Oh, Fransson!

Happy New Year!

 
The last two weeks of December were just crazy for me.  I did a whole bunch of stuff that I didn't have time to photograph (boo!) and didn't end up having time to make a Buche de Noel (double boo!). 

The good news is that I was busy mainly because December 31 was my last day of having a corporate office job.  I dreamed of quitting my job to pursue my real interests for pretty much the entire 10 years that I had it, and I finally decided that it was time.  Needless to say, I'm really excited for the new year!

 

These Map of the States blocks have such an interesting piecing pattern that I thought it would look cool to photograph Melanie's quilt top hanging in the window. 

Unfortunately, it got dark before I could photograph the finished quilt with binding, but I should have photos of the whole thing tomorrow.  In the meantime, here's a peek at one of the pink blocks . . .

 

. . . one of the orange blocks,

 
 
 . . . and one of the green blocks. 

 

The binding is Mingle Dots in Cocoa.  Photos of the finished product coming tomorrow! 

 
I almost forgot my last Fabric Focus project for Sew, Mama, Sew!  It's a Simple Party Clutch.  The free pdf pattern is available here.  (Beth included a really nice list of the other 11 months' projects in the post too.)  Thank you, Sew, Mama, Sew for featuring my projects in 2009!   

November Fabric Focus

Happy Thanksgiving!  I'm getting ready to go to my parents' house for turkey and board games this afternoon and hope that everyone else has something nice planned too.

 
My November project for Sew, Mama, Sew! is up today.  You can find it here.

I'm guessing that most of you are already familiar with their annual Handmade Holidays feature but, if you haven't already, check out their daily posts in November featuring links to gifts you can make yourself, handmade gifts you can buy and gret holiday recipes.   

 
This is a simple gift project -- A fabric folder holding laminated fabric-backed recipe cards.  The cards are held together with both fusible webbing and iron-on vinyl.

For those of you who have been having trouble finding iron-on vinyl: My JoAnn told me that they no longer carry it on bolts.  I'm not sure if this is a nationwide thing or not, but thought I would mention it.  My JoAnn still had it in the 2-yard rolls in the notions section though and, according to their staffers, will continue to carry it this way.     

   

In other news, I will be BACK next week.  (Well, I guess I didn't really go anywhere, but I will be back to blogging.)

October Fabric Focus - Part 1

It's still Scrap Busters month at Sew, Mama, Sew!  Here is a little tutorial for quick-piecing tiny squares using fusible interfacing.

 

September Fabric Focus

 

I can't believe another month has gone by!  I'm still working away on my big project, but wanted to do a quick post with a link to my September project for Sew, Mama, Sew.  It's a very simple baby quilt made with a package of charm squares from Tula Pink's Hushabye collection.

I realize it's October now, but SMS postponed posting this project for a couple of days so it could be part of Scrap Busters Month.  Check out their blog during October for suggestions on what to do with scraps.  (I'm planning to contribute two techniques tutorials that I'm really excited about!) 

 

When I made this quilt, I didn't prewash the Essex cotton/linen that I used for sashing and I can report that it worked just fine.  I'm still an advocate of prewashing everything, especially linen, but because the charm squares shouldn't really be washed, I wanted to be consistent.  (I would still be cautious with the Essex, because it does shrink by an appreciable amount.)

 

I also wanted to give an update on my new sewing machine.  It's amazing.  (And you have to imagine my saying amazing in my best Kelly Kapoor voice.)  It's been so long since I used an industrial machine that I had almost forgotten how great it is to have a knee lift for the presser foot.  The thread cutter is also awesome.  I can't believe how much thread it saves . . . and how much less thread ends up on my floor and, consequently, trailed arond the house.  And, oh my goodness, is it fast!  It is so fast.  I'm just really happy with it.  I haven't tried out the frame yet, but look forward to playing with that when I'm finished with my big project.

Anyway, I will be back with a couple of scrap projects later this month.  I look forward to getting back on a more regular blogging schedule later this year! 

August Fabric Focus

Thank you to everyone for your comments and e-mails.  I'm still working on the big project and, unfortunately, this means that my blog posts are going to continue to be few and far between for the next couple of months.  I'll be back as soon as I can!

 

For today, hop on over to Sew, Mama, Sew! for a little tutorial on making yo-yo rosettes and, specifically, this little pillow.

 

The above panel was entirely hand sewn.  If you're looking for a portable handwork project a la paper-pieced hexagons, this might be a good project for you!

July Fabric Focus

Sew, Mama, Sew! is celebrating Christmas in July this week.  Check out the blog for holiday tutorials, including my Quilted Advent Calendar.

June Fabric Focus

 

This month's project for Sew, Mama, Sew! is a set of Nesting & Stacking Blocks made with Lecien prints and natural linen.

 

I made a set of four blocks, three, four, five and six inches square.

 

They can be nested. . .

 

. . . or stacked.

 

The outsides are quilted patchwork panels, which were really fun to make!

 

As usual, you can get the tutorial here.

May Fabric Focus

 

This month, I made a laptop sleeve with Vicki Payne's For the Home.

 

It's a simple envelope-style affair.  (I love the look of this print on the flap!)

 

I used flannel lining to keep the laptop cozy.

 

Get the tutorial at Sew, Mama, Sew!

More Pincushion Organizers

 

Here are two more finished gifts.  These are Weighted Pincushion Organizers, like this one.  You can get my pdf tutorial here.

 

Isn't that butterfly fabric great?  It's from Hot Blossom by Joesphine Kimberling for Robert Kaufman.  The gray and orange floral is one of my few remaining pieces of Flea Market Fancy.

 

The pincushions have flannel "weight bags" of rice inside, so you can set them on the edge of a table or on the arm of a chair.

 

So that's two more things crossed off the list.  I have five more gifts to make, and am going to see how many of them I can get done this weekend.  Wish me luck!

April Fabric Focus

There are actually two collections being featured this month, Flower Power and Pretty Please.  Both are by Jennifer Paganelli for Free Spirit.  Both are really beautiful and full of color.

My tutorial is for a very low-maintenance (no pattern, no metal hardware, almost no interfacing) bag. 

The bag can be made as a shoulder bag, as shown above . . .

. . . or as a smaller handbag.

 

The construction of the bags is similar to what I would use to make a bag with a bamboo or wooden handle but, because these handles are fabric, they have a sort of drawstring effect.

  

To get your own copy of the April Bags tutorial, check out the Sew, Mama, Sew! blog.