Daisy Janie

Announcement

Hi Friends and Visitors!

This blog is now located on Daisy Janie's main website:  http://daisyjanie.com/blog 
Same exact content, same great tutorials and projects!

If you would like to link or share projects from my blog, I would greatly appreciate it if you would please use the new site location to do so. Thanks!!!

Happy Sewing & Crafting!!!
Jan

how to | Mirror Patch Pillow

Please view this tutorial at its new location on Daisy Janie's updated website and blog! Click here. Thanks!! :)  Jan

Pillow Project #2: Mirror Patch Pillow

 

how to | 3 easy-peasy pillow projects, No.1

Please view this tutorial at its new location on Daisy Janie's updated website and blog! Click here. Thanks!! :)  Jan

 Pillow Project #1: Midsummer Log Cabin

 

pdf project sheet | Daisy Chain Quilt

Please view this pattern at its new location on Daisy Janie's updated website and blog! Click here. Thanks!! :)  Jan

how to | create a basic design repeat on paper.

Please view this tutorial at its new location on Daisy Janie's updated website and blog! Click here. Thanks!! :)  Jan

Tutorial: Quad Leaf Pillow (strip piecing and applique)

Please view this tutorial at its new location on Daisy Janie's updated website and blog! Click here. Thanks!! :)  Jan

bake | homemade (GF) candy cakes

Please view this tutorial at its new location on Daisy Janie's updated website and blog! Click here. Thanks!! :)  Jan

last stop in the New Leaf Bee Block Blog Hop!

Please view this tutorial at its new location on Daisy Janie's updated website and blog! Click here. Thanks!! :)  Jan

!

recipe | broccoli stalk salad.

Please view this tutorial at its new location on Daisy Janie's updated website and blog! Click here. Thanks!! :)  Jan

cool patchwork piecing using fusible interfacing.

Please view this tutorial at its new location on Daisy Janie's updated website and blog! Click here. Thanks!! :)  Jan

how to make a tank top made from a fitted sheet.

[ pendant necklace by Liz Smith at Made in Lowell ]

I turned this old fitted, jersey sheet into a fun, flattering and *very comfortable* summer tank top, using the elasticized edge of the sheet as the top of my tank. Straps are optional b/c of this.

It was pretty easy. See below for the quick-n-dirty explanation!

There are 2 sections: a top panel (bust) and bottom panel (below bust). I kinda made it up as I went along. Didn't end up where I thought I would, but I'm happy with it. And I have another 2/3 of a sheet to play around for another one! All grey all the time. That's me!

To make the top panel

• I wrapped the sheet around me, with the elasticized edge under my armpits. I brought it together in front of me and marked it.
• I added a few inches to my mark before I cut it, knowing I could take it in later if needed (it was).
• I sewed a single seam to make a tube, and this seam is in the middle back.
• The length of your top panel will depend upon your bra cup size. Wear the bra you intend to wear when you drape the sheet around you. Mark it and cut it where you have coverage with which you're comfortable. I wanted mine to sit sort of like an empire waist.

To make the bottom panel

• I cut a big section from the sheet that was 17" x the length of the sheet (less the edges that go around the mattress).
• From this large piece, I cut small, tapered pieces.
• They increase from a width of 4" at the top edge to 5" along the bottom edge. I wasn't sure how many to cut b/c I didn't measure. I think I cut 10 pieces and ended up using 9.
• Sew right sides togther, with all short edges at the top.
• You might want to try it on after you have about 10 pieces sewn together to see how it fits and to determine if you'll need less or more panels.
• When you it fits around you with about 2" of excess, sew the last edges together to make a tube.

Fiddling and fudging the fit

• Start pinning the bottom panel to the top panel, right sides together. Before you start, kind of envision where all the seams in the bottom panel will end-up so you'll know how to match up the bottom to the top.
• I pinned the front about 6-7 inches across and same with the back, leaving about 2" unpinned on the sides
• As I neared each side seam under the armpits, I could tell the top panel needed to be taken in about an inch on both sides ~ so the top and bottom panels would match without excess. You don't want it tight, however, b/c you have to fit it over your head and get your arms through!
• I quickly took in the top panel with 2 new side seams, continued pinning and finally sewed the top and bottom together.

Finishing

• To get a slightly snugger fit where this makeshift empire waist sits, I used elastic thread in the bobbin and simply stitched in the ditch from the previous step ~ where the top and bottom panels are sewn together.
• At this point, the tank top was tunic length. I wasn't sure if I just wanted to snip it off to a shorter length or do the ruching with the elastic thread. I chose the latter.
• I stitched in the ditch of each seam going lengthwise on the bottom, creating a bunchy (and very forgiving!) look while bringing up the length, too.

That's it! The unfinished bottom edge and the slightly uneven ruching add to the artsy look of it! I totally embrace these things b/c it gives an original flair to whatever you make!

Again, straps are optional! The elasticized top edge is plenty, but I added them for peace of mind. Play around with it and see what you end up with! What could be more comfortable to wear than an old sheet (well maybe footsie pajamas or overalls...)!

quilt-along for Lancaster Diamond Quilt & Blocks 7-9 of 154.

Block 7 / 154

Quilt-Along ?
There is definitely some interest in a quilt-along for this scrappy pattern (Lancaster Diamond Sampler)! If you'd still like to get in on the action, I will move forward next week with setting up a flickr group for pics. It will be extremely "go-at-your-own-pace" and informal. I'm kind of looking at this as an intermittent summer project, hoping to have all my blocks sewn by mid-August and then putting together the quilt top before September rolls around. Great way to use up your scraps!

You can buy the pattern AND the acrylic template here. I used the the template to cut out these 3 diamonds, and it was a tremendous help!

Please confirm your interest via a comment below or email me at jan [at] daisyjanie [dot] com.

 

Block 8 / 154

Block 9 / 154

Growing Organically | the lowdown on dirt, part 1.

As a young, happy newlywed 18 years ago, I was thrilled to have a house and a yard to tend for the first time! In particular, I loved planting pots of flowers each season, to set upon the steps leading up to our Chicago-suburb bungalow - it always added a welcoming touch. Pansies in the Spring; impatiens or petunias in the Summer; and mums in the Fall. I also enjoyed saving money, and I was extremely resistent to the idea of buying dirt each season for the flower pots - I mean, c'mon, it was dirt! Who buys dirt when the pots are already filled with dirt? (Did I mention I was young? And naive?)

That kind of logic got me through the first year. The 2nd year, without any additional, fresh soil added to the pots, the flowers languished after about a week and flopped over and dried up! No amount of water or sun/shade changes revived them. I never attributed their failure to thrive to the old, dead dirt I was using! (My sister tipped me off the following year!)

Plants need good soil to grow - soil that's fertile, balanced with vital minerals and active with micro-organisms. After a few seasons, the dirt in my flower pots was depleted of its nutrients and could not support life. We need life in order to support life! Seems pretty obvious how critical this little factoid is in retrospect.

In home gardens and flower beds, it's relatively easy to cultivate rich soil using organic gardening methods, like composting and crop rotation. There are myriad other ways to enrich and create good garden soil - see links below.

But imagine... just imagine for a second... the thousands upon thousands upons thousands of land dedicated to conventional agriculture across the globe. And imagine how degraded and depleted the soil must be after decades of planting the same crops (mono-cropping) in the same fields, year after year after year. What do you think farmers, who typically eschew organic methods, do to force things to grow in their dirt? That's what we'll talk about next week...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

More reading:
Soil / Organic Gardening
The Dirt on Soil / About Garden Soil
Building Garden Soil / Vegetable Garden Guru
Make Your Own Potting Soil / Mother Earth News
Garden Soil Tips / TLC
Soil Health Indicators / Rodale Institute
How to Create Good Gardening Soil / Expert Village

fabric sighting | fussy cut bench cushions.

Ingeniously fussy cut bench cushion with Daisy Janie's Geo Grand fabrics by Leigh Norris, Mrs. Traumatron on flickr. Spotted in the Daisy Janie flickr group.

Small scrap packs of all 6 fabrics in the Geo Grand collection are available in the Daisy Janie retail shop. Otherwise, I think these fabrics are pretty much sold out everywhere.

- - - - - - - - -  BROKEN RECORD ALERT  - - - - - - - - -

I won't ever (and I don't want to) react indifferently when I see what marvelousness others create with my fabrics! My stomach does somersaults when I peek in the Daisy Janie flickr group, when I receive an email with images & a sweet story or when I see a link in my statcounter to a blog post someone has shared. Talk about the icing on a yummy cake made up of reasons why I do what I do! Thank you for letting me share it with you.

* big happy sigh *

a door, a floor, a ceiling & some relays.

Door & floor pics taken outside University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology & Anthropology. Man, that door was solid, massive and gorgeous - right down to the rusty handles! Taking a pic was as close as I could get to putting in my pocket and bringing it home. There were 3 pairs of these doors on this facade. M and I were both in awe!

The scallop pattern in the stonework below speaks for itself. After seeing this vast expanse of mesmerizing, perfectly imperfect repetition, I appreciated the comparative & relative ease with which I can assemble and disassemble art and pattern repeats in Illustrator.

Below:
At Starbuck's. A very clever, framed, hanging panel of decorative woodworking (not sure what to call it?). It was about 5' x 5' and made the space a bit more cozy. But, it was a dust collector! Can you see it? Eee-woo, which is DiCintio-speak for "ew".

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

We were in Philadelphia yesterday for the Penn Relays - the stadium is across from the Museum. If you've been reading my blog for a bit, you know we love our fitness and running over here! J has fallen right in step in that vein. He loves to run, and I love to watch him run. I love watching any running, really! Nothing but legs and guts.

We saw the high school 4x400s yesterday, including our HS team, as well as the USA vs. the World Women Sprint Medley. USA, Russia, Jamaica, Great Britain. It was a nail biter, but the USA ladies took the medal! Freaking incredible athletes!!!

Growing Organically | turn intention into action.

Above:
Clothing labels from organic clothing I have purchased in recent years - turning my intention into action. Putting my money where my mouth and my heart are.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Assuming you want to make more eco-friendly choices in your clothing, food and general household purchases, do you find that, despite your good intentions, your buying habits haven't really changed? Does your little voice tell you that it's okay this one time because you'll make an effort next time - but there never is a next time?

Why is that? Have you isolated the reason(s) why you keep buying the same old stuff that's not really good for you, the planet or the other human beings who made it? Even though you feel kinda guilty about it?

You have those good intentions for a reason. They're born out of your compassionate instincts that tell you something is amiss and needs your help. The same compassionate instincts that tell you your child doesn't look well, that you should assist an elderly person in a store or that it's a good idea to donate your time, money or stuff to those in need.

Trust your instincts. Figure out what your personal hiccups are that keep you from buying better - and figure out how to override, overcome or outsmart them. I know it's not always easy.... but it's always, always worth it! Let your good intentions turn into action that makes a difference.

More reading:
Environmental Justice Foundation / main website
Pure Citizen / main website