Blog Posted By: Leah Farrar-White

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Last week I posted how to make a reversible table runner.  Keeping with the kitchen theme, today I am showing an apron and a pot holder with the same color scheme.   Back in June, in a post about embroidery on ribbon, I mentioned my really bad Jr. High Home Ec apron.  Wanting to give it another go and still being a sewing newbie, I called in an expert, my Mother-in-law.  Dorothy, a former Home Economics teacher (now known as Family and Consumer Sciences) whipped up this hand towel apron in no time at all.  If you are not a sewist, find a friend with a machine to help and give it a try!  Can’t hurt & might be fun.  With so many amazing fabrics out there needing some May Arts embellishing…you have to give it a go!
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APRON

For the apron, Tipnut.com has about 152 free patterns on-line!   The apron shown is one adapted from a few of these towel apron patterns.
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POT HOLDER

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Materials:

• 8 strips of 2.5 x8” rectangle fabric scraps (I used the scraps from the table runner)

• Coordinating thread

• Jumbo Ric Rac in yellow 330-27.

• Scraps of Batting  (I doubled my regular or use heat-proof batting)

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Directions:

• Sew 4 strips of fabric together, add Ric Rac and sew in place

• Repeat step one

• Create a quilt “sandwich”: one piece of fabric wrong side up, batting doubled over, other fabric right side up. Pin in place.

• Bind the edges together with quarter inch seam

• With grid fabric bind pot holder.  (A binding tutorial can be found at crazymomquilts.blogspot.com)

• Place near stove and order carry out!!!

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Blog Posted By: Leah Farrar-White

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Throw pillows may not be on everyone’s “Thrifty Things,” list, but I find that changing a room’s pillowscape can make everything else appear new and fresh.  It’s not necessary to discard the current decorative pillows, just give them a vacation.  Remove the covers, if possible, clean and pack them in a clearly labeled container for their re-entry a few seasons from now.
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The photo above features an easy and versatile pillow that uses a textured solid color ribbon appliquéd onto a neutral linen-weave cotton fabric.  The Greek geometric design is at home in any room with any decorating style. Customize the color combination, style of ribbon and pillow fabric for a fine looking accent pillow.
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MATERIALS:

• 14” pillow form or 12 oz bag of polyester fiber-fil

• 1/2yd fabric (I used 100% cotton- Oasis, color R79, by Marcus Brothers Fabrics.)

• 5 yards ribbon (I used May Arts Ribbon: 3/4” black corduroy #357-34-10)

• Glue stick

• Basic sewing supplies

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DIRECTIONS:

• Iron fabric and cut 2 pieces, 14” square* ( This will result in a 13 ½” square pillow which will fit snugly, eliminating wrinkles and “rabbit ears” corners.)

• Lay one fabric square face up on a flat surface.

• Cut ribbon into 2 pieces – each 2 1/2 yards long.

• Consulting ILLUSTRATION #1, draw a 9” square on a piece of paper.  The 4 sides of this square make up the perimeter of the design.  Within this square, copy the remaining lines of the design, including the BOLD DOTS.

• On your drawn design, make a small hole at each DOT.

• Center the 9” square paper pattern onto one face-up square of fabric.  Pin in place.

• Through each hole in the pattern, make a discrete mark on the fabric, using pencil, chalk or wash-out marker.  Remove paper pattern.

• Using the first piece of ribbon, follow the placement path indicated by arrows in ILLUSTRATION#1, and the corner-folding technique shown in ILLUSTRATIONS #2, #3, and #4.

• Use small dabs of glue stick & pins to keep the ribbon in place.

• NOTE: By beginning and ending at the *, you have concealed both raw ends of the ribbon. 

• Trim away any excess from the ribbon’s end. Under the crossing ribbon, secure the 2 raw ends of ribbon, end to end.   **I find it helpful to baste the ribbon in place at this point by hand or machine.**

• Machine stitch the ribbon in place, following both edges carefully around the entire design.

• To position the second piece of ribbon as the border decoration, draw a thin guideline ¾” from the fabric square’s entire outer edge and follow the same procedure for placing, basting and stitching this ribbon.  The ribbon’s end will overlap the beginning.  Trim, turn under and stitch.

• Place the second 14” fabric square, face to face, onto the appliquéd square and pin together around 3 sides.  Pin the 4th side 2” from both corners, leaving a 10” opening in the center.

• Stitch all pinned seams - using a ¼” seam allowance.

• Trim excess fabric at corners and turn right side out.

• Insert the 14” pillow form or loose poly-fil through the opening.

• Close the opening by folding the 2 raw edges under and stitching closed, by hand or machine.

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The following photos are examples of several more ribbon-updated and ribbon-embellished pillows.
Stay tuned to the May Arts blog for better views and instructions for all of these thrifty temptations.

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Blog Posted By: Ellen Highsmith Silver

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Recently, a customer of ours was kind enough to share some photos of her beautiful ribbon embroidery.  Her work is so exquisite we couldn’t wait to share them with all of you!   For this contest we want to know your thoughts.  Do you have a favorite?  Do any of them inspire you to create something special? What ribbon would you use?

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Please take the time to review the pictures & post a comment!

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All designs have been created by Mrs. Nirmala Gunawardene, Needle Treasures, Sri-Lanka:  "My favourite flower has always been roses & I have captured it's beauty in simple stitches & given life to May Arts ribbons to bloom as roses."

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Details are listed below:

• To enter: Post a comment. 

• Start date:  Monday, February 15th 2010.

• Deadline: Sunday March 7th, 2010. 

• The prize:  1 Full Spool of your favorite May Arts Ribbon!

• We will select one entry.  The winner’s name will be posted on Monday March 8th, 2010. 

• The winner will have 2 weeks to contact us & claim their prize.

• Domestic & International entries are all welcome.

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Think Spring!

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At this moment outside my window it is sleeting, the ground is frozen mud with absolutely no sun in the forecast.  Blah. It is plain old icky blah this time of year.  So, I decided to pull out ribbon that made me feel sunny, happy and bright!  The answer…RIC RAC.  Not any ric rac, mind you, JUMBO, fun, make me smile, May Arts Ric Rac!  

With this in hand I wanted to make something this week that made me feel springy.  Something I could use and see all the time. I decided to make a reversible table runner.  It’s on my kitchen table and I notice it as I pass by.   That little bit of sunshine makes me feel that spring and sun MIGHT just be around the corner!
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Materials:

• 1/2 yard rectangle of green polka dot fabric

• 1/2 yard rectangle of aqua with white and yellow polka dot fabric

• 1/4 yard of grid fabric or any binding strip.

• Coordinating thread

• Jumbo Ric Rac in 330-94 Turquoise and 330-27 Yellow.

• 1/2 yard Batting

Directions:

•  Even up edges of fabric, pin and sew ric rac in place on both 1/2 yards of fabric. 

• Create a quilt “sandwich”: one piece of fabric wrong side up, batting, other fabric right side up. Pin in place.

• 3.    Quilt together as you like.  I used lines in a sort of grid pattern.  I used green thread on the green fabric and white thread in my bobbin for the reverse aqua dot side.

• With grid fabric bind table runner.  (A binding tutorial can be found at Crazy Mom Quilts)

• Place on your table immediately!

• Go to your favorite florist and splurge on a beautiful spring bouquet.  Tie May Arts ribbon on your vase and ENJOY!!!

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This week's winner for our renewed with ribbon contest is Carol of Carol's Heart Creations:
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"After the holiday decorations are safely tucked away, I am always looking for ways to capture the magic that goes with them.  I find adding little embellishments with ribbon helps give life to my weary winter home.  Photos of a valance I created in my powder room using May Arts KC ribbon to cover the top of the blinds & also a soft bow & a paper rose with sheer ribbon tucked in a painted heart bird basket help bridge the gap between winter & spring. I also embellished inexpensive towels with a beautiful floral jacquard ribbon & coordinating fringe for a fresh look.  My last photos are of a simple heart twig wreath that I added one of my papier mache heART creations to embellished with lace & double-face satin ribbon.  A tea-stained heart doily & a crocheted heart by my mother-in-law adds a little nostalgia to my unique Valentine wreath."
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Carol, congratulations!  Your work is always breathtaking!  Thank you for sending in these photos!  Please send in your ribbon selections & your shipping information to  sales@mayarts.com.

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We were thrilled to see that so many people showed an interested in this challenge!  A big thank you to everyone who participated & completed their projects!  With such a wonderful selection of entries, this was a difficult decision to make.
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The winner for this challenge is Jennifer Harrison:

Jennifer, congratulations!  We loved your Valentine’s pillow & that you were able encompass so much of May Arts Ribbon!  Feel free to browse our site & contact us at sales@mayarts.com with your ribbon selections.  You not only win 3 spools of ribbon, but also a “guest blogger” spot for one post on our site!  We are so excited to work with you!  Please contact us at the address above for details.

For those who didn't see the link to her tutorial, please take the time to check it out now at Hopeful Homemaker.

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We also want to send out an honorable mention to Susan Ikin:
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Susan, we loved your noticeboard!   Please feel free to pick out 2 spools of ribbon as your prize!   For everyone who wants to know how she made this one, check out the fabulous tutorial she sent over to us!
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Everyone else, please contact us with your selection for 1 full spool of ribbon for completing your projects!
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Remember we will have another challenge coming up in March!  So be sure to check back soon for more details!

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This tutorial was sent to us by Susan Ikin as an entry for the Valentine's Challenge!  We have been very eager to post this for everyone to see.  So without further delay, here is our honorable mention for our 'For The Love Of Ribbon' Valentine's Challenge:

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Materials:

• Framed canvas of required size

• Sufficient wadding to cover canvas and take over edge to back (approx 6 inches more than top and side measurements of canvas)

• Sufficient fabric to cover canvas and take over edge to back

• 4 yards of double sided satin ribbon in two colours

• Extra organza ribbon for ribbon roses

• Staple gun and staples

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Instructions:

• Place wadding flat on table and place framed canvas face down on wadding. Staple wadding to back of canvas, making sure it is smooth on the front surface.

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• Repeat with fabric, making corners neat.

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• Place ribbon on diagonal on fabric front. Hold in place and staple to back at one side, then pull ribbon firmly and staple on other side.

• Place another piece of ribbon parallel to the first, 4 inches away from first. Staple into place as before. I used the reverse side of the ribbon on alternate rows.

• Repeat until all diagonals in one direction are complete.

• Repeat process with the other color ribbon.

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• Make some ribbon roses - the double sided satin is great for ribbon roses.

• Stitch the ribbon roses into a bouquet.

• Pin, staple or stitch the bouquet to the canvas.

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• Hang noticeboard and add beautiful cards to display.

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Blog Posted By: Leah Farrar-White

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