Carpenters Square is the block of the month for August! Another great block for all those scrappy strips of fabric hanging around. I chose three colors to work with – red purple and blue. Then I just picked scraps in each color! When sewing this block you work from the center out so it helps to press …
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Cloud 9 Geocentric II Bag Challenge @ Sew Mama Sew

Challenge, Giveaway AND Tutorial! It was a little bit hard to contain my excitement when the gals over at SewMamaSew chose me to participate in the GeoCentric II Bag Challenge! Cloud 9 Fabric is launching their amazing line of organic cotton canvas (YUM!), GeoCentric II! The new line has 3 new fabulous colors and 3 new prints to …
Scrap Happy Sampler #7 Block of Month

Log Cabin Twist is the Block of the Month for July! This block uses up lots of scraps – all those thin strips of fabric that are too small for much else… you know those ones you’ve been saving because you can’t bear to waste a scrap? (…or is that just me?) I’m calling it an …
Scrap Happy Sampler #5 Block of Month

May’s block of the month is a favorite of mine. The New York Beauty block uses paper piecing and curved piecing. If you’ve been following along I hope you’ve learned some new things along the way. What’s great about doing a sampler is trying many techniques and sometimes working out of your comfort zone. If you never …
Scrap Happy Sampler #4 April Block of the Month

It’s April and I’m thankful that spring is here… although it’s a little difficult to believe after all the late winter storms. I’m more than ready for the sun for sure and I’ve seen evidence in the garden that spring weather is coming. I’ve put together a tutorial for a Burgoyne Surrounded Quilt Block this month that …
Scrap Happy Sampler #3 Block of the Month

The March Block of the Month is a ‘Joseph’s Coat’ variation. This block is appliqued using fusible web. It’s really a fun block… It goes together easy and is really stunning with the negative space between the inner design and the outer ‘circle’. I’m loving this block! If you’re not following along with the block of the …
Simple Checkbook Cover Tutorial

My daughter asked me to make her a checkbook cover so she didn’t have to use the ugly plastic one (gasp!) from the bank! It seemed a shame that someone like myself who can sew, had been using a plastic one too! (the horror) They are quick and easy to put together and great little …
Another We did it Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday! Sometimes I feel so accomplished when I do a Wednesday post and sometimes… not so much! Then I start my post and realize, wow, I kinda kicked butt! lol I got my February Block of the Month – Hexi Flower listed on my site – if you’d like to follow along – each month …
Scrap Happy Sampler #2 Block of the Month

Welcome February! Today I’m posting the Scrap Happy Sampler Block of the Month for February. But first, I hope you all enjoyed January’s Lone Star Block of the Month. I know those set in seams can be tricky so you might be happy to have that behind you! February’s block is all about hexagons and english paper piecing. I think these hexagon flowers …
My Secret Valentine

Thought I’d share with you a little project for my Secret Valentine… Members of my quilt guild put their name in a hat and much like ‘secret santa’ we all picked a name. My ‘valentine’ likes music and plays the guitar… I thought about it and although we all love a hand stitched item I thought …
Scrap Happy Sampler #1 Block of the Month

Happy 2013! I’ve been working hard on my new Block of the Month quilt! All twelve blocks in this sampler can be made with fabric from your stash. Each month I’ll offer the pattern as a free download to my subscribers. When that month ends the pattern will be listed for sale and the next month I …
Happy New Year! ~ & 2012 Review

It’s been an amazing 2012 with so much to be thankful for. After a mitten making frenzy in the winter of 2011-2012 I decided I wanted to write my first pattern for my ‘Madawaska Mittens’. I had so much fun I went on to write 23 more! As I counted up the number of patterns I wrote I actually surprised …
How to make a kissing ball

A couple days ago I saw a Christmas Kissing Ball at my friend Suzanne’s house. It kept catching my eye. It looked…. traditional, fun, bright, and dare I say, romantic! It just made me plain old happy! I like feeling happy! So I asked her about it, and to my delight she told me she made it! And …
Mo’ Mittens

Been working long hours in the mitten factory! Winter is here and we all want warm hands… am i right? Here is the latest coming off the factory floor…. I made these first two pairs from two sweaters mixed together… the orange is cashmere – SO SOFT! Click here to check out the entire Gallery …
Giveaway Day is Here!

Yippee!! December 3rd is the start of Giveaway Day! Thanks to Sew Mama Sew for hosting this giveaway! I can’t believe it’s been a year since the last one already??? Giveaway Day is so much fun with so much to see that it now lasts a WEEK! All giveaways start today at 6 a.m. PST …
Easy Sew in Labels Tutorial

Need to make some quick and easy sew in labels? Here is one way to get it done… You will need an inkjet printer. First pick up some inkjet colorfast printable fabric (sew on). It comes in 8.5″ x 11″ sheets that you can feed right into your printer. Set up your design and do …
Mitten Factory…. (in overdrive)

I’ve been burning the midnight oil in the mitten factory! I love this time of year, the holidays, the lights, the Christmas music… pretty sure I was an elf in a former life :o) Been doing lot’s of cutting… (oH the DusT!!) And lots of sewing…. and sewing…. and sewing… Want to make your …
Linking up with Sew Much Ado for We Did It Wednesday! Here’s what I’ve been working on this week… Can I say that I just love this first project? I’ll be offering this tutorial… as soon as I finish writing it (hopefully this week!) At my house the hot water bottle is very popular and gets …
Craft Buds / Craft Book Month

I’ve finished my ‘Craft Book Month’ project for the Craft Buds link up! I chose my book a couple weeks back… Aneela Hoey’s new book LITTLE STITCHES from Stash Books! Here is my ‘Cover Photo’! lol Aneela’s book has over 100 embroidery designs… I decided to embroider this sweet sewing machine. I just knew I’d be able to …