John's Castle

If your keeping up with the blog at all you know I did a paper piecing Mariners Compass a while back and loved it. I like how you can make anything in fabric using a paper template. I had been looking for John a dragon because he collects them and since I have made something for everyone else lately I wanted to make something for him. I couldn't really find a good dragon but I did run across this website that had a bunch of free paper piecing patterns for shields. One of them was a castle and I loved it. I wanted to take pictures during the process but I forgot to and so I only have a pictures of the finished project. But here is the link to the free pattern and I just find it so amazing you can go from this..

http://www.lenzula.com/pattern/free/wappen/Hamburg.pdf

To this..

Now I wanted to make this a flag type hanging so what I did was add some batting in between and added some cording that set it off and tabs at the top. No I just have to find a small little craft flag hanger. Don't know where to find those right now. Then I am going to make him another flag from one of the other patterns. They have a bunch.

http://www.lenzula.com/pattern/free/coatsofarms.php

I am very happy with it and he loves it. I will try and post the next one I finish so you can see.

Now I am working on another bag for Mom and then I have a couple of dragon appliques that I downloaded for free as well.

Will try and be more diligent about posting here if anyone is really paying attention :-)

Photography

One of the reasons I have been absent lately is due to my growing interest in my photography. I have loved taking pictures and editing them for a long time. I took a bunch of photo shoots a while back but then I didn't have a reason to for a while and things got backed up and didn't have the time. But I have found new reason and have started a new site. If you have time go on over and check them out.

http://daisyturtlephotography.shutterfly.com/

Enjoy!!

Sorry for the absence

Been a while since I have posted anything on here and I would apologize if I had any followers but I dont. I have been doing other things and not sewing much lately. Although the baby quilt has been sent off to be quilted and will post pics when it get back. I have also worked on a very small project for John and will post some pics when it gets done.

Got let go from work due to lack of work and the company OVER hiring for a job that they didnt even have nailed down yet. So here I am unemployed AGAIN for the second time in 8 months. I have since been piddling around the house. Playing with my dog and being bored and worried. Things will work out dont worry, they always do.

Other than that I have actually had the time to revamp and change my photography website and get it all updated. Check it out sometime.
http://daisyturtlephotography.shutterfly.com/ looking great but still needs more tweeking. Please leave comments and sign the guestbook. Gotta run for now, will be back here soon.

Another purse

I have a first cousin who is still in high school. Her Junior Prom is coming up in April and I wanted to help her out with the cost a little by making her purse rather than her having to buy one. Now we all know how picky teenagers can be about homemade stuff and especially about using it for prom so I knew this would be a task that I would need to put some thought into. Basically the only thing she told me was that she wanted it to be metallic gold with black accents and no straps, just a small clutch purse. Well I have this pattern that is small and has a zipper on the front that I though would look very neat as a smaller version. Then I had to set out to find material. That was a task and a half. The right kind of metallic gold without being too gaudy or bright. I finally found some but boy was it hard to work with as far as cutting and staying in one place. Then I decided to put batting in the layers and do some free motion stitching into a swirly design. I actually drew it out before doing it. Took me a couple of tries to get the feel for it. I actually had to do alot of pulling out of threads before I got something that looked kind of decent. I even added an extra flap into the design that wasn't in the original pattern to hid the zipper. It turned out like this.

After looking at it for a while I though , you know it looks good but not PROM good. So I ran to Michael's and Hobby Lobby and gathered up some beads and crystals and started to work on it. I added the beads into the swirls with shiny gold, silver and black. Then I added some of those heat iron on crystals for some shine. Then I thought about putting a tassel on the zipper but thought it would be even better to add some strings of beads that she could put around her wrist to carry it so her hands were free for eating or dancing. I hope she likes it.

Coasters

Ever get a pattern or instructions for a project that just don't make any sense to you? I found these cute little coasters and the instructions for them online. After downloading and printing them out I found it very hard to understand the instructions. I do that alot though. So I just looked at the picture and put together in my head as many of the instructions that I could, and then just made them on my own. I think they turned out rather well. Opinions and comments welcome :-) (wink-wink). I used leftover scraps from the baby quilt I am working on. And its the first time that I tried out the new free motion quilting foot that my good Blog buddy Sam sent to me!! (THANKS SAM!!)

Mom's Placemats

I found this very cute fabric on sale for a $1 a yard one day at Wal-Mart that had birdhouses on it. I had an idea to get a yard or so and then doing something with it for my Mom for her kitchen since it has a birdhouse theme to it. I had no idea at the time what I was going to do but one day walking through my favorite sewing shop the Stitcher's Playhouse in Smyrna I found these table place mats with homemade cloth napkins. So I went to an all day Sit and Sew and the ladies out there helped me out a ton and taught me all kinds of things in sewing I didn't know. I appreciate them so much. And then the look on my Mom's face when she opened them at Christmas was work the cramps in my neck sewing all day that session. I think they were great.

Dresden Plate

Sorry it's been a few days since my last posting. I did say that I was going to keep up and post daily but I guess looking back that's not a realistic goal with so much going on. I had eye surgery last Tuesday and stuff just kept taking up time. Anyways...

Ok so bought this cute little Dresden plate template a while ago and never could really figure it out. So one day a couple months ago I decided to make a few and see what happens. I actually ended up with a cute complete circle and decided to put it on a background to save it. Here is what I came up with. I also decided to learn how to do the multiple colors of bindings by cutting on the bias of material strips sewn together. Kinda neat huh. I just hung it on the wall in my craft room. Doesn't really have a purpose or anything. Maybe one day soon I will do a full quilt.