Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Fabric Headbands

  A new year needs new hair, right? I decided to chop off my hair into a fun pixie cut a few weeks ago. I really love it. It's so easy to take care of, but I do still have an occasional bad hair day. I decided to make some headbands to hide any crazy poufs or just liven up an outfit.

 I found a pattern at Happy Together for a double-sided fabric headband. I prefer headbands that tie, because the elastic ones scrunch up too much, especially with short hair.  I taped the two pattern pieces together and then extended the end a few more inches. I left a 3-inch opening near the middle for turning. The Dritz turning tools came in very handy here. A little topstitching and I was all done. Two headbands took about 20 minutes and were free since I used scrap fabric.

I figure this wide-headband look will be very popular with the new Great Gatsby movie coming out soon. Who can't use a little 20's glamour in her life?
From Minus Minions
From Minus Minions

Monday, February 11, 2013

Frog Quilt

  Dude, where has the time gone? I got sucked into the holidays, dealt with the girls having massive colds, then found myself with fatigue and a touch of writer's block. However, I finished a few projects, one big and a few small, and I'm ready to write again.

I like frogs. My maternal grandmother collected frog figurines and when she passed away, my mom gave me some of her collection. I've expanded it a bit and have some froggy touches around the house. Naturally, when I saw the "Infrognito" quilt pattern, I had to have it. I decided to go with a different color combination, opting for more greens, blues and purples. I got a bunch of batik fat quarters, grabbed by rotary cutter and went to town.


I think this is one of my favorite projects ever. I love the color combinations, the whimsy, and how soft it is. I used a double thickness of a low-loft batting, so my hand-quilting stitches aren't nest and tiny, but the payoff is how cozy and warm the quilt is. It's perfect for curling up on the couch. I stitched in the ditch, so there are fun outlines of frogs on the back.

It went together pretty easily. The shapes are all straight lines, making rotary cutting easy. The big frog and all the eyes are attached with fusible webbing. I drew the eye details, like the pupil, with fabric marker.

 I might have to make this again, with other colors.