I’ve been trolling Pinterest for some ideas for the window boxes on front of the house now that spring is here.
The plants need to be full shade tolerant.
Leaning toward the Impatients:
Which is your favorite? What have you had luck with?
Monthly Archives: April 2013
Table Top Show and Tell
Recently I shared my stepmother Marcia’s version of the “Just the Right Angle” table runner featured in Fons & Porter’s 2013 Easy Quilts. Well, she had table runners on the brain, and stitched another design that I’m sharing with you here today.
The pattern is “Recipe Cards” pattern from Modern Quilt Relish.
She says, ”I started with the yummy gold with white flowers and joined it with Large Flower in Grey. The Metro Leafy Stripe in Gold from V and Co fit right in! I used some mottled black from my stash for the shadow effect fabric. Plain white makes a crisp and spring-like background—an easy choice!”
Here are the close-ups of the prints Marcia chose (Don’t you just love the palette?!):
1. Indie Main in Yellow – Indie Chic
2. Large Flower in Grey – Lotta Jansdotter
3. Metro Leafy Stripe in Gold – Moda
Do You Washi?
I stumbled across these DARLING little washi covered tacks on one of my favorite blogs a couple of weeks ago. They inspired me to sit down for a mother-daughter project on a rainy afternoon.
The kiddo and I got to work messing around and whipped some fun up with one of these.
There are more ideas over on my Pinterest board!
My favorite part of the Days of the Week tape is that it actually offers TWO fonts! So clever!
What is Washi??
It’s a decorative tape printed with different patterns made with rice paper. These tapes originated in Japan in 2006 but are used worldwide. The tape has a mild adhesive so you can reposition it as needed, which is extremely helpful for a clumsy crafter like me.
What is your favorite Washi project?
April Sew Along – Nigella Bag Part 1
Hey all! I started my Nigella bag (designed by Amy Butler) for the April Sew Along last night and wanted to share my fabric choices, thoughts and process.
I selected this LOVELY variation of the fabric selected for the Biggie Bag. Nicole is a smaller scale of the design for the Emily. Lots of colors in the shop to select from. This solid is what I paired it with hoping it will allow the print to really pop.
To start, I adjusted the pattern a bit. Rarely I make things like they tell me to. I guess I need to make it my own a bit.
Any way, for the strap I wanted to make the top of the strap in the print and the bottom of the strap in the solid. SO, instead of instead of ONE 14″ WIDE by 34″ LONG from the exterior fabric , I cut:
- ONE 7″ WIDE by 34″ LONG of the exterior fabric
- ONE 7″ WIDE by 34″ LONG of the interior fabric
Skipping Step 2, since I selected home decor fabric, and on to Step 3.
Right sides together pin and stitch up one side of the strap.
Fold and press wrong sides together.
Then continue with Step 3.
The other change I made to pattern was to cut TWO Bottom Panels from each fabric. I wanted to be able to choose which fabric I wanted to use when the time came.
Any one taking on this project? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
April Sew Along: Complete!
Happy day all!
So we left off more then half done with the bag! First thing, before you tackle the gussets, be sure you press the seams open on both the outer fabric and the liner fabric. I forgot to mention that in the last installment!
Gussets: So…. I was going to go into detail about the gussets, however when I looked over the tutorial it was SO detailed! Her explanations and pictures were so thorough I felt there really wasn’t anything I could add without duplicating her work. But if you have questions just let me know!
Assuming you have made the gussets and are ready to move forward, let’s go from there!
Next up is “Make the Button Loop.” I don’t use the button loop very often, hardly every actually. I like easier…..so I usually use this elastic or just make a button hole. So I just skip this step altogether. In this case, I used an oversized button so I paired it with elastic.
Now on to finishing the bag. Be sure to match your seams well before pinning it all the way around.
In step 3, once your bags are pinned together, you will want to tuck in your key fob and elastic for the button and pin in place.
Make sure the you tuck those straps in well.
And lastly, hand sew your button and you have yourself my version of this tutorial! I call it the Biggie Bag! 
I would LOVE to see your bag!
Share on our Flickr group and chime in if you have any hints or questions.
I love how this print worked for this bag!!
Oh and here is another bag I just pulled out to take to yoga the other day! Same method.
Namaste.
Fabric Friday: Daffodil Edition
It was warm here yesterday. The first sincerely warm day in a very long time. The weatherman insists that there’s still some inclement weather yet to come (just in time for the weekend) so I figured now was my chance to get the first mow of the season done. While mowing the lawn on my Deere, my mini-me was riding around on HER Deere right behind me. While I did the bits along the road (where she’s not allowed), she snuck off and collected some wild daffodils to present to me! She held them behind her back and everything! Her smile, the flowers, the matching Deeres. Lovely day!
So today I selected fabrics inspired by the yellow daffodils that are popping up ALL over now that spring has arrived.
Hope you have flowers all around you as well! Happy Spring!
New Leaf…Amateur Style (Part 1)
Earlier this week we shared the Wowie Zowie quilt my stepmother created from the New Leaf Collection by designer Daisy Janie. Marcia is incredibly talented and has YEARS of experience (I’m gonna guess decades, but that just makes us all sound so old, so years it is!). She has techniques, ideas and an eye for putting prints together that ONLY come with patience, practice and time.
I, however, do not possess any of those qualities when it comes to quilting. So, I start my quilting journey with a more realistic approach to the craft. With that said, I thought it would be fun to take a two-pronged approach to the New Leaf collection and show you all what you can do if you’re just starting out like me. We can dream of achieving a bit of amazing while building skill sets.
Here’s a peak at my New Leaf quilt, which requires a much narrower set of skills. It doesn’t pack the punch of Wowie Zowie, but it will have to do until I figure it all out!
Here’s what I did:
MATERIALS (for quilt top):
1/4 yard each of eight prints
1/4 yard each of eight prints
7/8 yard of solid white
CUT:
15 Blocks – two of each print in the New Leaf collection – 11.5″ x 6.5″ (you’ll have one block leftover–you can see I used just one yellow block)
20 Small Bricks – Solid White – 2.5″ x 6.5″
6 Long Bricks – Solid White – 2.5″ x Length of Fabric
The finished size of the top will be approximately 41″ x 42″.
For inspiration on how to create my own pattern, I found this.
The measurements were manipulated quite a bit, but it was helpful to have a starting point rather than working completely from scratch. My other tip: I used graph paper. The measurements were much simpler to configure when working with the graph paper because everything was to scale.
Any way, I thought the white really allowed these bright, complex prints to stand out and speak for themselves.
Will let you know when it’s done!
Linking my quilt in the works up today with WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.
Look Who’s Stitching!
We’re thrilled to share another show and tell project from my stepmother, Marcia. I really love how she puts different fabrics and colors together, and she really loves that I own an online fabric store!
She’s been making table runners recently, in part because they sew up so quickly. In fact, she says it takes longer to pin a runner on the long arm then it does to quilt it! The best part after that? A good movie later and the binding is done. Almost instant gratification!
Marcia used the “Just The Right Angle” pattern from Fons and Porter’s Spring 2013 Easy Quilts with her own fabric choices.
”I think this pattern has such a modern look with the teal fabrics. It is a simple pattern—all rectangles and squares—and has only a few match point seams. I used straight lines for quilting to accentuate the geometric look,” she says.
Here are the fabrics Marcia used:
1. Organic Solid in Teal – Birch
2. Organic Solid in Pool – Birch
3. Organic Abacus in Teal – Birch
5. Spa Ikat in Aqua – Michael Miller
6. Metro Ombre in Graphite Grey – Moda
7. Solid in Gold (not shown)
Thanks Marcia! Beautiful job!
Peaked My Pinterest
Busy week didn’t leave much time for browsing!
But I did find this A-line skirt for a friend who is looking to expand her sewing skills into clothing.
So I’ve this set aside for a little sewing session!
And be sure to click the link to see another skirt, albeit a smaller one, from Simple Simon & Co., !
I LOVE this ruffled fabric.
And then there’s this, just to inspire me to get in there and use my scraps!!!
Happy Tax Day~!
April Sew Along: Biggie Yoga Mat Bag and a Glimma Sneak Peak
Well I’m a bit behind on the Sew Along due to not one, not two, but THREE gigantic boxes of product that arrived in the shop a few days ago. I’m STILL getting it all photographed and listed! Check out glorious Glimma by designer Lotta Jansdotter! There are 24 cotton prints, including four solids and SIX canvas prints to choose from. SO pretty!
OK, onto the Yoga Mat Bag Sew Along!
You’ve done your cutting; now it’s time to start sewing! Remember these are my notes on this SUPER PERFECT tutorial. It’s not a complete tutorial but a supplement to the one I’m referencing. For the record I LOVE the way she did it! WIth that said…here’s how I did it!
*IF ADDING A POCKET: Right sides together, pin and sew the pieces for the pocket up one long side, across the short side and back down the other long side, leaving one short side un- sewn. Clip the corners, turn right sides out and press well. Top stitch with a 3/4″ seam allowance from the top and then again with a 1/2″ seam allowance down from that line.
*Pin and sew each of the four straps together on one short side. Press the seams open.
*Take one strap from Fabric A and one from Fabric B. Place them right sides together, pin and sew. Make sure to START pinning at the seams, and pin out from there.
*Turn right side out and press well.
From here you can follow the tutorial at the Attach Your Handles section. I used that AMAZING Frixion pen to mark the lines. If you hadn’t noticed I have a bit of a crush on it!
At #2 – IF YOU ARE ADDING THE POCKET- With your straps in place, lay your pocket on top and center it. Then tuck your pocket under the straps and pin.
At #6 I made a bit of an adjustment. I marked/sewed the straps 1″ from the top of the bag as instructed in #5. However, she asks you to make a 1″ square. I marked one inch from the top and then 2″ down from that line. Larger strap, larger square.
Carry on with Stitch bag piece and inning pieces together section. Make sure BEFORE you pin, as they lay right sides together, to pull back each side to see if the straps are lined up. This is time to make any adjustments needed!
Next installation I will start back up with Create a Gusset. Never made one? No worries! They are really quite easy! The author of the tutorial goes into great detail and I’ll take bunches of pictures to help out!
HAPPY sewing!
p.s. I linked up with Fabric Tuesday over at Quilt Story to share my favorite yoga bag today.
Sew Fine Fabric 