Pink Pumpkin Quilt SAL

Greetings friends! Have you been sewing along with Poppie Cotton this week? They have been hosting a Pink Pumpkin Quilt Sew-Along...and while I didn't have room in my jam-packed schedule for a full-size quilt, I did manage to sew along. I made four pumpkin quilt blocks and added sashing and borders to create a floating pumpkin pillow. I used fun fabrics from the Kitty Loves Candy Collection by Lori Woods for my pumpkins and Country Confetti in Waffle Cone Yellow for my background. Poppie Cotton has the Pink Pumpkin Quilt Pattern, designed by Lori Woods, available on their website for FREE (visit their website and click on the free tab). I used the pumpkin quilt block from the pattern and then designed my own pillow. I think it turned out super cute and it will be a fun addition to my Halloween/fall decorating...

You can read more about the Pink Pumpkin Quilt Sew-Along on the Poppie Cotton Blog.

Happy creating!

Sweet Tooth Fabric Tour

Happy Monday - welcome to my stop on the Sweet Tooth Fabric Tour - thank you so much for dropping by for a visit. I am thrilled to be sharing such spooktacular fabrics from Poppie Cotton today! I have some very special projects lined up, created with the new Sweet Tooth fabric collection designed by Elea Lutz for Poppie Cotton. I enjoyed putting on my quilt designer hat and playing with these adorable Halloween prints. This brand new fabric collection (shipping to quilt shops this month) has a truly wonderful vintage feel. The entire collection is filled with perfect details and the sweetest little treats! There are prints featuring witches riding brooms, pumpkins, candy, kittens with bowties, black cats, ghosts, skeletons, stars, polka dots...and, of course, flowers…all done in a traditional vintage color palette. The tiny details in this collection truly inspired me!

To start, I created a wall hanging that doubles as a table topper with star appliqué blocks. The stars are machine appliqué, using a blanket stitch and I used all of the prints in this wonderful collection. This small quilt measures 25" x 25" and works perfectly as a small wall hanging or a table topper for my kitchen table. I used a fat quarter stack with each of the prints from this collection...and I used Jailhouse Stripes (Blondee Yellow) for the binding. I created the design, just playing around in my studio - I don't know if I will write a pattern for it - it depends on demand - leave a comment or send me a message if you would like to see me release a pattern…

Next, I made the cutest patchwork project bags - one large and one small. I used each of the prints, cutting 2.5" squares (2" finished). I added wool felt applique, designing/cutting out wool felt shapes that I thought worked well with the fabric prints (I used Wool Blend Felt from Benzie Design). I added color coordinated zipper pulls...I also added a fun selvage tag to the large project bag. I just may have to make a coordinating tote bag to hold these fun patchwork bags...

Finally, I started out creating my usual pincushion, but this one finished out a little larger, more like a small pillow. I knew I wanted to do a Dresden Plate variation to show off all the fabulous prints. I had a pile of 2.5" squares left from my patchwork bags, so trimmed them all to a wedge shape to create the blades, then used the Little Witch Black print for the center circle.  I added hand-dyed rick rack from Lady Dot Creates to complete the pillow. It measures 9" x 9" and is stuffed with fiberfill and sawdust shavings. This made the sweetest pillow/pincushion to add to my growing collection!

I hope you have enjoyed this stop on the fabric tour and are feeling inspired - thank you for visiting with me today. For more creative projects using the Sweet Tooth fabric collection, visit the Poppie Cotton Blog. If you love this fabric collection, be sure to check out your favorite quilt shop and request it - Sweet Tooth is shipping this month.

I am already working on my project ideas for the next Poppie Cotton Fabric Tour in June - it is using the fabric collection "Prairie Christmas" (this is a charming holiday collection - click to see a preview). Plus, I will have a new project tutorial posted on the Therm O Web Blog tomorrow (May 14th), as well (it is a fun no-sew fabric project)…so, be sure to stop back on Wednesday for more details...

Joyful Journaling

Happy Tuesday friends! If you follow my social media, then you may have heard my extremely happy news - I finally got my fancy sewing machine back from repair in mid-March and I have been sewing up a storm daily. I was worried when it took months for repair, but the backordered parts finally arrived and my machine is sewing perfectly again. I have been making and listing a lot of items in my Etsy Shop and working on a few client orders...plus I have been working on projects for Poppie Cotton and ThermOWeb...and making a few gifts and personal projects. I have even been making time for new cross stitch designs and ideas. With the crazy new night schedule, I find spending time in my studio is keeping me sane and happy. I was also able to take four days off and help my local quilt shop (The Quilted Sunflower) for the Ad Astra shop hop, which is always inspiring and fun. It has been refreshing to take a step away from needlework finishing and some of the more cumbersome client projects and work on things that truly bring me joy. Here are just a few of the photos I can share...

Another project I worked on was this special framed piece for my mother-in-law - a gift for her birthday. Half of the heart is a map of where we live and half of the heart is a map of where she lives. I was quite happy with how it turned out...

Finally, you may remember this pillow I designed in December, playing around in my studio for the Poppie Cotton Christmas Countdown Challenge. I decided to enter it in the Nancy Zieman Productions 2023 Pillow Sewing Challenge. You could enter one photo of one pillow that was made in the last year and write one or two sentences about it.

This was my entry:
My Pink House Pillow is an original design, has an envelope back and uses a 12” x 12” pillow form. My pillow features fusible appliqué with blanket stitching, rick rack around the perimeter and a ¼” button for the doorknob.

The winners were announced in a blog post on March 26th, and I was on the list! I am receiving a June Tailor prize package, including: Quilt As You Go Morning Blend Table Runner package; Quilt As You Go Venice Placemat (set of 6) package; Quilt As You Go Venice Table Runner package and Magic Seam Wand. I haven't received my prize package yet, but I am looking forward to it!

Thank you for visiting with me today! I will be back on Thursday to share my latest ThermOWeb project tutorial with you. A little hint...my project is for Houses Make a Home Week...and you can see it on the ThermOWeb Blog on Wednesday. Until then, I wish you a happy and creative week...

Posy Pocket Pillow

Greetings friends - thank you for visiting with me today! I know it has been a while since my last post - however, I do have (what I feel is) a good reason. After we returned from our Florida getaway, my husband's work schedule changed and he is now working nights (7:00 PM until 5:00 AM)…this has been a big adjustment in our household and I'm still trying to find a balance with the new schedule. Going forward, I hope to get back on track with more frequent posts...thank you for your patience...

If you are a regular reader or social media follower, then you know I am a Fabric Education Designer for ThermOWeb  (they are the makers of all those wonderful HeatnBond products - adhesives, interfacings - all sorts of "must have" products for fabric crafts, paper crafts, and sewing). I create projects and tutorials for their very popular blog and give you my tips and tricks for using their products. It is Spring Flowers Week over on the ThermOWeb Blog and I created a new project that was posted yesterday - it is a complete tutorial for my "Posy Pocket Pillow" This tutorial contains a complete supply list, printable pattern with applique templates, a layout diagram, and step-by-step directions with color photos. The model uses the lovely Betsy's Sewing Kit fabric collection from Poppie Cotton and fits a a 20” x 12” Pillow Form! I hope you will stop by the ThermOWeb blog and check out my project and tutorial...

This is a small appliqué and fabric yo-yo project that is perfect for fat quarters or scraps. I used a Clover Round Extra Large Yo-Yo Maker to make quick work of the yo-yos, but the instructions show you how to make a yo-yo without one. For this post, I used HeatnBond Lite EZ-Print Iron-On Adhesive, HeatnBond Fusible Fleece and SpraynBond Fabric Stiffener Spray.

Are you familiar with the SpraynBond Fabric Stiffener Spray? With this unique product, you can shape or stiffen fabrics, ribbon or trim (in this case, I stiffened the yo-yos so they would stand upright and keep their shape above the top of the pocket. This quick-dry, non-aerosol formula dries clear and can be left in or washed out depending on your needs. Unlike other fabric stiffeners on the market, there is no need to soak the fabric, just spray until damp. Let fabric air-dry or iron it for immediate use.

If you have questions on any ThermOWeb HeatnBond products or would like to see a specific type of product in one of my projects, drop me a comment or email.

You will have to visit the ThermOWeb blog for my tutorial and pattern, but I am posting a few photos here...

Here is a direct link to the project tutorial: 
https://blog.thermoweb.com/posy-pocket-pillow-with-heatnbond/

I hope this project gets you excited to create something...

I will be doing monthly projects for the ThermOWeb blog and will be sure to post here, when I do...my next project is scheduled for April 12th, so I will see you soon... 

Thank you for stopping by for a visit today - I always enjoy sharing with you. Enjoy the rest of your week and make time to work on something creative...

Building a Life They Love

Greetings friends! It is a quiet Saturday afternoon and I needed a break from chores and a complicated work project, so I decided to stop by for a quick visit. I thought I would pop in and share the machine embroidered pillow I made my mother-in-law and her new husband as a wedding gift (and a few favorite wedding photos). 

It has been a while since I have made time to do some machine embroidery and it was a treat to pull out my embroidery arm and software. I was able to find a digitized design I liked on Etsy, but wanted to add the names of the bride and groom and the wedding date (which I digitized with my software).  This was a larger design and took some time to stitch out, but I was quite pleased with the end results. I created an envelope back pillow and used an 18" pillow form - I also padded and serged the inside of the pillow cover, so it could easily be laundered. It was a rewarding afternoon project! To add a chuckle to this story, when we left for the wedding, I actually forgot the wrapped gift on our dining room table and had to ship it to them after the fact...yep, I was so scattered, I forgot the wedding gift...once we realized it, we were to far from home to go back and get it....so USPS to the rescue.

It was a beautiful outdoor wedding and reception. My husband walked his mother down the aisle and his half-sister was the maid of honor. The bride's sister made her dress and the family did all the decorations. The wedding took place at a lovely farm in eastern Iowa and the happy couple were surrounded by family and friends. They served walking tacos for their reception dinner...and there were delicious cupcakes and soft serve ice cream for dessert. It was a very special day! We are thrilled to have new extended family and made lots of memories...

This past week, I have been busy working on custom client finishing and sewing orders and I'll be back to show some creative photos really soon...

I hope you are enjoying the weekend...make a little time to do something creative!