Appleton Dance

by Linda Theil This month Diane Spencer-Ogg is highlighting some of her quick-and-easy, free patterns for holiday giving . Her no-hardware "Easy Coin Purse Travel Wallet" caught my eye because I thought this little four-by-six envelope would be perfect to feature some of my favorite holiday prints. These festive little purses would be delightful favors holding individually wrapped, hand-wipes for holiday-luncheon guests. The lined coin purse features a large central pocket, a smaller front pocket, and a strap to secure the rounded flap closure. I used 3/4-inch nylon webbing for the strap, but the pattern includes directions for making a strap from coordinating fabric. The pattern pieces for the  Easy Coin Purse  may be downloaded free from the Spencer-Ogg webpage, and a  detailed video tutorial  is available on the Spencer-Ogg YouTube channel. The directions feature topstitching on both pockets, and topstitching around the arc of the closure flap. They also include...

by Linda Theil Ever since I saw Shay Henderson's "Buffalo Check Quilt Pattern" almost a decade ago I have been fascinated by the idea of creating a  trompe l'oeil plaid pattern out of fabrics. I made an original post about this process in 2016 "Buffalo chex patchwork", and a follow-up post in 2023 "The white buffalo" . So in October when I saw a Missouri Star Quilt Company tutorial titled "Make the Mini Plaid-ish Quilt with Erica Jackman" I watched the video,  took notes, and tried to make the plaid quilt top for myself. Jackman gives the measurements and instructions for building the plaid-ish pattern in the Missouri Star tutorial, and complete instructions for the quilt are available to purchase on her website and online retailers. Jackman uses a scrappy approach to her original quilt, but I was afraid my choices would not result in a plaid-ish quilt, so I tried to stick to the buffalo check idea of using three colors: a dark, a ligh...