Cute Apron and Bag

Good morning!  I just found a super cute apron pattern. 

"Punch and Cookies" by Sew Much Good

Love the flower on it.  This is the one  we're going to wear at Spring Market this year.   It comes in multiple sizes so it will fit perfect.

 Ours will be made from bright, fun fabrics. I can't wait!!  

You can find the pattern here.

 

We'll also have matching bags!!  "Sunshine on My Shoulder" by Thankfully Sew is the bag pattern that we  picked . 

Love the size, it's nice and roomy!  Lots of pockets on the inside and a zipper closure to keep all our fabric and goodies from falling out.  And of course I love the flowers!!

You can find the pattern here.

When they are all done I will show you.

Until next time, enjoy your day!

Monday's quilting tips

Here's a couple more quilting tips that I hope you find helpful.

1. For a quick design wall, use the back of a flannel backed vinyl tablecloth.

2.  Do you ever loose your needles in a pincushion?  Slide an earring back (the small plastic tubes that secure your earrings in place) on your needle about 3/4 of the way up.  That way when you poke your needle into your pincushion it won't go all the way in, it stays there.  It also makes the needle easier to grab and pull out of the pincushion with the plastic stopped there.

3.When I find that I have small scraps leftover from a project, I toss them into a tall glass jar.  So when I'm doing applique I have small pieces right at hand.  The glass jar helps me see the color I need right away. 

If you have any tips and tricks that work for you, please share them and

leave a comment. 

Have a great Monday and as always

Happy Sewing!!

Bobbin Chaos??

OK, do your bobbins look like this? 

Mine did and I didn't like it, the threads getting tangled and knotted, what a mess!

So I found a solution...

I needed my utility knife

a permanent fine tip pen

and a foot of 5/8" clear tubing (inside measure is 1/2")

I picked the tubing up at my local hardware store. 

I marked the tube every 1/4".  Then with the utility knife carefully cut the tubing by pushing straight down and gently sawing.  It worked best if I squished

the tube together. 

 

Once you have all your "rings" cut, cut it open.  

slip the split ring tube over your bobbin and Voila!   

Nice, neat bobbins.  No more tangles!  Yeah!!

Great Ideas

I keep finding these great ideas and want to share them with you.  Some I have tried and some not.  Here are a few for today that you might enjoy.

1.  To create beautiful color combos, take cues from nature photos, or

paint swatch collections.  (I've seen some great color combos on Pinterest)

2.  Save batting that has been trimmed from a quilt to use from smaller projects such as mini table toppers, for a stitchery or potholders

3.  If you discover a fabric flaw in your piece of fabric, mark it with a safety pin or a piece of masking tape so you avoid that spot when cutting out your pieces.

4.  When throwing away an old rotary blade, encase it in some old cardboard (like a cereal box or tissue box) and tape it up before putting it in the trash.

Enjoy these few tips for the day and Happy Sewing!

Twisted Valentine - tutorial

My Twisted Valentine table topper. 

It was fun, easy and quick!

For those who have never made one of these fun quilts...

Here's how I made it. 

I raided my stash and found:

25 charm squares

1/3 yard border fabric

and of course the

'Lil' Twister" ruler 

 I laid out my charm squares in a 5 x 5 format. 

They are all sewn together and ready for the border to be put on.

I cut three 3" border strips

Side borders went on first,  then the top and bottom borders next.

Of course, I press my seams toward the border. 

Now comes the fun part of using this cool little ruler.

I start in the top left corner.

Line up the ruler with the seam lines as shown.

Carefully cut around the ruler on all sides, just going past the rulers edge.

Don't over cut.

Line up the ruler with the next intersection and cut around that piece again just going past the edge of the ruler.

Continue to cut out your Twister blocks as shown.  

Here's the first four Twister squares, laid out and ready to be sewn together.

Continue cutting across your quilt top.  Lay out the Twister blocks as you go.

It made it easier for me to do it this way.

I always work left to right, placing the cut squares next to each other as I go. 

 The last row also cuts into your border.

Everything is cut out.

I got the top row sewn together.

(I got excited and couldn't wait to sew things together)

Can see the Twister now?

The second row is sewn together in 3 block sections.

The bottom row is ready to be sewn.

You can see how it is put together here.

Now the (almost) finished project.  I still need to get it quilted.

This topper finishes 18" square.

 You can add more borders at this point if you choose.  

Now what to do with all the scraps left over????  Hmmmm...I hate to toss them,

 I mean how un-quilty of me.  So I took all those pieces and cut them down to a bunch of 2 1/4" squares and put them to good use.

  And what better to go with a table topper then a set of

Mug rugs!

I used some of the border fabric scraps and appliqued the 3 little hearts using Steam-A-Seam fusible webbing.  Then I quilted the large hearts in the center. 

Now for some chocolate!

Have a wonderful and Happy Valentines Day!!!

A nice surprise

What a busy morning already! Getting kids ready for school, starting laundry, making a salad for dinner, straighting the house up so I can be ready for work, filling the dishwasher, paying bills and then getting 4 kids

 to 3 different schools all before 8:40am.

I get home after taking kids to school and I found a box on my front door.   Kind of early for mail but hey it's all good for me.  Then I saw who it was from. 

Well, this is what was in that box.....

AURIFIL Thread!!!!! 

Thread, thread, thread,  I LOVE this thread.  Aren't these just gorgeous!!!!!  Seriously if you haven't tried Aurifil thread, you need to.  This is the

b-e-s-t stuff!!.  I use the 50 weight and as I said love it!!.  These are some of the colors that I will be using on my new designs, beautiful, rich, yummy colors.

I better get to work (grin)

Happy Sewing!!

A few quilting tips

Good morning to all.  I thought I would share a few fun quilting tips with you this morning to start off the day right.

1.  To store your spool of thread and matching bobbin together, thread a pipe cleaner through both and twist the ends together.  No more searching for the lost

bobbin you know that you have.

2.  Next to your machine, use a thick pot holder as an ironing

surface when pressing small pieces.

3.  When using a decorative stitch for applique, write down the stitch length and width on a post it when you stop sewing for the day and stick in on your machine. 

The next time you sit down at your machine to finish your applique,

you know settings you need.

Happy Sewing!!

Magazine Winner

is Tiffany!!!

Thanks for those who commented. Apparently there are not enough quilt retreats going on.  We may have to remedy that somehow, start thinking.. 

Tiffany, email me your shipping address so I can send out your brand new fun copy of Quiltmaker Mar/April 2013 issue.

Ya'll have a great weekend!

Got Skinnies??

Quiltmaker magazine is publishing some of my Skinnies!!!! Hooray!! 

The March/April 2013 is the first issue in the series.  (There will be four total.)

First one: Spring Skinnie is on page 42.

Right now with all the snow and cold weather, this is a welcome breath of Spring.

In the magazine they also show you this Skinnie done up in wool, very cool!

I would love to give away a copy of this issue to someone.

It's CONTEST TIME!!

First:

Leave one comment on what has been your favorite

quilt retreat that you have ever attended.

Second:

wait, (the hard part)

The lucky winner will be randomly chosen on Saturday Feb 9.

Remember, you must be a follower to win.  Please leave only one comment.

Thanks!!! Have a great day and Happy Sewing!



Weekend projects

How many of you have heard of the "Sashay" yarn??  It's made by Red Heart.  I was introduced to it last week and boy, I love this stuff.  I have made 4 scarfs already!  They are super easy to make.  My first one took me about 1 1/2 hours, I made two  in one afternoon.  Yesterday while resting from the week of craziness, I whipped out two more.  My last one only took me about 45 mins to make. 

Everywhere I wear these, I end up giving a mini class on how make them.  I love all the colors the yarn comes in.  This is the new latest craze. 

I found it at JoAnn's and Walmart. 

Be careful if you start making these...you might get "hooked'

Happy Sewing!

Latest sighting

I was flipping through my newest Hancock's of Paducah magazine, Vol 60 by the way, and guess what?!!?  They have featured my pattern "Confetti"!  I completely forgot that I was going to be in their magazine, what a surprise.  They made Confetti in the fabric line Rose Cottage by Clothworks.    It looks just beautiful.   So, now when you look through your copy, check out page 97 and see Confetti in pretty pinks and greens.  Now back to work....let's see what this weekend will bring.

Happy Sewing