Appleton Dance

by Linda Theil 9.5 x 9.5 x 5-inch "Forever Shopper-small" tote in "Purple Finch" fabric from "Best of Charlie Harper collection by Birch Fabrics For Christmas 2019, Alisa gave me a selection of fat quarters based on the art of Charlie Harper. While each fabric is incredibly beautiful, the designs didn't harmonize in any way that I could work into a quilt, so the Charlie Harpers have been stewing in my stash all these months. I had just finished making my second Diane Spencer Ogg "Forever Shopper" , and had returned to the Charlie Harper conundrum when I realized I could use a single Charlie Harper fat quarter as part of a two-toned tote in the small-sized "Forever Shopper" pattern. I used a fat quarter of the " Purple Finch" design from "Best of Charlie Harper" collection by Birch Fabrics to make a  9.5 x 9.5 x 5-inch tote.  I cut the fat quarter into two 11 x 18-inch pieces and sewed the pieces to each side of a 11 ...

 by Alisa There were a couple special birthdays in my family in January 2021 and I made the same pillow gift for both of them!   I had seen Misty Doan of Missouri Star Quilt Co. demo a pillow made from a charm pack and I just happened to have a cat-themed charm pack - Purrfect Day by My Minds Eye for Riley Blake - that was purrfect for a little gift for my cat-obsessed niece. The Missouri Star "Charm Pillow"  tutorial  is for a simple pillow made from 36 squares with the pillow seams sewn using a neat trick that turns the finished blocks on point.   I thought it would be nice to snazz it up with some quilting so I created a six-by-six row pillow-top from the charm pack, and sandwiched the pillow-top with scrap batting that I patched together with this nifty batting tape , and a plain back. Then, I added some machine quilting before following the tutorial instructions for sewing the pillow, and stuffing it with fiber fill . I thought my niece's gi...

 by Linda Theil I loved this fabric from the moment I saw it on the Missouri Star Quilt Co. site, so I ordered a yard, even though I didn't know what I would do with it. It's called "Mother Goose Toss" from the 2019 Goose Tales collection by J. Wecker Frisch for Riley Blake Designs. The fabric put me in mind of the Kay Nielsen illustrations from East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon . My friend Janet said more like Kate Greenaway's Mother Goose illustrations, and she is probably closer to correct. I have been wanting to try the "Forever Shopper" pattern from Diane Spencer-Ogg , but the Spencer-Ogg tote is unlined, and the Riley Blake cotton was too fine to hold a tote shape, yet I couldn't interline it because the interlining would show on the reverse side of the unlined bag. The shopper is a fabulous pattern meant to be made in a heavy waxed cotton, Cordura, or leather, but I didn't have any of that so I decided to use a Wilmington Son...