Today I have a very special Valentine…just for you! It’s a fabric envelope filled with sweet-smelling heart sachets stuffed with some of last summer’s lavender from my garden. Super easy and super fast – your favorite fat quarter, a fast2fuse® Craft Pack, and a couple sheets of Lutradur® will get you started.

These would also make great party favors or thank-you gifts. And don’t forget the men in your life…just swap out the lavender for some cedar shavings.

Not only is this fun and easy to make, you’ll also get to enjoy a little aromatherapy while sewing….making it the perfect project all the way around! Read on for the project instructions…

1. To make the envelope sheet, cut two pieces of your favorite fabric and one piece of fast2fuse each to 9” x 18” (approximately). Sandwich the fast2fuse between the wrong sides of the fabrics and fuse the fabric to both sides of the fast2fuse with your household iron, following the package directions. I raided my stash for this cute black and white heart print.
2. Trim your envelope sheet to 8” x 17”, making one of the short edges come to a point like an envelope. Then make a tight zigzag stitch all around the cut edges of the envelope. Fold up the straight edge roughly 6″ toward the pointed edge, then use a straight stitch to sew up both sides of the envelope, just inside of the zigzag edging.
3. For the sachets, cut out 2 hearts (approx. 4″ wide)  from a couple sheets of 70gm Lutradur. Sew the hearts together, leaving a small opening to pour in the lavender, then sew the opening closed. Four of these puffy hearts will fit nicely in your envelope.
4. Glue a romantic embellishment or diecut to the front of each heart and handstitch a length of red embroidery floss through the top as a hanger.
5. Place your hearts inside your envelope and tie the entire treasure closed with some ribbon; I place a vintage velvet ribbon rose beneath my love knot.

Have a happy Valentine’s Day!

Related posts:

1. Fabric and fast2fuse Heart Ornaments
2. Caged Creature—free Halloween project
3. Skulls Deelybopper Headband Halloween Project

Ahh, the bulk of holidays have passed, and now it’s time to prepare for the New Year…maybe even make some resolutions. Here are a few free projects you can download from PatternSpot.com to help!

Resolution #1:  Keep those toys and awesome new techy gadgets that Santa brought you safe. Those little devices are known to take a tumble now and then, but an embroidered gizmo cozy by Shiny Happy World will keep each one protected and pretty darn cute.

Resolution #2:  Always be ready for that cough, sniffle, or sneeze. Dig into your stash of fabric scraps to make this tissue holder by Angie Padilla.

Resolution #3:  Take relaxation seriously. Bring on the heat with this microwaveable rice bag by Shiny Happy World. Use it to warm up cold hands, relieve stiff muscles. or toss it to the foot of your bed for warm tootsies. You can also pop it in the freezer to use as a cold pack.

Happy New Year – enjoy your celebrations and we’ll see you in 2012!

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1. Free projects for last-minute gifts

What child wouldn’t be thrilled to see this pachyderm peeking out from under the tree?  I know I’d hug it.  Click here to download a free pattern for Charlie the Patchwork Elephant designed by Bustle & Sew.

Angie Padilla has a free pattern for you to make this fun game called an I Spy Bag. Great for keeping kids entertained during car travel!

I’m pretty sure this season sports more bows than any other. If you find making the perfect bow a struggle, then this free Bow-making tutorial might be for you.

Still need more handmade gift ideas?  Visit PatternSpot.com, where you’ll find hundreds of designers selling thousands of sewing and quilting ePatterns for instant download…and some freebies are posted too!

Merry merry!

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1. Free projects to kick off the New Year

So here’s my last-minute gift giving tip. Last weekend I was in search of a holiday party hostess gift. It occurred to me to check out our own PatternSpot.com. Not only did I find a quick and simple project, but I filled some other holes in my list, too!

For my hostess gift, I was able to instantly download (the beauty of this site!) this free coaster pattern by Angie Padilla and I had a few made in just over an hour.

All the free patterns are listed together, so in no time I found this free hobby apron pattern by Get Sewing. Perfect gift for my niece who loves crafting and can never find her scissors or tape. Another check off the list!

I also found a great stocking stuffer to boot! What kid wouldn’t get a kick out of finding this Five Stones Game (from Shiny Happy World) filling the toes of their stocking?

Wow…no lines, no parking, no waiting and free! Phew, I might just join the “finished shopping” crowd yet.

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Sometimes the holidays bring unexpected guests…“Quick, we need a stocking for cousin Max!” Or maybe you’d like to fit in one last “make the house merry” project?

The super sweet Santas and lettering on these stockings are fusible web appliqué patterns from Christmas with Possibilities by Lynda Milligan and Nancy Smith. They are perfect for not only stockings, but also for a small wallhanging, an embellishment for your front door, or even a holiday table runner.

Click here to download the FREE appliqué patterns along with instructions for sewing up some new stockings to stuff…enjoy!

Related posts:

1. Giveaway Day—Heartwarming Possibilities
2. A chat with Lynda and Nancy from Possibilities
3. Meet the Insul-Fleece Craft Pack and make a Christmas casserole carrier

Halloween is just around the corner and I can’t wait to get the house decorated for all the spooky festivities. This year when I have the “ghouls” over, I want to send each of them home with their very own pet crow…just what everyone needs, right?!!  So after rummaging through my craft room, here is what I came up with.  They go together so fast, I’m sure you’ll want to create some treasures for your own group of friends!

Caged Crow Project

Materials:

• fast2fuse^® – 6” x 15” piece
• Fabric – 15” x 15” piece with matching thread
• Oval pattern roughly 4″ wide (I used an oval die with my handy die cut machine)
• Paper shreds
• 6″ long twig, a toy crow and spider
• Craft glue
• Heavy gauge wire – 8 pieces, each approximately  15″ long
• Medium gauge wire to match
• Black lightweight craft wire
• Small napkin ring (or something similar) painted to match fabric base
• Wire cutters, pliers, drill punch

1.  Fuse fabric to both sides of fast2fuse following manufacturer’s instructions.

2.  Cut out 3 ovals from the fast2fuse using template.

3.  Stitch around the edge of each oval using a wide zigzag stitch.  Pull threads to wrong sides and tie off.  With wrong sides together, use a straight stitch to sew two ovals together along the inside of the zigzag stitching, to create a firmer foundation for the cage.

4.   Using the drill punch, drill 8 small holes evenly spaced around oval, being careful not to drill through any stitching.

5a.   Bend heavy gauge wire into dome shapes, place ends of wire through opposing holes on fabric base. Use pliers to bend wire ends underneath cage base. Repeat with remaining lengths of wire.

5b. Using fabric glue, adhere the last fabric oval over the bent wires at the bottom of the birdcage. Use clothes pins (optional) to hold in place while glue dries.

6.  Wrap a 3 – 4″ piece of medium gauge wire around intersection of heavy wires at top of cage to keep all in place.

7.  Place twig diagonally across inside of cage and twist bits of lightweight wire around ends of twig and attach to cage wires.

8.  Cut three lengths of medium gauge wire (2 @ 6″ and 1@ 8″). Coil each of these lengths around a pencil or similar object,  leaving about 1.5″ wire straight at the end, to create springy embellishments for the paper shred nest.

9.  Use the napkin ring to stabilize the crow; glue the ring on to desired place on the twig and position the crow inside the ring.

10.  Arrange paper shreds inside the cage around the crow and spot glue some shreds if needed to cover the ring.  Add wire “springs” and spider.

As an alternative, I used craft wire to create the Spider’s cage,  added a felted bead at the top, some painted wood block feet, and assorted embellishments from my scrapbook stash.

 Happy Halloween!!

Related posts:

1. Heartfelt Valentine sachets—free project
2. Skulls Deelybopper Headband Halloween Project
3. Get organized: a Christmas planner project

Then I found that my coworker Mary also likes selvage edges, so I used some to upcycle an old canvas tote for her (which has since become Mary’s young daughter’s favorite bag for carrying her favorite things on family camping trips).

I dug into my jar and ironed a bunch of selvage strips on to a rectangle of Shape-Flex to quickly stabilize them.  I then faced the rectangle to a piece of muslin, stitched all around, leaving a small opening for turning inside out, then “scribble” quilted around through the layers to flatten it out.

I stitched that rectangle, on two sides and bottom, to the front of a canvas bag to cover up an ugly faded out logo, and then stitched a twin-needle line down the center, to make a double pocket.

 A quick and easy way to upcycle both the bag and the selvages! Now if I can only figure out how to reuse all these leftover bobbins of threads from my longarm Nolting…actually, I admit I now use those bobbins on the top thread holder on my sewing machine for piecing. Reduce, reuse, recycle…isn’t it fun?

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2. Junk to Jewel: Heirloom tomato pincushions

Ah…the long days of summer.  As we roll into September and warm breezes still caress our skin and sunny days linger, what could symbolize the season better than flip-flops!  More often than not, they’re the shoe of choice whether hanging at the ice cream parlor, lazily making your way for a dip in the water, or strolling (peach pie in hand) to the neighbor’s BBQ.

They’re the closest thing to being barefoot and really… who doesn’t love that floink-floink sound?

Anita Grossman Solomon must have felt a similar passion for this “shoe” when creating her fast2fuse^® flip-flop pattern. Not just for your piggies!  Make them to add kick to your décor by adorning walls, door wreaths, mantles, perhaps even a gift wrap accessory. All you need now are some lemon drops!

Read on for the instructions…

fast2fuse flip-flops

by Anita Grossman Solomon

Materials:

• 12” x 11” fast2fuse Heavyweight Craft Pack
• 13” x 12” main fabric
• 13” x 12” contrasting fabric
• Click here to download the PDF pattern

Instructions:

1. Following the directions on the package, fuse the main fabric to one side of the fast2fuse and the contrasting fabric to the other side at the same time, creating a sandwich with the fast2fuse in the center.

2. Trace  the left foot pattern onto your sandwich, then flip the pattern and trace it a second time to create the right foot. Cut them both out.

3. Using an exacto blade, cut along the “u” shape at each heel.

4. Satin stitch around the outer edge of each flip-flop (skip this step to quicken process if you want this for a quick and easy project at pajama parties).

5. Fold the outer edge that you cut forward, and sew it down into the toe area using a straight stitch, and backstitch to secure.

Related posts:

1. Fabric and fast2fuse Heart Ornaments
2. Holiday gift wrap using the fast2fuse craft pack
3. Caged Creature—free Halloween project

Lately, I’ve needed a way to store larger things like my extra yarn for current knitting projects. I find myself trying to move supplies from one end of the house to the other while I work on projects in the family room, dropping half of them along the way. I was looking for something I could easily find and more importantly carry to the other end of the house! The final prerequisite was to not snag my skeins of yarn. So after much thought, I came up with this repurposed basket.

The fabric is from a green linen skirt I simply could not part with. It’s the prettiest shade of green and I did say it was linen, didn’t I?

Project instructions

1.  For the shoulder straps, cut two strips to 3” x 28” (could be wider or longer depending on your preference and how much fabric you have on hand)

2.  For the lining, cut two pieces of fabric (or your upcycled skirt!) to about 17″x17″. This fits a basket approximately 11″ tall and 32″ around. To determine the size of the lining pieces for a different size basket, measure the basket’s height and circumference and add a few extra inches to each dimension for overlap at the top edge and seam allowances.

3.  Sew the two lining pieces, right sides together, on both sides, starting with 1/2″ seam at top and gradually increase the seam allowance as you move toward the bottom, to best fit the tapered sides of  the basket. This is a loose lining, so a little extra fabric is OK. Sew across the bottom.

4.  Finish the top outside edge with a small hem.  Place liner inside basket and fold the top edge over the lip, position the side seams where you want the shoulder straps to attach on either side. Mark those two areas with pins 1.5″ apart along each seam.  Rip out the seam between the pins (like you’re making a giant buttonhole) and re-stitch around the hole to reinforce.

5.  Fold each strap in half length-wise, right sides together, and sew a 1/4″ seam. Turn right side out and top stitch all the way around. Thread each strap through the basket weave just under the lip on each side, feed through the liner holes and tie it off. Tie the two straps together at the top and you’re done.

If you want something a bit fancier, you could dress up the lining using ribbon, ruffles, decorative stitches from your sewing machine, hand embroidery stitches, personalize it with initials or spell out what treasure is to be kept inside.

To make this project do double-duty at Christmas time, I could use this basket as a mini wrapping station. It could hold all my holiday ribbons, some tape, and a pair of scissors. All I need are my rolls of wrapping papers and I’ll be good to go!

For other great ideas on how to organize your studio, check out Organizing Solutions for Every Quilter by Carolyn Woods.

Related posts:

1. Junk to Jewel: Gift Basket
2. Junk to Jewel: Swing Frame Album to Decorative Scrapbook Page Display
3. Fabric and fast2fuse Heart Ornaments

I wanted to make a gift for a friend of mine that likes to do needlework.  While she usually has several projects going at once and some are quite large, she often has “take-a-long” items she keeps in a plastic bag in her purse.  I thought if I made her something decorative and useful, she just might be able to stop using the plastic bags.

I started with a project I’d made as a promo piece for my book, Make Spectacular Books.

It’s intended to use as a swatch book for either sewing projects or home dec re-do.  It can be filled with lists, swatches, garment fabric quantities, measurement charts, etc.,  so when you find that “to die for fabric” you know just what you need.

A simplified version of this book, is perfect for the needlework keeper. The pages alternate between book cloth (prepared according to the instructions in Make Spectacular Books) and felt.

Here are just a few specs for my Needlework Keeper to use as a starting point to design your own. The cover finished size is 8″ x 8″ folded (8″x16″ flat). The inside pages were trimmed slightly smaller so they fit nicely between the covers. The cloth pages were staggered in their overall flat size…larger in the center of the book and a bit smaller as you move toward the outside of the book, so the thumb edges showed when folded. The felt pages were even a bit smaller, tucked in between the cloth pages so they could safely hold pins and needles without poking out to close to the edges of the book.

Then from my book’s cloth scraps I cut and sewed on various smaller pieces to some pages to make pockets for button cards and notes, and straps to hold fibers or floss.

I sewed a couple lengths of ribbon just over one of the pockets so i could tie a pair of scissors in place and protect the scissor tips at the same time.

You can choose to sew pockets facing up or facing in toward the spine, depending on how you plan to hold and use the book. It makes a lovely gift for any sewer, quilter or crafter!

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1. Get organized: a Christmas planner project