I trust that you all enjoyed your 4th of July with family and friends, food and fun!
WOW! It’s Blueberry season! These little orbs of juicy goodness are at their best right off the bush. There are a bunch of bushes in my Mom’s yard.
And just look at all the green ones just waiting their turn. Yummy, yummy!
Are you like me? The container takes FOREVER to fill because I’m eating them on the spot!
I like this closeup. This is one of our summertime (well anytime, because I do freeze some just- picked berries) breakfast go to’s.
This is called Muesli, a European dish of delight.
This dish includes, blueberries (or other fresh fruit, peaches will be ripening soon!), granola, and plain yogurt (I prefer full-fat Greek yogurt for the extra protein and the rich texture). Don’t forget a shake or two of cinnamon.
I need plenty of energy to tackle a project for my Mom. Yes, the “dreaded cover the patio chairs project!” These have been covered once already. The guts are in pretty good shape. I will be reusing these. Have you priced replacement cushions lately? Yowzaa!
Here is one of the cushion covers I made 9 years ago. They are literally crumbling off.
Not to mention faded dramatically. Yes, yes, I bought Sunbrella “wannabe” fabric. As you can probably tell, I made extra long “pillow case” pieces. No zippers, piping, or snaps to hold in place (did try velcro on one to hold it to the chair like the originals. Just one, and I was off on that one, soo…ditched that idea).
I chose from my stash a beautiful heavy denim for the back. I had 2 bolts of it at one point. Remember, I used to own a fabric store. I’m sure you heard the story about my husband not needing to insulate my (over the garage studio) sewing area as I had sooooo MUCH fabric in there(he said), it wouldn’t need it. It’s true but I’m not sad about that, nope, not one bit!
The fronts of cushions are a pretty, striped, beach towel. Mom, just couldn’t justify spending $45. + per yard for the “real deal”, as in Sunbrella. She has 5 chairs (odd amount but that’s what it is) and that would be 10 yards. Sooo…..happy to use up the denim (she’s taking us out to dinner for supplying my sewing skills to this project. It works for me).
Of course, the critics were out, watching my every move! Ha, ha.
One big thing I learned while sewing these together on a regular sewing machine is to make certain that you hold together the top pieces (I guess you could pin them, but because they are bulky it is easier to hold them), and then ……next picture please,
tug the bottom piece toward yourself. All this while you are sewing the seam. Home sewing machines don’t have even feed, feed dogs so matters must be taken into your own hands, sew to speak.
Taa Daa! All done! I know, I should have rounded the tops like the old ones, but I was on a bit of a time crunch to get these done before the 4th of July.
And here is my sweet Mom, Joyce. She is 88 years young. What a blessing to have her close by (as in a few hundred yards) in her own cute “Granny House.”
Thanks for stopping by . If you want to see all the Art to Wear sewing patterns I have for sale, take a peek at my Etsy shop (Designs by Heidi Emmett). For the month of July, I am offering FREE SHIPPING on my patterns IF YOU CONTACT ME FIRST at hmemmett@gmail.com Purchase,ONE OR MORE PATTERNS, FREE SHIPPING.
If you want a really adventurous blog post, pop on over to the Artistic Alchemy post. Find it right here. Jane Haworth has been going from “Sea to Shining Sea.” Right out of the song, America The Beautiful.
Yesterday, July 4th, Independence Day, what a great day to be with my entire family. It is the first time in a whole year to all be together (a few new additions too as in marriages and babies). We are in the 30+ category and still counting. I feel so blessed to live in this great country, the United States of America. And I salute all those who have come before to ensure the FREEDOMS we all enjoy. Hugs, Heidi
I drove to 
They call that little bundle of colorful pieces of yarn, “yarn embellishments.” It will be a perfect addition. And I picked out a piece of iridescent silk, lighter than air, as the background for my scarf.
I learned how to pull “fluffs” of roving to fill in the spaces I needed to. In my case more is more, so I filled in the whole shebang! with just a small amount of the background silk showing on the sides.
I cut some of the yarn pieces into “confetti.” We’ll see how this works. And the other long pieces from that “yarn embellishment” pkg. I placed them into a pattern of sorts mostly straight linesand a few gentle curves.
Our fabulously talented teacher, Sharon Mansfield. And just look at the two other scarves on the table. A reversible scarf, and a collar/shawl (on the left).
We were taught that you can place your little fluffs in myriad patterns. And notice that instead of placing her design onto silk, this student is using cotton cheesecloth.
This is the coolest yarn ever! It is knitted first into a tube and then you get to cut it up any way you want to.
The finished scarf. Look how the edges of the cheese cloth rolled (it’s permanent) and the open spaces. I really like it. I would never have pictured using cheesecloth.
This student chose similar yarns and silk background to mine but look at how open hers is. You will really see the beautiful silk when it is finished.
Preparing for the felting process. There are many steps, but none of them are hard. The whole process was a soothing journey for me. No rush, rushing, like I usually do. Take your time here. You CANNOT hurry this process.
Water, soap, and pressure, are what make the silk and fibers stick to each other and stay. This students’ finished scarf is below, finished.
The student is in the background and Sharon (teacher) is modeling her scarf. She was so unhappy at first with what she had done (don’t know why, it is gorgeous), but her smile shows, she’s o.k. with it now after it’s finished.
I really like the simplicity of design on this scarf. The background is cheesecloth. Who knew that cheesecloth could look so classy?
And one more scarf using cheesecloth as the background piece. Very rich coloring and design.
And here is MY scarf. I like it. It’s warm and colorful in design.
Oh, look, it’s Petunia, the resident kitty of 
Here we all are showing you are beautiful creations. Almost all of us signed up for class # 2. We had such a good time. Go 
This scarf is so light and airy, I just love it. A selfie ’cause Robert was away for the day.
All that pressure, sudsy water, etc… really shrinks the fabric. I lost 1/3 of the original length. See the pretty, soft gathers? It happens as it shrinks, ha, ha, I can’t take the credit.
Straight lines of yarn become squiggly as they shrink up. It is such a serendipitous process. I just love it!
This scarf will be perfect for all seasons. I love how these colors have blended together.
Some days it’s just HARD! Ha, ha, HA!
At our latest SWAG (Sierra Wearable Art Group) we had a challenge and this past Wed. was the “reveal.” One of our members had a friend who was letting go of her vast linen collection (doilies,napkins, trims, tablecloths, etc). We all picked up some pieces that we liked with the idea of “repurposing” them. One of the “doilies” I chose was perfect for the back of a jacket I had purchased.
This beautifully crocheted doily was pre-treated it with 
Just a few pins were needed to hold it in place while I stitched it to the back of the jacket.
Once I stitched down the middle of the entire doily (I removed the pins as I went), I was able to just hold it in place (because of the 
There is so much going on on this jacket, all the design work has been hand stenciled on. The stencil reminds me of a doily. So……
That is what I did. I placed the doily on the back where there was a faded section of denim. This is the simplest of ideas, I actually didn’t want to show it, as this was all I had time to do. Oh well, NOW we’ll look at some AMAZINGLY creative ideas.
Love this top made from a tablecloth that was first dyed using Procion dyes from
Isn’t this felted piece Amazing?! Julie did this one too. She first dyed a piece (I think it was a dresser scarf)then added some yarn/roving to the same dye bath. Creating her own felted fabric she added bits of the dyed yarn/roving and voila, what a COOL piece was created.
Here is a closeup of the dyed dresser scarf. I love how the threads shrunk into squiggles. An aside on this hand felted vest. She took a class at 
Can you believe this darling summer top was once a table cloth? Dee went all out using every inch of this piece.
Oh my gosh! Elyse used every piece she picked up! You go girl! Her vest was made of one crocheted piece (dyed first). The jacket and purse include, doilies, dresser scarves, collar pieces, trim pieces, etc., etc. Some real thought went into each of these pieces.
What, you ask is Kari holding? She took this challenge to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL!
Kari took a hand crocheted tablecloth and pressed it into a slab of clay that she shaped on a mannequin. Absolutely stunning!!! I liked that she kept it a creamy colored glaze just like the piece she started with.
This is where I was last week. My husband and I worked in the Bear Necessities gift shop. The middle story is the gift shop. The story below the gift shop is a small studio apt. where we stay. This shop is on the Zephyr Point Conference Center property. Check it out here. This Conference Center is where I and 3 other talented women will host our 6th annual Artistic Alchemy Retreat. Check out our retreat here.
I took this picture from the right side of the deck just outside of the gift shop at Zephyr Point Conference Center.
And how about this view from the left side of the deck at the gift shop where I get to work at Zephyr Point. Ahhhh……so beautiful and restful.
I have never seen this so close to Lake Tahoe. We were walking on a beach area right on the Lake. Someone who has yet to come to their vacation home this summer will be very surprised. A beaver had felled this Aspen tree only to discover that the “pond” he intended this piece for was Lake Tahoe (a mere 30 ft. or less away). Not funny for the home owner, but really! What was that Beaver thinking?
This Crab Apple tree (Ornamental) is on the Zephyr property right in front of one of the giant cafeterias. I say ditch those bushes that are blocking the Lake view.
The blossoms were everywhere. It looks like a sweet carpet for a wedding venue.
Delightful view of a Crab Apple tree in its’ full glory on the Zephyr Point Conference Grounds.
Crab Apple blossoms at their peak along the shores of Lake Tahoe. Wish they would be in bloom for our Artistic Alchemy Retreat this September. Zephyr Point.
We had time for a side trip over the mountains to the Carson Valley. I had my husband take this shot of the back of Heavenly Mountain (leaving Carson City). Sorry, there is some “buggage” on the window of the car right above the mtns. It is NOT smoke. Did you know that as of June 9th, the Sierra Nevada Mountains were at 202% of their snow pack? No, that is NOT a typo, 202%!!!! And the runoff hasn’t even really started! So amazing.
I would pick out the purses/totes FIRST, and then go to your stash of small to medium sized prints in 100% cotton. 1/4 yard each of 4 or 5 prints should work just fine.
Hi Rubix, No I’m talking about cats at the end of this post. I know you want to help, but…..
The fastest way to treat your fabrics with Terial Magic for this project is to lay a piece of muslin (big enough to cover the ironing board)onto the ironing board. Working with one piece at a time, lightly spray the fabric piece. With the iron on the dry setting, iron it dry. If you notice a few places that have no “Magic” spray them and keep ironing. Just like a piece of paper now! LOVE this!!
After they have all been prepped I look for glasses with the right size for my circles. Each finished piece has only 2 layers. This larger circle is 2″ in diameter. Mark around the glass, I used a pencil.
The smaller of the circles are approx. 1 1/4″ in diameter. Mark and cut these out too.
Now it’s play time. Stack them any way you wish. If any of them feel a little limp, another spritz of Terial Magic and that dry iron again, will do the trick.
The next step is to glue the stiffened, sewn circles onto your purse/tote. I use, quite often, a product called Fabri-Tac. It’s clear and super tacky. Make sure you put the glue on the outer edges. Fabri-Tac is expensive so make sure you close it up tightly when done using it. ENJOY YOUR FUN, AND FANCY NEW BAGS!
The Circles Necklace and Earrings project are shown on the back of the book.
What a beautiful model Leisure Arts used to show off my super fun and easy project. You need to own this book!
I have decided that I need to wear my projects from my book. This is the first time I have worn The Circles Necklace. You first saw it on my now famous video ha, ha. It was my first ever, just remember that. And In case you forgot, it’s on the You Tube Channel for Terial Magic.
A closer view of the Circles Necklace project.
Circle Necklaces are like potato chips…..you can’t make just one!
I love this pen. I use it for marking the circles. My son left it at our house awhile back and it has been added to my must haves. No, I am not giving it back. I’m the Mom.
A view of the new colorways as a finished necklace. Both fabrics are Kaffe Fassett.
Two part or one part eyelets work perfectly for this project.
There are many eyelet attaching tools out there. Here is a good quality one from Germany.
One more necklace in a black and gray colorway. LOVE this.
Here is a close up of the fabrics stitched together. This fabric is the perfect scale for this necklace.
We have had some thunder and lightening storms lately. This was our Sunset one evening. The sky just glowed.
Not the clearest of shots but wow, a rainbow. Who knew until I zoomed in.
Two nights later this is the Sunset (looking away from the sun) at a friends house. Double rainbows.
Here is the smoothie you saw (hopefully) on Insta-gram. And I promised you the recipe. I’m drinking one, in fact, as I’m finishing this post. Double YUMMY!
At the ASG program, my table, ready, set, go! The Sun City Roseville, Country Club was the venue.
We were in the ballroom. What a great time we had telling everyone about
Inspiration for your next Upcycled denim project. I want to use some of my Kantha cloth for the bottom portion.
I think the sleeves need to be shortened a bit, don’t you?
Too fun! I want one of these.
Or maybe THIS one! Save all your denim cut up scraps, ya’ never know where they can be used.
I think this T-shirt is so cute. I just got a great idea for a butterfly ( from an actual mixed media art piece I made) that is in a simple format like this cactus.
This looks like a fun idea. I’m not sure about the circle bit at the top. I’d like something else there I think.
Words we all need to live by. It will take practice though.
Look at this jacket closely. There are men’s shirts in it, just enough pieces to give it that Attitude Dressing, fun look! (check my Pinterest board, “Attitude Dressing” for more)
Don’t let this happen to YOU! Focus on a couple of ideas and get busy. Don’t be like me as I always seem to see lots of squirrels,& POOF!! Weekend gone! Ha, ha, ha. I love this picture and the words that go with. Hugs, Heidi
Snip, snip, all around the design I want to use.
Beginning the first row of the big bias circle. Notice the yellow and red headed pins. The pins are telling me where to make a pleat (pleats add better fit over the hips). When I have stitched all the way around the circle, I need to finish it off (complete the circle). So I open up the strip, and pinch right sides together (it needs to lay flat and smooth) and stitch up the seam. Refold it and stitch the strip down. Subsequent rounds really are easy. This first one is the hardest. But it is all spelled out in the pattern.
Taa daa! Here is Beth’s finished sample. I just LOVE the fabrics she chose and how much fun I had playing with all the choices. 
Calypso Vest by Designsbyheidi.wordpress.com
A close up of Calypso Vest.
I love adding raw edged pieces to the back of this vest.
Tim Holtz fabrics for more pretties on the back of Calypso Vest.
This book is ADORABLE!! Sure it’s for little girls but I bought it for myself (I wish I had thought to write it). I found it at one of my favorite stores for ideas, clothes to buy/and or copy on my own, and accessories like this book.
I have loved clothes and shoes and purses, and jewelry, and on and on for the longest time.
A few weeks after purchasing “I Had a Favorite Dress” I spied this little top in J.C.Penney’s. It reminded me of the dress from the book. Of course I had to buy it just because.
And then rummaging through a box of old jewelry pieces I spied this piece that was made from real French wired ribbon, antique buttons and French flower pieces. So sweet it’s a perfect match for the “Favorite Dress.”
Here is another Favorite Top of mine in what else, shades of Pink!
I
Let’s use this, “ALWAYS!” Ha, ha.
My mom gave me some of the Iris that are growing in her yard. Aren’t these stunning? I like the background too as it shows the beauty of different spring “greens” that are flourishing.
One word for this Iris “STUNNING!”
Have you ever seen such depth in this particular purple?
The light from the sun gives this Iris a stained glass look. Thanks for stopping by today. You know I appreciate each one of you so much. Hugs and may you have creative energy for your endeavors this weekend, whether out in your own garden or at your sewing machine. Heidi 
We had so much fun and showed sooooo many of the SAQA attendees how helpful Terial Magic is for their Art Quilts/Wearables.
All my fun, quilted techniques for my Art to Wear are so much easier with Terial Magic.
I really enjoy creating spirals using Terial Magic first and then because the stitching is on the bias, when I wash them, they are soft edged, not a lot of fraying. 
Leaf shapes have straighter lines so there is more fraying. That’s what leaves do.
The same goes for machine applique. Pre-treating with Terial Magic makes for a really nice satin stitch (and the needle doesn’t gum up).
This beautiful picture looks like a building somewhere in Europe. And to think it is in downtown Grass Valley, CA in a PARKING LOT!!!
Designs by Heidi loves to take pictures.
Such intense coloring on this Wisteria.
What a great color combination for a 
An old door perhaps from a mine long ago shut down here in “Gold Country.”
Another great color combination. Can I find silk shantung in that shade of blue? Oh what a yummy base for any of my vest patterns.
A shot of my “Circle Pillows” that a friend made for her sister. They were a project in Modern Patchwork several years ago. Sadly the magazine is gone. But I sell the pattern for it. Email me at hmemmett@gmail.com if you are interested.
Love this piece of fiber jewelry. Hmm…this would be a great project for my Workshop at the Artistic Alchemy Retreat up at Lake Tahoe. Check it out.
Remember “Poochie?” Well, well, he used a pittance of safety pins. Visit the Poochie story at 
Here is the pattern, I started with. There’s quite a bit packed into this pattern. Buy it from me directly (email me: hmemmett@gmail.com) or see it at my Etsy store: Designs by Heidi
I cut out the vest pieces and serged all the edges. This fabric is a beautiful linen and has no right or wrong side. So I laid out all the pieces and after deciding the right sides, I put a safety pin in the upper portion of each piece to keep it all right in my mind.
I overlapped it for a “seam allowance” and placed safety pins here and there to keep it within its seam boundries.
Fill in the “seams” with all sizes of safety pins and in any direction you wish.
I chose to put mine in all one direction. Went faster.
I sit with a large book on my lap. I place the area needing pinning on top of the book ( a flat surface like a book is perfect to slide the pins into place. I have a tin filled with many sizes of safety pins to just grab and not worry about which size.
I don’t think anyone would ever recognize this as the “Mommy & Me & My Lace Vest & Quilt pattern.
I like the addition of the pocket on the front. This pattern, Mommy & Me & My Lace Vest and quilt, is a blank canvas for a variety of inventive vests.
I added the fabric scrap squares because they echo the subtle woven pattern of the background linen. The squares came from a charm pack of Star Grunge fabric by Moda.
I think the “Bling” of the safety pins is quite eye-catching. I haven’t worn it yet, but I’ll let you know what kind of comments I get. It will be interesting I’m sure. Ha, ha, the expressions alone will be worth it.
The little squares (also serged and straight stitched onto the pieces) looked lonely, so I put some safety pins on them as well.
Ahh, here is a nice closeup of the front pocket. I took it off of another vest. I love the whole concept of a loose pocket. I stitched it down a few inches (on the edge) on the upper left side. It was buttoned onto the other side, but wait, not a button, I’ll use safety pins!
I can’t get over how heavy the vest is now with all the safety pins.
Can you believe it, I found this safety pin in my pin box with black beads on it. How perfect is that. I need to do some more like that at some point.
The finishing touch is my rubber tire tube necklace. Easy to make. I talk about it in a DesignsbyHeidi. wordpress.com post, Creative Techniques, I think.
Where did the inspiration for the Mommy & Me & My Lace Vest pattern come from? Well, that’s me (Heidi at age 21) sitting. Waaaay back then lace was really hot too and I designed this pattern and became a production sewer and made these on my beautiful Bernina 830 (top of the line in 1974). That was my high school graduation present from my parents. I sold these vests at Artist fairs and Craft shows up and down the state for a short while. Then I started teaching quilting and sewing (art to wear way back then, who knew) classes.
My friends from left to right, Dale M., my sister-in-law Debbie W., me, and Linda M. my super special sewing buddy. Wow, what a sewing adventure I was having back then. Fast forward just a few years ( Yowzaa!!! I just did the math), 41 years (gentle sobbing can be heard) and as I said, lace, anything lace, is popular again. Upcycling at it’s finest. Thanks for stopping by. Maybe you have something from your sewing past that you might want to revisit too. I love to see what you come up with. Hugs, Heidi
Sandra Bruce, Mary Boalt, Jane Haworth, & Heidi Emmett the four teaching enthusiasts!
Sandra-Material Matrix, Mary-Steam-a-Seam, Jane-Pet Portraits, & Heidi- Upcycling clothing, Wearable Creativity & Fiber Jewelry!
Our booth at the 
Sandra Bruce will be the “FEATURED QUILTER” this year at the Pine Tree Quilt Guilds Show! This is a BIG deal. Here is her quilt Chuck Close.
Some of my “Art to Wear” sewing patterns. Try them on and see which patterns you need to own!
One more of Featured quilter, Sandra Bruce’s Material Matrix quilts- Dame Lorraine.
One of Mary Boalt’s creative hand painted canvases. This year it will be “all about Steam-a-Seam” and creating your own fabulous fabric.
One of Jane Haworth’s Amazing Pet Portraits.
Some of Jane’s student’s work.
More student’s own Pet Portaits- a class taught by Jane Haworth.
Here I am wearing my Terrific Tabard pattern- a new look for it using one of Mary Boalt’s hand painted canvas pieces.
This vest is from the “Wearable Creativity” portion of my workshop. Take one of my Wearable Patterns and let me help you create your own Designed by YOU look. Heads will turn when you wear it and you’ll be able to say, “I designed and made it myself.”
One more version of the “Wearable Creativity” section of my workshop. Let me help you fit one of the patterns you pick to your body type. And with YOUR fabric choices, design the perfect wearable that YOU will WANT to wear.
I just had to take a moment to show you that Jane Haworth, one of the teachers at the Artistic Alchemy retreat made the cover of Quilting Arts with “Tilly,” one of her Pet Portraits. This is a really BIG DEAL! A very, small, percentage of talented artists make the cover of a magazine. Look at all the talent available in one wonderful retreat. Come join us!
And when I saw this HUGE, I mean, “HUGE!” Wisteria vine at the Rocklin, CA, Pottery World, I thought of the colors in “Tilly.”
Wisteria with Fountain.
Oh my, I’m going to learn how to make these rectangled spirals? Yes, yes.
Different fabrics make each spiral “pop” in a unique way.
These are all the teachers samples. She did suggest Ombre’s for added sparkle. For some great ombre’ fabrics, head on over to 
Mel Beach has such a way with her modern sense of pattern play in piecing and quilting.
Samples abound and we ALL loved making spiraling triangles too.
I told Mel that I can’t wait to try these on even a smaller scale for my “Art to Wear Garments.” Mel knows that I work in wearables not quilts on the walls. And she said that she too was thinking about these cool rectangles, squares, triangles, etc. would be a perfect fit for my different vest patterns.
Above is how the whole process begins. It’s just like a courthouse steps pattern with just a couple tweaks. So hard to imagine, but she had us “improving” like crazy and it was all before lunch!
Here are some student work. Mine are the triangles and squares closest to the tables edge. I have so MANY ombres (at home) to choose from. Now that I know what to do, I will play with shaping the spirals better, and background choices. Ohhhh, what fun!
Back home, on a walk this morning, Mahonia aquafolium (Oregon Grape) has the prettiest blossom clusters this year.
The daffodils are especially nice in upper Northern CA where I live (one hour north of Sacramento, in the foothills). They have never bloomed this long before. And the sunny yellow is so cheerful.
O.K. these are “store bought.” Our tulips are closed so tightly right now. But I couldn’t wait. Don’t forget to dash over to 
Here is a terrific view of a cabin on the property. Cave rock is w-a-y in the distance. This is Porcupine trail where you get a bird’s eye view of Lake Tahoe and the Zephyr Point property. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time for some creative sewing this weekend. Hugs, Heidi
Carefully clip the inside of the heart shape right to the seam. Turn the heart inside out and gently work out the heart shape and the heart point. 
This is the point when the first half of the heart is filled, with, ta da!, uncooked rice.
Find a small funnel or make one out of paper and you will also need a 1/3 cup measuring piece.
I use rice in my “Love Pats.” The more expensive the rice like Jasmine, or Basmati, the lovelier the aroma when it is heated up. Dried lavender can also be added.
Please ignore the seam you can see in the picture. Pretend it isn’t there. Add the 1/3 cup of rice. Then pick up the heart and let the rice fall to the side opposite the opening.
Now you can stitch it down the middle. Make certain that ALL the rice is out of the way of the needle (voice of experience talking here). Now you can fill the OTHER side of the heart (would that be the right ventricle? hmm….) and hand stitch the opening closed.
Finished “Love Pats” ready for their homes. It makes me happy to use Kaffe Fassett cottons.
I just got back from a wonderful 4 day trip to the central coast area of California, San Juan Bautista. The trip was ALL sewing, ALL Day & Night (if you wanted). Here are some stunning Oak Trees from one of my walks.
Step a few feet forward and this scene, wild mustard, green velvet hills, puffy clouds, and a rainbow are what you see. So serene… I could sit and enjoy for hours.
I took my Love Pats to this sewing event and gave one to each participant. My little gift to them.
Any natural fabric will work. Do you have a special piece of embroidery? Or a handwoven? Or even a tightly knitted piece (maybe from a cashmere sweater). Try those for a Love Pat.
Pop them in the microwave for no more than 70 seconds. The smaller amount of rice is just perfect to mold across a shoulder, back of a neck, even on a tummy. Ahhhh…just right.
You know how it is, lay things out and “They Will Come.” (Don’t worry ladies, I lint-rollered each one so there is no cat fur to be found. Aarrggh….
Follow me on Instagram- DesignsbyHeidiEmmett And don’t forget to check out 
I made this Sparky Top last summer for a casual outdoor wedding. The colors/prints from Kaffe Fassett fabric were keyed off of the hand painted silk center back piece.And the front piece, normally one fabric, well…I ran out and improvised. I like what I did. You can too.
I stitched cut out appliques over the seam. Use 
Follow me at all these places. I have so much fun posting at these places. Join in by going to one of these places, signing up and typing in “Designs by Heidi Emmett.”
I really like the combination of the Kaffe Fassett cottons and a little sparkle of the front panel and the back panel .
The subtle colors, the small sequins, and the sheerness of this JoAnn’s fabric is great for my Sparky Top.
This Sparky Top makes use of 
Sparky Top is a perfect pattern for knits. This combo pack (3 yards, 1 yard each of 3 prints)is a knit that is 100% rayon. So soft and it drapes beautifully.
I used another combo set of knits, 100% rayon in this Sparky Top. BUT WAIT!! It has long sleeves. What? That’s not in the original pattern! Go to my home page of this Blog and look at the post under “Sparky Top” 9/28/18, titled,” Sparky Top gets ready for cooler days.”
Stunning, shapes, colors, and textures. Helliborus/ Lenten Rose. Small and delicate looking, they are tough, some of the first flowers of Spring, they often have snow on them and just keep on blooming.
The only thing I don’t like about Lenten Roses is that they droop over. You cannot see their gorgeousness unless you turn them up yourself. Sad but true. Thank you for stopping by and seeing what I’m up to. I just read this, “You can never have too much happy.” Think on that one awhile. And go have some “happy” with your next creative project. Hugs, Heidi
These circles would make cute earrings too! Hmm…but for now, I’m using safety pins and attaching them to more fabric .
Stitch two circles together, wrong sides together, sew they are the same on both sides. And just cut them out. You can stitch just inside the outside of the circle. But, it’s mostly on the bias so there will be very little fraying.
I serged the edges of the same fabric for a fun look.
I top-stitched them onto the cuff and added a few safety pins too.
Check out the bicycle pin made from wire and attached with, what else, a safety pin.
There are just a few touches of safety pins on the front. By the time someone says, “Wait a minute, are those safety pins on that jacket?” Well, they’ll turn around and see the back.
Poochie will really garner some attention! My husband calls the long strips below Poochie, “doggie tails.” I just call them fun.
What’s in the pocket there. A little burlap bag.
If you like what you see here, 
I took some shots outside and discovered these sweet violets growing in the lawn. Heralding Spring.
What’s that song, “The first cut is the deepest…” I’m certain they didn’t mean cutting up something you love with scissors. 
Don’t forget to visit our
Hands down “Grunge” in black is the best! Yikes, whaaat! I’m down to 1/4 of a yard! That will not work. Oh what a shame. I have to dash over to our newest quilt shop in town, Villa Rosa Desgins. She sells every single Grunge color they make. I have to dash. I WILL SHOW a FINISHED project very soon. I promise.
