Cynthia Shaffer

Tutorial: Decorated Sewing Machine

If I took the time to do the math and figure out just how many hours, days, months and even years I have been seated, sewing at my sewing machine, that number would probably blow me away. The more shocking thing is that I've allowed all that time to pass with the machine staring back at me in its original off-white metal box condition. Not any more! OMG ... look what I did yesterday!

I got up early in the morning, anxious to get the daily stuff out of the way, and then treated myself to a day of crafting for crafting's sake. I have had this idea to embellish my sewing machine for quite some time and at one time even took the machine to a sewing machine shop to see if they could take the "shell" off so I could paint it. The man at the shop was crabby and not helpful at all and looked at me like I was crazy. 

If you're interested in embellishing your machine, here's how:

Grab your sewing machine and put some paper down to protect your work surface. This is the machine I have been using for almost 30 years. I love my Pfaff ... primarily because of the built-in walking foot and its simple and easy to use.

Grab your Mod Podge and a variety of ephemera that speaks to you. I grabbed some old dictionary and encyclopedia pages, sheet music with Korean writing on it, some old photos of myself and my sisters and ledger paper from the mid 1800s. Funny thing ... I later realized that the encyclopedia pages were all about Japan ... one of my favorite countries to visit.

Slather a generous coat of Mod Podge onto the sewing machine, a small area at a time, and apply torn pieces of paper, over-lapping to cover all of the machine. Fussy cut/tear certain images or words you want to be seem and try to avoid covering them up too much. Note: The top portion of this machine comes off for oiling purposes and even though I decoupaged over that line, when everything is dry, I'll use a craft knife to cut along that line. Also, leave all the screws visible. 

Next add gesso with a dry brush, just to tone it all down a bit.

Next, spray walnut ink on a rag and lightly rub it all over the machine. Using the eraser of a pencil and acrylic paints, add brown circles here and there. 

Next, sand down the corner and the edges to give it a well-used look.

I did leave the name of the machine and all the important numbers visible, just in case.

And finally to seal all my handy work, a generous coat of Mod Podge over everything.

How much more fun will the next 30 years be to sit in front of this sewing machine while crafting, quilting, sewing and free motion stitching? 

Family Tree Art Quilt

It's at this time of year that most of us spend time with family members, far and near. It's on this day that I think of my husband and his family, his father Ed, his sister Brenda and mother Sally. They have all gathered together in Michigan to be with Sally. You see Sally has been in the hospital for a little more than a month now and though she is slowly recovering, she needs her family near her.

While I made this family tree art quilt several months ago for an on-line class I'm teaching in February, I knew it would someday belong to Sally. She loves her family and she loves hand-made gifts.

Funny thing ... I thought this quilt was finished until i looked at it again today.

It needed something else ...

A few more free-motion stitched swirls ...and a small circle of metal with the family name stamped on it.

Oh ... and a little red heart!

LOVE to my family in Michigan...Cynthia 

 

 

 

"Red, as dark as possible"

While I was in the middle of cleaning and dyeing 0330, a dear friend called to say hi. Knowing that her birthday was coming up soon I asked her what color I should dye the next batch of fleece. "Red," she said, "As dark as possible." Oh my ... of all the colors there are, she picked one of the most difficult there is to achieve, or so I've been told. Not a problem ... 

So here's what I did: I dyed the fleece in layers starting with the chocolate brown. After all the dye had been absorbed from this first layer I added another layer of fleece and some water to the pot. Then came the cranberry dye ... waiting, waiting ... Then another layer of fleece and water and finally the turkey red dye ... still more waiting and waiting. After about 45 minutes of monitoring the temperature of the dye bath ... I decided it was good enough.

Wow, is this so great? I love the way this batch turned out. 

Now the real labor begins. With these two paddles I began to card small amounts of dyed fleece, blending the three colors only on occasion ... I really wanted a hand-dyed look here.

So, from my carding paddles comes these rolags that are now ready to be spun.

Note: The pink rolags are from the batch of pink fleece I showed in this post. I get bored carding just one color at a time.

And ... Here's the dark red fleece getting spun. (My favorite part of this entire process.)

And, here's a full spool of the pink fleece, spun and ready to be plied.

Stay tuned ... Just a few more steps before this yarn meets my knitting needles!

Cherished and Adored

I love my dogs!  With my husband traveling all the time, I am so thankful for the company and companionship of my adorable pups, Harper and Berklee. 

Here's a really simple quilt I made with pockets to hold some of my favorite photos of my dogs. Although Harper is the only one of these three still around, I just love to look at this quilt and remember and cherish their sweet personalities and unconditional love. 

Here's what I did.

First I printed out several photos of my dogs and kids with their dogs. Then I typed a list of all the nicknames we call/called them, and included their official names and birth dates, then printed it out and cut it down to the size of the photos.

Next I cut out a panel of pink linen, cotton batting and organza. For the word "ADORED", I placed alphabet cookie cutters under the linen, then rubbed the linen with Shiva paintsticks. Next I made a sandwich with the linen, batting and organza. and then free-motion stitched around the letters.

Using the photos as my template, I cut pockets from organza and stitched them to the quilts, then added a bit of black and white ribbon, some random stitching and stamped flower onto small organza circles and finished it off with a little bit of embroidery.

And finally ... my husband made me this fabulous board that I painted several times then sanded to look a bit aged.

The finishing touch ... black upholstry tacks! 

 

Free-Motion Fun

I'm a resourceful kind of girl and with the economy the way it is, and I need to craft, no problem...paper plates are the perfect blank canvas. Just add a bit of paper and fabric, and a little free-motion stitching and there you have it ... perfect plates for lunch with friends.

I made a bunch of these plates recently and stuck them back up in the paper plate holder that hangs under a shelf in my kitchen. 

When my kids and husband reached for a paper plate for their lunch that day they said, "What the heck, oh ... just mom being mom!"

Love my kids and husband ... they get it!

What to do with them, you ask? Display them on a wall that needs a splash of color, place them atop gift packages for a super unique presentation, string them in a row to make into a mobile for a party, keep a stack of them to display on an easel for display and simply shuffle them periodically to match your mood.

Want to learn more about free-motion quilting? Coming soon...Free Motion Revolution, an online class offered through Crescendoh Creative Lab.

Free-Motion "Warm-Up" Quilts

 

Sitting right next to my sewing machine is a stack of plain muslin, solid colored cotton fabric and batting squares (4"x4") and before I start to free-motion stitch on a large project, I begin with these quick "warm-up" quilts.

Sometimes there's a theme to the quilts and sometimes it's just random stitching and playing.

And then there are the friends that come over and want to know how to free-motion quilt. My dear friend Lee-Ann watched as I stitched this little sampler with her name on it but she hasn't seen it stitched up into a little pouch holding a small Christmas gift for her.

I guess the trick here is to have lots of squares ready to be quilted and to practice...practice being free and messy, and practice making it perfect.

Happy free-motion quilting!

 

 

Her Name Was 0330

Several years ago, right around the holidays, we took a family vacation to Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. This historic town was all dressed up for the season with fabulous cornucopias decorating doors, fresh wreaths hanging on iron gates, and fife and drum corps marching down the center of the street. What a treat it was to visit a town that celebrates the days gone by of hand-forged tools, animal-driven plows, pot belly stoves and hand-shorn sheep.

One day, while visiting the small shops and farms, we stumbled upon a sheep shearing demonstration. I stood there for what seemed like a minute, but turned out to be a good hour in awe, as I watched 0330 being shorn by hand with hand-forged shears. You see, 0330 was a Leicester Longwool sheep, pregnant and due to deliver her baby in the early part of spring. Her fleece had become so heavy and hot that it was time for a hair cut. The only question I asked while I watched was: "What will you do with her fleece?" And so, my adventure begins. 

O330 arrived on my front porch just a few weeks after we returned home. She was wrapped in an old white sheet and as you can see, splayed out in the perfect shape of her body, shorn all in one piece. Elaine, the woman demonstrating the shearing, then labeled the different areas so that I could sort the fleece according to quality. I was now ready to take on a new/old craft.

Ok so, truth be told, I let 0330 sit in a box for a few years. I did however inherit a beautiful spinning wheel from my dear friend Cliff and went on to learned how to card, spin and ply yarn. 

A few months ago, I re-visited 0330 in her box and decided it was time. I had read so much about washing fleece and was completely overwhelmed by all the information. I had this image of all 9 lbs soaking in my bath tub, then lifting it out carefully (probably weighing 50lbs now), trying to avoid felting, then changing the water, trying not to change water temperature to drastically, then repeating it all over again. I was exhausted just thinking about it, wondering to myself: "OMG, what was I thinking?"

Thankfully, by the time I sorted and bagged the fleece, I realized I really only need to wash a pound of fleece at a time and could do so in my kitchen sink! While I'm no expert on washing and dyeing fleece, I will share what I did.

• Weigh 1 pound of raw fleece and stuff into a mesh laundry bag.

• Fill a large pot with the hottest water you can get from your tap and then add 1/4 cup of blue Dawn, original dish detergent. 

• Submerge the mesh bag in the pot and watch as the lanolin and dirt float to the top. Do not touch the fleece, do not poke at the fleece, do not stir the pot! Let the fleece sit for 20 minutes, then gently take it out of the pot, rinse the pot and repeat until the water runs clear.
• Now, fill the pot with hot water, this time just for rinsing and then submerge the mesh bag. Again, repeat until the water is no longer soapy.

• Carefully take the washed fleece out of the mesh bag and place in a salad spinner and spin the water out! NOTE: The use of a salad spinner is a genius moment if I don't say so myself...so much water is spun out of the fleece, that the drying time is cut in half!
• Fluff the fleece and let it dry. I put my fleece on a cookie cooling rack but you can use an old towel.

• Now the cleaned fleece is ready to be dyed. What you need is a large enamal stock pot, acid dyes and citric acid to set the color. 
• Since I wanted a very modeled and hand dyed look for my fleece, I choose 3 different colors and dyed the fleece in layers in one pot.
• Put just a few inches of hot water in the pot and turn on the gas to a medium setting. Wet your cleaned fleece with hot water and about a Tbl of citric acid and then place in the pot. 
• Disolve 1/4 tsp of acid dye in a water bottle and shake to disperse the dye.
• Pour the dye solution into the pot and heat to 160 degrees, monitering the heat with a candy thermometer.

As a kid I remember my father taking me to the fair. We didn't go for the rides or fair food, we went to see the animals and to visit the craft exhibits. There were always people knitting, weaving, dyeing yarn with natural vegetable dyes, and best of all, spinning fleece into yarn!  

FINAL NOTE: For those who read this post and want to ask, "What are you going to do with that?" Let's not go there. It's all about the process, isn't it? The process of 0330 producing this amazing wool that Elaine sheared, that I washed and dyed. And now that it's dyed, so many other options open up. It's all so amazing. I invite you to stay tuned and enjoy the process.

Tutorial :: Pretty Little Rings

Oh so pretty and oh so easy. These pretty little rings happened completely by accident. I was originally crocheting "sleeves" for wooden beads and as I was taking the "sleeve" off the bead, it rolled up and slide onto my finger. OMG...so dang cute! I ditched the wooden bead idea and became obsessed with crocheted rings. 

Here's what you do:

Gather:

• Pearl cotton
• Size 4 or 2.00 mm crochet hook
• Hand sewing needle
• Thread
• Pearls, buttons and beads

 

• Chain 21-26, depending on your ring size, then slip stitch back into the first chain to create a loop.
• Single crochet into every chain.

• Continue around the loop for 6 rounds. If you want a wider ring, add a few more rows.

• When you have enough rows on your ring, cut the pearl cotton and thread the end through the loop to secure.

• Roll the loop to create a donut shape then thread one end of the pearl cotton onto a large eye needle and sew the edges together.

• Embellish with pearls, button and seed beads.

Happy Crocheting!

Tutorial : : Reverse Applique Scarf

Years ago, when I was in college studying textiles, I first learned about the people of Panama and their brightly colored molas. I was facinated by these molas, the intricate stitching, layers and layers of fabric sewn together then delicatly cut away to reveal the under layers of cloth. The technique is called reverse applique.

Here's a scarf I made using that same applique technique, although greatly simplified and then embellished to make it a bit unique. 

Here's what you do:

• Cut 2 pieces of cotton knit that measure 6" x 58". Pin the 2 layers together.
• Stitch around the perimeter of the scarf with a large running stitch using pearl cotton.
• Lay a stencil at the end of the scarf and spray with black paint.

• Stitch around the painted motif using pearl cotton and a backstitch.

• Then cut away top layer of fabric using really sharp scissors.

• Then cut little tabs (about 3" up from the stenciled design) from the top layer of knit fabric like this.

• Then stitch through the layers with a large basting stitch and draw up the thread to gather.

• And, tie the little ends together and thread one end of the scarf through this little loop.
• Embellish with French knots.
• Leave the knotted ends visible to add a little extra texture.

Happy Appilque!

 

 

Welcome Best Buddies!

 

Tonight from 7-9 our house will be teaming with kids and their buddies and lots of music, dancing, food and laughter, oh and ugly Christmas sweaters. Best Buddies is one of the best clubs on the high school campus my kids attend. My son Corry is so fortunate to be the club president, my son Cameron is buddies with a great kid named Anthony. 

I'll take lots of photos tonight and post them at a later date, but for now, here's a seak peak at the mini "Welcome" quilt I made for the wreath that's hung on our front door. 

Here's what I did:

• Cut 2 pieces of muslin and 1 pieces of batting and using fabric spray adhesive make a sandwich.
• Mark lines and words using a water soluable fabric marker.
• Adhere strips of felt and circles with fabric spray adhesive. 

• Free motion quilt the words and the felt pieces.
•  free motion quilt the scallop edge then cut out.

• Attach ribbons and tie onto a stick.

Welcome Best Buddies!

 

Tutorial : : Photo Christmas Wreath

Is this not the perfect gift to give someone who has everything?

My in-laws are those such people and the recipients of this Christmas wreath. About 8 years ago I gave Ed and Sally this wreath and every years since, at Christmas, I give them my kids new school picture in these adorable frames. I purposefully made it a little less Christmasy than it could be, knowing that they would probably want to have it up all year long, and they do!

What to do...Find a really good looking fake wreath (this will be the most difficult part of this project) order lots of these frames, scan, reduce and convert the photos into black and white, then insert the photo into the frames. Add a bit of ribbon and tie them on the wreath. OMG... So cute and so fun to see how the kids have changed and grown from year to year!

Holiday Cones

Is there anything better than... burlap, black velvet, netting and vintage sheet music? 

These cones are the perfect little something to hang from a doorknob, mantel or give as gifts, filled with a favorite candy. 

And you can find everything you need to make these cones right here.

Here's how I make the flowers. 

• Cut a long skinny oval from black velvet, about 9" X 3", fold in half.
• Cut a narroow strip of tan netting and pin to the velvet and hand stitch a big running stitch along the curved, cut edge.

• Draw up the thread while still attached to the needle and knot.

• The gathered edge will naturally roll in. Secure gathered edge by sewing back and forth several times.

Vintage Handkerchiefs

Her name was Dorothy Shaffer (aka GG Dot to my children) and every single day she dressed in a skirt, sweater set, pantyhose, heels and of course a matching handbag with a fine handkerchief tucked inside. 

GG Dot passed away several years ago and one of the many things I inherited from her was her vintage handkerchief collection. 

The handkerchiefs are so beautiful and as you can see she loved color and variety. 

From bold patterns and delicate lace to the finest cotton with hand rolled hems, and everything in-between.  

While I will probably never carry these handkerchief in my purse, I sure do use them when I entertain.  

Tutorial : : Painted Treat Tins

Oh so pretty. The perfect tin to load up with Corry bars and deliver to friends and family.

Batch #3 is ready to go!

 

So easy and so sweet...transform random tins into handmade holiday gifts.

What to do...Gather random tins and lightly sand.

Spray the tins with several thin coats of Krylon indoor/outdoor paint ... while the top is still on!!!

Give a few pages of old book text, a wash of gesso.

Stamp words on the text and tear out. Punch snowfakes out from the gessoed text and glue onto the tin tops using just white glue.

Load your tins up with Corry bars, or your family's favorite treat, and tie up the tin with a little hemp.

Peace, Blessings and Grace...

Art Doll

"Oh sure, I'll quick make you an art doll." Little did I know that the words "quick" and "art doll" should never be used in the same sentence. I now have a new found respect for all doll artists! 

This is my first attempt at making an art doll and while she didn't turn out exactly the way I first envisioned, I do love her now. Part of the problem here is that I didn't really have a plan, I just started, cause after all they're not that difficult to make, right?

And here's a funny thing that happened...I was going for a more monster type doll, that's what I had researched, but that's not what came out of me. Oh My!

After the body and head were sewn I couldn't put her down. She started out with just a simple skirt and fabric scarf, but then came the details and layers and ruffles and the petticoat made from old book text. Oh, and the lacing up the boots and the knitted scarf and little stitched lines and word to finish her off.

And what to do for hair became a family affair...and where exactly do I place those eyes?

Here's a quickie on what I did. Cut out 2 body pieces, 4 arms, 4 legs,4 ears and 2 heads from muslin and small prints. Stitch the prints to the muslin.

With right sides together, stitch around the arms, legs and ears and turn right side out. Stuff with fiber fil and use a chop stick to poke the fluff in.

Pin the legs to the bottom of the body, slightly askew.

With right sides together, stitch the body, leaving the neck hole open. Clip the corners and turn right side out. 

Pin the ears to one of the head pieces, then with right sides together, stitch the head, leaving an opening at the neck hole. Turn right side out. Stuff the body and the head. Paint all the muslin body part with white and light yellow acrylics. Using Mod Podge (matte) adhere small strips of gessoed text, to the head, limbs and body. Tack arms in place and sew the head on.

Hand sew a slightly gathered skirt right on to her body.

Knit a tiny scarf...

 and embellish! Go crazy or not...but I bet you won't be able to stop with just a simple skirt!

 

Corry Bars

My father's name was Corry, my son's name is Corry and these yummy bars are lovingly called "Corry bars."

For years and years, right around the holidays, my father would spend many evenings making these cereal bars. He would load up tins and hand deliver them to all his co-workers and collegues. 

My father never meet my son, but i did tell him before he died that I would name my first born after him and so...17 years ago today, my son Corry was born. 

No cake baking here, it's "Corry bars" for Corry's birthday celebration. Oh, and a tall glass of milk.

My father's tradition of loading tins with Corry bars and taking them to friends and family continues with my family...This batch of Corry bars is just the first of many to come.

Corry Bars

• 11 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 11 oz. butterscotch chips
• 1 C Karo light corn syrup
• 1 C creamy peanut butter
• 1 C granulated sugar
• 7 C Special K cereal

What you do: Combine the sugar and corn syrup in a sauce pan and heat until the sugar is melted. Take pan off the heat and stir in the peanut butter. Place the Special K cereal in a large mixing bowl and pour sugar/syrup/peanut butter mixture over and stir. Fold into a 9" x 13" pan and press down. Melt together the semi-sweet chocolate chips and the butterscotch chips and pour over the cereal. Let cool and cut.