Felted Wool iPad tote

52 Week UFO Challenge - Project #24 - stitching sample made into an iPad tote

This little stitching sample has been sitting in my sewing room for almost two years!! I just wasn't sure what to use it for, but then I got inspired!! Why not attach it to larger felted wool pieces and make it into a tote bag?

The edges weren't even, so the first thing I did was to trim all four edges even with the outside border stitching.

Next I found some royal blue felted wool (which was once a wool coat that I scored at Goodwill) and I cut two rectangles that would be big enough to house my iPad. I machine stitched my embroidery sample to one of these pieces. And then turned over the top edge of each piece and machine top stitched each of them. This gave the open edges a nice finish.

Next, I auditioned different straps. I had a few different ones to pick from but decided on the cream coloured heavy cord.

To attach the cording to the bag I cut a small piece of wool and sewed this, with the end of the cord tucked inside, to the top edge of the back of the bag. By sewing all around the edges of this piece of wool mu cording was secured to the bag and the end wouldn't unravel.

The next step was to sew the front and the back of the bag together. I just topstitched along the sides and bottom and - VOILÀ - the felted wool iPad tote bag was done. Now I can carry my iPad in style - or - use it for a gift for a friend!

The completed iPad tote with the embroidery  front.

52 Week UFO Challenge - Project #14 - Wool appliqué heart candle mat

MORE hearts!!

I've said it before... I love wool hearts!!

I started this appliqué piece almost two years ago to do a wool appliqué demo at our local quilt shop. The hearts had been blanket stitched, so I added some embroidery stitches and cut a backing from another piece of navy wool.

Cutting a backing from another piece of navy wool.

I decided to add some buttons to the appliqué piece and that was just what was needed.

Sewing on the buttons.

 The final step was to blanket stitch around the edge of background in order to secure the backing.

The candle mat has been blanket stitched around the edge.

 Project #14 is complete!

The finished candle mat.

52 Week UFO Challenge Project #8 - Embroidered Wool Bag with Zipper

Another unfinished embroidery piece...

This little embroidery piece is another one that I did while Mike and I were on our train trip to Halifax. I've always loved this piece, but never knew how to finish it off. I saw a few zippered wool bags on Pinterest, so I decided to try to use this piece to make a zippered bag.

 First I trimmed all of the edges of the gold wool background with my pinking rotary cutter.

The gold background wool was not big enough to use on it's own and I had no more wool that same colour, so I decided to mount it onto a larger piece of cream felted wool and I cut a second rectangle in the cream wool to use for the back of the bag.

Cutting the cream coloured wool

I used my 505 Spray to stick the gold wool to the cream wool and then used a running stitch to sew it down all the way around. Next I cut two pieces of a lining fabric the same size at the two cream coloured wool rectangles.

Cutting the lining fabric.

First I sewed the lining fabric to the back side of the zipper.

Sewing the lining to the back of the zipper

Then I sewed the two lining fabrics right side together along the remaining three sides with a 1/2" seam. Then I hand stitched the front of the bag to the zipper using a running stitch along it's length. 

Pinning the front of the bag to the zipper.

I sewed the back of the bag onto the zipper in the same manner, and then used a blanket stitch along the three remaining sides to sew the front and the back of the bag together. A couple re-inforcing stitches at each end secured the two ends of the zipper.

Here is a view of the inside of the bag.

Project #8 is all done. What a cute little bag to carry jewellery or maybe threads for another project!

52 Week UFO Challenge Project #6 - Valentine's table runner

Be careful when searching your sewing room.....

So, while I was looking through my sewing room for a piece of fabric to finish off one of my other projects, I found MORE UFOs!! Not a lot (thankfully) but, I did find a few more to add to my list.

Two of the things I found were these embroidered hearts similar to the ones that I have already finished off as ornaments, but since these two matched I've decided to make a Valentine's table runner with them.

One of my favourite Accuquilt dies is the Studio Tongue Rug die!! I LOVE making wool projects but I HATE cutting tongues for penny rugs and wallhangings so I was super excited when I found this one on their website!!

Accuquilt Studio Tongue Rug Die

I also love to scour thrive stores and garage sales for wool clothing that I can felt. Sometimes the article of clothing feels like wool, but their is no tag so you take your chances as to whether it will felt or not. This one was a skirt but unfortunately it didn't felt very well, so I've had it in my cupboard for awhile with no idea as to what to do with it.

Since this wool isn't felted, I need to finish the edges with a pillowcase turn. I've never done that with any of my wool projects, so now is a good time to try it out!

First I had to cut my background wool and appliqué my heart hexagons onto each end. I used my 

505 Spray to secure them before I did the hand blanket stitching around the hexagons.

I made my tongues (using my handy, dandy Accuquilt Tongue Die) and then I pinned them face down on the ends of my table runner - pointing IN to the middle.

I cut a pieces of black fabric the same size as my wool background and pinned it the top.

I stitched around all of the edges with a 1/2" seam, but left a small opening for turning.

Next step was to clip the corners since the wool is very bulky, and to turn the runner right side out.

The tongues after the runner is turned right side out.

Next, I used my machine to top-stitch all of the way around the runner to flatten it a bit and to close the opening that I had left for turning. A little press afterwards made it lie nice and flat.

Here it is - all finished and on my skinny front hall table, I'm all ready for Valentine's Day 

The finished Valentine's Day runner.

52 Week UFO Challenge - Project #4 - Embroidered Felt Ornaments

Practising embroidery stitches on the train

Two years ago, Mike and I took the train from our home town in Ontario to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Enjoying supper on the train.

 We had a great time, the food was wonderful, the train was nice and relaxing and Halifax was so fun to explore. There was ample time to read, play on my iPad and to stitch, so I took along some felted wool, an new embroidery book and some WonderFil threads that I was testing out for QUILTsocial.

The samples that I made on that trip have been sitting in a basket ever since because I had no idea what to do with them. So I got them out and decided to finish them off in a few different ways. The first ones I finished were the circles and hexagon ones.

Some of the embroidery samples.

I decided to make them into ornaments, so I cut a matching backing for each of them with my Accuquilt Studio Cutter, and then cut a cardboard centre that was just a bit smaller. I sprayed the back side of each backing with 505 Spray and then centred my cardboard pieces on each one. 

I'm using a large flat box to do my spraying in, to protect my cutting table.

Then I sprayed the cardboard and placed the front on top. I cut a 5" ribbon, folded it in half and slid it in between the wool layers at the top of the ornament. Then I blanket stitched all around the edges of the ornament.

Embroidered hearts

Hexagon ornaments

The finished circle ornaments.