It’s never too early to start thinking about the holidays, especially now that many of us are into giving authentic, handmade gifts, as opposed to gift cards from a favorite corporate monstrosity. Today’s project is a collection of Christmas ornaments—but with a little imagination and creativity in your fabric choices, you can make to function as “everyday” ornaments if you prefer.
Click here to download the 6-page full color project sheet PDF. Happy crafting!
Circle Bell
Two for the time of one! This sweet little bell will charm everyone—especially if you really hang a small jingle bell inside.
Triangular Bell
Three small pieces plus three small holiday bells, and it’s a charmer. Listen to its sweet music when the air moves it.
Gift Box
With just a bit of hand sewing you can create this sweet gift box ornament and the ribbon to decorate it.
Circle Strip
You can’t get much more basic than a straight strip of stiff interfacing and fabric. This is a very fast ornament to make, and with the right fabric and a few beads, it is sure to become a classic on your tree.
These projects are an excerpt from Fast, Fun & Easy® Christmas Decorations by Linda Johansen.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
March is National Craft Month and we are celebrating by posting one project every day this month! If you are joining us late, click here to see the full list of Craft Month projects that have been posted so far.
A creative life is filled with challenges and rewards, puzzles and curiosities. This ongoing series of poems attempts to express the “Aha”s and “What if”s, the deep ponderings and casual observations of an inquiring mind trying to make sense of reality. May it serve, for you, as a bit of “Everyday Inspiration” along your own creative path.
So… do you haiku?
Show me your five seven five
About quilting here!
Carlotta White is using our Liquitex® products for a painting on fabric quilting class she is teaching this month in Northern California! Take a look at these photos that show her progress through the project.
the finished quilt
Here’s what Carlotta had to say about the project:
The rooster pattern was made from a photo I’d taken at a farm. The colors where just basic but fun, black, yellow, red, green, and purple. The [Liquitex] fabric medium really helps the paint not to wick on the fabric! After he was painted I put fusible on the back cut him out and attached him to the background. Then the thread painting just adds more color and texture.
Carlotta’s classes are on March 13th and March 20th at Sew What in Redding, CA. In the class students will get to use her pattern to paint a Picasso rooster of their own!
The large-scale contemporary prints used in this cozy, modern table runner will add a splash of color to your table, making it vibrant and exciting. The finished block size is 10″ x 10″ and the finished table runner is 16 1/2˝ × 56 1/2˝.
The piecing in this project is super-easy because all your cut pieces will be squares and rectangles. Straight line sewing all the way with no stretchy bias edges to worry about!
Click here to download the 4-page, full color project sheet.
This project is an excerpt from Cozy Modern Quilts by Kim Schaefer, which includes 23 cozy, contemporary quilt projects in various sizes including wall and lap quilts, table runners, and placemats.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
March is National Craft Month and we are celebrating by posting one project every day this month! If you are joining us late, click here to see the full list of Craft Month projects that have been posted so far.
This lighthearted wall quilt will make someone special have a very happy birthday. Or make it for yourself and bring it out for display whenever it is birthday party time.
Click here to download a full color, 5 page project sheet PDF file that includes a materials list, project instructions and diagrams, and appliqué templates. Then have fun and hold on to your seat, because this project goes together in a hurry. Fused appliqué all the way!
This project is an excerpt from Poster Quilts with Patrick Lose
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
March is National Craft Month and we are celebrating by posting one project every day this month! If you are joining us late, click here to see the full list of Craft Month projects that have been posted so far.
Do you remember my Dr. Seuss post back in October of last year when I said that I was working on some exciting new projects that I couldn’t tell you about until the Spring?
Well, Spring is almost officially sprung and everyone at C&T Publishing is excited to introduce Stash, our new line of how-to books celebrating fabric arts for a handmade lifestyle. If you’re craving beautiful authenticity in a time of mass-production…Stash is for you.
Officially, Stash is an imprint of C&T Publishing. What is an imprint, you say? I’ll try not to be too much of a publishing geek when I say…in book publishing, it is a way for a company to respond to the needs of a new or growing group of readers.
This imprint concept is very common in publishing but more easily understood in the automobile industry. For example, Toyota has their main Toyota cars but in recent years has launched Lexus and Scion to accommodate a variety of aesthetics. Similarly, Stash is a line of books that compliments the C&T list by providing content that accommodates the craft sewer.
Continue Reading…
What do you do when you are visiting in another city, at a house where “makers” don’t live, and a child needs an Olympic Flag, immediately, for his 6th birthday party? You IMPROVISE, of course.
It was my grandsons’ 4th and 6th birthdays and there wasn’t a rotary cutter, or thread anywhere to be found. So I got 5 fat quarters, used 2 sizes of plates for circle templates, a half-yard of white muslin and some fusible web…et voila! Interlacing the circles, using a photo on the internet, was the hardest thing, but the rest was easy and fun. (You can’t discourage a quilter by taking away her tools!)
So now, when Apolo Ono wins another medal, Sam has a flag to wave.
Bring out those Batiks of yours, because today we have a delightful trio of color rich, stash-busting projects for you in the arenas of home decor and wearable accessories. Click here to download the full color, 4-page project sheet PDF file.
Silk-Covered Lampshade
by Kerry Graham
Using silk chiffon fabric, ribbon yarn, and glass beads
Boudoir Box
by Susan I. Jones
Using silk satin fabric, self-adhesive fabrics, beaded fringe, and assorted glass crystals
Wild Fiber Necklace
by Susan I. Jones
Using cotton ribbon yarn, eyelash yarn, and beads
These projects are excerpted from Color Your World with Princess Mirah Batiks
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
March is National Craft Month and we are celebrating by posting one project every day this month! If you are joining us late, click here to see the full list of Craft Month projects that have been posted so far.
If you regularly check C&T’s blog, you know that every few weeks, the technical editors include a quilting tip or technique. Over the past year, we have shared with you some of our favorite “tricks of the trade” to help make your quilting and sewing easier.
Now we want to encourage you, our readers, to give us your input as to the topics you would like to see covered. What kinds of quiltmaking, sewing, or crafting tips would you like to see on our blog in the next few months? Just put your request in the comments section below and we will try to cover what we can over the next year. In the blog, we try to address topics that may come up in several types of projects, and not those limited to a specific project in a specific book.
We are looking forward to hearing from you.
Today’s techniques are:
- stamping on fabric
- thread painting on soluble stabilizer
- simple beading
- adding a fringe of woolen yarns
Gladys Love uses these techniques to create these stunning leaf vine luggage tags in her book Embellishing with Anything.
Click here to download a 6 page, full color PDF file that will guide you through these techniques as they apply to these luggage tags. The PDF also includes a bonus project! You’ll learn to make this beautiful leaf sprig ATC card, which has curved piecing and twin-needle top stitching. Gladys made the original with scraps of background cut from another quilt she was working on at the time.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
March is National Craft Month and we are celebrating by posting one project every day this month! If you are joining us late, click here to see the full list of Craft Month projects that have been posted so far.
