Appliques

Just a gentle reminder of all that we have to be grateful for. Thank you, Irving!

I Got the Sun in the Morning - Words & Music by Irving Berlin
Got no diamond, got no pearl,
Still I think I'm a lucky girl.
I've got the sun in the morning
And the moon at night.
Got no mansion, got no yacht,
Still I'm happy with what I got.
I've got the sun in the morning
And the moon at night

Sunshine gives me a lovely day,
Moonlight gives me the Milky Way.
Got no checkbooks, got no banks,
Still, I'd like to express my thanks.
I've got the sun in the morning
And the moon at night.
And with the sun in the morning
And the moon in the evening
I'm alright.

Got no butler, got no maid.
Still I think I've been overpaid,
I've got the sun in the morning
And the moon at night.
Got no silver, got no gold,
What you've got can't be bought or sold.
I've got the sun in the morning
And the moon at night.

Sunshine gives me a lovely day,
Moonlight gives me the Milky Way.
Got no heirlooms for my kin,
Made no will but when I cash in
I'll leave the sun in the morning
And the moon at night.
And with the sun in the morning
And the moon in the evening
I'm alright.

As always, the Sun and Moon Applique Block were made to fit a 6" x 6" block, but can be enlarged or reduced to meet your needs. Directions for the Sun and Moon Applique Block can be found HERE or with our FREE Appliques.

Monday evening Michelle called me up and said, "Hey, Mom. Can you do me a favor?" Experience has taught me 2 things... first, I seldom say "No" to my children, and second, no matter how busy I am, I am going to get busier. "What do you need?" I ask. "Well", she starts, "Wednesday is the girls' last day of dance class for the year, and I want to make something for Miss Jodi. When I was looking at our projects, I was thinking, I bet lots of people would like a ballet slipper book mark. Do you think you could design one for me? I'll make it, but I don't have any of the supplies at home. So if you design it, and put together a kit of the materials, I will make it. Of course, you could blog about it, and you'll probably want to make one yourself so you can take pics for the tute..." Well, you get the picture!

So, Monday night I designed a Ballet Slipper Book Mark, and Tuesday I made two. I think they turned out adorable, and Miss Jodi loved it. Although the girls gave 1 to Miss Jodi to use as a book mark, you certainly could make 2 to use as decoration. Enjoy!

  

Materials for 1 slipper:
Pink felt
Tan felt
White felt
Pink grosgrain ribbon - 1/4" x 48" for lace and 1/4" x 6" for ribbon
Embroidery thread
Pattern

Make a copy of pattern.

Cut out ribbon and felt as follows (Hints for cutting out felt can be found HERE):
     2 pieces pink for ballet slipper
     1 piece tan for sole
     1 piece white for inside shoe
     48" of 1/4" pink grosgrain ribbon
     6" of 1/4" pink grosgrain ribbon

Note: Since the slipper is not perfectly symmetrical, you will want to stitch them together in the way they were cut out. When you are done appliqueing pieces to the front and back of the slipper, the 2 pieces will be blanket stitched together with the appliques on the outside. When appliqueing pieces to the slipper make sure you are sewing the appliqued pieces on the right side of the pieces. 

Using pattern for placement, sew sole to slipper back using a running stitch and 2 strands floss. Set aside. (Note: I forgot to take a pic when I was sewing on the sole, so this pic shows the sole when the slipper is all done.) 

Using pattern for placement, pin the inside of the shoe to the slipper front.

Lay the pattern next to the slipper. Fold the ribbon in half to find the center. Slip the center under the white inside of the shoe following the pattern placement. Pin the ribbon in place.

Beginning directly above one of ribbons, and using 2 strands of floss, sew the inside shoe and ribbon to the slipper using a running stitch. Sew until you catch both ribbons at the front of the shoe.


Fold each ribbon diagonally on the front of the slipper, overlapping in the center, following pattern placement. Pin in place.

Fold each ribbon diagonally behind the inside of the slipper, overlapping under the inside slipper piece, following pattern placement. Pin in place. 


Finish sewing the inside to the slipper. When you come to the 2 side crossed ribbons, slide your needle to the back, and tack in place from behind so you cannot see the stitching on the top of the side ribbons. Continue stitching around the top, catching the top ribbons in place between the the side slipper and the slipper.

Using the 6" of ribbon, tie a small bow. Cut the ends on angles and flatten the bow between your fingers.

Pin bow to the slipper using the pattern for placement. Pin in place. Tack the bow to the slipper from behind. Keep your stitches hidden so they cannot be seen on the front.

Place the wrong side of the slipper front on the wrong side of the slipper back. Pin in place. Blanket stitch the 2 pieces together using 3 strands of floss.

Cut the ends of the ribbons on angles to prevent fraying, and tie the ends together in a bow. It is now ready to be used as a book mark. If you wish to make a pair of ballet slippers, tie the two slippers together.

Yesterday I went to Wee Folk Art's Applique Blocks to get a pattern for a butterfly. What? I never designed a butterfly? That's crazy! I thought for sure I had. I know I designed a butterfly for another project, but with butterfly season upon us, I decided I needed to rectify this situation and add the butterfly to our collection of other insects... a Firefly and a Grasshopper. So... here is a sweet little butterfly that can be appliqued to just about anything, right? As always, I designed the butterfly to fit on a 6" x 6" block but it can be enlarged or reduced to meet your needs. The pattern for the Butterfly Applique Block can be found HERE or with our FREE Applique Blocks. Enjoy!

The other day we shared our pattern for the Basic Knit Doll Pattern. It has become an overnight success! I think the reason is twofold. First, it has the potential to be utilized in many ways, and second, it is lovable in its unadorned, simple state. I love gazing at the faceless, hairless doll and trust me, it even looks lovelier when cuddled by a cherub faced child! I then got to thinking (which usually winds up costing me time, if not money) how adorable this sweet little baby doll would look embroidered or appliqued on something, thus the birth of the Basic Doll Applique Block.

As with all of our blocks, it was designed to fit on a 6" x 6" block, but it can be reduced or enlarged to meet your needs. Think bibs... onesies... t-shirts... or what I'm considering, the center block of a baby quilt. And like the Basic Knit Doll, this applique can be embellished with a face, hair or clothes. And, of course, you can make them in multiple sizes to create a whole family. The pattern for the Basic Doll Applique can be found HERE or with our FREE Applique Patterns. Enjoy! 

Spring has sprung... at least on our side of the equator... and flowers are in the forecast! Here is a cheery little flower to applique on a pillow or t-shirt or anywhere else aching for a little sunshine. Four layers of petals and a center make up this flower, and the only hand stitching is running stitches on one of the petals and the flower center. Easy peasy! As always, this applique was made to fit on a 6" x 6" block but it can be enlarged or reduced to meet your needs. The pattern for our Spring Flower Applique Block can be found HERE or with our FREE Appliques. Enjoy!

BTW... Michelle and I will be on Spring Break until Monday, April 12. There will be no new postings during that time, but of course all of our past crafty goodness will be available. We will have access to computers, so if you need to get in touch with us via comments or email, we will get back to you as soon as possible. In the meantime, we would like to wish everyone a very

HAPPY EASTER

and we will see you all back here April 12. Oh, yes... another BTW... on Wednesday, April 14, when will be announcing a terrific Giveaway from Hip Mountain Mama. Get excited because it is awesome :) See you soon...

Kimara and Michelle

Is there anything more exciting and rejuvenating than the smell of spring? On sunny days, as the snow begins to melt, and day time temperatures soar to a whopping 45 degrees F, my head begins to spin with prospects of flowers and picnics. Here in the Midwest, a sure sign of spring is the tapping of the maple trees and the return of the robins.

The other day Pixie and Fairy snuggled close as we watched Michelle at the stove, mixing the boiling hot maple syrup, that would become maple candy. The smell in the kitchen was heavenly. While waiting, because it took ever so long for the syrup to reach the right temperature, I read the book, Grandpa's Sugar Bush, to the girls.

As I turned a page, I saw this:
"Grandpa says the first robin always sings on the day the sap starts to run."

Well, when everyone departed after dinner, I sat at my desk, and designed a Robin Applique Block. It only seemed right. Robins and maple syrup! As always, the robin was designed to fit on a 6" x 6" block but can be reduced or enlarged to meet your needs. The Robin Applique Block can be found HERE or with our FREE Appliques. Enjoy! 

Last year before Easter we did a number of egg projects. It seems like an good time to tackle eggs, with Easter and spring just around the corner. I wanted to pull all our egg projects together here, as a reminder, and for those of you that may not have discovered them yet.

To begin with, we have our Felt Fried Eggs and Bacon breakfast, with crispy bacon and sunny side up eggs. Perfect for the play kitchen.

Then, as the saying goes, you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette... here we have a Felted Egg, ready to stuff with egg innards or special Easter treats for the basket. Make them white or brown for every day use, or use colored roving and needle felting to make beautiful Easter eggs.

We already shared our Traditional Felt Eggs that can be decorated for Easter, or left plain to fill an egg carton for the play kitchen.

And, finally, I would have been remiss if I hadn't crafted an Fried Egg Applique Block!

HAPPY EGG CRAFTING!

For all of our Irish friends out there and everyone else that is a "bit" Irish on St. Patrick's Day, here is a Shamrock Applique Block. Just for fun I turned my applique block into a little flag of Ireland! Of course the shamrock can be appliqued to just about any thing! As usual, the shamrock was designed to fit on a 6" x 6" block, but can be enlarged or reduced to meet your needs. Think how cute this would be reduced to brooch size, stuffed a bit, and worn this St. Patrick's Day. Or enlarge the pattern, make it out of parachute material for an outdoor banner. The pattern for the Shamrock Applique Block can be found HERE or with our FREE Appliques. Enjoy!

Sending everyone a "felt heart", um, we mean a"heartfelt" wish for a Happy Valentine's Day!

Fondly,
Kimara and Michelle

Like all our blocks, this one was made to fit a 6” x 6” but can be enlarged or reduced to meet your needs. (Note: I forgot to add the little groupings of 3 tiny flowers on the pattern. They are French Knots made with 3 strands of floss.) You can find the pattern HERE or in the FREE Applique Patterns. Enjoy!

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This has been a great week for us. We've gotten many emails and links from friends sharing the projects they've made using our patterns. When people post one of our patterns on a blog, we link to it on Facebook. But many of readers do not have blogs, so we get emails and photos instead.

Today I would like to share a project that Marta made using Our House applique block. I think the reason I'm so drawn to it is because of how she personalized it. I'll let you read part of her email:

My name is Marta and I am from a little town near Barcelona, Spain.

I just want to thank you for your big generosity sharing your beautiful patterns that inspire a beginner like me. Your explanations are so clear and easy that I feel I can make a project.

This week I finished my house. I started making your design, but then my daughter Sara asked me if she could keep it when I finish, and then I decided to make our house and I changed some things. The roof is red, the house is white, the chimney has a hat, the two cats that visit our grass,... I got dared and I started with my own details, and I send you my final result (in addition, it was my first serious experience with the sewing machine to make the frame).

Obviously I am very proud and Sara is very happy with her little house hanging in front of her while she's doing her homework. And that's why I write to you, because you started this blend of happiness, satisfaction and self-confidence for next projects thousands miles away with your generosity.

Well, I must admit we are pretty proud, too. We are so happy that our patterns and projects find their way into the homes of so many friends around the world! If we ever need to justify why we do what we do, we just need to share the myriad of emails we receive.

So, to Marta, thank you so much for sharing with us. You did a lovely job. And to Sara... you are a lucky girl. I know it must make you smile every time you look at your house. And to ALL our readers... think of our projects as a starting point. Use your own creativity and visions to make all our projects your own :)