Inspired: Part 1

L to R, Ty Pennington, Amy Butler, David Butler (photo courtesy of amybutlerdesign.com)

Thanks to Craftsy, some of the Quiltcon lectures are available to watch online for FREE, how great is that?   This weekend I watched a couple and WOW.  I'll start with David and Amy Butler.  They.are.the.cutest.couple.  You must see this video.  And this one of David Butler in his booth at quilt market 2012.  (FYI, the videos I linked to in this paragraph are so worth watching!)

Amy Butler fabrics were part of what inspired me to sew again, back around 2007-2008 when I joined Etsy.  I accumulated a LOT of Amy Butler fabric then and made a LOT of things.

I don't want to say too much more but I do want to say that what inspired me about watching the Amy Butler lecture was that she is an artist, a true creative soul.  That's what I tapped into.  She follows her creative passion and it has led her to an amazing life.  Not everyone with creative passion has an amazing life but I believe it's still important to follow it, wherever it may lead.

So please watch some of the videos.

I'm really excited that Amy is coming to Colorado next month for Makerie and she'll be making an appearance at Fancy Tiger so I hope to meet her.

Here are some of the projects I have sewn with Amy Butler fabrics and Patterns, starting with aprons, except for two, most are my design.

Fabric lines:  Lotus, Belle, Nigella, Midwest Modern and Love

Clothing from cotton fabrics, I'm really looking forward to sewing with some of the new base cloth like rayon and voile.

Fabric lines Belle, Lotus, Daisy Chain and Nigella

Here are some aprons and clothing I made using Amy Butler patterns:

L to R:  Apron pattern from "In Stitches", Barcelona Skirts Apron Overlay (side 1 and side w), A-Line skirt, Anna Tunic front and back and Mini Dress, Tunic and Tops pattern, last two.

Below are some curtains and other home products I made with an enormous stash of Nigella fabric, I still love that whole line!   You can see the first pair of curtains  were in the bedroom, then moved to the living room because I made them WAY too full (photo 4), later to the kitchen (photo 5) and today they are in our new egress windows in the basement!  I kind of have decorator and home improvement ADD.

Home projects

QUILT and SEW

Papier-mâché letters + cheater fabric = Mod Podge

Paper board letters + vintage sewing pattern paper

A corner of my sewing room

This was originally a wordless post but last night after attaching the SEW letters to the wall temporarily using that blue paint masking tape, I was in the basement and heard a loud THUD.  Sometimes the suction cup hook in the bathroom falls into the tub, I thought that was it.  About 15 mins later, another THUD.  Yikes, I was home alone so I rushed upstairs and Rosie was sleeping at the top of the stairs so I knew it wasn't her, she heard it and we both ran through the kitchen.  Just then I realized.  The letters were falling down, one by one!  I need to get some of that 3M double adhesive tape which is really bad for the wall but I can't think of any better way to stick them onto these old plaster walls!

Dr. Who Craft Day

 It started with my niece's 18th birthday last week.  She is a HUGE Dr. Who fan.

Dr. Who Fabric-covered Bulletin Board

  Or as her mother said when I asked "Does she still like Dr. Who"  reply:  "Are you kidding?  She's obsessed!"  (her mother made her a Dr. Who case for one of her birthday gifts, a new ukulele, are you kidding me?  How cute is that?) Okay then.  WAIT WAIT, she's a 'Whovian'.  I didn't know there was a name for it.

My niece "playing" Dr. Who

Fez, screwdriver

That's my niece's face on the girl, cut from the photo above (sorry I don't know the characters!)

So I went off trying to figure out what I could get her, found this adorable toile on Spoonflower and bought a yard of the cotton sateen.  Someone covered shoes with it, but I wanted more of the design to show.  Thus the bulletin board.  I bought a regular cork board without a frame (much easier to deal with, IMHO) and used Mod Podge (regular, not the fabric Mod Podge which is for adhering fabric to fabric).  One problem I had was that in a few places where the Mod Podge was kind of thick, you can see the cork board, it made the fabric transparent.  Using a thicker fabric would have been better OR painting the cork board white first. 

Close up showing the awesome print design and the glued on ribbon.

When the front was dry (I waited overnight, I think you could wait an hour or so), I folded the fabric neatly around the back and corners and stapled it down with a staple gun.  I glued the loose fabric in the back with a glue gun.  Then I drew straight lines, using a ruler, and glued on the ribbon using the glue gun, LOVE that glue gun.  It's magical.

I also made little pushpins by attaching blue buttons on the end of a tack.  You can see them in the photo below.  I hope my niece likes it!

Finished bulletin board