The Coolest Thanksgiving Runner You'll Ever Make

image from the Purl Bee

This runner from the crafty chicas at Purl Bee is so cute and is such a cool way to dress up your table without pulling out the fake turkey or the gourds. I love that this could be used any time of year as well. Plus, since it's quilted you can put hot plates and bowls directly on it without damaging the table! Follow the instructions here.

My Book Wishlist

With my birthday coming up soon and X-Mas, I re-loaded my book wish list on Amazon. There's so many neat things out there and several that are due out this winter. In no particular order:

A wonderful typography book.



I have three words for Ms. Garten: Kick Ass Cook.

It's patchwork. It has to be amazing!

By MN's own Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins. Trisha and her husband Matt own the very cool and very amazing fabric store Crafty Planet, located in the same Minneapolis neighborhood where my mother grew up.

31 Days

This is how many days I have to get ready for the biggest craft show I have ever been in. Two days long. Twice as much inventory as the last. I'm not panicking yet, but I'm waiting for that to settle in. I need a really productive marathon weekend. I have all these great sketches of dresses. Some with lots of yo yo's. One with folded flowers. I have about 5 things cut out and waiting. I have at least 3 quilt stacks that are ready to go. What to do first? I'm focusing in more on a select few different items unlike last time. Dresses, overalls, pinafores, onesies/t-shirts, and bibs. If time I will try making some cute little shoes. No pincushions. Maybe a quilt or two. We'll see.

The image above is the logo for the 2009 Vendor page. I tried to make something that would pop out. What do you guys think?

Naive

Strolling through the graphic design section at the book store I came up this amazing gem of a book: Naive : Modernism and Folklore in Contemporary Graphic Design. It's filled with wonderful eye candy from designers around the world. Think of Scandinavian meets whimsical meets early 60's paper cut outs. This will be ordered by the end of the week! Bonus: Minnesota's very own Miss Amy Jo is featured!

(All images from Amazon.com)

Hello there...

So it's been shamefully long since I posted but school has eaten up (most of my ) time. Anyway, good news, I have been accepted into the No Coast Craft O Rama! Happy Joy Joy! Check out their website. Past vendors are currently up, but 2009 won't be for a few weeks yet. So excited!

Typography

Typography (Etymology: typos—type, graphos—written) is the art and technique of arranging type, type design, and modifying type glyphs. My homage to typography:

Click on the image to be taken to that Etsy shop....


Bold and Noble

eternalmagpie

spinspin

1girl1boy

Gearing up for Fall

New goodies have been added to the shop!

Halloween Etsy Style

I'm getting into the Halloween spirit already. Browsing through Etsy, it's obvious others are as well. Click on the image to be directed to their shop.

From Nostalgiclinks

From prismmoon

From NattyKnits

From CrowBiz

Stitch Magazine

all images from Interweavestore.com and quilting arts.com

If you haven't picked up a copy of this magazine yet, do so. The fall issue comes out early this October and is avaialble for pre-order on Interweavestore.com. What is so great about this magazine is that the projects are more unusual and creative. You won't find instructions for how to fit a jacket, but how to make an awesome patchwork pillow, how to do free-form machine embroidery, and much more. It's very hip.

You can find the pattern for this funky bicycle skirt here.

200 Hearts!

Happy Day!

Going to the Quilt Expo!

All my mom had to do to lure me away to Madison for a short weekend, including missing a day of pay, was show me the brochure for the Midwest Quilt Expo. Umm, yeah I'll go! I have never been to a quilt expo. I'm not quite sure what to expect, but I know that being surrounded by fabric, quilts, and creative women will do my tired spirit some good. If you happen to be near Madison this weekend, here is the low down...

Over 100 vendors (so so much fabric!!!)
Quilt exhibit including a contest
Presentations
Classes
so much more!

Will post pictures and more when I return!

Darn Cute Bag

oh so pretty!

So for my future sister in law's birthday I choose to make her the Buttercup Bag by Made by Rae. I love how it turned out. I used Amy Butler prints. The great thing about this pattern is that it's very easy to follow and uses very little fabric.

A few suggestions to those making this....

1. With just a quilting weight cotton for the exterior and lining it could use some ommf. A heavy fusible interfacing to the wrong side of the lining would help it hold it's shape a little better.
2. The instructions calls for sewing the handle to the inside of the bag after the lining is in. I tried sewing the handle in with the lining for a little extra support. It works well, just make sure you don't twist the handle! See the little seam on the handle. Yeah. Don't twist it. Opps.

The very important and handy inner pocket. Magnetic snap. Also handy.

Hope Valley is out!!!!

Denyse Schmidt's next line of quilting fabric is now viewable online!

Finishing the Quilt

After getting all the squares done, I sewed the top together first by rows, then sewing the rows together. When connecting rows, be sure to start at opposite ends on each row. This helps to ensure that your quilt won't be slightly curved to one side.


Here I laid out the back piece, right side facing the floor, then the batting, then the top of the quilt. You can either hand baste it, but I liked using quilting safety pins. They are curved so it is easier to pin then in place. Be sure to start from the middle and smooth all your layers.



I managed to get about 3 inches of sewing done when I decided it was time to buy a walking foot. Well worth the investment. Of course I was also suckered in to buying a 1/2 inch seam foot as well. I managed to hold off when the sales woman asked if I needed more bobbins.

The finished product!

The greatest part of this, aside from seeing it all come together, was that it sold, on Etsy, in about 24 hours!

Calling all Flea Market Fancy Lovers!

A goof friend of mine sent me a link for this blog that is solely dedicated to bringing back Denyse Schmidt's Flea Market Fancy line of fabric. Currently it is not being produced and fat quarters go for a hefty sum like it's a black market for quilters. So if you would like to join along - and you know you do! - sign her petition that will be sent to Free Spirit, the company that prints Schmidt's fabrics.

The Next Quilt

(A bit wrinkly)

I'm getting the quilting itch again. I found a stash of fabrics that I bought a few years ago just after graduating from college. To me they looked sweet and perfect for a girl's quilt. I'm using a log cabin pattern. One block left before I assemble the top. I'm already thinking about the next few...

The Earring Holder

I had decided it was finally time to retire my crappy window screen earring holder for something slightly more glam. Debating whether to do a cool tree like hanger (cats would play with it) or maybe another vanity top contraption (took up too much surface area) I decided to make a wall hanging version. This is super easy to make with the right tools:

8 x 10 or larger frame in decent shape
Stamped metal mesh (think vintage upright radiator screens. You can find this at any hardware or home center)
Tin snipers if you are lucky or have a brother in law who loves tools.
Little metal tabs for holding glass (in this case metal) in the frame. Available at a craft store such as Micheal's.
Small felt pads (under the chair leg floor protectors)

1. Start by finding a neat frame. I found this guy at the Goodwill! Can't beat 99 cents! Use the glass as a template to trace out the size directly onto the stamped metal.

1. Using a tin snipers, cut your metal.The trick with tin snipers is to hold it paralel with the metal. Found that out the hard way.
   

1. Insert into the back of the frame. If it's tight enough you may not need to secure it, otherwise use pointy metal tabs that can be inserted with a flat knife edge or an edge of a putty knife.

1. If the frame will sit too flat against the wall for the hooks of the earrings, then use small sticky-backed felt pads used for under chair legs. This will raise it off the wall and keep it from sliding around too much.

Free Spirit Fabrics Free Patterns

Free Spirit Fabrics, which carries several designers like Anna Marie Horner, Joel Dewberry, and Denyse Schmidt to name a few has several free quilt patterns! The quilt above is called Good Folks by Anna Marie Horner.

Darla

From David Walker's Robots

Cool Blog - Film in the Fridge

The cutest dang potholders you have ever seen!

I had to think about what this name means and then I remembered back to high school and my photography classes. Oh yeah, you keep film in the fridge to preserve it. Cool!

This woman is uber talented! Maker of quilts and other sewn goodies she also has a fabric collection to die for - including many rare out of print Flea Market Fancy pieces. Her quilts are lovely and she has many great tutorials and images of her quilt squares.

Be sure to check out her string quilt tutorial.

She also has an http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7001061 where she sells her cute quilts. I love her Baby Girl Stripes quilt here. Great color combination, not too girly, but just sweet enough.

All images from Film in the Fridge

Design Sponge

hannah berman of pie bird press

Every so often (very often ) I get the urge to re-decorate. My color palette's seem to change but due to my (lack) of great income and the color of my couch, I am limited to just planning for the house I will one day move into.

But, if you like to get ideas and check out some amazing interiors, then check out Design * Sponge. This amazing blog has a plethora of ideas and inspiration!

hannah berman of pie bird press

Oscar and Emma

Check out the framed piece over the bed. This is a piece of fabric stretched and attached to a wooden frame. This is a very inexpensive way to create a neat visual piece. You can also use different sized frames and prints to form a collage of work.

Kimberly Austin