Appleton Dance

by Linda Theil Jess on the Oklaroots YouTube channel created a video titled, "The cutest bag I've ever made! The Bitty Bug Pack -- Carolina Little Stitches will have you OBSESSED!" I ordered the PDF "Bitty Bug Pack" pattern from Carolina Little Stitches, and the pattern included a link to another sew-along with The Crafty Reporter . While the pattern is comprehensive and nicely presented, inexperienced crafters will find the videos very useful. The pattern includes many options and features to make the tiny 3.5x4.5x1.5-inch backpack an ideal copy of the real thing, but I stripped mine down to basics, eliminating straps and exterior pockets and trims. I am not normally a fan of creating tiny things, but Jess at Oklaroots was right, I am obsessed. My version of the tiny backpack includes a single, exterior loop and D-ring that can carry a carabiner or wristlet; and a single interior slip pocket that can include a feature badge or label.  The bag is finished by b...

by Linda Theil Tools and a toolbox are essential elements to any creative endeavor; that's why the Livingston Educational Service Agency plans to distribute 1500 backpacks full of learning tools free to Livingston County schoolkids on August 8, 2024. The agency is in the midst of their 23rd annual "Fill-a-Backpack for Kids" project. "For this project to be a success, we need your support," said project coordinator Robin Schutz of Great Start Livingston. "We need school supplies and backpacks -- supplies can be dropped off 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday at LESA, 1425 W. Grand River Ave. in Howell, Michigan until August 2, 2024."  Alisa and I have supported the project since it began and this year we are filling 12 backpacks with colored pencils, crayons, pink erasers, folders, glue, highlighters, markers, paper, pencils, pens, rulers, scissors, spiral notebooks, handmade pencil cases for our Livingston County learners! This year the pencil ca...

by Linda Theil I participated in the Arabesque Scissors "Focus Finder" sew-along last week. The sew-along runs through July 5, 2024. The free pattern for the "Focus Finder" notepad cover is available from the Arabesque Studio blog post "Sew your own notepad cover: Introduction to the Focus Finder". Australian designer Ali Phillips created the design and the sew-along curriculum in her own precise and delightful style. We reported here on Phillips' mini-sewing kit pattern, "Travelers' Sewing Book" in our post "Henya, I made a book!" I enjoy making Phillips' projects so much, I made two examples for the "Focus Finder" sew-along. For my first example I used fabrics by watercolor artist Tracy Lizotte for Elizabeth Studio. Arabesque "Focus Finder" #1 in Tracy Lizotte watercolors Interior Focus Finder #1 Back "Focus Finder" #1 My second "Focus Finder" featured a cover fabric from the "...

by Linda Theil This "Christmas Star" quilt-block pattern was a free download from the Zen Chic website. The pattern was designed by German designer Brigitte Heitland. The block is similar to other patterns that feature a central cross with squares and half-square triangles in the corners. This Zen Chic pattern makes a 15-inch block, but I wanted to make a ten-inch block; resizing was pretty simple. Although, when I make the block again I will trim my half-square triangles to make sure they are the correct size for the smaller block. For my star block I used fabrics from the "Hedgehog Hollow" collection by In the Beginning Studio. I might pair the star blocks in a quilt with kaleidoscope blocks using the animal motifs from the "Hedgehog Hollow" fabrics. I learned to make these easy, four-piece kaleidoscope blocks from a Missouri Star Quilt Company free video-tutorial "Triple Play: How to make three new kaleidoscope quilts" published on YouTube i...

by Linda Theil Emerson needed a capacious sling to carry her birding book and art materials in the field. We thought the "Haralson" sling would be large enough for all her necessities without being cumbersome. She chose a fabric from my stash that features delicate paintings of birds in their nests -- a serendipidous find!  The drawings from a panel of 12 bird houses painted by watercolor artist Tracy Lizotte were just the right size for the Haralson back zippered pocket and front flap. Small fussy-cut figures from the all-over print fit perfectly on the strap-carrier flaps on each side of the bag. The bird-house fabric was printed by Elizabeth's Studio. LLC. I think it is an older printing because Elizabeth's Studio does not feature the bird-house panel on their website. For lining, Emerson chose a brown-speckled print from the "Gnome & Garden" collection by Susan Winget for Wilmington Prints. This is a sturdy, little bag that I hope Emerson finds us...

by Linda Theil For my first foray into Noodlehead's "Haralson" crossbody design, I decided to remake a market tote my cousin gave me as a gift bag filled with gifts from the Ohio Artisan Collective . The logo on the tote was a perfect size for the Heralson's zippered back-pocket, so I thought I'd give this new-to-me pattern a try. After cutting the logo to the pocket size, I used the remainder of the tote fabric for the bag body and added cottons from Brigitte Heitland's Zen Chic "Filagree" collection for the lining and strap. I made the contrast front-flap closure with Mora faux leather from Emmaline Bags in Alberta, Canada. The bag is meant to be turned through an opening in the front flap, but I opened the bottom of the interior zippered pocket in order to turn the bag through that pocket, instead -- after stitching around the entire bag before turning. And that worked out fine. The bag features inverted pleats at the bottom corners to give it ...

by Linda Theil I made this buckskin sling for my friend who is a bowhunter; this is buckskin from a deer he hunted. I imagine him using this bag while he is working in his epic garden. I didn't have enough buckskin to make the entire "Clamshell Sling" by Spencer-Ogg designs, so I combined the buckskin with a Mora faux leather from Emmaline Bags in Alberta, Canada. I stabilized the very flexible buckskin with Pellon "Fashion Fuse" a very light-weight, low-temperature fusible made especially for leather, fur, and faux leather construction. In a way, I was glad to combine materials because I learned that my very useful and inexpensive Jenome HD is not really up to all-leather construction. I had to remake the original buckskin slip pocket on the back of the sling because my machine couldn't sew all those layers of buckskin. The sling is lined with cotton from Sarah Sczepanski's "Rust and Bloom" collection for Free Spirit Fabics. The construct...