Out My Back Door Today!

I was drawn to my back patio just a little while ago by a sweet fragrance and a flutter of activity.  I had opened the French door to our patio to check what the outside temperature was like. I have three loquat trees that have been ready to bloom for a few weeks. They are starting to open now and the fragrance has drawn butterflies and bees galore. The aroma is much like frangiapani or a sweet jasmine. 

 Yes, I am writing this in December and my Christmas tree is up inside. My husband has "enrobed" the house in icicle lights and I'm playing Christmas music nonstop. But....it's like spring outside. The weather has settled into a nice pattern of days in the mid 70's, it is foggy in the mornings and sunny the rest of the day. The closest I will get to a white Christmas is a bubble bath!

We will eventually have a cold night or two or maybe even three! (Just enough to nip the flowers in the bud and kill off the heat loving greenery.) There has been snow here, by the way! There was actually a BIG snow here in Pleasanton in the 1980's just after my parents retired here. It was such an unusual thing, my daddy can tell you the exact date and time that it happened! So, every year I keep my fingers crossed that we might have a fluke like that again and I'll wake up to a white world,  have a fire in the fireplace and sip hot cocoa that will warm me up instead of make me sweat! 
I have lived where it snowed. Here is our home in 2004, several years before we moved back to Texas. Snow is very romantic as long as the power stays on and you don't have to drive in it!

 
If you live where it snows and gets really cold, I both envy you and feel sorry for you! I just wish I could switch it on like I do the air conditioner! Then, when the snow gets dirty and slushy and my feet are frozen, I can turn springtime  back on! 

 

Adding Words to Fabric, Part 2

I have some more ideas about ways to add words to your projects. If you are in the In Your Words Blog Hop (January 7 - 16) you may need some ideas, but even if not it is always good to have a variety of methods at your fingertips. You never know when you might need one!  

School Glue Resist

The sample you see at the top of the page was made with a school glue resist method. It is super simple and it might just be what you need. You can see the full tutorial here, but basically, you will draw out a design on muslin, outline it with school glue, and then when the glue is dry, you brush dye inside the lines and heat set the color. After all is finished, you wash out the school glue.  

 A variation of this method was used on the scrap above. I used rubber stamps dipped in school glue to stamp out a message and when dry, I dyed over it all, then washed out the glue. You can also just freehand your words with the glue bottle spout

  Text Fabric

This apron was made with an inset of fabric with a text printed on it. Sometimes you can fussy cut to get just the words you need. You could even piece them in to look "ransom note" style!

You can also use the words on a t-shirt for text. You must first back the stretchy fabric with an interfacing to stabilize it.

 

 Reverse Applique

 This letter is made of reverse applique - where an opening is made in the shape you want and a background is sewn behind it. In the case of letters, such as this D, you sometimes have to add the center of the letter in regular applique. 

   Shadow Quilting

An often overlooked method is shadow quilting. You cut out your letters from bright fabric and adhere them to your background either by glue or by cutting them from a fusible product.

 You place a thin white fabric over the letters. Test your fabric to be sure you can see through it enough. I have used Batiste here. Place batting behind the entire piece and machine quilt around the letters. You can then treat it as a single piece of fabric. The sample was made into a small pillow, seen above.

    Alphabet Beads

 I did a tutorial on tooth fairy pillows a while back and one of the pillows had this string of beads across the front. You can find alphabet beads in different sizes, colors, and shapes. They can be strung or sewn on to spell out whatever you wish! 

  Those same tooth fairy pillows had another idea that you can use to add words to your project: 

   Using Your Ink Jet Printer 

You can use your ink jet printer to print on fabric or onto t-shirt transfers that can be either sewn or ironed onto your fabric. Be sure you read the directions on the package if you buy the printer ready fabric or the transfer medium. This is easy to do and looks great, but is not as durable for something that will be washed a lot. You can also iron regular fabric to freezer paper that is cut to 8 1/2" x 11" and send it through your printer to print on. Be sure you have the freezer paper well adhered to the fabric and that you send it through so that the printing will come out on the fabric. 

 Machine Embroidery

If you have a machine that does this, you don't need instructions from me. Each machine is different. But don't forget that it can be used to add text to any fabric project! 

   Paper Pieced Letters  

I don't have samples to show you, but if you do paper piecing, you probably have books on the subject. Don't forget about this method! 

 Non-traditional Methods

I just want to mention a few methods that you might consider. 

Text can be added with a permanent marker and can be in your own handwriting. You can find markers in all colors now! Be sure it is permanent.

You can use acrylic paint to write your text.

You can sew magazine words to fabric if it will be a wall hanging or something that will not get handled or washed.  Quilt artists do this all the time.

Okay, have I given you something to think about? I hope so! Step out of the box and do something different! Be daring! 

There are still just a few spots left in the In Your Words Blog Hop, so you can still sign up. Send me an email here soon if you want in. (You can find a link to the guidelines on my sidebar if you want to see the rules first.)

 

Until next time....

                                               

              

I promised you a winner from the giveaway on my post in the Holiday Lane Blog Hop. The random generator chose:
Dawn of Quilting by Dawn. Congratulations, Dawn! She won a $25 gift certificate to The Fat Quarter Shop.  

Don't forget about the upcoming In Your Words Blog Hop! I have a few slots left, but it is filling up really fast! You can find the guidelines on my sidebar if you want to read the "rules" before signing up. This promises to be a really FUN hop. No patterns, no specific fabrics, just add words to any fabric project you want! Email me me if you are interested! 

My last post gave you several ideas of ways to add words. I will be posting again about even more ways, some that you may not have ever thought of! Be watching for it either this evening or tomorrow. 

 

 Another Blog Hop coming up is the Quilting Secrets Blog Hop. My day is January 3. I will be sharing how I use glue sticks in unusual ways when I sew. That button is also on my sidebar.

 

Adding Words to Your Project

Giveaway!
Did that get your attention? Words can be very powerful things. After all, a single word can make your day, break your heart, scare you half to death, or spur you on to do your best!

I'm going to be the hostess for a blog hop called In Your Words. (Thank you, Mdm. Samm for that great title and idea!) Yes, there will be a fantastic "grand"giveaway and many small ones!What a great start to the new year! To encourage you to join us, I'm going to show you just how easy it is to put words on your projects.

  I have always loved adding words to my quilts and wall hangings. I have entire fairy tales on some, recipes, songs, rhymes, and even Bible verses on others. 

You might be wondering, though, just how to add those words. There are many ways and I will show you a few easy ones here. You can do any of these quickly and have your project finished in time for the blog hop!

Embroidery:

You can choose to embroider your words either by hand or machine. I often hand embroider words on my quilt borders. I write them on with a mechanical pencil very lightly and then embroider over the pencil lines. You can print them out on your computer and use a light box to trace them onto your fabric. Both the sample above and below are done in simple embroidery, stem stitch.

Rubber Stamps and Acrylic Paint

The sample above was stamped using the simple foam stamps below. Quilting around each letter, which is NOT as difficult as it sounds, gives each letter a finished look.

These stamps were from Michael's and were sold as an inexpensive set. I bought them several years ago, so I'm not sure what is available now, but the fact that they are on a clear plastic backing is VERY helpful in placing the letters. 
I simply brush acrylic paint on the letter, stamp it on where I want it, and if there is a void I fill it in carefully with a small artist's paintbrush. (I don't try to realign it and restamp it, but you may be able to do that.) Here are the craft acrylics I use: (Heat setting them with an iron makes them permanent on your fabric.)

If your fabric is dark, paint first in white and then in your color. 

Acrylic Paint and Fabric Paint  

Here is a sample where I have painted the words on. Quilting around them later will make them pop and will "clean" up the lines. Simply use an artist's paintbrush. (Do not use the cheap type sold for kids. You will not be able to get a good point on them. Use one that is small and tapers to a nice point.) I use the paints above. You can also use fabric paints the same way, but they are usually transparent, so keep that in mind.

fabric paint

 Paint Pen

I love using a paint pen and then embroidering or quilting right at the outline of the letter. It looks almost appliqued, but is VERY easy to do. Here are the pens I use:

They come in Fine, Medium, and Thick points. I use the medium. I taught school and can just write with these as if they were chalk, but if you aren't that confident, trace off your words with chalk first. Drawing off a top, middle, and lower line for each letter is helpful in keeping them uniform. Again, heat setting will make this permanent.

Applique
 

The sample above was done in fabric applique. I use my freezer paper method, where I cut out my shapes, iron them to the FRONT of my fabric, cut out the fabric leaving my seam allowance, and then turn the edges to the back using a glue stick. You can go to my tutorials and see a picture by picture tutorial of this method. It makes it EASY!!
(The "on earth" is embroidered and quilted around.)  You can also choose to trace off your words to a fusible product and iron them on. You would then want to sew around the edge to make it truly permanent. 

Felt

The word above has been blanket stitched onto felt. These letters were purchased craft felt. I could only find it in yellow, so I used fabric dye and "painted" them orange. If possible, use the letters that are NOT adhesive. It is very difficult to sew through that adhesive! You could also cut out your own felt letters!

This should be enough to get you started! I will have even more methods, some very untraditional, next week! 
If you would like to join in the "In Your Words" blog hop, just send me an email here.  It is going to be FUN and easy. You have no pattern to buy, no specific fabric, and you can do anything you want with fabric as long as you include at least one word. It will start January 7. I'll be taking names this week until we fill up, so be sure and send me your name, email address, and blog address. ( If you don't have a blog, we have a blog just for that, but there is only room for 15 of you, so let me know quickly!) 
Until next time....
Bee Blessed!