Another do. Good Stitches Quilt!

Such a fun one!

This is technically our February Quilt finished by Stephanie.

For this one, Stephanie told us a size and that the block needed to be bright colors with a white background. Otherwise, the design was up to us. I loved how she incorporated the little triangles between the blocks!

These are the blocks I made. She ended up not using all the blocks and is going ot make a baby quilt to go along with it. Can’t wait to see that one!

This one is the same paper piecing pattern I used for one of my place mats, called Mini Trajectory by Simply Cotton. It’s a free pattern on Craftsy!

 

And the second one I’ve also done before! This is the star I made for a pillow earlier this year. It’s the pattern for our Modern Quilt Guild’s January BOM,  Christmas Snowflake block by Rachel of Wooden Spoon.

I love the back too! Thanks Stephanie for all your hard work!!!

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La Petite Pouch

La Petite Pouch! The name just sounds so fancy doesn’t it??? Ah, it makes me smile!

You might remember this one from last year. It’s a Go To Sew Tutorial that I’m bringing home!

I needed a little special something to send to someone and I thought and thought about it. I almost just bought something. but then realized the error of my ways and decided to make something. And that’s where the La Petite Pouch was created!

I’ll tell you how I made it! It’s pretty simple! Ready?

Let’s get our Materials: Fabric, thread, snaps (or buttons or Velcro…) and a cutter. You can also use interfacing to give it a little more stability.

Step 1: Cut your pieces. 2 pieces for the flap that are 3in x 6.5in. And 2 pieces for the pouch that are 4.5in x 16.5in.

Step 2: Assemble the flap. Sew together the two flap pieces, right sides together. But be sure to only sew three sides. The turn it right side out and press.

Step 3:  Start assembling the pouch. Take one pouch piece, fold it in half and iron a little spot at the center. This pressed piece is only for locating the flap! Open the pouch piece flat and center the flap on one side of the center. And pin.

Step 4: Sandwich the three pieces together. Pouch pieces right sides together with the flap in the middle. Sew along the top long length of the pouch pieces.

Step 5: Open the pouch pieces and fold over. Short sides of the pouch pieces to the short sides of the pouch pieces. And then sew along the two short sides.

Step 6: Sew the bottom of each pouch piece. And don’t forget to leave a hole on the lining side!

Step 7: Miter each corner. Align the side seam with the bottom seam so that it makes a triangle and then sew across. I made it so that the sewn line across was about an inch. Then clip the corners!

Step 8: Pull Through.

Step 9: Sew closed the hole in the lining.

Step 10: Topstitch.

Step 11: Add your closure. I used my favorite Babyville snap set. But you can use and kind of snaps, buttons, Velcro or any other closure you can think of!

And Viola! You have a La Petite Pouch! Did you notice my switch-a-roo? I changed to orange snaps right at the last-minute!

So what would you use your La Petite Pouch for??

The Mimi for Women!

I sewed something for me again the other day!

It’s the Mimi for women by Filles a Maman. She sent out a call for testers and I signed up! I loved her little Rose skirt that I made earlier this year, so I wanted to try out the grown up pattern!

The Mimi top is a pattern that she’s had in her shop for kids for a while, but now she’s releasing it for grown ups! Being on the larger side, I love promoting patterns that go up to my size. And I think this one is flattering even for me!

The pattern says it’s for confident beginners, and that’s pretty right on. If it wasn’t for the knit part, I think it would be easy for any beginner. Not that sewing with knits is hard, but it can be intimidating to some. Otherwise, easy peasy! I also love that there are options. The pattern also has an option to make it into a dress, but I opted for just the top. And there are also options for the collar, the key hole, the button, the little peter pan like collar and the fringe option.

Obviously, I went for the key hole with a button collar option. One tester did just the key hole without the button and the top just opens and lays so nice with the contrasting . I think I want to try that next time!

I didn’t change a thing. I didn’t change the length, nothing. And it fits me perfect! This fabric is technically my muslin, but I love it and have worn it out and about, just like it is!

I highly recommend the pattern! It’s a creative take on the basic tee. It’s an easy and quick sew. And it’s been pretty right on for all the testers sizes. Go ahead, buy it here!

I have been compensated with either payment or product for this post. All opinions are my own, honest opinions!

The Breeze Top for Women!

Remember a while back when I made the adorable breeze top for my niece? (If not, check it out!)

Well, all the testers wanted it for themselves too! So what did Shannon, the designer of all the Peaches and Peanuts patterns, do??? She made it for women! Oh, yea!

And I love it! It’s such an easy sew! The pattern is designed for knits, but I want to try it in a woven… Some other testers did and it’s still cute! It’s the perfect top for summer! It has the two pieces on the front that I love in the color block look I did it in.

And the back is a racer back! I love that it has a little something different in the back.

The pattern is includes sizes XS to 2XL, so it’s sized for everyone’s wardrobe! Like I said it’s an easy sew! The instructions were tested with the girl’s version and now with the women’s pattern, so you know it has to be good.

And probably one of the best things for you… It’s on sale! Thru Saturday, August 23rd, the pattern is only available directly from Shannon and it only $4.77! WHAT??? $4.77! Seriously, you need to buy it now at that steal!  After the 23rd, the price goes up to $7.95 (which is still very reasonable!) And check out those two adorable ladies on the pattern cover! Yep!

I’ve worn mine ALOT! Even if the fabric is just a ‘muslin’ knit, it’s comfy and looks nice. So it’s been out and about in the real world!

And don’t forget to get your copy here!

Michael Miller Petal Pinwheels Challenge

This summer our local Modern Quilt Guild took on the National Quilt Guild challenge, hosted by Michael Miller fabrics using their Petal Pinwheels line! I love the line! very much….

And I decided to make place-mats! Do you remember the place-mats I received in a swap last year? We love them and use them all the time. So I wanted more. The colors in this line coordinate with the ones I received, so that helped nail me down on what exactly what I was doing for my challenge project. She used a mix of paper piecing and improv, so so did I!

We were all given this adorable tiny little bundle of fabric! Like I said, I love the fabric…. BUT…. I decided to cheat. I love the fabric (did I mention that?), but I didn’t want to buy more new so I used my stash of low volume. One of the rules was that you can only add in any solid or Michael Miller printed fabric. My low volumes are who knows what… Not necessarily Michael Miller. (sorry).

The first one I did used a little paper piecing pattern I love made into a bigger block I made up, and mixed with a little improv! The paper piecing pattern is the little triangle pieces, called Mini Trajectory by Simply Cotton. It’s a free pattern on Craftsy! Go get it! So I made four of these little guys and then added in 1.5 inch pieces between the paper pieced pieces. Then just filled in with a bit of improv to get to my final size of 12 by 16 inches.

This one is similar to the first in that it started with a paper piecing pattern and then improv finished it off. This pattern is another free one from Craftsy. It’s another small one. I made 4 and put them together. It’s the 4 inch kaleidoscope block from Red Pepper Quilts. I quilted it based on the kaleidoscope and pulled my lines from that. But see that little circle from the center of a flower??? In hindsight I wish I had done the circle quilting on this one… (keep reading and check out my circle quilting!)

Place-mat 3. Squares on squares on squares. I started with itty bitty squares in the center, surrounded by squares twice as big as the middle and then on the side, 2 more squares that are twice as big as the middle sized squares! Wow, that felt like a long sentence! I was going to use this one to practice my free motion quilting, but got scared and stuck with lines…. One thing we really love about the swap place-mats is the free motion quilting…

The last one is my favorite and my husbands! I think it’s the contrast… Again, a bit of paper piecing with improv! This pattern is a free pattern from Wombat Quilts, the Star String Paper Pieced Pattern. I did have to scale the pattern down a bit. The pattern makes a 12 inch block, but I needed a 10ish inch pattern. Then I did a sort of log cabin around it. And here comes the circle quilting! I’ve been seeing a lot of it around the quilting world lately and I wanted to give it a shot. Love it!

And then we had a tester! They work! When I first received the place-mats, I didn’t know if I’d be able to use them. They were so pretty! But once you take plunge, you’ll do it too! Make your own place-mats!!!

You can check out the national winners of the challenge here.

And this is my first finish in the Third Quarter Finish-Along!! Can I finish anything else on my list???

We’ve Been Published!

This week was crazy, so I apologize for the lack of entertainment on my end of here! But I’m back!

And in print! Yea! I do have to say, it’s been fun seeing my things in books and magazines!

The first one that I was featured in is called ‘Selbst Versorgung auf Kleinstem Raum‘ and it’s in German! Thank goodness for google translate, or otherwise I wouldn’t be able to know what any of it says!  It’s not the most perfect translation tool, but it helps! The title of the book translates to,’Self Sufficiency in a Very Small Space.’

Now I haven’t translated the whole book, that would take FOREVER… Maybe one day I will… But it appears to mostly be about gardening in a small space, but they featured my memory game!

I made one and gave it away on the blog! Then it look forever for me to actual finish the one for my son! But I love it!

The chapter where my project was featured is called, Kinderleicht zum Elefantengedachtnis,’ which I think means something about a memory like an elephant! And it tells a bit about some plants that help put the gray cells back in action and get give your memory a jumpstart!

Then next came Yours magazine from the UK! I don’t know what it is about the publishers from across the pond, but they seem to like my things! I had never heard of Yours magazine, but it appears to be for the above 50 set, but has all sorts of fun things for women of all ages. I’ve enjoyed reading and I’m not quite to the 50 mark….

And in their July/August issue they featured my melted bead windchime! Fun times!

And lastly… Did you notice the title of the post? It says WE, right? Well, this book came the other day and the kiddo is in it! This book is a beautiful book by a local photographer, David Frank, called ‘Real Kids Photography.’ It’s a guide book on how to get great, REAL, pictures of your kiddos! Some great tips and lovely inspiration!

He’s been working on it for years! He did photo shoots around town to build up his portfolio of kids for the book. And our kiddo made the cut! That’s him there in the middle. I think he was around 9 months old then. He was walking with holding on, but not quite on his own yet. And the book came the other day. So seriously, David has been working on making the book perfect for a few years now! You can get your copy here!

And to end, the kiddo was on TV today! It was pretty cool! He was being interviewed for his participation in the Little Libraries Competition!

Maybe we should write our own book!  Have a great weekend!

 

 

Simple Duffle Bag Tutorial

Typically when we go camping we have a little trailer at a little campsite that we go to. But every now and then we bust out the tent. It’s a huge tent! It’s a huge tent that was also busting out of it’s bag. we took it out last year and felt like we were getting some eye rolling from the fancy pants motor homes we were camping next too! And we probably were, the bag was shredded and being held together with rope.

This is the new one I made. I’m kicking myself for no before pictures. I took some, but my camera was acting up, so deleted it. Then I forgot to get a pick before my husband took it out of the old bag and into the new one! And once it came out of the old, I don’t think it was going in again. Yes, it was that bad!

Have you made a duffle bag before? They are so simple. I’m sure you can make it more complicated. Like lining it, etc. But this one doesn’t need it! You only need a zipper the length of your bag, the fabric and the webbing for the strap.

And please excuse the pictures, they are horrible, I admit…. But they work!

First, cut! You need one rectangle for the body of the bag and 2 circles for the end. I made mine 40 inches long x 36 3/4 inches wide. And my end circles are 12 inches diameter.

The easiest way I cut circles is to fold the fabric in half and in half again. At the corner, draw a quarter or your circle, then cut it out.

Next is the zipper. Sew the zipper, right sides together, along the 40 inch side.  Then again along the other side. Then turn right side out and topstitch along each side of the zipper.

The handles are the next step. Sew the webbing together so that you have one huge loop. I used approximately 3 1/2 yards of webbing for this one. Unzip the bag and lay it out flat. Then pin the webbing to the right side of the bag.

Topstitch the webbing to the bag, stopping about 2 to 3 inches from the zipper.

Then comes the ends! Pin the ends. I fold and crease the ends and the bag in quarters. Start pinning at the quarter marks then infill.

Then sew the ends on! I do a lot of back and forth at the zipper to really secure that part. And that’s it! You’re done!

Ready for the next camping trip! Or for whatever your bag is for. Did you know duffle bags were that easy? I had a feeling it was easy, but then didn’t fully realize how easy it was until I made it! What will you make a duffle bag for?

 

And the Verilux Winner is…..

Thanks to everyone for your interest in the Lighting Makeover from Verilux!!! I had an awesome time working with Verilux and love the lighting!

Now to what you’re waiting for… The Winner is….

And here’s my traditional drum rolllllllll……

Comment #7!

via Random.org

Yea! Juliet! You’re the Winner!

And thanks again to Verilux for the awesome giveaway! Thank you!

And if you didn’t win, don’t forget to use the promo code for your 25% off Brookfield desk lamp!! Use Promo code: BROOK25, for your 25% off Brookfield desk lamp. (Promo Code valid until 8/15). Awesome!!

Dry Erase Notebook Tutorial

A few months back a co-worker got a dry erase notebook and I thought it was genius!! She had gotten it through a kickstater fund, but it was more money than I wanted to spend. And it was bigger than I wanted… So what did I do… I made some that were just right for me and my son!

I love making lists. A friend at work teases me about my lists! I love making them crossing things off and adding new. But then my list gets messy, so I have to start over… This is where the dry erase comes in! I can make my lists and erase and add new to my hearts content, without wasting paper or wasting time making a new one! Perfect!

And the other perfect thing about my book…. It cost me about 4 bucks instead of 30!!! So I’ll show you how I made it!

Gather materials! The secret is Dry Erase Poster Board! I found some on clearance, but a full size sheet is only 2 dollars. You’ll also need a couple inches of velcro, some posterboard (I used a decorative folder) for the covers, a piece of clear vinyl and some double stick tape. I guess I should say that mine only cost a little less than 4 dollars since I had the majority of materials and that doesn’t include the markers!

First, start cutting.  The Dry Erase poster board is 22 x 28 inches. My notebook is about 5 x 7, so I cut my pieces 7 x 11. One piece of Dry Erase poster board will give you 8 pieces. But! Wait! You also need a piece that is 6 x 1.5. This piece needs to be cardboard, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be the Dry Erase. You could also use a piece from your cover cardboard to make the most of the Dry Erase poster board.

I cut the pieces 7 x11 so that the pages are actually 5.5 x 7 to give some extra room for binding the edge.

You’ll also need to cut your vinyl into a 5 x 16.25 inch strip.

Then fold each of your sheets in half. (Sorry about the bad lighting…)

Next you want to tape each of the sheets together. I added double stick tape to the top and bottom of each page pretty close to the edge. The I also added another piece along the cut line, but I moved this in a little bit so it wouldn’t interfere with the binding.

Then come the marker bag piece! Sew on the velcro. Close to one end and then about 1.5 inches from the top of the other end. Be sure that you face the velcro in the right direction so that when it folds over it actually attaches!

For this step, poisiton the cardboard kinda centered in the marker bag and then fold over so the velcro secures. Put a little slight fold in the top. You’ll sew along the outside edges from the fold at the top to the bottom. 

Cut your cover and back cardboard. You’ll need (2) 5.5 x 7  inch pieces.

And lastly, take to Office Depot or something similar and have the binding put on it. Be sure to take it with the markers in it so that you get the right size binding. But then take out the markers before the people actually the binding punches!

And you’re done and you have an awesome coloring book for the kiddo or a nice neat list taking machine for you!