Laminated Cotton

This is great for tablecloths, totes, beach bags, baby changing mat, baby bib, apron, rain coat....
It is water resistant and will drap nicely.
Sew with a teflon foot or a roller foot.
Can use silk pins or use paper clips to keep layers together as you sew pull out the paper clips.

Wipe using a soft cloth with mild soap and water or a gentle surface spray cleaner. Do NOT Machine Wash or Tumble Dry
Laminated fabric may ONLY be ironed on the WRONG side, using a dry iron on a low/cool setting. Be careful not to touch the laminated coating with your iron.
Or a pressing cloth can used as a barrier between the iron and the lamnated surface on a low setting.
• You don’t need to straighten the grain on laminated fabric. It doesn’t shift because of the coating.
• Do NOT use fusible interfacing with laminated fabric. The combination of the moisture and the heat from the iron will wrinkle the front of your material.
• The laminated coating will keep the raw edges from fraying.
• When sewing your fabric pieces together use a longer stitch length (3mm or larger). Shorter stitch lengths create too many holes and can weaken the seams.
• Stitch slowly as you gently guide your fabric through your sewing machine to help keep it from puckering. If the fabric
begins to pucker in front of your presser foot, stop, and use the hand wheel on your machine to walk your needle through the small pucker.
• Once you sew a seam, open up the panels and finger press the seam allowances to one side. Then turn the panels over to the RIGHT side and edge stitch close to the seam catching the seam allowances underneath. This will make the seam lay flat and look neat and finished.
caring for and storing your projects
• To avoid permanent wrinkling, do NOT fold your fabric or projects when storing them.
• To store a bag made from laminated fabric, use tissue paper and stuff the inside of the bag. Place it on a shelf or hang it from its handles on a hanger.
• To store clothing, hang it on a padded hanger. This will help prevent creases and wrinkles. Take care not to allow the ends of your hanger to stress the fabric at the shoulders.
• Your project or clothing can be “de-wrinkled” by laying it out in the desired shape. You can also de-wrinkle your project by running a hair dryer back and forth across the wrinkles. Be sure to use a low setting and do not to touch the laminated coating.

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

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!

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