Category: Sewing

Crafts & DIY · My Hallmark Obsession · Sewing

Fill The Truck: Felt Shamrocks

ladybeezdesigns1 Comment

Last year as I was perusing down the Christmas clearance aisles….I came upon this beautiful vintage red truck that screamed out to my Hallmark heart!  I believe it was filled with a “sack of hot cocoa” when I bought it.

Now, normally, I take after-season-clearance deals and pack them away with my like-seasonal decor so that when the holiday rolls around again I get surprised by new things!  It’s like buying yourself a gift that you can still be surprised by!  (can you tell I don’t receive many gifts from other people very often?)

Well, since my Hallmark LOVE cannot not be contained to the Christmas season….this truck is part of my home decor all year round.

So, I need it to “haul” things for different seasons/holidays.

For MARCH….I needed: Shamrocks, of course!

I tried a few different projects, but couldn’t find one I liked more than these quick felt Shamrocks.

I was going to do a tutorial, but Lauren over at Molly and Mama did such a fantastic job, you can head over there if you need the step by step.

I did have take a few of my “ugly” first drafts and add buttons to the center to clean them up a bit…

And now, my Hallmark Truck is ALL READY for March!

(P.S. Hallmark’s Spring Fever movies start premiering on the 29th this year if you’re wondering)

What did you say?  You don’t have a truck like this to fill?   ….and you are looking for one to add to your decor

Well, you’re in LUCK!  I took the liberty of “shopping” for ya 😉  You know…just in case…even found you a few color options 😉 You’re welcome! SHOP HERE

Sewing

Temperature Quilt 2020: February

ladybeezdesignsLeave a comment

This is NOT solely a quilting blog. I promise.

It’s just what I happen to be working on right now, so that’s what you’re getting 2 days in row. To keep it real, I have to make sure I hold myself accountable to this project because it could very easily fall to the wayside if I don’t make sure I stay on schedule.

Quick shout out to my girl Becky for inspiring me to take on a Temperature Quilt. She’s an amazing crocheter, and she’s been making Temperature blankets (and other creative projects) for years. Every time I see her beautiful color gradients, I am in awe. Colorful things just make me happy. Not sure what made me think I should start a project of this caliber of my own….but since when did I have a good excuse to start any project? AmIright????

I know you’re all like….”get to the pretties already!” but……

Since I hadn’t blogged about it back in January, I thought I might get a base-post up for ya.

I’m not a crocheter OR knitter….and I’M NOT STARTING, so don’t ask. I’ve tried. I’m sure if I stuck it out, I’d be hooked, but I certainly don’t need another craft in my life. I enjoy giving my business to those folks that are passionate about it, and I’ll stick to sewing. So, I needed to figure out a way to quilt this blanket. After much consideration, I wanted to try something new to me anyway (SEE!!!! I need to be watched carefully, people!….) I wanted it to be portable because if I’m going to add to this daily, I can’t always be at my sewing machine.

Enter: Paper Piecing & the Hexie Quilt

I know, it’s not new. It is, however, NEW to ME! (at least it was on January 1st, 2020 when I started this madness)

Then, I just needed a plan. I came up with this as my Color Palate.

LadyBeez Designs Temperature Quilt Legend

I also decided instead of doing the high temperature for the day…or even the average….I wanted to do 2 a day and record both the HIGH temp and the LOW temp. So everyday is represented by 2 hexies.

I found out that if I ever do this again, I will adjust the color scheme a little bit….but I guess it truly just depends on the weather, right? I thought I’d have more blue in these winter months….but there’s a whole LOT of green.

As a reminder (and for those of you who don’t follow me on Instagram or Facebook…seriously, what’s wrong with you?) Here was the quilt at the end of January 2020. As I said then, notably, we only had 2 days that reached below zero. That was crazy to me! Us Wisconsin folk are a hardy breed and used to some cold winters.

January 2020 Temperature Quilt

So, now let’s see what happened in February, shall we?

February 2020 Temperature Quilt

A little bit BLUER for sure…

We even dipped down to -12 degrees (see the navy hexie) I believe the windchill was -27 that day…Happy Valentine’s Day to Us! Hope you all SNUGGLED UP!

Two months down, 10 to go! I’m counting on you to keep me accountable!

And…not to point out the things that I will not change/fix no matter how much they are driving me nuts…like these two hexies that ended up next to each other. 😡

Sewing

School Pride Serpa Fleece Quilt

ladybeezdesignsLeave a comment

This was such a cool project to undertake!

I’ve made a hand-full of quilts before, but this one was special in more ways than one. First of all, this school of ours is such an amazing place…not only do we send 3 of our children here, but MY siblings and I went to school here from Kindergarten to 8th grade. The church, it’s people, are our family. Many members that I see on the regular have watched me grow up…they witnessed all the struggles and triumphs of our family, from my infancy to our marriage and births of our own children. They’ve surrounded us with love and prayers in our darkest hours and our brightest shining moments.

Oh man, see? This place and these people have my whole heart!

So when an announcement was made that we were going to have an event with a silent auction that needed items to be donated, I knew I needed to make something very special. This idea started with our recently new designed logos. I knew I could always upcycle some shirts like I had in the past to make clothing….but you see, I needed something that would appeal to the masses (and clothing sizes and styles can be limiting) Eventually, I landed on a quilt.

But how could I make this one of a kind? I set out to design the fabric! Once I started, it was hard to stop. I had to limit myself to a few designs…or time (and my budget) would get out of control! Here are the 3 I had printed…I made some of my Reusable Snack Bags to go along with the the basket.

As for the quilt itself, I didn’t want to get too intricate and needed to show off these prints….so a simple block quilt it was.

My favorite part though is the trim & back! I could piece together quilt tops all day….but when it comes to quilting and binding…. meh….. not my fave. I found this super quick tutorial from one of my favorite craft bloggers from way back in the day (of course, she never stopped blogging and is now wildly successful) …. ANNNYYYYYWHO, I love the look of quilts, but I am a soft and comfy blanket girl ALL THE WAY. This backing trick gives you the best of both worlds!

So folks, there you have it. My SCHOOL SPIRIT SHERPA FLEECE QUILT!

And for those of you who are attending our school Gala Fundraiser, crack open those piggy banks and get those auction bidding funds ready!

Sewing

Sewing My Stash Off, Week 3: Letter M

ladybeezdesignsLeave a comment

It’s only week 3, and I’m already breaking my own rules.

I’m not going to lie, this gave me great anxiety all week, and I almost printed a letter C pattern Thursday morning because I thought I was letting myself down….failing at my goals….letting my people down…..and then I realized

I made up this weird challenge…and I’m the only one participating….so who would know the difference? Me. Obviously (insert eye roll emoji)

I am, however, powering through. I keep telling myself it’s fine. I figure if I say that enough, by next week, I’ll believe it. (harder eye roll emoji)

Anywhoodle, the reason M follows B in the little alphabetical challenge I’m playing is I joined a Sew-A-Long this week….and I think you’ll enjoy the results.

The Pattern is named Mattia. (From CKC Patterns who also hosts these fun SAL on Facebook)

This pattern is available in Girls….Babies….Tweens…Women….and wait for it…..

Dolls!!!!

Oh my goodness! Look at the cuteness of these Dolly and Me sets I made.

I didn’t break any other rule…these were all out of my Stash fabrics….hence the creative color coordinates

And I will be listing them for sale as sets in my Winter Love Sale on Facebook….

Because it’s Wisconsin here….and it’s FREEZING…..I couldn’t think of a better use of some FLEECE!

The pattern features a cross body wrap look on front and back with an asymmetrical skirt (hi-lo)

And in case you were wondering….the twirl game is strong with this one!

And, I can’t forget to mention….the doll pattern is sized for 14″, 15″, and 18″ dolls!  Just so they are all included 😉

Do you know a little girl that needs a set? ❤️❤️

Sewing

Sewing My Stash Off, Week 2- Pattern Letter B: Belinda

ladybeezdesignsLeave a comment

I struggled a bit choosing the pattern this week. I have so many “B” named patterns but almost all of them are summer styles… and this Wisconsin girl is not feeling very summery this 2nd week of January 🥶

Remember my rules: only Stash fabric may be used to try out these “new to me” patterns

Well, I went waaay back….

If you know me I’m a crazy sentimental nut. I treasure memories and keepsakes to a fault. (Don’t even get me started on pictures) God blessed me with an amazing memory, and I love it…but it’s bittersweet too. I’m so grateful my memories are vivid though. They help me carry on so much happiness in my heart. Our time here on earth is so short.

Okay, so what in the world does this have to do with sewing my Stash Off?!?! Well, I’ll tell you: the pattern I used is Belinda’s Button Up Dress from CKC patterns ….and I immediately knew what I was going to do:

See that bottom piece? The button up skirt…. it’s my husband’s. 😍. It’s a shirt he wore ALL. THE. TIME. Before we were married ….I can still see him in it. At any rate, I’ve had a small pile of his shirts sitting in my sewing room to use in some way….and this was perfect!

Oh, and don’t think I left the boys out! I used the scraps to make a bow tie

Do you have a Daddy’s girl that would love to wear a dress made out of Daddy’s shirt? Or boys that could use a bow tie made from Daddy’s shirt? What about a special grandpa or uncle?

I wish I would have taken a picture of Georgia when I showed her this dress and explained why it was so special….she Lit up! Instead, I’ll leave you with this. She puppy -dog-eyed, pleaded to wear it to school immediately 😍