Appleton Dance

by Linda Theil I have been following the Fat Quarter Shop's "Sewcialites 3" free, sew-along currently running on their social media and website. It's a really good program with a new designer block every week demonstrated by shop owner Kimberly Jolly on the Fat Quarter Shop's YouTube channel .  I became intrigued by a really intricate block debuted on week #13 titled "Back Porch" by designer Joanna Figueroaof Fig Tree & Co. I came up with my own coloring ideas, and went to my scrap bin to find some options for making the block. Since my scraps were small, I settled on making the six-inch block, although I usually don't sew such small blocks. All I needed to get started was a 2.5-inch feature square for the middle and I was off to the races. My design board in the photo is a stretched canvas replica of my grandson's artwork presented to me for my birthday in 2021. I filled in the back of the board with batting and held the batting in place w...

  by Linda Theil I pulled leftover lakeside prints from my stash to make a trio of mini-backpack favors for this year's trip to Sterling State Park on Lake Erie in Monroe, Michigan. Alisa made the prints last year on her ink-jet printer as described in the AppletonDance post "Sterling goodie bags" . I used the same "Bitty Bug Pack" pattern by Carolina Little Stitches that I used last year. (Their web site is currently shuttered.) I gathered some Tilda scraps to make the backs and gussets for this year's backpacks. There is a tiny slip pocket inside. Happy camping! Resources The Oklaroots YouTube how-to video: "The cutest bag I've ever made! The Bitty Bug Pack -- Carolina Little Stitches ..."

by Linda Theil  I bought Lori Holt's "Calico Home Decor Zippy Bags 2 Project Panel" in 2021 because the panel was printed on canvas instead of quilt cotton, and I thought that was an interesting innovation.  Although the idea of project panels was not new -- books, aprons, oven mitts, and placemat panels had been available for decades -- but bags! That was new and interesting, especially on a heavier substrate.  I  recently pulled the Lori Holt panel from my stash when I was looking for inspiration for a welcome gift, but I thought the "Calico" panel was much too elaborate for the simple zipped pouch as featured on the panel, so I searched for a pattern that would make the most of the intricate designs.  It turned out the large bags on the panel perfectly fit the front and back pattern pieces of the large-sized "Plover Pouch" by Noodlehead; and I could make a "Calico" duo by using the small-sized bag from the panel for a coordinating baby ...

by Linda Theil Our little May-the-Fourth birthday girl has forsaken penguins for bees, so I made her a sleep-over bag using a 2020 fabric panel titled "Bee Grateful" by Deb Strain for Moda. I have made this Spencer-Ogg design from the  "Escape Pod Travel Collection"  several times. The "Weekend Bag" measures 16x11x6-inches and is meant to meet airline carry-on requirements.I think it makes a nice overnight bag. With a sturdy interfacing the weekend bag has a solid structure; but I was interested in trying iron-on fleece as interfacing throughout the bag this time. The softer underpinning gives the bag a shabby, slouchy look that I think goes well with the insoucient bees. To accent the silvery grays in the bee panel, I chose a silver zipper and hardware. The pattern features optional non-woven accents such as zip ends, zip pulls, a bottom gusset-overlay, decorative zip placket overlays, and a front pocket overlay strip. For these elements I used a rich hon...

by Linda Theil Knowing my predilection for product advertising bags, a good friend gifted me with the packaging from her Michigan-made, American Spoon pancake mix. Following in the footsteps of other repurposed packaging -- like the slings I made of Starbucks coffee bags -- I made a Kandou "Mini-traveler Sling" out of the American Spoon canvas bag my friend gave me. With the addition of cuts from the "Apple Festival" collection by Jane Shasky for Henry Glass & Co. I widened the American Spoon bag enough to create the front and back of my mini-sling. I highlighted the advertising on the front and back of the American Spoon bag by making the front zippered pocket zip in a straight line across the top of the bag front instead of diagonally as shown in the pattern. I used the back of the American Spoon bag to make a large slip-pocket on the back of the sling, instead of creating the vertical, zippered pocket described in the pattern. I used an ivory cotton from m...

by Linda Theil Tina Sharapova of JTS Design posted her textile labyrinth, fidget-toys on the Labyrinth Makers FaceBook forum recently, inciting me to try my hand at making my own finger labyrinth out of fabric. My first venture is an 8-inch-square, log-cabin-pieced design with a three-cycle labyrinth stitched over the piecework, and a 5/8-inch button sewed inside to act as a game piece. Log-cabin-mouse fidget, front Log-cabin-mouse fidget, back To make your own three-cycle labyrinth fidget, you will need: Materials for three-cycle labyrinth fidget: 8-inch square cotton for backing 8-inch square iron-on fleece 2.5-inch square cotton for log-cabin center square variety of 1.5-inch-wide strips of cotton for log-cabin "logs" 5/8-inch button or bead  Proceedure 1. Beginning with your 2.5-inch square, sew ten 1.5-inch-wide strips of fabric to center square, alternating in log-cabin quilt-block style. Note: I cut my strips a little wider than 1.5-inches and that is why my block is ...