Strawberry Biscuit Blog Hop

I've been looking forward to today's post for so long!

You all know how much I love Elea Lutz's new Strawberry Biscuit collection for Penny Rose Fabrics. I shared my thoughts on her adorable fabric as well as this version of my Stationery Kit tutorial a while back, which I turned into a sewing kit. It's sitting on my bedside table as I type this post, and I love it so much!

But for my stop on the Strawberry Biscuit Blog Tour, I wanted to make a quilt for my girls. They're forever having tea parties with their dolls in our loft, usually pulling a few quilts from the basket I keep near their library for the occasion. I couldn't imagine a more perfect fabric to use for a tea party picnic quilt than this collection. They were so excited about it that my two youngest daughters insisted on keeping me company while I was basting the other day. How I love these girls...

For my pattern, I chose the Scrappy Bear Paw Quilt by Rita of Red Pepper Quilts. (If you don't follow her blog, you need to head over there right now and see what you've been missing. Rita is brilliant in every way!) This tutorial has long been on my Must Make list. I pulled in some Riley Blake low volume dots which paired beautifully with the candy colors of Elea's collection. My quilting is simple, just 1/4" on either side of the seams joining the 36 blocks together. The quilt is backed in a light green print covered in frolicking animals, and I bound it in a cheater print which gives the impression of a scrappy binding.

It's been pouring rain here for most of the week, but the sun came out a bit so that I could take pictures of my quilt hung over the fence surrounding our neighbors' pasture. Spring is filling the air with puffy clouds and the fields with wildflowers. Our first taste of spring in the Texas hill country has been just beautiful, and I'm falling in love with this place more every day.

Be sure to visit my sweet friend Minki today also for her stop on the tour. And tomorrow you'll have to pop over to see what Gina and Kristyne are making. These girls are all so talented! There's lots of Strawberry Biscuit goodness to go around for the next two weeks. So many thanks to Elea and Penny Rose for making it all possible!

Happy sewing!

Tiny Toffee Blog Hop

My friend Susi has been making the most unbelievable paper pieced hexagons for a while now. Some of her patterns are offered free on her blog, while others are sold in pattern sets in her Tiny Toffee Designs Etsy shop right here. She's hosting a blog hop to celebrate the release of her newest set (find all the participants on this post), and I'm so happy to be a part of it today.

The Dream Big Collection includes the adorable elephant above, a swan, a pencil, flying geese, mountains, a star, and a heart. The detail in these is absolutely incredible. I love them so much!

My assigned hexagon was this little trio of flying geese. I decided to pull out my small stash of Liberty prints for this one. Each of the triangles are made from the same floral print, though I highlighted different elements of the design in every one. Making these paper pieced hexies is both harder and easier than it looks. You have to be careful because if your fabrics shift even 1/8'', it can radically change the design, but on the other hand, it's still just standard paper piecing. And the beauty of it is, you don't need much fabric to do it!

I pulled another 6 squares of Liberty for the surrounding hexagons, creating a traditional flower pattern. Between you and me, I noticed a mistake on my center hexagon after I had sewed all these together, so I made another center and just stitched it down on top of the first one, giving the finished center an almost 3-D effect when you see it in person. The entire flower was stitched down onto a square of yarn-dyed linen. I added a crochet lace border using a treasured bit of trim that I received in a birthday package from my dear friend Annabel, and backed the mug rug in another piece of Liberty.

I love this little project. It's sweet and romantic and will look oh so pretty on my sewing table. And I enjoyed working with her pattern so much that I'm scoping out Susi's shop for another set. This one is probably going to be next on my list...just in time for spring.

Bin Caddy (On-the-Go Bags Tour)

**This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations, Gill!**

It's no secret to all of you that I like to keep things organized in my sewing space. And when my friend Lindsay Conner asked if I'd be a part of the blog tour for her new book On-the-Go Bags (co-written by Janelle MacKay), I was excited to find organizational inspiration in those pages. Not only is it full of bags for every use and occasion, but there are also projects that can help you keep your sewing projects organized. After lots of indecision on what to sew, I finally adapted the Cart or Stroller Caddy pattern by Veronica Lovvorn to make the miniature Bin Caddy above. Mine isn't exactly the same as the original, but very close, and I absolutely love the way it turned out!

Veronica gives you both small and large size options for this project, but I made the pattern even smaller (mine finishes at 7.5 x 12.5") so that it could neatly drape over the side of a wire basket that sits at the right hand side of my sewing machine. This basket is where I keep new patterns and fabric that I hope to use on upcoming projects -- sort of like a window display for my newest sewing toys! -- and it makes the perfect place to hang this little organizer, keeping small tools within reach when I need them.

The original pattern adds a strip of velcro so that you can fasten this caddy to a cart or stroller handle, a wonderful addition for those versions but not necessary for mine. In fact, the linen that I used gave it enough weight that I didn't even need to use interfacing. I can't tell you how much I love it!

Be sure to check out this book trailer for On-the-Go Bags where you can get a peek at all the cute projects inside. Above is the original large caddy from the book, but there are plenty more fantastic patterns in there. You can also purchase your own copy right here. 

And yes, we have a giveaway! Leave a comment below before December 15th, and you'll be entered to win a copy of your own. U.S. winners will receive a hard copy; international winners outside the U.S. will get an e-book. Good luck!

Handmade Holidays

Today I'm guest posting over at Ellison Lane for Jennifer's fabulous Handmade Holidays series. I'm sharing more versions of my new Pocket Mending Book Tutorial as well as three of my favorite online recipes for the holiday season.

Take a peek at the fabulous December giveaway she's hosting too. Yep, lots of good stuff going on here. Click on over to check it out!

Roam Blog Hop

***Note: This giveaway is now closed! Congratulations, Katie!***

My friends at Hawthorne Threads invited me to be a part of their latest blog hop this week, and I was able to whip up a fun little pillow with the fabric they sent me from their new Roam collection. Featuring wandering buffalo, prairie landscapes, and a fairly neutral color scheme, somehow these prints manage to be rustic and playful at the same time.

I made this 12 x 12" pillow cover using small fussy cut pieces of fabric that finish at 3" square. Quilting lines are 1/4" on either side of all seams. It's a very simple pattern, but one of my favorites. There's no better way to let the prints speak for themselves.

The pillow backing is Feather Collective in Sage. I really like the details in this print, and that impression of falling feathers has a great sense of movement.

If you'd like some fabric to play with yourself, just leave a comment -- any comment -- at the bottom of this post. International entries are welcome. Hawthorne Threads will be giving away a fat quarter bundle of Roam in the dusk colorway to one lucky winner!

You can follow the other stops on the blog hop below:

Tuesday, December 1st - Fabric Mutt
Wednesday, December 2nd - Coffee + Thread
Thursday, December 3rd - I Love You Sew
Friday, December 4th - Olivia Jane Handcrafted
Saturday, December 5th - Hawthorne Threads

Happy sewing!

Smoothie Block Laptop Case

It's really easy for me to fall into a rut when it comes to block design. Most of the time, I'm perfectly content to just sew together a stack of squares and call it good. When I feel the need for something new, the best way to start is usually by sitting down with a pad of graph paper and my colored pencils, and that's exactly what I did to prep for today's book tour post. 

Picture courtesy of Blossom Heart Quilts

My friend Alyce has just published an e-book called DIY Block Design which is full of tips for creating your own quilt blocks. She covers all the basics of design, particularly the dreaded mathematics that go into quilting. You'll find charts in here that are absolutely priceless, giving you all the math for common shapes like half square triangles and flying geese in a wide range of sizes. If you're a beginning quilter or if you struggle with the numbers, I highly recommend getting a copy of this little e-book. 

Alyce asked if I would talk a bit about my own design process for today's post, so I thought I'd walk you through the development of a project I made this week.

I've been needing a new laptop case for my Chrome Book which we bought earlier this year, and I wanted it to feature a quilt block on the front. After a bit of doodling at my desk the other night, this is what I came up with. I liked the mix of strips and half square triangles, although I wasn't sure about the size of the quilt block. Math seemed to demand a smaller block centered on the case with a border around it, but I wanted the block to be bigger.

After some thought and a bit of time at the cutting table, I settled on this design -- almost the same except that it features four half square triangles in each corner rather than the original nine. For a project this small, I didn't mind settling for fewer but larger squares -- especially when it meant that I could fussy cut bigger pictures from each print. 

This is the fabric stack that I pulled for the project before making alterations to the block, so sadly many of these prints didn't make it into my project. I've saved all the extra squares, though, and I have no doubt you'll be seeing them in the future. I called this fabric audition "Juice Bar" on Instagram, and I've decided to name my new design the Smoothie Block since it reminds me so much of pieces of fruit being spun around by the blades of a blender. Of course, since there's nothing new under the sun, I have no doubt that this block already exists under a more dignified name. That's the reality of quilt design when you come in on the heels of centuries of creativity. But seriously, I'm craving a Strawberries Wild smoothie from Jamba Juice right now as I type this...

I added a strip of black yarn dyed Essex linen to the bottom of the block for a finished look to the case. A large piece from a recent checkered text print by Suzuko Koseki paired with the same linen made the perfect backing, and I lined the case with a sweet floral print by Aneela Hoey from Hello Petal. A button and hair elastic are currently my favorite type of closure for just about any case. It's easy, and it just looks cute. 

I am so grateful to Alyce for pushing me out of my comfort zone to try something new. I adore this little case, and it will be getting lots of use in the coming months. If you'd like to design a block of your own, there will be a link-up at the end of October as well as a weekly challenge on Instagram. Prizes will definitely be involved, and you can get all the details here. Just look at the inspiration that Alyce has lined up this month...

October 1 - Let the games begin!

October 2
Heidi @ Fabric Mutt
Christa @ ChristaQuilts
Angie @ Gnome Angel

Week 1: Inspiration

October 7Ros @ Sew Delicious

Leanne @ Sewn By LeanneAmy @ And Sew We Craft

October 9

Jennie @ Clover & Violet
Jane @ QuiltJane
Melissa @ My Fabric Relish

Week 2: Sketches

October 14

Jen @ Faith And Fabric
Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts

October 16

Sandi @ Crafty Planner
Anne @ Play Crafts
Jess @ Elven Garden Quilts

Week 3: Making

October 21

Joy @ Quilty Joy Joy
Linden @ Vine Lines Quilting
Cassie @ Cassandra Madge

October 23

Keera @ Live Love Sew
Janice @ Better Off Thread
Michelle @ Factotum Of Arts

Week 4: Finishes

October 28
Kelly @ A Place Of My Own
Abby @ Color Bar Quilts

October 30 - Linky opens!

Happy sewing, my friends!

Homestead Jet-Set Case & Giveaway

I'm so happy to be a part of the Homestead Blog Hop for my friends at Birch Fabrics today! Homestead is a sweet new collection by Emily Isabella featuring daisies, blackberries, and a cast of friendly animals in her whimsical depiction of life on the farm. I decided to use my fabric bundle to make a modified version of the Jet-Set Case from my book, Sew Organized for the Busy Girl -- just perfect for a child's school supply pack.

I can't tell you how much I love this collection's color palette. The colors are soft yet modern, and while many of the prints are child friendly, there are several that would be at home in projects for any age level. I made my Jet-Set Case a little different from the original project. The case itself is about 3" narrower, making it easier to fit inside a child's backpack. I also switched out the Velcro fastened vinyl pocket for a simple cloth pocket with no closure, making it a great place to stash a set of flashcards or a pocket journal. The zipper pocket and removable pouch are a nice size for pencils, crayons, erasers, glue sticks, and all the other tools in a typical school kit.

I'm so delighted with how this project turned out, and my three girls are a little jealous that it will be heading off to the Birch Fabrics Quilt Market Booth instead of staying with us!

Meanwhile, Birch is having an incredible giveaway to celebrate the Homestead Collection: 1 yard of each fabric in the collection -- either poplin or knit! You can use the widget below to enter...

Win 1 yard of each print from Homestead by Emily Isabella!

Be sure to visit the other stops on the tour as well. All these talented people have great projects to share with you! 

9/22: Lucky Lucille
9/23: The Fabric Mutt
9/24: Brindille & Twig
9/25: The Crafty Kitty
9/28: SOTAK Handmade
9/29: Brooklyn Pattern Company
9/30: Craft Buds
10/1: Miss Crayola Creepy
10/2: Sew Can She
10/5: Simple Simon and Co.

Happy sewing!

Busy Girl Sews: Ellison Lane Quilts

The Weekend Tourist Mini Quilt is kind of like the Summer Tourist Quilt's little sister. There are times when you just don't want to wait; you've got to play with your scraps and have a finished project to show for it right now. I pulled out some of my treasured Heather Ross prints for this project, and oh, how I love it. A Tim Holtz newsprint fabric makes a great background, and I bound the quilt in a purple dot print by Violet Craft. It's enormously simple, but definitely one of my favorite projects from my book.

Jennifer is sharing her version of the Weekend Tourist over at Ellison Lane Quilts this week. I have so many "firsts" in my sewing career tied up with Jennifer and her blog. Her 2012 charm swap was the first fabric swap I ever joined, and her 2012 Modern Mini quilt competition was the first quilting contest I ever entered with my Retro Kitchen quilt -- you can see that old favorite right here. Jennifer is such an encouraging person, and she has come up with so many amazing ideas over the years for quilting events, both online and in person. Her Sew South Retreat is legendary, and one of these days, I hope to see it with my own eyes! Be sure to stop by her blog to see what cuteness she's done with the Weekend Tourist.

My husband spoiled me with hours of deliriously happy sewing over the weekend so that I could finish up a few projects for Quilt Market this week. I can't wait to show you what I made, so stay tuned!

Busy Girl Sews: She Can Quilt

I am so excited to send you over to Leanne at She Can Quilt for today's Busy Girl Sews post because, oh my word, that girl can quilt! Leanne is a master at modern quilting. Whether she's doing improv work, her own amazing pattern designs, or the simplest patchwork, she seems to turn everything she makes into a piece of textile art. I've known Leanne for years now, and she is truly just as thoughtful as she is gifted. I can't wait for you to see her version of the Brass Ring Pillow!

Thank you SO much to those of you who have left me sweet comments or sent me emails about how much you love Sew Organized for the Busy Girl. What a blessing you are! And my deepest thanks to those of you who have left kind reviews at places like Amazon, which is both encouraging and incredibly helpful. You have no idea how much your words mean to me. I truly can't thank you enough!

Also for those of you who have been sewing along with us for the monthly Sew the Library Link-up, never fear! My sweet friend Martha from Weekend Doings is going to be permanently taking over the link-up starting tomorrow. Be sure to link up any sewing project made from a book or magazine at her blog from the 20th to the last day of each month!

Circa 52 Floor Pillow

When my sweet friends at Birch Fabrics asked me to be a part of their first ever blog hop to celebrate the re-release of the Circa 52 collection by Monaluna, I was so happy to join in. Not only do I remember when these prints came out the first time, but Tree Stripes in Shroom was one of the first designer prints I ever added to my fabric stash as a new quilter. I hoarded it for a while before finally using it to make a bag for Bear, who was then not yet three years old -- and still uses that bag every week, by the way. Just looking at the pictures on this post makes me a little misty as I remember those days when I was trying to balance my new sewing hobby with three tiny little munchkins. How time does fly...

Birch sent me a lovely stack of prints and coordinating solids to play with for this blog hop, all of which I thought would be perfect for making a giant colorful floor pillow. If you've never made one of these, you should definitely give it a try. Floor pillows are an inexpensive substitute for bean bag chairs, and they fit in just about anywhere: the library corner, the family room, even the patio. Sewing up a pillow cover for these is no harder than making a mini quilt and just as much fun. In this case, I sewed together 14 strips, each 2 1/2" x 28", to make the pillow top. The solid strips are all quilted in coordinating Aurifil thread, 1/8" from each long side. It was really fun to use all those different colors of thread on this project, and I love the way it turned out.

I used my favorite Woodland Party print for the pillow backing. Everything about this fabric makes me happy, especially those little strings of rainbow bunting.

If you'd like to win some Circa 52 fabric for yourself, Birch is having a fabulous giveaway on their blog. Visit them here and enter to win a yard of each print in the collection, either poplins or knits. It doesn't get any better than that! Also be sure to visit the other stops on the blog hop:

Monday 1/26: Caroline from Sew Can She

Tuesday 1/27: Heidi from Fabric Mutt

Wednesday 1/28: Anneliese from Aesthetic Nest

Thursday 1/29: Melissa from Lunden Designs

Friday 1/30: Melissa from Brindille & Twig

Monday 2/2: Marte from Companie M.

Have a wonderful week!

Merry Mug Rug Blog Hop

When my friend Jennifer asked if I would be a part of her Merry Mug Rug Blog Hop, I was so happy to join in the fun. A mug rug is just about the perfect holiday project: a quick finish that brings something special to your home in the middle of a busy season.

When I think of Christmas, I think of family photos. My grandmother, who passed away last spring, was constantly pulling out her Polaroid camera when I was a little girl. I was always mesmerized by watching those pictures appear like magic after a minute or two. Grandma loved to scribble notes on the white border at the bottom of the picture and put them up all over her house, especially in her kitchen. The one above was taken by my mom when I was almost four years old, and I love it so much. It's been over a year since I've played around with Polaroid quilt blocks, but I was eager to pull out Karen's great tutorial for my Christmas mug rug. These are so perfect for fussy cutting, and I had just the right fabric in mind: Merry Main Street by Alexander Henry. I love the retro nostalgia of this print!

My polaroids are framed in a white sketchy print by Carolyn Friedlander from Architextures, and the background is lime green linen Mochi Dots which I also used on the back of the mug rug. The piece is bound in a red and white scalloped print from Miss Kate by Bonnie and Camille.

I used red embroidery floss to stitch some scribbled notes at the bottom of each "picture" just as if they were pressed in a family album. The embroidery was all done without any tracing since I wanted it to look like someone really had just dashed off a few notes in a hurry.

This was such a fun project, and though I'd originally planned to give it away, I found that I just couldn't bear to part with it when it was finished. The mug rug is definitely going to be coming out with the Christmas decorations every year from now on!

Jennifer has a wonderful giveaway on her blog for a $30 gift certificate to Southern Fabric which you can enter through December 14. She'll also be sharing more fun mug rugs from other bloggers over the next two weeks, so be sure to check back for more Christmas inspiration. Now I'm off to find some tea and a few more of those cookies...

Ever After Quilt

It feels like the Revenge of the Machines at my house today. My Singer has been fighting with me for a few weeks now, skipping stitches for no apparent reason. I finally had to admit defeat and take it in for a tune-up this morning, getting the sad news that I won't see it again for three weeks due to the holiday rush. Thankfully my sister still has the original Brother machine which first enticed me into the world of quilting three years ago. She brought it over this morning, and I felt downright nostalgic to be sewing with my Old Faithful again. I was able to finish binding the Ever After Quilt which I've been working on all week for my niece as a belated birthday gift. I grabbed my camera to take a few pictures before sending the quilt off with my sister, but of course, the battery was dead since someone (yes, me) had forgotten to turn the camera off the last time it was used. So we'll have to make do with cell phone photos today...

It struck me several weeks ago that Dreamin' Vintage by Jeni Baker and Far, Far Away by Heather Ross have unbelievably similar color schemes. In fact, they look absolutely darling together. The colored patchwork in the middle of this quilt is surrounded by tiny pink La Creme dots by Riley Blake. It's backed in one of Jeni's florals, and I bound it with a great aqua and cream star print from Unicorns and Rainbows by Doohikey Designs.

It all works perfectly together for a little girl's bed, and I was so happy to give this to my niece at last. Since I have two nieces, there will be another one of these in the works as soon as I finish up a few other projects on my list.

A few weeks back I shared Mouse's new seat cushion with you as a part of Riley Blake's Flannel Showcase Blog Tour. If you'd like a chance to play with some flannel yourself, they're giving away some fat quarter bundles here on their Facebook page. You can catch up with the rest of the fabulous blog hop projects at the links below in case you missed them the first time around. My girls are still asking for pajama pants from my leftover Sidewalks flannel. I guess I'd better add those to my list...

9/5 Riley Blake Designs - Flannel Play Dress

9/9 Quiltscapes - Pajama Pants & Pillow

9/12 Fishsticks Designs - Reversible Button Bibs

9/19 The Stitching Scientist - Toddler Nightgown

9/23 Sassy Quilter - Patchwork Dog Bed

9/26 Simple Simon & Co. - Flannel Pajamas

9/30 Fabric Mutt - Seat Cushion

10/3 Just Let Me Quilt - Nightgown & Quilted Cape

10/7 Jedi Craft Girl - Baby Blanket & Burpers

10/10 Rose and Odin - Christmas Pillowcase

10/14 Sew We Quilt - Newborn Nightgown

10/17 Haberdashery Fun - HST Baby Blanket

10/21 Leigh Laurel Studios - Personalized Pet Bed

10/24 Riley Blake Designs - Chenille Baby Blanket & Pillow

10/28 Flannel Queen - City Gym Shorts in Flannel

10/31 Lucy Blaire - The Cora Dress

11/4 Riley Blake Designs Final Post + Giveaway