Spring Fling Fabric Pinwheels - Tutorial

Finally, the fhubby is home for 6 wks Holiday...WhoRah!
That means a lot of Spring cleaning and organizing can finally get done around my place! Ummmm...yes dear I will move out of the living room, dining room and oh ya...what are those buttons doing in the kitchen?! hehe...uh hehehe oops hehe!

So I thought it was a good time to take a wee break and focus on some Family fun, and the not so fun...cleanup time.
However, I didn't want to leave you all empty handed with nothing to do or read. So I thought I'd venture into my first tutorial, and leave you all something to do whilst I'm out gallivanting with my family.
So in Honor of Spring (I'm trying to coax it out!!!) I decided to make some fabric pinwheels. I just adore pinwheels in the breeze, So after seeing some really cute ones that Sandi Henderson put together for her wall displays at the design fair; I decided to give it a go and make some wee ones for hair clips, hair bands and elastics. Soooo Adorable and pretty quick once you get the finicky sewing figured out.

So just for you here is my quick pic. 20 min tutorial so that you can make your own lovely little tribute to Spring.

Now Scissors up...It's time to work!

First...choose 2 coordinating scraps of Fabric
Cut squares (we'll use 3.5" for starters, which makes a good sized hairband pinwheel)
Cut 1 front, 1 back and 1 piece fusible webbing (eg: wonder under®)

Now Iron (no steam) your fusible webbing to the wrong side of one of your pieces, allow to cool.

Peel the paper backing off and line up your other fabric square exactly.
(both good sides should be showing)

Iron the 2 pieces together.
Eh Voila...your pieces are now glued together.

Trim your edges if they look a bit scruffy.
Now decide which side you would like as front and which as back.
On the 'front' side, using a fabric pen or faint pencil, draw a line from corner to corner.
Starting from the corner and measuring towards the middle, mark 5cm along each of these lines. (ignore my ruler markings as I seem to have an aversion to doing anything the right way!)

Cut along these lines, stopping at the 5 cm mark. (If you forget to stop...just pretend you're making sailboats, go back to the beginning and try again!..Who's gonna know)

And now the sewing...
Use a straight stitch with a coordinating thread.

Just go slow, (I hand turn the wheel on most corners and always keep my needle down when turning around the points) Try to sew as close to the edge as possible.

Begin just below and on the inside of one of the cuts (guess that would be the right side)
Sew up...across...and down one wing, cross the next cut and begin your next wing.
Don't forget to back stitch at the beginning and end to secure your stitches and snip off your threads.





Whew...that is probably harder to write and explain than it is to do!
But with that part out of the way it is time to choose your button!

Yay...I Love Buttons!

Okay...onto the hand sewing.

I'm using 3 strands of embroidery thread, but anything with strength will do fine.
I also like to tie my knot in the middle of my thread, leaving a good length of 'tail'




Push your needle up from the back, however do not pull though.
This will make layering your wheel points much easier.

Which is what you're going to do now...

The pics are pretty self explanatory for this part...
and since you haven't pulled your needle through...
now is your best chance to change your mind about which side is front and which is back!







Add your buttons, pull your thread through to the knot and secure all (I like to go through the button holes at least 2 or 3 times)

Tie off at the back

You should now have a six strand tail which is ready to be sewn, or tied to whatever your heart desires!
Now make heaps more...
I made several in different sizes and really liked the Itsy Bitsy ones

Hurricane Head Jax liked it so much she insisted I sew it immediately to one of her piggles so we could hold her hair in one place!
Unfortunately it couldn't hold her in one place long enough to get a picture...so this will have to do!

I'd love to hear some feedback, if this was helpful and or constructive tips.

And if you've chosen to follow it I'd love to see your creations. I will be getting a public flickr group up on my return, however until then you can email me at choochmagooz@yahoo.com

Hasta La Vista Invierno!!!

You feelin L.U.C.K.Y??!

Wow...It must be true that if you give...so also you will receive.
So the day after our giveaway, the abundance was rolling in!

First, I received notice that I was also a WINNER!
I took a stab in the dark guess at what Beatrix over at Kindershop Online, had used to make two very cute little skirts. And I was right!!! WhoooHooo...that means one of those cutey patootie skirts is on its way to Jax as we speak!

Then we went to the aquarium...usually a 20€ adventure, but not only did they finally let me in as a resident (15€)...but they stamped my ticket valid for 1 week...so we can come again and again! It's cold..it's wet off and on, and it's windy..what a perfect week to spend with the fishies.

And then just to top off my day, a lovely little package was waiting at the gate!
I won't say what it was...I'll be composing a completely separate post just for it..but let's just say that it was perfect, made me laugh, and came with lots of love! Thank you Mz. Luckey!!!

So let's just keep the love and luck going!

Jaime over at the Dress-up drawer is hosting a very cool give-away, bringing to you her reader favorites. There's some very cool loot up for grabs! She's adding new items and shops who are participating daily, so be sure to check back with her.

Maybe we can pass this horseshoe around a bit!

And The Winners Are...

First of all Let me just say...THANK YOU...

for participating, celebrating with us, and for all of your lovely heartfelt comments and great tunes. Jax and I have spent the entire 2 weeks dancing and I must say she has some stellar moves!

Just to play along I've compiled a very random (I'm an Artist not a DJ!) compilation from all of your favorites and a few of my own. (apologies if your selection was missed...some where hard to find through the mixpod) Some of the versions I found are classic...The boyz who preform 'Cecilia' are brilliant, and Mum..I so thought you'd love 'Jungle Drum' Cracks me up!!!

So you'll notice that the music doesn't start as soon as you've logged in!!! YAY...I finally figured out how to change that...so now if your cruising the blog whilst the wee ones are napping or shhhh...at work..you won't be caught out!

Just Press play on the MixPod and away we go....(I'll resume regular programming next week, but for now...)

LET'S DANCE!!!

So here's how we did it...I needed a bit of a kick in the butt to start a new project I've been putting off...So what better excuse to cut out many, many..squares
(I could have used the random # thinga-ma-jiggy, but thought this WAY more fun!)

I then printed out your comments and assigned each of you a number, and multiplied your chances based on your participation.

And the numbering began...

Jax and I then hit play on the music and played
SCRAMBLE!!!

She then got down to work turning all of the squares number side down...

Very proud of her work!!!
Can you tell what that project will be!...

And the games continue..
Enter the Bean Bag...

And TOSS
(take 10...as she kept overthrowing the mark...
Finally aimed for the ceiling and perfect shots...)

Drum Roll Please.....

And the Winner is.....1st place...

Congratulations Megan!
Megan confessed: " 'Mr. Roboto' by STYX is among the many songs that make chores more enjoyable at my house."

And toss number 2...

2nd place goes to...

Congratulations Erika!
Erika confessed: "I just cut a rug to the old Fatboy Slim song 'praise you' and it was awesome up in my living room!"

And finally...

3rd place is...

Congratulations Lilly (AKA Mz. K!)
Lilly's mum confessed: "Your entry rules inspired me to throw on some Bruce Springsteen (dancing in the dark)...because how can a woman alone resist that whole "middle-America, jeans and white t-shirt" genre? Get's me every time."

I'll be in touch regarding your winnings!

Congratulations and thank you to each and every one of you!
We had a blast!

Now Back to the Boogie!

Guilt Free Shopping...Gimme some of That!

Looking for my Giveaway...click here
(though I encourage you to come on back to this post to learn about Craft Hope)

Ahhhhh shopping, a favorite pass time for so many of us.
Well now you can SHOP and HELP all at the same time!
How great is that!

If you haven't already checked out the Craft Hope for Haiti button on my side bar here's a little bit about them.

The good folks over at Craft Hope started their project as a way for crafters to come together and help those in need. Everything from dresses for children in Mexico, dolls for orphans in Nicaragua, sock monkeys for a childrens burn camp and many more....

They are now on project 6, knitting scarves in aid of the orphan foundation for foster care teens.

And in the midst of project 6...
Along comes Haiti.

There isn't much more to be said about the devistation in Haiti that has not already been said or felt. So I won't even try.

Instead I encourage you to shop...

Because the Gals and their husbands and their neighbors and anyone else they could rope in...have been exhausting themselves listing donated handmade goodies in their shop. All proceeds are dedicated to Doctors without borders.

So normally I would encourage you to run --- not walk --- to the shop...
But hey your sitting down, you're reading this blurb...already on your computer...

Well hey ho you're halfway there!

Now all you need to do is click on that there Craft Hope for Haiti button on the side bar

and you're on your way to guilt free shopping!

To read more on Craft Hope follow the links above or click here
And If you can Knit, I encourage you to join in on Project 6!
(after you've gone shopping of course!)

Show me your goods Neptune!

If you're searching for the Giveaway post click here.
Just 5 more days to submit your entry...keep them coming I'm digging the new groovie tunes!

...................................................................

It's been a sewing fest at mine this month.
Buntings, buntings and more buntings, Pirate shirts and a special pirate birthday gift complete with hat, eye patch and treasure bag (which I forgot to take a photo of before gifting it.)
And these little yummies...



I've been wanting to do these for so long and just never got around to it. However as Spring is rapidly approaching and the 1st anniversary of the launch of Choochmagooz (which although successful, got seriously squashed by the OBB - One Bad Boob!) I thought I had better up my stocks and get ready for a relaunch!

But today, although I heard my machine calling...I decided to take a day off!
The house cleaning was calling...I plugged my ears and stepped over the doll furniture.
Even the fridge was calling to be restocked...sod it..I still have peanut butter in the cupboard somewhere!

But the beach calling...
That's a cry I couldn't ignore.
After days of miserable cold rainy January weather, I can actually count the number of clouds on 1 hand, Ahhhhhhh Lovely!
And jostling with the kids (Another Spanish holiday today) for beach combed treasure...Priceless!
(okay...actually no one got hurt..the kids prefer shells and I go for the beach glass and ceramics, so it's more of a cooperated effort)



Ahhhhh Treasure from the Sea...
I might just have to end this day off and start a new project!