First Quilt Finish of 2022

I've got my mojo back and I've been sewing like crazy this January. Besides some serious secret sewing, I made a charity/compassion quilt for our quilt guild. Our guild gives a quilt to anyone in our community that loses their home in a fire. In December, we had three houses lost in prairie fires during an 80+ mph wind storm. Needless to say, the guild wasn't prepared with enough quilts. 

My mom had rescued some sampler blocks at a thrift store from an area quilt shop's block of the month and had donated them to the guild. I took those blocks, completed those that weren't finished and fixed a couple, then sashed the blocks to make a quilt. The blocks were scrappy but luckily my stash of Kansas Troubles fabrics blended well with the block fabrics.

I quilted an all over design of feathers on this quilt and it turned out quite nice, if I do say so myself. It will make a nice throw-sized quilt for someone in need of comfort.

In addition to finishing this compassion quilt, I also dug out a couple of Quilts of Valor quilts that I committed to make for our area QOV chapter. One was a kit that the chapter gave for me to make (way to long ago to admit) and one was a stack of scrappy rail fence blocks I had made a couple of years ago.

Both tops are ready to be quilted as soon as I finish my secret sewing project to meet a deadline. I'll share the finished quilts when they are completed. 

I also started the 2022 Stash Buster Challenge by Border Creek Station. Why, I have no idea as I have more than enough projects that are already started! But this block is fun and easy to make so I've been making a block after I get a step completed in my secret sewing. Kind of a treat! I'm using my stash of 30s fabrics and dotted backgrounds for this project. The center square and corner stones in each block will be the same green print to pull it all together.

What projects have you been working on in the new year? I'd love to hear about them!

Happy Quilting

~Sharla

Saying Goodbye To 2021

The holidays are always rushed and I never seem to have time to do everything I want to do. This year was no different. I didn't have time to do as much decorating as I wanted to or as much baking (although the hubby and I don't need the extra calories) or as much holiday crafting. One thing that was not on my list this year was buying Christmas presents as we decided to opt for a family vacation the week of Thanksgiving in lieu of gifts (except for the grandkids). Because our kids spent their Thanksgiving with us, that meant they spent Christmas with their inlaws - which made for a quieter Christmas for the hubby and I, although my brother and family was home for the holidays.

To close out the year, I thought I'd share a few photos of some of my Christmas decorations.

This year I was very excited to get to use my new Fiesta Ware lightbulb dishes along with the "A Lightbulb Moment" placemats and table runner I designed last year.

This Santa pitcher was a new acquisition in 2021 and he looked so cute in my tablescape.

My Santa mug collection continues to grow. I just love them paired with my Fiesta Ware lightbulb plates.

Jars filled with vintage ornaments and vintage Christmas lightbulbs graced my tablescape.

A few of my vintage plastic Santas and a vintage candolier that I decorated with vintage plastic Christmas items. I love them mixed in with a few pieces of jadeite.

A jadeite dish filled with vintage ornaments. Press the red nose of Santa and it lights up and plays Christmas music.

More vintage Christmas ornaments in a jadeite bowl. Love this vintage Santa even if his nose is a little crinkled.

A few of my Santa mugs along with a few of my vintage milk glass Christmas figural lightbulbs, and of course, more vintage ornaments.

I found this string of Santa lights a few weeks ago at a thrift shop. They almost match my two plastic Santa head ornaments I found last year.

Since I had no presents for under the Christmas tree, I wrapped a couple of birthday presents that were in the closet. I didn't really miss the packages with all these cute blow mold Santas and Snowmen under the tree. My tree this year was filled with lightbulb shaped ornaments to go with my "A Lightbulb Moment" tree skirt, etc. I made last year.

This is my "A Lightbulb Moment" quilt that was published in the Best of Moda Bake Shop book last year. It's still available at Martingale Publishing if you're interested.

I even managed to get my sewing studio semi-cleaned so I put up a Christmas tree to celebrate.

I managed to get a couple of projects completed during the holidays. I bought four framed cross stitch seasonal scenes with the intention of making them into pillows. I got the winter scene made into a pillow, while the rest are on my to-do list.

The only crafting I managed to do was turning this cute little deer I picked up at a thrift shop for 25 cents and a vintage jello mold into an ornament.

Didn't he turn out cute? I had plans to make Christmas bells from some other jello molds I bought this fall but it didn't happen. Maybe I'll do it before I pack all my Christmas away so they'll be ready for next year.

As we welcome a new year, I wish for all of you a happy and health year filled with quilting, crafting and thrifting with friends!

Happy New Year!

~Sharla

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Getting My DIY On With Homemade Burn Gel

For Thanksgiving this year, I joined the charcuterie craze and made my first charcuterie for our evening meal following the big Thanksgiving dinner at lunch. Of course, I had to make my own charcuterie boards and they turned out so well that I had to make one for my women's gift for our Christmas gift exchange. And since we can't all be together at Christmas, we had our gift exchange during our family Thanksgiving vacation so I can share my DIY gift early!

I stumbled upon a video online that showed someone using a 'magic' gel that they painted a design on wood using a stencil then burned it into the wood using a heat gun. It looked like fun and oh-so-cool so, of course, I had to try it. I ended up spending more than $50 to make my $25-gift-exchange-limit gift but that was mostly for the heat gun that I didn't have.

I made my stencils using my Silhouette Cameo 4, placed them on my slab of wood, and painted a thin (emphasis on thin!) layer of burn gel over the openings of the stencil. Then I removed the stencil and using the heat gun, blew hot air over the burn gel until it scorched the wood. Easy Peasy!

I love how the 'k' blends in with the natural knots in the wood on this board!

So, without further ado, here is the 'magic' burn gel recipe:

DIY Wood Burning Gel

1 tablespoon Ammonium Chloride

8 teaspoons Thick It

1/2 cup warm water

2 drops yellow food coloring

Mix the ingredients in a glass jar. It will turn to a gel very quickly. The yellow food coloring is to help show where you have painted the gel. You can store the leftover gel in an airtight jar. 

Tips, Tricks and Other Info:

• I bought my wood slabs at Hobby Lobby. I wanted the hubby to help me cut some dead trees down and make my own live edge wood slabs but that didn't happen so I used the live edge slabs at HL. They are made of basswood and are a soft wood - probably not the best type of wood to make charcuterie boards. 

• I used a stencil vinyl to make my design. I had some difficulty getting the stencil vinyl to stick to the wood to begin with. When I started laying a sheet of paper over the vinyl and rubbing the stencil down using a vinyl scraper tool, I had great contact.

• Apply a very thin layer of the burn gel on the wood to get sharp edges on your design. I put a thicker layer on my first attempt and the gel soaked into the wood and I had blobby edges after I burned the gel. Luckily, all I had to do was sand the wood back down and was ready to start over. 

• Keep your heat gun moving so that you don't scorch the area around the design and darken it. It takes a little while for the gel to heat up and begin to burn, so be patient. The longer you heat the gel, the darker it will get.

• After burning and cooling the wood, I applied a food grade mineral oil all over the board to help seal the wood from food contaminants.

• I bought my supplies on Amazon. (I'm not an affiliate and don't get any revenue from any of the links I'm sharing.) This is what I used:
• Seekone Heat Gun 1800 watt Heavy Duty Hot Air Gun
• Fritz Pro Ammonium Chloride
• Thick It Original
• Cutting Board Food Grade Mineral Oil
• Frisco Craft Stencil Vinyl
• Basswood Country Plank from Hobby Lobby

I used a variety of sizes of boards. On two of them, I bought cabinet drawer handles and attached them to the ends of the board for handles. On the board I gifted, I glued wooden balls for feet to the bottom over the screw holes to hide the screws. I thought it really added some flair to the board. 

Here's a couple of photos of my Thanksgiving charcuterie boards. I finally gave up on making my turkey designed board because my grandsons were hungry and kept stealing food off my board faster than I could put them on, so my turkey needs some help! Lol! But the charcuterie was a big hit and a nice change from the heavy Thanksgiving lunch. 

 

I hope I've shared enough info to answer any questions you may have. I watched several You Tube videos before I started, so you can check them out for additional information. 

Happy Crafting!

~Sharla

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Happy Halloween Pillow

I didn't get this pillow completed in time for Halloween but I'm still super stoked about this finish! And Halloween will be here again before we know it!

I made this pillow from 2 1/2" strip scraps from my Pumpkin Squared quilt that I will be sharing in the near future. I cut the scraps into 2 1/2" squares and pieced them into a 10" x 20" rectangle. I then designed a Happy Halloween SVG for my Silhouette Cameo 4. Using flocked heat-transfer vinyl, I fused the design to the my pieced rectangle. I've never used flocked HTV before, but I absolutely love it in this application. 

I custom quilted my pillow top using a spider and cobwebs around the HTV. After quilting, I added some rick rack, which I love too. 

For the back of the pillow, I used a decorative scalloped zipper for easy access for stuffing my pillow. I love, love, love this detail and will definitely be using more zippers in my pillow backs in the future.

Soon I'll share the quilt that coordinates with this pillow and even share the pattern, so stay tuned!!

Happy Quilting

~Sharla

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A Memory Bunny

Today will be a sad day as my uncle's auction is today. My uncle passed away unexpectedly in late May. I told my cousin I would make a memory bear for her two-year-old son if she would send me some shirts. Rather that shirts, she sent me a pink bunny costume from the movie A Christmas Story that my uncle wore on holidays. So of course, the memory bear had to become a memory bunny!

I was a little leery of sewing with the material the bunny costume was made from, fuzzy and veerrrry stretchy in one direction. I decided to back the fabric with a fusible interfacing (Pellon SF 101 which is what I love to use for T-shirt quilts also), and set to work sewing. I used the Christmas Story logo on the chest of the bunny and used the existing ears. I found matching red cotton fabric for the paws and used heat transfer vinyl to add two names to the feet (my uncle was a veterinarian "Doc" and he was "Pepaw" to his grandson). 

I found a gift tag frame at Hobby Lobby and placed a photo of my uncle and his grandson in their bunny costumes and tied the frame tag around the neck of the bunny. I am so happy with how this memory bunny turned out!

By the time you read this post, I will have gifted the bunny to my cousin. I hope she will love the bunny and the memories it holds. 

XOXO

~Sharla

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Latest MBS Book Available For Pre-Order

 

The latest Moda Bake Shop book called "Did Someone Say Cake?" is now available for pre-order from the publisher Martingale and on Amazon also! Yay!! Set to be released on February 1, this latest book is extra special to me because not only do I have a quilt pattern featured in the book, but my quilt is also featured on the cover! Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming!

I can't wait until I get to see it in person! February, hurry up and get here!

Until then, happy quilting!

~Sharla

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Hello Sweet Cheeks!

Just popping on to share my latest crafting quicky. I made this bathroom sign today to hang in the downstairs bathroom that I am updating. So far I've chalk painted (gray) and waxed the vanity and hung a couple of floating shelves above the toilet. This sign will hang with the shelves. The new fixtures will be chrome, the walls a light gray, the vanity a darker gray. I'm currently waiting on the gray and white quartz countertop and then I am going to install white shiplap on the ceiling and on the wall above the vanity. To warm the space up, I am adding touches of stained wood and a few faux succulents. I forgot to take any before photos (and not sure I really want to share what it looked like before - 80s yuck!) but I'll be sure to share some after photos.

This sign is made from a live edge raw wood plaque that I picked up at Hobby Lobby. I taped off stripes to paint and stain. I then cut the lettering from vinyl using my Silhouette Cameo 4. It was easy peasy.

What quick craft project have you made lately?

Happy Crafting!

~Sharla

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