Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Kits! Kits! I've Got Kits!

 I spent the weekend packaging up quilt kits! Doesn't that sound like fun... I've selected and prepackaged everything you need to get a project started... these are great for gift giving and quilt retreats. I've use quality 100% cotton fabric, notions like buttons and seed beads are included in the kits. My tea towel kits have the heat n bond included! Have you ever gotten a kit only to find there's no pattern! Don't you just hate when that happens, well, I've made sure to include the pattern too! You just need the thread (and sometimes batting) ! Just think, everything is all picked out for you. No running around looking for the perfect fabric! The kits are available on Etsy, you can also email me directly and I will ship them to you.

Frankie Mug Rug Kit
The Grinch Mug Rug 
Sledding Fun Tea Towel Kit
Bundle Up Snowmen Table Runner Kit
Snowman Mug Rug Kit
Also another exciting happening! I am having a 'flash' sale on my packaged pattern 'Summer Breeze'. (In my Etsy shop)  It's a quick and easy pattern that is fun to do! It can be done in any color combination and the results are fantastic! It's on sale now for $3.00 off!




There's just a few days left for my giveaway! There's still time to enter!

Happy Quilting,

Monday, July 28, 2014

Grandma's Kitchen

It's so nice to have a day in the sewing room. Saturday was the perfect day for creating, the guys were busy with their own projects so that gave me the day to spend my time on my own. So nice to have the day to create with Wilson snoring at my feet. (He also had a relaxing weekend) I worked on some new applique designs for in the kitchen.
I love my kitchen mixer, love the color red.
This was a fun design to make.
Love the buttons!
My hubby drinks lots of tea, so I had to make a teapot!
I love red and yellow together, reminds me of days gone by and
grandma's kitchen on the farm.

I enjoy to embellish with buttons and yo-yo's.

These designs can be found in my Etsy and Craftsy sites. 'Grandma's Kitchen' has both applique patterns for the teapot and mixer along with directions on how to make a hanging kitchen towel. The pattern is available both as a PDF instant download and as a packaged pattern.  I hope you have a wonderful day and find some time to quilt.

Happy quilting,

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Machine Binding 101

Binding quilts is not my favorite thing to do. The only time I really enjoy it is if I have tons of time and a good movie playing. A couple of diet Mountain Dews helps too.... For a long time I viewed binding as a lot of hand stitching, but lately I have gotten into machine binding my quilts. I almost prefer to bind quilts this way.... almost.... there are times I still hand stitch my binding down after the initial sewing it onto the quilt. The fun thing about machine binding is the decorative edge it leaves. Sometimes a quilt, or table runner screams for the extra touch of decorative stitches. 

Now, grab something to drink and snack on, this is going to be a bit of a long posting.... if you like my tutorial, remember to pin it for future use.... so here goes.... machine binding 101
When you are done quilting all your layers together you are then ready to bind your quilt! When I machine bind I do a small narrow zig zag around the edge of my quilt (or table runner). Keep in mind your stitching needs to be 'less' then a 1/4" from the edge. (You don't want it to show when you are done attaching your binding when you are done.)
Then trim off all of the excess backing and batting....
For this project I am using a black seam binding made from 2 1/4" strips by wof, ironed in half lengthwise.
Line up your binding along the raw edge on the backside of your quilt, yes, the backside,  leave about a 6" tail and then start sewing a 1/4" seam. 
Stop your sewing a 1/4" from the edge.
Pull your quilt out from under the sewing machine foot. I give myself just enough space to work. Fold back the binding back on itself to create a 45 degree angle. Make sure the raw edge of the binding aligns with the raw edge of the quilt.
Then fold the binding back down upon quilt with the fold at the upper edge of the corner. You are making a mitered corner.
Stitch a 1/4" seam, backstitch for added strength. Sew until you reach a 1/4" from the corners edge. Then miter the corner as shown above. Continue to sew until you make it around your quilt... stop and leave a 'tail' and at least a 6-7" gap.
Here my 'tails' are shown.... and my 'gap'
Pin the beginning and ending tails until they meet 'halfway' lining up the raw edges... Make a very small clip with your scissors where all the layers of the binding meet. Take out the pins...
Open the ends of the binding up and put right sides together at right angles aligning the clip marks with the edges of the strips. Pin. Draw a stitching line from corner to corner.
Stitch on the line and then remove pins. Before you trim away the excess fabric, make sure the binding fits in place.
Trim away excess.
Pin in place and sew... remember a 1/4" seam.
All sewn...
Now it's time to machine sew your binding in place. 
Fold your binding edge from the back to the front of the quilt, lining the edge of your binding with the sewing line.
Wonder Clips come in really handy to hold your binding in place as you sew. They also hold mitered corners nicely in place while you sew along.
I am using a buttonhole stitch, matching the size to some decorative stitching I had already done on the quilt.
I sew the 'straight' stitch of the buttonhole stitch in the 'ditch' of the quilt and the binding. Don't go too fast while you stitch. I find it easier to keep it all straight if I go a little slower, it's still a lot faster than hand stitching it all down.
Here's how my stitch looks on the top of my quilt...
Keep sewing all around until you're back at the beginning!
Here's how my binding turned out. I used brown thread because it matched the other stitching that I did, I used a cream bobbin thread, although I could have used black. It still looks pretty good.
I hope you enjoyed my tutorial on machine binding a quilt. It is fun to do, and you can experiment with different types of decorative stitches to add a little flair to your finished quilts. 
Let's bind some quilts!

Happy quilting,
Cindy

Monday, July 21, 2014

Tea Towels

Many of my applique designs are done on tea towels. I love doing applique on tea towels as you can see if you visit my website or take a peek at any of my Doodlettes. (My pattern line of just applique designs) One of the most asked questions is where do you get your towels to applique on? I now buy them wholesale so that I can kit them up for you. But one of my favorite places to buy tea towels online is at Quilters Studio. I have ordered from them for years, the prices are reasonable, you get a discount if you order a dozen. Orders come quickly in the mail and I always have been pleased with what I buy from them. These towels are 100% Cotton Homespun fabric.  Great for hand or machine embroidery, appliqué or stenciling.  Use these towels for aprons, curtains, home decor and all your craft projects. These 20" x 28" high quality tea towels are heavy weight with a fabric band sewn in corner for ease of hanging. I Love these towels! 




 I hope that you have fun with some of my new designs and sew up some fun tea towels.
It's not too early to start working on some fall and winter projects.


Happy quilting,

Friday, July 18, 2014

Garden Visitor

I know I have garden visitors throughout the year, but especially when the garden is growing. I enjoy the various bugs and butterflies.  I know that the deer stop by and munch on the buffet I am growing (my garden) they especially like the green beans and hostas.  But one little fellow, I see all winter long, but don't see him in the summer. I'm sure he visits my garden, so I designed this cute little fox, sitting among the flowers. It's a cute companion piece that goes well with Garden Gnome.

Here I have all of the pieces cut out and all ready to iron in place.
I picked out some buttons that I thought worked too.

'Garden Visitor'A cute little fox...
This new pattern can be found on ETSY and CRAFTSY as instant downloads.
Packaged patterns are also available.

Happy Quilting,

Monday, July 14, 2014

July's Prize

Quilting in the summer is sometimes a challenge. There's so many distractions, like vacation, baseball, gardening... sometimes the only way that I make it down to my sewing room is a rainy day, or it's so hot outside that there's no way I would go outside. With that in mind, I thought I would need to present an extra special prize this month. It's also a bigger section of the quilt so I thought an awesome prize would help to keep us all motivated. Oh it's an awesome prize! I would like to thank Scott from Studio E for donating this month's prize! A wonderful fat quarter bundle from Henry Glass.


Isn't it pretty! The perfect set of blenders. A total must have for any quilter's stash. Remember to enter the giveaway for this awesome prize, post your pictures of your finished Quilt Doodle BOM 2014 blocks or sections to the Flickr Group, Blogging about the Quilt Doodle BOM 2014 and send me a link for a chance to win this beautiful bundle of fabric. Links to all of the past patterns can be found HERE. It's been fun to see the completed blocks and sections.  Here are some of the pictures that have been posted so far....




Happy Quilting