Merry Maker Needle Books

Stitch Up Some Holiday Cheer!

Greetings, friends! You are visiting on a great day, as it is new Therm O Web tutorial day—and I'm absolutely delighted to share a festive project that will make your holiday season sparkle with handmade joy. If you’re searching for a thoughtful, creative gift that’s as practical as it is charming, you’re in the right place!

With Christmas just around the corner, now is the perfect time to dive into a project that celebrates the magic of giving. These Merry Maker Needle Books are small in size but big on personality—and they’re ideal for the crafters, sewists, and needleworkers on your list. Whether you keep it simple or go all out with embellishments, each needle book is a little treasure waiting to be gifted.

Imagine pairing one of these beauties with a pair of embroidery scissors, a bundle of needles, or even a gift card tucked inside. It’s a heartfelt way to say, “I made this just for you.” Plus, this project is beginner-friendly and perfect for using up those fabric scraps and bits of wool felt you’ve been saving for something special.

Find the Merry Maker Needle Book Tutorial on the Therm O Web Blog: https://blog.thermoweb.com/merry-maker-needle-books/

What You’ll Need (contains affiliate links to help keep this blog ad-free; thank you for shopping from my links):

• HeatnBond Lite EZ-Print Iron-On Adhesive Sheets – 1 sheet
• HeatnBond Medium Weight Non-Woven Fusible Interfacing – 2 pieces (6½” x 4½”)
• HeatnBond Fusible Fleece – 1 piece (6” x 4”)
• HeatnBond Fabric Fuse PeelnStick Fabric Adhesive Tape, 5/8” – 1 piece (3”)
• Cotton Fabric (models use a selection of Poppie’s Basics from Poppie Cotton)
• 2 pieces (6½” x 4½”) for cover and lining
• 1 piece (6½” x 4½”) for inside pocket
• Scraps for appliqué shapes
• Wool Felt – 1 piece (5” x 3”) plus optional scraps for embellishment (models use Wool Blend Felt from Benzie Design)
• Baker’s Twine, Ribbon, or Twill Tape – 2 pieces (9” each)
• Embellishments – buttons, sequins, charms, bells, tiny candy canes
• Basic Tools – small sharp scissors, embroidery needle, marking pencil, coordinating thread, iron, wonder clips or pins
• Appliqué Templates found on the Therm O Web Blog 

Find an Amazon shopping list with items used in this project in my Amazon Shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/brdgirl 

Why You’ll Love This Project

🎄Quick and beginner-friendly 

🐦Perfect for holiday gifting

🎅Endless customization options

🩷Great way to use up scraps and trims

Thank you for joining me for this merry little adventure! I hope these Merry Maker Needle Books inspire you to stitch up some joy this season. They’re quick, delightful, and endlessly customizable—perfect for heartfelt holiday giving.

If you are ready to try your hand at making one (or ten!), you can find the tutorial on the Therm O Web Blog: https://blog.thermoweb.com/merry-maker-needle-books/

Tuck in a pair of scissors, a bundle of needles, or a few festive pins, and you’ll have a gift that’s sure to make spirits bright. If you share your creations, tag me—I’d love to celebrate your makes and cheer you on!

Wishing you a holiday filled with handmade happiness, cozy moments, and plenty of creative cheer.

Patchwork in the Heart Quilt Pattern

Greetings friends! Thanks to your wonderful feedback on my last post, I have written a quilt pattern for "Patchwork in the Heart." A wonderfully scrappy mini quilt that can be used as a wall hanging or table topper. This quilt measures a manageable 24.5" W x 24.5" H and the pattern includes tips for making it larger or smaller. The pattern contains comprehensive/detailed instructions with all sorts of color diagrams...and it includes basic instructions for fusible machine appliqué. This 8-page pattern is designed to easily use scraps or your favorite fabric collection - it is mini charm pack friendly, and is good for all skill levels. You can find this new design in my Etsy Shop, in both paper and digital format...

Paper Pattern: https://blueribbondesigns.etsy.com/listing/1871705191
Digital Pattern: https://blueribbondesigns.etsy.com/listing/1871707905

I designed this quilt for a Poppie Cotton Valentine's Day feature. This month Poppie Cotton is spotlighting their fabric ambassadors with projects from the heart. Many of you know that I have been blessed to work with Poppie Cotton for years and have created with almost every single collection they have released...so I came up with a special project to highlight a large selection of prints. One of the things I love about this quilt is, it can be as planned as you want OR as scrappy as you want (like I made mine). I used pink and red fabric scraps from almost 40 Poppie Cotton collections, along with 3/8 Yard Country Confetti (Marshmallow New White CC20190) for background and 1/4 Yard Country Confetti (Cotton Candy Dark Pink CC20181) for binding - plus HeatnBond Fusible Fleece, HeatnBond Lite (fusible web) and backing. I used HeatnBond Tear-Away Stabilizer Sheets to stabilize my heart blocks during the appliqué process...and SpraynBond Basting Spray to baste the backing in place for quilting. Visit my YouTube Channel for a short video tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mxWtxlYbeqo

You can also find the exact supplies I used (including the black wrought iron quilt hanger) by visiting the feature post in my Amazon Shop (note, as an influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases).

Thank you so much for visiting with me today and checking out my latest quilt pattern. I will be back soon with a peek at a new cross stitch model...and a seasonal project tutorial that I just completed for Therm O Web.

For now, I am back to the studio...I am working on a plethora of new designs and ideas. Of course I will be celebrating the Super Bowl tomorrow (well, actually later today - this crazy night schedule) with close friends...rooting for our local Kansas City Chiefs! Since my birthday always falls on or near Super Bowl Sunday, we will be celebrating my birthday (a few days early) at our Super Bowl party and having cake! 🎂 If our Chiefs can pull off the 3-peat, the parade will take place on my birthday...fingers crossed! I'll be wearing my number 10 jersey tomorrow for good luck...🏈💛❤️

Chiefs Fan Zone - Union Station Kansas City

Chiefs Fan Zone - Union Station Kansas City

Chiefs Fan Zone - Union Station Kansas City

"Patchwork in the Heart" Mini Quilt

Greetings friends - happy February! You are visiting on a great day - I have a heart-filled project to share with you…my "Patchwork in the Heart" scrappy mini quilt. Poppie Cotton is sharing Valentine projects this month while spotlighting their fabric ambassadors....and if you follow them on social media, then you are aware that today the spotlight is on me.😊 Many of you know that I have been blessed to work with Poppie Cotton for years and have created with almost every single collection they have released...so I came up with a special project to highlight a large selection of prints.

“Patchwork in the Heart” measures 24” x 24” and every single fabric in this quilt is unique. There isn’t a pattern, I just made it up as I went along – a pattern could definitely be created, if there is some interest (drop me a note or comment if you would like to see me write a pattern).  I cut 2.5” squares from all the pink and red prints from at least 36 different Poppie Cotton Collections - there are 144 prints represented in this quilt, plus Country Confetti for the background and binding. I made 36 4-Patch blocks, cutting half of them into hearts for fusible appliqué – then alternated the appliqué blocks with the remaining 4-Patch blocks. It is kind of an “I Spy” quilt of Poppie Cotton fabrics. I added hanging tabs…or it can be used as a table topper. 

I think I cut 182 unique 2.5” red and pink prints, so I had a few remaining squares that I used to create this cute project bag. I made another appliqué heart block and inserted it into the patchwork. I used a cheerful Poppie Cotton pink daisy print on the back, with a white zipper and pink zipper pull.

There will be a reel on my Instagram page that shows the assembly of my mini quilt…with a longer version on my YouTube channel...look for these on Wednesday evening.

I hope you have been inspired by this mini quilt, stitched with love, and filled with Poppie Cotton history. Thank you for visiting and sharing my passion for all things created with needle and thread!♥️

Sweet Sips Mug Rug - A Complimentary Pattern

Greetings creative friends - thank you for joining me during the 12 Days of Valentines with Poppie Cotton. Poppie Cotton and friends are celebrating Valentine's Day with 12 free projects to create, use, and love. Today, I am sharing my brand new complimentary design, titled "Sweet Sips Mug Rug." This snack mat is the perfect afternoon project and can be used all year long...and bonus, it also makes the sweetest heartfelt gift.

This 10.5" x 7" mug rug has a simple foundation pieced heart, combined with traditional patchwork. It is a great project for beginners and those wanting to try out a simple foundation-pieced project (basic foundation piecing knowledge is required). I used scraps/small pieces of fabric (the largest piece is the 11" x 7.5" backing) and lovely hand-dyed rick rack from Lady Dot Creates to embellish this small quilting project. The fabric snippets I used are from the Promise Me fabric collection by Michal Marko for Poppie Cotton (and a wee bit of Country Confetti for the heart background), but this love-filled design would work well with just about any fabric you have on hand! I used a StitchnSew EZ Print Quilt Block Sheet (my favorite foundation "paper" for piecing) and HeatnBond Fusible Fleece.

You can find the free printable PDF pattern here:

https://blueribbondesigns.com/free-charts/

I kindly ask you do not post the actual pattern on the Internet/social media or on Pinterest - instead, post a photo of the finished piece and/or direct users to this post or my website.

I hope this free pattern will entice you to take a look at my design catalog and my Etsy shop and check out my sewing and quilting patterns. This complimentary design complements my latest quilt pattern release titled "Sweet Snacks Mug Rug"...don't they look great together?! If you would like to create the appliqué tea cup snack mat, the pattern for my "Sweet Snacks Mug Rug" is available in my Etsy shop.

I hope my Sweet Sips Mug Rug pattern will inspire you to create for Valentine's Day and/or the loved ones in your life. To gather all the patterns from the 12 Days of Valentines with Poppie Cotton, visit the Poppie Cotton blog daily through February 14th. A new post with details will be uploaded daily.

If you create a Sweet Sips Mug Rug, be sure to post a photo and tag me on social media - I would love to see your version! 💗

Sweet Snacks Mug Rug - NEW Pattern

Greetings friends - happy Friday! I am back today with a brand new quilt pattern release. Truth be told, I had a completely different plan for this pattern, but sometimes things don't work out as envisioned. So, in true Belinda fashion, I quickly changed course and decided to finish this pattern and make it available in my Etsy shop.

“Sweet Snacks Mug Rug" is machine appliqué, along with traditional piecing and assembly. It measures 10" x 7" and works perfectly for a snack mat. The pattern contains basic machine appliqué instructions, appliqué templates, and comprehensive/detailed instructions with color diagrams... and is super quick and easy to create. This 8-page pattern is designed to use scraps and small pieces of fabric...or would work great with your favorite fabric collection. The largest piece of fabric needed is for the backing (10.5" x 7.5"). This project is great for beginners or those wanting to dabble in appliqué....and is perfect for seasonal sewing and gift giving!

The cover model was created with scraps from the Prairie Sisters Homestead collection by Lori Woods for Poppie Cotton along with a small piece of Country Confetti (also from Poppie Cotton) for the appliqué background. It uses HeatnBond Lite Iron-On Adhesive (paper backed fusible web) and HeatnBond Fusible Fleece (you could use batting, but fusible fleece makes it easier). I have also created one in winter/Christmas fabrics - this one has "cocoa" in the teacup with 1/4" buttons representing marshmallows.😊

Paper Pattern: https://blueribbondesigns.etsy.com/listing/1656421646

Digital Pattern: https://blueribbondesigns.etsy.com/listing/1656427148

This mug rug brings a smile to my face, as I have it on my desk daily (the winter one is on a side table in my sewing room)...and I can envision it created with several other seasonal fabrics (I better get busy!). I hope you will spend a little time in your sewing space making a "Sweet Snacks" mug mat that fits your personality and decor.

For now, I am back to my design table and sewing studio...plus I have a new cross stitch model in the works in my stitching nest. Be sure to stop back on February 4th, for a very special Valentine treat!! 💖