Christmas Fun

Sewing Fun  for Christmas

It's never " too early " to get something made for the holidays, right?!

Today,  some fabulous new  paper pieced patterns for the winter season are being released by Janeen, of Quilt Art Designs!!  It's all in the latest edition of that fun pattern-filled  digital magazine , called " Paper Piecing 1/4 " . "   ( Oct-Dec 2016 issue #11 available here )   Click  HERE on this  link to see what  delightful patterns are in this  issue!

Issue #11  Oct - Dec 2016  {here}

The first block I made up from this new issue #11 :  Candy Cane Pencil

Paper pieced Candy Cane Pencil block    designed by Quilt Art Designs
from the new issue #11 " Paper Piecing 1/4" "  magazine

I had fun laying out and playing with this cute candy cane pencil block... I think I may sew up a cute QADesigns Christmas mini quilt with some Christmas blocks from  prior  PP 1/4"  digital magazines!

I machine embroidered the "Merry Christmas" on the  green fabric

There's a smaller candy cane with a bow ... an older pattern

There's some cute possible layouts here! 

I'll show you how I end up using the Candy Cane Pencil block , after it is all done!

Another block from the new magazine:   Cat Helper


What a cute pattern !!  I made mine into a big pillow!

Cat Helper block... made into a pillow

Of course, my own little Cat Helper had to check out the new pillow!!

Hmmm,  that kitty looks familiar.... 

I made a covered zipper for the pillow back. I love this holly and bells fabric... I am a ringer in our church's hand bell choir!  

Back of pillow

I had  such fun making these holiday blocks!  Maybe you , too, will find something you can enjoy making before the holiday rush !

I'm off to my sewing room!

Linking up at:    

                        Ho, Ho, Ho and on We Sew   @ Celtic Thistle Stitches   and 

                         Can I Get A Whoop Whoop ! @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict  and

                           Let's Bee Social  @  Sew Fresh Quilts  and

                           Finish It Up Friday  @  Crazy Mom Quilts   and 

                           TGIFF  @ Celtic Thistle Stitches   and

                            Fabric Friday Frenzy  @ Fort Worth Fabrics Studio  and 

                          Finished or Not Friday  @ Busy Hands Quilts

Pattern provided by QAD Publishing

The "Sew The Rainbow" Quilt Finish

 "Sew The Rainbow" Quilt

I am so excited to share my finished "Sew The Rainbow" quilt with you!

Sew The Rainbow quilt -
Pattern by Kristy at Quiet Play 

Quilt Details:

Pattern-  Sew The Rainbow   by Kristy at Quiet Play  {here}
               - a paper pieced pattern

Aurifil Spool pattern:    by Charise Creates {here}, from  the Splendid Sampler.
             
Size-    41" x55"  approx.

Fabrics-   Mimosa  by Windham fabrics,  a fat quarter bundle
               Line Dried- by Connecting Threads for the background fabric

Thread-  Aurifl #2021  50 wt. for quilting

Quilting-   Horizontal straight lines, one inch apart, using the walking foot

Batting-  Warm and Natural, cotton
Binding-   hand sewn to the back
Here's what the front and back side looked like before I made it into a quilt sandwich:

 Front and back of quilt, before quilting
by Susie's Sunroom

Have you noticed that giant spool of "Aurifil " thread ?!

I wanted a big spool to be the center of my quilt back.  Then, I pieced  together 4 fat quarters left from my Mimosa fat quarter bundle.
I enlarged the  Aurifil spool  pattern  ( by Charise Creates ) to create a 19" high Aurifil spool, loaded with "Mismosa" thread!

Whiskers was exhausted after helping me make the quilt sandwich!

Close up of the back... of course I had to make an Aurifil Spool label, too!

The back of my quilt  

Front and back of "Sew The Rainbow" Quilt    Susie's Sunroom

This is the first time I used straight line quilting on a bigger quilt. I really like how it turned out!  I used my walking foot, with the Edge/Quilting guide attachment, to make the parallel rows of quilting.    (I may have copied Kristy's  gorgeous Sew The Rainbow Quilt { go here} because it looked so awesome!  ) 

Sew The Rainbow quilt   by Susie's Sunroom

This quilt was so satisfying to make and finish up! It has "sew many" of my favorite components... geometric design, scissors, spools, flying geese, a sewing machine, AND  paper piecing !!   Even on the dreariest of days, I can find a rainbow ....by  looking at my  Sew The Rainbow quilt !

I'm off to my sewing room!

Linking up at:    Let's Bee Social  @  Sew Fresh Quilts  and

                       Can I Get a Whoop Whoop ! @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict   and

                       Fabric Frenzy Friday  @  Fort Worth Fabric Studio   and
                      Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts   and  

Panda Bear

"Panda" Testing Helper

About a month ago, I saw that one of my favorite designers, Lorna of Sew Fresh Quilts, had asked if anyone was able to help her test out some of her newest designs. Aren't they cute!!    Luckily,  I was able to give a bit of help to Lorna , by testing out  her upcoming "Panda" Quilt pattern !

Sew Fresh Quilts newest patterns... HERE
Photo by Sew Fresh Quilts

Now ,  there is something really cool about this pattern.  It has so many size options!!

You can make a mini panda block , as well as  a full sized panda block. And, Lorna has measurements to  make up a mini quilt... all the way up to a regular sized quilt!!  I love having  all of the size options.

Panda Block     design by Sew Fresh Quilts   {click HERE}
Mini sized block   approx 7.5" across x 6.5" tall

I  found this bright, forest-like background fabric first.  Then I saw my black and white polka dot fabric, and couldn't resist using that for this little panda!   (Lorna's designs are perfect with solids, and have a modern look!)

Next, I made up another little panda to be the buddy for the first bear. And of course, they had to have some foliage to munch on!

The pattern includes how to make the leafy rows.  ( I left out the center stems... giving it a more abstract background... like the pandas are  in a forest among the leaves. ) 

This cute pattern makes me smile... and reminds of when I saw the real pandas at the San Diego Zoo.  

Pandas and leaves     

As I put these blocks together, I thought they would make a cute pillow!

I simply added a 2.5" sashing around the block....

A Mini Panda Pillow         made by Susie's Sunroom

Panda Pillow size:   approx  17 " across x 16" tall

Quilting:   straight line  1"  quilting, vertically ,  in lime !   (for a modern look)

Panda Pillow        by Susie's Sunroom

I love black and lime colors together... and made a covered zipper for the back of the pillow.  (I learned how to make this covered zipper from the tutorial by Amy Made That!  {here}  )

Back of pillow        love the covered zipper

Keep checking  Sew Fresh Quilts  for the release of this cute Panda Pattern!  (It should be soon. )   You'll want to check out all of her adorable patterns, in her Etsy store, too!

(Remember my Dog Gone Cute quilts?  {  here  }  and {  here } )

A Panda-icious Pillow !!

I'm off to my sewing room!

Linking up at:                      Let's Bee Social  @ Sew Fresh Quilts   and
                                         Building Blocks Tuesday @ Quilter In The Closet  and
                                          Fabric Tuesday @ Quilt Story  and
                                          Fabric Frenzy Friday @  Fort Worth Fabric Studio  and
                                       Can I Get A Whoop Whoop @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict  and
                                       Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts   and
                                          TGIFF @  Chezzecook modern quilts

  

A Parade of Pincushions

A Parade of Pincushions!!

Hey, there's a parade going on... and it is a Parade of Pincushions!!

My Sister Made Me is the host.....

Click here to go see the Perfectly Pleasing Pincushion Parade at My Sister Made Me !

     
I have been known to make a pincushion or two... ( Is is ok to have a parade in honor of my addiction ?!   )         

So let the parade begin!

First in my parade lineup , are the cute and functional  Deluxe Pincushions   ( from the "Sew Organized for the Busy Girl  " book.  I kept the first one, in  these cute Bonnie and Camille fabrics , and gave the others as gifts.  

Posted here

Oh, here are some stragglers.... more Deluxe Pincushions!  I made these with applique,  for the Crafted Applique' Book Blog Hop . ( by  Lara at BuzzinBumble )

Posted here

Second in the parade, is a super plump "combination" pincushion... the  " Be My Valentine Heart " Mr Snowman pincushion.  It is made from these patterns:  side A is  the "Be My Valentine Heart Mug Rug" by Amy Made That! ; And side B is  the Mr Snowman Block by Lori Holt. 

Posted here

The next pincushion is  a tea bag pincushion.  I made this pincushion up,  for the Pin It Blog Hop! My designer friend, Amanda, The Patchsmith,  helped me with the design!  

Posted here

Look out.... this next unit in the parade is a big one!  I made these delectable strawberry pincushions from Fig Tree & Co 's " Strawberry Shortcake" pattern!  They are made from my huge Fig Tree & Co fabric stash! See the scrappy ones?

Posted here

 Good enough to eat!!

Posted here

        
Here's a rowdy little group... that little flock of Bird Pincushions!      This is a pattern by by Joel Dewberry  (here).  I often use these birdies as a paper weight, as I fill my pincushions with crushed walnut shells to make them heavy.

posted here

It looks like my last unit in this parade is rounding the corner... in perfect step!  It's the Prettified Pincushion,  from the "Patchwork , Please !" book .  A little bit of Zakka and paper piecing is such fun!!   I love these Denyse Schmidt orange and blues together!!

Posted here

You'll want to hop on over to My Sister Made Me blog  { here } , to see all of the gorgeous pincushions that are on parade!  And check out the fabulous sponsors for the giveaways!

If you are a follower of Susie's Sunroom, you will know that there are even more pincushions in my blog posts through the years! 

( Use the search feature under HOME, on the top left of the blog page,  to hunt them  all up!)  ( I won't be mad at you for enabling encouraging me!! ) 

I'm off to my sewing room!

Linking up at:   Perfectly Pleasing Parade of Pincushions @  My Sister Made Me

Spangled Stars Quilt

A Red , White  and Blue Quilt

This summer, I made a fun red, white and blue quilt with stars.  I bought the pattern and kit from  Craftsy a while ago.  It is a pattern by Kimberly Einmo.

Spangled Stars quilt     Design by Kimberly Einmo

Quilt Statistics:   
Pattern:     Spangled Stars  by Kimberly Einmo
Size:    48 " x 48 "
Fabrics -from the kit, including batiks
Quilting-  wavy lines, using my walking foot  
Thread- pieced using Aurifil thread   50 wt.

Close up of Spangled Stars

 It was fun using batik fabrics, and I enjoyed making this quilt.  I would never have picked these fabrics  on my own (for a patriotic quilt.  )

I had some fabric left over, and made an extra block for the back.  You can see the wavy line quilting here.

Back of my quilt-  Spangled Stars    

It was a pleasure to make this quilt.  I look forward to making another pattern by Kimberly Einmo someday.  I have a Craftsy class with Kimberly and really enjoy learning from her!  

I'm off to my sewing room!

Linking up at:   Let's Bee Social  @ Sew Fresh Quilts    and
                       Building Blocks Tuesday @  Quilter in the Closet

Kissy Fishy Quilt

Kissy Fishy Quilt Top Completed!

Kissy Fishy Quilt Pattern  by Sew Fresh Quilts

You may remember me sharing these four cute fish blocks last month { here }...

I was lucky  to be able to jump in and help test this new quilt pattern,  for Lorna, at Sew Fresh Quilts.   (Happy Dancing going on here! I have been following Lorna's blog and loving her patterns for several years now!  )

Kissy Fishy Quilt Pattern   by Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts  { here }

I accidentally laid them out to form this heart!  Wouldn't this be cute for  a pillow or a mini quilt?!

Before I knew it, I had the fish blocks made for a quilt.  (The fish "were biting" this summer!)   These are so fun to make!! I decided to make my fish in many bright colors.  I found the perfect  bundle in my stash  .... A Quilter's Candy fq blenders bundle, in solids, swirls and faux burlap, from Connecting Threads!  The background fabric is a white on white tonal by Michael Miller.  I like the bit of  texture that the tiny white dots give the background.

Kissy Fishy Quilt top   made by Susie's Sunroom

Aren't these fish cute?! I love the different fins on each of the two designs!

Kissy Fishy flimsy top    By Susie's Sunroom

So what should I do for the backing?  

Hmmmm.....    

On our last walk, hubby and I saw these ducks " settling in"  on a log.  ( Sorry I can't get them larger and clear.)

Ducks on a log... along the Brandywine creek

"Hey... move over for me! "

I think my Kissy Fishy fish would have some other woodland animals living around them.

So I went over to Sew Fresh Quilts blog  to find the patterns for Lorna's  Elephant Parade quilt.  She has so many cute animals in that quilt!!

This is what I chose: a  few woodland friends that might live around the stream that this school of fish live in ... 

a turtle, frog , and bird!   I love their eyes!!

Turtle, frog and bird from  Elephant Parade Quilt at Sew Fresh Quilts  {here}

I'll use this pale sky blue cotton for the back.  (That's another stash fabric.)

Adding some creatures for the backing.... by Susie's Sunroom

The backing will go fast now.    Stay tuned for my finished quilt!  

I'm off to my sewing room!

Linking up at:   Let's Bee Social  @ Sew Fresh Quilts  and
                         Can I Get a Whoop Whoop @  Confessions of a Quilt Addict   and
                        Fabric Frenzy Friday  @  Fort Worth Fabric Studio   and 
                        TGIFF  @ Quilt Matters   and
                        Finish It Up Friday    @ Crazy Mom Quilts