Amanda

My Favorite Zipper Pouch

September 21, 2016 by Amanda 987 Comments

It’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.

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

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

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

I think the girls loved them!

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Filed Under: FEATURED, Heat n Bond, Riley Blake, Therm O Web, zipper pouch

Mid Century Modern Remix Quilt featuring Knock on Wood

September 16, 2016 by Amanda 1 Comment

I 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! Andy 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.

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 🙂

The pattern uses 2 1/2″ strips.

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

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!!

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

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

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

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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Filed Under: FEATURED, quilt, Riley Blake

October Stars Quilt Pattern

September 15, 2016 by Amanda 1 Comment

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!

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!

Mufasa totally approves!!

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

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

I hope you love it!

Filed Under: FEATURED, Halloween, quilt

Painted Pumpkin Art

September 12, 2016 by Amanda 1 Comment

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!!

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

She has been working so hard!!

Filed Under: fall, FEATURED

Mini Kitty Halloween Quilt Pattern

September 9, 2016 by Amanda 3 Comments

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.

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 HERE.

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!

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

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

Filed Under: #kittyquilter, cat, FEATURED, Halloween, Heat n Bond, quilt, Uncategorized

The Jolly Bar Book

September 7, 2016 by Amanda 5 Comments

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!

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

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.

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

LOVE!!!!

And Mufasa loves as well!

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

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

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

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

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

Filed Under: fat quarter shop, FEATURED, quilt

All Hallow’s Eve Quilt

September 6, 2016 by Amanda 10 Comments

It’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.

Most 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.I love black and metallic pumpkins on vintage candlesticks!

I 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.

The moon is made by tracing a pie plate.

Here is a little close up of the quilting, with Mufasa’s permission 🙂 I 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!

Filed Under: FEATURED, Halloween, Heat n Bond, Penny Rose Fabrics, quilt, Uncategorized

Card Shark Pillow Tutorial

September 2, 2016 by Amanda 1 Comment

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.

Press to the wrong side of the card fabric.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Filed Under: Blend Fabrics, FEATURED, Heat n Bond, pillow, Uncategorized

We Found Wonderland Zipper Pouch Tutorial

September 2, 2016 by Amanda 2 Comments

This Wonderland fabric by Blend Fabrics totally reminded my daughter of the Taylor Swift song “Wonderland” so I came up with this little project that I’m sure your daughter will love! I love this size zipper pouch because you can use it to put journals and writing supplies in, sketchbooks and art supplies, small sewing projects, coloring books and crayons – it’s just a great project size!!

I first cut the words out of vinyl on my Cricut to create a stencil. I placed it on light pink fabric and used a metalliac black fabric paint to stencil.

Cut the theme print and pink prints according to the measurements below:

Sew together using 1/4″ seams allowances. Press.

Cut the backing piece 11″ x 14″ – which is slightly larger. It will get trimmed down in a minute.

Fuse the outer zipper bag pieces to Heat n Bond medium weight stabilizer.

Next spray baste the two pieces to cotton batting.

Quilt each piece as desired.

Because quilting tends to alter the measurements, trim both pieces to measure 13 1/2″ x 10 1/2″.

Cut two lining pieces these same measurements: 13 1/2″ x 10 1/2″.

To finish the bag, follow these instructions for inserting a zipper and sewing the pouch.

Before turning right side out, cut a 1″ notch in each of the 4 corners.

The above photo is from another tutorial but you can see how the notches should be at each corner.

Fold each notch so the two seams align, pin, and sew 1/4″ seam along raw edge. Do this to each corner.

Ella loves her bag! Look at all the things you can use it for:

Journaling supplies, art supplies, or even your favorite magazines on a road trip!

Filed Under: bags, Blend Fabrics, Uncategorized, zipper pouch

Alice’s Crossroads Quilt Pattern

September 1, 2016 by Amanda Leave a Comment

I’m super excited to announce my latest quilt pattern called Alice’s Crossroads which is inspired by Blend Fabrics’ Wonderland fabric line.

One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. “Which road do I take?” she asked. “Where do you want to go?” was his response. “I don’t know,” Alice answered. “Then,” said the cat, “it doesn’t matter.”

I love this scene because we learn a lot about life from the Cheshire Cat’s answer and this totally inspired the quilt! The quilt actually has several different paths and so it’s up to you to choose which way to go! You can purchase the pattern in my Etsy shop for instant PDF download 🙂

I am always drawn to large theme prints. It’s hard finding patterns that let you use large cuts of fabric to showcase these prints. I love designing quilt patterns that let you do just that. This quilt would be fun to use with all different theme fabrics: character, sports, animal, etc. Get creative!!!

The finished quilt measures 60″ x 72″ and each block is 12″.