Category Archives: Notebook covers

June 25, 2012 · 8:08 PM

Exercise in “value”

I’ve been meeting with a group of quilters once a month as we go through Joen Wolfrom’s book Adventures in Design. This month’s chapter was on value and the exercise at the end of the chapter that I chose to do was to:

A. Create a design that moves the value from light in the central area to dark in the outer perimeter.

B. Create a design that moves the value from dark in the central area to light at the outer perimeter. The following is what I came up with. (Disclaimer: I have had a terrible time photographing the pink. Sorry!)

Value exercise

This fabric was dyed by me during a workshop a couple summers ago. I had 5 different values of the same pink which I cut into 2 inch squares and then pieced together to make these backgrounds. I didn’t want to make absolute “bull’s eyes” so I mixed the square pieces up somewhat. The background was pretty heavily but easily quilted. I then fused the little birds and the green “thing” they are standing on to the background and did a free motion straight stitch with black thread to the edges. The eyes are little black seed beads. I really like the look of this. I guess it looks sort of cartoonish.

Close up of bird

I wanted to make them into something useful so guess what I chose to do with them? Well, not EVERYONE I know has a notebook cover yet, so. . . .

Finished notebook covers.

Linking up to Quilt Story’s Fabric Tuesday.

4 Comments

Filed under Notebook covers

Tagged as appliquéd bird, color value, dyed fabric, embroidered bird, free motion embroidery, Joen Wolfrom, notebook cover

June 11, 2012 · 11:52 AM

Gift Notebook Cover

Front of closed notebook

I wanted to make a gift for the woman who cuts my hair. She is a young and busy mother who I always enjoy seeing and who always makes me look good – or at least as good as what she has to work with can get! This notebook is very similar to the notebook I made for my college roommate.

Back of outside

These notebooks have a handy pen holder on the outside, a business card pocket on the inside front and a larger pocket on the inside back.

Open notebook – front

Open notebook – back

I did some free motion quilting practice on the notebook I made for myself and I use it all the time.

Front

Back

I hope that Heather likes hers. I’m getting my hair cut tomorrow (and dyed – yikes! Wish me luck.)

4 Comments

Filed under Gifts, Notebook covers, Uncategorized

Tagged as free motion quilting, gift, notebook cover, personalized

May 21, 2012 · 11:59 AM

Personalized Fabric Notebook Cover

My roommate from college visited me from out of town last night. Her birthday is tomorrow and I wanted to make her a gift. Here is what I made for her:

Finished notebook cover with pen pocket

I was inspired by this pouch that Lynne had at the DC Modern Quilt Guild meeting on Saturday. She was given this as a swap item. Pretty great, don’t you think?

Personalized pouch – front

Personalized pouch – back

Fabric notebook covers are my “go to” item if I need a quick gift. I made a ton of them for Christmas gifts this past year. My quilt guild, Needlechasers of Chevy Chase, has made many of these to sell in our boutique at our next quilt show and that is how I first learned to make them. It is an original design by Candy Glendening as featured in “Quilting Arts Gifts” Holiday 2011/2012 magazine. You can figure the measurements to fit any notebook. I like to use a hard covered spiral notebook that I can buy at Staples for about $2.00.

Hardcover spiral notebook 9 1/2 x 6 inches

To personalize this gift, I put Karen’s name into a blank word document and played with some different fonts until I found one that I liked. I then added the little “flourish” to each letter because I liked that kind of look on Lynne’s pouch.

Font is Bradley Hand ITC – embellished as shown

I freehand copied it with washable blue pen onto my piece of linen fabric.

The embroidery was done with 3 strands of DMC floss and an outline stitch.

Embroidery of name done.

I added some lazy daisy flowers in green with pink french knot centers and then sewed some fabrics around it in sort of a log cabin style. On the back I did a little bit more patchwork and hand stitching. I also did some top stitching with my sewing machine in pink as an easy accent (around the linen square on the back and “KAREN” on the front.)

Outside of notebook cover.
Ready to be sewn to inside.

The inside of this notebook cover has flaps to insert the notebook into. On the inside of the front flap is a little business card holder which I stamped a little design on. The inside of the back flap has a (green) pocket.

Inside – ready for final sewing

Once the inside and outside pieces are all complete, the right sides are put together and stitched all around except for an opening in which to turn it. The final step is edge stitching all around the edge to close the opening and finish it off nicely.