Mod School Supplies

It's back to school time for students of all ages, or will be very soon. I was a strange kid, and always liked getting new school supplies each year. There's something about sharpening new sets of pencils and picking out a fun binder. Oh, and arranging items by color. To celebrate school starting again, Spoonflower's current Fabric of the Week contest is for school supplies themed fabrics. My entry is Mod School Supplies:

Mod School Supplies, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to see print in yardage.

Rulers, pencils, markers, marker caps, erasers, and construction paper make up this fun school supplies themed print. I used primary and secondary colors for the print to keep it bright and a tool for learning colors. The black and white keeps it from being too bright. The design was inspired by Mondrian art and uses actual sized rulers (with correct markings), pencils, and erasers. The markers and marker caps are approximate dimensions, as I didn't have any basic markers to use as a guide. This large scaled repeat would be especially great for art smocks, but would also work for backpacks and art supply/portfolio cases.

The last day of voting for this contest is Wednesday. You can check out the rest of the fabulous school supplies themed fabrics and vote for your favorites here. Many of them would make fantastic pencil cases or backpacks, and there are even a few kits amongst the entries.

I have another cross stitch pattern and project to post, and am also working on a sewing project. The cross stitch pattern and project will be posted soon. The sewing project (a jacket) will be posted once it is finished and photographed.

*Past Contest Result*
- Camping: Neverending S'mores 87/162

S'more Fabric

I couldn't resist that pun, as this post will be about fabric with a s'mores inspired print. Nom nom nom! (S'mores print fabric is probably not safe for eating, but would be fine for your waistline). This week's Fabric of the Week contest at Spoonflower is camping themed fabrics. At first, I wanted to enter a fabric with several camping elements and stars. I did create that print (and will have it in this post), but decided to go with an essential camping treat: s'mores. Eating s'mores around a campfire is an awesome ending to a fun-filled day of exploring nature. Here is my Camping contest entry, Neverending S'mores:

Neverending S'mores, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to see detail and repeat in yardage.

I used s'mores components to make a fun checkerboard type print. Graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate bars repeat in their proper order. I think this print would work wonderfully for a camping themed quilt, as well as crafts and even clothing. Though I think a s'mores fabric skirt would just make me want an actual s'more to eat.

I still like the first camping print I created, but thought s'mores would be better for the contest. Here is the other camping inspired print, Under the Stars:

Under the Stars, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to see repeat in yardage.

Crescent moons, campfires, tents, trees, and lots of stars make up this print on a night sky background. One of my favorite parts of camping is sitting by the fire at night, under the stars, eating s'mores and telling spooky stories.

You can vote for you favorite camping themed fabrics here at Spoonflower until Wednesday. There are lots of great fabrics perfect for the camping enthusiast, as well as several more s'mores inspired fabrics in the contest.

*Past Contest Result*
-Craft Party: Rainbow Rings Craft Party Kit 91/107

Craft Party!

The current Fabric of the Week contest at Spoonflower is for cut and sew kits that fit on a fat quarter of fabric and would be perfect to make at a craft party. I wanted to create a kit that would have projects for multiple people and be something that could easily be hand sewn. My entry is the Rainbow Rings Craft Party Kit, shown below.

Rainbow Rings Craft Party Kit, shown at fat quarter 21" x 18". Click image to go to fabric page.

This fun and colorful craft party kit includes pieces and instructions to make 16-24 rings on a fat quarter, depending on the fabric width. Party goers can mix and match shapes and patterns and layer them to create unique rings. They can also add beads, sequins, buttons, and other craft supplies to dress up their rings.The finished size of the ring bands is a maximum of 77.4 mm, or a US ring size 16. If wanted, one could even make bracelets using the ring bands by not folding them in half.

Voting for this contest ends Wednesday. You can vote for your favorite craft party kits here until then. There are a variety of fantastic kits in this contest, with soft toys, accessories, and more.

*Past Contest Result*
-Aviation: Runway Lights at Night 93/202

Runway Lights at Night

Aviation is the theme for the current Fabric of the Week contest at Spoonflower. I went in a very different direction (as usual), but created a print inspired by one of my favorite things: lights. For this contest, I researched airport runway lights and their colors and placement. Here is my contest entry, Runway Lights at Night:

Runway Lights at Night, fat quarter 21" x 18" view shown. Click image to see print in yardage.

The light placements and quantity are not exact, as I wanted the repeat to fit on a fat quarter of fabric. The taxiway lighting placements are stylized for the print, and are not true to how they are on runways. (I was going to do a taxiway placement similar to actual ones, but realized how large the repeat was going to be if I went that direction). The "lights" are not circles; they are star shapes based on how real lights photograph. (I did use circles in a different color to mimic the lighter part of the lights).

Detail of a section of the print.

 I like how the final print turned out, especially in yardage with the "lights" zoomed out. You can vote for your favorite Aviation themed fabrics here until Wednesday. There are many fantastic takes on the theme, with something for pilots as well as kids.

*Past Contest Results*
- Olympics Contest: Modern Labyrinth 58/127

Boo! Spooky Cross Stitch Patterns

One of my favorite video games is Super Mario World, and my favorite levels are the Ghost Houses. The boos are funny, and add a challenge as they chase you throughout the levels. I also love all the hidden rooms, doors, and exits. I wanted a quick cross stitch project to do while taking a break from a larger cross stitch project. I had also just bought some glow in the dark embroidery floss, so I decided to use it for some Boo cross stitch projects.

I've dubbed the Boo face on the left "Silly Boo" and the face on the right "Chasing Boo".

The Boo face on the left is my favorite, and appears only when you (as Mario or Luigi) do not move your character for a while, with the character facing the Boo. A Boo will change to that expression just for a moment, and go back to its normal expression. The Boo face on the right occurs when your character's back is facing the Boo (i.e., when you're walking or running from it) and it (the Boo) is chasing you.

I used two small (2.25 in opening) cross stitch frames that I found at a thrift store. They were a shiny gold color, which wouldn't work with the Boos. A coat of white paint, several coats of glow in the dark paint, and a couple coats of clear sealer gave the frames a fun makeover. I used 14 count black Aida cloth for them, because I wanted them to stand out more than on white cloth. Once finished, I added backstitching around the Boos so the black outline stitching would show up against the black cloth.

Here is a closer picture of one, with a U.S. quarter for size comparison.

The patterns were a fun and quick project to do. I think painting the frames took longer than the stitching! I've made a digital pattern of each Boo, and each is posted below. I used the darker grey in the pattern, but I mixed some glow in the dark thread with the pearl grey for those stitches. I didn't have any lighter grey thread, so I just used the same grey for the lighter sections, but used less grey and more glow in the dark thread for the light grey sections.

"Silly Boo" Pattern:

Please do not sell pattern. For personal use only.

"Chasing Boo" Pattern:

Please do not sell pattern. For personal use only.

Now I just need to figure out where to hang these Boos. I may need to make more Super Mario cross stitch projects. Or maybe play some Super Mario World. Hmm.

Up next: an aviation themed fabric design post.