prettypennyprecuts

I recently answered this Question on the Wool Workers Facebook Page…How do you remove dye from dark wools? 

Great question!!! I encourage you to experiment and would love to hear about your results. Here is my experience…The product to use is an Oxygen Bleach (NOT Chlorine Bleach) example OxiClean.    I have tried removing dye on a couple of wool garments with very mixed results. For me two issues arose 1) you think nothing is happening and then boom too much dye was removed. 2) Without doing a tiny swatch test you have no idea what the base color before commercial dying occurred was – my experience undesirable gray wool lurks beneath! Instead of this type of reduction dyeing (removing color) I prefer to over dye even dark wools. Experiment adding a complimentary color dye, example red to berry to wine add green! To green add red! To blue add orange! You get the idea. Let us know how it goes!!!

My quilt the Glad Tidings Basket Quilt was accepted into Georgia Celebrates Quilts

I hope you come see it!

The show will have over 300 quilts (including mine!)

It’s Georgia’s largest quilt show and it’s so much fun!

Contact me if you have any questions or check

http://www.ecqg.com/quilt-show for more information.

Thursday, June 8 – Saturday, June 10

10:00am to 6:00pm daily

Cobb County Civic Center

548 South Marietta Parkway, Marietta, GA

Admission is $10 ~ Free Parking

Did I mention that there will be plenty of shopping?

May is always my Pretty Penny Precuts Studio Open House Stitching Session Tea Party. I love tea and the memories of our annual Silver Instillation Tea for Women’s Fellowship at Fontana Community Church. 

I try to come up with a new project each year. This year I’ve the bright idea for a dimensional Teacup!  More specifically a Collapsable Thread Catcher. 

Yes, I own the Sizzix Dimensional Teacup Die but the shape is a bit funky for my taste. 

Here is the comparison. 

Not to worry my Sizzix Dies still play a role in perfectly cut Circles out of fabric, batting and cardboard!  

I am going to do a bit more tweaking on this pattern before I hit print. 

I’d love your thoughts on my Dimensional Teacup Thread Catcher!  

I’d like to send a shoutout to a dear Stitching friend Paula A! Paula inadvertently left a dish and small quilt behind over the holidays and when she retrieved it I told her how much I coveted the small quilt. Her hot dish quilt was bigger than a potholder but smaller than a table runner. Paula gifted the stripe table quilt to me! Thank you Paula! 

I would like to coin a new quilting term…the Hostess Quilt!  The Hostess Quilt is bigger than a potholder but smaller than a table runner.  I am in love with this concept of the Hostess Quilt. Perfect for gift giving and nearly instant gratification as far as finishing goes. I use my Hostess quilt under hot dishes, but they would be awesome accompanying a flower arrangement, a bottle of wine or a beautiful candle.  The second photo is my Spring Hostess Quilt! Wool on Cotton Appliqué, machine embroidery quilting and free motion quilting. Best of all, it’s a finished project!!!

The Tulips are Die cut with the Sizzix Originals Tulip Die from my hand dyed Felted wool. Follow Pretty Penny Precuts on Social Media. Request kits at http://www.prettypennyprecuts.etsy.com

We’ve had very mild weather here in our little suburb south of Atlanta Georgia. 

If you follow Pretty Penny Precuts…the best ways are on Facebook and my Pinterest Board Pretty Penny Precuts, you know I hold a once a month Open House Stitching Session.  I am so blessed by the stitching friends that attend for this FREE Make ‘n Take event. (You must be present for the FREE project in case you are wondering). These stitching friends inspire me, stretch me, and keep me striving for the next Felted Wool Die Cut design. They also are superb pattern testers!  

Our March Pretty Penny Precuts stitching session is a Challenge of sorts. Stitchers will receive a Die cut Chocolate Bunny to do with as they like. Here is my Sample!  

I have created a simple bordered quilt around mine. Now for the machine quilting. We will see if I do it or turn it over to a long arming friend. 

I hope you have a grand Spring project planned to cutout and create! 

This is what I am die cutting today…

I love this little Truck die form Sizzix!  Sizzix Bigz Truck 657888. I’ll post again when I have the design fused and ready to stitch. In the meantime enjoy some of my other Truck designs stitched by me and others and a special treat Stitching Friend Eileen R’s Trucks quilt top. 

Isn’t Eileen’s quilt top awesome?

And…what do you do with literally 100’s of Truck windows leftover when the Truck is cutout?  Design a couple of other projects with them of course! Many of these Needle Books were stitched by friends!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/469127527/american-baskets-candle-mat-pattern

My stitching BFF Mary Ann Thom put her original design American Baskest in my hands to create a PATTERN.  I am honored and the PATTERN is now listed in my ETSY Shop. I hope you will check it out!  

Hand dyed felted wool is such a beautiful medium to work with and there is nothing better for butterflies and blooms.   

For these projects I used Sizzix dies and one Quilling die to cut the 1/8″ vine. 

Cut something out and create!

PrettyPennyPrecuts

Retired Sizzix Originals Dies
Do you have a collection of the Sizzix retired Originals dies? I love these little treasures! You can find them online on Ebay and Amazon. My passion for the last five years has been die cutting using recycled wool/felted wool. The retired Originals dies are perfect for felted wool die cut appliqué. This is my third year sharing my passion in my once a month Studio Open House where quilters and stitchers join me for a FREE Make n Take project. March’s project are these cute little Egg Critters. All cut from my retired Sizzix die collection. When stitched and stuffed the Egg Critters are about finger puppet size. 

Stitched by Mary T

Display idea

Studio Open House

Stitched by me!

Retired Originals Dies

PrettyPennyPrecuts 

I want to share a technique I use for turning strips into squares. For this project I need 100’s of 1/2″ squares for windows and chimneys. I’m using the Sizzix 1/2″ Strip die on my Big Shot Plus (this die also works on the BigShot/Big Kick or BigShot Pro).  

 The 1/8″ lavender scrap shows where the felted wool lies outside the cutting blades.  

 Here is cut one still attached.  This attachment gives cut one a “memory” and allows you to treat it as one piece instead of 4 individual strips. 

 This preparation for cut two. The strip set is laid back on the die perpendicular to the blades. Again the lavendar scraps indicates where the felted wool lies outside the cutting dies.  

 Successfully cut squares from strip set.  

 1/2″ squares for Windows and chimineys.  

 The project Meadow Cottages. All die cut. 

I encourage you to cut something out and create!  

Follow PrettyPennyPrecuts on social media. See all my Sizzix projects on my Pinterest board Pretty Penny Precuts.