C&T Publishing is a group of quilters and crafters dedicated to publishing products tailored to our audience. This blog is where we break away from book schedules and marketing campaigns to focus on what drives us to be creative and how this creativity manifests itself in our every day lives.
Category Archives: Needle Arts
Free projects to kick off the New Year
Ahh, the bulk of holidays have passed, and now it’s time to prepare for the New Year…maybe even make some resolutions. Here are a few free projects you can download from PatternSpot.com to help!
Resolution #1: Keep those toys and awesome new techy gadgets that Santa brought you safe. Those little devices are known to take a tumble now and then, but an embroidered gizmo cozy by Shiny Happy World will keep each one protected and pretty darn cute.
Resolution #2: Always (Continue Reading...)
Taking a class at your local quilt shop
A few weeks ago I took a terrific class from Allie Aller on hand embroidery. The class was at New Pieces in Berkeley…this shop is great! Clean, well-lit, has tons of yummy fabrics and is nicely merchandised (this coming from me—a woman who did retail floor and window merchandising in her youth for 3 years). I always appreciate a store that maximizes its floor and display space.
I have always wanted to learn embroidery and loved the class; in four hours we learned about (Continue Reading...)
Felted Cupcake Trio Project
There are always reasons to celebrate! Birthdays, holidays, sunny days, first week of National Craft Month, etc. Cupcakes say all you need to say on these occasions. Our very own Lisa Fulmer created these cozy and calorie-free, felted treats that can be found in the book, Cupcakes!
It’s so easy to decorate your favorite flavor of cupcake with felt, yarn, and other trims. If you’ve never needlefelted before, National Craft Month says “maybe it’s time to give it a try.” If (Continue Reading...)
Junk to Jewel: Old Candlestick to Elevated Felted Pincushion
The Junk
The Jewel
Supplies
12” tall candlestick – (mine was about 4.5” diameter for pillar candles)
One men’s large sweater – felted. (You may need additional felted yardage to give you the pincushion size that you are after)
2 – 2.5oz roving – color doesn’t matter as it will be covered up
Large felting needle
Paper for tracing pattern
Decorative pins (mine came from the scrapbook store)
Carpet/button thread
Tapestry needle
Decorative ribbons
Instructions
With roving and a felting needle, create a half ball shape a little wider than the diameter (Continue Reading...)
Embroidery Marathon
So, I have been doing a bit of embroidery lately. I have to say, that I feel like I am cheating on my sewing machine. I began my love of all things fabric and thread by taking a summer class when I was 8 and then progressing into cross stitch. When I got into quilting, I left all of that behind, so it has been nice to enjoy these projects:
I made this from a fantastic Orange Flower Tutorial and gave (Continue Reading...)
