floral arranging: week three

wax flower, sage and forget-me-not







wax flower and lily-of-the-valley

This week in floral arranging the lesson is about making a floral head wreath. I wanted a white palate and chose wax flower and lily of the valley. Though I do like this it did not turn out airy or wispy. This was due to the fact that my mini bouquets were a bit dense and I was missing one type of flower that would give it this quality. In retrospect, I think a little bit of greenery may have worked here.

I made a second one. Since I was not finding what I wanted at the market I decided to take a closer look around the yard. I still had some wax flower and decided to pair this with forget-me-not and sage which had flowered. I like the result and the forget-me-not does help achieve the look I was after.

I will continue experimenting with crowns over the summer. I bought extra supplies and there are so many flowers I'd like to try out.

martha stewart handbag

The June 2013 issue of Martha Stewart Living included three templates for handbags which was the little nudge I needed to get around to using some purse handles I had in my craft room.

I made a lining which it didn't call for but I thought necessary so that it would be sturdy enough for my keys, wallet, lipstick and various other bits that wind up in my bag. The fabric is a small cut I have been holding onto of Echino fabric and I lined it with black linen.

The article in the magazine showcases a few varieties of handles though the ones I have were not in there so these are sewn on with button thread. My handles are U shaped and had openings on either side and the handles used in the article are the type you would slide the fabric through or loop it over. It would be a nice idea to make up a bunch of these as gifts.

There is another sewing idea in this issue that utilizes linen tea towels to construct little girl clothing and toys. I have two perfect Irish linen tea towels that I have been wanting to turn into clothing for a few years now. In the article the dresses look so cute.

Wild English Arrangement

Week 2 of of Floral Arranging 101 has been quite an adventure. This lesson is about a wild English Arrangement. In this type of design a round container is used with at least a 5" diameter. A floral frog and tape are also used to help distribute and arrange the stems. Two main flower varieties, filler flowers and a vining flower are the types of flowers here as well as greenery. The shape of the arrangement is asymmetrical. I wished I had a lower urn shaped container to fan it out a little better.

The flower recipe I used for my arrangement:

Peonies
Scabiosa
Goldenrod
Lilac
Larkspur
Greenery- Rose Leaves and blackberry leaves (taken from the front yard)


I have some plants growing in the yard that would have been perfect here but, they have not bloomed yet. At least now when they do show up I will know how to make this type of arrangement and be able to continue testing out this technique.

Hope these blossoms brighten your day. My house is really filling up with flowers. I have a cup of lily of the valley by my bedside that smells and looks amazing.

Ah, Spring...

hand tied bouquet

This month I am taking part in Chelsea Fuss's Floral Arranging 101 online course through Nicole's Classes. There are some technical issues with the app (some of the text and links are missing) but, after some struggling (clicking blindly) I did manage to get to the course and view the videos. We have not determined the reason why (the app and my mac compatibility?) but, please don't let this deter anyone from the school.

The first lesson was about conditioning flowers, tools and learning to make a hand tied bouquet. I learned how to arrange in a circular fashion with a variety of flowers, when to mix in greens and having a nice balance. I think each flower pops and works well together in the bouquet I made.

The recipe I used was:

geum (the orange, which I had in my yard)
pink hyacinth
white and red ranunculus
tiny daisies or chamomile? (this was part of a mixed bouquet I picked up and it didn't specify the variety)
greenery (from my yard, again I am not sure of the type as it was planted by previous owners)

I emailed my homework which was this bouquet and a aqua pack since I can't access the galleries and am looking forward to the feedback. I also want to make another one really soon!

Hope all you Mom's have a lovely Mother's Day tomorrow.

double gauze quilt top

A finished quilt top in a square/plus sign pattern. All Nani Iro (because I love her designs) in double gauze fabric. These patterns and colors came together nicely. Sewing this was a bit fiddly since piecework with double gauze can be a little challenging. I am debating how to finish this and am leaning towards hand quilting or tying because I don't see it going smoothly through the machine. Unless I use a longer stitch? If I hand quilt it I am not sure of the pattern so perhaps tying would be better Ugh, I don't know. Maybe I will sleep on it. Ha! That's sort of funny.

sewing for baby

I mentioned I have a new nephew a few posts ago and this past weekend I got to meet him. There is nothing that one can compare to holding a new baby, is there? It was amazing! I haven't done much sewing for babies in awhile and so it was fun to make some simple projects. I decided some bibs would be useful and used this pattern. I chose a variety of fabric scraps I had on hand - Liberty, Kokka and Denyse Schmidt and backed them with organic cotton fleece. I also wanted to make a toy. My children love their baby oobee's I made them a few years back when I won the pattern from Leslie and so it seemed like a good idea to make one for Owen as well which includes the quilt, blanket, pillow and drawstring bag to carry it in. A appliqué onesie is always useful and I paired it with a organic cotton jersey pants that were a breeze to sew up. I could easily get carried away making things for him.

drop cloth stitch sampler

I finally finished my Stitch Sampler 2010 by Rebecca Rinquist. This is the second sampler I have done from her designs, the other being Cake. I would love to get a subscription for the 12 month Stitch Sampler but, I am more likely to buy a single for my next one and am trying to decide which to chose. I am leaning towards the Love Embroidery Sampler. Samplers are fun to learn on and there are many stitches I am still mastering and many more to learn. My great grandmother did beautiful embroidery and her stitches inspire me whenever I pull out something she made. Sashiko embroidery is also a favorite of mine. It's a really nice alternative to knitting for something portable and relaxing.