Saturday, July 28, 2012

RECYCLED "BRA" FLOWERS


Re-purpose old bras into flowers 
and embellish bags, purses, totes, jackets, hats...
where ever you want to place a flower 
that will certainly grab attention.

First....find some colorful, lacy bras!!!

Cut them apart and save everything!!!
Once your creativity begins...
you will pick and choose from the pieces and parts. 
Make sure to REMOVE all the under-wires from the cups. 
Just clip the fabric near the end of the wire placement
and pull the wire out.  


Take a sharpie and draw a leaf design on the bra cup.  
Remember the bigger the cup the larger the leaves can be 
OR you can cut several from one large cup.


It is easier to satin stitch the leaves "before: you cut them out.
Stitch just to the inside of the marker.


Sew around the leaf design a couple times 
for a good satin stitch then cut out the leaf.


Once it is cut out...satin stitch one more time
for a finished look

Now straight stitch some free-form leaf veins.


Make two or three leaves and sew them together 
with a straight stitch to make the BASE of your flower.


Use a lacy cup to cut out a free from design 
that resembles a flower (scallop design)

Flatten out the bra cup and sew a satin stitch around it
 making sure to catch the lace in the satin stitch 
as you go around the design
The lace will stretch to meet the outside edges.




Now scrunch or kinda pleat the design piece  
to get some dimension.    Straight stitch it down.


Place it on top of the leaves and stitch it down the center.


 Use a  "side" piece of the bra to build flower fillers.  
A long basting stitch on your
machine or just run a gathering stitch by hand.

Pull the thread to gather the piece...

...into a flower bud.  Slip stitch it closed.

 

Place and sew on top of the flower-I do this by hand.


And I added a tiny piece of pink lace in the center 
and stitched in down by hand.


All DONE! 

Find a fun place for it!



I made a brown, black and taupe flower 
for a guild challenge bag. 
I used a brown bra cup to make the 2 leaves 
and built the flower with just flat lacy pieces.
I added a button in the center of the flower 
and a button that looks like a leaf 
at the bottom of the flower.


Because the flowers are a little "top heavy"
 no pun intended.  I sewed the flower to the 
center of the bag BASE - before I put in the lining.
Love the bag fabric...
it kinda look like abstract books to me!  (wink)


And the finished bag was a winner in the 
Fa-BRA-ka-da-BRA challenge.








Monday, July 23, 2012

Let's make waves, quilts AND friends!

Last year I celebrated a milestone birthday on a cruise 
not a quilt cruise  
one that brought two quilters
to the same dinner tabls.
Kathy Guenther lives in Cincinnati
I am in Columbus, OH 
We talked briefly about being quilters, 
but little did we know 
that the ship would be the vessel 
that would allow us to form a fun  
new FRIENDSHIP!


Kathy Guenther
Kathy and I have visited 
each others homes since the cruise 
and now attend quilt shows, retreats together
and enjoy great times, good coffee and wine!

 Today I am featuring two of Kathy's quilts

Baby Quilt with pick stitching





Improv quilt from Faith of Fresh Lemons workshop








Ship Ahoy!






Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Trippin Out on Fabric Shops

3 days, 4 states, 7 quilt shops, 48 quilters, 
18k in total sales and a whole lotta fun!  

My annual guild bus trip shop hop! 
From Ohio - Wisconsin and back!

Lucy's Crab Shack Charms


Lotta Jansdotter FQs



Fiesta FQs




Leicen FQs




Blitzen



 Backyard Baby




 Alexander Henry - Crayon Commute