A Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak peek at my next big project.  (I'll give you a hint, it's not the awesome vintage shirt.)

Special thanks to Theo for being an adorable model and tester :)

Gifts!

Thanks to the lovely faces from Believe Magic, I made some fun little gifts.  The first was a housewarming gift for my friend Cristina who moved across the country.  The other is a thank you gift for Meredith for all the awesome quilt stuff she's taught me and given me.

 "home is where the heart is"

 

"thank you"

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How To Make An Inexpensive Inspiration Board

Here is a little mini tutorial about how to make a ghetto very cheap and very light inspiration board for difficult walls.  I knew that when I actually set up my sewing space, I wanted to have a wall of things that inspire me.  Like many artists, I have binders of tear sheets, photos of work by my favorite artists, boxes of cards that have been given to me, autographed photos of Sam Waterston etc etc.  I saved all of it to one day make an inspiration board of my own.

That day had come, but I am very tight on money and was also planning on hanging it on a very difficult wall.  It has metal or something in it, which makes it impossible to drill very far into, so you cannot hang anything heavy on it (which I found out the hard way), so my go to idea of Masonite was out of the question- here is what I did instead (please note that this is not the most exact or sturdy board, the emphasis was on cost and weight and not having to go to Home Depot).

First, gather your supplies- 2 yards of (really cheap, on sale) cotton (you could probably do it with 1.5 yards), upholstery tacks, 3 packs of 12 x 12 cork titles, packing tape, a regular stapler, scissors, nails and a hammer (a level doesn't hurt either).

Lay out the cork titles and use the packing tape to tape them together (be sure to tape both sides).  You can staple on top of the tape for extra security if you'd like (industrial staples are too long for the cork and a regular staple rips right out if it's not supported).

Lay your pressed fabric face down on the floor.  It's always nice to have a friend to help.

Lay the now taped together board on top of the the fabric and staple them together (remember to pull the fabric tight and try to keep it on grain).

Once the fabric is on, lay out your photos, artwork, etc (it's a lot easier to do on the floor than on the wall).  Use the upholstery tacks to secure the inspiration to the board.  Then, using you level, nail it to the wall.  The trick is to also use the hammer on the upholstery tacks which are long and sturdy enough to help the board stay flat on the wall.  And, there you are, it's done!  Maybe not the most high tech way to do it, but it was very cheap and pretty damn easy, and I must say, doesn't look as ghetto as it actually is!

Total Cost:
Staples- Cork Titles on sale for $5 a pack
(I had a $20 coupon for recycling my ink, so basically they were free.)
Local Hardware Store- Upholstery tacks $1.50 a pack = $4.50
JoAnn's- cotton on sale for $4 a yard = $8
I already had packing tape, nails, etc so that total out of pocket cost was $12.50!

*Many more photos to come of my sewing space as soon as I get my last little pieces of the puzzle, a tin I bought on Ebay, a photos for a wall hanging, and a little quilt art I want to make.  It's sooo close!

Project Explosion!

My mom mentioned to me that she should like a pot handle holder, so I decided to make one for her as a thank you for helping me with my apartment project (photos to come when it's complete).  It turned out to be so easy that I just kept making them!  I also think that I am going to write my very first tutorial for these- so look out for that next week.

As soon as I make matching potholders, these will be for sale on my Etsy site.

New Obsession

Guys!  I'm obsessed with this blog that my friend recommended to me, you have to check it out.. 

Believe Magic

(Once I'm done swimming in apartment madness, I will use her blog to inspire some new work of my own.)

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Throwback Thursday: The Chuppah Creation

A couple years back my oldest friend Bethami married her now husband Lenny and I made their chuppah, which I was both very honored and terrified to do.  I took a bunch of photos of the process and realized that I never showed them to anyone, so here goes...

Bethami and Lenny wanted a white chuppah because the temple is very colorful.  We did research and sent lots of emails and came up with the idea of a bed of silk chiffon leaves edged in gold.  The hope was that the entire top would be made of these leaves, but to be honest I bit off a little more than I could chew, so it ended of up being a boarder of leaves around white chiffon.

I started by drawing 5 different leaves and making templates of them.  Then I traced them lightly with a pencil onto the chiffon.  Because the chiffon would buckle in the sewing machine, I stitched the gold edging onto the chiffon with a piece of paper underneath it to keep it flat (if you're wondering, I used old Law & Order scripts).  The leaves were then cut out and the paper removed.  As the photo above shows, I needed lots of Diet Coke and Tootsie Roll pops (as well as help from a few friends who I begged to come over one afternoon) to get it done.

 

Once I hoped I had enough leaves (It wasn't till the night before I had to fly to the wedding that I realized that I could not do the whole thing in leaves - I held out hope this long...) I laid out the chiffon on my floor (which was just large enough) and lay out three rows of leaves, just overlapping slightly at the corners and stitched them together there.  Cash, of course, helped a lot.

 

Once the wedding day came, we only had a very short amount of time to get all set up before the ceremony. Thankfully, Lenny had some very awesome groomsmen, without their help there would have been no way it would have been up and actually looking good.  I owe them forever.  Rachel (Bethami's sister) and I basically stood there and directed them.  I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.  Bethami and Lenny seemed to be as well, and let's be honest, theirs are the only opinions who really matter.

Home-Infused Blueberry and Strawberry Vodka

Sunday night I checked in on my infusing vodka, which included tiny little tastes from each jar.  The pomegranate was very faint tasting, so I put it back in the fridge, but the blueberry and strawberry vodkas were very flavorful, so I decided it was time to strain them.

In order to control the pouring, I first dumped the mixture into a pitcher and then slowly poured through a strainer into a smaller Mason jar.  Then I labeled them, sealed them up, and put them with all my other liquor- it's that easy.  I am never buying flavored vodka again!

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Homemade Infused Vodka

I feel like a bootlegger!  Today I put all my internet reading to good use and started the process of making infused vodka (which I will used for my Olympic viewing party drinks).  If it works, then it's really easy!  Here's how to do it...

First- you'll need:

• Mason Jars or a similar container that you can seal (I suppose old liquor bottles would work)
• Vodka (please don't judge the brand I used, someone left it at my house after a party a few years ago, so I figured it's time to put it to good use.)
• Fresh Fruit
• Your everyday kitchen stuff (knife, cutting board, etc) depending on the fruit you choose

I am making 3 different flavors: Blueberry (for Olympic Sangria) and Pomegranate and Strawberry (for Olympic lemonade).  I just went ahead and poured all of the pomegranate seeds into one jar (I'm not sure if I needed that many, but I'm not going to use them for anything else), the blueberries I punctured with a knife so that juices can really get in there, and the strawberries I cut up.  After the fruit was in the jars, I added about 1 cup of vodka to the blueberries and 2 cups to pomegranate and strawberry each.

Then you seal them up and put them in the fridge.  I've read lots of different info on how long you are supposed to let them sit- everywhere from 24 hours to 3 weeks...  I will try something in the middle.  Don't forget that about once a day or so you should agitate the mixture.

Now we wait...

New Look! New Name!

New look and a new name! I procrastinated today by completely revamping blog! "Greye's Quilts" just didn't seem to be cutting it anymore, since it's pretty much all different quilts, crafts, etc. I chose "Greye's Craze" for a couple reasons- 1. IT RHYMES! 2. because I do become obsessed with making certain things for awhile, then it passes, and I become obsessed with making other things. I wanted to change the look of the blog and this is reminiscent of how I hope to have my craft area look soon enough.

Enjoy the new look! I promise I'll be back soon.

No Excuses

So, if you were wondering, I do still exist...  So much boring stuff has been going on: Unforgettable wrapping for the season, finding out we've been canceled, assisting on a play, apartment hunting only to realize that the market is way too high right now and deciding not to move, cleaning out all of my hoarding closets and donating an obscene amount of clothing, planning on how to rearrange my apartment, coming to terms with two of my closest friends moving out of NYC within two weeks of each other...

There should be a lot of crafty stuff on the horizon though- I am completely revamping my apartment which will include painting, redecorating, and making a designated crafting/quilting/sewing/working area (I promise to take lots of photos).  I also want to have a small viewing party for the Olympics (which is one of my favorite things ever) that will involve homemade decorations, taking a stab at making infused vodka, and themed snacks.  Once I'm settled I will also be buckling down on Jackson's t-shirt quilt, doing some fun craft things to put up on Etsy, and hopfully making some fun stuff for my "new" place.

Stay tuned... In the mean time, you can see all of the stuff I want to do here
(it's just my Pinterest page).

Hunger Games Has Taken Over My Life

This is the reason I've been MIA... work and The Hunger Games trilogy.  I resisted and now I can't be stopped...  I'm almost done with the final book.  As soon as I am done, spring cleaning begins, so I'm hoping for a new post in a week or so.  In the mean time, read these books!

Here is a photo of my day*...

*this photo can be seen as sewing related, since I did make my Kindle case :)

Even Exchange of Goods and Services

It's nice to have different types of artists as friends.  My friend Jackson is a hairdresser who is in need of a t-shirt quilt.  I am able to create a t-shirt quilt and have a head full of grey hair that needs attention.  Bam!  We have a deal.  I am making Jax his t-shirt quilt and he is helping me have confidence to go out in public again :)

I began the slightly ghetto way I began my own t-shirt quilt, by creating a sketchy patten by cutting and pasting and Sharpie and a little math...

To continue being super high tec, I did this to all of the shirts:

Jackson picked out a sashing fabric and I have placed and order for it and also more interfacing, since I don't have much in my stock.  I have started with some of the shirts with the little that I have.  I am also using the erasable pens for the first time.  If you haven't used them they seem pretty amazing so far- I'll post about specifics later if I think they are worth it.

 I finished up a lot of little projects last week- pot holders I've been working on forever, whipped out my screen again, and started making some little bags that I'll hopefully have posted soon.  Anyway, lots of new stuff up in my Etsy store, so take a look!

Ellisa's Finished Quilt

Today I finished Ellisa's House Quilt!  It was supposed to give me about 5 days to get it packed up and shipped to Kentucky before she entered the world.  Ellisa, however, surprised us and arrived yesterday (I healthy 10 pounds!).  Now it's all packed up and will be sent later today.  I am mostly happy with how it turned out.  The quilting was pretty detailed and looking back, I probably should have quilted the windows and doors a little more, but I think that it's very cute and I hope she (and her mom and dad) like it!

Ellisa's Houses Quilt Top

 I'm not sure why this photo is so blurry, but you get the idea.

Someone is very helpful during the quilting process.

Screen Print Class

My friend Sarah and I just took a screen printing class at the Make Workshop on the Lower East Side.  For my project I chose to make a fabric label for Ellisa's house quilt (I haven't quite decided how I'm planning on attaching it- before or after it's quilted?).  It was a really cool class and definitely has me interested in learning more (this class was only two classes) about screen printing and other crafty fabric related things so hopefully there will be more (exciting) projects to post in the future!

Here are photos of Sarah and me during our workshop on Sunday:

Original paper drawing (left) and painting on the screen.

          

After screen filler is added (left) and during the printing process (right).

Sarah printing

Finished product!  (Sarah's Valentine's Day cards are above)

More Houses

So, I've been on a roll this weekend (thanks to lots of football to watch while quilting).  I've finished all nine of the houses for baby Ellisa's quilt.  I did end up having to order fabric for the sashing and backing, so I'm at a stand still until that comes in on Wednesday.  I really hope this quilt ends up being cute!

Stay tuned for more- including a new, exciting, and different type of project on Sunday (I'm taking a class!)  Until then...

**I really need to stop using my phone as a camera...

Elissa's Houses

One of my childhood best friends, Hilary, is having her second baby, a girl, due in eight weeks.  When she was pregnant the first time around, I made a cute little baby blanket, but never finished it and felt like a terrible friend.  This time around, I'm changing that.  SO, since time, money, and space are all tight, I decided that I wanted to buy as little as possible and use some of the fabric that has just been lying around my apartment for months and months.  I love the cool little wonky houses on blogs like House of Krom so I thought that I'd try to make my own.  After a really disastrous attempt, I decided just to go with a pattern.  Now that I sort of understand how to do houses, one day I hope to be able to design my own, but until then, here are some of the houses I've made...

I'm Back!

Okay,  I know...  You've all forgotten about me.  I've been working and traveling and ignoring my quilting, but there are lots of projects coming up.  I somehow just found out one of my childhood friends is having a baby in EIGHT WEEKS!  So, I think I'll start working on that one today (although I haven't figured out what I'm doing yet..).  Also, my friend Jackson is coming over to discuss a commissioned t-shirt quilt I'm going to make for him.  AND, I finally finished Theo's 1st Birthday quilt top (never mind that he is almost 14 months.)