Handmade Holidays…Embroidered Button Tree Pillow

December 8, 2011 in embroidery, handmade | Tags: , , , | by | 7 comments

Here’s an easy gift to make.  A button tree pillow. I make these easy little pillows and give them as hostess gifts, to friends or someone special. Give your pillow with a box of chocolates tied with a pretty ribbon.

Supplies:
pattern
White background fabric 9-1/2” x 9-1/2”
FQ for the backing
Buttons
Embroidery floss
Fiberfill
1-1/2” wide scraps of fabric

Trace the tree design onto your background fabric. Embroidery using 3 strands of floss. Add your buttons.

Just like making a log cabin block, piece the strips of fabric  around the background until your satisfied with the size of your pillow. Mine was about a 13” square.

Lay your backing FQ fabric right side up. Lay your tree face down on top of backing. Cut out the backing fabric to the same size as the top and pin. Sew around all the edges leaving a space for turning, about 4 fingers length. Clip your corners and turn right side out. Stuff with the fiberfill and sew the opening closed with a whip stitch.

I’ve made several of these before. Here’s one I made with a leftover applique block.

And a couple of embroidered Santa pillows..

Christmas Elves Table Runner

December 5, 2011 in etsy, handmade | Tags: , , , , , | by | Leave a comment

Have you been busy as elves getting ready for Christmas? I have my tree up and and my house decorated, a bit of shopping accomplished but I’m still working on those handmade items. There’s still time though, don’t panic! This is what I tell myself daily:(

We did manage to make this super cute Christmas Elves table runner.

The runner is made from the pattern Which Witch by Crazy Old Ladies.

Both are available in the Etsy shop and at SewModDesigns.com. We’re having a Christmas Sale this week on all handmade items at SewModDesigns.com and the Etsy shop, 20% off. Don’t miss it!

Another great gift idea for those co-workers, teens, or your BFF is the Little Wallet. We recently finished these up for a friend who plans to share the handmade love with her co-workers.

We have kits available with the crochet flower or buy the pattern and make them from your scraps. They whip up easily and fast!

 

Handmade Holidays….Easy Doggie Rope Tutorial

December 2, 2011 in handmade | Tags: , , , | by | 1 comment

We can’t forget our favorite friends can we? Daisy adds so much joy to my life, I can’t even imagine not including her in the festivities of Christmas.

An easy gift that you can make with your leftover fleece scraps is a doggie rope.

You will need 3 pieces of fleece cut 3″ x 22″ for a smaller dog or 3″ x 40″ for a bigger dog.

Tie a knot in one end.

Begin by braiding the strips, which I’m surprised at how easily I remembered to do this. It had been so long!

After you completed your braid, tie another knot at the end.

Next…play with your pup! Daisy loved it! I made 2. One for her and her BFF!

I also ordered her a doggie toy from a shop in Etsy. Her very own Ipod! Isn’t that just the cutest?

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Are You Ready To Bust Through That Stash?

November 30, 2011 in quilts | Tags: , , , , | by | 4 comments

If you haven’t noticed by now, my recent projects and Handmade holiday’s have been made using scraps or fabrics from our stash. I didn’t plan it that way. It just must be the mood I’m in. I know everyone out there has a stash they’d like to bust through. Sometimes you just need a little inspiration, right?

Well, Paige was off work for the week of Thanksgiving and we accomplished sooo much!  We worked almost everyday from morning till night trying to finish up some Christmas projects, client projects and doing SewMod planning. We busted, dented her stash! We worked on 4 quilts using fabrics she had collected over the years and I gotta say, I’m a little jealous of her stash. A closet full of fresh, modern fabrics. Like I’ve said before, she has a great eye for color and matching fabrics and it shows in these quilts.

These quilts are easy to assemble using mostly  3-1/2 ” to 4-1/2″ strips pieced together to make a 12-1/2″ block. Alternating the directions of the blocks adds interest. These quilts can be made any size by adding as many blocks as you have fabric for or adding borders. They can be quilted or put some Minky on the back, turn it inside out and tie it off with embroidery floss for a quick gift. We even used the leftovers for the backing.

We named this one, Gypsy Road, and it is backed with a chocolate Minky and tied off. No quilting or binding!

Candy Jar is a quilt for sale now in the Etsy shop. It’s made with a lot of Amy Butler fabric. Paige quilted this one on her longarm and the binding is hand stitched to the back. Very girly!

Urban Garden’s backing and batting was cut the same size as the top, sewed around the edges and turned inside out. It was stitched around the edges and through all the intersecting seams using the decorative wave stitch on your machine.

Lemon Grass turned out so fresh. I wasn’t sure about it at first when we started since the greens and yellows were so similar, but it’s one of my favorites now. Paige also longarm quilted this one and it has hand stitched binding.

I loved how easy these were to piece and the different ways to finish them off. So, start pulling out all those coordinating fabrics and get busy! There’s still time!

Handmade Holidays…..Christmas Tree Hot Pads

November 28, 2011 in handmade, patterns | Tags: , , , , , | by | 5 comments

Looking for an easy Hostess gift to impress your neighbors and friends with at your next Holiday party? How about Christmas Tree Hot Pads! Whip these up in no time, then add your favorite recipe to go along with them.

Finished size: 9″ x 9″ Download the pattern here, or find it in our Tutorials at the top of the page.

This is a great stash project – combine festive fabrics for the trees with contrasting backgrounds and tree trunks. Use easy paper pieced blocks and finish with binding, quilting and simple embroidery.

Add some wooden spoons, mixing bowl, and your favorite cookie recipe with these hot pads for a great gift!

And they even look great as mini quilts for my hutch decorations!

Here’s one of my favorite cookie recipes. I found this in the Gooseberry Patch Christmas Book 9. Sooo yummy!! Enjoy!

Vanilla Dipped Gingersnaps
2-1/2 C. Sugar-divided
1-1/2 C. Oil
2 Eggs
½ C. Molasses
4 C. All-Purpose Flour
4 tsp. Baking Soda
1 TBSP Ground Ginger
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Salt
2 11-oz Pkgs. White Chocolate Chips
¼ C. Shortening

Combine 2 cups sugar and oil in a mixing bowl; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in molasses.

Combine flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl; gradually blend into molasses mixture. Shape dough into 1” balls and roll in remaining sugar; place 2” apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until cookie springs back when lightly touched. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Melt white chocolate chips and shortening together in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Dip each cookie halfway into mixture; allow excess to drip off. Place cookies on wax paper to harden. Makes about 7 dozen.

Black Friday-Cyber Monday SALE!

November 24, 2011 in Uncategorized | by | 1 comment

Black Friday through Cyber Monday. A four day sale at SewModDesigns.com and the Etsy Shop. Enjoy a 15% OFF everything in each shop!

Here are some of the newest items from SewMod.

Modern and elegant Stocking sets made from Anna Griffin’s latest Christmas line, Isabelle Christmas. Sold in a set of 2. But we’d be happy to sell you all 4:)

Our Newest quilt called Candy Jar. A collection of pink and green fabrics by Amy Butler and various other lines pulled together to create a fun & girly lap quilt.

North Garden Dresden Table Runner and Napkin Set of 4. This usually sells fast, so don’t miss your chance if you love it!

Don’t forget your favorite quilter. Our newest line is Daisy Cottage.

And there’s still time to make a special something for someone you love too. Hot Who Hot Pads for the cook, an Amy Butler Gumdrop for the teen or tween in your life. Or how about a cute Kimono style dress, Kyoko, for that special little girl. Don’t forget the Living Large 2 book from Anka’s Treasures. Table runners, quilts, and even a Christmas tree skirt to work on. And by all means, don’t forget yourself! A Smarty Girl tote or the pattern, Pigs In A Blanket, makes extra soft slippers that are assembled quickly and made from Minky and cotton. After all, you’ll need something cozy for those piggy’s after all that shopping!

Sale runs Friday, November 25th-Monday, November 28th, 2011.

Happy Shopping everyone!

Thankful Birdie

November 23, 2011 in embroidery | Tags: , , , , , , , | by | Leave a comment

November Birdie block is finished. Only a few minor additions to the block this month. Birdie has a new pilgrim hat and a fat turkey for his feast, although Mr. Turkey is too pretty to eat! I stitched him in my Cosmo Seasons variegated  floss. And birdie eating Mr. Turkey might be considered cannibalism…hmmm.

A big Thank you to Andrea’s husband Tom for helping us out with our extra Birdie drawings this month. And as always a big thanks to Little Miss Shabby for such a fun BOM. Only one more to go…Christmas Birdie!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Kylee’s Quilt

November 22, 2011 in quilts | Tags: , , , | by | 6 comments

Paige and I were commissioned to do a Christmas gift for Kylee, the 8 year old daughter of Paige’s friend. Her mom wanted a quilt for Kylee that she could grow with and have as a keepsake when she got older. Something girly, with peace signs.

We used a Moda Bake Shop recipe  found here called I’m Blushing by Natalia Bonner. Check out Natalia’s blog if you haven’t been by. She does awesome quilting and some pretty cute patterns too! Lot’s to drool over:)

Since Kylee wanted peace signs added to the quilt, we changed the pattern up a bit by replacing the circle flowers with giant daisies. We added peace fabric to the centers. Paige quilted in an all-over playful loop with some special attention around the daisies.

We added all the leftover fabric to the back. The backing turned out just as cute as the top!

Merry Christmas Kylee! We hope you love your new quilt!

SewMod Stacks

November 21, 2011 in etsy, fabric | Tags: , , , , , , , | by | Leave a comment

We pulled together some more fabric bundles to start the week off. After all, what’s better than beginning our week looking a beautiful fabrics!

Paige’s pick includes some Oval Elements, Honey Child, Taza, and Bespoken.

Lorrie’s pick…

I love the warm colors in this bunch that includes Oval Elements, Heirloom, Pick*A*Bunch, Midnight Garden & Bespoken.

As always, SewMod Stacks will be available as 1/2 yard bundles in the Etsy Shop & SewModDesigns.com for 15% off the regular bundle prices.

Handmade Holidays…The Color Book

November 18, 2011 in handmade | Tags: , , , | by | 6 comments

I knew when I was cutting all my scraps into useable pieces that one day I would be glad I did all of that work. That day came when I decided to make The Color Book.

It takes 2-1/2″ squares for the pages, which is exactly what some of my smaller scraps were cut into, so you can imagine how easy it was to get this project going. I think I spent the most time on deciding which 2-1/2″ square to use.

Batting scraps in between the pages make it soft and flexible for baby. A little hand stitching and a pieced log cabin cover to finish it up and you have a handmade, unique gift for baby’s Christmas.

This is one of the many fun and inspiring projects that come from 101 Projects Patchwork & Quilts magazine, which is available at your local craft or bookstore. You won’t be disappointed in this girls! It’s often rare you find a magazine that has more than a couple of ideas you might make in it, but this one is loaded with them! And if you notice by the front cover, there are lot’s of opportunities to use your scraps!


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