Joy Journal Cover - Project Quilting 10.5

I loved this challenge - Abecedarius.  My project was inspired by a friend's experience that she shared with me.  She was having a tough day, but when she was stopped at an intersection she saw bubbles floating by and was reminded of all the joy there really was in life.  I have wanted to make something inspired by this story, so decided to make a journal cover featuring the word “Joy” along with floating bubbles.

This is my finished journal.  I really enjoyed the time I spent creating this, and I love the results - I give a lot of the credit to the lovely Island Batik fabrics that I used.

Here is the back.

And the front flap and pocket.

My journal cover measures 10.5 inches high and 7 3/4 inches tall. The lettering and bubbles were attached using fusible web and two rounds of topsttitching (the thread is Aurifil 50 wt in bright green)

Available for purchase in my Etsy Shop!

 I created this in my Coos Bay home - I'll be linking to the Project Quilting 10.5 challenge page - make sure you visit and vote for your favorites this week!

Trust Bible Cover

I always enjoy getting custom order requests, they often provide me with ideas for new color combinations and generally are a pleasure.  This week I had a request from a customer for a quilted bible cover with the word Trust on the cover.  She suggested floral with a dark background, so I pulled out my bin of blacks and came up with a nice pile of florals that worked perfectly to make a lovely cover:

I decided that lovely royal purple would look great for the lettering and binding.  I also used it for the flaps and pockets:

It's ready to mail off today, I hope she loves it as much as I do! 

I've added this item to my Etsy shop - If you would like a Trust journal or Bible Cover, just click here and I can make one for you!

Have a wonderful day!

Fun With Selvages

I started my fun sewing this weekend working with my ever-growing pile of selvage strips - time to try to tame that pile of scrappy goodness! 

First I used a bunch of blue strips to make a fun journal cover - I'll have to make some more of these in different colors! 

 
Then I worked on a couple of Mini Selvage Bins.  It's been a while since I made any, and I had to refresh myself on the measurements, but once I did that I was in the groove.  First I made a soft green one...

Then a saucy red and black version:

These are super handy for sitting on your desk and filling with odds and ends!  I actually keep one on my cutting table and use it to hold the selvages I cut off of yardage.  They are really cute to hang on a wall, too!

If you would like to make your own, you can buy the pattern from my Etsy shop:

Selvage Bin Pattern

Hope your week has started off well!  

Slow Sunday Stitching - personalizing a journal cover

This week I had an opportunity to enjoy some hand stitching - it's been a while since I did any embroidery and I thoroughly enjoyed working on this piece!

The gold lettering is hard to photograph, but it says "Kitty and Jerome's Amazing Recipes"  Since the journal was already complete I had to make sure I didn't catch the flap on the back in the stitching, but it wasn't really to bad.  The gold thread was a bit difficult to work with, but it was so pretty that it was worth the effort.

I had to really stretch out of my comfort zone and write the letters out on the cover myself - I printed out the font as large as I could on a piece of paper, then practiced on that before writing on the journal.  My chalk pencil wouldn't show up, so I took a deep breath and used a very fine point pink gel pen....but it went just fine, and I figure a little imperfection on a hand-made item is to be expected, right?

I really enjoyed working on this, it makes me eager to think of some more hand stitching projects!  I do have a quilt that is basted and ready to start quilting that I should get to working on - I think I'll pull that out this evening and challenge myself to get that finished.  Cooler nights are coming and this quilt has a lovely wool batting that will be super nice to snuggle under!

Linking up with Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching - stop by and see who else is linking up this week!

Leisurely Stitching

I have found that it is a bit hard for me to relax and not be in a hurry, but I am becoming addicted to my slow stitching projects!  I really anticipate that down time to work on them, and am worried that I am going through them too fast.  My husband enjoys me spending time with him and not being on the laptop, so it really is a nice part of my day to sit and stitch.  I actually finished last weeks project and it came out so cute!

I used my Quilted Journal Cover Pattern to  turn it into a beautiful  journal that I will use to write down my positive and encouraging thoughts in!

I had fun choosing some pretty and feminine fabrics for this project.

I even used some of the lovely rose fabric I've been saving since I bought  it last summer for the inside flaps.  Am I the only one that hates to use the fabrics I love the most?  I always feel bad about using them up!

I've been working on finishing up a cross stitch pattern this week.  I've made a lot of progress and should be able to finish that up this week.

I've done all the outlining and just have to finish the quilting lines, cat's whiskers and detailing on the fan.

I was a little distressed to realize that the outline around the whole picture was supposed to be the dark pink in the top corner of the quilt.  But I decided that it's my project and if I like the dark gray outlining, then I don't have to feel like I need to change it to match the pattern!

After this one, there is one more in the series.  I don't think I will start it right away, I have more embroidery that I want to do first.  It's funny what captures my interest, never was into embroidery that much before, but that cute little stitchery on the journal cover got me hooked!

I'm linking up on Kathy's Blog for Slow Sunday Stitching, am having a great time checking out everyone's projects!

August Giveaway #3

Happy Birthday to me!  Yes, today is the big day - I am looking forward to a fun day, a nice fat slice of German Chocolate Cake and some Ice Cream to go with it, plus phone calls from my girls :)

For this week I am giving away this cute animal panel by Clothworks - Friends in Wild Places:

There are two identical halves of the panel on one piece of yardage, so I though someone else would enjoy using the other half.  My plan for this is to make journal covers out of them, so I am including that pattern as well.

I think I will make the panda version for myself!  Anyway - to enter you will need to comment on my blog and let me know if you keep a journal now, or have you ever?  I really enjoyed all the comments on the last giveaway and look forward to hearing your thoughts on this as well.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Be sure and share this with your friends!  Thanks and good luck!