Mother of Dragons

I finished reading A Storm of Swords, the third book in the epic series A song of Ice and Fire. -Finally. I waited to finish it until I saw the famed Red Wedding episode in HBO's series "A Game of Thrones". You'll find no spoilers here, but I am pretty doggone excited for next season. That's all I'll say.

Daenerys is such a strong female character, it is easy to see how she quickly became a fan favorite. Khaleesi, the Unburned, Daenerys Stormborn, Mother of Dragons... the girl has a lot of titles- and she deserves every one of them. I have been working intermittently on this Khaleesi Quilt for the past few months and recently added it to my shop. I chose the theme of her Khaleesi title to inspire me as I read her trekking through dust and sand in wild landscapes and all the exotic encounters she'd faced.

I collect vintage Indian Saris and used a few of them throughout this quilt. The first blocks I made were the large collages sewn horizontally with scraps of multi-colored silks and tie-dyed cottons. There are a few blocks of antelope skin where I kept the raw edge exposed for more organic texture. The hides came from my father from a prong horn sheep he fell years ago. I typically do not use animal products in my work but I know this animal fed me, so I felt it was consistent to use its hide in a special art quilt.

I printed on three panels of cotton for this piece. There are two panels that read, "Khaleesi" (I kept checking the spelling over and over again) and one the reads, "Moon of my Life" Wouldn't this make a fabulous gift to a girlfriend?!?! HINT. If you want to know more about print on fabric, read my blog post here. There is sari fabric included in this quilt that is gold silk organza with mirror sequins sewn on and shimmers soooo nicely in person. The Black repeat pattern reminds me of chain mail or similarly dragon scale, echoing the warrior edge. I would love to adorn my bedroom with this Khaleesi-worthy throw quilt. It makes the perfect accent to a rich and sexy boudoir. just sayin'.

posted from Bloggeroid

Pinwheels

It is pinwheel day! These little addicting triangles are so satisfying as you sew them all together. I stayed away from pinwheels for far too long, partly because they seemed so traditional. Whatev's cus they're fun.

I am making a queen size blanket for my grandfather in a patriotic theme. He is turning 89 years old this summer and he's healthy and active-love him! He is a WW2 veteran and served in Asia. I think he deserves his own post, so back to pinwheels.





Although I saw a great tutorial on a quick way to do pinwheels, I messed up and had to do them the regular way. I cut squares then cut them diagonally. Heres a trick though. Cut the second square in opposite direction. If you have directional fabric this is an issue. Here, I am making a scrap quilt in various sea-faring fabrics. Check my shop for new additions or create a custom quilt just for you:)

posted from Bloggeroid

Owl Infant Blanket Tutorial- Ribbons and Bows and Tags

 This Owl Activity Blanket is a fantastic developmental tool for infants as they begin to explore the world around them-especially tags! This blanket idea is a great use of extra ribbons, bows, seam tape and other do-dad's you have lying around. The Activity Blanket is a quick and fun handmade gift for the next new mother in your life. It is available on my ZhalaClothing shop here.

For this Owl Activity Blanket I added some vintage plastic rings that I've had forever and some linen bows I cut off some curtains years ago. Here's how I put it together:

-Size is 27 x 34
-3 owl panels sized  9 x 34 plus 1/2 seam allowance- so CUT 10 x 35 inches
-1 back panel
-Choose your ribbons and bows
-I had rings so I made loops for them 1 inch wide. -CUT 2 1/2 x 4 inches

After you choose your fabrics and ribbons begin to place them along the seams and pin them in place. At this point you can baste them if you are a perfectionist:)

Now, you are ready to sew your seams together for the front panel. (Right sides together) 
--Iron the seams and top-stitch them down.
Line up your front and back panels, right sides together, and sew up the edges leaving a 5 inch hole so you can turn it right side out again. When you are done, go along the seam and finger press the edges neatly. You can use a pin to pull out your corners. Edge stitch all four sides and voila! You are done a totally cute and unique baby blanket! yay!

I hope you enjoyed this fun tutorial today. I'd love to hear from you! You can convo me on Etsy here or order a custom made one for your next baby gift or bundle of joy! Thank you:)

July is New Beginnings

July is a month of new beginnings for me. My birthday starts the month at July 1^st and because this is the first day of the second half of the year I often make goals to reach by my birthday. This year, back on January 1^st-my favorite holiday but more on that later- I set a goal to reach a sustainable level of business from my Etsy shop. Man, when you put something into the universe you better want it cus you gonna git it.

                OK, my etsy shop ZhalaClothing is pretty sparce at the moment but that is only because I am plum sold out of my collection! That’s a good sign. There’s no holding back for me now. I am pushing through this month and hope to be standing on the other side with a buzzing sewing machine and piles of shipments!

I hope to devote more time to all those ideas I jot down on a pad and forget about; classes I want to teach, tutorials I want to offer. This is a new beginning.