Welcome to our Scrap Busting Blog Hop, where we embrace every scrap in our sewing rooms. We are proving that there is no unusable scrap! I find that especially true in paper piecing, where I use my scraps every day. It is important to have a wide variety of colors to choose from when paper piecing, so as to find just that right print and color when piecing together an image.
Thanks to Melissa for hosting this blog hop and giving the designers a chance to share something new.
Since Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, I have created a new HEARTY GNOME block. It is cute as can be, and is free to anyone who subscribes to my blog.
HEARTY GNOME
This block is great for intermediate paper piecers, but could be tackled by a confident beginner, too. This sweet gnome looks great in all kinds of projects. I added him to a 12″ pillow.
I have more Valentine Gnome patterns that would pair nicely with the HEARTY GNOME.
GNOME WITH HEART would make a great companion pillow, or make a pair of potholders, or even a small table runner. This paper pieced block pattern is available on Etsy.
GNOME LOVE is not only lovely for your Valentine, but would also make a great gift for a wedding or anniversary. Notice how the space between their hats forms a heart? This pattern is also available on Etsy.
If you are new to paper piecing, visit the Video/Tutorial Page on this blog for step by step directions to paper piece using my patterns.
Thanks so much for stopping by! Please visit the SCRAP BUSTING BLOG HOP every Monday in January and February to see new Scrap Busting posts.
You can also visit these SCRAP BUSTING BLOG participants:
This book has something for everyone. I have designed 2 images for each month of the year… that means you will be getting 24 paper pieced block patterns, plus the patterns for 7 different projects. All blocks fit in all patterns in this book, as well as all of the projects in my previous 5 books.
These 2 adorable Gnomes are the images for March. Here I have used them together in a pillow. Pillow pattern is included, as are all of the projects I show you in this post.
Lots of customers have been asking me for a Squirrel pattern, so I am including him in this book. These September POTHOLDERS can also be used as MINI QUILTS.
These super easy hand towels could be used in your kitchen or bathroom. Customize them with any 2 images from my book. Wouldn’t the Octopus and Crab also work great as bath towels?
As you can see, you are getting LOTS … with 24 paper pieced block patterns, and 7 project patterns! But just for fun, let’s add an extra FREE project pattern right here! Attach any of the Mini Quilts to the top of this CALENDAR HOLDER with a strip of Velcro. This will make the Mini Quilts interchangeable.
CALENDAR HOLDER
This Calendar Holder is 15″ wide and 28″ long.
Cut from main fabric: Cut one 15″ x 28″ rectangle. Cut one 15″ x 25″ rectangle for pocket (to be folded in half). Cut two 2 1/2″ x WOF strips for binding.
Cut from muslin: Cut one 15″ x 28″ rectangle for backing.
Cut from fusible fleece: Cut one 15″ x 28″ rectangle for main body. Cut one 15″ x 12 1/2″ for pocket.
Cut from Fast 2 Fuse Interfacing, Heavy: Cut two 2″ x 15″ strips. Cut one 4″ x 15″ strip.
Fuse the fusible fleece to the wrong side of the 15″ x 28″ main body using a pressing cloth. Fuse one of the 2″ x 15″ Fast 2 Fuse strips to the wrong side of the main body, at the top. Fuse the 4″ x 15″ Fast 2 Fuse strip to the center. Pin the muslin to the back of the main body. Top stitch approximately 1/4″ from the edges of all Fast 2 Fuse pieces through all layers, to keep them in place.
Pocket: Fuse the 12 1/2″ x 15″ fusible fleece to the wrong side of the pocket, at the bottom. Fuse the remaining 2″ x 15″ Fast 2 Fuse strip overlapping the top of the fusible fleece. this will give extra strength to the top of the pocket. Fold the remainder of the fabric to the back of the pocket for lining. Top stitch 1/4″ from the edges of the Fast 2 Fuse strip to keep it in place.
Pin the pocket at the bottom of the main body, matching the bottom corners and the raw edges. Prepare the 2 strips of binding. Bind around the 4 sides of the calendar holder, catching the pocket as you stitch.
Hand sew a hanging pocket to the back, or hang as desired.
Slide a piece of cardboard into the pocket, then slide in the calendar. I used a calendar from the Dollar Store, which came with the a piece of cardboard.
Machine stitch a 10″ strip of velcro 1″ from the top of the Calendar holder, on the right side.
Hand stitch a strip of Velcro to the back of any of the Mini Quilts to hang at the top of your Calendar Holder.
Wednesday, September 9, join me on C & T Facebook Live. At 2:00 pm CST I will be demonstrating how to paper piece the SEAHORSE BLOCK from my newest book: SEW MAGICAL. If you want to paper piece along with me, purchase the book now, so you will have a copy of the pattern.
I love this book soooo much…
SEAHORSE BLOCK
This is the Seahorse Block that I will be creating on Facebook Live. The book also has visual step by step directions for paper piecing. If we don’t get the entire block done together on Facebook, it will be easy to use the book to finish the block later, on your own. To sew along with me, have some scraps of three different colored fabrics ready, similar to what you see above. For the background fabric, you will need approximately a Fat Eighth of fabric. That’s a piece that is 9″ by 21″. For the fin, a directional fabric is fine, and I will give you some tips as how to add a directional fabric to your paper pieced block.
Baby Quilt with Seahorses
The directions to make this Seahorse Baby Quilt are also in the Sew Magical book.
Soooo…tune into C&T on Facebook on Wednesday, September 9 at 2 pm CST. Get lots of free tips on paper piecing. Can’t wait to see you there!
Welcome summer! These BREEZY BUTTERFLIES are just right for some warm weather paper piecing.
BREEZY BUTTERFLY 1BREEZY BUTTERFLY 2
These patterns are easy enough for beginners, but fun for intermediate paper piecers, too. If you are new to paper piecing, watch some of my free tutorials on my “Video and Tutorials” page.
Please consider subscribing so you can download the FREE BUTTERFLY PATTERNS HERE:
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After subscribing, the Butterfly downloads will be sent directly to your email.
Welcome to our 2019 Once Upon A Story Row-A-Long. A big THANK YOU to Marian Pena and her hours of preparation time organizing this years event.
My featured fairy tale is The Last Unicorn, by Peter Beagle.
The Last Unicorn is a lovely story about a unicorn who dreams big!
Dream Big
This paper pieced unicorn row measures 9″ x 18″. This includes the outer border. The letters “Dream Big” are machine embroidered onto the finished block. But, any word or name could be used. And if machine embroidery is not your thing, a word could be appliqued in the space above the unicorn.
And now for the GIVE-AWAY! If unicorns are your thing, you will love my new pattern “UNICORN QUILT”. You can win this pattern free, just leave a COMMENT below. I would love to hear what your favorite subject matter is for a quilt.
This quilt is excellent for a beginner. The paper pieced blocks are super easy. The Unicorn is paper pieced, and the flowers and alphabet letters are applique. This is a great quilt to personalize.
I have had requests to share a pattern for the masks I am donating. This pattern was originally found on the Craft Passion website. I give all the credit possible to this site for the original pattern. After making a bunch of the masks, I have tweeked the pattern to be a bit more fitted. Now I am super happy with the fit, and it is a very easy pattern to assemble.
I’ve already sewn over 150 face masks to give-away to friends and family. This is not a medical mask, but a mask to use for home, grocery shopping, etc. However, it is very easy to adapt this pattern to add a pocket on the back to hold an N95 filter.
Download the FACE MASK PATTERN HERE. Set your printer at CUSTOM 100%. Make sure the little box on the pattern measures 1 inch square.
Cut 2 main fabric pieces, 2 lining pieces, and 2 fusible interfacing pieces. I use the same interfacing used for T-shirt quilts. The interfacing is optional.
Fuse the interfacing to the back of the 2 main fabric pieces.
Sew the seam at the front of the 2 main pieces, and the front of the 2 lining pieces.
4. Clip the curves on both pieces, then press the seams towards one side. Topstitch 1/8″ from the seam on the Main piece only. I am using white thread so you can see the topstitching.
6. Pin the lining to the main piece, right sides together.
7. Press under 1/4″ along the lining and main fabric pieces, just on one end of the mask. The other end will be sewn shut.
8. Sew all the way around the mask, leaving the one end open for turning.
9. Clip the curve by the nose area.
10. Turn the mask right side out through the turning hole on the side. A turning tool or knitting needle is helpful. Press.
11. Top stitch 1/4″ from the edge.
12. Press under each end on the “FOLD” line shown on the pattern. Place a 9″ piece of Round Cord Elastic under the flap and stitch the flap down. On this mask I am using 2mm elastic, but 1mm also works fine.
13. Tie a knot in the elastic .
14. Pull the knot into the channel created by the fold.
This mask fits an adult female. Men may need a longer elastic. If the mask is too small for a man, increase the size of the pattern by about 1/4″ along the top and sides for a man, decrease 1/4″ for a child’s size.
This adorable LOAD OF LOVE dump truck would make a super cute pillow for your truck lovers! Those are buttons on the wheels for easy hubcaps. You know I like to keep things easy.
I love my SCALLOPED HEART PILLOW! Designing all the scallops took some time, and I would recommend this project for an intermediate paper piecer. My fond customer Marilyn created this adorable project that I just have to share…
Love you Marilyn!
Thanks so much for visiting today. If you are new to paper piecing, consider watching my FREE tutorials. Just click the Tutorial tab at the top of this page.
Starting September 3, you can HOP along with our Row Along. Each day designers will be giving FREE patterns for rows that could be used in quilts, table runners, place mats, etc. Each row correlates to a story or fairy tale.
Click to see lots more GIVE-AWAYS. And, hang with me til the end of this post for my Give-Away. Please visit Seams to be Sew to read the rules for our Give-aways.
My row is vertical and measures 9″x18″ finished. I was motivated by “The Last Unicorn“, written by Peter Beagle.
DREAM BIG, from Made By Marney
This is a paper pieced pattern and may be purchased here: CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE.
Here’s a clever idea to use this row in a super cute PILLOWCASE. Here is a tutorial to sew your own Dream Big Unicorn Pillowcase. OR, scroll to the end to see my GIVE-AWAY.
Dream Big Unicorn Pillowcase
Where better to DREAM BIG than on your pillowcase, right? NORTHCOTT fabrics have been wonderfully generous in suppling us with fabric for our samples. I am using Northcott White 22 136-10 for my main pillowcase fabric, and scraps for the paper piecing. I use French seams and line the back of the paper pieced part of the pillowcase so there are no exposed seams, as this is an item that will be washed repeatedly. Finished size: 20 1/2″x 28″, fits a standard sized pillow.
Cut these pieces from 1 yard of the main fabric:
2 rectangles 2″x 9 1/2″
1rectangle 7″x 21″
1 rectangle 9″x 21″
2 rectangles 21″x 25″
From 1/3 yard of contrasting color cut:
1 strip 10″ x WOF (width of fabric)
From 1/3 yard of fusible fleece cut:
1 rectangle 9 1/2″x 21 1/2″
Sew the 2″x 9 1/2″ strips to the top and bottom of the paper pieced unicorn.
Remove the paper from the back of the unicorn. Steam press the fusible fleece to the wrong side of the unicorn unit. Quilt as desired (there will only be 2 layers to quilt through instead of the usual 3 layers of fabric).
Use 7″x 21″ fabric.
Pin the 7″x 21″ piece of main fabric to the unicorn unit, with right sides together.
Lining piece.
Trim 1 of the 21″x 25″ pieces of fabric to 11″x 21″. This will be the lining, although I am using the main fabric so as not to waste fabric. Pin this piece over the 7″x 21″ piece, right side of fabric facing down. Stitch through all 3 layers, using a 1/4″ seam allowance.
Press open.
Press the fabric to the right of the unicorn and the seam allowance towards the unicorn.
This is the back view.
Press only the LINING piece over the back of the unicorn.
Turn under excess and press.
Turn under any fabric that extends past the unicorn, and press under to form a hem. You may trim the excess to 1/2″ if preferred. The hem should be even with the raw edge of the unicorn.
Push the lining aside when attaching the left portion of the pillowcase top.
Pin the 9″x 21″ piece of main fabric to the left side edge of the unicorn unit. Sew in place using a 1/4″ seam allowance. Press the fabric open. Press the seam towards the unicorn.
Pin lining in place.
Pin the hem edge of the lining over the seam allowance and pin in place.
This is the back of the pillowcase.
Hand stitch the hem in place. The front of the pillowcase is now finished.
Assemble the pillowcase using French seams. Pin the 21″x 25″ piece of main fabric to the back of the pillowcase, wrong sides together. Sew together using a scant 1/8″ seam allowance.
Turn the pillowcase with the right sides together, press, and sew the same seam again, using a 14″ seam allowance. This encases the previous seam.
Add the Cuff.
Press the 10″x WOF strip AND the pillowcase open flat. Pin the right side of cuff fabric along the 42″ edge of the pillowcase, right side of cuff facing wrong side of pillowcase. Notice how I am skipping the SELVAGE part of the cuff. It will be trimmed later.
Burrito cuff pillowcase.
Ross the pillowcase into a tube that will fit inside of the cuff fabric.
Roll the cuff fabric up and over the pillowcase tube and pin in place.
Here you see how I am matching the edges of cuff fabric and pillowcase fabric and pinning in place. Sew through all layers with a 1/4″ seam allowance.
Pull the pillowcase out of the tube through one of the side edge holes.
Press cuff flat and trim away any excess cuff from both sides of the pillowcase. Now finish sewing the pillowcase together using French seams.
Fold the pillowcase in half, with the right side out and pin the two remaining sides together. Sew a scant 1/8″ seam allowance on these two sides. Turn inside out and press.
Pin the same two edges with the RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER, and sew a 1/4″ seam allowance, encasing the previous seam.
Turn right side out and press flat. How sweet is that? This pillowcase is ready for some BIG dreams!
GIVE-AWAY: Click HERE for the chance to win this Northcott Fat Quarter Bundle, a $20 value.
Now for MY GIVEAWAY. Click to enter to win a FREE paper piece and appliqued pattern to create this super cute UNICORN LAP QUILT. Alphabet letters are included to applique a personalized name on this project, if so desired. This adorable pattern is also available on my Etsy shop. Don’t forget to leave a comment!
=========================================================== Tuesday, October 08, 2019 – SNT
Beth Strand Carol Andrews Carol Swift Cindy Pieters Debra Davis Dione Gardner-Stephen Elizabeth Coughlin Linda Bratten Lydia Midday Marian Pena Nancy Myers Pamela Boatright Paula Gilmore Ursula Prandtstetter
Welcome to my 12 Days of Christmas in July web post. Thanks to Sarah Craig at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for organizing such a delightful Blog Hop. Join us from July 14 through 25 as we share clever Christmas ideas with you.
If you are at all familiar with my paper pieced designs, you know that I love designing animal images for quilts, table runners, pillows, etc. Some of my customers have been asking for paper pieced Christmas cats. I thought this would be a great time to share my newest table runner: CHRISTMAS CATS. This pattern is available on ETSY now, or try winning one below.
Christmas Cats
This widely grinning kitty is Christmas Kitty.
Next is Merry Mouser.
And last is Yuletide Tabby.
If you are new to paper piecing, watch my free tutorials PAPER PIECING TUTORIAL #1 on how to paper piece a segment.
Rick rack is a super cute addition to any table runner or quilt. I have a great tip for adding the rick rack. This is done after the runner is quilted.
Pin the rick rack over the ditch between the sashing and the outer border, starting in the center at the bottom of the runner.
2. At the corner, flip the rick rack over to the opposite side and pivot at the corner (similar to how binding is attached. Rick rack has no right or wrong side.
3. Continue to pin rick rack around the remaining 3 sides of the runner. Overlap the tails slightly. Sew in place down the center of the rick rack through all layers of the runner.
And now for the GIVE-AWAYS. The 12 Days of Christmas in July is offering the first Give-Away to win a FAT QUARTER BUNDLE FROM FIGO FABRICS. This is their new winter line called Wintertide.
CLICK HERE to sign up for the FIGO FAT QUARTER GIVE-AWAY!
Win this pattern!
The second GIVE-AWAY is from me, Made By Marney. Just leave a comment to enter. The winner will win the CHRISTMAS CATS PATTERN. The winner will be notified on July 26th.
Here is the complete list of all participants in this years 12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop. Please visit them all for some clever Christmas ideas.
