Karin Jordan Studio

Modern InstaBee: Deconstructed Rainbow String Circle

Not to go all Zen on you, but it has been said that a hand-drawn circle (Enso, in Japanese) is one of the most difficult things to draw. Traditionally, it is a symbol that comes out of a meditative state and results in the character of the creator being exposed. It is possible that I *may* have a tattoo of an Enso that I got way back in The Pearl district in Portland, Oregon before "The Pearl" was cool. I would like to alter the end of the first sentence in this paragraph to: is one of the most difficult things to draw or sew. Confession: The thought of this July InstaBee block stressed me out enough that I waited until July 31st to make it. Truth: It wasn't all that bad but it could have been.

I posted this picture on Instagram. The first person to comment originally thought I was making a pie. Then I wanted pie — strawberry rhubarb, to be specific. This is the sort of block that inspires fear and has a reputation. There may even be support groups for it. Here's what worked for me: freezer paper, glue stick, a lot of Best Press, nearly all the pins in my pincushion and Clover Wonder Clips. I used my 1/4" foot and proceeded slowly, stopping every four or five stitches to adjust, smooth wrinkles that were forming and adjust pins. Also, I realized that it is easier to remove freezer paper when it's slightly damp; I didn't tear any stitches.

I think the second photo is fairly revealing about my character, right down to the ink spot on my cutting mat. The process is the important part, yes? Buddhist monks strive to draw perfect Ensos, yet it is not expected that they succeed. Is it because perfection does not reveal character? This seems like a good mindset to keep while quilting!

  

        

July's Harmony Circle Blocks: Foundation Pieced Strips

For July's do. Good Stitches blocks for Harmony Circle, Jemellia chose to do black and white strip pieced blocks based on this tutorial. Sewing to a blank piece of paper didn't feel quite right to me, so I added lines.

I trimmed a piece of Carol Doak's 8.5 x 11" Foundation Paper to an 8.5" square and used small pieces of masking tape to affix it to the grid on my cutting mat. Our strips were to be between .75" and 3" so I randomly spaced the lines. 

The only other 'rule' was that the center strip had to be black. I wrote B's and W's on the paper so I'd know where to start, cut a bunch of black and white fabric strips and had fun putting these blocks together quickly.

These would be fun to with colored strips, too. Annabel suggested. . . wait for it. . . purple. I'm wondering how red and white would look, or maybe Scandinavian-inspired Christmas colors like the ones I used for this bird ornament.

I need to rip the paper off and get these in the mail. There's only one more deadline to meet this month and then I can start on my August to-do list!

  

        

Tutorial: Melon Slice Pillow with Printable Coloring Sheet

Meet Melon Slice! I love tangerine and lime together, and this 20" quilted pillow has a subtle plus pattern in the Half Square Triangles. The design can be repeated to make a 40", 60" or 80" square quilt. Or, you could use smaller HSTs and customize it as you like. I've also put together a printable coloring sheet that can be used to design your own pillow! Please visit the Sizzix blog here for the full tutorial and coloring page. 

I use Pellon® Fusible Fleece in all my patchwork pillows. It's easy to fuse and quilt, it stabilizes the patchwork, and it creates a pillow with some nice weight to it. 

I hope you like the tutorial, and have fun coloring!

  

        

Christmas in July Blog Hop: Bird Ornament Tutorial

Hi and welcome to my stop on the Christmas in July Blog Hop hosted by Deby at So Sew Easy! It felt a bit funny to be making a Christmas ornament while wearing shorts here in New Hampshire, but once I started, I got into it and plan on doing this more often. I have a tutorial for you on how to make this holiday bird ornament. 

Materials:

Sizzix Fabi and cutting pads
Sizzix BigZ die Bird with Wings #2
Sizix BigZ die Borders & Hydrangeas
Fat quarter of neutral-colored fabric
Scraps of felt in two shades of green 
Six red beads (I used carnelian from my jewelry-making supplies)
10" of twine or ribbon
Small wad of stuffing (I used bamboo stuffing as it's soft with some weight to it)
Fabri-Tac or other fabric glue
Sewing machine and related supplies

Let's get started! Cut one piece of fabric the twice the size as the bird die, so that when you fold it in half it covers the die twice. Or, if you use two pieces of fabric, make sure they are either wrong or right sides facing so that you wind up with both sides of the bird. Make a Sizzix sandwich — cutting pad, die blade side up, fabric and second cutting pad. Crank it through the Fabi. 

With two scraps leftover from the first pass, die cut an additional pair of wings. There will be two bird pieces and four wings (only two wings are pictured).

Right sides facing, pin the two pieces of the bird together. With 1/8" seam allowance (or as small as you're comfortable), sew around the bird leaving an opening of roughly 1.5" on the bottom. As you're sewing so close to the edge, it's helpful to decrease your stitch length a few clicks. Set aside.

Create the same sandwich as before, but with the hydrangea die and green felt. You'll only be using the smallest of the petal shapes on the die so it's not necessary for the felt to cover the entire die. 

You only need to die cut six of the smallest petal shapes — two light green small petals and four dark green. I cut too many, above, but will save the others for another project. Set aside.

Wrong sides facing, create two pairs of wings. With thread that's a similar color to the fabric, sew around the perimeter of the wing twice. On the second pass, try to stitch close to the first line but not directly on it. Set aside. 

Turn the body of the bird right side out and press, making sure to tuck the edges of the opening in as you go. Now is a good time to insert the hanging loop. I used a piece of glittery twine. Tie a knot on one end and with a large-eyed needle, draw the twine through the top of the bird's back from the inside. Insert the needle back down into the bird and tie a knot at the end of the twine. Pull taught from above. I happen to have a pair of hemostats that are helpful when inserting stuffing into small spaces, however, they're not essential. Fill the bird until it's 3-D but not round. Blind stitch the opening shut. Set aside.

Using a fine needle, hand sew the red beads around the hole in one of the light green petal shapes so that they cover the hole and are centered. Repeat with the other light green petal shape and the remaining three red beads.

Take the four dark green petals and carefully trim off the tops and bottoms so they resemble the picture, above. Using the Fabri-Tac or fabric glue, adhere two of the dark green shapes to one side of the bird's neck and two to the other side so that it resembles a collar. Glue the light green pieces with red beads on top of where the dark green felt meets in the middle of the side of the neck. Finally, glue the wings on either side of the bird; I made mine slightly askew so that both wings can be seen at once. Ta da! Your bird is ready to hang!

The fabric for the bird and the red hearts in the intro picture are from the new Scandi Christmas line from The Henley Studio, available here at Hawthorne Threads. As always, please feel free to use my discount code for 10% off your purchase at Sizzix: SZ2B. Click through the link on my sidebar. 

This is the large, felt Christmas tree that Deby made to kick off the blog hop! Please visit her site here for the tutorial. 

Here are the other stops on today's part of the tour: 

The TipToe Fairy

The Inspired Wren

Shiny Happy World

Leigh Laurel Studios (you are here!)

The Stitching Scientist

Make It Handmade  

For all the projects and other stops on the tour please visit Deby at So Sew Easy!

 

If you'd like to see some of my other tutorials, including Christmas ormanents, they can be found in my tutorials section. 

Thanks for stopping by! Do you do Christmas in July? 

  

        

Leather and Czech Crystal Bracelets & a Sizzix Giveaway!

Hi and welcome to my stop on the Sizzix Marisa Pawelko Modern Surrealist Blog Hop! We were sent these funky little purse-shaped die-cutting machines called the SophistiCut, and I used the Fashion Cuff die to make leather and Czech crystal bracelets with ribbon closures. There are a lot of photos because I made four bracelets, but I promise there's a tutorial!

 This brown one with ten crystal rivets is mine. It was so fun working with leather!

This vintage ice blue ribbon had been my grandmother's; I've been saving it for the right occasion. 

This one is for my daughter, Annabel, who will be turning five in a few months. 

I wanted her to be able to put it on herself, so I altered the design a little. I used thin sparkly elastic tied through the loops and then I double knotted the bow around the elastic. She can easily take it off and on because it's stretchy, and the bow never has to be retied.

The rough tan leather contrasts with the chocolate-colored satin ribbon and topaz crystal rivets. It goes nicely with the worn jeans that I live in.

I chose a wide ribbon, but a narrower one can be used for less bulk.

 

This thin craft leather works well with the SophistiCut. For a greater range of colors, pleather can also be used, and it is widely available at fabric stores. I like the zebra printed leather, but there is a zebra print overlay die that is available from Sizzix here and is made to work with the Fashion Cuff die.

Materials:

Sizzix SophistiCut
Sizzix Fabric Cuff die
Sizzix Tim Holtz Tattered Florals BigZ die (or other small flower die)*
Thin craft leather (the leather shown here is from Michael's)
Rhinestone Swarovski crystal rivets
Leather hole punch, in a size that works with the rivets (I used 3/16" punch with 5/32"rivets)
Crystal rivet setting kit
Hammer
1" ribbon crimps, two per bracelet
20" of satin ribbon
Dritz Fray Check 

*This die needs to be used with a Sizzix Big Shot

There are two bracelet dies in this collection — the other one creates a braid and is called the Magic Bracelet. For either die, cut a strip of leather the same size as the die, or at least large enough to cover the blades. 

Create the Sizzix sandwich. Cutting pad, die blade side up, leather and cutting pad on top. The cutting pads are always the 'bread' in the sandwich. 

Crank the handle and the sandwich goes through and die cuts the leather.

Decide on a design for the rivets. Create holes using the leather hole punch. Note: The two smaller holes on either end of the bracelet are part of the die cut and can be used to lace something through for the closure. Using the crystal rivet tools with a hammer, add all the rivets. 

For the bracelets with the flowers, arrange them first to make sure of the design. 

Punch holes in the center of the leather flowers. Place the flowers back on the leather bracelet and mark where the center is. Punch holes in the bracelet. 

Add the rivets to secure the flowers to the bracelet. It takes several hard taps with the hammer and rivet tool. To add the 1" ribbon crimps to the sides, I use the handle of a rubber-handled screwdriver and press down firmly to close the crimps, just as I did in my key fob/wristlet tutorial. 

The bracelets are ready for the ribbons!

Put the ribbon through the ribbon crimps as shown. It might be a tight fit and the ribbon will likely fray a bit at the ends. Tighten around your wrist so it's comfortable and tie a bow. Once you have it sized to fit, trim the ends of the ribbon at an angle. After the ribbon is cut to the desired length, be sure to use Fray Check on the ends. Allow the Fray Check to dry.

The ribbons allow the bracelets to be tied to fit any wrist, and they're kinda fun.  

Thanks so much for visiting! Please check the other blogs who are participating in this hop; there are some amazing projects:

Margot Potter @margotpotter

Jonathan Fong @jonathanfongstyle

Hilary Kanwischer @hilaryscraps

Anna-Karin Evaldsson @layersofink

Tami Mayberry @tamimayberry

Karin Jordan @leighlaurelstudios (you are here!)

Laura Russell @makelifelovely

Jennifer Priest @hydrangeahippo

Tiffany Johnson @iheartart

 Tanner Bell @alittlecraftinyourday

Courtney Chambers @alittlecraftinyourday

Kathy Cano-Murillo @craftychica

Jade Harrington @jaderbomb

  

For this Sizzix Blog Hop featuring the Marisa Pawelko line of Sizzix products, The Modern Surrealist, Sizzix will ALSO be giving away this prize package with a retail value of over $150! It includes these phenomenal items: Sizzix SophistiCut Machine, Trucker Cap Mini Card, Big City, Fashion Cuff, Cheetah Overlay, Lush Lips, Sunglasses.

Click here to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win these fabulous Sizzix products. They are super fun to use. Good luck!!

  

        

Round Two Supernova Snafu: Decisions, Decisions

I don't always get it right on the first try. This is the second version of my July Supernova Swap block. I was so excited to get to the second round that I chose the fabric, cut enough for both blocks and happily sewed the first one together. I liked the result. I started assembling the second block and left it for the night. When I went up to look at my design wall in the morning I said, Gah! So much yellow!

This is the so much yellow one. It's a perfectly decent block, but it's lacking something. I panicked. Even though I'd already started putting it together, I could still add a sixth fabric to the second block and send that one to Jess. After auditioning a surprising amount of my fabric stash, I swapped out four squares of Rendezvous in Gold for four squares of Odds & Ends Junk Drawer in Rosebud that I've been hoarding. Crisis averted!

The trouble is that now I'm attached to the extra pop of color. I've already cut new fabric and plan on taking the first block apart and altering it. It might be a little nutty to mess with a block that's already completed, however, I have a feeling that this is going to be a go-to quilt once it's finished and I want it done right. 

Have you ever taken a block apart to add or change fabric? 

  

        

 

Tutorial: Quilted Cotton iPad Sleeve

Hi, and welcome to my stop on the Riley Blake Designs Quilted Cotton Blog Tour! I have a tutorial for an easy-sew gadget cover with French seams. I made a sleeve for an iPad, however, this tutorial can easily be adapted to fit a Kindle, Nook or even laptop. The quilted cottons are super soft, and there is a variety of fun prints to choose from. 

Materials: 

1/2 yard Riley Blake Quilted Cotton (available here at Hawthorne Threads)
1 1/2" strip of  3/4" Velcro®
Clover Wonder Clips, chalk pencil (or other marking tool) and related sewing supplies

Place your device on the quilted cotton. Mark a generous inch on each side and also on the bottom. Mark 2 1/2" at the top. Cut two pieces using your marks as guides. Pictured is an iPad with Belkin keyboard case, which makes it slightly thicker than the iPad alone. I'm going for a snug fit. If you prefer a loose fit, add more space around the edges.

Lay one rectangle face up on a flat surface. Fold the top down and then fold it over again. Make sure the fold is wider than your piece of Velcro®. Use pins or Clover Wonder Clips to secure the fold; the more the merrier!

Flip the piece over. Remove the middle clip. Center the Velcro@ and trace it with the chalk pencil. Be careful to ensure the Velcro® is entirely on top of the fold.

Remove the clips and lay the two pieces of quilted cotton flat, side by side. Measure the location of the Velcro® that is already outlined and find the same spot on the second piece of quilted cotton. Trace and pin both pieces of Velcro® in place. 

Once the Velcro® is pinned in place, place the two rectangles together to double check that the Velcro® meets as it should. Adjust as necessary.

Stitch around the edge of the Velcro®. Repeat for other side.

You now have the two sides of the gadget sleeve ready to assemble.  

Place both pieces right side up, side by side. Fold the tops down and fold again, just as you did at the beginning. Make sure the seams on the reverse side of the Velcro® are covered by the folds. By doing this process side by side, you can ensure that they're the same height and that the folds are identical. Clip in place with Wonder Clips. Removing the clips as you go, carefully sew along the bottom edge of the fold, as close to the edge as you're comfortable. I used my walking foot, which made it easier to achieve a straighter line with a more regular stitch length. 

Time for the French seam! Put the rectangles together as shown, with the insides of the sleeve facing. If you've never tried a French seam before, this is the part where you question my sanity. Pin the two pieces together and with a scant 1/4" seam, sew around the two sides and the bottom. Clip the corners. It's also helpful to trim a bit off the edges of the fold at the top to reduce bulk.

Turn the sleeve right side out, poking the corners as you go. Now it's time to check the fit. Insert the gadget halfway into the sleeve Pin or feel with your fingers to assess how much room you have on either side. Remember that the bulky seam will be on the inside of the case, so don't make it too snug. 

Make the sleeve as flat as possible, and pin to avoid shifting while sewing the final seam. Sew around the two sides and the bottom with a slightly greater than 1/4" seam allowance, making sure to sew just to the inside of the bulky seam. 

 

Turn it right side out and it's ready to use! I promised a laptop or iPad tutorial a while back in this post. My husband finally got his new iPad. I've replaced the interior binding method with the French seam, and added the Velcro® at the top. If you forego the Velcro® this case can be reversible!

Thanks so much for visiting. Please take a moment to visit the other stops on the Quilted Cotton tour; there are some wonderful tutorials!

 

6/5 – Jedi Craft Girl

6/10 – Nancy Zieman

6/12 – The Sassy Quilter

6/17 – Just Let Me Quilt

6/19 – Simple Simon & Co.

6/24 – Haberdashery Fun

6/26 – Sew We Quilt

7/1 – Jina Barney Designz

7/3 – Leigh Laurel Studios

7/8 – Riley Blake Designs