What Shall I Make Today? Creepy Cobweb Coasters!

Here's a last-minute Halloween decorating idea for you!

Draw lines like this on a piece of graph paper.

My finished design will be 4 1/2" square so the cross-lines are at 2 1/4".

Make little marks at 3/4" down and across from each corner.

Draw an arc between the lines on the top half of the diagram, like this:

Fold the paper in half and cut out along the arcs.

Unfold the paper and pin to a double layer of muslin, with a piece of batting underneath.

Make sure to leave about 1/2" around the shape.

Sew around the shape, leaving one arc open.

Remove the piece from the machine and cut out 1/4" outside the stitching.

Cut straight across the points.



Turn the piece right side out through the opening.

Use a chopstick or other pointy thing to get into the points.

Hand-stitch the opening closed.

Place the piece between 2 single layers of cheesecloth.

Machine-stitch with contrasting thread across the shape from point to point,

making sure to intersect in the center.

After you've stitched the 4 lines across the piece,

move your needle about 1/2" toward the center.

Following the arcs, stitch around the shape.

When you get back to the beginning,

move your needle another 1/2" toward the center

and stitch again around the shape, following the arcs.

Repeat once more and remove from the machine.

Trim any long threads and the cheesecloth loosely around the shape.

If you like, you can brush some stiffener onto both sides of the shape and let dry.

Your creepy cobweb coasters are finished!

If you want, you can loop a length of thread through a point and hang them around your house.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Ever-blooming Daffodils--a tutorial

Spring certainly can't come soon enough for me!

If you feel the same way, you can speed up its arrival in your home by making a bunch of these fabric daffodils.

Cut a 4 1/2" square of muslin.

Fold in half and sew the long edges together with a 1/4" seam.

Turn the piece right side out until the raw edges meet at the bottom, forming a little tube.

Copy this template onto graph paper and cut out.

Pin the template to a double layer of muslin and sew all the way around it.

Trim the muslin 1/4" outside of the stitching.
Square off the points and clip into the curves.

Separate the muslin layers and carefully make a tiny cross incision through one of the layers.

Turn the shape right side out through this opening.
I used a pointy chopstick to get into the points.

Make gathering stitches about 1/4" from the raw edges of the tube.

Gather tightly and knot off.

Insert the gathered edge of the tube into the little hole in the daffodil.
Turn the edges of the hole to the inside and stitch the tube to the folded edges.

Thin some antique gold paint with a little water and paint the entire daffodil, starting with inside the tube.

When dry, sand gently with fine sandpaper.

Separate the layers of fabric and carefully cut a tiny horizontal slit into just the back layer.

Drip some hot glue into the hole.

Immediately insert a stick into the hole and up into the petal.

And that's it!
Enjoy your ever-blooming spring daffodils!

Valentine Gift Bag Tutorial

Here's a quick project you can whip up in time for Valentine's Day.  First, find an image you want to print onto some muslin.  I found this one at The Graphics Fairy .  There are lots of tutorials online to show you how to print pictures onto fabric, such as this one here. Print your picture onto a piece of muslin.

Trim away the excess fabric, 1/4" from the picture.

Cut out a piece of backing fabric and 2 pieces of lining fabric, the same size as the piece of fabric with the picture.  Right sides together and with a 1/4" seam, sew the lining pieces to the top of the picture piece and the backing piece.

Press the seams in opposite directions and "butt" them together, with the right sides of the fabric pieces on the inside.

If you want, you can add some batting to the bag, to give it a bit of weight.  Cut 2 pieces of cotton batt 1/4" shorter than the other pieces, so they line up with the seam and pin on the top and underneath the backing and picture pieces.

Starting at the short end of the lining pieces, sew a 1/4" seam around the entire piece, ending your stitching a couple of inches from where you started so that you have an opening for turning.  Clip all corners.

Pull the bag through the opening (I use a pointy chopstick to get into all the corners).  Hand-stitch the opening closed and push the lining back into the bag.

Poke a little hole near the top of the side seams and insert a length of rusty wire.  Twist the ends to secure.

Fill the bag with gifts for your sweetie--chocolates, a candle, dried flowers, whatever.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

And thanks to all of you for your words of comfort, following my previous blog.  They were all so very much appreciated.