Paper-Piecing #2

Yesterday I shared with you a paper-piecing idea I got from The Martha Stewart show. Since then I’ve been looking around on different quilt blogs and discovered this very talented quilters work. I really like this Paintbox design she is using. I looked high and low for a paper-piecing pattern similar but couldn’t find one so I decided to make one myself. It was really easy- I just used graph paper and played around until I found the right look I wanted. I made copies on regular paper to use for my project.



Instructions:
Turn the square over to the backside and place the first two pieces, right sides together over square one. (Put the print you want to be in the center face up – in this example that’s the pink print).



Flip the square over and sew along the line between number 1 & 2. (You can pin them in place but I think it’s just easier to hold it). I also like to back stitch a little beyond each line.



It looks very uneven so I fold down the paper and cut the excess to make a nice neat seam.

Before…


After…


Flip piece over and press.



Continue with piece #3. Place the scrap right side down over the two squares you just sewed.



Continue with previous steps…







Continue with each piece until you have them all attached. Your square will look something like this….



Now flip it over to the front and use a rotary mat and cutter to trim off the excess.



You’ll end up with this…



Now flip it over again and rip off the paper backing.







Ta-da…you’re done! Once I get going and get several of these done in an hour.



Please let me know if you give these a try. I’d love to hear your feedback!

Paper-piecing

The past few years I've wanted to learn to quilt. My grandmother made some beautiful quilts during her life. I've made simple patchwork baby quilts but nothing beyond that. All the prep work of cutting the squares and strips seems so time consuming. A few months ago I saw a segment on Martha where a woman showed a paper-piecing technique. I got really excited because this seemed so much easier. You can just use scraps- no precise cutting etc. Click here for the tutorial from Martha's show.

Below are some sample squares I made from the Martha tutorial.





Cute coasters I quilted and used my serger to roll the hem.



I made my own paper-piecing tutorial which I will add tomorrow.

Melissa

Cute flower tutorial

I haven't been motivated to do any new projects lately. I found this new website, The DIY Dish and tutorial for felt flowers which finally got me excited to do something new. It's from the same ladies who run You Can Make This which I have bought several ebooks from. You can watch the video and download the pattern for free!

Below is my finished pillow...isn't it cute! I can't wait to make some more pillows and bags to put the flowers on. Give it a try, they're fun and easy to make!

Another Thanksgiving project

I made these simple Thanksgiving napkin holders this afternoon. The kids tried to help but it was kind of hard with the cutting so I let them cut their own leaves out of felt and will place those randomly on the table.

For this project you need a real leaf or leaf template (I'm sure you can find a bunch online), a rectangle of brown and tan felt (only 29 cents each!), water soluble pen, ribbon, small sharp scissors and contrasting thread.


The kids found this great leaf for our template.


I placed it on the felt and traced it with a water soluble pen and cut out. I then spritzed it lightly with water to get rid of the water lines.




I used contrasting thread to stitch the veins of the leaf. If you don't have a sewing machine you could easily sew by hand with embroidery thread.


I sewed the center of the ribbon to the back of the leaf. Ribbon piece was approx. 11 inches. You can make it shorter or longer depending on how much overlap you want.


You're done! I think this would be cute to also do for Christmas using holly or mistletoe as a template.

Turkey Day Placemats

I made a fun Thanksgiving craft with the kids I thought I'd share. It's really easy and even a novice sewer could make it.




Below are the measurements I used but you can adjust for the size you want to make.

1- 7 1/2 x 7 1/2 inch square of beige or white fabric
2- 5 1/2 x 7 1/2 pieces of turkey fabric (sides)
2- 3 1/2 x 17 1/2 pieces of turkey fabric (top & bottom)
1 - 13 1/2 x 17 1/2 piece of turkey fabric (back)
1 - 13 /14 x 17 1/4 fusible fleece
Package of fabric pens (I used crayola)
Thread to match

**I used a 1/4" seam allowance



-Outline your childs hand with fabric pen and let them decorate
-Heat set square according to fabric pens you use (I ironed the back of my square for four minutes on dry setting)
-Sew each side piece to decorated fabric square. Press seam allowance toward turkey fabric. This will make your middle piece.

*Note: If you are using a directional fabric like I did make sure you don't sew the design upside down!

-Square up your fabric (make sure everything is even)
-Sew top and bottom pieces to middle piece.

-Square up fabric again.
-Iron fusible fleece to back of top piece using a steam iron

-Pin front and back pieces right sides together

-Sew all around leaving at least a 4" opening on the bottom.
-Turn right side out pointing out corners with chopstick or something pointy (don't press too hard or you might make hole in fabric.
-Top stitch opening closed and continue all around the placemat
-Stitch in the ditch around middle fabric square so it won't get wonky after you dry it.

-Scotchgard if desired (remember kids will be using this and this will help it from getting stained.

I have a lot of extra fabric so I may have the kids decorate more and make some hot pads and coasters.

*If you are not a sewer you can still do this project by taking the decorated square, iron some Heat n Bond on the back of it and then adhere it to a store bought placemat.

Enjoy!
Melissa

Gift Baskets & New Email

Hi All,
Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween! We sure did. The kids had a great time trick or treating. We went to a neighborhood that goes all out and it was really fun. We also had some good friends come visit and ended the weekend with some wine tasting in Napa. Although I'm homesick for San Diego I'm trying to enjoy what Northern California has to offer!

Jack-O-Lanterns
My oldest two helped design the one on the left.


The kids did a Fun Run at the Francis Ford Coppola winery on Halloween afternoon.


No...my husband does not wear Ed Hardy, we went as Jon & Kate. Either my husband is a good actor or he was annoyed that I made him wear that shirt all day.


Just a few of the houses we stopped by...






A rare day out without the kiddos!


My internet carrier in San Diego finally figured out we stopped our service and shut down my business email. My new email is info@sandiegobeachbaby.com. You can contact me there for any questions, orders, etc.

I've been making a lot of baby gift baskets lately. These make great Christmas gifts too! I can do any theme...cost is $50 including priority shipping if on West Coast (East Coast addresses add $5). I can mail directly to gift recipient.









Have a great day!
Melissa

A great Christmas gift!

I've already started making Key Fobs for Christmas gifts so get your orders in! I used a bunch of new fabrics so check them out below! These are great teacher gifts or you could even use them as a gift tag on top of another gift.















Plus some old favorites...





Also made some cute gift baskets for babies...

Hula Themed




Yankee themed (client provided fabric- it's very hard to find!)





Have a great day!
Melissa