Winners: Curved Seams Challenge!

We spent the month of January working on projects that include curved flat seams.  And we spent the month of February voting on our favorite projects.  Please visit the voting page and check out the finished projects. You'll see that choosing a favorite was very difficult considering the high quality of the entries.

I'd like to take a minute to thank all the participants who make these challenges so darn fun.  Everyone has always been such a good sport and so open to new concepts and techniques.  Everyone has been so forgiving of my screw-ups and patient when I'm not able to stay right on top of things.  You all inspire me so much and make this whole sewing/blogging experience more rewarding than I ever imagined.

Thank you!!!!

Without further ado, let's hear a round of applause for the entry that received the most votes:

Pam from Threading My Way made a dress featuring  wavy curved seams in the skirt.
She blogged about it HERE.
Congrats on winning the gold badge.
Your bragging rights are fully instated! 

<div align="center"> <a href="http://ricochetandaway.blogspot.com/2013/02/winners-curved-seams-challenge.html" title="Congrats on winning the GOLD!"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomg9IbQmLnJoZBbSHQxHNuQZA1CwjbuaK1IdKb6QD2LN3gR2KyCSMrJmTC66Rd4m6GF0bdZp6zMR_WBzl7nX5BFJAStKdSTNRNRi_8GrwN8vack8uZMDiWiNFcfNw8k-mFz2zfBAVH1s/s1600/gold.jpg" alt="Congrats on winning the GOLD!" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

The silver badge goes to:

Fiona from Celtic Thistle Stitches completed a two-sided tablecloth.
I attempted to brighten/lighten this photo, so the colors aren't true--apologies!
See the original photos in Fiona's blog post HERE.
Congrats on winning the silver badge.
Feel free to brag away!

<div align="center"> <a href="http://ricochetandaway.blogspot.com/2013/02/winners-curved-seams-challenge.html" title="Congrats on winning the SILVER!"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfLCfYMm2Hz_916ydRnbpbnTWssd46OE7YmtzKDr1mB2LTQzPSQ9cqUZMZ_nz0QcDPC-xKIPMrV29ryci41nCGVsEneTUZ5dcyvAgExwzRED3Rgrog6w_5vtcxm2VwTvbzTwwRO52V6Lo/s1600/bluebuttonsilver+winner.jpg" alt="Congrats on winning the SILVER!" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

And our bronze badge goes to:

Caroline at Artfully Caroline was able to finish 2 curved seams projects.  She blogged about them HERE.
The first project was this pretty pillow using the drunkard's path quilt block.  
Congrats on winning the bronze badge.
Bragging rights are yours!

<div align="center"> <a href="http://ricochetandaway.blogspot.com/2013/02/winners-curved-seams-challenge.html" title="Congrats on winning the BRONZE!"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxudKjvkPOO1YdgKZwycTLpzNUePGfv2sXAnjFNZIQ9vAMphXOWpw9qCEZNG0ilpmVlgOKoakJ9ozasd-_sRQuJzGzXdBZ0XGph1K3ZX4ofUqt3dy5ws8OQ46TqDpoOsy_dzq-rxNHVmk/s1600/bluebuttonbronze+winner.jpg" alt="Congrats on winning the BRONZE!" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

If you're interested in honing your sewing skills, meeting crafty folks from all over the world, and/or trying sewing new, please consider joining March's challenge:

Happy crafting big hugs from Montana,

Before you click away, I'd like to invite you to join in my current sewing/craft challenge.  

Mini Tudor Rose

It's been too long since I've posted!  Truth be told, I've been looking for a job (besides wifing and momming and blogging) pretty diligently since the beginning of the year.  I am pretty picky about when and where I work, so it has been a tedious and time-consuming process.  I managed to get a position in the school system as a paraeducator substitute which I'm fairly pleased with.  I'm hoping for a permanent para position in the future.  I'm on call starting this week, and I'm so excited to try something in the "outside world".

I've haven't been sewing much, but I did find the time to create this little girl's handbag.  I got a special request for mother daughter matching Tudor rose purses and couldn't pass it up.  The mother's version is going to be a bit more chic with a zebra print paired with the red velvet.

If you're interested, I have several posts about this Tudor rose pattern which you can find under the tag "tudor rose" in the side bar.  Or you can go directly to my tutorial HERE.

I deviated from the original design by omitting the inner leaves and adding some heart-shaped quilting to the inner petals.  The center is created with canadian smocking.  I've finally used that particular method of smocking enough that I don't have to refer to the instructions any longer!

I made the flower and the front and back of the bag first.  Next, I stitched the flower to the front.  Then, I stitched together the front and back panel, right sides together.  Last, I finished the seams with bias tape.

The back and lining are just plain jane simple, but with all the fuss and muss of the rose, I didn't want to overly tax myself!

What have you been sewing lately?

Happy crafting and big hugs from Montana,

Before you click away, I'd like to invite you to join in my current sewing/craft challenge.  

Fancy Feet Sewing Challenge: March 2013

March's challenge is all about those tricky sewing machine feet that sit in our sewing boxes and never get used.  Come on, you know you're guilty!  Every machine comes with a variety of feet, but few sewists do anything more than switch between the zig-zag and zipper feet.  Here's your chance!

[source]
Check out this Bad-boy!
A Ruffler Foot

[source]
This one has a lovely conch shell spiral!
Binder Foot

[source]
Looks like a FMQ foot, right?
Wrong!
Open Toe Darning Foot

Dr. Suess's Foot Book comes to mind while I'm writing this post.  My, what a lot of funny feet there are!

Hello and welcome to the Fancy Feet Sewing Challenge!  This sewing challenge is open to everyone whether you publish a blog or not.  This will be the 10th sewing challenge I've hosted.  The first 4 challenges were co-hosted with Keren from sew la vie!  Keren and I began these sewing events with the purpose of creating a collective learning experience for a group of kindred spirits.  We wanted the challenges to be about inspiration and improvement of sewing skills rather than a competition.  Those ideals hold true today.

You'll probably enjoy these challenges if you can answer yes to a few of these questions:

Does the theme of the challenge appeal to you?

Do you have a free afternoon (or 2) during the month of the challenge?

Do you want to improve your sewing skills or expand your sewing knowledge?

Would you like to connect with other participants from all over the world?

Are you more apt to finish a project if you have a deadline?

Please read the simple challenge guidelines:

1. Choose a sewing machine foot that puts you out of your sewing comfort zone and learn how to use it.
2. Complete a small project utilizing said foot.  Don't shoot yourself in the foot (ha!) by choosing a difficult, time-consuming project.  Your challenge won't be met if you can't complete it by the deadline.
3. Photograph your project.  Bloggers submit their entry by writing a post about their experience.  Non-bloggers submit their entry by emailing me their photos and I'll post on their behalf.  
4. A just for fun poll will be conducted concerning the finished projects.  Winners of the poll with receive bragging rights and fancy blog badges.

Here's the challenge timeline:

• Now through March 31st.  All projects must be submitted.  That means bloggers will have posted and non-bloggers will have emailed me.
• April 1-30th.  Just-for-fun poll takes place.
• Mid April.  A new challenge for May will be announced.
• The beginning of May.  Poll winners announced and bragging rights established.

Visit my FAQ page HERE.

Grab a button and spread the word!

<div align="center"> <a href="http://ricochetandaway.blogspot.com/2013/02/fancy-feet-sewing-challenge-march-2013.html" title="Visit Fancy Feet Homepage"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGSY8ja03O5_v15Ftx3AvKOxgVeZYJSYpi5OjXmsbMsT1fhx93gJ_KS7dzB4u5uEs7MXflHNvlLJnCdKnR7M5AP2f9QGSiU0wL_YYkABYkmWhyj2KyQVymcp-qZc2SgmO4cp2tPv5OX9E/s1600/63502665bbutton.jpg" alt="Visit Fancy Feet Homepage" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

I like to make a Pinterest inspiration board for every challenge.

All the challenge participants can be added as contributors.  

It's an easy way to share links, techniques, and ideas.

March's challenge board:

Fancy Seams Sewing Challenge

Previous challenge pinboards:

Curved Seams Challenge

Ring You Neck Inspiration Motherboard!

Fab Folds Sewing Challenge

2-in-1 Sewing Challenge

Garment Sewing Challenge

Solids-Only Tote Challenge

Naughty Notions Challenge

Typography Challenge

Be sure to scroll through and answer all the questions:

Happy crafting and big hugs from Montana,

Before you click away, I'd like to invite you to join in my current sewing/craft challenge.  

Knee Patches for Girls!

Sometimes my mama-plans backfire on me.  I purchased several pairs of jeans for my first grade daughter last fall.  My mama-brain told me to buy the larger size so they would last the entire school year.  Here we are in February, 6 months after purchasing the jeans and they are just now starting to fit her!  And of course she has 3 pairs with holes in the knees!  In 3 months my daughter will only want to wear capris and skirts to school.  After that, it's shorts and bathing suits all summer.  In an effort to avoid buying new jeans, I decided it was time for some patchwork magic.

I posted about the painted patches
I made for my son's jeans HERE.

 Like I did with my son's jeans, I used an iron-on denim patch to cover the hole.  I've never had any luck with the iron-on patches staying in place without some extra stitching to secure them down.  I find it easiest to open up the side seam near the hole so I can machine sew the patch.  I find little kids' pant legs just too narrow to maneuver through my sewing machine so I make the opening in the side seam large enough to slide over my sewing machine base.  Here's what the first set of patches looked like: 

After securing the patch, I used a stencil and an Sharpie marker
to trace the butterfly over the patch.  I used some acrylic craft
paint to fill in the stencil, and then touched up the edges with
Sharpie once again.  You see from the photo that the paint has
a glittery shimmer.  I think it's very girly!  This photo was taken
after one machine washing.  The paint and marker hold up really well.

And here's what the second pair of patches looked like:

Using the same method, this time I used 3 various shaped stars.
I didn't have patches to match the color of the jeans.  By extending
the stenciled designs beyond the edges of the actual patch, your
eye first picks up the stars and butterflies and not the patches.

 I haven't started the 3rd pair yet, but have plans for some pink bows on the knees of those.

How about you all?  What's your experience with iron-on patches?  How much mending of clothes do you do?  Would you send your kid to school with patched jeans?

Happy crafting and big hugs from Montana,

Before you click away, I'd like to invite you to join in my current sewing/craft challenge.