Appleton Dance

My friend Kathy S. made this cute appliqued banner for her daughter's wedding this summer. She said: The pinks and green fabrics were just cotton duck fabric. The navy and yellow were outdoor fabrics. I got the design from my computer clip art -- just enlarged it to make it work for the flag and made a pattern from newsprint. . . . The finished dimensions are 29" x 42" but I would add a few inches to both the width and length if I were making this again.

I fell in love months ago with this baby blanket at Aesthetic Nest .  When I found out my sister-in-law was expecting I couldn't wait to make one as a gift.  Because I didn't know the sex of the baby I thought that a navy, white and pale yellow combo would be perfect. I ordered up my supplies from Fabric.com .  One and one-half yards each of  Premier Prints ZigZag Twill Blue , Solid Flannel Navy , Solid Flannel White  and Solid Flannel Yellow . (See also "Cotton chenille" post.) Anneliese's tutorial is great, I followed it exactly...except for the part where I had it quilted by a friend with a long-arm machine after I realized that sewing zigzags across 45" square of thick twill layered with flannel wasn't going to work on my machine. (Thanks Gail!). I layered the white, yellow and blue flannel over the wrong side of the chevron twill fabric and trimmed the whole thing to about 48" square.  Once the quilting was done, it was a snap to sn...

Photo by Alisa Theil Since Alisa bought the patterns for this tote for me, I thought it was only fair to make one for her birthday present. I fell in love with the Ghastlie Family Reunion fabric from The Alexander Henry Fabrics Collection, 2011, especially the gray color option shown here. The bag is lined with Ghastlie Bramble, also in the gray color option -- seen above as the back of two large pockets inset in the front of the bag. I purchased my fabric from Creative Quilt Kits in Brighton, Michigan. The "ghastlie" series is available for $10.90 a yard from their online store at  http://www.creativequiltkits.com/quilt-fabrics/manufacturer/alexander-henry-1.html . The SKU for the fabric I used is SKU: AH-7596B. Alisa purchased the tote patterns for me from Geta Grama's Romanian Quilt Studio website. She bought the "Amalie" and "Belle" patterns, and the "Nicole" pattern was included as a bonus (total cost $19). I received the patter...

I found a hand-drawn pattern for this "Kangaroo Pocket Apron" in my files when I reorganized my  workroom. The directions were typed and signed Linda Theil, 1978. The original called for hemmed edges and ribbon ties. For this version, I made self ties and cut a full facing to finish the top of the apron. I seamed the pocket right side to wrong side and turned the pocket to the front to finish all the edges. This method left a chancy bit where the pocket and the top facing met, but not enough for me to worry about. I think if I made this again I'd just make it with a full lining and a smaller, applied pocket. The apron is generously sized, and can be adjusted to fit all sizes with an adjustable neck tie and wrap-around waist ties. You will need 2-1/4 yards of fabric and a D-ring set for the neck tie. If you want a contrasting pocket and ties, use a different fabric 3/4 yards in length for those pieces. You will also need a bodkin to turn the apron neck tie and waist ti...

I made a set of placemats using the quilt-as-you-go technique that I saw at The Quilt Patch in Tecumseh, Michigan last month. The Quilt Patch models featured a holiday print for the central medallion, but I used a 8-1/4 x 7 teacup block that I pieced using instructions from the "Crazy Little Teapot" quilt in Still Crazy by The Buggy Barn. I used all fabrics from my (recently re-organized) stash to make four 18 x 13 placemats. Materials needed to make one placemat: one central medallion 8-1/4 x 7 inches coordinating backing fabric sized 20 x 15 inches lightweight fiberfill sized 18 x 13 inches iron-on interfacing sized 18 x 13 inches Color A = two pieces 3 x 7 inches Color B = two pieces 1.5 x 7 inches, and  two pieces 15.25 x 1.5 inches Color C = two pieces 2 x 9 inches, and two pieces 18.5 x 2 inches bobbin thread to match backing fabric Recommended: walking foot for sewing machine RST means place fabric pieces with the right sides together Use 1/4-inch s...

With Mother's Day coming I thought that a Fabric Board would be a great gift for the craft room that my Mom has been setting up.  I have wanted one of these...for my many quilting projects...since I saw my friend Alisande's jumbo size one about 10 years ago!    The design board post at Oh, Fransson! was a great help.  I borrowed her idea of using quilt batting instead of flannel, but after skulking around the lumber section of Lowe's on my lunch hour I decided that I wasn't crazy about the foam insulation board as a base.  I headed over to Jo-ann to pick up the batting without a firm plan and found a 36" x 36" stretched canvas on sale and decided to use that.  I think it will be easier to hang and will be sturdier over the long run. Here's how I made mine... Supplies : Mountain Mist Cream Rose 100% Cotton Needled Batting - crib  size 45" x 60"    $9 at Jo-ann after 40% off coupon. Gallery Stretched Canvas - 36...

  A leak rendered my dilapidated kitchen a disaster area beginning the week after New Years and ending April 25. In the process of reconstruction we addressed two dozen issues including demolition of damaged cabinets, painting, patching, new overhead light, new plugs, new counters, new sink and faucet, new Elfa pantry and wall shelving, and total cleaning and reorganization. My friend Janet asked for some pictures of the result, and I hope she is pleased by my offering here. This kitchen is by no means fancy, but every bit of it makes me very happy. I thank Duane from ServPro in Brighton, MI who supervised the construction, all his helpers, and my daughter Alisa for guiding and helping every step of the way. Alisa ordered and installed all the custom Elfa shelving and she recycled and re-purposed several carloads of material from the kitchen reorganization. She made all the hard things seem easy, as always. Thank you, all. Nebby friend Drake Mallard wants to see what's go...