Thursday, January 28, 2010

Kanzashi Flower Tutorial


I just love this sweet and adorable flower. It's so cute and versatile. Trust me you're going to be addicted to making these flowers really soon. Especially if you like covered buttons. I know there are quite a few of you out there that LOVE covered buttons so you can just add these to your list of things that you absolutely LOVE. You can thank me for your newest obsession later, Okay?

You will need the following to make one Kanzashi Flower:

  • 7 Squares of fabric measuring 3 1/2" x 3 1/2"
  • Starch
  • Straight Pins
  • Needle and Thread
  • 7/8" Covered Button
Instructions:

1. Cut and starch your 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" squares. The size you cut your squares will determine how big your flower will be but for this tutorial I will use a 3 1/2" square. You can also make your flower with 5, 6, 7, 8 or even more petals but, for this tutorial I will be using 7 petals.


2. Fold the bottom corner up to meet the opposite corner. Make sure that the wrong sides are folded to the inside so that the right sides will appear on the outside.


3. Now bring the left outside corner and the right outside corner up to meet the top corner as seen below.


4. Flip the fabric over and fold the outside corners into the center as seen in the picture below.


5. Fold in half making sure the folded points you just folded in the previous step are now on the inside.


6. Push a pin through the middle making sure to catch the folded points in the middle as seen in the picture above and below.


7. Repeat this process for the six remaining squares of fabric.


8. Line up the 7 Kanzashi petals.


9. Trim off the triangles at the end of each petal (raw edges) as seen in picture below.


10. String all of the Kanzashi petals on a needle with thread that has been doubled and knotted at the end.


11. Here is a front or top view of what the Kanzashi petals look like threaded together.


12. Here is an underside or bottom view of the Kanzashi petal. Click picture to have a closer look.


13. To finish off your Kanzashi Flower you will sew the petals to each other on the underside of the flower.


14. Now sew the petals together on the top side too.

15. With your iron, give the Kanzashi petals a blast of steam. This will soften the starchiness of the fabric and allow you to play with the petals until you have them just how you want them.


16. Lastly, you will make a covered button for the center of the flower. Just follow the directions on the covered button package. I used a 7/8" covered button.


17. Here's the finished flower.

Finished Flower Size:
3 1/4" x 3 1/4"

You can add these adorable flowers to just about any sewing or craft project you could think of.

Here are just a few ideas:
  • Headband
  • Purse
  • Blouse
  • Skirt
  • Dress
  • Coat
  • Jacket
  • Apron
  • Sweater
  • Hat
  • Shoes
  • Quilt

Friday, January 22, 2010

Here it is...

Here's my newest Moda Bakeshop Project just in time for Valentine's Day. Go check it out and let me know if you make one. I'd love to see pictures. If anyone is interested, I will probably be doing a Kanzashi Flower Tutorial here soon.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

New MBS Project Coming Soon...


I'm really excited about my newest MBS project and I think you'll like what I've put together just in time for Valentine's Day. It will be posting just past midnight on Saturday morning on the 23rd of January.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Exciting News!

We are very excited and happy to announce

the Engagement of. . .

Mark & Liahona

I took these pictures of Mark and Liahona during
our recent trip to Disneyworld.


On January 9th, 2010

Our son, Mark proposed to Liahona.

They had a wonderful dinner at the Market Street Grill.

Then they drove to the Timpanogas Temple for an evening stroll.

He came prepared with the ring.

I understand that at some point he went down on his knee
and asked her to marry him.

She said, Yes!

(I wish I was a little birdie in the tree watching & listening. lol.)

Monday, January 11, 2010

First Quilt of 2010


My first quilt of 2010 was made
for one of my dearest friends, Suzette.

The picture was taken on 1-9-10 just after the funeral luncheon.
I'm so happy my husband caught a smile!
It was a very sweet moment together as we said good-bye to each other.

The name of the quilt is. . .

"Remembering Rachel"


I dropped everything I could to get this quilt sewn, quilted, and bond before we left for California on Thursday, January 7th for Rachel's Funeral on Saturday, January 9th. My friends daughter, Rachel fought Leukemia for most of 2009 and passed away just before Christmas. Rachel had decided to do a bone marrow transplant and fought hard before her body could no longer fight off the infection that took her life on December 23, 2009.

Her family misses her deeply. Her mother said one thing to me the day after she died that prompted me to make a quilt for her. She said, "I feel so empty." I could feel the emptiness that filled her heart and I ached for her. So, I went to work making a quilt that would help fill a bit of the emptiness and be a reminder of the love that's still all around her. The funeral was well attended and you could feel the love everywhere.


Rachel was 27 years old and brought so much happiness to those around her, even when she was at her lowest point. She had so much faith, hope, and concern for others. Many of her friends would often come to visit Rachel. She would listen and always wanted to help her friends, the nurses, doctors and other patients. She often brought a smile to the faces of those that came to cheer her up. The one thing that people will always remember about RACHEL is her infectious SMILE! I've known Rachel since she was a little girl and she ALWAYS had a SMILE on her FACE.


I asked my quilter to quilt an "R" inside of 27 hearts as a reminder of the 27 years that she lived here on this earth. I also asked her to quilt a heart design in each block, sashings, and in the border. I love how it turned out. You should be able to see the Hearts with the R's in them. You can click on the pictures to get a better look.

The quilt pattern is a revised Moda Bakeshop pattern by Roslyn Mirrington of Bloom & Blossom. You can find her MBS tutorial here. I just added sashings, posts and made the quilt a bit smaller and left out the applique. Everything else is the same. It's a great pattern. Go check it out today. You'll LOVE it!