Being cheerleader mom

This is what I do when I am not teaching 6th grade, doing my graduate school stuff, or working on art stuff (which I really need to be doing right now). I am making pillows for my 6yro and her cheerleading. They are going to nationals next week. These actually were really easy to make.

I used some dyed fabric that I had. Use some smooth fabric that is easy to write on. I had them use Sharpie markers. I taped the fabric squares down with masking tapes so they could all sign. I used my sewing machine and sewed the two fabric sides together (right sides out with a wide edge) leaving an opening for stuffing. I then just clipped the edges to give it the ruffles. Make sure you don't cut into the stitches. I snipped the ends to make the ruffles except where the opening was before I stuffed - in case I did that so I could sew the mistakes. I only did that once. The back of the pillows are a soft fleece-y material that I got from the left-over table from Joann's. The remnants pile. My daughter was nuts about the idea. If your daughter is a bit older, she can do it herself or help out. My daughter helped stuff.

I made 18 pillows total tonight. 17 for cheerleading and 1 for my son. It was a soccer pillow. I found the soccer fleece material in the remnant bin, too. He wanted one. He always wants to be included. My mom never did this kind of stuff. I want my kids to remember this stuff when they grow up. At least, I hope they will remember it.

I have some left-over material just laying there and a little bit of stuffing left. I hear a puffy heart calling to me. I can't resist. Gotta go now.

Elizabeth's purple quiltie square for ME!

This is my quiltie square for the month with the color theme - purple. It is soooo great looking in real life. I am going to have such a cool quilt when it is all done at the end of this year. Yeah, I could get started on the quilt now, but I think I will wait. I cannot see the composition in my mind without all the pieces. Elizabeth is a very talented textile artist. I consider myself a total newbie compared to the stuff she creates. She actually knows what she is doing when it comes to sewing. I make it up as I go along. BTW, I just stuck my finger again while sewing. No, I cannot use any type of thimble. Don't like losing any tactile sensations while working.

I had to get used to the lack of concrete focal points in fabric/quilt art. I was so used to having a person or thing as a focal point. Now, I hardly ever use my collage image sheets. I am still more literal in my focal image but I have a tendency to make my own image or use a found object. I so love the colors in this little quiltie. I could do a whole design composition lesson just with this quilt square.

Sublime Stitching

Yet another adventure in blog surfing. I came across this person's blog and website:
http://www.sublimestitching.com/. A year ago, I was a self-professed "I don't sew" person. Look at where I am today! It's not like I don't know how to sew. I still remember bits and pieces from high school sewing. I can use a machine without breaking it - sorta. I tried my hand at cross stitch about 7 or 8 years ago but gave that up. Too tedious for me. I still have problems sewing sometimes because of arthritis in my hands and wrists. It has improved some in the last year though. No meds with my bad stomach.

I have the Embroidery Stitch Bible. I am a visual learner and need that book in front of me when I am trying out new stitches. I decided to give it a try since I like to play with beads and need something to do while watching TV. I am not hyperactive and cannot sit still. I am trying to be a good mommy and be with my kids when they watch TV without me really watching TV. If it is one of my programs like CSI or anything on Food TV, then forget me doing anything! I am going to do some sewing/beading/art jewelry assembling while relaxing in front of the TV. Gotta do my art sometime. I might be able to get few minutes more sleep.

I do think that a few stitches here and there really adds to my art pieces. I am finding that I really like to work on small patches and then putting them together. I have been very happy with my embroidery experiments. You will be seeing them in future projects.

In the meantime, I bought a few of the patterns from Sublime. I like her attitude. I am going to use some of her patterns and practice my stitches. You never know what I will do with the background though. BTW, the embroidery floss is different. I had some clearance stuff from the craft store and then I got one from Sublime. Whoa! What a difference! I will let you know how the metallic thread works out. Just because I am seeing about this on the Sublime Stitching site, I love embroidery scissors. I have a pair in my purse. It is so handy! I have several pairs at home. Be careful to keep from kids, way sharp. I don't like the stork shaped ones though. Yeah, I have a things for knives and scissors. Love them!

Do you embroider? Will you forward a link to your blog or website so I can see? I want to ooh! and aah! over what you do. I still consider myself more of a newbie at this compared to other art related things I do. Any advice for me? I am just making it up as I go along. What else is new?

Dremel Sample - Sewing Box

I have to admit that this was an afterthought. I was dabbing on alcohol inks with the blending foam when I had extra alcohol inks on the foam. I was looking for things to dab so I wouldn't waste it. I have some claybord boxes that were just sitting there doing nothing. I did this right after I did the bangles (more to come about that later). I found out that the alcohol inks work well on wood as well. Not necessarily the unfinished wood with splinters in it but the DIY wood or wood-like finishes. Anyway, it worked great on the sides of the claybord.

After I dabbed the whole thing with alcohol inks, I put on some crackle paint in random areas. I let that dry and then used different distress ink colors on top of the crackle paint and on the alcohol inks to age it up a bit. The back of the claybord had writing on it, so I glued on some scrim that I got from the Quilting Arts website to the back of the box. I used my finger and dabbed on some gold paint in random areas to contrast against the dark sides.

I added the sewing elements to the box. I used the distress inks to make them look old and used. I used my Dremel and drilled holes in the top so I could attach the bobbins. The bobbins were also alcohol ink'd.

Yeah, I know that the scan is not so good. I could take a pict of it, but I am not feeling it right now. Maybe, I will do that later. I am groovin' on the final product though.