Perfect Pillowcases

With Christmas around the corner, I realized I hadn't made anything for my boys. These pillowcases were the perfect quick project to fit into my holiday to do list. 

I followed the pattern from School of Sewing. The pattern is really well written and features a self-lined border, optional flange, and all French seams. I'm confident they will withstanding frequent washings because all the raw edges are enclosed and all the seams reinforced.

I found the fun Star Wars print at my local fabric store, Modern Makers (there is still some available, local peeps!), and I paired it with a dot and text print from my stash.

I know my boys are going to love finding these in their stockings. If you've got part of an afternoon or evening free, you've still got time to make a couple for someone on your list.

A Quilted Pillow and a Look Back

No, I didn't make this pillow quickly today.  I actually finished it last month; I just forgot to show it.  All 144 squares (1.5 inch finished) came from my scrap bin and provided some much needed therapeutic sewing during the holidays. 

I quilted it simply with a crosshatch through every other squares and added a zipper closure using my favorite method.  Here you an see what it looks like then you use matching fabric for the flap, rather than contrasting as I did with my last pillow.  

I bound the edges like a quilt.  A thin binding strip looks a lot like piping and frames the pillow nicely. This quilted cover fits an 18 inch pillow form.  You can find it in my etsy shop.

Here is a quick look back at some of my favorite projects from 2012.  Here's to lots of fun sewing in 2013!

 

 
1. Herringbone Baby Quilt, 2. birdie sling, 3. Scrappy Bibs, 4. Feathered Nests Quilt, 5. Brrr! Quilt and Pillow, 6. granny squares baby quilt, 7. Furrows, 8. ipad cover, take 2, 9. Flashdance, 10. Ruffled Wristlets, 11. Trellis Quilt, 12. Atomic Quilt, 13. yellow and gray pinwheel, 14. Raindrops Quilt, 15. paper boat mini, 16. Links, 17. Snapshots Quilt, 18. super sized granny square quilt, 19. MQG pincushion swap, 20. Supersized Flashdance Quilt, closeup, 21. Tallahassee Anna Pillow, 22. Pleated Liberty Frame Purse, 23. Table Runner, 24. Quarter Log Cabin Quilt, 25. wholecloth quilt

Advent Calendar Class

I'll be teaching the Advent Activity Calendar pattern by Empty Bobbin Sewing at Bon Bon Atelier in Westport, October 13 and 27.  If you haven't been to this cute boutique, you have been missing out on a unique, local shop.  They have great fabrics, as well as gift items and yarn.  We'll be meeting in their classroom space.  And it is the perfect time of year for this project - you will be able to get it done in time to hang it up December 1st. Sign up for the class online here. 

I'll be sewing along with you.  I'm making a calendar for my sweet nephew whose mommy requested traditional Christmas colors.  It's going to be a lot of fun!

Grateful

 

The school year is over tomorrow, and there is so much to be grateful for, including the start of summer.  I made these little note cards to accompany my teachers' gifts (don't worry - the male teachers will get gift cards as I don't think they'd appreciate ruffles).  Simple.  Some cards, fabric swatches and a stamp.  I hope each one feels my appreciation for all the time and care they put into every child, particularly mine.

Wiksten Tank

Thanks to your well wishes and tips, my Wiksten tank is finished.  The pattern is very clearly written, and the details of this simple top really make it feel like a quality garment.  It has french seams and bias binding for the arms and neck, so there are no exposed seams.  The A line cut makes it really easy to wear too.

I made the size small, and it is pretty big on me.  Next time, I'll make an x-small.  I will also take an inch or so off the length, but I'm used to that, being petite.  I would say the pattern seems to run a bit big, so keep that in mind if you're thinking of making one.  

Did any eagle eyes out there spot the selvage on the fabric I used?

It's a piece from Denyse Schmidt's new line for Free Spirit, Chicopee, which will premiere at Quilt Market next week, where I will be wearing my Wiksten tank to help out in the DS Quilts booth.  That has to be the most exciting sentence ever to appear on this blog. It is so great to have market in KC this year.
If you're in town for market or a local modern quilter, be sure to stop by the Modern Meet Up Saturday the 19th at the Marriott.  There are tons of fantastic door prizes!  More details here.

On My Cutting Table

I am not a garment sewer.  In fact, it has been many years since I sewed anything to wear, but I'm jumping on the Wiksten tank bandwagon.  You can download the pattern as a pdf.  It does require some taping together, but it much less expensive that way.  Wish me luck!

For Fabric Nerds Only?

I had another friend request an ipad cover.  This is just the sort of thing I get all excited to make.  It struck me as the perfect project to feature my new Ruby Star Shining typewriter print. I had a look around in my stash and kept finding great coordinates. 

There are two Hope Valley prints that have just the right pink and purple in them, and the So Sophie dot has the perfect purple and mustard.  I used Faith's tutorial this time because the zippered pocket allowed me to include more coordinating fabrics, of course.

They are so fun together, but maybe I got a little caught up in it all.  I think I may have created a cover only a fabric nerd would love.  It is a little busy. :)  Oh well, it was a rush combining all those great prints.  I may need to go back to the drawing board to create something more suitable for the general public.

A Quick Gift

I made a quick gift for a friend's birthday this week.  She has a new i pad, so I made her this sleeve.

I used this tutorial and some houndstooth suiting material.  I lined it with lipstick shot cotton and used fusible fleece instead of quilting it.  I think I'll use two layers next time.

Scrappy Bibs

I've been pondering how to use the lovely stacks of squares I created from my scraps.  A pillow?  A granny square quilt (just posted today and now on my must make list!)?  Then I remembered a pattern I bought a bit ago that I've been wanting to try.  The Best Bib by JCasa handmade is perfect for these squares because it calls for a 10 x 10 piece of fabric.  Twenty-five squares later you are ready to cut out your bib, or bibs in my case.  I couldn't stop with one!

This is the perfect scrap project.  I used the squares for the top, scrap batting in the middle, larger scraps for the backs and scraps of bindings for the tie. Such a good feeling.

This is also the perfect project to practice your free motion quilting.  It's small and you're done in no time.  Go ahead and try out some new designs.  I quilted each bib differently.  I love the leaves and vines.  My hearts need more work.

These make me pretty happy, and they need to be together, don't you think?  The set is now in my shop.

Birdie Sling

I know I'm a little late to the Birdie Sling party; just about all my crafty friends have made one or two.  Here is my version.  I made it at 75% size, since I like a smaller bag, and I used a Good Folks print and shot cotton.  I wish I could find more of that fabric.

I used two layers of fusible fleece as interfacing, which turned out to be overkill (unless you want your bag to stand on its own).  Next time I'll use just one layer and include a magnetic closure. I've already picked my fabrics for Birdie number two.

Scrapping the New Year

While I'm waiting for solids to arrive for my Brrr! project, I started sorting through my scraps.  There's a lot of scrap talk going around these days in the blog world.  There's the Scrap Attack and the Sew Scraps Along.  I wonder if this is the fabric version of the new year's resolutions.  We want to be disciplined and good and frugal. :)  Whatever the reason, I'm all for sewing with scraps. I love it, big time.  But my bins were getting a little unwieldy.  Some advice from Carla came to mind.  She cuts her scraps into strips and squares of certain sizes, so they are readily usable at any time.

So I've been working on cutting my scraps into 2.5 inch squares and strips.  I also stowed a ton of random width strips for some wonky log cabins and whatnot.  I've left the larger scraps intact, since they are useful for small projects, like dumplings, but cutting the rest down really got my bins under control.

And it seems Carla is right.  I saw those neatly cut strips waiting there for me, and they needed to be made into something. And it was so easy to do, because they were already cut!

Back with more on that later.  I'm sure there are lots of fantastic scrappy projects on the horizon.  What about you?  Are you joining in?

A Look Back

Would you believe I had to google how to make these mosaics again, after I had it all figured out last year?  Luckily, it is super easy.  Here is a look back at some of my quilts from 2011. 

1. Deep Blue Sea, Baby Quilt, 2. paper boat mini, 3. Good Folks Baby Quilt, 4. Baby Makes Three Quilt, 5. doll towerall, 6. Roe Baby Quilt, 7. wonky kites, 8. Four Square, 9. sea glass wall hanging, 10. ticker tape rainbow, 11. scrap rainbow, 12. Lemon Sorbet Baby Quilt, 13. Summer Citrus Baby Quilt, 14. kaleidoscope quilt, 15. midwest metro link, 16. Plus Baby Girl Quilt

I has a lot of fun with other sewing projects too, and here are some of them.

1. drawstring bag for my WIPs, 2. New Ruffled Wristlet, 3. E-reader Cover, 4. jane market bag and perfect zipper bags, 5. Voile Infinity Scarf, 6. cell phone case, 7. log cabin potholder , 8. stegosaurus tee, 9. kidlet, 10. Doggy's new bed, 11. Falling Leaves Runner and Placemats, 12. wonky zigzag pillow, 13. pojagi panel 1, 14. Lemon Sorbet doll quilt with piggy, 15. apron in an hour, 16. Solid Hexagon Pillow

I have some exciting things to share in the coming weeks.  Hope to see you then!  Happy New Year!

E-reader Cover Made Masculine

I love the cover I made yesterday for my e- reader, but I wanted to make another version for my dad.  I knew it needed to be very masculine if I want him to actually use it.  I think I accomplished that goal.

I used suiting material and essex linen.  I like the simple strap across the top, and I used french seams to keep everything tidy inside and out.  Two layers of fusible fleece provide the padding.  Now he'll be all set to read on the go.

Voile Infinity Scarves

 

I've started some Christmas sewing, and  scarves are a great, one-size-fits-all gift.  These infinity scarves are made from super soft voile and shot cotton.

I used Little Folks voile by Anna Maria Horner.  I just love these prints

The fun thing about infinity scarves is you can wear them so many ways.  I like mine looped three times.   They look elegant and dramatic draped twice around the neck. I used Lauren's tutorial to make these; the only change I made was to shorten the length a few inches.

The lipstick shot cotton on this one is so pretty!
I made a few as gifts, and I put these three in my shop, just in time for Christmas shopping.

Father's Day Sewing

This Father's Day, I asked my husband what he would like, and so he actually got something he really wanted. I made sure to get a little handmade goodness in there too though with this kindle cover. The inspiration, and awesome suiting material and badge, came from Lauren of Aunt June fame. Thanks friend - you are the best (did you know if she really likes you, she will even help you strip wallpaper?).

Scrap Rainbow

I'm waiting for some solids to arrive so I can start a couple of new quilts. While I wait, I'm trying to tame my scrap bins with an improv project inspired by Blue Elephant Stitches. I've got blue and green so far.

Opportunity Knocks

It's sort of a weird feeling to find quilt store, designer fabrics at Joann's but it is happening to me more and more (some of Alexander Henry's Farmdale is there now, and on sale too). And now Denyse Schmidt has designed her own line specifically for the craft superstore. It includes a great mix of Flea Market Fancy-esque tiles and Katie Jump Rope-like dots. And they look like they were made to go with these two Farmdale prints! Chances are your stash includes a lot of prints like these that you love but don't have definite plans for yet, and here is a wonderful opportunity to use them. Crafters making dresses for Dress a Girl Around the World have posted several free, simple pillowcase dress patterns. They are so easy and quick to make. I literally used a pillowcase for my first attempt, but I have my eye on a few prints in my fabric bins that would be perfect. I also think this would be a great project to use to teach girls to sew! You can embellish a solid dress with a band of print, like I did, or get creative with freezer paper stencils like Amy!

Tooth Fairy Pillow

The tooth fairy is scheduled to make her first ever visit to my house this week, so some preparations have been made. I worried about the precious tooth getting lost amidst stuffed animals and pillows and blankets, so I asked the internet for help. I found this cute idea of a tooth fairy pillow over at Sew Mama Sew. Just tuck the tooth inside and hang from a bedpost or door knob. The fairy can then easily and quietly switch it out during the night for a dollar or two (how much does she leave for a tooth these days?).

County Fair Folklore

I finally made my first handbag. This is made from Denyse Schmidt's County Fair home dec weight fabric, lined with Kona in Curry, using the Folklore pattern from One Yard Wonders. I wish I'd googled the title of the pattern before making it. The wisdom of the internet would have warned me that there are multiple errors in the patterns in this book. Oh well, I was able to fix them, but if you like the style of this bag you should know a few things.

First, the pattern piece for the lining is too small. I adjusted for this by using narrower seam allowances when making the lining. The markings for the pleats are not wide enough on the outside of the bag. That's easy to fix. Even though it doesn't tell you to, be sure to interface the straps. Fusible fleece will give the bag a better shape than interfacing. And finally, the construction of the bag is a little odd. Instead of sewing right sides together, in a few places it has you iron under the seam allowance and then top stitch it to another piece. I guess whatever works.
In the end, I'm glad to have finally tackled making a handbag (with a magnetic closure - which, by the way, is easy peasy to put in). It was kind of fun.