Make It Work...

I was inspired this week to make a quilt that had a braided look.  (I think I may have been making way too many braided ribbon barrettes lately.)  The rows came out exactly how I envisioned them, but now I am not quite sure what to do with them.  Do I just trim them up, and add some sashing in between the rows, or do I try to connect the rows to give it more of a chevron look?  My one issue is the fabric.  It is made from flannel, receiving blanket to be exact and I don't want to manipulate it too much.  I am afraid it might stretch or pucker.  Right now it lays perfectly flat.

Well I guess it is off to the fabric store (with my little helper) to find some coordinating fabrics to try and make it work.  

P.S.  Yes I have been watching way too much Project Runway.  I just can't help myself.  :)   

My First Giveaway

(closed)

I am so excited to be doing my first giveaway!

I hope to make this a regular addition to my blog because, lets face it, free stuff is a lot of fun.

So what will you be winning if you enter...well it is this beautiful Honey Bun of pre-cut fabric from Moda. That's right, 40 wonderful strips of Soiree fabric designed by Lila Tuella.

How to enter:

That's easy, just leave a comment to enter!

This giveaway will end Tuesday, August 31st, at 12 midnight. (est)

Good Luck!

Apple Core Quilt - Work in Progress

I finally finished cutting out all of my apple core pieces. All 300 of them! So glad that part is over. Now I am ready to start piecing. Things on the machine didn't work out so well....so I decided to hand piece them.

Actually it is pretty easy. (Once I figured out to clip the curve.) I pin the 2 pieces together easing it into the curve. Then I sew it together along the 1/4" seam allowance. That's it! Supper easy and in no time at all I have a row all done.

Have you ever hand pieced a quilt before? Any tips for a first timer? Leave a comment and let me know what you think. I would love to hear from you.

Happy Quilting!

Retro Braided Ribbon Barrettes

Do these bring you back to the day? They sure bring me back. For me nothing says the 80's quite like these. When I was in grade school these were all the rage and we had them in every color. Oops, I think I just aged myself. Oh well!

I remember learning to make them in Girl Scouts. Ahh the memories.....

If you would like to make some for yourself follow this quick tutorial.

You will need a double bar barrette, and about a yard of 1/8" satin ribbon in each color.

With your barrette open, take your 2 ribbons and slide them to the top.



Then take your first ribbon and weave it through the bars.






Then do the same on the other side. Making sure to slide it through above the first ribbon.









Take the second color and do the same. Repeat this till you reach the end.










I loosened it up a bit so you could see how it is woven through.

When you reach the end knot the ribbons so the braid will stay tight.










Leave a comment and let me know what you think. I would love to hear from you. Enjoy!

Showing Off

Here it is my

Summer on Cape Cod Quilt

I have been working on this quilt on and off for a couple of years now and I am really happy with how it came out. The quilt is a combination of an album block and a snowball block. I added the squares and triangles around the edge to make the quilt look more complete.

I hand embroidered the snowball blocks using a pattern I got years ago at a great quilt shop on Cape Cod called Tumbleweeds.

A perfectly good pair of pants!

Down here in paradise we are getting ready for back to school, 17 days and counting, can't wait! So this girl has been busy cleaning out closets, sewing on missing buttons and getting out the Oxy Clean to see if we can salvage a few of those shirts that still fit.

Then I came across these pants...a perfectly good pair of pants I might add that she won't wear because she doesn't like the length. Are you kidding me!? I could have just cut them down to shorts but thought she could get more wear out of a skirt.



So here is my attempt at refashioning these pants into a skirt.

First, I cut the top off the pants, like so, trimmed them up a bit and was careful not to cut the pockets inside.

Then, I took the legs and trimmed off the seams to make the biggest rectangle it would allow me.

Sewed all 4 rectangles together to create a tube, and then I top stitched a straight 1/4" at the bottom for my no pin hem. I know it is hard to see in the picture, but it is there.

At the ironing board I ironed all my seams flat and then, with the 1/4" top stitch as my guide I ironed it so the raw edge was folded up.

Then at the machine I top stitched it again carefully folding it over as I went along.

(A perfect, pressed 1/4" hem that you never had to pin.)

At this point I had visions of pleats...but not enough length....so I opted for simple pin tucks. I didn't measure them exactly all the way around, I just eased them in the best I could.

Then I sewed the skirt to the pant top and...

Voila! All done! And the best part, she said she will actually wear them. :)

Ooooh A Challenge!

It's time for a new project, and this time I'm going a little out of my comfort zone. Actually, a lot out of my comfort zone. I have never worked with curved seams before, so why not jump in with both feet and make a Apple Core Quilt. I will keep you posted...let's see how it goes. :)