presenting….and a giveaway!

Today, I have a special treat for you….my dear blog friend, Caren, has a wonderful guest post for you!  She is also hosting my giveaway for the week!  Hope you enjoy her post…..
Take it away Caren….

Have you ever felt the urge to do something different – something “more” than your “normal”? I’m thinking specifically about sewing and quilting. Sometimes I want to push the envelope, to break the steady pace, to spice things up a bit. I know that there is a fine line between coloring outside the lines and making a great big mess (and believe me, I have a six year old and two toddlers – I know messes!).

So how do you tastefully add elements to spice up your sewing?  I thought I’d brainstorm for you about adding different elements to your sewing.

Let’s Play with Textures and Embellishments!

Rough and rugged (terrycloth, crushed or burned velvet, denim) – a great choice for boys (of any age!)

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(top left: Brooke’s pincushions – I love these!!!)

Bumpy (buttons, French knots, corduroy, beads, 3D elements such as flowers).  Remember to be overly cautious about using any 3D elements for children.  I made the robot (middle right picture) for my son when he was 3.5 yrs old and he was not a “chewer” at that time, but since then we have had two more children and they stick EVERYTHING in their mouths.  So when in doubt, stay away from beads and buttons – better safe than sorry.

Sheer (many fabrics and laces).  I was surprised when a young teenager asked me to add lace trim to a skirt I made (I am not a lace lover, but I actually have quite a bit of it, and the skirt turned out really cute!)

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(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk)

Industrial (chains, hardware) – talk about thinking outside the box!  The “steampunk” trend has introduced us to the fictional age that blends together industrial age hardware with Victorian era floofy-ness (lets just pretend that is a real word, ok?).  Some folks are really wowed by this trend, myself included, though I don’t have an eye to actually make it work in my designs.

Tough (leather, “pleather”, vinyl) – again, these are great for those boys of all ages.  But don’t forget that girls, too, can be really blessed by your project – as you know, fabrics are only part of the overall design – what you DO with it makes it really “sing”.  My sister was really overjoyed to see the chair cover thingies that I made for her.  In all honesty, I think she was more overwhelmed with the size of the package – I made 12 covers in all.  By the way, when I found out that I could do applique with vinyl I thought I’d made the discovery of the century!  There are almost always remnants at the fabric store, it doesn’t fray, comes in varying thicknesses, it is washable, and is fairly easy to sew.  It’s delightful!!!

Some things to consider before picking out your “spices”:

First of all, what is your project?

Is it a quilt? A mug rug? A pillow case? Apparel? Accessory?

This is an important question, because when picking out your “spices”, you don’t want to choose something that won’t work for your particular use. Say, for instance, you want to make a baby quilt. Then you wouldn’t necessarily want to spice it up with a bunch of buttons (choking hazard). Or if it is a pillow case, it probably would not be great to add metal studs to it. You get the idea.

Second, who is your project for?

This is quite important, and might go without saying, but I won’t assume. For instance, if it is for a typically developing 12 year old boy, it would most likely not be a good idea to use a flannel “Big Bird” applique. Or if your project is a coffee cozy for a guy, pink fluffy bunny print would probably be out, too.  If your project is for a person who has tactile sensitivities, it’d be best to ask first if you have any questions (for instance, someone I know has an extreme aversion to buttons, another is grossed out by silk, and I myself can not stand the feel of lace, though for special projects I put my personal aversion aside.)



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(Embellishments of ric rac, labels, or pom poms are also a sweet way to spice up a project!)

the above pictures are from listings in both mine and Sally’s etsy shops – Brooke

Brooke, thanks so much for letting me brainstorm on your blog!  This blog post was somewhat stirred up by your collaborative work with Sally in recent months, each of you pouring your talents, blending them together to create something beautiful.  I love that!