Last month I posted my UFO list with the goal of finishing some projects. I was feeling really daunted because the list was so long and so many of them seemed so far from completion. But I have some good news, I managed to cross THREE things off the list this month and I'm really close to another! I've been itching to start a new English paper piecing project but despite being a member of Project Starters Anonymous, I had to put my foot down on that one. I told myself I wouldn't start a new English paper piecing project until I finished the two Ferris wheel ... Read More
Make All the Baskets!
Before Christmas I made a quilt-as-you-go thread catcher using a free tutorial from The Sewing Chick. The pattern is fantastic and I was so thrilled with how it turned out. The base of the thread catcher is canvas so it stands up nicely and has a nice structure. I'm extremely proud of how nicely that seam lines up. I love the binding along the top edge, it finishes the basket really nicely and is really easy to do. I made a couple more as Christmas gifts too. I made this one for my mom to match a quilted table runner I also made ... Read More
February TSNEM – 3D Doodler
First I want to thank all of you who have been participating in this year's Try Something New Every Month. Stephanie at Swoodson Says did a post showing off some of the projects from last month's quilting theme and you can also link up your February posts there. There's also a Facebook group where we are all trying new things and having some great discussions, feel free to join us! If you want to read more about TSNEM, start with the introduction post. Josh will always buy me craft stuff for gifts and then he thinks I hate them because I never use them. But ... Read More
Treasure Map Embroidery – One Thimble Issue 10
(Please note, this post contains affiliate links as indicated by an asterisk.*) I have a new pattern in the newest issue of One Thimble magazine* - a treasure map embroidery. I previously worked with Jen last year for issue 8, when I made a cactus hexie wall art pattern Jen does such a great job putting together a great selections of patterns, articles, and tutorials. This issue was a really fun one and I loved creating the embroidery pattern for it. The pattern is a combination of stem stitch and back stitch, but the whole thing can be done with back stitch if ... Read More
A Reverse Appliqué Heart
So one of my 2016 goals was not to sign up for swaps. This goal lasted approximately one month and then I signed up for one that needed to be shipped within a week. The swap was to send a heart coaster and 25 Valentine colored hexies. One of my partner's favorite colors was teal so I declared that to also be a Valentine color. I've wanted to try out reverse appliqué for a long time but I've been nervous and have let that hold me back, but I immediately knew I wanted to try it for the heart. I used this paper pieced heart and reverse appliqué tutorial from ... Read More
Valentine’s Day Pattern Roundup
Valentine's Day is coming up soon and I've done some fun projects and patterns and I thought I'd put together a little round up of them all! Make these cute little felt hearts pouches and get free embroidery patterns from Mollie at Wild Olive. Stitch up this free Valentine's love bird cross stitch with the pattern here. Here's a tutorial for making a heart plastic canvas box, perfect for filling with Valentine's candy. Another free cross stitch pattern for a Modern Valentine's heart. Find out how to make this simple felt ... Read More
Free Pattern Friday – Coffee Love
I am relatively new to the coffee drinking scene. Somehow I managed to survive the first three years of Evie's life without coffee. But now things are different, it didn't take long for me to become a "don't talk to me before I've had my coffee" person. My Tea Love cross stitch pattern is consistently my most popular, so I figured I would expand the caffeine love to coffee. When stitched on 14 ct Aida the final piece is about 5.5" so it should fit into a 6" hoop. Download the PDF here – Coffee Love Cross Stitch Pattern There are more free patterns to ... Read More
A Little Paper Pieced Fox
One of my 2016 goals is to stop doing swaps and start sending things to people directly. Recently, Cheri, aka tinkerellen I had commented on a photo Cheri had posted asking her where some fabric was from and then she sent me some. It was super awesome of her and I wanted to send a little package thanking her. If you follow Cheri on Instagram you'll notice she has a thing for foxes so this was the perfect chance to try out the free fox paper piecing pattern from Stars & Sunshine. I absolutely love how it turned out, I had a hard time sending it away. I want to ... Read More