I accomplished yet another of the projects on my priority list today. The dogs now have some nice mats for their crates. They are even personalized! They were very quick and easy to make.

Materials:

One yard each heavy denim and polar fleece. This is enough to make two mats approx. 35”x28”. I just cut each yard in half down the middle to make two pieces 36” by 30”. My two fabrics were quite the same width so I did a little trimming to match everything up. If you want them to fit perfectly into the bottom of your crate just measure the bottom pan size and add an inch to get a 1/2” seam allowance all the way around.

How To:

If you want to personalize it, hoop your denim and stitch out the name. Because this denim was so stiff I didn’t put an stabilizer in the hoop with it. I did Maizey’s first and some of the stitches weren’t as nice as I’d like them to be so when I did Cas’ I slipped a piece of Heavy Cut-Away under the hoop before I started stitching and that worked great.

Lay the denim piece out flat right side up and place fleece right side down on top of it. Smooth everything out, matching edges, trim any edges that aren’t even.

Round off the corners. I marked them with a chalk wheel and used my magnetic pin cushion as a guide. I chose to round them off to make turning them right side out easier. Pin both fabrics together. Stitch around edge, leaving an opening for turning. I used my walking foot because the fleece likes to stretch under the foot while stitching. I also lengthened my stitch length and made sure I had a jeans needle in the machine.

Turn right side out and clip excess fabric from curved corners and notch seam allowance. (I forgot to take a picture of this step.)

Topstitch approximately 1/2” from edge. Be cure to tuck in the edges of the opening so they get caught in the topstitching.

All done in a couple hour’s work. I like that they are lightweight and easy to wash. No stuffing for the dogs to chew apart and get all over the house. The fleece gives a little cushioning and the denim is durable.

Miss Maizey looks a little less than thrilled with her new digs but that is partly because I moved her crate today from one corner to another and now Cas is in the same room. She doesn’t like change.

In reality the dogs don’t spend a lot of time in their crates. Just while we are out of the house. They are still spoiled and get to sleep on our bed at night. And with my part-time hours and how early the girls get home from school they are rarely crated for more than a few hours at a time. But Cas does like his crate and will just go hang out in their for periods of time. He is also a bit of a hoarder and we will find random things hidden in there. Like the time my friend stayed over to dog sit and after we got home I was cleaning it out and found her bank card still in the envelope from the mail in his crate.

Also, does anyone else think it is weird that two Michigan State Spartans have a dog named MAIZEy? I didn’t ever realize the awkwardness until I embroidered her name in bright yellow on a blue background.

Step 1:

Start with a smallish (2”x3”) trapezoid shape. The more irregular the shape the more skewed the finished block will end up.

Add the side pieces to opposite sides. I usually pick a piece of fabric that is longer than the side I’m adding it to to give me plenty of room for trimming later.

Sew (1/4” seam allowance) and press with seam allowances toward outside.

Step 2:

Trim excess fabric. I line my ruler up with the edge of the original piece and trim off the excess fabric. You can also trim at a new angle if you want to skew the edges even more.

Step 3:

Add the next round. Again choosing a piece that is a bit longer than the edge it is being added to. This round goes on the other edge of the first piece and the seam crosses the ends of the seams of the first round. Press open with seam allowances toward the outside.

Trim overhanging fabric like in the first round.

Step 4:

Continue to add fabrics to opposite sides, pressing and trimming as you go. I typically add a total of 7 rounds, the center square counting as “round 1”. I planned this quilt so that the 6th round will be white fabric and the last round (7th) will be the darker green.

Step 5:

I want my finished squares to be 11” square so I make sure the last two rounds (white and green) are plenty thick enough to give me room to trim them down to the finished size.

Lay a square ruler on top of the finished block and make sure your finished dimensions fit on the square.

Trim right and top sides.

Line trimmed sides up with the 11” marks on ruler. Trim remaining two sides.

Your finished block should be square with opposite green edges and opposite white edges. You can vary the width of the inner rounds to make the outer rounds wider or thinner. You can also add more rounds. The bigger the angles you use to cut the edges will skew or square you block more or less depending on personal taste.

Step 6:

Putting the finished blocks together.

Line the blocks up so that a green edge is touching a white edge (turning each block 90°)

I am pretty sure that this is how I’m going to assemble the finished quilt. But I may experiment with adding a narrow green sashing between blocks. But right now I like how the green edges make the rest of the block “float” in space and blur the lines of the finished blocks.

NOTES:

For a while I was making the blocks so that the 3rd round was always white but then I thought that made the finished quilt look too white all over so I started eliminating that round of white and varied the fabric placement to make more darker blocks. I’m also trying to make more blocks with thicker green edges. I think the overall effect will be very cool and modern looking. I love the fresh clean look of this simple color palette. Right now my quilting plan is to just straight line quilt with lines going across the quilt in different directions. I just don’t know what color thread to use. I think white will show up too bright on the green parts but green or blue will muddy the white sections. I’ll have to do some test blocks to see what I like best. Of course I’ll post results here to get your opinions!

I also made this one square using the breast pocket from one of the shirts. I’m not sure yet if I’m going to incorporate it into the finished quilt. I may do a partially pieced back and put it there with a note to Missy in the pocket. Or I may use for a coordinating pillow. I also saved the front button bands from the shirt with the idea of using them on pillows as the closure. The possibilities are endless!

If you use this technique please link back to me so I can see your creations. I love these improvisational techniques because the end results are all so different. I can’t wait to see what you all make with it too!

When I was a kid summer camp was the highlight of the summer, right after the County 4H fair. Probably because I lived in a small town where everyone knew everyone else from birth to death and the majority of us were cousins I looked forward to any opportunity to get away and meet new people. For either one of my many trips to camp or maybe when I was in the Performing Arts Troupe that toured the state all summer, my Mom made me a drawstring duffle for my sleeping bag and pillow. Mine was heavy denim and had my name appliqued on the side. It was also huge!

I made this simple duffle for Emma to put her sleeping bag in and to keep it neat and easy to identify. I made it in less than 2 hours with one yard of cotton fabric. It would probably take less time now that I have measurements and am not stopping at every step to take photos!

(It still needs an actual drawstring, seems that no matter how much fabric, notions and other stuff I have here at home I still need to make a trip to the store to finish a project!)

Step one:
Measuring and cutting.
Measure around the rolled up sleeping bag. I added quite a few inches to leave room for extra stuff like a blanket or small pillow or if Emma can’t get it rolled back up as tight at the end of camp. I determined that one yard would be just right.

Cut yard of fabric in half length wise set aside one 36″ x 22″ piece to use for bottom and optional pockets.

Finish raw edges of 22″ sides. I chose to serge mine with a narrow 3-thread overlock stitch. You could also trim with pinking shears or sew a small zigzag stitch.

Step Two: Marking and Sewing
Fold right sides together matching finished edges. Pin
Make small marks in seam allowance 1.5″ and 2″ from top edge. I chose to leave the selvage as my top edge.
Sew seam using a 1/2″ seam allowance from top edge to first mark, secure, cut thread.
Sew remainder of seam from second mark to bottom, securing stitches at mark.

Press seam open.

Step Three: Making Round Bottom.
Here’s where the math part comes in. If you don’t remember your basic algebra the formula to determine the circumference of a circle is: Diameter x 3.14(pi) or for our purposes we’re going to reverse the formula and take the circumference and determine our diameter: Circumference/pi + 1″ for seam allowances.

Because I serge my raw edges I ended up with a 34″ circumference instead of the original 35″ that I had planned. That gave me an approximately 11″ diameter (10.83 to be exact) So I cut a circle with a 12″ diameter.

Fold circle in quarters and mark with small notches.

Fold main body into quarts and mark with notches.

Step Four: Sewing body to bottom

Match notches on body to notches on bottom, pin. Continue matching and pinning the raw edges (right sides together). You may need to make small snips in the raw edge of the body to help ease around the curve to match the bottom.

Sew. Be careful to keep both layers flat under the needle, stopping every few inches with the needle down to straighten fabric and keep raw edges matching.

Finish edge.

Step Five: Make Drawstring casing.

Fold top edge down, wrong sides together 1 1/4″ inches. If you have a raw edge here turn raw edge under 1/4″ then turn down remaining inch. Press and pin.

Sew 1″ from folded edge. I chose to sew from the right side using a 3mm topstitch. You could also stitch from the wrong side 1/8″ from finished edge.

If you made your small opening in the side seam in the right place you should have a small hole right at the top of the bag to thread your drawstring through. I typically use one and a half the circumference of the bag for my drawstring, 1.5 yards in this case. I plan to get a slippery nylon cord and a cord stopper. After my trip to Joann’s I’ll try to remember to take a photo of the finished product and post it here.

I just made mine plain and simple but you could add a pocket to either the inside or outside, if you have an embroidery machine you could add a cute design or your child’s name to the side. If it is going to get a lot of rough and tumble use, like when I took mine on the road for the summer, you may want to make it out of a sturdier fabric like denim, canvas or home dec weight cotton. There are even some really cute new vinyl coated cottons out there that would make it slightly water-resistant.

Happy Summer. Don’t miss your kids too much while they are off on new adventures. I’m going to try not to miss Emma but it won’t be easy.

Today I came across another *old* scrapbook friend’s blog and she had the coolest tutorial. I just had to share it with you.

Tresa’s Paper Mache Party Lights. I seriously want to try these out but it is so damp and humid here right now that I fear they would never dry.

Materials for One Towel

1/2 yd. hemmed cotton toweling

1/2 yd. cotton fabric (enough for 3 finished towels) or a fabric remnant at least 18 x 14 inches

coordinating all-purpose thread

Step One:

Cut two (2) 7″x18″ strips from the cotton print fabric.

Step Two:

 
 
Place toweling and fabric right sides together (RST) matching raw edges. The print fabric should be approximately 1 inch wider on each end.
Sew RST using 1/2″ seam allowance.

Step Three:

 
Press seam allowance toward print fabric.
Press 1/2″ along unfinished edge of print fabric.
 
Fold print fabric RST matching folded edge to seam.
Pin short ends.

Step Four:

Sew short ends using edge of toweling as seam guide.
 
Trim seam allowances and corners to reduce bulk.
Turn right side out and press.

Step Five:

 
Carefully topstitch 1/4″ from seam line from the right side being sure to keep underside flat and straight.
Press and trim threads.

Check out these cute Eco-Totes:

Traci at Amazing Mae
Tanya at La Familia Rivera

They are making these for end-of-the-year Teacher gifts. What a great idea! Why didn’t I think of that?

My niece Mylene also made one along with a friend of hers.
  
I’ve read where some people are confused about Step 4. It is getting late today but tomorrow I will try to clarify that step a little better here and on the download.

This little art doll is now hanging behind the counter at the store. She is as much a mascot for My Eclectic Mess as Minerva (the dressmakers’ dummy). She hangs above the original artwork that inspired her.

Mini-Me went through a phase when she was about 5 or 6 of drawing these very detailed girls. I saved my favorites and eventually made this doll from this one.

I didn’t write up a tutorial at the time because I wasn’t a blogger (did blogs even exist back then? We’re talking old-school website at the time!) But I can give you a general idea of how I did this.

I traced the basic body parts with mylar and a sharpie to make a pattern. There are three basic parts: the hair, the head/face, and the body. I also did the lower arms/hands separately to make turning them right side out easier.

Then I traced each part onto a doubled piece of muslin. The traced line became my stitching line and using a small stitch length, I stitched around each piece. I did not leave a hole in the seam for turning, rather after sewing and triming very close to the stitching line, I carefully separated the layers and cut a small hole in the back of each piece for turning.

The hair piece was done differently so it would remain flat. I layered two pieces of muslin over a piece of batting and stitched, leaving an opening and then turned it right side out. Then I machine quilted the “hair” lines.

After turning and stuffing each piece I applied a generous coating of gesso and let it dry.
The clothes were painted on with acrylic paint. The face was drawn, following the look of the original as much as possible with colored pencil to imitate the crayon lines in the original. I made earrings using macramed embroidery floss and pony beads.

After everything was dry I hand sewed all the parts together and attached a small ring on the back to hang her by.

Having really creative children is a joy. I’m continuously inspired by both of my daughters. It is easy to feel at times as a mother that our children are inhibiting our creative process. We’ve all known that moment at one time or another where the creative spirit has hit us hard and we’re up to are eyeballs in a new and exciting project and WHAM! we realize it is time to run pick someone up from school or drop someone else off at practice. Or maybe read an article or blog post that gets our creative juice flowing right before the baby wakes from his nap and the moment is lost. It happens to everyone and we soon realize that it is just the way it is sometimes.

But other times our children serve as our muse and provide us with the impetus and inspiration needed to move us up and out of our creative ruts. Their freedom and inhibition is a powerful creative tool that we can all learn from. Give yourself permission to play, alone or with your children and you may be amazed at what you can make!

Tomorrow I will share a project Little E and I started Saturday at the store. It started off as “my project” and when she added her energy to it, it really took off. She has started coming to the store with me on Saturdays and it has become a time for us to create together and brainstorm new ideas for classes and projects we can offer for parties and teen clubs. Having her there with me that one day a week has helped me step away from the “business” side of the store for at least one day and tap into my creative energies again.

I had fallen into the trap of getting myself all wrapped up in all the little things, especially the things I couldn’t control anyway. By 9a.m. I had myself convinced that I should just have a Going Out of Business sale next month instead of a Grand Opening. Then I talked with my always encouraging sister for an hour. She is going through similar labor pains with her growing business so we could commiserate and bounce ideas off each other. Then I talked with Mr. Mess and he also calmed me down and pointed out the rational alternatives and solutions (he’s good at being rational when I’m decidedly not!) By noon I was spent. I did a lot of mundane computer data entry work and cruised the web for ideas.

By the time I got home I was on an even keel again. I woke up this morning determined to get to work doing all the things I could control. I reminded myself of why I started this venture in the first place. To have a place where I could share my love of all things creative with others. I came into the store today with one purpose in mind, to MAKE STUFF! When I get my sign installed, my advertising done, and the word gets out that I’m here, I’ll be too busy most days to do my own thing. I still need a lot of store samples and I need to finalize procedures and projects for the classes.

I was just saying in my last post that I wanted to make some reusable shopping bags. While looking for more inspiration I found this tutorial at Etsylabs on fusing plastic bags to make “fabric”. I was suitably inspired!

There will definitely be a “Recycled Plastic Bag” class added to the store curriculum soon. These are fun, cool, unique, and really easy; all the things I love about a good project. Not to mention, the materials are practically free and it is good for the environment. BONUS!

Then while doing some more “inspiration hunting” I came across this tutorial: Fabric Lunch Sack. Of course I had to tweak the design a little and (in my opinion) make it better. I didn’t like the four layers of lining and outside fabric sewn together on the side seams and I knew I could do a neater job of finishing off the handle edges. My version is fully reversible too.


This bag takes a half yard of each fabric (outside and lining) and about an hour of sewing time. To make them even “greener” you could use an old sheet or a couple old cotton dress shirts for the fabric. Otherwise, it is a great project for using up some of that fabric stash we all have hiding away.

ETA:
I just spent more time putting together and typing up a pattern for this bag than it took me to make it yesterday! Here is a link to the pdf of the pattern. ecobag pattern download!