Embroidered USA Progress Report.

A week ago, I started my quest to hand embroider the United States of America.

Just as I did with the United Scraps of America quilt, I started with California.  Sunny California, depicted in yellow, felt like the perfect place to begin this journey.

By the time I reached Wyoming, I was wishing I had instead decided to embroider Canada or Australia.  50 states, when you've only finished 8, seems like such a daunting task.

Committed to finishing what I had started, I made my way into the Midwest.

I tried to keep the colors of the states bright and colorful but none too "girlie".  Of course, when I came to Illinois, home sweet home to this blogger, I selected a bright pink, the only pink used.

I spent 2 days on the East coast.  Very few states were given a color for a specific reason, with the exception of New York.  New York is apple red which seemed fitting for the 'big apple'.

The 50th state was finished on Easter.  Though the 50th state added to the union was Hawaii, the 50th state added to the embroidered USA was Connecticut. 

The embroidered USA is ready to be handed off to the Queen of Quilts, my mom, who will transform this into a quilt.

Perhaps I should go start on that Canada quilt now :)

United States STATE Ornaments

These 'United States STATE Ornaments' were inspired by the United Scraps of America Quilt I made earlier this year.

This project, though, was much quicker!

You can make a state ornament for where you've traveled, where you were married or where you child was born. 

The possibilities are endless.

To make some of your own, gather the following supplies:

White Fabrics and Solid Colored Fabric
Batting
Ribbon
Water Soluble Pen 
Ultra Hold Heat-n-Bond
Traceable Mirrored Image of States

To get started, decide what state or even country you want to create.  Trace the mirrored image of your state onto Heat-n-Bond.  Iron the Heat-n-Bond onto the back side of the colored fabric.  Using sharp scissors cut the image out.

Place the image you just cut out onto the white fabric.  With your water soluble pen, trace around your image making it approximately 1/4 of an inch bigger all around.  Cut 2 pieces out of white fabric and one out of batting.  Pin the 3 pieces together with the ribbon loop inserted between the 2 white pieces of fabric.

Sew around the perimeter of the state shape.  Leave about a 1 inch gap unsewn.

Turn the state right side out through the unsewn gap.  Push the raw edges of your gap inside the shape and top stitch closed.  Remove the backing from the Heat-n-Bond on your colored fabric.  Place the colored fabric onto the white ornament and iron it into place.

And, just like that, you have the Sunshine State. 

Once you get started, I guarantee you won't want to stop.

And be sure to check out my other Christmas inspired posts:

Star Wars Ornaments	DIY Pottery Barn Candle	DIY Advent Calendar
DIY Santa Beard	Christmas Flower Boxes	Pine Needle Gift Tags
Pucker Up Ornament

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United Scraps of America - Grand Finale

The United Scraps of America quilt is FINALLY finished.

 If you are keeping track, I started the process of creating this quilt back in February, when I picked through my scraps of fabric {thank goodness, I am a fabric hoarder} and deliberated over which piece would go with which state.

Then, over the next month, I hand whip stitched EACH state into place.  And, in the process, I may or may not have developed carpal tunnel syndrome :)

For months after, I held onto my quilt.  I had put so much work into it, it was hard to hand it over for quilting.

Last month, I did just that. I finally put it in the capable hands of The Queen of Quilts, my mom.

And, in her very capable hands and her professional long arm quilting machine, she stipple quilted...

a tight and detailed free motion design...

around the entire United States...

into each detailed groove of each detailed state.

Then there was a matter of quilting the states themselves.

So, she outlined each state, changing the color of her thread to match the color of fabric for each state, just as I had done when I whip stitched them.

The precision of which she outlined each state is barely visible from the front of the quilt

but, when you turn the quilt over, you can appreciate the detail she was able to achieve.

Even though, I am fully aware of what the Queen of Quilts is capable of, there are still projects, like this one, when I look at it in complete awe of her talent. 

Since I have already started on a second United Scraps of America quilt, I have this one listed in my Etsy shop for sale along with some other homemade gifts like these.

I am very fortunate to have many special and meaningful quilts from the Queen of Quilts.  So parting with the United Scraps of America will be easier curled under this beautiful quilt.

United Scraps of America Part 2

Can you believe it's been over a month since I shared how to start your very own United Scraps of America quilt?

Though I tried to lobby {out of laziness} that the United Scraps of America only needed to represent the continental states, in the end, I knew it wouldn't be complete without Alaska and Hawaii. So I dug through more scraps of fabric and there they are ALL 50 states.

Then, for the past month, I have painstakingly whip stitched each state down.

As I whipped stitched, I changed the thread matching it to each state's unique fabric.

So unless Puerto Rico becomes a state in the next few days, I'd say, I am done {with my part}. The only thing left to do is to hand this off to the Queen of Quilts so she can take my project and transform it into a quilt.

Crafter A.D.D.

I have recently been {self} diagnosed with a very serious case of Crafter Attention Deficit Disorder (CADD). CADD is the inability to focus all of one's attention on the craft at hand. People who suffer from CADD will have several half finished projects going at any given time. These people may also find themselves distracted thinking of new projects to introduce into the mix EVEN THOUGH they certainly have enough to concentrate on with the incomplete projects needing their attention.

A typical weekend, for someone suffering from CADD would go something like this...

In efforts to progress on my United Scraps of America project, I began to sew down each state. The key word being began. I was able to applique Minnesota, Michigan and Lake Michigan on BUT in the process, we got news that, on my husband's side of the family, a new niece arrived in the family SO...

Instead of running out to buy a sweet baby gift, I decided to work on finishing the ABC Sampler {from Rosie Little Things} I started back in January to give to our newest niece. But with all that close up embroidery work, I needed a break SO...

Then I made one curtain. ONE. How many do I need, you might be asking yourself? Well, I actually need 2. TWO. But I ran out of black material, so I went to Jo-Ann Fabric to buy some additional material.

While at Jo-Ann Fabric, I checked out the red lined merchandise, which was an additional 50% off thanks to their Presidents Day Sale. For under $4 I got a yard and 4 inches {all that was left on the bolt} of fabric I knew would look amazing in my living room. I am now positive this fabric needs to cover one, maybe two, pillows. *Mental note, must find time to make new pillows.

If your weekend sounds something like this, you too may be suffering from CADD.

It's now becoming quite obvious, why at the end of the night, I find myself unable to quiet my mind and sleep...darn you CADD.

The United Scraps of America

As I've already shared, I am heartbroken over Picnic and their eminent closing. I am trying to find solace elsewhere. Though different than Picnic, I am becoming equally smitten with Block Posters. Block Posters is a free site that allows you to upload images and enlarge them {of course, I find this right after I invest in an overhead projector}.

I wasted no time uploading a high resolution image of the United States {found using google image search}. I enlarged it enough that when finished it printed on 5 sheets of 8x11 sheets of paper across and 3 sheets down.

What might you ask do I intend to do with a 3 1/2 feet by 2 feet map of the US? Well, I have been hoping to collaborate on a quilt with the Queen of Quilts {my mom}.

So I laboriously traced the mirror image of each state out on heat and bond.

Then I ironed the heat and bond states onto scraps of fabric...

When the heat and bond is affixed, it makes it easier to make precise cuts.

Some states I cut exact, others I left some excess. I wanted to be able to overlap the states so for a state that was cut with excess, the precisely cut state would lay over the excess of the bordering state.

When I was ready to piece my states together, I pinned the 3 1/2 feet by 2 feet printed pattern behind the white background fabric. I was able to see the location of the states through the fabric and lay them down exactly where they needed to be to maintain the accuracy of scale.

With the exception of Alaska and Hawaii, my United Scraps of America is pieced together.

I had hopes of handing over my part of the collaboration to the Queen of Quilts this weekend BUT she informed me that now I have to sew each state down. I thought about sewing them down with my sewing machine but I want to emphasis the details of the more detailed borders SO it looks like I'll be whip stitching each state by hand.

Can anyone guess what I'll be doing this weekend?