Monday, June 18, 2012

Fabric Friday Winner!!

Thanks to all of you who participated in this week's Fabric Friday Giveaway!  It was unanimous that cotton is the favorite type of fabric to sew.  I must say that I agree completely!!  Plus cotton has so many wonderful forms too!  I love sewing with cotton, especially flannel because it is soooo soft and fuzzy!

The winner this giveaway is .....
Elizabeth!!!


My favorite fabric to sew with is cotton. It is what I use most!

Congrats to Elizabeth! You will receive an email from me shortly.  Please don't be discouraged if you did not win this time.  The next Fabric Friday Giveaway will be held on June 29th!  Thanks!

Friday, June 15, 2012

** CLOSED ** Fabric Friday Giveaway!

Do you know what today is? Fabric Friday Giveaway!  Every other Friday I hold a giveaway for some fabric!  Yay! The type and kind vary but the results are still awesome! Free fabric for YOU!!!

Today's Fabric Friday Giveaway are TWO cute patterned fabrics as shown below.  Stripes and hearts!  There is 1 yard of 43 inches wide for each fabric and they have been pre-washed. 100% cotton. One is green stripes and hearts, the other is blue stripes and hearts. These two are super soft too! Like last week, I picked these up from an elderly friend of mine so they may or may not be vintage.... sorry, I don't know for sure!  



Specifics, Rules, etc....
1. Giveaway is open from Friday, June 15th, 2012 to Monday June 18th, 2012 at 9am central time. 
2. Giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere in the world (as long as they are followers of the blog) 
3. Random number generator will determine the winner at that time and will be posted on the blog 

To enter: 
1. You must be a visible follower of this blog (top right side of blog there is a link to become a follower).  
2. You must leave a comment on this post answering the below question.  Thanks and good luck!

Today's Question is:  What is your favorite type of fabric to sew with?

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Stuck in the Middle....

I can't believe it's Wednesday already!!  Where has the week gone!
I have 3 sets of PJ's in production and I'm also in the middle of a maxi-type interlock knit dress.
Mr. SunnySewing has been home Monday and today this week too.... he can be distracting when I'm trying to sew.  The last 3 days have been busy!
Mr. T came home from his vacation with grandma early on Monday.
Our super old barn was stripped of it's wood and came down today :( it was such a sad sight but it had to go.  The foundation in the back was sinking each year and it was a hazard.  I'll miss it.  My grandparents owned this house and land before us so it has history for me.
Ye Ole Barn


Miss K starts her dance class tomorrow and we also have been getting ready for our rummage sale this Fri and Sat. Whew!  Busy Busy.
Here is the 3 PJ's awaiting my finishing touches

They are from this pattern (which I love from Mr. T's other PJ's here).

So I just need to add sleeves, hem it up, add buttons, and then the shorts.

And here is the stubborn to sew maxi-type dress from the interlock knit.  It is really, really hard to sew but I'm going to conquer it!

And here is the pattern it is from. M5893, View C (the hot pink one)

All that is left is the bottom hem and the middle elastic and she is complete!

I really hope you all are having a great start to your week!

Monday, June 11, 2012

Weekly To-Do List

Sigh.  Last week's list didn't get very completed!  I finished one thing.  That's it.  Oh well, sometimes things go that way.  I did get the 3 sets of Pj's cut and ready to go; however I found I didn't have enough fabric for the shorts so I am waiting for my order from fabric.com to finish them.  I did get my Tropicana Maxi Skirt fabric on Thursday but was busy with other things.  So on to this week's list:

1. Finish the 3 sets of PJ's for Miss K and Mr. T (switching to 2 for K and 1 for T)
2. make the Tropicana Maxi Skirt (FREE download!) from Hot Patterns at Fabric.com
3. make another Oliver + S Ice Cream dress for Miss K from the adorable fabric that came today - very summery and little bugs :-)
4. Make some more lovely grocery bag holders for the Etsy shop
5. Make that darn tank top from pattern Butterick B4800 already!  It's 90 up here all week!

I think that list will do for me this week.  Miss K also starts her Tap/Dance class this week, summer school and swimming lessons start next week. I hope you all get what's on your To-Do list done this week!

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Freezer Paper Stencils ~ Step by Step


I love freezer paper stencils!  They are fun, easy, and a really cool way to get a design on something.  I especially like them because my kids whine for certain characters on their shirts and sometimes they are hard to find or too expensive.  Here is a step by step tutorial on how easy it is to do a freezer paper stencil.

What you will need:
Freezer paper
Xacto knife
Iron
Piece of something you want to make the stencil on
Paint brush
Fabric Paint (below is what I use)
Jacquard Lumiere Metallic Acrylic Paint 2.25 Ounces

 printer and computer if you are not drawing your own stencil

Step 1: Find a stencil that you wish to use.  You can draw one yourself or find one on your computer.  My kids are in love with "The Regular Show" so I looked up Rigby and here is what I found:  
(I googled Rigby stencil).
Step 2: Cut a piece of your freezer paper to 8 1/2 x 11 inches and place in your printer.  All printers are different so you need to place it so that it will print on the paper side, not the shiny side; for me this is up.  Print the image on your paper

Step 3: Use the Xacto knife to cut out all the black parts.  Be very careful in the little tiny parts.  I left a bit more black in some of those teeny parts by his arm and eyes. 

Step 4: Get your fabric ready, I'll be using a T-shirt.  I ironed the front down nice so there were no bumps or wrinkles where my picture would go.  This is just a plain tee from Wal-Mart. 

 Step 5: Place your freezer paper, paper side up, on your fabric.  (now there is some debate on this step...)  I place my iron directly on my freezer paper because it sticks faster and better in my opinion.  I use it on the silk setting (or medium).  What I do is PRESS the iron down right on top of the paper in sections for 2-3 seconds and then lift up.  I do not move the iron back and forth - this may mess up your freezer paper.  
Continue pressing the paper down until it is all stuck.  (the other option is to place a cloth over the freezer paper and press on top of that with the iron, I found this did not stick my paper to the shirt).

 Step 6: ** Important ** place a piece of freezer paper on the backside so paint won't leak through.  For me this is inside the shirt and you want it shiny side up to the project.  Now I start painting the holes of the freezer paper with the fabric paint.  You want a nice coat, but not too thick.  

I use a cheap craft paint brush and some shiny brown fabric paint for $0.99 from Hobby Lobby.  Make sure it is "Fabric Paint"

Step 7: Wait for your paint to dry.  This took about 3-4 hours for my project. Last time it took longer so just check it with your finger.  A little bit of tack on the paint is ok as long as you are careful.  When the paint is dry, slowly peel off all the freezer paper from the fabric.  The small spots were fun to peel off..... the large pieces were fast and easy.  

Step 8: Ta Da!  Now you have a really cute *and cheap* design on a piece of fabric!  And it was fast too!

Here is another of our Freezer Stencil Projects: 


I completed Rigby in about 4 hours I'd say and then Miss K wore it to the carnival last night! It was a blast because it was not as hot at night and all the lights are magical!