Archives for September 2016

Shabby Fall Bunting and Farmhouse Fall Decor

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It’s so much fun switching out all the summer decor for fall decor!  I wanted a vintage farmhouse look for my front porch.  So I gathered a few items, I call it shopping at my house!  I love these shabby buntings and needed one that would fit on this vintage window.

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I pulled out all my lace, trim, ric rac, burlap, and soft colors of fabric.  I cut each piece about 24″ long, you don’t want every piece to be exactly the same.

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This is Mufasa’s favorite kind of project!img_4375

After playing in all the lace, he napped in the lace!!!

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I tied each of the strips to a piece of cotton cording.  Just keep tying until you get the look and length you want.

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I love how it turned out!  My daughter drew my chalkboard art – she’s the best.  I handed her 4 chalk boards and said “Do your thing!”  The gold polkadot pillow tutorial can be found here.

Here are a few more fall touches around my house:img_4468

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Spooky Pillow Covers

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I love changing out my pillow covers for each season.  My living room is blacks and neutrals for Halloween so I wanted some pillows that didn’t scream cheesy Halloween (I put those in the family room!).  I found the plaid flannels at Joann Fabrics and the spooky tree print is from Cotton + Steel that I ordered from Fat Quarter Shop.  To learn more about sewing an invisible zipper in a pillow, read this.  It’s super easy and you can make a pillow cover in a matter of minutes!

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I love love love them!  They look great with my Hallow’s Eve quilt!!img_3614

My Favorite Zipper Pouch

zipper-pouchIt’s been a while since I made zipper pouches!  I needed 3 gifts to give for the September birthdays on Sally’s soccer team.  Instead of going to the store and spending money on the gifts,  I stayed home and sewed these darling zipper pouches!  I used My Favorite Zipper Pouch Tutorial.

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The fabrics are from my Riley Blake Stash: Backyard Roses and Strawberry Biscuit are a few I used.

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The inside of the zipper pouch is Fusible Fleece from Therm O Web.

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Since I had a yard of the pink chevron, I used in inside each of the pouches.

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I think the girls loved them!

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Mid Century Modern Remix Quilt featuring Knock on Wood

img_4117   knock-on-wood-logoI am so excited about Deena Rutter’s latest line of fabric called Knock on Wood!  It is the perfect collection of fabric for the boys in your life!!!!!  I have always been a fan of Deena’s designs and I was happy to meet her at Quilt Market in May! img_8059Andy from A Bright Corner, myself, and Deena 🙂

I think you’re going to like this quilt pattern!  It’s very liberating in that you don’t have to lay out blocks or arrange fabrics.

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You grab and go!  Knock on Wood is perfectly balanced with light, medium, and dark fabrics and they are the most scrumptious prints!!

You can download a the PDF pattern here 🙂img_3992

The pattern uses 2 1/2″ strips.

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Mufasa was very helpful in handing me the strips to sew.img_4064

The quilt is made up of 9 large blocks that are 20″.  These large blocks are really a 4-patch of  smaller blocks.  You rotate each block so the center section forms a patchy center.  It’s super random – and I love it!!img_4067

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It’s a little crazy and a little funky and a little retro!!!

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The fabrics are so amazing that anything you sew with them is going to turn out awesome!!

img_4156 The shed in my backyard and the quilt totally match….hahaha!!!

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At 60″ square it makes a great throw size.  You could add 3 more large blocks on the bottom if you wanted it to fit a twin bed. I have loved seeing what all these talented ladies have made with this amazing fabric!  I have some scraps leftover and can’t wait to make something else!!!

Monday, 9/12     Deena Rutter

Tuesday, 9/13     Amy Smart, Diary of a Quilter

Wednesday, 9/14     Dara Tomasson, Stitched Quilting Co.

Thursday, 9/15     Jina Barney, Jina Barney Designz

Friday, 9/16     Amanda Niederhauser, Jedi Craft Girl

Saturday, 9/17     Deena Rutter

 

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October Stars Quilt Pattern

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It’s almost October and I can’t get enough Orange & Black sewing!  I love traditional Halloween colors!  Meet October Stars, my newest quilt pattern!  It’s available in my Etsy shop and I love everything about this quilt!  october-stars-cover

The quilt is made up of 9 large star blocks.  The center fabric of each of the small black stars has kitty faces on it!

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Mufasa totally approves!!

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The quilt measures 58″ square which is such a great throw size.

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This would also be fun to make in Christmas colors as well!

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I hope you love it!

Painted Pumpkin Art

I’m so proud of my daughter for painting these beautiful pumpkins and selling them to earn money for college next year!  She’s made over 100 and has officially launched her Etsy shop where she will be keeping it stocked with lots of hand-painted goodness!!

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I love my selection of white pumpkins that I have hanging in the dining room in this cute plate rack!  img_3570

She has been working so hard!!  img_3600

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Mini Kitty Halloween Quilt Pattern

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It’s a little SPOOKY around here!  Mini Kitty is getting a Halloween makeover!  I love this little pattern so much and wanted to give it a little pop for the fall.  Mini Kitty is now leaping over a pumpkin with bats and stars in the background.  If you’ve already purchased the pattern you can download the Halloween applique shapes for free HERE.  The Halloween PDF is also included with each Mini Kitty pattern purchase in my Etsy shop.

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The original Mini Kitty pattern was created as a gift for a friend after the loss of a sweet kitten.  You can read more about it HEREimg_3688

Instead of using only 2 colors for the checkerboard border, I used 8 different oranges and 8 different blacks.  I really love the polka dot pumpkin!

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Mufasa was very helpful on this project and choose the colors all by himself 🙂

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I love how it turned out and I have the purrrrfect place to hang it!  img_3714

The Jolly Bar Book

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I’m thrilled to share with you my project from Fat Quarter Shop’s The Jolly Bar Book today!  This is such a fun book!  First of all it is the exact size of a Jolly Bar which is 5″ x 10″!  Jolly Bars come in your favorite fabric collections from Fat Quarter Shop and they are super fun to use!

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I choose Farmhouse by Fig Tree & Co for Moda.  The fabrics are to die for!  IMG_3130

I added a chicken wire print for my background yardage.  I love how it works with the Farmhouse fabrics!!  And how easy and fun is this pattern!!!!!  You can sew it in about an hour.IMG_3244

Sometimes sewing time is a little longer if Mufasa decides to nap on the cutting board!IMG_3139

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And Mufasa loves as well! IMG_3204

I had fun quilting this quilt!  I quilted 5-petal daisies and loops.IMG_3210

For the backing I used a random newsprint style fabric and chose a red fabric from the Farmhouse line for the binding.

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It’s got such a fun vintage feel to it.  I would totally make this pattern again and again and again!!DSC_0526

It’s amazing how big the quilt is with just one Jolly Bar and some yardage!  I love patterns like this!IMG_3220

IMG_3196  Check out these wonderful designers to see what patterns they sewed up from the Jolly Bar Book!!!

Melissa from Happy Quilting
Tina from Emily Ann’s Kloset
Amanda from Jedi Craft Girl
Connie from Free Motion by the River
Afton from Quilting Mod
Pam from Pam Kitty Morning
Heidi from Buttons and Butterflies
Renee from Sewn with Grace
Remona from The Stitching Scientist
Andy from A Bright Corner
Angie from Gnome Angel

All Hallow’s Eve Quilt

 halloweenIt’s feeling a little like fall and that means time to break out the fall decor!  I made this quilt last year and it’s one of my favorites!  I decorate my dining/living room with a more neutral pallet and I love using black and gray to decorate for Halloween.  The family room and kitchen are bright orange, black, and turquoise 🙂  I used a variety of neutrals and gray/blacks from Penny Rose Fabrics. You can download the details of the pattern HERE.

Quilt measures 42″ square.

spooky halloween quilt 30Most of the black/gray fabrics are from the Civil War Times fabric line. I love the variety! The rest of the fabrics are from Penny Rose Classics.Screen Shot 2015-10-21 at 9.03.17 PMIMG_3614I love black and metallic pumpkins on vintage candlesticks!

spooky halloween quilt 22I first made the background by sewing 5″ squares together in 7 rows of 7. Then the applique comes next. You could totally add ghosts and bats, I wanted to keep it simple.

spooky halloween quilt 26The moon is made by tracing a pie plate.

spooky halloween quilt 28Here is a little close up of the quilting, with Mufasa’s permission 🙂 spooky halloween quilt 6I love striped binding cut on the bias – it’s my absolute FAVORITE!!!! The backing is from Penny Rose’s mensware line – I love houndstooth!!!Ok, so this is totally my new favorite Halloween Quilt!

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Card Shark Pillow Tutorial

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And now a project for the guys!  I have a hard time finding projects to sew for my 13 year old son that are…… well….. not floral, cutsey, vintage, or girly which is pretty much most of my sewing!  When I saw this fun “card print” from Blend Fabrics I knew it was for my son the “Card Shark”!!!!

It’s the perfect gift for the card lover in your life!

Supplies:

1/2 yard card print fabric

1/3 yard solid gray

Heat n Bond Ultra

2 yards trim

Zipper

Fiberfill

Vinyl letters

Fabric Paint

Shark Pattern download

Begin by tracing the shark pattern (in reverse) on the Heat n Bond Ultra hold – you can also use Lite.

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Press to the wrong side of the card fabric.

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Cut out along the pattern line.

Cut the gray background fabric 12″ x 19″.  Peel off the backing paper and heat set the shark in place.  Sew around the shark in black thread.IMG_3459

Cut the backing fabric the same size as the front 12″ x 19″.IMG_3461

You can use the hand sew method for closing the pillow or you can do the zipper method which is my favorite.  Simply cut the backing fabric at 2″ and insert a regular zipper.IMG_3462

You can add the “Card Shark” words with stitching or you can create your own stencil.  I cut the letters on my Cricut machine in vinyl.  I peeled off the letters to leave the stencil.  I used fabric paint to stencil and removed the vinyl when it was dry.  IMG_3463

Once the letters are on you can assemble the pillow.  Baste the trim to the pillow front.  Then with right sides together place the pillow front and back and sew all the way around using a generous 1/4″ seam.  Make sure to leave the zipper open before you sew.  Turn right side out and stuff with fiberfill.

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