Welcome Easter Friends!

Meet three adorable Easter Friends from SEW 4 HOME!

Cuddly Cat, Funny Bunny and Eggy-Pop!

(A trio of stuffed animal friends by Alicia Thomas and Kathy Andrews.)

"We combined nubby chenille with the smooth, retro-inspired cotton of Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane for a sweet and soft vintage look, like treasured toys you might have found in Grandma's attic. We're reintroducing them to you today because we think they would make the perfect Easter basket pals. "

The pattern/tutorial is laid out beautifully with step by step directions with pictures!

I love the fabric selection, the chenille is adorable. They are truly one-of-a-kind. Each set of instructions gives the list of the supplies you need to make an exact duplicate.

Come along.....Sew A Little Happiness!

I want to make some! I have some pink chenille fabric scraps!

You can find the Tutorial HERE!

Have a beautiful Spring Day!

Brenda

Hippity Hop, It's Easter On It's Way!

Here is a fun idea for a FESTIVE and FUN Easter Table!

Bunny Shaped Dinner Napkins

If you LOVE to SEW, you may have a lot of seasonal fat quarters in your stash!

For special occassions and celebrations-

I will turn my fat quarters into dinner napkins.

I simply sew two fat quarters (right sides together), leave a opening and turn, sew the opening closed and press.

The Best Tutorial found HERE. (Good Housekeeping)

I've made these bunny napkins, they really work!

Tip: Use light weight napkins/fabrics and starch(optional) your napkins before you fold. Beautiful Flower Garden Inspiration from Hostessblog.com

The glass jars with colors of pink and beautiful flowers welcome Spring!

Inspiration is all around us!

Sew On!

Enjoy!

Brenda

Sewing with Precuts

Recently, I found this wonderful publication by

Better Homes and Garden Special Interest Publications.

The magazine features quilts from fat quarters, strips and squares.

There are 22 Quick-to-cut quilts, fat quarter throws, and sew much more!

I'm a big fan of precuts!

This is one of my first quilts that I created with precuts. It was fun to make! I can relate to a beautiful stash of fabrics! This quilt was made with fabric scraps from a charm pack and jelly roll by Moda/Simplicity.

I love the simplicity!

The beautiful precut fabrics that come in a collection

are hard to resist!

The CREATIVE process is so FUN!

When I started making bags,

I started with five inch charm packs.

The fun part of this doll quilt was mixing precut fabrics!

I started sewing from my precut fabric scraps, which were fabric scraps from

the same Moda collection-layer cakes, charm packs and jelly rolls .

I placed chenille on the back,

and trimmed the doll quilt border with rick rack.

In the end, I was happy to have something FUN for my little daughter who
loves to play in the land of make believe

and I love to play in the land of Fabric!

The children's Tote Bag was made with 2 1/2 inch jelly roll strips.

This little girls TWIRLY REVERSIBLE skirt is one of my favorites!
I want to make more!
The fabrics are made from a Mary Engelbrite Charm Pack!

Precuts make it Simple to Sew A Little Happiness!
Sew Happy you are visiting!
Come back soon!
Hall or Nothing Creations

A GREAT FIND

This is a great "reference tool" to have around.

I found this book a couple of months ago.

It has become a handy resource to have around.

It answers many questions.... and the layout is

simple and easy to follow.

It has charts for cutting half and quarter-square triangles.

for example: if you want your half square triangle to be 5 inches... instead of doing the math

refer to the chart and you know that you need to cut your square 5 7/8.

It has yardage for bindings, borders, quilt backing and many more.

It can be ordered from their website:

www.ctpub.com

They also have it available as an e-book

Which can be downloaded as a pdf and you can start reading it instantly.

Its a great find!

Have a great day.

Annie Moore

HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE YOUR SEWING SPACE?

Is it just a fact of life that

no matter how many times you organize your sewing space

it will only last a very short time?

I can only hope that someday, this picture could be my sewing room.

We are interested in tips that help to keep things in order

so everyone can spend more time sewing.

Share your ideas with all of us.

Let us know what has and hasn't worked for you.

Tell us what you have found to be helpful to you.

We love to hear your ideas.

Something New To learn Everyday

We are all learning something new in the world of sewing and quilting!
I find inspiration all around me and something to learn daily.

Do you agree?

The best way to learn how to sew and quilt is to dive in!

It's OK to unpick, it's OK to mess up, it's OK to create something that you may find frustrating.

My kids remind me:

"If at first you don't succeed, try-try again!"
(Isn't it funny-what our kids teach us through life?).

You will learn, and the best way to learn is by DOING!

I keep telling myself, there are no police here, no one is going to give me a ticket for

sewing incorrectly or imperfections.

Freedom is in the world of sewing.

You may not feel it at times, but it really is!
Don't over whelm yourself, Create what you love!

During the February Giveaways, we had several comments about

quilting measurements of layer cakes, charm packs and so on.

Here are some helpful quilting measurements.

1 yard of 45 " fabric measures approx. 36" X 45"
1 yard of 54" fabric measures approx. 36" X 54"
Fat Quarter bundles: contains one of each print in a collection or a set
number of fat quarters that measure approx. 18" X 22"
Charm Pack: Contains 42 squares-Each Charm square is 5" X 5"

The following measurements pertain to Moda's Pre-cut fabric that you will see

in quilt stores everywhere! This information is helpful!

Dessert Roll: Contains 10 strips that are 5" X 45"

Honey Bun: Contains 40 strips-Each strip is 1 1/2" X 45"

Jelly Roll: Contains 40 strips-Each strip is 2 1/2" X 45"

Layer Cake: Contains 42 squares-Each Layer Cake square is 10" X 10"

Turnover: Contains 80-6" triangles(two of each print in a collection).

I love the Layer Cake fabrics, they are my favorite. If you have a fabric collection
that you LOVE, you can show off your fabrics in a simple way and bring a lot of
color and design to your Home Decorating.

I also love the simplicity of layer cakes.

This Fall Quilt was made with a Layer Cake.

I purchased my layer cake from Material Girl Quilts(see previous post).

One of my Favorite stores in Utah!

The fun of picking out fabric is having a sister that loves it as much as I do!

Annette and I like to find layer cakes and sew them together in one day, usually late at night.

Pepsi and laughter is key to staying awake!

Of course, Annette will drink water.

She is the healthy one. You will find her eating oatmeal and toast for breakfast.

I won't say what I'm having.

Sometimes, she will break down and have a Pepsi, but it is rare.

Sisters are fun!

I'm lucky to have three!

The Birds Sing Good Morning

Hello Friends!
How do you do today?

Do you remember the Bird pattern I posted a few weeks ago?

I tried the pattern and I must say, I'm sewing up a flock!
They are super easy and so FUN to make!
I'm going to make a Spring Easter Tree with my birds.
My kids have picked their favorite fabrics from my fabrics scraps.

My boys are wanting flames, motorcycles and all that boy stuf
It's kind of funny!

My youngest daughter picked the pink polka dots with ABC's
My tree will certainly have personality!

Have a beautiful day from the Leafy Treetops!

Brenda

Thank you for your cupcake orders!

Links:

Craft-O-Maniac

Tip Junkie Handmade

Fun Friday

If your ever visiting northern Utah, You might want to take a day and visit some of the many quilt shops. Utah is very lucky to have so many wonderful shops.

Here are just a sampling of what there is in northern Utah.

I know southern Utah has some great shops also.

Gratitude to all the shop owners.

Your time and talents are very much appreciated.

Thimbles and Thread Quilt Shop

12215 S 900E

Draper, UT

They have cute ideas and do a lot with Block of the Month kits.

http://www.thimblesandthreads.com/

Material Girls Quilt

1645 West Towne Center Dr #4

South Jordan, UT

This is a fun store. They are always getting new fabric and patterns.

A fun place to visit.

TheMaterialGirls

Quilters Haven

583 W 2600 South

Bountiful, UT

They always have beautiful quilts on display.

http://www.quiltershaven-ut.com/

Village Dry Goods

96 South Main

Brigham City, UT

A fun place to visit. They have so many cute projects.

The ladies who work there are nice and fun.

It is a pleasurable experience to shop there.

http://villagedrygoods.com/

Cornwagon Quilts

303 East 400 South

Springville, UT

Corn wagon Quilts

It is a relaxing feeling to visit here.

The ladies are nice.

The store and the quilts are pleasing to the eye.

I could spend hours there.

Elaine's Quilt Block

6970 South 3000East

Salt Lake City, UT

They have fun and cute projects.

They have a great room for classes.

It is a great place to have your quilt quilted.
http://www.elainesquiltblock.com/

June 15-18, 2011 are the dates for the Utah Shop Hop.

We have 15 shops along the Wasatch front that participate in this shop hop.

It is always so fun.

There are prizes and fun and games.

And did I mention it is fun!!

All 15 shops are amazing.

http://www.utahshophop.com/

Simply Sweet Cupcake Pin Cushion Pattern

Simply Sweet Cupcake Pattern Available!

Hard Copy, Free Shipping!

Hall or Nothing Creations.etsy.com

A Fun project for crafting and quilting friends! Simple to make, minimal sewing,
and ZERO CALORIES! Have a "Sweet" Day!

Created By: Hall or Nothing Creations

Welcome March, Welcome New Sewing Projects!

Welcome Friends!
It's a new month, a new day, and spring is blooming! I feel a new sense of renewal and change with spring in the air! I'm working on decorating projects in my home, as I mentioned in my previous post! I start to move things around, it's a domino effect. I find it hard to find a stopping point. I've made a goal to finish my dining room before my son returns home from his mission (my number one excitement for the year!) With that excitement, I feel energy! So, here I am sewing away!

I'm excited about some of the changes I've made. I'm finally getting to my "Decorating To Do" list that has needed my attention.

My inspiration was drawn from my Mother's French Provincial Dining Room set. The treasured French Provincial Dining Room set was originally my Grandmothers, from 1955.

It all started with two lamps that I found in February while shopping with my daughters. I knew the lamps would bring the finishing touches that I love; such as canvas, a touch of black, and a lot of floral with geometric patterns.

I found my fabrics for my windows at JoAnn's in the drapery/fabric section. I've had my drapery hardware hanging for a few years(I hung Christmas garland around the rods through the winter months).

The drapery valances are lined, the border trim is 4 1/2 inches wide and the valances are 26 inches wide. I made a 2/1/2" rod pocket for the drapery rod. I think valances are pretty simple to make, if you can sew a straight stitch, you are on your way!

Side note: I added black ribbon to the lamps and also used it for the binding on my table runner. The table runner was created with a canvas duck cloth fabric, similar to the fabric on the lamps. I added the coordinating ruffles to hang on the sides of the buffet.

It's all a work in progress! Next, I'm going to recover the chairs and find a area rug and do something fun with the table top! I must say it's truly brought a little happiness to my dining room! If you are beginning to Sew, it's worth your time! Be patient, start with simple projects, you will be amazed at what you can CREATE!

A tribute to Mother!

Have a beautiful day everyone! Spring is coming! What projects are you working on?

Links:

Brandy's Crafts Gluesticks