Lavender Season is here!

Lavender harvest is in full swing this month all across the country (even the world!). It is one of my favorite parts of summer. Fresh cut lavender smells so good and I just can’t get enough. This spring I even started my own lavender hedge around my greenhouse. I can’t wait until it grows in a bit and I have all the lavender I could ever ask for.

Lavender in my garden!

Not only does this wonderful herb smell so incredible, it is my go to cure for those pesky mosquito bites I get when I am out working in the garden in the evening. Just a dab of essential oil and they disappear! I also love having it next to my bed or on my pillow to help me drift off to sleep.

 

In honor of the Lavender season we wanted to share with you our Lavender Bliss: Project Booklet filled with projects that you can make using dried lavender. One of my favorites is this Hanger Cover. It helps protect my clothes while also bringing a bit of freshness to my closet. The booklet includes sachets, pincushions, spa essential and lots more.

Lavender Hanger Cover project included in the project booklet.

We are also excited to announce the arrival of a new lavender print fabric! This is the perfect print for all of those small projects and don’t you just love the color?

Our latest lavender fabric print in purple.

THIS WEEK ONLY! With each Lavender Bliss: Project Booklet ordered we will be including a FREE fat eighth of our latest lavender fabric. Begins 7/21/14 and ends 7/27/14. Visit our website at www.firetraildesigns.com or simply CLICK on the image below.

Lavender Bliss: Project Booklet

P.S. For those of you that don’t have a lavender farm near where you live, we have Dried Organic Lavender Florets on our website so that you don’t miss out! (Certified organic by the Washington State Department of Agriculture)

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Handmade Birthday Club: January

Happy Belated New Year!
And what a new year it has been… and it is only the first month.

A lot has been going on here, both for Firetrail Designs and for me personally. My life kind of got turn upside down at the start of the year, but here is to new beginnings! We have also been working like crazy to develop all kinds of new thing from Firetrail Designs. Although some of it won’t be released until late this year, we can’t wait to share it with you.

One thing I have been most looking forward to for 2014 is the Handmade Birthday Club I joined at the end of last year. Susannah Kate put together this amazing club of crafters- we are divided into groups of 12 and each month we make a handmade gift for someone’s birthday. Then, in our birthday month we get spoiled by our 11 group members with their handmade gifts.

The only bad part… I have to wait all the way until September for my turn. It is so much fun to learn about each person and come up with the perfect project for them. And it is not just limited to sewing, people are making jewelry, knitting, crocheting, stitching and so much more!

 

January Birthday Girls! In my group, we had 2 girls with January birthdays. That means I had 2 gifts to make this month, but then I have a month off later this year.

First, there is Jessica (@SameOldKits), she loves rich colors, spends most of her free time knitting and cross-stitching and loves having handmade things around to decorate her home. After doing a little cyber-stalking (Pinterest, Instagram, etc) I decided to make her a pouch for her Q-Snap frame and cross-stitching supplies.

I used the new Anna Maria Horner Dowry collection (I am in love!) and designed my own pattern. It turned out perfect… lots of pockets to store all her supplies. I like it so much I am going to make one for myself (cross-stitching is my new nightly obsession).

The perfect pouch to hold all of your cross-stitch project essentials.

Another view of the Cross-Stitch Pouch for Jessica. Love the deer pocket!

Then, there is Gwendellyn (@TheRainbowRevolts), and she is a PINK girl! Did I mention she loves pink? Oh and she is a new sewer so she was looking for supplies to fill her craft room. One of the projects I have been meaning to make for myself is a sewing machine apron, to help contain my ripper, scissors, ruler and other supplies I always have by the machine.

I thought this would be the perfect gift for Gwendellyn and her new hobby. The question was what fabric to use? Oh, how about pink! I used this pattern from Janae King and whipped up both the apron and matching pin cushion. I love how they turned out and best of all, the Birthday Girl did too.

Pink Sewing Machine Apron for Gwendellyn.

I am happy to say, both of my packages arrived safe and sound and both girls loved my gifts as well as all of the wonderful gifts they got from the rest of the group. They were spoiled… but I guess that is the point! Now to start preparing for February…

Michelle

P.S. Check out the other gifts that were made by the rest of the group by visiting our Flickr page.

 

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Selvage Shoes: Tutorial

This is a project that I have been planning for months, maybe even years!

I have been collecting selvages (or selvedges, whichever you like) over the past few years- in our studio there are separate bins for colored scraps and then one more for selvages. I have even caught myself wanting to buy a quilting fabric just for its AWESOME selvage (pathetic I know!).

The problem has been that I just haven’t found the right project to finally use any of them. And boy, it better be a good one if I have to break into that collection. These are selvages never to be seen again so the project must be RIGHT- you all know what I mean, it’s like cutting into that favorite piece of fabric that you will never find again. I even started a Pinterest board to remember the possible contenders…

Well, I finally decided on my first selvage project- Selvage covered shoes! It combines 2 of my favorites things FABRIC and SHOES, Oh my! I used the selvages that really meant the most to me- favorite colors or collections, special symbols and of course selvages from all of our own fabric collections so far.

I love how these shoes turned out and for the people who understand what they are, they do too. I do get some funny looks when I tell people what they are covered in and they have no idea what in the heck selvages are. If you ask me, they are the crazy ones not me!

Selvage Covered Shoes

Here is a short tutorial of how I put these works for art together!

Tutorial: Selvage Covered Shoes

Supplies-

-LOTS of Selvages!

-One Pair of Canvas shoes (I used TOMS, my favorites everyday shoes)- White works best since Selvages are mostly white.

-Mod Podge (or other decoupage medium)- I used Outdoor Mod Podge but I think Fabric Mod Podge would work too.

-Paint Brush

-Sharp Scissors

-A Surface you don’t mind getting a little messy- I put a bath towel down and then a bit of wax paper.

Supplies!

Instructions-

-Assemble your supplies and begin laying out the selvages how you would like them to appear. Think about combinations of colors and words. I tried to have a nice mix on mine. Not all the same thing and not all lined up.

-Look at how the shoe is constructed and try to work in layers. For my TOMS I love the how the canvas wraps around the toes and wanted to keep that. So I started on one side, worked my way around the back and then tackled the front.

-Start at the bottom edge, painting a bit of Mod Podge on the surface of the shoe. Lay the desired selvage over the top so it sticks and then paint more Mod Podge over the top to make sure it is stuck and to seal it in. Repeat these steps working your way up the side of the shoe, over lapping each row of selvages as you go.

Layering Selvages and Mod Podge.

-Just keep layering Mod Podge and selvages, over lapping when needed. You may also find that you want to trim a selvage a bit to get just the right combination of colors, patterns or words showing. I left to top edge blank until I got all the way around the back part of the shoe. When you are ready, use selvages that are a bit wider and adhere them to the top edge. Apply Mod Podge to the inside to edge as well and fold the selvage over, creating a nice finished edge.

Finishing the top edge.

-Once I had the back portion of the shoe completely covered I began working on the toe. I started with the “bottom” layer of the show construction, saving the toe wrap around for last. Each piece extended a bit into the portion to be covered later so that I for sure cover every bit of canvas.

-This project is forgiving in that the pieces don’t set immediately, if needed you can always reposition. The only thing you can’t take back is if you cut a piece- the old adage applies- measure twice, cut once. I would even apply the piece uncut and then slip my scissors underneath and trim it down where needed.

Complete Shoe

-For the tip of the toe on the TOMS I laid strips up the front fold, then began wrapping the selvages across at an angle. This worked great! Every pair of shoes will be different and you will just have to play with what works/looks best for yours.

-Once you have the shoes completely covered and are happy with the layout, cover the entire shoe in a layer of Mod Podge. Let the shoes dry for a few hours or overnight and apply one more coat just to make sure everything is sealed. You don’t want your beautiful white selvages getting dirty! Let them cure for a couple of days and then they will be ready to wear. Enjoy and show them off to everyone you know- especially the quilters, who will all be extremely jealous!

Rocking my Selvage shoes.

~Michelle

P.S. I would love to see pictures and hear tales about your own selvage shoes or other projects. Please share!

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