Fabric tree tutorial

1.

Here is a photo tutorial to make your very own fabric tree.....

2.

Saw a piece of branch and drill a hole in the middle. Glue in a 35cm/14inch dowel. 

3.

You will need 5 fabrics for the tree. You can create a template from newspaper to get the shape right for each fabric. The sample is done using 5 fat quarters which were stacked and cut at once to give me extra fabric for 5 trees in total. 

4.

First discard a triangle at the bottom of the stack if you are using all 5 at once. This should measure 15 to 17 inches on the wide side of the triangle.

5.

Now cut the remainder of the fabrics in 5 strips of varying widths. This is done is any way you prefer but I recommend you do vary the strips to add interest. If you make a paper template. Cut the newspaper to 50cm x 55cm/20 inches x 22 inches. Cut off the bottom as shown in the previous step and then cut strips of paper in various widths. Use these strips for each of the fabrics you wish to use in your tree. 

6.

Sew the strips in order and lay with right sides together. The strips are not even at this point. Cut along the long side (these are the long diagonals of the fabric to the right and left in photo 5) to make an even seam and sew this seam. This will be the back seam of your tree. Notice the shorter diagonal line (left side of fabrics on photo 6) is not used yet as this will become the bottom seam in the next step. 

7.

Once the back seam is sewn you will center the seam at the back of the piece and lay this flat with right sides together. The two shorter diagonal sides now form a straight line. Trim this seam (photo 7) to create a nice straight seam.

8.

For this bottom seam, you will want to use a 1/2 inch seam allowance instead of the typical 1/4 inch to give you extra fabric to hand sew the opening later. Leave an opening about a hand's width in the middle of the bottom seam for stuffing. This means you will need to sew a separate seam both to the left and right side of the bottom.

9.

The front of the tree has straight seams (photo 9). 

10.

The back of the tree has a diagonal seam running through the middle (photo 10).

Stuff the tree. This does not need to be hard. I use Ikea SLÅN pillow which I cut open. The filling of this pillow is perfect for crafts and much more economical for me here in Holland. Use what you prefer. I ended up using half the filling for my tree which is 225 grams of filling.

Heidi

Christmas in July 2015.....

Early in July was our yearly celebration of Christmas in July for my quilt group. We had a salad bar set up by half the group. They did a fabulous job and the table was overflowing with delicious choices to put a salad together! It was hard to choose what you wanted. During dinner, I raffled off gifts under the Christmas tree. One of the fun things about leading this group is being able to surprise them often with gifts. 

After dinner, we started on our surprise project. They were all asked to bring in a roll of green fabric. I provided the rest needed. There were ladies beavering away at the work tables to create their (Christmas) tree. Some ironed, cut, sorted, pinned and sewed. When the evening was done, we had a forest of trees complete as you can see in the first photo. I will be posting a photo tutorial to make a tree of your own in my next post.

One of the gifts I made was this little sewing butler. I bought an olive dish with a toothpick holder attached. Using a small plate, I cut, sewed and stuffed a circle of fabric. This was then glued into the toothpick holder to create a pincushion. Now it can hold pins and needles while thread and scissors sit in the dish. 

Have a creative day!

Heidi

Meet Edwina and Winifred...Christmas in July

Meet Edwina...

and Winifred...

They are sweetly dressed up and even have bloomers...

It was Christmas in July once again for my quilt group last week. Our buffet table was decorated...

and everyone was looking forward to sharing a fun evening together...

with fabulous food...

When it was over and we were playing some games to win prizes, Wilma stopped me and told me I had to sit down. She surprised me with Edwina including her little watering can with a baby kitty inside. I was in tears for her thoughtfulness after loosing Elwin when...

MiekeW also came up with another gift bag and there was yet another beautiful cat...Winifred with her pail and kitty inside. 

Thank you both so much! I am so touched and love both my new additions to the family. They are my companions while I quilt. 

Next post will be a tutorial for our Christmas in July project. A simple project that might be a fun thing to make this summer. See you next time...

Heidi

It's C*H*R*I*S*T*M*A*S once again!

The postman rang my doorbell today and handed me a package from Jeanne. It is Christmas in July once again today. Yippee!

When I saw the adorable paper, I hated to open it for a minute. Just a minute mind you! I had to see what was in the packages. *grins*

Jeanne made me a project bag with a beautiful vintage Christmas postcard fabric. That is going to be put to good use already as my current project is going to be held in there while I work on it. It needed ironing with the instructions Jeanne sent along to protect the vinyl front cover. Jos was working in my studio so I had to wait with the ironing.

Here is the beautiful ornament. She told me she choose this pattern with a cat on it to remind me of Dagi. Just look at Santa's scissors. I do love it and want to thank Jeanne for a fun swap. I told her this was a perfect time to do the swap with all our hot weather this summer in Holland. It is reminding me that the holidays are going to be here before we know it.

Heidi

It's C*H*R*I*S*T*M*A*S!

Remember that little peek at the ornament I made for a swap with a blogging friend? She emailed me that it arrived already. That went so fast and it got to her on Christmas Eve...lol. Well a girl can wish in the middle of a heat wave, can't she??? Or maybe the heat has really gone to my brain and I am hallucinating? *wink*

Anyway...my swap partner was none other than Jeanne over at WillowTreeStitcher. I wanted to make an ornament that looked European for her. The St. Nicholaas is stitched in reverse on the other side so even if it turns on the tree, it will always be facing the right side. I added a little snowflake to the bottom and all is sewn together with some of the French ribbons I bought in a needlework shop up in the north of Holland.

I also decided to use the opportunity to RAK Jeanne as well. I sent her a couple of non-stitchy things but also made a fob for a pair of embroidery scissors. It is made with silver, white and blue beads and a porcelain Delft Blauw wooden shoe with a windmill on it.

I am thrilled you got it all in time for Christmas in July (25th) Jeanne and hope you will enjoy using both items in the years to come. Just as the feeling of Christmas, I am anxiously awaiting the postman ringing my doorbell with your ornament. Can't wait........

Heidi 

Christmas in July 2013

Welcome to Christmas in July 2013 with its theme of a Strawberry English County Picnic...

Come in to my garden to celebrate with us...

Place your present under the Christmas tree and have a peek at our picnic buffet table...

When the evening is over, the members of my quilt group take home some wonderful handmade gifts from their secret partner. All with a strawberry theme...

My own partner had to be spoiled with a couple of items as I could not decide on one so made them all...

...a little strawberry pincushion...

...a crocheted strawberry drawbag...

...embroidery scissors with a strawberry fob...

...felt scissor holder...

...a strawberry mug bag to carry to work...

...strawberry sweets and tea added in for good measure...

It was a wonderful evening full of laughter and wonder of seeing such creative strawberries. What I look forward to most each year is seeing how the ladies create things based on my given theme. Each time, they seem to outdo themselves once again. I feel privileged to host this group of women! Last night was a memorable evening once again.....

*Enlarge the photos to get a closer look.*

Heidi