Then we got the new challenge for this week for Project Quilting Week 4. Barn Quilts! Which I’ve never heard of before….. So I started looking and all the Barn quilts are solids… So I found a design that I want to try, and to make it work the way I want, I wanted a series of blues that go from dark to light…. See where I’m going…

I had the blue I wanted, so I cut the pieces and was going to try to bleaching process! I was soooo excited. I found some inspiration and was going to be able to use it all in the same week. How productive of me!!!

So here I go. I got the bleach and water set up, plopped in the fabric and waited… and waited…. and waited… Nothing. Waited some more, nothing… Thinking back to the post on bleaching, she did say some fabrics didn’t change much… Then I started looking at my bottle of bleach while I was WAITING… Maybe it had something to tell me… Some secret to bleaching fabric that I had missed. Then I noticed it said to sanitize use Regular Bleach…

Regular bleach?? Who knew? I was under the impression that bleach was bleach. Little did I know that there was regular bleach and another kind of bleach. What that other bleach really is, I have no idea….. So off to the store I went to get REGULAR bleach…..

Once again… bleach and water ready! Fabric in… And I waited… This time my son was waiting with me… So we waited and waited some more…. again, NOTHING. My son said, ‘Mom, you said the fabric was going to change. When’s it’s going to change???’ hmmmmm, good question…. We even tried the fabric in straight up bleach. No water. Nothing. Everytime I’ve ever gotten bleach on fabric, nice big white spot, right away. Now I want to bleach fabric and nothing…

So, third times a charm right… But not with bleach. I changed to going the other way. The good ole staple, RIT dye! Now I have navy blue fingernails and a nice variety of shades of blue (some are kinda purple, but that’s ok) fabric for my Barn Quilt Mini Quilt!

Drumroll please…..

And the winner is…..

Chosen using Random.org

 Congratulations Melissa! I’ll be contacting you soon for your address. I hope you enjoy them, they are really cool!!!

And a big Thank You to Suzann for sharing a set of her awesome Bobbin Blooms!

And thank you to all the readers and everyone who signed up to win!!

And….  Oh, my!! I’m so excited! I was just looking over at The Long Thread for something and ended up re-reading her post on the Top 100 Tutorials of 2011… And my bookmark made the cut! I’m so honored! I love The Long Thread! Wow! I don’t know how I missed it the first time I read the list. But I was just looking and noticed she listed a magnetic bookmark so I went to look closer and noticed that she was linking to Jenny’s blog and I knew it was my tutorial!! ahhh… LOVE IT!

Today I wanted to share my tutorial on a magnetic bookmark. I saw something similar and in good Feelin’ Crafty fashion, I said, ‘I can make that.’ So here it goes!

Step 2:Make the front and/or back. For mine, I did a patchwork side and a one piece side. So Step 2 is to set up the patchwork side. Lay it out and sew it together. So if you want to do the patchwork piece, this step is for you. If not, it’s kinda like the choose your own adventure books (remember those as a kid??) move on to Step 3.

Step 4:Sew pieces together, right sides together, leaving about a 1” hole.

Step 8:Topstitch. Another tip… The magnets liked to attach themselves to my sewing machine and not let the ‘teeth’ pull the fabric through. So I try to remember to hold the magnet up a little bit as it gets close to the metal teeth on my machine. So, if you are using the sew-in magnets, the magnet will be sewn in while you are topstitching. If you have a regular round craft magnet, you’ll want to also topstitch just above the magnet to keep it in place.

In the meantime, here are some that I’ve been thinking about that are already made by someone else…

1. I’m sure most everyone has seen this one, it’s ALL OVER the internet. because it’s adorable… The 90 minute shirt by Dana Made It.

2. Another popular one is the Ringer Shirt by Crafterhours.

3. Love the Baseball Style Tee (and the applique) by Make It and Love It.

4. I’m seriously thinking of purchasing the Flashback Tee Pattern from Made by Rae, and I don’t buy many patterns….

5. I was lucky enough to win a copy of Sewing For Boys on the blog tour! And in that book are some really awesome patterns. There’s a pair of pants I’ve also been meaning to make, but since we’re talking shirts here…. There’s a raglan tee pattern in the book that sounds like it’s really easy! This cool one is made by Noodlehead.

ok, I have to get on this project!!

Have you seen these??? Well, I have this friend who has been looking for the perfect way to store her spools of thread with the coordinating bobbins. We’ve been looking and looking and then I found these!! Of course I forwarded the link right away!

Then Suzann commented on my despair of what to do for the quilting challenge! Suzann’s the creator of this great little tool!! And I was reconnected with this amazing invention! And she’s also graciously giving a set of Bobbin Blooms to one of my readers! Let’s all give a big shout out to Suzann!!! YEAH!!!

Are you wondering what exactly they are??? Well, the way I describe them, is that they are a pretty little lid for your thread spools. Inside the flower is where you store your coordinating threaded bobbin. How perfect is that??

Are you ready to win and get those spools nad bobbins organized???

(all images via Bobbin Blooms)

Ready to WIN? You have FOUR ways to enter!

1) Leave any comment you’re thinking of! (one entry)

2) Subscribe to Feelin’ Crafty, either by RSS feed or email subscription! Leave one comment. (second entry)

3) Become a fan of Feelin’ Crafty on Facebook. Leave one comment. (third entry)

4) Share the Giveaway on your blog, facebook page or tweet about it. Leave one comment. (fourth entry)

That’s 3 possible entries! You must comment on this post to win. The giveaway will close on Monday, February 20th at 11:59 p.m. PST, and we’ll choose one winner using Random.org.

I’m posting a little late today, but it’s still Valentine’s Day in my part of the world. So to those of you still in Valentine’s Day, I hope you are having a great one! And if it’s already passed for you, well, I hope you had a great one!

This Valentine’s Day I participated in a valentine’s Day crafty swap, hosted by Happy Hour Projects. My partner was Liza from Happy Lizard Hill.

I mailed off a ghostie to Liza. this little guy got all wrapped up in a little box and headed off to Ohio!

Hopefully he’ll be well received by his new family!

And then I got a cute little package in the mail myself! I opened it and there was this really cool package inside. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if that was the present! My husband and I were both thrown off a bit. But it rattled… It sounded like something was inside… So I opened it and there it was! A lovely heart necklace!

Thank you Liza!

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

Then a couple of people commented on my blog about, hello, sewing tools!! Ah, ha! Yes! My first thought was to use magnets to make a working ‘tool rug’ (instead of a mug rug…) to put my pins on as I sew. But then that wasn’t really coming together either and then my husband looked at my idea and said, ‘NO.’ Sooooo….

The other thing I have been wanting to try out is the chevron pattern and of course, scissors came to mind for this piece. So that’s where I started. The red chevron represents the scissors. And, um, the chevron’s aren’t all that easy to get lined up…. Just a little side note there for ya for future projects…. My husband was a lot of help on this one, actually. He helped with composition and color, which isn’t actually a surprise to anyone that knows him. And with his help the pin idea went from being a big black (and ugly, so I found out) circle to being translated in little rectangles at the bottom.

Part of the challenge was to incorporate 4 tools into the design. So I’ve already got the pins and scissors. Then came the circle shapes for the rotary knife and the ruler along the side.

But I actually have 5 tools represented. The fifth is the Bobbin Bloom. Have you seen these??? They are really cool! I don’t actually have them, but I think they are a fantastic tool. Stayed tuned for a giveaway this week!!

I tried again with the machine stitched binding and was not impressed once again. I did it correctly this time, unlike last time. The only binding I had, in a color I liked, was a thin single fold tape. I should have stopped and just made my own binding, but it was late saturday night and it’s due Sunday morning… So I went with what I had and what I thought would be quick and easy… I’m going to give it another try with better binding and let you know how it goes. Third times a charm, right???

Shared with these link parties!

OK, yes, here’s another Valentine’s story that goes all the way back to Christmas! Our Valentine’s day tree is, yes, you probably guessed it, a Christmas tree! I got it on super clearance after Christmas with the intention of using it for Valentine’s day. Added a few pink and white sequins, plus a hand-made heart garland and wahla, it’s a Valentine’s day decoration!

And what’s more perfect for Valentine’s Day than a mini red velvet heart-shaped cake with cream cheese icing and a cute little bunting!

The uses for paper heart shaped punches is endless!!!

Shared with these link parties!

I love how they turned out!

And they were super simple. No tutorial needed, but I did take a picture of the matierials I used. The paper punch, paper, thread, double sided tape and envelopes! That’s aout it.. Ooh! and the sewing machine and the computer! (They didn’t fit in the picture!) I just punched th hearts out. Then I printed the Happy Valentine’s Day on the white paper. Cut out the white and pink paper to fit the envelope. Then I stitched on the hearts, added double sided tape and inserted the pink paper and stuck them together.

I also made my address labels that I love. And I couldnt resist another opportunity to use my little heart punch!!

Did you make Valentine’s this year? are you wishing for anything for Valentine’s Day? I’m wishing for some chocolate covered strawberries! I just sent my son downstairs to eat his strawberries with his dad and told him to ask his dad to order some chocolate covered strawberries… I wonder if it will work!

Shared with these link parties!

Welcome Valentine’s Day Ghosties!!

Like I said they have always been fun for me to make. I love seeing their little faces and ears once I pull them through! They all start with the same pattern, but they all end up looking a little bit different. It’s like they have their own little personality.

Like this guy, doesn’t he look like a little puppy wanting to follow you home??

I closed my shop a little while back, but am thinking about reopening! I took most of these Ghosties and an assortment of other pieces I’ve made to one of my shops today. So if you’re local and need a ’Ghostie with a Heart’ swing by Twilight Artist Collective and pick one up.

Shared with these link parties!

and this one