Halloween Haute Couture

Just finished... Pretty Pumpkin Patch pants for the girls, a matching purse for their mom, and really creepy skeleton cargo pants for Alex.

The print is a tablecloth border print, that I used as a pumpkin border for the bottom of the pants and the highlight of the purse. The over the shoulder purse is lined with a coordinating 'Boo!' fabric, has a spooky ghost pocket on the interior, and fastens with a magnetic snap, covered in a scary spider button!

Check out the detail on Alex's pants pocket - to coordinate with the skeleton print (Alex only likes 'whole body' skeletons) I used a skull and crossbones accent, which is really 12 pieces in each set! Arrrrrgh, like sewing on 12 buttons per pocket!

Matching Purse

Hot off the press (ok, sewing machine) ... a matching purse for Heather to coordinate with the kids outfits.

Fall outfits for Alex, Abbey & Annie

Just finished these darling autumn-hued pants and matching tees for Abbey and Annie. The fabric I used is an exciting design by Alexander Henry, a bold brown floral with coordinating accent fabrics. The main part of the pants are in the floral, with the tiny red dot piping and a matching oval dot print for the bottom band. I 'picked' some flowers out of the print and appliqued them on tee shirts for a complete outfit.
Also pictured are coordinating cargo pants for Alex... a purse for Heather is in progress!

Cupcake Pillowcases

Made these delicious pillowcases for wrapping the girls' birthday presents in - darling cupcake print with 'sprinkle' fabric for the piping and coordinating aqua print for the band. Pictures show one as a pillowcase, the other one as wrapping for Abbey's present.

San Diego Chargers Pillowcase

Just made the coolest pillowcase for Alex - to wrap his birthday present in his favorite team, the San Diego Chargers.

Sponge Bob Cruise wear

Just added these pix of Annies official Sponge Bob Ensemble - a darling tiered and ruffled dress with white 'bubble print' capris, also trimmed with eyelet.


These are just part of the outfits I am working on for the A kids for the Sponge Bob birthday celebration. The girls pants are bell bottoms with double layers of neon yellow ruffles, and Alex's cargo pants have the same neon yellow pockets, trimmed with a button of Sponge Bob himself! To create the button, I used a square button and covered it with Sponge Bob Ribbon, then sewed it on like a regular button. Although you probably cannot see the detail, the white fabric used on the pocket flaps is a white on white print of bubbles, that gives it the 'water' effect ... appropriate for whomever lives in a pineapple under the sea!

Patrick Star Cruise Wear

Here's my 'original' creation of Patrick Star Cruise wear for the A kids; Alex, Abbey and Annabelle. I hand drew a pattern for the large surfer's cross and then downsized it for each smaller pair of pants. Alex's are cargo pants, the girls are capris. They all have coordinating flip flops, the girls are adorned with electric purple flowers, each with a jeweled center, and Alex's are simply decorated with matching purple fabric and very manly;)

And don't forget the matching bag for mom!

Patriotic Flip Flops

This year's version of Patriotic Flip Flops for the whole family... Alex's are the coolest, they look like flags, with the blue star trim and flag buttons ... Andy's are sorta funny - with the Republican Elephant at center stage! ... and the girl's are kinda 'blingy' with jeweled stars and stripes and metallic red rick rack on the edges ... fun for all. I made patriotic attire for the A kids again this year, but don't have pictures yet, will share when I do. Happy Independence Day!

Pillowcases!

Love to make these pillowcases! They are fun to choose fabrics for and fun to make... today I finished a variety of characters including Sponge Bob, trimmed in a neon yellow with white dots band ... Darth Vadar Revenge of the Sith fabric, trimmed with an appropriate flaming band... Woody and Buzz, trimmed in traditional Toy Story red and yellow ... and a bag of money! The dollar bills pillowcase is trimmed in a 'money' colored green fabric with black $ signs on it, so perfectly suited for a bag of money. This one is a great gift for teens. Who wouldn't like to sleep on a bag of dollar bills?!

I will soon be listing these on my etsy site, so check in if you need some for quick gifts. They also make great gift bags, and can be personalized.

Quilt Repairs

I spent most of today working on some quilt repairs. These quilts were made by the mother of a lady I met and are approximately 50 years old. The first was fraying badly at the edges, so I carefully attached a new binding ... as the picture shows, it turned out beautifully.

The second quilt is a darling 50's print of little girls playing, made for the granddaughter of the quilt maker and is all hand quilted. Unfortunately, time has caused the fabric to begin to fray and separate, so I did some stitching in a few areas as repair. I have instructed the owners how to clean and store these quilts so as to preserve them for many years to come.

The sad part of this story is the lady who requested these repairs is very ill and wanted these quilts repaired for future generations. I hope I gave her some peace by preserving these quilts for her.

PR 1572 Challenge

Working in a fabric store I am constantly surrounded by creative people and many of us are addicted to Project Runway. Last fall I organized a contest amongst the employees of store 1572, hence the name PR 1572. Our first competition was to embellish a 'go green' shopping bag that we sell in the store. Pictured above is my version. In keeping with the theme, I chose green fabrics in tones found in nature. The front of the bag is a miniature log cabin quilt, each 'log' being 1/4" wide. The interior is completely lined and includes pockets all around. The back is covered in a gorgeous green leaves forest-y type print, and quilted in an evergreen tree pattern to add to the theme of 'go green'. I used brown suede to cover the edges and base of the bag, covering the base with iron on vinyl for durability and protection.

We had an 'independent' judge, who used to work in the store judge the bags, plus we voted amongst ourselves and combined the scores. The judge's comments regarding my bag were:
"I chose this for first place because of the great colors, the fact that it's lined, it's creative use of a label, and the quilted trees. What really made me chose this bag over others was the quality of the workmanship and the attention to detail. "
Thanks Rox ;) May the fierce be with you!

Star Wars Christmas Stockings

One of my favorite things to make is custom Christmas stockings. When my niece requested Star Wars themed stockings for her and her husband, I sprang into creative action! I found the perfect fabrics - navy Star Wars ships for him and pink Princess Leia for her. Both stockings are embellished with glitter satin bands that sparkle in the Christmas lights, and trimmed with metallic silver fringe and rick rack. Needless to say, the perfect accent for true Star Wars fans!

Patriotic Attire

I made these patriotic outfits for my great nieces and nephew to celebrate the 4th of July. Amazingly, I found matching tee shirts, in both girl and boy styles. The challenge in making something matching for all three of them is finding a fabric that works for both boys and girls, in addition to being age appropriate for little girls and big boys.... I chose patriotic red, white, and blue madras plaids, sewn into a patchwork pattern, of which I made t-shirt dresses for the girls and cargo pants for Alex. The necklines on the dresses are embellished with handsewn red, white, and blue star-shaped beads to add some sparkle!

Picture Quilt Christmas 2008

This is the picture quilt I made for a client for his grandson for Christmas. He is so proud of his darling grandchildren, that he has a memory quilt made for each one. This quilt is twin sized and incorporates 50 pictures of his grandson's life, so far (meaning the first 3 years;). They are chronologically placed in the quilt, with one side including the paternal relatives, and the other the maternal side of the family. In the center are photos of the little guy himself and with his siblings.

This was great fun to make, and I love the choice of fabric, which frames the pictures and makes them look as if they are 'floating' on the quilt.

Welcome to Cyndesigns

Hello and welcome to my new blog ... Cyndesigns.blogspot.com!