Appleton Dance

by Linda Theil I saw this block on my friend Kathy Schmidt's Quirks, Ltd. weblog and asked her for the directions. She pointed me to The Joyful Quilter tutorial. This pattern is one of those complex-looking, but easy to sew, Twenty-first Century blocks made by sewing a basic block, cutting the basic block, then sewing the pieces together with other blocks sewn and cut in the same way. I've seen several patterns for a complete quilt using this block offered for sale on the Internet. Although it sounds complex, this technique makes creating a multi-pieced block very fast and easy. I like this block because when sewn in multiples, an unexpected circle appears in the design, as shown below. I put my blocks together in two colors, although multi-colored blocks are beautiful and show a lot of movement. Four blocks cut and sewn in this way make a single circle motif. To make a 16-inch finished, four-block circle motif, each of the four blocks requires three pieces cut from precut-sq...

 by Linda Theil This is a 21x18-inch project-organizer bag with: #5 double-headed, zippered opening; #5 double-headed, zippered, and interlined front pocket; quilted back; see-through, vinyl window; and bound edges. The fabrics for this bag are a selection from the 2020 "Winter Flower Show" collection by Liberty Fabric for Liberty Fabric. The bag was inspired by a Missouri Star Quilt Co. video titled  "Create a vinyl zipper pouch with Misty"   available on YouTube. Follow Missouri Star Quilt Co. video (linked here and below) to make bag; to make my changes see information that follows. I made changes to the bag by increasing the size of the bag to 21 x 18-inches using a fat quarter of fabric, and adding a zippered pocket to the front of the bag. I also used a traditional zipper insertion to the top of the bag instead of the pre-flanged zipper used in the video. Materials needed: two pieces coordinating fabric 21 x 18-inches one piece of batting 20.5 x 17.5-inches...

 by Linda Theil When I saw the "Timber Gnomies" flannel panel by Shelly Comiskey for Henry Glass & Company, I thought the panel would make cute, soft and cozy pillow cases. The gnomies resemble a beloved Swedish tumpta figure that I bought on sale at HomeGoods last year. I made some pillowcases for presents last year and posted a how-to,  "Burrito-style holiday pillowcases" , on this blog that you can use to make pillowcases out of the "Timber Gnomies" panel, too, with the following additional information. The "Timber Gnomies" panel measures 24-inches wide by 40-inches long, but I needed a piece 27 x 40-inches to make a standard-sized pillow case, so I sewed a 5 x 40-inch piece of coordinating fabric from the collection to the right side of the "Timber Gnomies" panel. Four inches would have been fine, but I like to give myself some leeway in my seaming, plus I figured I could trim the length later if it was too long -- better too lo...

by Linda Theil Zo-zo got her own picture book for Christmas this year: Dances with Toads , a compendium of photos taken by her mom and dad during 2020. I used the Blurb BookWright software to produce a print-on-demand hardcover, and a free ebook download available on my Blurb bookstore . You can preview Dances with Toads by clicking on the Book Preview link below: Dances with Toads August & Septe... By Linda Theil Book Preview

by Linda Theil I wanted to make a holiday version of the "Spencer Ogg Cosmetics Pod" that I wrote  about here in September 2020. I love the pattern because it is quick and easy and very clever; and it makes up into a cute pouch that would be good to fill with candy or other treats for an inexpensive, but thoughtful and personal holiday gift. The gift pod could be cut in any pretty holiday fabric, but I had a piece of the "Novelty Gnome Stripe" from Shelly Comiskey's "Timber Gnomies" line for Henry Glass & Co., Inc. that I thought would be cute made up as a gift pod. Using the stripe posed an interesting challenge because the pattern is one-piece, so to make a one-way design work, you have to piece the fabric so that when you fold the pouch into shape all the design elements are right side up in relation to the constructed pod. If you didn't cut and piece the fabric, the design would be upside down on either the front or the back. This is not ...

 by Alisa Last year I inaugurated my new sewing machine with an advent calendar project detailed here .  This year I was inspired by Misty Doan of Missouri Star Quilt Company to pickup another Makower UK panel to make a calendar for my mom.   The panel Misty demonstrated was sold out on MQC and Fabric.com. In October! So I turned to Etsy and picked the panel up from GardeniaFabrics. I started by cutting out the individual pockets and ironing the seam allowance under. I topstitched the upper edge of each and then sewed each pocket to the panel in its assigned spot. Once the pockets had been applied I cut the back from a coordinating fabric --  Andover/Makower UK Scandi 2020 Trees in red -- and ironed the back onto the front with Hobbs fusible batting . I did a little bit of quilting on the piece, outlining the sections for each day. Then I bound it with Kona Cotton yardage in iron . I used cuttings from my binding to add three loops to the top of the calend...

 by Alisa In the last few weeks I've become slightly obsessed with macrame after seeing a wreath project in the 2020 edition of Better Homes and Gardens: Holiday Crafts magazine.  The designer is Anne Cops, she sells these wreaths and many other cute items in her Etsy shop . I remember learning to macrame back in grade school, but I hadn't given it another thought until I saw the wreath and decided I had to get the supplies to give it a try. Now I've made, and gifted, three of them and I think I have gotten them out of my system.  I'll share the supplies list and a few pictures below in case you are interested in giving it a try! Supplies: 5mm Macrame Cord  Natural 5mm Macrame Cord Red 5mm Macrame Cord Green 9" Hoop Beads (optional) Resources: Pattern  "Knotting Thrill" in BHG Holiday Crafts 2020 Basic Knots  with pictures Double Half Hitch tutorial  YouTube I made one plain natural, one beaded natural and one red one.  What will you make?