Etsy Shop!

Well I've finally done it. I've opened my own Etsy shop:

Geeky Stitchery.

New Summer Outfits (and one for fall)

I live in Arizona and it is CRAZY hot during the summer. Over 100 degress is just too darn high, so I decided to create some strapless tops and dresses. I used New Look pattern 6468. The same pattern I used to make this Butterfly Dress. I've got these dresses nailed down to about 45 minutes each, when I'm working on them nonstop.

This first one I did was made out of Candy Corn fabric:


A close up of the fabric:


The photographs don't due the justice fabric. I'm planning to wear this on Halloween morning when we're up in Vegas.

This next one is a black strapless dress. The fabric is black cotton with dark black (?) spots spread throughout it in a funky pattern. I wore this dress all day today and it didnt' fall apart so I guess that was a very good thing!




This next one is the same pattern but purple:


I plan to test out this dress tommorrow. Its a looser in the top because I didn't stretch the elastic out on the way on the top, so hopefully it'll hold up.


And a closeup of the fabric:


And finally a green tube top:

(and yes it was used, using the same pattern)



I have one more dress to make using the same pattern (red solid fabric) before moving on to cover jackets and a dress made for work.

Xbox Controller Pillows

My fiance is really difficult to shop for. I love him dearly but it is next to impossible to find a gift that will satisfy him. I searched for months and months before I finally came across the perfect gift: The Xbox Controller Pillow.

There was no instructions or tutorial (which is perfectly fine) so I made some assumptions and used my Home is Where the Xbox Is cross-stitch that I made for him as a guide.

Without further ado:

The birthday boy with his gifts:

(As soon as he opened the first one he immediately starting pushing the "buttons" and making "pew pew" noises).

I have some in process pics for those who are curious:

The first thing I did was draw (using a pencil) a free hand sketch of the shape of the controller and cut it out:

(I cut two at a time so it was easy to match up and sew. I used plain old broadcloth for the fabric).

I used a compass to draw circles on some poster board, cut them out, and taped them to the fabric:


My paint pallet:

(I painted the buttons and the Xbox logo using fabric paint from Joann Fabrics)

The colored buttons:


The Xbox logo I painted on using one of the circle patterns that I drew (just around it) and then drew the "X" with my paintbrush freehand:


Here's the whole pillow painted:


Then the paint needed almost 4 hours to dry, apply a second coat, and then another 4 hours to dry. :( Then I sewed the right sides together leaving a large gap for stuffing and turned it right side out:

I then stuffed the pillow and sewed up the bottom.

The finished product:


and finally...

on our bed:

Writer's Club T-Shirts

At the school I teach at, I run "writer's club". I wanted to buy T-shirts from NaNoWriMo for them but everytime I check their website they are out of stock, so I decided to make them.



I used iron ons for inkjet printers and it took me FOUR trys to get it peel off without completely destroying the t-shirt. So yes... I have four crappy looking shirts in my closet and don't know what to do with them!

Stained Picture Frames

I bought a pack of three for $2 of these

at IKEA. (Okay well actually I bought 4 packs of these so I had 12 picture frames).

I went to Home Depot for the wood staining product. I used "Early American". I applied two coats to the frame. I gave them 24 hours to dry and applied a glossy finish, again two coats, that I had picked up at Lowe's.

Each frame is a 4x6 and I bought them so that I had something to do with all those cross-stitch patterns I've been doing!

Here's the completed product:

Lego Love

I've always admired those critters and things that geeks make out of legos so last night I thought I'd give it a try. I'm working on a large Mario brothers related project (to be revealed when it is finished) and this was something semi-related to it:



It took a while to figure out and he's nowhere near perfect but I'm pretty pleased with it considering the fact that I spent nearly 30 minutes on it. Yes, yes, I know the coloring is all wrong, but *shrug* my lego collection is severly limited.

Happy Easter!

I saw this tutorial on how to make an easter wreath out of plastic eggs, easter grass, and hot glue. My first and only thought was, "I have to have one!"

Here's how it came out:


Up close of the ribbons:


The ribbon I will use to hang it up:


And one more picture for good measure:


Overall this was a super easy project. Just watch out for that hot glue gun! It never fails, I always burn myself.

Christmas Apron

I made this WAY back in December but forgot to post it:



Another one of those fantastic premade/predesigned fabrics where I just had to cut and sew! Eventually I want an apron for each and every holiday! :)

Butterfly Dress

I made this back in October, and I just now got around to posting this. I made this over my fall break when my fiance was out of town. He's always saying how I never wear dresses so I made this for his homecoming.

The dress:


A close up of the fabric and the straps:


An action shot:


Action shot of the back:


Close up of the fabric:


I used a pattern from New Look (6468). I just love the New Look patterns, they're cheap (about $3.95) and SO easy to make. I'm goin gto make a dress similar to this one for Halloween this year (I'll be Vegas for Halloween!)

Virginia the shepherdess

The one thing that I love the most about these little sprites that I'm working my way through is that they come together pretty quickly. I have another Tenth Kingdom sprite:



She only took about an hour!

Must Love Cross-Stitch

So the last time I posted cross-stitch I raved about my Bria Tharen stitchery and I forgot to post a picture! Oops. :)


Next is Tenel Ka from the Star Wars Expanded Universe. I believe she made her first apperance in the EU in the Young Jedi Knight Books:


The next two are from the fantastic NBC mini-series The Tenth Kingdom:

Cinderella:


Christine aka the evil queen:


Finally, Miss Parker from The Pretender. She's dressed in her white suit and pink top, its from the episode (I can't recall the title) where she finds the gun that shot her mother. I've always wanted this outfit:


Next up is some more mini cross-stitch from The Tenth Kingdom!

My First Shirt Reconstructions

So all over the internet I see all these fantastic (and sometimes odd) T-Shirt reconstructions. After the turn of the New Year I did my yearly closet/dresser clean out and instead of taking clothes down to Goodwill this year, I threw them in a pile in my craft room and waited for inspiration to hit. I have about twenty shirts that I want to reconstruct. Today I did three.

First up, is a T-Shirt that my parents brought me back from Canada (they live 3 hours from the border) back in '07:


I turned this into a functional tote bag:


Its a little floppy because I did reinforce it with anything (or add any lining) but once I but in hardback books it has a nice shape. I also used this opportunity to try some fancy stitching at the top:


The next one is a "party shirt" that I picked up in Brussels, Belgium at a street market just outside my hotel when I was there in the fall of 2007:


Generally, I loved this shirt but I live in the desert now so long sleeves are a no-no and I don't party much, so I lopped off the sleeves and cut off the belt.

This one is made to be worn over tank tops. I love wearing tanks but as a teacher they're not appropriate at work, so I've been trying to come up with a cover to wear over them while I'm teaching.

And the back:


The last one is a black shirt that I've had since high school:


I cut it diagnoally across the front and back and did the same to the sleeves. I tried to make the sleeves different lengths but after hemming, they came out to be about the same oddly enough:


Action shot:


And the back:


Overall, I'm pretty pleased with these considering they're my first reconstructions. Now I just have to get up the nerve to wear them!

Save the Date!

So I made these on the computer almost a month ago. I finally sat down this afternoon with Chris and we put them together. They're printed on good old fashion cardstock and then I stuck a magnet on the back.



We have the date and the city (Viva Las Vegas baby!) now we just need a chapel, hall, and hotel. Thank goodness Vegas has plenty!