CLAMSHELLS WITH CIRCLES

I can't remember when or where I saw the idea to use raw-edge circles to make clamshells (Pinterest no doubt) but using circles last week to decorate the bunting and cups reminded me of it and so I decided to give it a try.

I wanted to use very small circles to make a 'stripe' of teeny-tiny clamshells to embellish a small project and as my youngest son has been wanting a coin purse for a while, that seemed like the obvious project choice. I backed some fabric scraps with iron-on adhesive (fusible web) and from them cut a little pile of crisp circles using my Circles, 3/4in die.

Cutting all of the circles with a Big Shot and keeping the edges raw so there's no tricky hem-folding must be the easiest way to make clamshells ever (okay, maybe this size of circle is too small and fiddly to be classed as 'easy' but with larger circles it's definitely a piece of cake). Using iron-on adhesive makes securing the circles for sewing simpler and also bonds the fibres on the raw edges to limit fraying.

I cut 2 rectangles (measuring 6in x 4 1/4in) from upholstery weight fabric to make the exterior of the purse. Having peeled away the backing paper I laid a row of circles side by side across the front piece of the purse, using a ruler to keep them level and even. Once they were pressed in place with a dry iron, I sewed around the top halves of the circles in one continuous line from one side to the other.

The next row was laid out so that the centre of each circle lined up with the joins between circles in the first row and a ruler used once again keep them all level. The circles were pressed and stitched in place as before. I repeated this for row 3 and 4 but as row 4 was the last row, after sewing along the top half of the circles I then sewed around the bottom halves in the same way so they were fully secured in place.

After that it was just a case of making up the rest of the coin purse - the circles are penny-sized!

I love clamshells and am really pleased with how this turned out but wish I'd been bolder with colour and gone for more contrasting fabrics so that each clamshell was more defined and stood out more. The little red car does stand out nicely though!

clam chowder - getting close to the boil


Right now I'm in Pittsburgh for International Quilt market, a trade show for the Quilting Industry. This little project is waiting patiently for my return.

So, I already mentioned in my first post what was happening with these fabrics and the clamshell die, and now I'm progressing onto the sewing part. usually I'd hand stitch my applique down, but for ease and speed I'm machine stitching. It's not as pretty this way, I'm not as keen on the stitches showing at the edges but it does save an awful lot of time. Another bonus will be that the stitches will be hardier - less likely to break and less likely to need occasional fixing (that's always a good thing in my house).
The full reveal will be in a week or so as part of the Lotus Pond blog hop. I have to admit, I'm really enjoying these prints, and especially the colours - they're really something special!

(fabrics are lotus pond by Rae Hoekstra for Cloud 9 fabrics)

clam chowder - simmering nicely


Last week I showed you the beginnings to this project, and I'm back with a little update.

So far I've cut out a pile of clam shapes using the clamshell die, and ironed them onto the reverse of fabric (I am using an iron on, dissolvable stabiliser - head back to last week's post for more details on that)

I've cut out all my clams about 1/4" bigger than the templates and using a glue stick (just a regular one, not a fabric one) I've stuck the edges down. Now I'm on to the fun part - arranging and sewing!

I'll be back next week with an update!!!!

(fabrics used are lotus pond by Rae Hoekstra for cloud 9 fabrics)

clam chowder



Don't worry - we haven't branched off into recipes, I couldn't think of a snappy title without thinking about food!

So, I've had this die sitting around for too long. Every now and then it taunts me, daring me to give it a try. I've come close many times, but then I've popped it back into the box and moved on to something else.

This weekend I was working on a hundred other things and it suddenly dawned on me - instead of piecing the clamshells (which I've tried before and I didn't get good results) I could applique them, but instead of using mylar to make templates (mylar is a hear resistant template material, like a light plastic but you can iron it, then pop the template out when you're done and reuse it) I could use some floriani stitch n wash fusible stabiliser and use that as templates. I've done it before with english paper piecing and it works brilliantly (you can find out more about it from this link).

(sorry about the phone pic - for some reason my computer isn't letting me edit on picmonkey)

I'll keep you posted - fingers crossed it all goes to plan! I'm quite excited about it!