Custom ironing & pressing surface

I was inspired by the DIY post at Oh, Fransson! to create your own ironing board over a TV tray. I had recently purchased an inexpensive metal shelf at Home Depot and decided it would be perfect to have an ironing surface on the top of the shelf, since it would sit near my sewing area.

Behold! Two layers of batting and a fabulous fabric (Kitchy Kitchen Collection by Maude Asbury for Blend Fabrics), as well as a bunch of staple gun staples later, I had my DIY pressing surface.

I love that I *made* this, even though I'm already dreaming of a bigger custom pressing surface!

Curves Class week 1

I'm having so much fun with all the projects presented in Curves Class! Here's what we've made so far:

Bunting, easy enough...I used the same 1930s repro fabric used in the mini-quilt below

Valentine's decorations! In Valentine's colors without looking too cheesy

Baby bib! No baby nearby, so Josh stood in as the model. So easy to make! Good thing I know a bunch of babies to make these for...

Scallop pillow, the most intensive project I've completed so far! Got lots of practice sewing curves, and was happy to notice my curve sewing getting smoother as I continued sewing scallops down the pillow

Tilly approves

I'm looking forward to improv curves this coming week, although I'll have a bunch of catching up to do since I'll be in Savannah for Valentine's!

Signed Deadpool 49.1 giveaway

We received issues of the Deadpool 49.1 issues with the quickness (also known as DEADPOOL, THE MUSICAL!) Since 49.1 is a compilation of all events from 1 - 48, I wanted to do a fun giveway. Want to win a signed issue? Recommend to @DanielKWay one of your Twitter friends that you think would enjoy Deadpool's offbeat fun, and you will be entered to win a signed 49.1. Make sure you tell your Twitter friend that you've entered him/her, because you both will also need to be following @DanielKWay to qualify (I'm sure you're already following him anyways, right?!)

** Entries close at midnight EST, Wed 2/8/12 **

And in case you haven't heard it yet, here is the excellent music that Marvel editor Jordan D. White recorded to read along with DEADPOOL, THE MUSICAL! With a guest appearance for "The Last Caress" on guitar and bass by Daniel Way. Special thanks to @GManFromHeck of Comic Vine for getting a copy of the music over to me within minutes! Minutes!

Download DEADPOOL, THE MUSICAL! music!

Darling felted pincushions

Aren't these pincushions so cute?! Now I know what to look for on my next thrift store run...

PozeyPincushionsPlus on etsy

WhimsicalWool on etsy

Deadpool #50 cover

The cover to cover the kickoff of DEAD, cover by Dave Johnson. Like it! (as usual)

Deadpool #50 cover

Fabric pictures

The bf and I recently built a light box based on this tutorial but I had been having trouble figuring out how I could use it to take pictures of fabric and blocks, which would be flat. Lo and behold, it was my lucky day when I saw that Sara at Sew Sweetness had just put together a similar setup. I just had to cut one flap off my my box and I was in business! Here are the first shots I took...I think they came out pretty nice, but I still need to make some adjustment on the amount of lighting. Perhaps next try I'll diffuse the lamp that provided direct light for these pics.

How do you take pics of your fabric?

My Quilting Beginnings

I've always had an interest in various crafts, so it wasn't a stretch for me to get interested in sewing and quilting. I had been around homemade quilts my entire life, with my maternal grandmother always making quilts for one family member or another. Though I don't remember it, I recently read in one of my old school papers that one of my memories of spending time with my grandmother was her teaching me the details of cutting fabric for blocks. One thing I do remember was looking forward to the day when grandma would make me "my" quilt. Being the youngest, I had already seen my siblings and cousins receive their quilts so it was a happy day when I finally received mine (pictured below).

For this reason, I had been casually toying with the idea of learning how to sew and quilt to honor my grandma's memory. Then one day at Walmart I found a Brother SQ9000 (sewing and quilting) machine for 50% off! I knew it was fate. I bought that sucker and haven't looked back since. Jumping in with both feet, I bought a kit from thesproutzstore on etsy. This particular kit appealed to me because it looked like a simple square pattern (something easy to start off with) and I could pick any Moda layer cake fabric. Even though I was new I had already realized that I love Moda prints! By the way, I picked Little Apples by Aneela Hoey for Moda.

My first quilt wasn't perfect. Seams didn't line up, I sewed one block on the wrong side, and also ended up sewing the three parts of the quilt front backwards from what I had planned. I didn't care...I had made my first quilt! I love the tangible accomplishment it shows me whenever I see it sitting on my couch. And I guess it's a pretty great quilt because Tilly (the bulldog) has taken to thinking that it is "her" quilt and lies on it whenever it's within reach.

And now, on Feb. 1, 2012, I'm about to begin my first official class: Curves Class! I also have a ton of new projects I want to dig into (as well as a ton of new quilting blogs to continue reading!). I totally think quilting will stick as my hobby, even if the BF calls me a 70-year old for having such a hobby.

Curves Class begins today!

I'm excited to begin taking my first formal sewing/quilting class: Curves Class! Not only will I be able to learn in a group setting (albeit online), I'll hopefully learn the skills necessary to begin completing Drunkard's Path blocks I inherited from my quilt-making grandmother. Here's an example of one of the projects we'll be doing: