Tick Tock Embroidery

I haven’t been doing a lot of quilting lately.  Mostly due to Easter sewing.  Luckily, I still have almost a month to finish all the cute skirts my daughters have picked out for this year’s Easter outfits.  Meanwhile, it is time for me to pick out my  LDS General Conference hand sewing project.  I love General Conference weekends.  We all get in our most comfy clothes, cuddle up together under my quilts and watch all the terrific, uplifting talks given by the church leaders.  It is great family time!  It is also hours and hours of guilt free sit on my fanny and sew time. 

So, this Spring’s project is a clock embroidery pattern I picked up while quilt shopping in Utah this summer.  It’s three things I really love: clocks, embroidery, and sewing.  I just love picking out the colors, fabrics and trims.  It’s almost more fun than the sewing!

I hope you have some fun spring projects in the works too! 

Stormy

Postcard Embroidery

Every year for Christmas my mom, sisters and I make little gifts for each other.  Last year, I made cute little stuffed frogs.  This year, I stitched everybody’s favorite flower and turned each one  into a postcard embroidery.

I love the way they turned out.  They were super fun to make, so I hope my family is enjoying them!

Stormy

Pretty Pinwheels Table Topper Tutorial Part 2

Now for the instructions….

STEP 1

To make the pinwheels:

Take one patterned square and one solid square of the same size and lay them on top of each other RST (right sides together). Sew 1/4 in. around all four sides.

STEP 2

Using a ruler, cut corner to corner both directions to create four blocks.

STEP 3

Press open with seams towards the dark fabric.

STEP 4

Lay out your blocks to ensure the pinwheel is going the correct direction, then sew the top row together, then the bottom row (always using 1/4 in. seam allowance).

STEP 5

Sew the top and bottom rows together to form the pinwheel block. Then, trim the large pinwheel to 9 1/2 in. square and the small pinwheel to 6 1/2 in. square.

STEP 6

For the small pinwheels only.  Lay the 2 in. x 6 1/2 in. strip on top of the pinwheel RST and sew along the edge. Press outward. Repeat on the other side.

STEP 7

Lay the 2 in. x 9 1/2 in. strip along the top of the pinwheel RST and sew along the edge.  Press open. Repeat for the bottom strip.

STEP 8

You should now have all your blocks sewn together.  Lay them out starting with a large pinwheel for the first block on the first row and a small pinwheel for the first block on the second row and continue in that pattern.

Sew each row together in strips.  Press the seams of each row in opposite directions.

STEP 9

Sew your rows together making sure to pin the corners and your quilt top is finished!

Quilt as desired.  (I used a meandering leaf stitch for the larger quilt and a plain meander stitch for the smaller quilt.)

(As always, I am writing these tutorials with children in tow, so if something doesn’t make sense or you have a question, feel free to leave a comment and I’d be happy to get back to you!)

Stormy

Pretty Pinwheels Table Topper Tutorial Part 1

Last month I made this table topper for my sister. 

(Size 45x45)

I was planning on doing a tutorial, but didn’t have enough time.  So, I made a smaller version of the quilt for myself and snapped a few pictures along the way.  Just choose the size you want and start sewing those pinwheels!

(Size 27x27)

Materials needed: (Yardage will depend on the size quilt you make.  I used a few fat quarters for the larger quilt and some leftover layer cake squares for the smaller quilt. )

8 – 10 patterned fabrics  for the pinwheels

1 solid fabric for pinwheel blocks (1-2 yds)

1 solid or print for binding (1/4 yd to 1/3 yd)

1 solid or print for backing (I used the same solid on the back and front) (1-2 yds)

Cutting Instructions

The larger pinwheel quilt uses 25 pinwheel blocks.  13 large pinwheels and 12 small pinwheels.  The smaller pinwheel quilt uses 9 pinwheel blocks.  5 large pinwheels and 4 small pinwheels.

For each large pinwheel cut:

1 – 7 1/2 in. square from both print fabric and solid fabric.

For each small pinwheel cut:

1 – 5 1/2 in. square from both print fabric and solid fabric.

2 – 9 1/2 in. x 2 in. strips from the solid fabric.

2 – 6 1/2 in. x 2 in. strips from the solid fabric.

For the binding:

Measure the width and length of your quilt (it should be the same), add those two measurements then multiply by two.  Then add 10 inches to account for the corners and where the binding ending and beginning is joined.  Once you have your binding measurement, cut your binding strips  2 1/2in. x WOF until you have the length needed.

All ready to sew!

(Note:  this method of sewing and cutting the squares is much faster, but causes the triangles to have two bias edges instead of one, so be extra careful when pressing and sewing so you don’t stretch the fabric.)

(*Note: I’m having a bear of a time publishing this post, so I have split it into two posts.  Sorry about the troubles! Next time, I’ll try not to be so wordy!)

Stormy

Pretty Pinwheels

Every summer my younger sister takes my family pictures and in return I make her a table cover.  This year I decided to make a lot of pinwheels. I’m pretty excited about how cute they turned out.

It’s made from a Riley Blake fabric from a few years ago.  Each pinwheel block is 9 inches across.

ss.

I think I’ll keep this pattern in mind for future projects. It’s simple, but so pretty!

Stormy

My Star Sister’s Quilt…. no wait! My Sister’s Star Quilt!

While visiting my family over Christmas break, I had to do a little fabric shopping.  Well, A LOT of fabric shopping.  That’s what happens when you have to wait six months between each shopping trip.  You over do it…  just a bit.  I usually drag my mom and sisters along too, cuz it’s more fun that way. 

So, we decided to meet in the parking lot of our first of many quilt shop stops.  And my older sister, Steffanie, gets out of her car with a big smile on her face and gives me a big hug and smiles big again…..  Curious.  Then I notice the bag in her arms. Curiouser and curiouser. “So!” she says.  “I just happened to bring along this big ‘ol unquilted quilt with me….. just in case you might want to take it home and quilt it…..!”  Ha. Mystery solved.  How could I say no to my eight month pregnant with her third boy sister?  “Sure” said I.  “I’d be happy to.  I LOVE to quilt queen size quilts!”  Not.  Just kidding.  Everybody knows I would much rather plan and piece a quilt than quilt it, but I’m getter better at the quilting and my finished projects are starting to look pretty decent.  Who knew that I’d get in the super awesome quilt mode and get it done two weeks after I made it back home?

So here it is, my sister’s quilted (unbound) Urban Cowgirls star quilt.

Gorgeous isn’t it?  I decided to use an all over leaf pattern for the quilting. (Sorry, it’s a little hard to see.)

I’m loving it so much, I might have to make one myself.

She made it over a year ago and it’s just been sitting there waiting to be quilted.  I’m happy I could help her finally get it finished!

Stormy

Valentine’s / Spring Wreath

I haven’t been in the crafty mood for quite awhile, until this morning.  I woke up and wanted to clean and organize the house and add some cute new decorations.  I’m sure much of that is due to the weather being in the high 60’s here (crazy!) and the Christmas stress that has melted away since I got home from vacation. So, I made a quick trip to the craft store and picked up a few things to revamp my old grapevine wreath.

I didn’t want a Valentine’s Day wreath, I wanted more of a generic wreath to hang on the door through spring.  But, I tend to get bored with the same old décor day after day.  So, I had this great idea to add my holiday décor to the center of the wreath and change it out from holiday to holiday. 

My youngest daughter and I set out all of our wreath knick knacks I bought and we wrapped, cut twisted, and poked until we came up with this…..

It’s just a few floral stems, burlap, and a ‘centerpiece’, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.  Now, I can add a little green for St. Patty’s Day, yellow for Easter, and maybe some dark blue and red for 4th of July!

Happy Crafting!

Stormy