Christmas Quilt

I posted this on the embroidery page on January 13, 2021. I realized today that many of you are not seeing the other pages here.
On the left-hand side of this page, you will see a list of pages. One is labeled "Card Making" among others. When you click on one of those pages, it will take you to a new page on this blog. The card-making page is a list of Cricut Design Space Files for cards that I have designed and shared with you. 

I have not shared any of my recent embroidery projects. This is the king size quilt I just finished. It contains 2.88 million embroidery stitches on 80 blocks. Each block took just about an hour to stitch out. It is definitely my largest project ever!

Shutter Card

 

Lately I have heard many who are new at card making comments that they do not know where to start or that their cards do not look as nice as others do. Remember that we all started someplace. Honestly, in my opinion, some of the most beautiful cards I have seen are the simplest. Create cards out of love and they will be awesome!

Today I am sharing some birthday cards I made for upcoming birthdays. These three cards are all cut from the same file, which is posted here free under the name, “Shutter Card”. This card has been shared here before under the name Tri-fold Shutter card, but that file does not contain the mat layers.

This first card is quick and easy and yet has that wow factor. It was created from 1/2 sheet of 12”x12” white cardstock for the base, an 8 ½” sheet of patterned paper, and 3 4”x 6” pieces for the mats. I used a set of dies to cut out the words, “especially for you” and stamped the “Happy Birthday” sentiment. You fold the top row of scoring with the first one being a mountain fold, then a valley, then a mountain, and lastly a valley. The second row is a mountain and a valley fold. The bottom row is the same as the top. This card folds to a standard A2 size (4 ¼” x 5 ½”).

This second card uses metallics, shimmer, and glitter cardstock as well as embossing. It is a little more complex, but still not difficult. It was created with 1/2 a sheet of 12” x 12” white cardstock for the base. I used a gilding paste to add a slight sparkle around the folds and cut edges of the paper.  I cut mats and layers from remnants of matching glitter and mat metallic papers as well as some white shimmer paper. I embossed some of the pieces and layered them. I used dies to cut out the row of hearts the word “Celebrate” and the “Happy Birthday”. I stamped the center sentiment.

This third card has many of the same elements as the second card with the addition of the waterfall section in the center and the rounding of some of the corners. The mini waterfall card in the center is a die set. I may recreate this to be cut with the Cricut at some point in the future. I do have a file for a waterfall card that could be sized down to create a similar effect.

I hope this illustrates that the process of creating a card can be as simple or complex as you wish. When you start with an unusual card cutting file, you can look like a pro with extraordinarily little effort. Most importantly, enjoy the process and develop your own style!

Sherri's Quilt

 

A new quilt is in process. About 6 months ago, I purchased a mid-arm quilting/sewing machine and a quilting frame. I started using the machine immediately and have fallen in love. I had forgotten how wonderfully and consistent a mechanical machine sews. Since this is a straight stitch only machine, I am now on the hunt for a mechanical multi-stitch machine much like this one. I purchased this machine used so it is a few years old, but works great and has the features I was most interested in. It has the needle up/down option, a large reverse lever, a needle threader, and a thread cutter.

When I finish this quilt top, I will set up the frame, put my machine on the carriage and do some test quilting before loading this quilt on to finish it. I have always quilted on my regular sewing machine and am looking forward to working on a frame.

I don’t know the name of this pattern so I am calling it Sherri’s quilt since that is who I am making it for.  I saw an image of it a few years ago, saved it, and decided to make it. I have created a cutting file in Cricut to cut the fabrics. For this quilt, I cut mine with a rotary cutter and a mat since it wasted little fabric that way.

The link to the file will be on the other projects page. Just look in the column to the left to find the links. If you are interested in directions, just comment and I will add them.

Hello & Welcome!

 

January 13,2021

I know that there are many new visitors and followers due to my recent posts on Facebook. I want to let you know that I am retired due to Multiple Sclerosis and I do this as fun. I am a multi-crafter. I sew, machine embroider, make cards, scrapbook, make quilts, upholster furniture and many other projects that often include using my tools such as my Cricut Maker. I love sharing these projects so they may inspire others to tap into their abilities and Create beautiful things.
I try to post to the blog at least once or more a month. Sometimes I get too busy with a project and don’t. Sometimes my health is not cooperating, and maybe once this pandemic is over, I might go on vacation again. With that said, this is not a money stream for me. Yes, there is advertising on the blog. That helps pay for the costs associated with having my web site, etc. As I have mentioned before, I am not an affiliate for Cricut. I tell you this so that you know that I am just giving you my honest thoughts on Cricut and other products that I use.

I hope you enjoy my blog and are able to be inspired and use the resources I post here. Stay safe!

Quilt Square file added

 

January 13,2021

I am busy working on more new projects. Today I posted the DS link for the standard size quilt squares and half squares. I used my Cricut to cut the fabric for this quilt. I love that it cuts them to exactly the correct size and perfectly square. I precut my fabric to size and plan my squares to minimize waste. I hope this helps some of you out there!