Kate Snuggerud – 6 Months
Kate is modeling her special Mop Top hat. Pattern will be available soon from Heirloom Creations. Call to reserve your pattern and we will call you when they arrive. 605-332-4435
Or join us for a class on how to make and embellish this hats for little ones in your family on Tuesday, December 15 at 10am. Click here to read more.
Sewing for Charity 2009
This year marked the 8th Annual Make a Difference Day sewing event and we were very busy! We had a great crew that came in to help sew over 520 bags using only sergers! Did you know that sergers sew faster than sewing machines helping to expedite the sewing processes? We serged pedal-to-the-metal most of the day while Brownie Troop #50151 helped fill and tally the bags.
Thanks to all for donating travel size soaps, shampoos, toothbrushes, and deodorant throughout this past year. We know that when you travel you often think of Heirloom Creations’ charity gift bag event and pick up these items from hotels. These sewn bags are given to guests at Children’s Inn and the Banquet when even basic necessities are just as needed as a place to stay and a hot meal.
Click here to watch the video of last year’s event and how to make these bags.
Donations were received from the following businesses to help make this event successful.
Brownie Troop 50151
Results Radio / Cumulus Media
Ben & Patty – MIX 97.3 FM
KIKN 100.5 FM
Easy & Fun 100.1 FM
Roy Seaverson DDS & Dr Nelson – Peds Dentist on Cleveland – tooth brushes
Falls Dental Centre, 5100 S Cliff Ave, Sioux Falls – (605) 371-9111 – Tooth paste
Great Clips at 57th and Louise – combs
Mary P – for donating 365 sticks of deodorant (one per day for the entire year)! Fabric and zippers that come from many sources
And our sewers – Darlene S, Donna, Kristi R, Vickie T, Jan M, Amy J, Diane S and Connie C.
A big thank you goes to everyone who donated supplies, sewed and helped out. We will continue to collect items throughout the following year for next year’s event.
What Does it Take to Design a Pattern?
Have you ever wondered how people come up with new pattern ideas? We would like to introduce you to and let you take a peek inside Peg Lindberg’s creative mind. Peg works part time for Heirloom Creations and is the designer of the already famous GPS Bag! …
I describe myself as a color junkie. I love to do anything that allows me to play with color whether it is painting, beading, sewing, knitting or quilting. All of it is just an excuse to indulge in beautiful colors, patterns and textures. While I consider myself a fabric artist my current passion is definitely quilting. For me a quilt is a functional piece of art. It is my own self-expression not only in its color and pattern but also in its usefulness and body. How wonderful to be able to literally wrap yourself up in your own work of art.
Similarly, a bag is art with a purpose. When I am designing I start with an idea and toss it around in my head over and over trying to figure out how to make it work. Then it is off to the cutting table and sewing machine to test my idea. It never works! But it leads me to another idea and another and eventually I get something I like. In the case of the GPS bag my original inspiration was a tulip! I know it doesn’t look like a tulip but you can still see some tulip-ness in the final design. The panels are the petals which come together on the bottom much like the petals of a tulip. And the top closes up much like a flower.
The real test of a bag is not how it looks but how it works. In the case of the GPS bag I stumbled upon the idea of dividers which give the bag structure but also create great organizational space. My goal for the closure was to have the bag close securely but to use only simple materials. I was tickled when I discovered that I could sew together the handles after they were inserted through the loops creating circular handles with no bulky knots!
Whether creating a bag, quilt or other piece of art I find the process of designing both challenging and invigorating. But it is truly gratifying when someone else can enjoy something I have designed.
Peg usually works on Thursdays at Heirloom Creations if you would like to have her to help pick out fabric for your next quilt, a GPS bag or something extra special.
Peg is also the designer of the Tipsy Stripsy Bag made from jelly roll strips. Both patterns are available from Heirloom Creations for $9.00 each. We are happy to ship out patterns for $1.00 shipping. Just call 605-332-4435 to order.
Leaves and Shadows
Last year a customer brought in a fall wall hanging that she said she, “Just whipped up last night.” I was so impressed, and I absolutely loved the leaf shadow effect. I knew when I saw it I wanted to make one.
We recently offered the class where everyone could bring their fabrics, do the bleaching in our back parking lot, and leave with a ready-to-quilt project. I wanted to share the outcomes of this project class with you.
The book, “Casting Shadows” by Colleen Wise, has a variety of ways to achieve the looks of shadows with fabric piecing techniques along with this spectacular bleaching technique.
Each person started with a black or semi-black batik fabric, traced leaves on freezer paper, and pressed them into the desired position on the background. Using a 50/50 ratio of bleach and water, they sprayed the background. The area where the leaves were positioned would stay the original color of the background fabric and become the “shadow”. Next the fabric was soaked in a stop bath that would prevent the bleach from continuing to bleach the entire piece.
After rinsing the fabric and pressing the piece dry, the fabrics for the colorful leaves, which had fusible web on the back, were ironed onto the background fabric and offset slightly from the leaf shadows.
Everyone did leave with their leaves ready to quilt, to add an impressive piece to their fall décor.
Pre-Sewing for Charity
Would you like to donate a little of your fabric stash for a good cause? Help us reach our 2009 goal of 600 sewn zippered bags for Saturday, October 24, 2009’s 8th Annual Charity Gift Bag Sewing Day. Last year 560 bags were sewn, filled with travel sized soaps, shampoos, toothpastes and deodorant and given to Children’s Inn and the Banquet.
On Saturday, October 24, 2009 we will be setting up sergers for the eighth year to sew up these bags. If you love to sew, never have used a serger or just want to see what it is all about, plan on visiting Heirloom Creations between 10am – 4pm.
It only takes two 10” x 16” pieces of fabric, one 10” x 16” piece of batting and one zipper. If you are using home decorator fabric the batting can be optional. If you would like to sew bags before October 24, completed bags can be delivered to Heirloom Creations by Friday, October 23, 2009. Bags can be completed on EITHER a sewing machine or serger.
Click on the picture below for the pattern.
Click here to watch a video of how to make this zipper bag on a serger.
If you would like to make a donation here is what is needed:
Travel size:
- Soap
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Tooth brushes
- Tooth paste
- Deodorant
- Other personal care items
- Nylon zippers
- Fabric
- Batting scraps 10” wide or bigger
On Saturday, October 24, 2009 we will be setting up sergers for the eighth year to sew up these bags. If you love to sew, never have used a serger or just want to see what it is all about, plan on visiting Heirloom Creations between 10am – 4pm.
This event originally began as a way to celebrate my birthday, and it also coincides with National Make-A-Difference Day.
Come celebrate your love of sewing and help out our local community.