stitch sequence. It will let you know when it's time to change thread colors, if the thread breaks, or if you run out of bobbin thread. (Which I'm buying in bulk these days....LOL) You can be in a totally different room of the house and know how it's coming along!

So this is the start of one of my projects...I'm using the star pattern from my new Rodeo Rider Collection for Riley Blake.

You might wonder what it is. I can't blame you. It doesn't look like much now.

I'll give you a hint...

I made one in paper a few weeks ago...

I've got lots more to go on this project, but since it has been coming along nicely; I think I'll make a boy version too!

Do you want to take a guess at what it is going to be? This photo might help.

Update...for those of you who guessed cuckoo clock...you're right. And now...you can get the embroidery file for the clock, the pattern, and project instructions FREE! Details can be found here:

http://samanthaleewalker.blogspot.com/2015/07/new-janome-free-embroidery-project.html

Spring Treat Purse Bags by Pinky

Hey there SW friends, 

It's Pinky today and I am so excited about these new Purse Files from Samantha!

I decided since it is spring and Easter is also approaching, 

I wanted to make my girlfriends gift "purses" with candy in them.

Because I am super rad like that~ 

I fell in love with this Purse With A Circle Handle and knew

I wanted to make my "baskets" out of them. 

Now you can see I stitched mine on the tooling....when I say I...

I mean I bribed a friend to do it! 

I drug her to a really boring event and put a needle in her hand...

then bought her pizza- so thank you Melissa Cook, you all

can appreciate what a great job she did!

The perforations are perfect to stitch with needle and thread. 

 After the front and back were stitched, I folded all the edges over and

covered them with strong adhesive. 

 Then I also covered the sides with adhesive for extra sturdy 

sticking since I was going to put candy in it. 

 You can find Samantha's awesome tutorial HERE.

I attached the sides. 

 Then followed the same ideas with the adhesive for the button flap. 

 I pressed inside with my fingers making sure everything was adhered. 

 Then I attached the circle handles and added this bow.

Now there are flowers but I loved the bow so much, I just

couldn't put anything else on it.

 Except a strand of pearls around the handles. 

After it was completed I filled it with lace and candy- 

Now who doesn't love lacy and candy!

I hope you enjoyed my project today- 

I used the following products:

Samantha Walker Paris Girl Papers, 

Samantha Walker Purse With A Circle Handle Cut File,

Xyron Adhesive, Ribbon. 

Sandal Straps Tutorial by Maya

Hi, Samantha Walker fans!

It is Maya here today, sharing a tutorial for making cute sandal straps.

The spring finally arrived to Midwest and it's time to give my winter boots a break and dig out the sandals. The warm weather put me in a mood for a pair of new flowery straps for my Sseko sandals. I picked out cute fabric from  Samantha Walker Serenata collection  with sweet orange flowers. An hour later I had them wrapped around my feet. Let me show how I did them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can use the same technique to make a belt or a hair ribbon and  many other useful accessories. Thank you for stopping by! Enjoy the spring weather!

-Maya 

Sweet treat T-shirts!

So glad you stopped by! You are in for a treat! This month my team has taken some of my fabric and has created some very cool projects to get your creative motors going.  Not all of my team members are seamstresses...in fact many of them are general crafters that I encouraged to use fabric in a crafty way.  I knew they could, because they are innovative. You see, when creative people are presented with a new medium, "out of the box" thinking starts to happen.  I can hardly wait to see what my team has prepared.  Contrary to popular belief, fabric does not require sewing.  Some of my girls sewed, but from what I hear, others used glue guns, hand stitching, and other unconventional methods to show you news ways to think about fabric.  

This month, I'm sharing a couple of shirts that I made for quilt market. They use fabrics from my Wanna Be a Cowboy 2 fabric line for Riley Blake.  I made a fringe applique with machine stitching.  I used a variety of decorative stitches from my machine, and just turned my fabric slowly to sew.

Denim Flower Purse

It's July?  Why is it July?  I don't remember much of June or May...so how can it already be July?  Yet here we are!  This month of the year is always exciting as it is the month that hosts the Summer 2011 CHA trade show...the show that showcases all of the latest and greatest new crafting products.  I won't get the opportunity to travel to this show...but you can bet I'll be there for the Winter CHA show. With that said...I am excited to announce the release of 6 new stamp sets with Unity stamp company...including my brand new Stacker Stamps Sets (looks like Unity just added the new sets in with my existing sets on their site.)  I will tell you more about them later this week, but if you look closely, you will find a few sneak peeks of these sets if you hop through all of the blogs on our blog hop list. I also have two new paper/sticker lines releasing through Creative Imaginations...watch their blog starting TODAY for sneak peeks. Most exciting of all...is that I have my first release of cutting dies that will be available through Spellbinders.  I've been friends with the ladies down at Spellbinders for years...they are an awesome group of ladies!  Finally the time is right and we get to work on some projects together. These dies will coordinate PERFECTLY with my rubber stamps through Unity.  Imagine being able to cut out what you stamp and have perfect edges all the time.

The project I am sharing with you this month is a purse that I made from an old pair of jeans. I wanted to share with you non-sewers out there, that you CAN sew!  Start easy with little "cheats." For instance, I did not have to put in a single zipper, or construct any pockets.

 I just took the best of my old pair of jeans and repurposed them by sewing the bottom of them with a straight stitch--creating a pouch for my purse, and embellishing them to death with girly flowers and buttons.  YOU CAN DO THIS!  I used fabric from my Wanna Be a Cowboy 2 collection for Riley Blake Designs.  

 The flowers lining the pocket are mini "yo-yos." I did them on the machine too...using my widest stitch.

This is a close-up on the shoulder strap.

Creative Team Spotlight: Jennifer Beason

I am thrilled to share with you the talent of my creative team member, Jennifer Beason.  She is a one of a kind crafter, who has an affection with all things altered. She is over the top with her creativity, and always crafts with such fresh and unique ideas. It is no wonder with her commercial art background...she's a real pro! Today, I have the privilege of spotlighting her by sharing some of her most recent projects.  

Here Jennifer created owl pillows using my die cut designs from Silhouette. She also used fabrics from my Wanna be a Cowboy collection for Riley Blake designs to create these little cuties.  

Q: What is your favorite technique?

A: My favorite technique I would have to be altering.  I love taking something and making it my own, or into something totally different.

This is what I'm talking about...no pattern here...she just jumped off with some inspiration from some fun products, and her creativity took off from there.  Check out those blanket stitched eyes, with the button center...and the ric rac, and the bows...she's adorable!

To make this adorable Jennifer used fabric from my cowboy collection for riley blake designs, she tea dyed the fabric, and sewed up an adorable Easter Bunny.  She decorated it with papers from my Cowboy collection for Creative Imagintions.

Q.  Where did you learn to design?

A: I've always been interested in creating things, my favorite toys as a child were a little sewing machine and art set.  I always knew I wanted to work in a field that would allow me to be creative. So attending the Art Institute after high school was a natural step for me. I studied commercial art and fashion illustration and loved it.  After collage working as a ceramic artist for a while and then in the signage industry also helped in the growth of my design skills.

Q.  What influence your design choices?

A: So many things can influence my design choices, movies, books even the shape of something, but a lot of the time it's product.  Another big influence are my kids, I like to make things they will enjoy.

Oh, the details!  LOVE it!

Q.  Who are your artsy inspirations?

A:  A few of my artsy inspirations at the moment are Mary Engelbreit, Maureen Miller, Anne Geddes, and Rachelle Anne Miller.

Here, Jennifer used fabric from my Enchanted Garden Collection for Riley Blake designs to "recycle" this little caddy. This is so clever and cute...love the monograms!

Q.  What do you enjoy doing besides crafting?

A: Besides crafting I like to bake. I also enjoy gardening and traveling, although I haven't had much time for either one lately.

I hope you enjoyed getting to know creative team member Jennifer Beason better through her words and crafts. She is one special lady, and I am honored to have her as part of my creative team. She's a blogger...so add her to your list of blog stops...you'll be glad you did!

Sewing a Kay Whitt Skirt!

I started this week intending to get so much done.  I have...but not the stuff on my list.  I've had to attend to the other stuff that creeps ahead of all that you want to do, and prevents the kind of productivity that makes me happy. Today was a classic example. This morning, I laid down in a dentist chair for 4 hours. All that dental work that I had been putting off since last summer, I finally didn't have an excuse that I would be out of town, that deadlines were looming near, or that I ran out of FSA or that I couldn't arrange for someone to watch the kids that long.  Everything lined up, and I was at the mercy of my dentist for as long at the work would take. Good news...it's now done...and over with.  Bad news...I'm way behind on my blog post, cleaning my craft room, and working on some fun new projects that are about to burst out of my head, and I have two aching teeth despite all the work that was done. (no fault of the dentist...just my mouth over reacting to the crazy construction work that was performed within today.)

Okay...onto the good stuff.  It's BLOG HOP time again!  Yeah!  My team has been working hard and they are ready! I think we have a full house...that means LOTS of inspiration for you! Also, I have exciting news...we have a new addition to our team. Many of you may know her already, or are familiar with her crafting style. May I present to you, the fabulous, Jimmi Mayo...she is one heck of a talented lady and she has stepped in to replace Katherine Bley. Katherine stepped down to attend to family matters and we wish her the very best, and are sad to see her go.  

Okay...onto my project to start off the hop...it comes with a story....a continuation with my CHA experiences, and it really does have to do with the project I'm sharing with you this month. For those of you who attended the show, you will know that we shared the convention center with an unlikely group of people...many who were quite opposite of the crafting bunch. The Body-building and Fitness expo was going on at the same time as CHA...just a hallway separated our two shin-digs.  

From my hotel, I had to walk down from the side of the hall where the Body Builders and fitness gurus lined up waiting to get into their event. Many of which were wearing all black, with multiple tattoos and piercings, spiky hair-dos, and scruffy faces...not that there's anything wrong with that...it was just that it was such a contrast to many of the ladies on the other side of the convention center with their quilted jackets, and knitted themed sweaters, and colorful home-sewn bags, and all the other creative paraphanilia that goes with the crafting crowd.  

So as they were waiting to get into their event...I walked down the hall in my home-sewn skirt made in my fabric that is florescent pink, with brown ruffles, multi colors, and a ruffle rosette. I would hear snickers and comments like, "what is she wearing?" or "you've got to be kidding me..." "whoa...need my sunglasses...that is BRIGHT." or similar sniggerous remarks.  However, as I approached home turf where the crafters were gathering, I heard comments like, "how cute." "do you think she sewed that herself?" and my favorite, "oh, I love that fabric." Both sets of comments made me smile, I have a sense of humor, and the whole thing was rather humorous.

Now unfortunately, the photos dull down the effect fabric--especially when you don't have proper lighting when taking pictures...but just know that the fabric is bright. VERY bright! It is fun, it is cheerful and it makes me happy, regardless what anyone might say about it. I'm proud of my skirt...it is literally the 3rd thing I've sewn for myself, and the first thing I've sewn for myself in about a decade.  I had so much fun, that I definitely will be trying more patterns out soon.  I encourage you who are new to sewing...TRY it out!  It's a blast, and the rewards of making something yourself are indescribable!

This pattern comes from the ingenious designer Kay Whitt. Her book called: Sew Serendipity is a brilliant effort to simplify a bunch of patterns into a series of base patterns that can be modified slightly for a completely different look.  Her techniques are totally approachable for the beginner and I appreciate that she has photos of just about every step that you will have to take in completing your project. The book is a bargain considering how many patterns are included with the book. I am not affiliated with Kay, I have met her, I know that she is a talented lady and I'm happy to promote something that I think is fabulous!  Kay, you rock!

This last photo is here...sheerly for the purpose of showing off the sassy pair of Delman shoes, that I couldn't bring to CHA.  I would have loved to have worn them with the skirt...but heels are insane at a show like that. You are literally on your feet all day...and there is a lot of walking involved.  So I brought what I thought was a smarter choice. Some suede wedge loafers...seemed sensible to me, right? But I was wrong...OH SO WRONG! My advice to you...now that I know...never ever bring a pair of shoes to CHA that you haven't tested on your feet for at least a whole day of active walking. The shoes I chose were probably more brutal than the heels ever would have been. I paid for wearing them in a sum of 5 blisters on the toes of each foot, that are still in the process of heeling. Okay...silly I suppose. But I just know that there are other shoe lovers out there who would appreciate a good shoe story.