Ballerina Skirt

We have a fashion crisis! Ok, not really. Two weeks ago I saw this fabulous fabric by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman and it was on SALE and then last week, we signed up my eldest daughter for her first dance lessons; therefore she needs a new outfit! Let's just say it's a fashion emergency of my own making.

This skirt is partially based on a very similar skirt that my mom once made me and Kelly's skirt at Sewing in No Mans Land. The main difference is that I sew the elastic back on to the band. The elastic is also sparkly because my sister said she should have something sparkly.

And here she is, all ready for her first dance class!

*UPDATE*

So initially I thought this was a completely frivolous project that was solely for my own pleasure. However, we showed up to dance class and every other little girl had a skirt or tutu. Good thing I whipped this little skirt up!

Quilted Pillows ~ A wedding gift (cont'd)

Guess what? I actually sold something on Etsy! One sale every 6 months isn't so bad ; )

In my previous post, I started working on a set of pillows for a wedding gift. With the patchwork complete, now it's time to quilt!

In keeping with the modern feel of the first pillow, I decided to go with some straight line quilting in a casual grid pattern. In other words, I didn't use a ruler and I varied the space between lines.

For the second pillow, I used a meandering loopy pattern to reflect the organic motif of the leaves.

Major hiccup . . . I ran out of purple fabric for the back. Oops! That's what happens when you try to complete and entire project with only scraps. So I ran to the local fabric store; they were out as well! Luckily, a good friend came to the rescue. She's my fabric enabler. Somehow whether we shop together or apart, we always seem to pick the same fabric.

I also like to quilt the back of my pillow covers. I find it makes the corners of a finished pillow look sharper. Also, if you wash the pillow covers, the back doesn't get all wrinkly and you won't have to iron it, which is a nice bonus.

And here's the final product. Now I just have to buy a gift bag and a card!

Quilted Pillows ~ A wedding gift

My family and I have been invited to a garden wedding so I've decided to make a set of quilted pillow covers as a gift. I love making pillow covers since it lets me experiment with different techniques and colours without the commitment of a full-size quilt.

A few weeks ago, I asked the bride's older brother about her favourite colours. He answered "hippie stuff and purple". So that wasn't particularly helpful. I decided to translate that into "Bohemian jewel tones". Hopefully, I haven't misinterpreted his comments.

I started with a bag full of scraps from Joel Dewberry's Bungalow collection. I love, love, LOVE Joel Dewberry. I might flirt with Amy Butler or Heather Bailey now and then but when it comes to fabric designers, Joel Dewberry is my man.

For the first pillow, I decided to create a crazy mosaic. I really like this technique. It's  fun and easy; you just slice, sew and see where it takes you. There's something really natural about it. Combined with the bright colours, I feel it really brings a pop of modern energy.

For the second pillow, I decided to contrast the modern straight lines of the first pillow with something a little more organic. This pillow is based on Elizabeth Hartman's "Little Leaves" pattern from her first book: The Practical Guide to Patchwork. You can check out her projects at www.ohfransson.com. I'm a huge admirer of her work.

Not too shabby for a bag of scraps! I think I'm partial to the mosaic. Which do you prefer?

Now that the piecing is complete; it's time to start quilting. But that's for a future post!

Nesting Doll Quilt

I designed this quilt for my eldest daughter's 'Big Girl' bedroom. I'm a little addicted to nesting dolls so I started off with the 'Little Kukla' collection by Suzy Ultman and combined it with Avant Garden by Moda to bring in more of the aqua shade, which is one of my favourites.

I actually began this quilt in late February and only recently finished it. Technically, it could still be considered incomplete since I haven't made a quilt label for it yet. In fact, this would be my first quilt label since I usually procrastinate so much that I end up giving the quilt to the recipient before I ever get around to making a label. Ooops....

Here's a quick look at the finished front and back panels of the quilt. I actually finished these relatively quickly and then got distracted for several months before I got around to the actual quilting and binding.

Front

Back

I actually tried to quilt while I was still pregnant with #2 but I just couldn't do it with the belly in my way! When I got back to it in August, I decided to go with a casual grid pattern. It wasn't my first choice but I quilt with a regular domestic sewing machine and I just couldn't manage anything more complex.

 

Finally, I tried something new and added ricrac before binding the quilt. I really like how it looks. I love that ricrac is making a comeback.

 So here is the finished project!

Front

Back

A finally a shot of the big girl quilt in action. NAP TIME!

Welcome to Loop de Lulu (The Blog)!

Hello,

I'm Francesca, mother of 2 lovely little girls, crafter, owner of an unsuccessful Etsy shop and apparently now a blogger. Clearly, I don't have much experience in the blogging universe so please excuse me while I fumble around with formats, layouts, etc.

Some of you may already know me from my Facebook page where I often post finished projects, whether they're for personal use or for sale. The purpose of this blog is really to talk more about the process; how a project starts out as an idea and eventually ends up as a completed item (often with many hiccups along the way)!

Here's a little teaser ... a hint of future projects to come. This lovely little knot dress, headband and hair ties were made using fabrics from Heather Bailey's Lottie Da collection. I love how sweet they look without being overly saccharine.

Although you can't feel it today, fall is around the corner. Future projects I have in mind will have more of a autumn/winter flare.

Stay tuned for more!

Cheers,

Francesca