Talk about nervous! That's how I felt when asked to join in on the new 'crafty' column for the newspaper I work for (
http://www.annistonstar.com/). Just type in my name in the search box and it'll take you right to it. I love crafting so I thought I'd give it a try. My love of crafting tools was the source for my first column and I hope you enjoy it. I've included a picture of the lap quilt and the "gizmo" at the end of the article.
Haute Homemade: The gizmo queen's favorite gadget
by Debbie
Reaves Community Editor
12 hrs ago 23 views 0
0
Once upon a time, my friends called me the "Gizmo Queen." That's because I have an undying love for
gizmos. Not the kitchen kind (even though I have a few), but the crafty kind.Some of my
gizmos collect a little dust, but others are always within reach of my crafting zone. The new
AccuQuilt Go! Fabric Cutter is one of the ones I keep handy.I first came across an ad for the fabric cutter while thumbing through the fall issue of Quilts and More magazine. There it was! A gizmo I had never seen before!The ad stated it was a revolutionary way to cut fabric fast, accurately and easily. No mistakes.I needed more information, so I ran to my computer and went to the Web site. Oh no … it was the last day of a special sale they were running on the fabric cutter. I had to grab my purse and close the deal. (I mean, they were giving away things for free with the purchase of the fabric cutter … I just had to go for it, right?)It was a good thing I'd been saving money for awhile, as it cost $349.I had a tiny bit of buyer's remorse, but I got over it. I do love
gizmos, you know.A week later I had my newest toy. It turned out to be the nicest thing for cutting out fabric shapes to use in quilting.I don't claim to be a quilter; I made my first one last year. I am fascinated by the art of quilting. But I found it very hard, and cutting out the fabric was time consuming.This new gizmo makes the cutting easy. Pick a die with the shapes you want, place the fabric on the die — up to six layers at once — place the plastic mat on top and roll it through the cutter. In a matter of seconds you have your pieces cut and ready to use.It was wonderful! I starched and ironed my fabric scraps ahead of time, and then starting rolling them through the fabric cutter. In less than an hour, I had 90 4 ½-inch squares and 90 2 ½-inch squares.It was easier for me to cut four layers of fabric at a time. The crank got a little tough to turn with six. But it's worth it.I made a lap quilt with 90 squares in about two hours after cutting the fabric pieces. It was fun, and I can't wait to get more dies.A die with three different shapes came with the fabric cutter. My special also included eight free quilt patterns for different projects. Other dies are available at
http://www.accuquilt.com/.You can shop around on the Internet and find bargains on the cutter with free shipping. That will come in handy as it weighs about 20 pounds. It's a sturdy piece of equipment that even came with a dust cover.Now that's my kind of gizmo.
Welcome to "
Haute Handmade," a new column for
crafters. Our two main columnists: Deirdre Long, the Star's Escapes editor, has been sewing for about 15 years, since she was 10 years old. She also knits, crochets and
upcycles old items by redesigning them into new creations. Debbie
Reaves, the Star's Community editor, has been sewing for 40 years. She was also a sign-painter for 18 years, and crafts with all things paper, from rubber stamps to
scrapbooking.
This last photo is the die as it goes through the
AccuQuilt GO!
I hope you like my first column and I hope you'll leave a comment here or on the newspaper Web site directly under the column.
As always... I appreciate you taking the time to visit my blog.
Have a great day!
Debbie
The peach image is also from Flourishes. Another great set. Both the cherries and peach set have small and large images that can be used in a lot of different ways. The images are added to the cards with Pop-dots to raise them up.
Let me know if you have any questions about either one of these cards. Do you think they look good?
On the Zebra card, I was trying to make my own background paper so I stamped the Zebra from the Jr. Jungle ATC stamp set, from the Best of Dee Gruenig Collection, repeated across the white panel. Then attached it to red, then onto a black card base. The oval pieces were cut on the Cricut. The sentiment is from the new Greetings 2 ATC set from the Best of Dee Gruenig Collection.
I love Dee's stamp designs. She is so talented and it's so much fun to watch her demonstrate how to stamp. You'll just have to go to the Sunday International Web site and see the new videos Dee has created of her using the new ATC stamp sets.
This is the inside. Super easy. Using the same pink card stock as on the front I stamped my images in brown.
The sweet dresser has a very heavy slab of marble on the top. It's not attached... it just sits there. It's just beautiful. The mirror has cardboard on the back and is still in pretty good shape. My mother thinks it's from the 1950's but she's not sure.
The bed is new and sure looks dark in the photo. It is a sleigh bed with an Espresso color finish on it. The bedding is dark brown micro suede type fabric. I just love to touch it. geeze.... The sheets have a khaki, light and dark tan and blue design it them. They look so good with the brown comforter. I found the blue pillow at Wal-Mart and it matched the design on the sheets. The curtains match better in person than they do in the picture but I guess that's life. I didn't make them. They were cute and I was tired. (That's life too!)
I did just make the curtains for the closet. Made them too short so I went back and added a dark brown fabric panel to the bottom. I also did this cool zig-zag stitch across both panels that mimics what is on the comforter. It sorta goes in a wave shape but you can't tell it in the photo. Geeze... (that's life too!)
Okay... hubby is hungry for lunch so I guess that's my call to 'feed my man.' He's good to this old gal... guess I better throw some burgers on the grill.
