Please welcome Susuko from Berlin, Germany!

My name is Susana, my blog is http://bysusuko.blogspot.com, from Berlin, Germany.

I worked as engineer for communication-systems, but now I´m a housewife with two little kids (4 and 6).

My hobby is sewing and patchwork

Please welcome my friend, Joanna and her fabulous idea for candy canes!

Candy Cane Holder

By Joanna Martinez

www.appliquetoday.blogspot.com

These are cute little Candy Cane Holders that you can use to decorate your tree, or give as a small gift to friends and loved ones.

Materials:

Various long scraps of red fabrics

Various long scraps of white fabrics

Scraps for backing and front pocket

Scrap of thin batting

Ribbon

Candy Canes of course!

Make a Candy Cane piece of fabric

This is where you cut up perfectly good fabric to make a new piece of fabric!

• Cut strips of red and white fabrics in various widths. I cut my strips at 1 inch and 1 ¼ inch.

• Sew together using ¼ inch seams, alternating red and white fabrics until you have a new piece of fabric.

Make a Template

• Place a real candy cane on a piece of paper and draw the outline.

• Draw another line outside of first line, adding approx. ½ inch all around, except at the very bottom of the cane.

• Cut out template.

Cut Layers

• Using the template you made, draw pattern on the wrong side of the backing fabric. This is your sewing line. Add a generous allowance when you cut it out.

• Using this backing fabric as a pattern, cut out matching pieces from your red/white stripe fabric and batting.

• Cut one piece for the pocket. Use only the bottom half of your template, and fold your pocket fabric in half so the folded edge will be the top edge of the pocket.

Sew Candy Cane Holder together

• Place your layers in the following order from the bottom up:

  1) Batting

  2) Red/white stripe

  3) Pocket

  4) Backing

• Sew layers together following your drawn line, leaving an opening approx. 1 inch for turning. Make sure you back-tack at beginning and end of stitching.

• Trim excess allowance to ¼ inch of sewing line.

• Clip inside curves.

• Turn your Candy Cane Holder right-side-out through the opening. This will be quite tight to turn, but hang in there – it WILL work! (You could always buy the larger size candy canes for your pattern. This will make the holder larger and give you more room when you turn.

Finishing

• Sew around entire candy cane through all layers approx. 1/8^th inch from edge. Be sure to fold in opening and catch it with your stitching.

• Put your real candy cane in the pocket. It will want to fall forward as it is top heavy, so…

• Cut a piece of ribbon approx. 10 inches long and tie it in a bow, leaving a loop at one end.

• Place loop under the ‘hook’ of both the real and fabric candy canes.

Please welcome Karen, as she shares her Tissue Box Cover with us. You can download the PDF HERE

happy thanksgiving everyone

edited 11/18/08 - sorry about the typo, Karen, I’ve fixed it now

Please welcome Traci, she is one of my favorite stitchery designers!

Last Minute Gift Countdown Needlekeeper

by Plumcute Designs™

This year has been the year of the pincushion & needlekeeper here at Plumcute Designs™.  In keeping with that spirit, I whipped up this little project for you.  It’s fast, fun, & sure to delight!

Supplies:

black wool 5 x 7½

cream wool 4 x 5½

green wool 7 x 6

scrap of red wool

2-inch square of black polka-dot

fusible

one small snap

one small button

coordinating threads

basic sewing supplies

Cutting Requirements:

cut black wool to measure exactly 5 x 7½

cut cream wool to measure exactly 4 x 5½

cut green wool to measure 7 x 4 ½ 

cut 2 holly leaves from trimmed excess

cut a 1-inch circle from your red wool

following the manufacturers directions, cut a 1½-inch circle from black polka-dot

Putting Your Needlekeeper Together:

-center & fuse your black polka-dot circle to one 4½-inch end of cream wool

-blanket stitch around black polka-dot circle to secure it to cream wool

-center red wool 1-inch circle onto black polka-dot circle

-center small button onto 1-inch red wool circle

-sew button & red wool circle to black polka-dot circle

-center cream wool rectangle onto black wool rectangle and using a contrasting thread color blanket stitch together.  This is the outside of your needlekeeper

-for the inside of your needlekeeper, you will center green wool rectangle onto backside of black wool rectangle and -blanket stitch using black thread (this way it wont show on the front side) be extra careful to make sure your stitches don’t go onto the cream wool

-stitch the snap onto the inside center of each end of your needlekeeper so that when folded in half to close you can snap it shut

-I always fill my needlekeeper with a

few of my favorite things like ribbon,

buttons, & my Eiffel tower charm.

( the holly leaves are simply running-stitched off one side of the red wool circle as shown in the picture)

Enjoy!!!

Edited 11/25/08 - My schedule got messed up, so we’ll be running Mary Anne’s tutorial one more day! Look for a new project tomorrow

Please welcome Mary Anne, who will show us how to make this fabulous scarf!

Hi everybody!  Here in Pa. it seems like we went from October straight into January’s deep freeze !!  So,  I rummaged through my pile of fleece (I call it polar fleece) and whipped up a quick and easy new scarf ….. with pockets to hold my cell phone,  tissues (for my forever runny nose in this cold weather), a couple of bucks, and my car keys ! (trying to eliminate dragging my 10 ton purse into the grocery store when I just run in for milk and cat food.)  Oh! And did I say how much I LOVE the soft, snuggly warmth of fleece ….. and all those FUN colors ….AND it’s so easy to work with ….. raw edges here I come!!! Yahoo!!

So, first let me show you what we’re making…..

…..and here’s what you need to whip this up:

Fleece (body of scarf)                  ½ yd  (60 inch wide fleece)

Fleece (pockets and fringe)          11 inch x 14 inch remnant

Fleece (pocket flaps and fringe)   8 inch x 15 inch remnant

Black sewing thread

Sewing machine

#8  black perle cotton ( or black DMC embroidery floss)

Embroidery needle

2 buttons  size 1 3/8 inch

Paper hole punch

Old CD or other small round object

Small sharp scissors

Chalk marking pencil

Rotary cutter and mat (or fabric scissors)

Cut Fabrics:

Body of scarf    cut 2    9 inches  x  60 inches

Pockets              cut 2    4 ½ inches x 6 ½ inches

Pocket flaps       cut 2    3 inches x 7 ½ inches

Red fringe          cut 8   ½ inch x 14 inches

Yellow fringe    cut 8    ½ inch x 14 inches

Assembly:   

To make rounded bottom edges on pocket flaps, trace around CD (or any small round object) with chalk pencil on bottom corners. Trim on traced line.

Center button on flap,  ¼ inch from bottom edge of flap.   Mark left and right edges of button on flap with chalk pencil. 

Draw horizontal line to connect left and right button edge marks.

Fold flap in half and using small sharp scissors, cut along drawn horizontal line to make button hole slit.

Using black perle cotton (or DMC floss),  blanket stitch around button hole edges.

Pin pocket piece on each end of scarf,  about 2 ¼ inches from bottom edge of scarf and about 1 ¼ inches from either side.   Machine stitch sides and bottom of pockets to scarf, about ¼ inch from edges.

Pin pocket flaps above pockets  (top edge of pocket flap should be about 1 ¼ inch above top edge of pocket).  Machine stitch top edge of pocket flaps and about ½ inch down on either side (stitching ¼ inch from edges)

Stitch scarf front to scarf back around all edges ,  WRONG sides together,  using ½ inch seam.

Sew button on each pocket front using black perle cotton and a “x” stitch .

Using paper punch,   punch 8 evenly spaced holes through both layers of scarf at bottom edges,  right above seam.

Fold fringe strips in half .  Push fold through punched hole.  Pull fringe ends through looped/folded part of fringe and gently tighten loop up to edge of scarf.    

Alternate fringe colors.

Ta Da !!!   You’re finished !!!  Hope you had fun and ….

                    Happy Holidays !!!!

 You can visit Mary Anne’s blog here

A big welcome to Beth, who is going to show us how to use our leftover bits of fabric…

Everyone has leftover blocks and plenty of scraps sitting around their sewing room. Why not grab a few and in just a few minutes turn them into tree ornaments or custom gift tags?

Supplies:

·        Several UFO blocks, cut no larger than 5 ½” square

·        Scraps for appliqué shapes

·        6” square batting and backing, one per ornament

·        Beads, sequins, buttons, jewels

·        Thin ribbon for hanging

·        Allene’s Jewel It other adhesive

1. Locate some UFO blocks. This is sometimes easier said than done, but once you find one you will likely find more than you ever thought you had, and you might end up in the market for a taller tree to fit all the ornaments you can make.
2. Cut blocks down to squares or rectangles no smaller than 3 1/2” on a side and no larger than 5 ½” on a side.
3. Decide on orientation – do you want your ornament to hang on point or straight?
4. Decide on design. I like to stick to fairly simple and traditional Christmas shapes. Anything you can draw or cut out freehand will work. Simple triangles make great Christmas trees, a few basic petal shapes turn into a poinsettia in no time, some circles, a square, and a rectangle make a snowman with a jaunty hat. Just remember to keep your design small enough to fit within about ½” of the edge of the block.
5. Iron fusible web onto the wrong side of whatever scrap fabrics you are going to use to make your design. Either draw your design on the fusible, or cut the design freehand. Remember, either way your finished design will be the opposite of what you are cutting from the paper side.    
6. Fuse the design to the block, following your fusible manufacturer’s instructions.
7. Machine appliqué around appliqué shapes. This is most easily accomplished by using zig zag or feather stitching or any other simple decorative stitch you might have on your machine.

8. Sandwich block, batting, and backing for quilting. I like to use my 505 spray baste to put them all together.

9. Free motion or echo quilt around your appliques; these blocks are little and don’t really need all that much quilting, and are a great project to use to practice your machine quilting.
10. Trim off excess batting and backing.
11. Prepare binding; cut a strip of fabric 1 ¾” wide by approximately 19 inches long. Press in half along the long side to create a double thickness binding.
12. Using a scant ¼” seam and beginning in the middle of one side, attach binding to the front of the ornament. Flip binding to back and handsew shut.
13. Embellish your appliqué shapes with beads, buttons, jewels, sequins, and any other small shiny items you may have in your stash. I like to use Allene’s Jewel It to attach them as it adheres quickly and dries invisibly. For small beads, the easiest way to get the glue on without overgluing is to thread the bead on a pin and gently dip the pin in some glue, then press it on the ornament and slide the pin away.
14. Cut a piece of ribbon about 9” long. Glue or sew to the back of the ornament, overlapping ends slightly.

EvaPaige Quilt Designs, created by designer Beth Helfter, strives to give quilters freedom to make beautiful things without focusing on perfection. From her quick and forgiving patterns to her trunk show entitled “Perfection is Overrated”, Beth works hard to give quilters license to focus on “fun over fuss” in their quiltmaking.

Beth loves to see her designs completed and the creative licenses taken by quiltmakers when using her patterns, and welcomes photos and comments anytime at evapaigequilts@charter.net. She is a founding member of New England Quilt Designer’s Cooperative; their group blog, to which she is a frequent contributor, can be found at http://nequiltdesigners.blogspot.com. To find out more about EvaPaige Quilt Designs patterns and her workshops and trunk show, visit www.evapaigequiltdesigns.com.

It’s a little awkward to welcome myself, so I’ll just jump right in!

Gather together the following-

You’ll need

(2) pieces of cardboard for the front and back covers

(3) 1 3/8″ rings

various trims, buttons, pretty papers or fabric

spray adhesive

(i used parts from a 6×6 ring book kit from 7gypies, just cause I had them on hand)

1 - I have lots of old journals arounds, many with unused paper. I tore out the empty pages and trimmed to size

2 - Cut off the icky side.

3 - Use the holes in the cardboard as a guide to mark holes in paper. I used a regular hole punch on these.

4 - Again, use the cardboard as a guide to cut out pretty paper or fabric to cover the cardboard, front and back. Use your spray adhesive, following it’s directions (I take mine outside to spray) and cover the cardboard front and back covers.

5 - I used a piece of 220 sandpaper to sand the edges, give it a slight ‘grungy’ look.

6 - Now, the fun part! Decorate your cover. I used a 2″ piece of transparent ribbon and some cotton lace to trim this. I attached it using double sided tape. I also cut 2 little pieces of paper so the journal could be labeled. I attached the brown with double sided tape, and the lighter one is attached with that fancy paperclip

This is a wonderful thing to give someone who is leaving on a trip, there are plenty of pages for notes, they are sturdy enough to support photo’s, and the rings allow for extra room if they want to attach the photo’s, or any other kind of fun memorabilia.

 Please welcome Daphne Greig from Patchwork Studio -

Here is a fun project to make for holiday gifts – napkin rings that are quick to make, use scraps of fabric and will be used for years to come. The person you give them to will think of you each year! Be sure to make a set for your holiday table too. You could make different ones for each season. Or use a different fabric for each member of your family to identify their cloth napkin if they are re-used for a few meals. We use cloth napkins all the time to save paper and they are so much nicer. You can make your own with a fat quarter of fabric by turning all the edges under twice and topstitching. Or cut a strip off the long end and make a matching napkin ring following these directions:

Materials (for one napkin ring):

Double sided fusible stiff interfacing(fast2fuse® or Peltex® 72 by pellon®)

            1 ¾” x 7 ½” rectangle

Outside fabric

            2 ¾” x 8 ½” rectangle

Lining fabric

            2” x 7 ¾” rectangle

One ½” to 1” button

Thread to contrast with outside fabric

To make one napkin ring:

Centre the interfacing rectangle on the wrong side of the outside fabric.

Fold the excess fabric over the rectangle and press in place with the tip of the iron, being careful not to set the iron on the fusible interfacing.

The corners can be folded ‘square’.

Turn under all the edges of the lining rectangle ¼” and press.

Place the lining rectangle on the fabric/interfacing rectangle, wrong sides together and press to fuse all the layers together. The lining rectangle should be slightly smaller than the outside rectangle.

Use contrast thread in your sewing machine and sew a decorative stitch along both long edges of the napkin ring. You may want to test a few stitches on scraps to see which one you like best.

Form a ring with the finished rectangle, overlap the edges about ¾” and sew the button through all the layers. Here is my napkin ring all ready for our Christmas table.

No – I don’t really have the table set now! But I will have it set before we go to my Mother’s for our traditional Christmas Eve clam chowder supper. Saves one thing to do on Christmas Day. And I polished the silver when we repainted the dining room this summer. My china cabinet had to be packed up so it could be moved and I realized how tarnished some pieces were so I decided to take care of that job well ahead of the holidays.

 You can see more of Daphne’s work on her website Patchwork Studio or Daphne Greig or her BLOG

Click Here for the PDF of this Last Minute Gift Pattern

1)  Begin by folding each of your 2” squares diagonally, into a triangle.  The, place them so that you create a star pattern and pin together:

2)  Now, using your sewing machine, stitch all the way around the triangles, to secure them together and create stabilization for the edges of your star:

3)  Finally, hot glue your star to the clothespin, then embellish with something in the center of the star.  On the back of the clothespin, glue a magnet strip so you can hang it on your refrigerator or magnetic board!

Click Here for the PDF of this Last Minute Gift Pattern

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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY

I’ve been meaning to blog about this for a few days now, this is how behind I am. I’m telling myself today is Tuesday. Last Tuesday.

So, last Tuesday I get an email from Judy Laquidara, my internet friend for the last few years. I met her when she lived in Kentucky (i think it was Kentucky) and then she moved to Nevada, MO… about some distance from Joplin. Ok, I’m not sure how far it is, but when she goes to ‘the city’ she goes to Joplin. Back to my story, she was going to be in Joplin and did I want to have lunch? Of course I do! It meant I had to put makeup on but, oh well! We had such a good time, we started off talking and laughing just like we’d know each other forever. She was smart enough to have brought her camera and the waitress took our picture.

I was shocked when I opened this picture. Judy looks just as cute as a bug, just like she did in person. But I don’t feel like that’s me at all. My neck disappeared, my boobs doubled in size and my shoulders puffed up like the marshmallow man, and … well, I’ll quit. My first thought was, Oh my gosh, I’ve gained 300 lbs and didn’t know it!!!!

But I asked Mike if I really looked this and he said no. You think he’s biased? lol… Yes he’s biased, but he’s also very honest and I trust him to lovingly and kindly tell me if that’s how I really look. (you should see the part I cropped out!)

It doesn’t matter, I had lunch with a friend and a good time.