Appleton Dance

by Linda Theil I think this Hedgehog Hollow ensemble is the most beautiful quilt I have ever made. I bought the "Hedgehog Hollow" collection and printed panel by In the Beginning Fabrics in 2022. I began experimenting with the materials soon after discovering Brigitte Heitland's "Christmas Star" pattern designed for her Zen Chic "White Christmas" collection for Moda in 2018.  I fell completely in love with this elegant and complex pattern combining a cross with a ribbon-star motif.  In the meantime, I became intrigued by a kaleidoscope piecing tutorial I saw on the Missiouri Star YouTube channel. I had seen the kaleidoscope technique before, but this tutorial really caught my eye and made me want to give kaleidoscope piecing a try! The tutorial is titled "Triple Play: How to make three new kaleidoscope quilts". I began experimenting with kaleidoscope piecing as a way to highlight the many unique motifs featured in the "Hedgehog Hollow...

by Linda Theil I started this quilt during the Denyse Schmidt Cog + Wheel Sew Along 2022. I made four huge blocks, sewed them together with some black sashing and put them in my unfinished-projects box. I pulled the quilt out this fall and decided it looked great with a wide turquoise border.  With all the sashing and borders, the finished size was about 54-inches square. I sent it off to the Rockin' Bobbins long-armer, and backed the quilt with the flat sheet from a striped flanel sheet set from Target. We used a stem-punk quilting motif to augment the industrial theme. The quilt turned out so strong I thought my grandson would like it for his new basement apartment in his family home. I bought two new pillows for the cases that came with the sheet set that we used for the backing, and included the queen-sized fitted sheet to complete the ensemble.

by Linda Theil This quick-as-a-wink "DIY Gift and Goody Bag" pattern is available at no charge on the Spencer-Ogg website ; and a video tutorial can be viewed on the Spencer-Ogg YouTube channel . This pattern generated so much enthusiasm among Spencer-Ogg afficionados this holiday season that Diane Spencer-Ogg released a  "MORE sizes for the DIY Gift and Goody Bag"  auxiliary pattern with an extra-small, and a large addition to the  small and medium sizes available in the initial release. This raw-edge design can be made in a wide variety of materials. My sample shown above is the size small, measuring about three-inches-square when finished. The material I used is from a Cricut brand sampler of pebbled, faux leather that is made from polyurethane. I pulled this product from a stashed package that may no longer be available in this format or design. Be aware that your material will need to be cut almost three times the width of your finished project. In other words,...

by Linda Theil Okay, I've made a LOT of these little tiny backpacks, and they are a lot of work! Even in my stripped-down version of Carolina Little Stitches' "Bitty Bug Pack" pattern there are 20 separate pattern items that have to be cut, fused, clipped, and sewn --.not least of all, that darn gusset! But since I went completely bonkers over Mia Charro's "Christmas Squad" collection for Free Spirit Fabrics, I had to justify the purchase by actually using the fabric. Initially I thought the absolutely great "multi panel" animals could be used for the front of the little bag, but the individual animal portraits were too big, so I ended up using an all-over print from the collection. I fussy-cut the animals for each of the nine minis I decided to make for holiday luncheon favors. I also fussy-cut the backpack backs from another print in the "Christmas Squad" collection. The photo below shows one of the fussy-cut back pieces; each back ...

by Linda Theil  I recently completed the second of a pair of "Plover Pouch" bags designed by Anna Graham of Noodlehead Sewing Patterns. The pattern includes three pouch sizes -- the medium and large sizes feature an interior, zippered pocket. I made both of my pouches in the medium size that is about ten-inches wide by eight-inches high, and has a generous four-inch-wide base. The design incorporates a distinctive zipper installation with riveted zipper ends that attach to the sides of the bag. My first "Plover Pouch" was made with a novelty cotton print, and a gusset and zipper tabs of Mora faux leather. I made a second pouch with cotton from the "Best of Morris -- Fall" collection from Moda in 2020. The gusset and lining are from the "Seedling" collection by Katarina Roccella for Art Gallery Fabrics published this year.

by Linda Theil In a post-Thanksgiving frenzy for all things pumpkin, I searched Fanny Farmer for a pumpkin bread recipe, but no luck. So I turned to the original 1979 Dutilh First United Methodist Church Cookbook , and of course, there on page 225 was Sharon Cox's "Pumpkin Nut Bread". I reduced the recipe size and changed a few things -- like using butter instead of oil since the only oil I had on hand was olive oil, and replacing the water with juice; and, oh, yeah, adding extra spice and chocolate chips! Turned out pretty tasty! Thank you, Sharon Cox, and thank you 1979 editors of the best cookbook in the whole world! Pumpkin Chocolate-chip Nutbread adapted from Pumpkin Nut Bread recipe by Sharon Cox, p. 225 original Dutilh First United Methodist Church Cookbook , 1979 Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Grease, and line standard loaf pan with parchment paper. Sift together in large bowl: 1-1/2 cup plus three tablespoons all purpose flour 3/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp freshly grated nu...

Comet A3 photo by Abhijit Patil, San Mateo, CA, Oct 2024 by Linda Theil What it was like in the United States the week before the 2024 election? Here in Michigan, it is the most magnificent autumn ever. The air, the light, the mottled sky, the russet, ochre, olive landscape, woodsmoke, langour, and anticipation -- all speak of an iconic, Platonic ideal October. Every hour is an omen of final beauty. Like the dinosaurs awaiting the comet, we creatures here in Michigan feel deep in our bones an uncanny forboding of the end of the world as we know it. We even have our own comet to dream on.

by Linda Theil  I saw a Shabby Fabrics advertisement for a mug rug with an autumn leaf motif made from a scrappy bear-paw block that was so cute I had to try it for myself. I watched the advertisement video for the mug rug kit, and I looked up a free bear-paw pattern on the Fat Quarter Shop site.  One of the tips from the video was to use a design board to keep your bear-paw pieees organized and placed correctly. I used my cutting mat as the design board for my prototype. But you can also make a quick and easy design board by clipping a piece of batting to a large clipboard. Shows makeshift design board  with design from another project. I gathered up some autumn colored and themed scraps and cut out the following pieces to make my bear-paw/leaf mug rug. My final mug rug is smaller than the one in the video; mine turned out to be 13 x 7 3/4-inches. Cut for mat: backing 15 inches wide x 8-inches high front 6 inches wide by 8 inches high batting 15 x 8-inches 1.5 yards 1-...

 by Linda Theil I needed to make a heart block, and I could have just done a nice raw-edge applique, and that would have been fine; but, I wanted to make something with a little more heart in it. I thought I might have a paper-pieced pattern for a heart, so I pulled out my paper-piecing box and, sure enough, there was a nice heart I had downloaded free from the Crafty Gemini site on the Internet. I even had several made-up samples in my box, and they looked very nice so I decided to paper piece my heart block. This pink and gray heart was one of my samples made using the paper-piecing pattern from Crafty Gemini. I really like paper-piecing. My problem is that years ago I took a paper-piecing class from Kathy Groves who taught us how to work on one side of the pattern without all the flipping back and forth that seems so troublesome to me. But I can't actually remember from one time to the next how to do it correctly. So while I was putzing around with this heart pattern, it occurre...