Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Valentine Sew Along With Therm O Web

There's a sew along happening over on the Therm O Web blog today and tomorrow 
with free applique patterns. You can use these sweet Valentine 8 ½” x 8 ½” blocks in projects
we’ll release on February 14th. You could even use them in pillows or treat bags!


We have some fun free blocks for you to sew during our Valentine Sew Along…two 
from me today, two from Carla, Creatin' in the Sticks, tomorrow. 





Here's what I used for my applique designs:

“Love Bunny” and “Love Bird” applique patterns


I love this mini Oliso iron!


It's never too early to show some Valentine love!

Friday, January 24, 2020

Turning A Beach Ball Into A Pincushion

Actually, turning a beach ball into a pincushion isn't all that hard,
especially since I used Crafter's Edge Beach Ball die and Crossover II.


The package comes with full instructions on making the ball and
two sizes of fabric dies...3" x 4" and 2.25" x 3". I used the smaller one.


One edge of the fabric die is smooth and needs to be placed on the fold.
The cutting edge is not sharp, but can cut up to six layers.
I cut one folded layer at a time so that I was accurate with the placement.


The pressure knobs are easily adjusted to cut the type of material you are using.
Instructions are included to help with this.


The Beach Ball die didn't require iron-on fleece, but I used it for the pincushion.
Therm O Web's Heat n Bond is my favorite for this type of project!


Cut six fabric shapes and six iron-on fleece shapes.


Iron the fusible fleece to the wrong side of the fabric section.
Be sure to cover it with a protective cloth when ironing it.


Follow the directions that come in the package to sew the sections together with a 1/4" seam.
Don't forget to leave an opening about 1 1/2" on the side to turn it inside out.
The directions say 1", but 1 1/2" works best because of the fleece.


A funnel helps to get more of the nut shells in the pincushion instead of on the 
counter, but you can also stuff the pincushion with Polyfil. Either one works quite well.
There's a large variety of nutshells out there, so choose the one you like best.


Once you're finished filling the pincushion, stitch the opening closed by hand.


The fabric die comes with a small circle to add to the Beach Ball project, but
adding a button and wrapping embroidery thread around it made it more of a pincushion.
It was so easy and went together fast.

Thanks for stopping by to see my pincushion!

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Nested Hearts In A Valentine Banner

 Valentine's Day is only a short time away so I thought I'd get a jump on the whole 
"love" holiday by putting up a banner to show there is definitely love in my house.
There's even a little purple in it...my favorite color!


I used three colors of felt for this banner: red, white, and purple,
and four buttons to coordinate with the hearts.

The Crafter’s Edge Crossover II had a perfect set of dies, "Nested Hearts", to use along 
with their Flag Pennant die. It took me less than an hour to whip up a simple banner.


The dies have cutting edges that aren’t sharp, but when run through the machine they 
easily cut fabric (not fingers.) If the die needs to sit on a fold (like the pennant die)
then the die will have a flat section with no cutting edge.


Placing the flat section on the folded piece of felt stops it from being cut when it 
rolls through the machine.


The fold easily irons out when you're ready to add more layers to the pennant.


Depending on the fabric you use, the pennant die might slide a bit. I found that
my favorite Purple Tape from ThermOWeb held it in place while it was being cut.


The level of pressure can easily be adjusted to the layers of your project.
I found this to be the perfect level of pressure for two layers of felt, though
more pressure would probably be needed for more layers.



The awesome part of Crafter's Edge "Nested Hearts" is that it comes with four sizes of 
hearts that makes it versatile for using one size or all four. I used three sizes for this project.


Once all the hearts and pennants were cut out, I arranged them how I wanted them to look.


A little dab or two of Therm O Web'Fabric Fuse Adhesive held the layers of banners, 
hearts and buttons in place. At this point, the buttons can be sewn on or not. Fabric Fuse 
is a nice strong glue if you don't want to sew!


The final step was to add double folded bias tape to the banner by sliding the pennant tops 
between folds. A dab or two of Fabric Fuse worked great to hold the pennants in place until I
was ready to sew...after the glue dried, of course. Zig-zag or straight stitch close to bottom edge.


The banner now hangs sweetly on my dining room mirror.



Are you thinking up Valentine craft ideas, yet?
I'm totally ready to celebrate the holiday of love!

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Winter Blues Blog Hop Begins Today And It's My Day

I love kicking off the Winter Blues blog hop that's hosted by Carla at Creatin' in the Sticks.
Carla is so creative in everything she does!


Winter Blues is a real thing that causes us to lose the desire to do much of anything.

WINTER BLUES/SEASONAL FUNK - a feeling of depression or deep 
unhappiness associated with experiencing the cold and darkness of winter.

But we love fabric, we love to sew, and we love to show off what we make.
Let's kick those blues to the curb...or put them in a quilt...and get blog hopping!

Winter Ice


Winter Ice measures 59" x 59" and is made with fabrics from
Northcott's "Silent Night" line.



You can find the pattern for "Winter Ice" in my Etsy store HERE.


Look who else is sharing their Winter Blues...

Monday, January 20th


Tuesday, January 21st


Wednesday, January 22nd


Thursday, January 23rd


Friday, January 24th

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, January 16, 2020

I Like Thursday 1/16/20 With Not Afraid Of Color

It's I Like Thursday today thanks to LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color.
To see other "likes" check out her blog and the other bloggers who play along.
I really like using "I Like Thursday" to catch up on a few photos besides quilts.
When I miss a week (or two) I have quite a bit of catching up to do.

I like looking through old photos.

While I was decluttering/organizing things, I ran across a couple photos that made me laugh.
This one was the day my daughter and son-in-law opened presents from their wedding in 2004.
This deep fat fryer was a gift from a German couple that I had been helping.
The gift was not in a box and was roughly wrapped. It was also obviously a re-gift.

I'm not being ungrateful at all. Re-gifting is not a bad thing.
But, what was funny/not funny is that this fryer was from the 1970's and even had
a fabric wrapped cord. The original instructions in it were really funny.
The couple who gave it to them had a lot of money so this was really cheap of them.

The laugh we had was the best gift of all!


There was this photo that showed up. He's 15 now and still looks like this sometimes. LOL


I like what's coming later.

I finally gathered up some of the old movies and sent them in to be processed.
I can't wait to see them!


I like my pressure cooker.

I bought it about four years ago, used it a few times, and it went to the
"I had to have it, used it, and now it goes to the back" cupboard.
I pulled it out to use it again and I'm so glad I did.

This pork roast was so delicious!


I like the random photos and videos my daughter sends me of the Monkey Boys.

They were waving and saying, "Hi Grandma." Of course, it melted my heart!


I like hanging out and sewing with my friends.

I had a two day retreat at my house with a couple of my friends.
We had a blast! They needed occasional nourishment, of course.


I like quiet moments.

I posted this quilt last week and really love it.
The time photographing was especially sweet.
It was a quiet park and I enjoyed the moments.


I like designing quilts and quilt blocks.

I'm one lucky lady that I get to design projects for ThermOWeb, Riley Blake Designs, and
the newest one, Crafter's Edge. I love these fabric dies and how thin they are.



February 1st starts our new "Words To Grow By" with Sew Incredibly Crazy.
One of my blocks will have "FAITH" on it. I'm in love with this BOM already!


I like, but don't like, making pincushions for Bea Quilter's pincushion swap.

I don't like it because I'm not really good at it. Pincushions are so small
and I like to make big things. I do like the ones I get from the ladies involved.
I do like how sweet the ladies are, too!

I received this one from Holly. Don't you just love the stitching she used!


I sent this one the other day. She might have it by now, but if not...sorry that I'm showing it!


I like when my sister at Food Storage Moms tests out food and products.

She brought us some caramel corn in two different popped corn.
I love the softer ones on the right, though they were both delicious!



I like auctions for good causes.

Mr. Domestic had an auction to help out the people and animals in Australia.
I got the winning bid on some of these very cool scissors from LDH.


I like to write things and I like my soapbox.



 Thanks, LeeAnna, for sparking our likes and getting us to share them!

Check out her blog for other likes in the blogging world.

Give It A Whirl Blog Hop Starts Today

It is time to whirl, twirl, and spin with the "Give It A Whirl" blog hop! What was the challenge? Somewhere in or on your project ...