January Thaw

I'm thinking BEACH and SUN and SURF this week as we prepare to take off for Key West, Florida so my project this week reflects that.  The photo is taken from my last beach experience in Costa Rica.

Just for fun, I used a Lesley Riley TAP paper* transfer to put it on fabric and stretched it over a canvas frame. Okay, but the fringing proved very difficult to get straight. AND my photo has shadows from the window frame!! Natural light is good but hard to control.

The latest project was much more successful. In the beachy mood I selected some of the GRAPHICS FAIRY's super images plus one from an Graphique (an Etsy shop) and stitched up a whole set of pillows to grace a beach house or any house you want to fell beachy.

I got a little more ambitious and added cording on the square and the rectangular ones. Mom had always taught me to cut the cording fabric on the bias but I found that it works as well or even better cut on grain and it doesn't eat up so much fabric when cutting. Just be sure when you are attaching two pieces for more length that you attach them on an angle. When it is folded over the cord the seam will not be a big lump.

If you look for this image and the shell on Graphics Fairy you will not see them in this beautiful turquoise. I altered the image using befunky. Use the Duotone function and you can change any two color image to any other two color image. It's great fun and somewhat addictive.

Well, I will not be posting here next week but if you want to see some real sun and sea stop over at my travel blog after Sunday and see some photos and adventurous accounts.
If you are really into travel and geography I also post to Panoramio where the pics are selected for GoogleEarth. See my stuff here.
Check out my Etsy shop if you want to purchase these or check out my other items.

A Kitchen with a French Accent



This photo captured in the market of Aix-en-Provence in southern France is a favorite of mine, as was the trip that provided it.



It has become a major feature in my kitchen.

Enlarged onto a 24" x 36" canvas (thanks to Uprinting.com)

it hangs above a small desk.

Because the wall is quite large and plain it still seemed to be a bit "lost" and  I decided it needed some friends. So I went looking for plates as the solution.

My first choice was Quimper but my budget said "NO!"

 

I found these four in a catalog from Jefferson's Monticello.   Odd that they were in a catalog pertaining to Colonial times but the description said they were of the type Thomas Jefferson "would have encountered on his trip to France"! OKAY! That's good enough for me because the were the right size, color and price and I try to 

not think about the MADE IN CHINA stamped on the back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did not stop the Quimper Quest however. One day while browsing our nearby Medina Antques Mall, I spied two plates at a fabulous price and latched onto them. They now live in my corner cabinet with some others found mostly on Ebay. This may become another blog topic someday.

 

A trip to the Country Living Fair in Columbus, OH in September turned up this cute little rooster who sits on top of the cabinet. (SHHH! He's made in the Philippines)



This week some new touches were added when I acquired some great Moda toweling that I wanted to display and not actually get all wet and dirty. They were changed into pillows.

The beehive and the grains image are from the wonderful GRAPHICS FAIRY and the Boulangerie one was a graphics download from Etsy. The Grain sack pillow is made from Osnaburg fabric which I love but I have ordered more of this toweling because I love it so much. Watch for some in my Etsy shop THIMBLEFINGERS.



Pretty Kitty Pillow Tutorial

I've been seeing a number of animal-shaped pillows lately and I made a very small one for a friend but I really wanted them to be larger so I tried a new "helper" from the web called BlockPosters.  It is a free site that lets you print out your image on multiple sheets that can go through your printer and then reassembled into a larger "poster".

I swear by Lesley Riley TAP paper as the BEST transfer media for fabric and I am very stingy with it. Two sheets are required to make this pillow that stands 16" tall and 12"at the widest point. I had to commit to two full sheets since with BlockPosters I couldn't sneak in small images around the edges of the sheet as I usually do.

My adorable kitty image is from the ever-popular GRAPHICS FAIRY. She has this great little empty sign hanging around her neck just waiting for you to fill in whatever you would like. Without much thought, MILK PLEASE just popped into my head due to the sweet pleading look in her eyes. HER eyes because she is wearing a pink ribbon?? 


 
Here are the two printed transfer sheets.
I like to trim off as much extra white as possible because the blank area will transfer a slight translucent visible area on the fabric. Below is the top half of kitty all trimmed out.

Both halves are now trimmed and ready to go. They are face down on my fabric on my ironing board but awaiting one last touch. I need to insert the text on her little sign. (Forgot to photo that.)

At this point, I have ironed and peeled back the top sheet of transfer paper as well as the separate  piece containing the text (REMEMBER: all text must be printed in reverse!)

 

Now I peel back the bottom half. Lesley Riley TAP paper is a dream to work with. It does not require heavy and extended ironing. Just make sure your iron is HOT and the transfer will usually begin to separate from the fabric on its own. Lift an edge and slowly peel. If it doeasn't pull back easily just reapply the hot iron to the transfer for a moment and then try again. You can keep reapplying the heat as needed.

                                                            





Now trim around kitty leaving a seam allowance and a border of an inch or two to give it some dimension and cut a backing piece to match. Pin and sew leaving a small opening in the lower edge for stuffing.

Then sew up the opening by hand or machine. I prefer hand sewing for an invisible stitch.

 

And here she sits on a newly covered cushion on my really shabby chic rocker that may be a blog topic in the future.

If you love this little guy but would rather have one made for you, stop over to my Etsy shop where I am taking orders. Take me there!

 

 

Pillows and Books

I would have never gotten into this whole blogging thing if not for a renewal of an old friendship. Since retirement I have the luxury of spending time again with friends who, like me, had little time to nurture and cherish the people we really like to be around.  Tess and I can't even remember exactly how we met. It was in the 1970's and we both lived in the tiny village where I still reside. But, it was a great match because we both love to talk and she is an incredibly good writer and I enjoy reading anything she writes.
When we rekindled the friendship I learned she had a blog. You can DO that? I went to hers (Books,Art, Life and a Cat) and started reading. all the way from the first to the last posting. As a former school librarian, I was always a book fan, but this was something I knew nothing about. Rare and antiquarian books are her field and she has built a great little business. Her website is Garrison House Books.


Pillow given to Tess with her logo

If you have clicked on the last link you will see her logo. The image of a young Jane Austen era young woman in a red velvet chair who has been disturbed from her reading by SOMETHING! Not very long ago I discovered this same timid female on THE GRAPHICS FAIRY (HERE)
The image worked out very well on an Osnaburg fabric pillow with a wide flange border, don't you think?
With an urge to try to buy locally or make as many gifts as possible, we set up a trade. She got a pillow I had done for a friend and I got a book. We had a rather silly exchange on facebook where the message read. "You bring the pillows and I'll bring the books". Sounds like a literary pajama party.

The pillow traded for a book

The book is THE SEWING BOOK by Ann Jessup from 1913 and the young girls have been so charming that I asked Karen, THE GRAPHICS FAIRY if she would like them.  She loved them and I have sent her all six and she has already posted one HERE.


The book traded for a pillow
 

Merry Christmas

No real blog this week.

I'm just posting some pictures of some

of the ornaments on our little tree.

The spool garland was a gift. Love it!



Beaded star from Santa Fe, NM

That little thing on the left is from a sweet gum tree to which I added
 white glitter and a raffia tie

Creative Need

When I first retired I thought I should paint. After all, I had earned my undergrad degree in art education. But, painting was not my forte then and years of admiring other's work has not somehow caused me to be any more skillful with the brush.  So I started using the canvas as a framework for textiles and three-dimensional objects in collages. One of the first things I did is HERE . I didn't use a canvas for that one.




Graphics Fairy bird and butterfly

Then I began stretching the fabric over stretcher frames which you can buy in various sizes and put together yourself in a variety of dimensions.

This one required a lot of hand stitching which I really like to do. A bit of fabric glue was also involved.
I have managed to aquire a number of old vintage lace and embroidered hankies and this is another way to use fabric samples like I used in some pillows.



 

 

The dancing children from THE GRAPHICS FAIRY inspired this one.
The most difficult challenge here was to find a way to curve the lettering just right and then reverse the image so I could use the Leslie Riley TAP paper and iron it on. AND, I even changed the color of the image to green using a laborious process in paint.net before I discovered befunky.com.

This next one is because I love France and THE GRAPHICS FAIRY has so many great images reflecting the ambience.     

                               

The perfume bottle is from the GRAPHICS FAIRY but I changed the colors. The label and the butterfly are from her, too. The lovely lady in the boudoir is from BUMBLE BUTTON.     

I thought you might like to see how the back is finished off by stapling a muslin covering to the stretcher frame and hiding all the exposed fabric edges and adding the hanging wire.

                      

You can see more at my Etsy shop.

Inspiration from the Next Generation

I started this blog with the inspiration from my grandmothers and mother who had all been needlewomen in various ways. Now I am inspired by my daughter who is NOT so handy with needle and thread but is equally creative.  A couple of years ago she made us all charming little paintings on teeny little canvasses and strung them together to make these.

Unfortunately, I only have this one to show you and I should have straightened it up before the photo. With limited supplies on hand she strung it together with black yarn which I should trade out for ribbon...someday.




What appears to be printed fabrics on these is done with a transfer technique so they look as if they are painted on. She then painted on top of that.
I really like the format and the little canvasses are cheap and easy to find. But, being more skilled at working with fabric I made my own versions with fabrics and the help of THE GRAPHICS FAIRY.

The canvasses in this one measure 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches each. I love the little seamstress on the top.  I added a real vintage button for more texture.

Now something for the nursery or little girl's room:

 

 

 

These both use a nice unbleached muslin as a background and only the

teddy bear and the baby shoes are not from THE GRAPHICS FAIRY. They are from GRAPHIQUE on Etsy.

 

Speaking of Etsy, you can see more on my shop at

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CherylThimbleFingers



 

 



Supporting the Habit

When I had the craft show fail, I said I was thinking about setting up an Etsy shop. Well, I did it this past week! I love the process. It is sooo easy to do and not a big expense to set up your own business (plug, plug). And as another plug HERE is the link to my Etsy shop.

 The business and moneymaking aspects were not what spurred me to do this, but rather a way to support my habit. Creating is my habit and fabric and thread is my drug of choice.  I am happiest messing around in this mess of a sewing/computer room and I need to be surrounded by fabric. I cannot resist the lure of textiles!

I went into Joann Fabrics the other day to get buttons or maybe even just one large button and left with those,  but also another 3 yards of fabric.

Great holiday basket found at THE GRAPHICS FAIRY

 

 I decided I needed to get into the season so I created 2 Christmas holiday aprons.  One uses an image a GRAPHICS FAIRY image and the other one employs the crazy red and green dot fabric I picked up.

Francine is wearing her Christmas choker!

This departs from my usual method. The fabric applique is machine sewn with a zig-zag stitch.
The large and small wreath use a wider looser stitch while the Christmas ornaments and their string are sewn with a narrower and tighter zig-zag.

The Paris Bathroom

When we had this house built 11 years ago, it was the first time I had a home with a guest bathroom. It is the usual tiny space but I wanted it to be fun. I could be more creative in this small room without hubby being concerned that it was "too much".

And TOO MUCH was just what I was aiming for.  I wanted to see just how much trip acquired and just Paris inspired could be tastefully crammed into a small room. It will not be considered complete until stuff reaches the ceiling.

The first to grace the wall was this collage (the bottom one) that I made from scaps of memorabilia from my very first trip to Paris in 1989. The collage on the top was an ebay purchase. If it was today, I would have made my own.

The poster and the metal tray were also ebay acquired. If I had only known in 1989, I would have bought more stuff then, but I had no idea we would ever consider a new house at that time.

The arrangement on this wall is probably my least favorite. It lacks the personal attachment but it has "the look".

 

The newest additions are my proudest because I created them with the help of the fabulous images from The Graphics Fairy. The fan image is transferred to Osnaburg fabric stretched on a wooden embroidery hoop and hung with a ribbon.

Numerous Frenchy labels and a postcard image adorn the potty lid cover made of simple unbleached muslin.  Yes, it washes quite nicely!

 

Graphics Fairy images were added to three decorative hand towels I found for $2 each in an antique shop. Even the tissue box has Graphics Fairy images on all four sides. They were added after I painted the box with Annie Sloan chalk paint.  The little tip plate says "Merci" and has some old European coins in it.  I really need to find some old French francs.

Here is a wider view showing the little impressionist painting (just above the towels) actually purchased in Paris near Sacre Coeur pictured in the print above it. There is a repeat of 3 more plates on the other side of the collages just out of view. The ones in the racks are Paris scenes and two others are "fashion plates".
Someday I want to get brave enough to do some sort of paint technique below the balloon border.

 

 

Meet Francine

My hubby and the grandkids have all been models for me on this blog but I needed a really attractive woman to display my lady-like stuff. I found her last week on Amazon.com and she didn't demand a high price. As soon as she came out of her box I knew her name was Francine. Don't ask why. She just IS Francine.

I'm slowly transforming my kitchen into a somewhat Provencal style and that room has the best light and available picture taking spots, so I set her up there in an apron made of fabric from France. I have traveled there but didn't have the forethought in 2010 to bring back a lifetime supply of this hard to get fabric. I have found a great online  source in Cincinnati called French Rendez-vous .

 

 

 

The fabric picture here just arrived a few days ago and it is a coated fabric that wipes clean but is not nearly so heavy and glossy as an oil cloth. I plan to make placemats with it.

 

My weekly bow to the Graphics Fairy is the pillow shown sitting on my French farmhouse-like chair. It is made from an old damask tablecloth and Battenburg style lace adorned by the great hydrangea image. The back is made from a fat quarter of the perfect hydrangea print.