Well, by default, Mrs. B is the winner of my blog giveaway! Congratulations to her – I guess she got rid of the other competition :). I’m sure she will enjoy her red, white, and blue fabric and homemade pincushion.
Here’s another little Liberty Rose pincushion that honors the Red Cross. It is complemented by a vintage Red Cross pin. I have some other projects in the works, but it’s been hard to find time to finish them. Hopefully, I can get caught up in the next few weeks.
Today is the first anniversary for Keep It Thimble! I want to thank all my readers – you’ve helped me keep this going! I look forward to doing this another year :).
Traditionally, you celebrate the first year with a gift of paper, but I figured fabric would be more appropriate. Here are a few things I pulled from my stash that will be given away to one lucky reader:
A Red, White and Bold charm pack, coordinating fabric (1/2 yard each), and a tomato pincushion (handmade by yours truly!). To enter, just post a comment below – simple! The contest closes at 8pm (ET) this Sunday, and a winner will be randomly chosen on Sunday night.
Like any typical four year old, my son loves bugs – any shape, size, or kind. He is especially fond of ladybugs and bumblebees, so you can imagine that when I saw Heather Bailey’s “Flutterby” pattern I had to get it. This pattern shows you how to make a butterfly, bumblebee, and a ladybug pincushion. Of course my son pointed out that he “didn’t want antenna pins” on his bugs :). I started with the ladybug, since I had some great red and black scraps left over from a dress I am making (to be posted later…) and it seemed like least time consuming since there is no additional applique or embroidery required. That said, it still took a few hours to put it together because it has so many pieces (15 I think). Here is the finished product:
I think he turned out pretty cute, but I am planning to make another one this week now that I understand the pattern better. For the next one, I also plan to add on the legs and antenna (I left these off my first one since my son would have likely pulled them off), embroider a mouth, and do something different for the eyes (the wool felt I used for the gold part has started fraying, so I think I will glue the felt down first and then sew on the eye).
Also, July 23rd marks my one year blog anniversary!! Thanks to all who have started reading my blog, I hope you’ve enjoyed it. Check back on the 23rd for a special anniversay giveway – I will be pulling something from my stash and giving it away to some lucky reader!!
Wool Crazy is sweeping the nation! JoAnn Mullaly’s book, Wool Crazy has inspired many mild-mannered people to start cutting up their wool skirts in order to get material for their crazy quilt blocks!
I saw this book a few months ago, and was really impressed with the color and chaos of this quilt. When Sharon of Liberty Rose decided to teach this as a class, I signed up without a second thought. The bonus part of taking a class with Sharon is that you get to go through her wool stash – so I knew I would be able to create the perfect background for my crazy block:
You start off with a 25″ square piece of batting and muslin for a foundation, and then start adding pieces of wool, working from the center out. First, the pieces are pinned onto the foundation, and when all the pieces are laid out, each one is stitched down with a tack stitch (in a neutral thread). This makes it a lot easier when you add the appliques and finish it up with crazy quilt stitches, so you end up with something that will look like this (photo is from JoAnn’s original quilt):
The theme for my first block is going to be holidays, which is one reason why I selected so many different types of colors. The background needed to compliment holidays of all seasons (not just fall and winter). It took about 4 hours for me to place the wool pieces (this includes the time I spent digging through Sharon’s stash), and then another 4 hours to stitch the pieces down. Now that the hard part is over, the fun will begin. There are already have plans to make at least one more block (and possibly 3 more so I can have a quilt). Pictures will be posted each month of my project – so be sure to check back!
The All People Quilt website has a quick and easy pattern for this Watermelon Table Runner. I got a kit from a local quilt shop 2 years ago and decided to stitch it up on Saturday. It took less than 2 hours (including the cutting) and turned out perfectly. This uses the quilt as you go method, so when you are sewing on the strips, you are also quilting it. It’s just the right accent for your summer table!
My Jo Morton club is having a block swap on Tuesday. We are supposed to make up 6″ blocks in Jo Morton fabric that we can swap with other club members. Mine is a fun block pattern called “Thrifty” that uses a selection of red, blue, and yellow fabrics. However, after made up the first block I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the blue and how it looked with the other colors. I played around with some other blues from my stash and ended up making four variations.
Which color scheme looks best?
As you know, I am a huge fan of Creative Thimble’s Professional Tote pattern. I’ve probably made at least 20 of these in different fabrics and I love how they all turn out. I decided it was time to make myself one to take the beach – with a few modifications.
This bag is 2 inches higher and wider than the pattern, which provides extra room for towels and other beach supplies. There is no center zippered pocket – again to provide more room for the supplies. The idea is to have enough room to roll up three beach towels so they can stand on end inside the bag (thanks for the idea Amy :)).
I thought about creating a water resistant pouch with some oilcloth, but figured it would be too bulky. Anyway, a grocery bag works fine for storing wet bathing suits. Of course I had to select beach themed fabric for this – I love how the lining turned out with all the shells!
Keep it Thimble 