Pink Blazer Love!

 Good Morning!  The weather is still beautiful here, so this week I (again) did my outfit photo's outside.  I was browsing the Nordstrom website and I found this great pink blazer.  I know it's fall but pink is my favorite color, so I will wear pink! 

 The first outfit I made, I paired it with a pair of light blue jeans with a frayed hem, navy striped tee and gold jewelry for accent.  Believe it or not, I found the leopard shoes at an estate sale but they look very similar to some of the leopard shoes out there right now!

For my second outfit, I just changed my shoes to Converse tennis shoes for a really casual look.

 Then I changed into the black tie tee that I wore last week with my leopard skirt.  I just love mixing and matching all my shirts, shoes etc. to get more looks with them.  I also changed my necklace to something with a little sparkle to it.

 

This change is hard to see in the light, so click on the picture to get a better look!  I changed my shirt to this burgundy top and also put on some basic black pants to make the outfit really dressy.

For my fifth look, I changed my top to a cream top with embroidery and put my basic gold necklace on again. 

I hope I have convinced that you need a pink blazer in your closet!  The website said to size down in this jacket because it runs large.  I found this to be true, but if you are on the fence with sizing I would order two sized and send one back.  With Nordstrom's free shipping and free return shipping it is totally worth it!

To help you with your outfits, here are the links to find the following items:

Pink Blazer 

Black Front Tie Tee

Gold Circle Necklace

Leopard Heels(similar)

Burgundy Top

Have a great week and I'll be back next Tuesday with another round of new outfits!

Leopard Skirt - 6 Different Ways!

With the change in the weather, I have felt a change in myself!  I have been a crazy quilter for 22 years and have loved every minute of it.  Through my crazy quilt journeys, I have met many amazing people and have a lot of fun stories go along with my experiences.  Along the way, I had the opportunity to write two books.  That was a dream come true for me!

For a year or so, I have felt myself drawn to a new topic.  Not new to me, but new to my blog.  I have always loved fashion and clothing.  It seems to me that crazy quilting and fashion have many things in common and it would be no surprise to anyone who knows me that I love both!  They both involve creativity, color and fabrics to name a few of the similarities.

As I have thought about my options over the last year, I have decided to incorporate some fashion into my blog.  Does that mean that I am done being a crazy quilter or finished writing books?  Absolutely not!  I may still have a few books in me in the next few years, but I would like to explore some other things I love.

So I guess what I am saying is, you may see both of my creative loves on the blog: fashion and needlework and we will see where it goes from there!

 The other day, I was shopping at the Loft and I found this great leopard skirt.  I have wanted a leopard skirt for a long time but just never found one I loved.  Well I found it and quickly scooped it up!  I wore it to church Sunday and then I decided that I would try to make as many outfits with it from things that I had in my closet.

 

The items I used, are pictured above: my leopard skirt that I love, a basic black sweater, a basic black tee that has been updated with a tie front, both a denim shirt as well as a denim jacket.  Last but not least is my favorite black booties, a new necklace from Accessory Concierge and leopard earrings.

 

First I tried the leopard skirt on with a denim shirt and I loved it, so I changed into my basic black sweater and tucked it in.  Both were a winner as far as I was concerned!

  

  

I then tried layering the basic black sweater with my denim shirt for those colder days this winter.  Then I switched it up and paired the denim jacket with the basic black sweater.  I felt like I had scored with the first 4 outfits!

  

 I tried the front tie tee with it and then for colder days, I paired it with the denim jacket, for two more outfit choices!  If you will notice, in all the outfits I used the same accessories and they worked in every one of them.

Links to help with your outfits!

 Leopard Skirt

Holt Necklace

Leopard Earrings


Talk to you soon with more fun outfits!

 

Fall Classes at City Arts!

 I am happy to say that I will be teaching again at City Arts this fall with five fun classes!

Silk Ribbon Garden

 

In this class you will learn many silk ribbon stitches while making a silk ribbon flower garden with sunflowers, irises and more.  The class is September 15th from 9:30-3:30 with and hour for lunch.  The cost of the class is $60.00  plus a $40.00 kit. fee.

Beginning Tatting

Learn the old art of tatting using a needle. The technique is much easier than with a shuttle and you won't be able to tell the difference! The price of the workshop includes a needle and a ball of thread.

The class is September 22nd from 1:00 to 3:30 pm. The cost of the class is $45.00.

 Hoop Embroidery

In this class you will learn several embroidery stitches as well as some silk ribbon embroidery mixed in, all done in a hoop.  The class is September 29th from 10-3 with an hour for lunch.  The cost of the class is $50.00 with a kit fee of $35.00.

 Beginning Quilting

Learn how to make a traditional Trip Around the World quilt using a quick strip piecing method. You will be emailed a supply list once you've enrolled. Please bring your own sewing machine to the class.  The class is October 6th from 9:30-3:30 with an hour for lunch.  The cost of the class is $60.00.

Beginning Crazy Quilting

You will learn many crazy quilt stitches that will be embroidered on a crazy quilt block that is already made for you!  The class is October 27th from 9:30 to 3:30 with an hour for lunch.  The cost of the class is $60.00 plus a $15.00 kit fee.

If you are interested in any of these classes, you may email me at pinkbunny@valeriebothell.com.

Hope to see you this fall!

Stitching Templates!

I have been selling stitching templates that I designed for the last couple of months and I have had requests to show you a few ways to use them.  I thought I would do my first tutorial with the Feather Stitch Template.  First you line up your dots on the seam as pictured above.

Using a purple air erase pen, I mark the dots that are on the template.

Here's what the seam should look like after you have it marked.  I use a purple air erase pen because it disappears with the humidity in the air and I don't have to get my project wet to get rid of the marks.

 Using the dots as a guide, you start doing your feather stitch.  The nice thing about using the template, is that you don't have to worry about getting your stitches even on your own!  You just quickly stitch on your seam and it is done perfectly and quickly!

The three pictures above, show the progression down the seam as you stitch using the dots you marked.

Finished seam!

You can buy all three as a set for $20.00 or the Feather Stitch template is available for $7.00.  You can email me at pinkbunny@valeriebothell.com if you are interested!



Talk to you soon,

Val

City Arts Classes for Summer!

This summer I will be taking it a little bit slower so I can have time to make some new samples for classes!

Saturday, June 9th I will be teaching a Silk Ribbon Corsage.  I love making these and they are fun to wear on jackets and hats.  They also make great gifts!  The class is from 1-3 pm, it is $35.00 and all supplies are included.

 Saturday, July 21st, I will be teaching Beginning Needle Tatting.  It is much easier than shuttle tatting and lots of fun!  The class is from 1-3:30, it is $35.00 and all supplies are included.

Saturday August 11, I will teaching Beginning Quilting from 9:30 to 3:30.  You will be learning to make a Trip Around the World quilt using a strip piecing method.  The class is $50.00 and a supply list will be sent to you after enrollment.

If you are interested in any of these classes, you may email me at pinkbunny@valeriebothell.com.

Have a great day!

Come join me on March 5th!

I will be a guest on Pat Sloan's podcast on Monday March 5th!  I am the first guest and showtime is 3:00 pm central.  Here is the link if you want to listen in:

http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/magazines-more/quilting-podcast

Talk you you later!

Spring City Arts Classes!

I will be teaching some more classes this spring at City Arts!  I had so much fun teaching this winter that I decided to keep going.  The first class for the spring session will be an embroidered basket of flowers.

You will learn how to piece long crazy quilt borders in this class and then move on to learn a lot of different embroidery stitches.  Price for this class is $100 and includes a kit to make the project.  Class will run for 4 weeks beginning March 24-April 21.  There will be no class on April 7th for this class.

The second class for spring will be a silk ribbon embroidered monogram.

In this class you will learn many basic silk ribbon embroidery stitches while making you own monogram.  Price for this class is $85 and includes a kit to make the project.  Class will run for two weeks beginning April 28.

If you are interested in either of these classes, you may email me at pinkbunny@valeriebothell.com.

Talk to you later,