Appleton Dance

by Linda Theil When I saw the brilliant logo of a new local bakery, I knew I wanted to use it to make a charming bag, so I bought one of their promotional tote bags to deconstruct. I unpicked the entire bag because I didn't know how much, if any, of the tote fabric I would want to use in my reconstruction, and I hadn't, yet, chosen a pattern for the re-build. The logo presented something of a challenge because of its six-by eight-inch vertical orientation. I could have cropped the logo to make it more square, but then I would have lost some of the unique content that makes the logo so distinctive and interesting.  I knew Noodlehead's "Sandhill Sling" had a vertical orientation, so I checked the pattern pieces to see if the logo would work with that design. The sling had only one pattern piece that would work with a feature fabric: the 8-inch wide, by 9.5-inch tall zippered pocket bottom on the front of the sling. There are many ways to make a feature-fabric work ...

 by Alisa I recently saw a social media ad for a Chinese company that sells kits to make DIY leather bags. They send you the leather or vegan leather pieces, and the waxed thread, needles and other items to assemble a version of a popular bag. While I was kind of intrigued by the some of the bags, I decided to start with the DIY version of Hermes' now-discontinued horse charms. I watched a couple YouTube videos on saddle stitching before jumping into the project and found it to be a lot of fun!  After having a great time making the first one I ordered a few more, gathered my faux leather suppliers and setup a kids craft day at Grandma's.  The ten- and 11-year-olds had a great time with the official kit versions and the five-year-old was a wiz at the homemade kit that I cut from vegan leather using the purchased kit as a pattern. You use two-needles on a length of waxed thread to saddle stitch; and they all picked it up so fast! Kid brains are amazing. The success of the ...

Spencer-Ogg "Popping Pods" decorate table at Kentucky luncheon. by Linda Theil Diane Spencer-Ogg's "Perfectly Popping Pouches" seem to have supplanted her "Cos-Pod" as my favorite pouch design for party favors . I just made six of the medium sized pouches for my cousin's holiday luncheon in Kentucky; then made five more for a gathering of friends at the Brighton Bar & Grill in Michigan. Small Spencer-Ogg "Popping Pods" for favors at Michigan party. These small-sized 6 x 4-inch  pouches are made in cottons from the "Christmas Squad" collection by Mia Charro for Free Spirit. The zipper pulls are made from Mora faux leather from Emmaline Bags in Alberta, Canada. The Kentucky-bound pouches are 8 x 6-inch medium-sized "Popping Pouches" made with cotton fabrics from Deb Strain's "Holidays at Home" collection for Moda. They include coordinating wristlets and Mora faux leather zipper pulls. All the pouches...

  by Linda Theil Donate snacks to children experiencing homelessness in Livingston County during LESA's annual Education Project Snackpack Drive. Drop off snacks between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays from November 27 through December 8 at Livingston Educational Service Agency, 1425 W. Grand River Avenue in Howell MI. Snack packs will be distributed to Livingston County children experiencing homelessness during the week of December 11, 2023. What kind of snacks? The sky's the limit, but here are some delicious options: Pudding cups!  Fruit cups! Cracker snacks! Snack sized chips and pretzels! Popcorn! Granola bars! Mini cereal boxes! Instant oatmeal cups! Ramen noodles! Soup! Easy mac! Fruit snacks! Juice boxes! Water! LESA Student Services Specialist Candice Olrich is in charge of LESA's Education Project that serves the needs of county homeless children. She said: "Children who are homeless often have a number of challenges that can cause disruptions to their education. ...

"Auntie Grace" bag sewn by Linda Theil by Linda Theil This "Auntie Grace" bag pattern is available from  Knot & Thread Design. The bag is small -- about 8-inches wide, by 6-inches tall, by 2-inches wide. It is constructed of pre-quilted fabric pattern pieces, and the gusset seams are bound inside the bag. The bag features a full-sized zippered pocket inside, and a full-sized zippered pocket on the exterior back of the bag. It also features a divided slip pocked on the rear interior. A front flap is secured by a swivel hook closure, and directions for an adjustable cross-body strap are included. "Auntie Grace" bag, rear exterior I think the design of the bag is beautifully proportioned, elegant, compact, and very useful. The design concept seems to follow the appearance of the high-end "Grace" leather bag by French fashion house A.P.C.  "Auntie Grace" bag interior I would consider the Knot & Thread pattern to be competently de...

  by Linda Theil Alisa's always cleaning house and often asking me if I want some item I'd given her before she sent it to a new home. I couldn't refuse the holiday-print, round table cloth I had bordered in red pom-poms forty years ago, even though she had slit the cloth to the center so that she could use it as a tree skirt. I decided I would make a holiday-getaway bag from the salvageable remnant. The olive-drab faux waxed canvas I ordered on sale looked really great with the old print. I used Diane Spencer-Ogg's outstanding "Escape Pod Travel Collection" patterns. Pictured below: The holiday themed “Weekend Bag” and "Travel Clutch" in olive-drab faux waxed-duck canvas from Sally Tomato , vintage holiday print exterior and interior, and accents of Mora bordeaux faux leather from Emmaline Bags . Pattern and video tutorial "Escape Pod Travel Collection: Weekend Bag and Travel Clutch" by Diane Spencer-Ogg. Weekend Bag front Weekend Bag bac...

by Linda Theil Sample illustration of Fibonacci blocks as a quilt When Steve asked for a quilt based on the Fibonacci Sequence , I thought it would be easy to create a block constructed on the same principal as a Log Cabin block. I wasn't sure if he wanted one big Fibonacci block, or a more traditional quilt made up of multiple blocks. I realized I could make sample blocks of placemat size to illustrate his options. Fibonacci block placemats with two-inch border measure 20x14-inches To make a Fibonacci block, cut contrasting squares of fabric in the following sizes, as illustrated in the photo below: 1.5x2-inch rectangle 2-inch square 3-inch square 4.5-inch square 7-inch square 11-inch square The yellow line indicates the quilting pattern representing the Fibonacci spiral At least, that's the way I did my block -- based on my computations developing a sequence using the 1: 1.6 Golden Ratio. Alternatively I could have simply added 1/2-inch to the 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 56, 9...