Merry and Bright

I have some Christmas sewing I'd like to share with you!

I made a Christmas 'stamps' mini quilt. These little fabric stamps are sweet as can be, and very easy to make--you just need some scraps, plain white fabric and a bit of fusible web. The tutorial by nanaCompany is here.

Rather than quilt the whole thing in an all-over design, I used the stitching around the image and the white pinked edge as my quilting. The two rows of stitches around all the stamps hold the layers together just fine. It lets the stamp images stand out more...and truth is, I just couldn't bear to sew through Santa's cute little face :)

It didn't turn out too badly for a first try. I'd like to do another, with pretty feedsack fabrics, to have out all year.

I pulled out all my happy red and green and Christmas-y scraps and pieced a pair of pillow covers for the couch. They're hand-quilted with red embroidery floss, and have a simple envelope-style back, in solid red.

 They're so bright and cheerful!

 More cute retro Santas.

And some more sweet little cottages (like these I made for fall; a link to the free tutorial is in that post).

"'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house..."

"The children were nestled all snug in their beds..."

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night."

I so enjoy Christmas sewing, but I'm done...and ready to move on to some quilts!

And now if I may, a couple cute holiday kitty photos:
This one from two years ago shows the typical Christmas shenanigans around here. All those ribbons and bows were in the bag when I left the room.

You better not pout, Gracie...

Thank you, friends, for reading and for leaving your comments, I have appreciated each and every one! I wish you all a very Merry and Blessed Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a 

happy and healthy New Year!

Lynn

Linked up to Finish it up Friday

Counting Cards

Twenty-two, to be exact. I like their random scraps, fraying edges and crazy 'quilting'.

(Not all are shown above, some had already gone to good homes.)

I sewed the scraps to thin white cardstock, trimmed the piece, then glued it to heavy textured cardstock.
If you want to make some of your own, you can find specifics in the book Denyse Schmidt Quilts.

 Many of them were made with certain recipients in mind.

Making these was a lot of fun, and as you can see, it was hard to know when to stop! I'm set for cards for a long time...but that doesn't mean I won't be tempted to make more soon. Christmas is coming ;)

Thanks for reading, friends!

Lynn

Linked up with Finish It Up Friday.

Have Needles, Will Travel

I wanted to make a small bag that closed, to hold a portable sewing project and supplies, that I could take along when I'd have a chance to sew away from home.

I used a small basic tote bag pattern I'd made some years ago (it's 10" tall--just right for a take-along project, or as a child's tote bag), then I added a drawstring cover like the one I made for this lunch bag (a link to the lunch bag tutorial is in the post). To adapt the size of the cover for this larger bag, I measured the width of the opening of the tote bag, then cut the width and height of the two cover pieces large enough to fit.

I sewed the cover into the top edge, between the exterior fabric and the lining. That was simpler than the technique for the lunch bag, and made the project bag as roomy as possible. When I hit the road, I can stuff the cover and ties into the bag, nice and tidy, and everything inside stays clean and all together.
(And thank you, JoAnn, for stocking so many lovely designer fabrics these days! This one is by Patty Young for Modkid. It's one of my favorites; I have it in pink-and-yellow, too. It makes me think of Art Deco peacock feathers.)

 I keep my traveling sewing supplies in this tea tin--a needle book, scissors, small tape measure, a thimble of my grandma's I never use, and a seam ripper which I unfortunately do use.

Those sleepy bears are so sweet. The little ones all tucked in under their bright patchwork quilt. I've treasured this tin a long time--it's around 30 years old now. *gasps to self*

 Let me show you the little needle books I made, a year or so ago. I followed this tutorial by nanaCompany. They are tiny patchwork front and back, a combination of machine and hand stitching, with white felt 'pages'. The one in feedsack fabrics lives in the tea tin; the one in the bright little prints stays home on a shelf.

 A happy weekend to you all, and Happy Halloween!

Lynn

Linked up with Finish It Up Friday , NTT and MontagsMacher.

Haunted Houses

But haunted only by friendly, slightly mischievous spirits, of course.

I first saw cute little houses like this in the book Scandinavian Stitches by Kajsa Wikman. She makes such sweet, colorful, charming things (her blog is here).  I fiddled around with the design a bit--sizes, details--and made one just right for me. I love those little windows and rounded doors, button doorknobs and crooked chimneys.

I made some little houses last year for Christmas decorations, to keep and give away...but really, how could I resist making some for Halloween? And how could I not make a small neighborhood??

Applique'ing the windows and doors is so much fun, and so is picking out combinations of fabrics for each house---the wilder, the better. I like to make them with a high contrast of colors and fabrics, so they stand out and look more whimsical.

You never know what you might find in your neighbor's woodpile...

(Linked up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday)

Hookin' a Rug

For a long time I've wanted to crochet a rag rug from fabric strips. It was just an idea in the back of my head, until I read  this tutorial by Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts. It was easy to make and I love how colorful and random it is and how 'homespun' it looks.

I've never used yarn this bulky or a hook this big (size P), so I found it really hard to get my crochet groove on, but I'll get better and quicker with practice. Of course I want to make more!

And man, oh man, does this use up the scraps! All my scrap 'strings' are history, and I had to cut lots more from my stash. This rug is a perfect way to make some of those fabrics you don't like anymore go away--you know, the ones you regret buying, but you paid good money for them, darn it. Yeah, those fabrics. Let's not speak of them, shall we? Let's just cut them up into strips for pretty rugs and pretend that's what we meant to do with them all along ;)

 There are lots of flowers in there, some fish, some Christmas trees, some Spider-Man (don't ask)...

"You made this for me, right?"

During photos, it quickly became the place to be.

It measures 22"x 29", and now lives by the side of the bed. Feels so nice under foot.

Have a good weekend!

Linked up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.

Ode to Joy Quilt

When I saw this little cross wall quilt , I wanted to make one, too. It's made with lovely Liberty of London fabrics--so many pretty, delicate florals. But the cost of Liberty fabrics means they, sadly, aren't a part of my stash. *sigh* But that's okay, I have plenty of pretties in my scrap baskets. I used a variety of colors and prints in bright, saturated jewel tones.

The colors just glow in the morning light.

These little blocks are really fun and quick to make. You can find directions for this slice-and-insert technique--and examples from simple to complex--in "Quilting Modern"  (one of my favorite quilting books) by Jacquie Gering and Katie Pederson , but this basic block is simple to figure out by looking at it. Just make sure your background square is ~1/2" larger than you want your final block to be, so you have a little leeway when squaring up your block. I squared my blocks to 5". I definitely see more of these cross blocks in my future :) Likely with colored solids or subtle prints for the background, like this one.

I prefer a wider binding (this one is 1/2" wide), but I didn't want to cover up any more of the outer edge crosses than I had to, so I added a narrow white border. The backing/binding is a Robert Kaufman print called "The Enchanted Desert" that looks like painted tiles. I bought a boatload of it some years ago at a big discount, and I'm so glad I did; I've used it in many projects.

I quilted it with wavy intersecting lines, to soften all the straight lines and angles of the crosses. This is the first quilt I've machine quilted...and I have mixed feelings about that. I love how it turned out! It looks good, the machine quilting went smoothly, it was SO much faster, and my wrist has been hurting lately from quilting and sewing (and gardening, etc.). But it feels stiffer, it doesn't have that wonderful drape and softness from being handled so much during hand-quilting, or that tactile look you can only get from hand stitches. Washing it would make it softer, and it's a wall quilt, so the hand (how fabric feels) doesn't matter as much...but still, I miss the hand-quilted look and texture, and the time spent with it draped over my lap. So, I'm torn.

This little quilt is one of my favorites. It measures 30"x 43", and will hang in the bedroom over the bed. The crosses remind me of colorful birds in flight. What beautiful things to wake up to!

Little Forest

I don't have many knick-knacks--I hate clutter, and I dislike dusting and try to avoid it (yet I'm a clean-freak. I know, the irony). I prefer things to be both beautiful and functional. But sometimes I like to make pretty, whimsical things whose only purpose is to make me happy, like this garland of bright tiny trees. 
I love trees, and tree motifs.

 I'd seen some tree garlands on Pinterest, and wanted to make my own. They're just little triangles of  scraps, a bit of stuffing, and some twill tape (or ribbon) for the trunks, then hand-sewn onto hemp twine. To keep the ends of the twine from fraying, I sandwiched each end between tiny squares of fabric with a little fusible interfacing to help it stick together, and machine-stitched around the edges.

They hang across the doorway to the attic room, and make me smile every time I see them. The little trees are so pretty and cheerful when they're lit up by the afternoon light coming down from the top of the stairs.

Here's the tree garland I made for Christmas. They're their brightest in the winter morning light.

If you'd like to make your own, Svetlana has a nice tutorial here.

Go make something that makes you smile!