Scalloped Spectrum Covered Buttons

I think I have a problem. I am quickly working my way through what I thought was an adequate supply of covered button kits. I just love making them too much.

I had a little spectrum/color wheel/rainbow fun with a new scallop design today.

I made three sets of 7 buttons each.
I promise, I have not abandoned all else to button making. In fact, I have ordered fabric for the doll quilt swap and am working on a summer top for myself. But I keep putting those off in order to play with more buttons!

A Little "How To Make a Linocut"

I was asked how I made my linoleum block prints (linocuts). These are the tools of the trade. You need a block of linoleum, a carving tool with all the different tips, a brayer, and an inking tray.
First, I sketch my design onto the linoleum block. Then I use the carving tool to carefully carve out the negative spaces, those that I do not want the ink to touch. You should always carve away from yourself as the carving tool and slip and give you quite a nasty gash (ouch!).

These are a few of my finished blocks. The surfaces that are not cut away will receive the ink.

I use the Speedball inks on the left for printing on paper and the Versatex inks on the right for fabric. I begin the printing process by putting a little ink on the inking tray and rolling it with the brayer. Then I roll the brayer over the carved linoleum block. Once the block is covered in ink, I turn it over and press it onto the fabric or ink. When I remove the block, I will see the mirror image of my linoleum block. There is a bit of trial and error involved in getting the right amount of ink, the right amount of pressure, etc. to get a good print. Often I print many and save only one. Each print will be different because they are hand pulled from the block.

This is my latest batch of buttons. I used linen this time and printed in black ink. I printed some Wagon Wheels which you saw before in red. This time I made another set of buttons that I am calling "Knot Your Average Buttons." I couldn't resist the play on words...sorry. The image is a detail of an Ulbster Cross aka the Celtic Wedding Knot. These are in the shop.

A Late June Garden

The daylilies have begun to bloom along with the coreopsis, roses, yarrow, delphinium, and lavender.

I always start to wonder at this time of year, if there are other flowers yet to bloom or if I will have a dull garden in August. Thankfully, the show never fails to last the summer.
A couple of weeks ago, we planted a little "berry lane" in honor of Penny's first birthday. We chose 3 varieties of blueberries and 2 types of raspberries. The raspberries are growing well. One of the blueberries never showed signs of life (they came bare root) so I will have to call for a replacement. The other two blueberry bushes are being eaten to death by the deer and rabbits. Today my husband made little metal cages to go around each bush for now. We hope to enclose the area next year.

Crafterhours Skirt Week

Crafterhours hosted a very fun Skirt Week this past week where you could enter skirts that you made in four different categories. Earlier this week, I was excited when they featured my Little Folks voile skirt, though it didn't win. I thought that was the highlight of the contest for me. But no! Today I was browsing through my daily blog list and I see this:

It's the Pot 'o Gold skirt that I made for Lily and it won in the Little Girls' Skirt category! I am beside myself with excitement. Today the baby was teething and fussy, the older two were out of sorts, and this made my day. They did such a nice little write up about it and check out the prizes!
I did share a tutorial for this skirt if anyone is interested.
Thank you Adrianna and Susan! Take a peek at the Flickr group if you have a moment. There is a lot of inspiration there.

More Covered Button Fun

I just love covered buttons! I just ordered one hundred 1 1/8" covered button blanks. I hope you don't get too bored of looking at them. I have 4 more sets printed up as soon as those blanks arrive. The newest versions are blank ink on natural colored linen.
These are in the shop.

"Buttoned with Love" Covered Button Set

I have been itching to make this set of covered buttons ever since I got the idea, sometime last week. I carved little lino blocks into an "X," "O," and heart for hugs and kisses.
I am working on some flower and leaf sets too. They are drying at the moment.
I have an update on the caterpillars from the other day. As of yesterday morning, all 4 are in chrysalis form!

Caitlin's Dress Up Doll Quilt

Timothy's best friend, Caitlin, turns 7 early next week. When they were attending their friend's party last week, Timothy learned that Caitlin did not have a doll quilt and would really like one (hint, hint, hint). I was happy to oblige. Caitlin is a bit of a tomboy but loves to dress up.

Due to a lack of time, this was a quick little number. I literally folded a piece of fabric and cut out one side of a dress, opened it out and decided it looked ok and used it for the pattern to cut the other 5. Each was decorated a bit with lace or other trims from my scraps. Then I quilted and appliqued all in one step in a quick raw edge applique, left to fray.

Apparently, she draws lots of hearts in her notebook at school so I quilted a little chain of free motion hearts across it. And, it needed a pillow too according to Timothy. I made the pillow out of the same material as the backing and binding and added a little lace. Two of the materials used for dresses in this quilt were scraps from dresses my mom made for my little sister in the late 70s. It's fun to find uses for them.
I felt that this quilt needed to be washed to get its crinkle and start the fraying. It looks so snuggly now. I hope Caitlin's dolls are pleased.

We have a Chrysalis!

We checked our aquarium this morning and found that one of the four caterpillars has turned into a chrysalis! The other three caterpillars have all "assumed the position" and have little threads started. We are trying to catch them in the act but this morning the caterpillar that is now in a chrysalis, just had its thread. When we got back from food shopping, we found a chrysalis. Apparently, they work quickly. The kids are so enjoying watching this process. This is the third year in a row that we have captured black swallowtail butterfly caterpillars but it doesn't grow old (for me either!).
I best run before naptime is over and work on another doll quilt. Timothy's best friend is turning 7 next week and her dolls don't have a single quilt! For shame!

Ladybugs!

If you read my blog last summer, you might remember my post about Praying Mantises. We bought two egg sacks and let them hatch in the garden to take care of the aphid problem. They did a good job but it took the eggs quite awhile to hatch because the weather was cool and rainy. This year, we decided to try ladybugs! They are cuter anyway. Following the directions, I sprayed all my gardens with water yesterday evening and then shook this container of ladybugs here and there in the plants. This morning I took the kids out to see if the ladybugs were happy in the yard or if they flew away. We were most delighted to find them everywhere!
At the same time, we found two very large caterpillars that will turn into Black Swallowtail butterflies. We found two yesterday as well. They like my dill and hyssop. We dug up some of the plants and moved them to an aquarium so that we can watch the caterpillars turn into chrysalises and then butterflies! I am looking forward to taking pictures of the butterflies in the garden once they emerge.

More Linocuts and Covered Buttons

I made an experimental set of covered buttons with this design that I am calling "Wagon Wheels." They measure 1 1/8." I actually used prints from the wheels of my "Pram" linoleum block. I thought that they would make a fun, simple design. I plan to carve some new designs specifically for buttons because I particularly like covered buttons and enjoy making them so much. I am thinking of a leaf design next.

I also made a handful of 4" x 6" prints on 5" x 7" 55% Essex 45% Linen Cotton Blend fabric with a few of my blocks.

Pictured here are "Party Dress" and "Diaper Pins." Can't you picture the "Diaper Pins" print used to embellish a diaper bag pocket? I was asked to consider selling some of these prints on fabric for personal use. After a little consideration, I decided to go ahead. I just ask that they are not used for items that will be resold. If you are making an item for your school/charity/religious organization's raffle, that's fine. I have the buttons and 6 different prints in the shop now.

Garden Phlox Mini Quilt

I finished another mini quilt for the shop today. I know it seems that I have been very productive lately but I have good reason, the baby is finally sleeping through the night. Also, it has been rainy so I haven't been gardening. All my creative energy has been turned to printmaking and sewing!

This mini features my Garden Phlox linocut in the center. It is one of my favorites. It's framed in coral/pink and brownish/grey patchwork and embellished with a couple of linen raw edge applique leaves. I love this mini. My husband and kids even suggested that we keep this one. I guess we all like it. The color tones are just tops with me. As you can see from the top picture, they coordinate with my window boxes!

I'm really enjoying making these. My next venture is going to be covered buttons with linocut prints. Fun huh?

Castle Pincushion for Swap

At the last minute, I joined the Scrappy Pincushion Swap. I don't know much about my secret partner but I do know that she loves Castle Peeps by Lizzy House and cats. I used Heather Bailey felts in a combination of colors similar to one of the fabrics depicting a castle: red, purple and teal. I added a cat, Rapunzel in the window, beads on the crenellations and little flags on the pins.
I hope I didn't go too silly/fun with this but I think it will suit my partner.

Snowdrops Mini Quilt and Labels

First off, look at these nifty new labels! I ordered them from Custom Couture Label Co.. They do not ravel or fade. They look identical after one washing; I can vouch for that much so far. I am going to start using these when I make quilts and mini quilts. They have a 1/4" seam allowance so I can incorporate them into my bindings.

I just finished up another little mini quilt measuring 9" x 11 1/2." It is made out of 100% cotton and linen with cotton batting. I printed my snowdrop design in a tealish/green ink. I had a hard time photographing this one.

The colors are better in real life.

I put this quilt into my Etsy shop and thought it might be best to prewash it so that someone didn't buy it and later wash it and feel disappointed in the change of appearance. It has a crinkly look now which is also very appealing and the buyer can be confident in washing it because it has been through the ringer once already.

Mini QT Swap, Anything Goes from sewjo2009

I got a package yesterday! This is my Anything Goes Mini from the June swap, made by Jo. Jo made her version of one of my favorites by Red Pepper Quilts. She couldn't resist embellishing a bit!

She added this clown in the center. I am impressed with her ability to embroider. I only know the most basic of stitches!

This is the back. It's my favorite! I loved pieced backings and this one is great. I am also partial to polka dot bindings.
Thank you Jo!

Crazy Hat Day

Today is Crazy Hat Day at Timothy's school. We only had the weekend to come up with a hat so it had to be quick (this was a busy weekend). We decided on an upside down waffle cone with chocolate chip icecream.

Oh my, it's dripping down his back! It was perfect first grade fun.

Flower Garden Doll Quilt

I did a little more sewing for Timothy recently, well, indirectly. He has a birthday party to go to tomorrow after school for a little girl who is turning 6 and lives a few doors down. He told me that she likes to play with baby dolls. I suggested a doll quilt and he was immediately on board.

He told me that she likes pink and purple (of course). I went with the pinks and tried out another variation on my scattered dots that has been on the brain. I turned the dots into tiny flowers and added little leaves. It's so sweet and very hard for me to part with. Everything about this little quilt is my style. I dreamed of making things like this for my girls but, as I have said here before, Lily isn't interested in dolls. Perhaps when Penny is older...

I made a little pillow too out of the backing material (a white with pink polka dots) and edged it with a strip of the floral material. Too fun!

Gathered Clutch for Teacher's Gift

I finished up another Gathered Clutch, this time for Timothy's teacher. I used a repurposed shirt for the body of the clutch and my favorite Bees Knees red polka dot for the lining and front band. Timothy claims that red is his teacher's favorite color. I hope he is right! Every time I see her, she is wearing yellow.

One

Where did the time go? Penny is one today. She enjoyed her party yesterday; mostly her first taste of a cupcake and playing with the wrapping paper and boxes.

Mini QT Swap, Anything Goes for June

Here is the mini quilt that I made for sewjo2009. We were swapping "Anything Goes" minis so I could do whatever I pleased! Jo didn't have much guidance for me. She just told me to do my best and have fun. This is what I came up with.

I was eager to try printing more of my linoleum block carvings on fabric so I printed my Asiatic Lily with this pretty coral color that I mixed up. I was happy to find fabrics in my stash that coordinated nicely. I used mostly straight line quilting but added a little free motion "lily" with a bead dotted "i" at the top. I appliqued some leaves and particularly like the one that has a little bug on it. Cute!

I used a second linoleum block to make a butterfly print. I made a little quilt sandwich, stitched and turned it. I attached it with as few stitches as possible so that it looked like it was landing on the quilt.
Thanks for the fun swap Jo! Her mini is in the mail already too and I know that it is colorful and has some fun embroidery. Ugh, the waiting game kills me!

Everything Grows

My baby turns one this weekend. I can't quite get over how the time has flown by. She is our third child so there is no need for toys or clothes or books or yard things because we have them all still. I was wracking my brain to think of a gift because she *has* to get something. Finally, I decided on a quilted growth chart. I went with a flower, of course. It isn't original but flowers grow as babies do and I love flowers (and babies too for that matter). The lavender colored fabrics are scraps from her quilt and the greens pick up the color in her wool rug.

I started with the roots.

And moved up to buds and small flowers.

Then I made a larger flower with a little bird and a butterfly.

And finally, there is the big flower at the top.
I like how it came out but I am ticked off at myself because after all of my careful figuring, I went and appliqued the caterpillar with her birth length and date at the top of the grass rather than the bottom of the grass where I had planned! There was no getting it off and moving it so it will have to stay put. As long as she is short like her mom (5 feet), the chart will be just fine. I had planned for it to go to 5'5" or something like that. She seems to be following my growth curve so this might be ok. I also assume that there is a good chance that she will no longer want it hanging in her room by the time she is 5'2".
I marked the inches along the left side and free motion quilted "2 feet," "3 feet," "4 feet," and "5 feet." I am planning to applique a leaf for each year, with the tip pointing to the right spot on the chart and connect it with a quilted stem. On the leaf, I will write the measurements and the date. As I mentioned, I started with her birth date and length on a caterpillar. I will add her 1 year stats when she goes to the doctor this week and gets measured.
I think she will have fun watching her growth. I hope so!

New to Me Sewing Space Furniture!

My friend's grandmother recently passed away. Her mom was cleaning out her grandmother's apartment she offered this hutch to me:

I thought it was so nice of her to think of me. She knew I had an old home and thought that the hutch might be happy there. Red isn't my favorite color so, with her permission, I went ahead and repainted it this color which I really like. It's called Ashley Gray by Benjamin Moore. It is a gray but has warm brown undertones. I put it next to my sewing machine and am storing fabric in the bottom and my carved linoleum blocks on the shelves as well as some pincushions and a mini quilt. I know I will quickly fill the rest of the shelf space!

This piece, an old Hoosier kitchen cabinet, had been in my mom's house used as an island in her kitchen. When the kitchen was redone last year, the Hoosier went into our barn. I used it as a work surface to decorate my Christmas wreaths but just realized that my cutting mat might fit on top. And it does! This means no more moving the mat on and off of the table for each meal. I am so excited to have a more useful sewing space but also to have it full of furniture with lots of character.