Fabric Remix by Sandy Stone [book review]

Fabric Remix
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Fabric Remix by Sandy Stone

I really enjoyed this book. It's great for people who love to craft and recycle. While it focuses on recycling things you can salvage from thrift shops, antique stores, sales and other venues, many of the projects can easily be tackled with materials you may already have in your own homes - things that are a little dated or that you haven't used for their intended purposes for a while. Instead of throwing them out, why not give them a new life?

I've done projects similar to some of those here but Fabric Remix has given me more ideas for crafting and making special things that will make my home unique and my gifts different from store-bought products.

The book is laid out unconventionally. Author Sandy Stone begins with chapters on finding inspiration, gathering materials and a tour of her beautiful home, where she's left a personal imprint on every room with her crafted items. She talks about the pieces she's custom-made for her home. There are stories behind some of the work, like how she handled "the beginning of the empty nest" - she turned her daughter's old bedroom into a fancy guest bedroom after she graduated from college and moved away, leaving "a big space behind".

After the home tour, there is a gallery of closer-up photos of the projects in the book, followed by the tutorials chapter and then a section on information about tools and techniques used.

Among the 35 projects: embellished lanterns, a scarf lampshade, a canvas signage satchel, a wire basket embellished with measuring tape, a doggie bed, a headboard and a chair back upholstered with ties.

Here are photos of my favorite projects - the bench cushion (love the numbers!), the zipper tapestry and scarf-painted cabinets (just like my decoupaged cabinet although Stone's fabric choices are spot on wonderful) - and a look at a few rooms in the author's home. Enjoy.

window bench cushion from Fabric Remix by Sandy Stone

scarf-painted cabinets from Fabric Remix by Sandy Stone

damask drapery coverlet and sham | zipper tapestry from Fabric Remix by Sandy Stone

living room from Fabric Remix by Sandy Stone

kitchen space from Fabric Remix by Sandy Stone

dining room from Fabric Remix by Sandy Stone

Over at Lark's blog, you can get instructions for a free project from the book, the Coffee Bag Basket Liner.





Fabric Remix
Author: Sandy Stone
Publisher: Lark Crafts
ISBN: 978-1600594854


buy at Amazon
buy at The Book Depository (free shipping worldwide)




[ check out my other book reviews ]
[ check out my posts on fabric ]
[ check out my posts on recycling and repurposed objects ]
[ check out my posts on homes and interior decorating and design ]

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by liberal sprinkles

my first quilt top

I took the plunge. I'm making my first quilt! I've been thinking about doing it for a while but I've never tackled such a big sewing project (the biggest thing I've ever sewn are bags), I've been sewing for only a year and a half, I'm a very slow sewer and I don't always sew straight! I'm also very impatient and easily distracted. I have 3 bag projects that I started about a year ago but haven't finished. I just get excited by other ideas, sewing and otherwise.

But I wanted to try making a quilt this year. I was tempted to join a quilt-along but that Dresden circle would  have been a crazy project for a beginner. Best to start with something easy and which doesn't require a lot of measuring and cutting (my most hated part about sewing). Pre-cuts! I decided on charm squares. I'm hopeless at reading patterns and following directions, so I'm winging it as I go along.

I'm using this

Moda Tranquility charm pack

I got two of these for US$8 last year at Some Art Fabric! They sometimes have 2-for1 offers and I got some really great deals there. I did some math (I hate math) and figured I could get a sort of twin-sized quilt out of 20 blocks of 4 charms (I will soon find out how crazy I go trying to manoeuver the whole quilt around my sewing machine!).

jigsaw puzzling...

That's me trying to decide what goes where. I didn't have enough floor space so I did one charm pack first, then the other blocks (that lone square in the bottom right corner was an extra in the first pack I opened :) I spent quite a bit of time on my knees, I had fun moving those squares around, visualizing what my finished quilt would look like. Imagine if I hadn't used a charm pack. I would never have gotten to the sewing stage!

organized ... so very un-me!

All arranged, organized and ready to go. I took a lot of photos of this stack from different angles, I just love looking at fabric and the pinked edges are so cute!

They look like pennants!
Maybe I should make a
fabric pennant banner
just for the fun of it... 

quilt blocks sewn!

The block on top is my first ever quilt block!! I sewed pretty straight this time! I can't put into words how excited I was when I finished that block. And when I finished all 20, wow. Satisfaction! I poured myself a drink ... heheh.

back to the floor...

I moved some furniture around so I had enough space to audition fabric for the sashing. This took me forever. I tried more than five solids but didn't find anything that really struck me immediately as IT but since I want to use only fabric from my stash, I settled on a green. I would have liked a yellow sashing and green border but I don't have any yellow solids. I think I'll use the pink in the photo above for the border (? any thoughts on this?) but I have no idea what fabric I'll be using for the binding and the back, though I'll probably sew the remaining squares into one long strip. I haven't counted to see if they'll run down the length of the quilt. I probably should have chosen all my fabrics and done all the math right at the start but I'm not very organized! If you're a quilter and you're appalled at how I'm going about this...sorry!

Dealing with the project in stages makes it less intimidating for me. When I try reading patterns, I give up before I get to the end or figure out how everything would come together. I also like to improvise as I go along, it allows me room to manoeuver. But it can get me in trouble. I had already cut into my green sashing fabric before I realized that I wouldn't have enough to cut the side strips in one complete length. Oops.

time to rip it up!

And I spoke too soon, I didn't sew quite straight!

Should I, should I not? I knew I should take it apart but I'm very lazy and I hate ripping seams although I seem to do it a lot. OK, I gave in, turned on the TV and started ripping. I'd sewed in very small stitches so that took a long time too. I took 2 sections apart. The resewing was fast, but I had to rip one up again because it just wasn't right.

One other thing I hate: ironing. I really did iron after piecing each part; I don't know why it doesn't look it though... Sewing has reintroduced me to ironing. I've ironed my clothes maybe twice a year in the last 3 years!

i think this needs better pressing...

Finally! My quilt top! It's a bit dark as I finished sewing late at night. I got around the fabric problem for the sides by making the lengths of the two middle horizontal strips the width of the quilt top. I got to this stage over 2 weekends. I was motivate by





Next week: border and charm square strip for the back?


Meanwhile, I'm watching some quilting videos at YouTube for inspiration. Free motion quilting is amazing, maybe I'll get there one day. I'm aiming for just straight line quilting for now. If you haven't seen the works of Judi Madsen, check out the incredible eye candy at Green Fairy Quilts. Her quilting is exquisite, I'm a big fan. You can also get Moda pre-cuts at nice prices at her store.

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by liberal sprinkles

sew pink and wonderful

oh dear I haven't had time to work on a post for Pink Saturday and Blue Monday. Here's a quickish one to share a few lovelies I found on the Internet.

art quilt by Tara Anderson (the pink couch)

My goodness, isn't this gorgeous? No measurements, no directions, raw edges, repurposed fabric. I love it! What a fabulous idea, even a hopeless sewer like I am could try it! I saw this photo on Pinterest and clicked over to Tara's blog to take a look, she has close-up photos of some of the blocks in her post. yum yum.

mini quilt by Lynne at Lily's Quilt

I adore this quilt! It's a sample block made by Lynne at Lily's Quilt for a sew-along. I'm so tempted to join, but I've never pieced a quilt in my life, I've only been sewing - sporadically - for a little over a year, I still can't sew straight!! and I'm pretty hopeless at measuring and cutting... Hmm, I think I'll try something easier first, like Tara's or a MINI stripe quilt. In the meantime, I'll go back and stare at that photo every once in a while. I'm not normally a fan of dresdens, they look so old-fashioned, but I like these fresh colours and the fabrics from the Sherbet Pips collection by Moda (especially the scooters, so cute!).

If you like to sew and want to join the sew-along, go on over to Lynne's blog Lily's Quilts for all the details.


To round off, some photos I stumbled across in Pinterest this week.

Mount Rundle from Banff National Park, by Darren B15

You're frozen when your heart's not open, by pixelmama

Do you see the little heart there? Love is everywhere!

wild mushrooms by cannelle et vanille

cor this just makes me want to wander the forests in

search of treasures. I could eat mushrooms everyday.

igloo under northern light by themunchkin

I'm in awe. This reminds me how small
we are in the big scheme of things.

Ayers Rock, photo by Mark Laricchia via national geographic

The wonders - and power - of nature. We saw this in the tragedy that struck Japan this week. My heart goes out to the people there.
Japan earthquake and tsunami: How to help (yahoo! news)

Thanks to Beverly at How Sweet The Sound for hosting Pink Saturday, and to Sally at SmilingSally for Blue Monday.

Thank you for reading. If you are a subscriber, I would love to know who you are :) You can find my email at my profile page.


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by liberal sprinkles

Being Creative

blue bag

Hello! This bag traveled through the south-western French countryside with me last year before I gave it to a friend whom I visited in Paris. In the farmhouse where I sewed late at night, it was not quite a bag yet in the beginning, it was in pieces. Pieces I had cut to size so I could sew the bag before I could pass it to its intended owner. I didn't have time before my trip, so nearly all the sewing was done by hand in down time during my week spent visiting vineyards, eating foie gras and admiring everything French. The only thing I sewed before leaving home was the handle strap - by machine, thank goodness.  I was (and still am!) pretty new to sewing then so I was pretty glad at how it turned out even non-ironed. heheh. I have to say I got a bit stressed at times, I was so worried I wouldn't be able to finish it in time (I am a very slow sewer! and I was always so tired from jaunting about...) but I was so excited to share my new craft hobby with my friends.

I love the colors of the fabrics. I chose blue because it's a favorite of my friend's. I used fabric from the Olive Rose collection by Valorie Wells, coupled with Indian silk a friend got for me in Goa, and blue solid cotton for the lining inside. I even tried to do a bit of quilting on the Valorie Wells fabric. What do you think?

postcard for Great Big Stitched Postcard Swap

This heart is part of the postcard I made for the Great Big Stitched Postcard Swap organised by Beth at Do What You Love. I will post photos of the full front and back of the card when I my swap partner receives it.

I am linking to the Being Creative Blog Party at Gorgeous and Fun Things and Sew Darn Crafty Party at Sew Many Ways. Hop on over to see what lovely creations other bloggers are sharing.

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by liberal sprinkles

pink saturday & calypso swing giveaways

hi and Happy Pink Saturday! it's my second one, hope you like what you see!


this is my favorite pink thing this week

everything nice (knit motorcycle) by theresa honeywell

it's a real bike covered in a pink knitted cozy. so so hot! i blogged about this earlier @ Pretty in Pink : Knit Motorcycle by Theresa Honeywell


a couple of pink things in my everday life this week:

healthy breakfast!

chinese new year decorations

chinese new year decorations

pink mouthwash because i had
a dental emergency. eeewww

i saw plenty of fun pink stuff online.
first, the new fabric collection, Calypso Swing from Free Spirit. my favourites:

calypso swing MC08Pink

calypso swing MC05Pink

calypso swing MC06Purple

calypso swing MC06Gray

calypso swing MC09Purple

see all the swatches here. you could win some of the fabric at the quilting gallery blog, at i'm just a guy who quilts and at amy's creative side. good luck!


lastly, some flashes of pink from my valentine post and my tumblr this week

[credit]

[credit]

via

[credit]

via

via

please visit beverly at how sweet the sound to see the other pink saturday participants


thanks for reading!

if you enjoyed this post, why not...

♥ leave me a comment
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Pretty in Pink : Knit Motorcycle by Theresa Honeywell
hearts for you - happy valentine ~ liberal sprinkles
pink saturday : love
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by liberal sprinkles 

handmade bouquet

these were made as a housewarming gift for a friend

when she moved to a new country and new home.

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by liberal sprinkles