A Handmade Childhood: Hipster Wall Art

I know I said I was taking a break from the sewing projects while we painted the nursery, but I did want to share this project that I originally did ages ago and for some reason can't find as a blog post.

Since we live in Asheville I felt it was more than appropriate to add some hipster art to the baby's nursery. The plan is to eventually have a wall devoted to appliqued, embroidered etc. art in embroidery hoops of different sizes. I think it will look fun and hopefully will be visually stimulating for the little sprout.

This applique project is made easy by the fusible bonding that keeps the shape in place. If you are not much of an artist, then look for some silhouette clip art that you can print and trace. These would also make very cool patchwork blocks. Look for retro background fabric for a true vintage loving hipster effect.

I chose to make this tutorial as a video as an experiment on a snow day earlier this year.
You Will Need:
 - Embroidery hoops
- Fusible bonding
- Plain cotton
- Patterned background fabric
- Thread in either plain color of cotton or color of background (see photos for the different effect)
-Iron
-Needles or sewing machine
Get everything you need here

Spring Update

Our living room, photo taken from the balcony above.


It seems as if the only time I post on my much-neglected blog is to explain why I have been away for so long! Yes, my life has been through various transitions over the last 3 years, multiple moves, jobs and plans.
Now I am finally, finally settled. No more renting, or living out of boxes. No more work spaces in closets and struggles to start a craft business.

My husband and I firmly ensconced in the house of our dreams, truly, and in the process of making it our own. Given the travels from UK, to Zambia (Africa), to here: Asheville, NC, US, settling and getting the house exactly as we want it is going to take some time. But isn't that part of the fun?

The house we have bought is spectacular (there, I have said it) open plan, LEED certified and beautifully modern. More pictures to come. The slightly industrial and minimalist style matches our taste and we have been happily buying vintage pieces to give it that mid-century modern flair.

It is this new house and our homemaking that spurred me to give this blog a bit of a make over. So 'For the Love Of' has been retired, to be replaced with the somewhat flamboyant name of 'The Modernist Craft Movement'. Why? Well as much as I love crafts, it is hard when quilting, embroidering and whatnot to create pieces that are contemporary and not-quaint. So I am on a mission, to embark on craft projects that I love as well as create things that I would have happily in my own house or on my own body!

Think of this blog as a work in progress (aren't all blogs?), an electronic notebook that I am sharing with whoever drops by. Please leave comments if you are inclined, it's nice to know that one is not typing into cold cyberspace, only to be lost in the millions of other craft sites out there!

Cushion Cover

New cover, the rosettes are paper pieced and hand appliqued, the top will be machine sewn as soon as the voltage converter comes for my UK machine!

New Projects

These are going to look awesome as cushion covers once I get the colours right ...

How to Friday - Reverse Applique

This is a great way of doing reverse applique if you have a non-fraying material like felt or jersey. It is so simple, will defnitely try it. Click on the picture for the tutorial from That Darn Kat. For more of her patterns, check out the Etsy shop

Zakka Folder

Here is the first folder I tried to make to keep my crafty papers in. Unfortunately I didn't plan it well so I couldn't add pockets. I have a new method though so the next one will be perfect! I experimented with two types of applique. I like the button hole style but it takes a while.

I used extra thick interfacing to make th folder slightly more rigid.

Zakka Book covers

Zakka book covers - they're all the rage don't you know! The first one I made was too small for my notebook so I use it for keeping recipes clipped out of magazines! The second was just right! Want to make more to sell at the craft market. The second is from upcycled bedsheets, my new thing.

Retro Applique Curtains

If you have been following the process of us decorating our house, you will know we are inspired by retro designs. These curtains really bring that side of the room out and I am pretty proud of them. I appliquéd the pattern onto the ecru curtains as the fabric itself is quite dark, and anyway the pieces were too short for the windows. I did them by hand and each curtain took a day to make. I played around with design a little bit first so I had my pieces in a pattern that I liked.

I simply drew a circle around each pattern with tailors chalk, cut them out at least a ¼ inch away from the outline, snipped the shape all the way around up to the chalk line, pinned the shape to the curtain, folded under the sections and sewed together with a running stitch in thread that matches the curtain. The curtains were then hung using my safety pin method.