Jewelry Lampshade

I love love love earrings. Unlike a pair of jeans you haven't worn in a year or two, you always know they are going to fit!

I've seen a number of earring display/storage solutions online, but none of them were big enough handle my collection. Then a while back I saw this tutorial in ReadyMade magazine (was on the magazine website for a while but now I can't find it, so thanks to cactuscreekdaily.com for the image). Rather than covering the lampshade in keys I covered it in oodles of earrings!

The final result:

And yes, I like BIG earrings but there's some small ones on there too...

Oh the sparkles, the stones, the beads... sorry I'm easily distracted by shiny objects, back to the tutorial.

Supplies:

-A reclaimed lampshade from the thrift store. Back in the 90s when I worked in a fabric store you could buy the base of a lampshade, but I haven't seen those in a while. I highly recommend that you buy one that is equally cylindrical from top to bottom, otherwise your earrings will be resting on and rubbing against the metal hardware cloth.

-Hardware cloth (near the fencing and chicken wire in your local hardware store)

-Wire (I used some wire from my beading supplies, since it was easy to bend. Fishing line might also work) This item may be optional, see Step Two)

-Wire cutters (i.e. NOT YOUR FABRIC SCISSORS!)

-A lamp base. Mine is also from the thrift store, I actually have never plugged it in to see if it works, but you can use an existing lamp from your home if you want it to serve double duty. Remember spray paint can work miracles for lamps from most any decade.

Step One: If using a reclaimed lampshade, remove all coverings and decorations leaving only the base. You could certainly apply spray paint at this point, but I left it as was.

Step Two: You will be rolling the cloth around the shade and cutting it down to size as needed. There are two methods to affix the hardware cloth, and I used both with success. The first is to cut the hardware cloth to the exact height of the shade and "sew" it on with wire as in the picture below. I used a clip to hold it in place while sewing.

The other method is to cut the cloth bigger than the height of the shade and simply fold it over. You still may way to "sew" the seam once the cloth is wrapped completely around (leave a bit of overlap for this).

Step Three: Admire your work! Then place on a lamp and hang your pretties on it. In addition to earrings you can clip hair items to the top, or use S hooks to hang rings, bracelets, or necklaces.

Back in Black (and White)

Hello again!

My lack of posting is not necessarily reflective of a lack of sewing, so let's play catch-up!

Here's a baby quilt for a high school friend's first child. I was in her wedding a bazillion years ago so it's about time that she and her husband gave her mom grandchildren! The first was a little boy, so I used the (FREE!) pattern from Robert Kaufman Fabrics called Hanging Garden (I downsized it to 6 blocks by 7 blocks to be baby sized). I thought it had a bit of a mid-century modern vibe so instead of lining up the rows I staggered them a bit so that the flowing lines would be slightly wonky.

As usual with baby quilts, I opted for black and white with an accent color.

Here's the final result:


A glimpse of the pieced back:


Here's the texture pre-wash/dry:


I love love love the final texture after drying. I used Warm & Natural batting.

MBR Spring Top Week - Mexican Tent Dress inspired top

If you don't know what a Mexican Tent Dress is, prepare to fall in love (as I did) after seeing them worn as bridesmaid dresses in this wedding blog post.

The colors, the detail, the loose fit that flatters so many body types... what's not to love?

So I took inspiration from these dresses to create my entry for Made By Rae's Spring Top Week.

PATTERN: I looked through my stash of thrifted patterns and actually found a couple that would work. The winner was Butterick Sew & Go 4823, which doesn't have a publication date but I'm guessing late 70s. The concept of this top (or dress) could be done with any pattern with a sizeable yoke or bib on which to do embellishments. You could also create your own pattern, as the shapes are basic and the fit does not need to be overly tailored.

FABRIC: A green/blue doubleknit (thrifted) for the main garment and leftover white polo shirt scraps leftover from my popped-collar-trifecta refashion.

THE METHOD:

Using freezer paper (much like wax paper but only one side is waxy), trace out the shape of the pattern piece you will be embellishing. Fold the paper in half and sketch the design on the paper one half of the freezer paper (non-waxy side). I used pencil which allowed me to change the design until I found something I really liked. If in doubt draw more items than you think you will eventually use.

Next you will transfer the drawn designs as a mirror image. Using a few pieces of scotch tape, attach the folded paper to a window and trace the design onto the remainder of the non-waxy side.

Iron your design paper with the waxy side touching the right/front side of the fabric (already cut to pattern). The wonderful thing about freezer paper is that it irons easily to fabric but also peels off easily without leaving residue.

Using small scissors, cut out the elements you will be doing as reverse applique, as shown in the image below (there's fabric under there, I promise!). I did the center medallion on my top as an normal (on top) appliqué to give the shirt some additional texture. Feel free to mix methods or do all reverse appliqué.

For the under fabric, cut slightly larger than the yoke (to allow for stretching adjustments as you pin and stitch). Pin the paper/fabric to the under fabric using a generous number of straight pins. I started in the center of my design and worked toward the sides of the yoke to ensure that the under fabric did not wrinkle or bulge. I did all hand stitching, gently tearing away the paper as I went. The purpose for leaving the paper attached is to prevent stretching the fabric or distorting the appliqué shapes. I did a simple stitch using thread matching the main garment fabric. (This is not the same technique as The Alabama Stitch Book, but you could use that method by using your freezer paper as a stencil. If you don't own the book you really should... it's just gorgeous.)

Move from each element to the next, continuing to tear away paper in small sections just before you stitch. (These stitching pictures are from my camera phone, so sorry about the image quality!)

Once finished embellishing, cut away any excess under fabric to match the yoke, and sew the garment as instructed by your pattern.

Another element I borrowed from the Mexican Tent dress is decorative stitching. I used a blanket stitch all around the yoke, arm holes, and as the bottom hem. I'm cheap so I just used 4 strands of thread in place of embroidery floss (cut one very long piece of thread, pull both ends through the eye of a needle and tie off with both the raw ends and middle).

End Result:

BONUS METHOD:

Since the inspiration dresses were so colorful I also considered doing a more traditional appliqué method using many colors of fabric from the t-shirt scrap bin.

For this method use the freezer paper to sketch designs, iron to scraps, and then cut out. (I traced circles, divided into segments to help me draw "petals" for the flowers)

This look was just more than I could commit to, so I used a single color and opted for the reverse appliqué technique, but you get the idea of where you could go if you don't fear color as much as I do!

Mint Oreo Baby Quilt

It's been a while since I've posted a quilt! My friend Kate told people at her baby shower this afternoon that she got pregnant because last fall I complained that no one was having babies.

She and her husband have decided not to find out the sex of their baby, which is fine by me for quilting purposes.

This quilt is based on a string quilting technique detailed HERE by Ashley from Film in the Fridge, and strongly inspired by this quilt which she titled "Cookies and Cream".

Here's a full view of the front:

A closer view:

And the back:

Happy Quilting!