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Shibori Hand Dyed Fabric Pillow

I took a fabric dyeing class at City Quilter here in NYC. The class was fabulous and included some arashi dyeing. This was done using the Shibori technique and then sewn into this pillow.

Cathedral Windows Pincushion

Here is a little pincushion I made, my first attempt at Cathedral Window quilting. It is a time consuming process, but worth the effort for smaller projects. I have aspirations to make a white silk pillow with purple, blue & white hand dyed, almost a tie dye style, fabric "windows".

I used the book Cathedral Window Quilts: The Classic Folded Technique and a Wealth of Variations. It's well written and easy to follow. The difficulty comes from the complexity of the process, but the author has done a great job simplifying it and including step-by-step illustrations. The author is a true artist and has explored, and I believe, invented a number of variations on this technique, so there are several other great quilt patterns included. The book is available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Cathedral-Window-Quilts-Technique-Variations/dp/0715327135/ref=pd_sim_b_1

Fabric Card Obsession

Here is yet another set of fabric cards. I love making them as it's such a freeing creative process, the small little cards are a non-imposing palette. I would like to someday use this method to make an entire quilt, foundation piece each square as it's own little entity and then join them together with sashings.

Little Tote Bag from SEW: sew everything workshop

Here's a little tote bag I made for a little girl using a pattern from the book SEW: sew everything workshop by Diana Rupp. It was an easy pattern to follow, next time I would attach the handles on the inside for a neater look. The fabric is from the "Drawing Room" series by Anna Maria Horner.

Baby Bib

A little baby bib, made using pattern from Etsy (http://www.jcasa.etsy.com/). The pattern was quite simple, and I loved that it included some quilting and soft batting. I was a little confused on attaching the binding, but made it work.

Camara Case

Here's a little bag I made so my camera will survive in my purse (after one fatality). I just quilted two pieces of fabric and made a little pouch based on the sizing of the bubble wrap bag that came with the camera. I sewed binding, in quilting fashion, around the edges. It was very satisfying to make exactly what I needed, and not have to use an extra large black camera bag with straps and side pockets.

More Fabric Coasters

A few more fabric coasters, made from my favorite 4" Japanese fabric packs. They sell them at the counter of the quilt shop (City Quilter in NYC) where I love to go to on my lunch breaks. They are completely sealed up so one can only see two of the many fabrics contained inside. It's such a tease I always end up buying one. I'm planning on making an entire quilt from them (I have enough).

More Fabric Notebooks

Just a few more fabric cards. I made these using my favorite Moleskin notebooks, the small
3.5" x 5.5" variety. These ones have graph style paper.

Fabric Notebooks

A few notebooks I made, based on the instructions in Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts by Joelle Holverson (available here: http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/our_books). For the first two, I used iron on vinyl to give them more strength. I recycled a few dead quilting ideas in the process (first: paper piecing a million purple hexagons together, third: a log cabin quilt using black & whites w/olive green centers). These measure 5.25" x 8.25".

Embroidered Drawstring Bag

I used the instructions here : http://www.purlbee.com/lucky-gift-bags/ from Purl Bee for an embroidered bag, but altered it slightly. I omited the top stitching, and I used Microsoft Word for the font for the initials.

Knitting Needle Case

This is a little knitting needle case that I made, using a pattern from the book Stitch and B*tch. It allows you to customize the pockets so they fit your needles exactly. I used Japanese fabric for the interior and soft as butter, turquoise suede fabric (recycled from a dress I never wore) for the outside, so it's very durable.

Fabric Coasters

Here are a few coasters, made from Japanese fabric pack containing a gorgeous array of 4" squares, purchased at City Quilter in NYC. I used a temporary basting spray (which I adore and use for all my quilts, no more hand or pin basting for me!) to attach the batting to one side of the coasters and then simply stitched them up as you would a pillow.

Fabric Notecards

Here are a few notecards with their coordinating envelopes made from fabric scraps and paper, a variation on a project in Denise Schmidt's book Quilts. I used Claire Fontaine note paper for the card because I loved the color. The gorgeous colors helped to inspire different fabric combinations.