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Thursday, November 29, 2018

Little Red Deluxe Pincushion

Little Red in the Woods Deluxe Pincushion by Heidi Staples from Sew Organized for the Busy Girl for Fabric Mutt

I get to share one of my favorite new collections with you today: Little Red in the Woods by my talented friend Jill Howarth.


These fabrics . . . oh my goodness . . . the cuteness is beyond words. Not only do they share darling illustrations of the classic story, but this collection also includes some fabulous small scale prints which are just perfect for the tiny patchwork I love to do.

Little Red in the Woods Deluxe Pincushion by Heidi Staples from Sew Organized for the Busy Girl for Fabric Mutt

While I'm stashing these prints for future projects, I knew that I wanted to make a Deluxe Pincushion right away from my book Sew Organized for the Busy Girl. The nine patch block on the front pocket is the perfect place to turn a spotlight on all the sweet details Jill features in her designs, and Riley Blake Designs Swiss Dot in teal made a perfect frame for it.

Little Red in the Woods Deluxe Pincushion by Heidi Staples from Sew Organized for the Busy Girl for Fabric Mutt


I also carefully fussy cut a picture of Red and the Wolf to be peeking over the pocket on the main body of the pincushion. For the tag on the side, I used a bit of twill tape that I had custom printed featuring a design from my upcoming Shortcake collection. I was delighted that it matched the fabrics so well!

I'm completely in love with this project, and it's been sitting on the little shelf above my sewing table where I can look at it every day. Jill's illustrations are always so full of joy, and I love to add more of that to my sewing space with her fabric!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday last week. Thanksgiving vacation was pure bliss at our house. Eating amazing food, sleeping in every morning, getting out the Christmas decorations, spending hours of fun with my beautiful family -- I couldn't have asked for more. It's moments like these that remind you how blessed you really are, and I definitely want to hold that thought close to my heart as we finish out this year and get ready to start a new one.


Thursday, November 8, 2018

Fairy Garden Craft Kit


After months tied up in a crazy busy schedule, I'm so happy to be able to get back into sewing for fun with my friends' beautiful new collections. This week I sat down with a few cute prints from Lori Whitlock's new Fairy Garden line.


These prints are so sweet and girly -- just the sort of thing my daughters love!


For ages now I've been wanting to make a miniature version of the Double-Zip Clutch from my book Sew Organized for the Busy Girl which could work as a craft kit for a child, and this was my chance. I added a few extra slots to the inner pockets for crayons or colored pencils. The pockets are perfect for holding extra goodies or tools like pom-poms, brads, erasers, scissors, washi tape, or glue sticks. Tuck one of these in a bag with a coloring book or sketch pad, and you'll have something to keep a little one busy on everything from a family vacation to an afternoon at Grandma's house. I love quick gifts like this that take me an hour or less to make!

Melissa Mortenson (PolkaDot Chair), Christopher Thompson (The Tattooed Quilter) & me

Speaking of trips, last weekend we headed off to Houston so that I could be at Quilt Market, and what a joy it was to visit everyone there! Getting the chance to see all the new fabrics up close is so much fun, but it's the people that I love most. My husband was a sweetheart and took our daughters to the space center AND the American Girl store while I was working. What a guy. I honestly don't know who had more fun this year -- me or the girls.


My third collection, Shortcake, made its debut in the Riley Blake Designs booth, and I love it so much. I'm counting the days until February when it will be out in the world for all of you to make beautiful things! Be sure to ask your local quilt shop to carry it. I'm so excited to share more with you about the story behind these prints in the months ahead...

If you haven't yet, be sure to hurry over to Riley Blake Designs' Instagram feed (@rileyblakedesigns), where they're giving away a full half bundle of my Date Night collection to one lucky winner. Entries are welcome from all over the world, but the giveaway closes tonight at 9pm MDT, so run -- don't walk -- to get your name in the hat. And definitely stop by the RBD blog here to read a little more about me in their Meet This Maker feature. I had a whole lot of fun answering their prompts for this one!


Happy week to you, dear friends!