Tag Archives: paper pieced gnome

Home Made Holiday Gifts

Every year I create home made gifts for my pickleball crew. There are 8 of us and we play 3 times a week, so we have gotten very close. I want this gift to be pickleball related, but also practical. This year, I used some adorable novelty fabric (Elizabeth Studios Pickleball Paddles on White 683 Fabric) to sew SWEAT RAGS. I found my fabric at a local quilt shop, MY FAVORITE QUILT SHOP, in Green Bay, WI.

I simply purchased soft terry washcloths, ripped open any side seams…

tucked the pickleball fabric under the opened seam…

and sewed the seam back in place. If there was no seam on the washcloths, I cut the fabric 1/2″ wider on those sides, pressed it under, and sewed it in place. So simple! The size of the fabric will depend on the size of your washcloth.

I popped a grommet in one corner so it could be attached to a tote bag.

I think they turned out super cute. I’ve also attached last year’s gift, a tiny tissue holder, because we are always in need of tissue!

PICKLEBALL POTHOLDERS

This is my favorite PB paper pieced pattern, PICKLEBALL POTHOLDERS. Adorbs!

PICKLEBALL GIRL BLOCK

I made this towel for our Pickleball/Tennis Center director…

How would you use my pickleball blocks? They are all paper pieced, and pretty easy!

PATRIOTIC GNOME PILLOW

Just in time for the Fourth of July, you could create this super cute PATRIOTIC GNOME PILLOW.

Labor Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and any other summer day is a perfect time to display this pillow.

PATRIOTIC GIRL GNOME
PATRIOTIC BOY GNOME

I keep my pillow on display all summer. These paper pieced blocks would also work great for potholders, or even a cute table runner. I would love to see what you could create using these gnomes!

I might try some patriotic gnome towels, too! Any other good ideas?

HOMEWARD BOUND QUILT PATTERN

HOMEWARD BOUND is another of my favorite patriotic patterns. It includes paper pieced eagles, applique stars, and pieced chevron. What a great project for Quilts of Valor.

HOMEWARD BOUND WALL HANGING

HOMEWARD BOUND WALL HANGING is also included in this pattern. I love the 3-D effect the waving red stripes have on the flag.

Please have a happy and safe Fourth of July!

Beach Bum Gnomes

Just in time for a summer project, here is my BEACH BUM GNOME QUILT.

BEACH BUM GNOMES QUILT

This adorable lap quilt was designed while I was vacationing in Hilton Head. I found the fabric in a super cute fabric store on the island.

I had a blast shopping for fabric that would work for the cute little “Hawaiian” shirts.

This Gnome has a unicorn floatie and sunglasses! He is ready for the beach.

This Gnome in his sailboat is definitely going on a pillow for my boyfriend, who adores sailing!

Playing in the sand…too cute!

When I discovered the fabric for this little shirt, with the tiny pink flamingos and palm trees, I went nuts! Do all of you enjoy discovering those special fabrics as much as I do?

Check out this BEACH BUM GNOME QUILT pattern and my many, many more patterns HERE.

Newest Gnomes

Here are some new Gnomes that I designed for customers. You might like them too!

SKIING GNOME

SKIING GNOME is gosh darn cute as he tumbles down the ski slope! I am putting him on a pillow!

PIRATE GNOME
PIRATE SHIP

PIRATE GNOME and PIRATE SHIP can be used together as a pair of pillows, etc. or separately. They sure would look great in a kid’s room!

DOCTOR GNOME

I love “My Hero”, DOCTOR GNOME! With the stethoscope ready to use…this cute Doctor is ready to be heroic.

NURSE GNOME

NURSE GNOME is ready with the hypodermic! These two timely gnomes make a cute couple.

GNOME ANGEL

Use a metallic fabric for the wings on GNOME ANGEL to give a truly heavenly look! I always attach fusible T-shirt interfacing to the back of any metallic fabrics when I am paper piecing. It makes them much easier to handle.

Yes, I have been busy! Next time, I’ll share some new sports Gnomes AND info about my new book!

Scrap Busting Blog Hop

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 PATTERN

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 PATTERN

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:

Quilting Room With Mel

Katie Mae Quilts

November Paper Piecing

I’m excited to be on the cover of the 2021 QUILTMAKER magazine, November/December issue. Those are my cute sledding Penguins on the cover.

PENGUIN MUG RUGS

These blocks are as fun to paper piece as they look!

PENGUIN PLAYTIME

The wonderful editors at Golden Peak Media have been so awesome to work with, and are always looking for clever quilting ideas for their magazines. I am so lucky to be in a second magazine this month…

McCall’s Quilting

My GNOME APRON is in the 2021 McCall’s Quilting November/December issue.

GNOME APRON

You know how much I love my Gnomies. This holiday apron is adorable, and so easy to make. I wear my apron when I give lectures for Quilt Guilds! It’s a crowd pleaser.

Speaking of Gnomes…here are my newest Gnome additions for November…

THANKSGIVING GNOME

THANKSGIVING GNOME is holding his Indian corn. The best fun is finding just the right fabric for the corn cobs.

BEER DRINKING GNOME

I am not a huge beer drinker, but this BEER DRINKING GNOME was created as a special request from a customer, and it is quite popular!

GNOME WITH A LIGHTHOUSE

GNOME WITH A LIGHTHOUSE was designed for my brother-in-law who collects lighthouses.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving…life is good. Enjoy!

Gardening Gnomes

Gardening is such a popular pastime. I am almost as passionate about gardening as I am for paper piecing.

My sweet customer Trish, requested some gardening gnomes.

Trish particularly wanted a girl gnome with braids.

GARDENING GNOME

This gnome helps me water the flowers.

I use my blocks for all sorts of projects…

Garden Gnome Vest

I designed this vest for a sewing competition. Kind of quirky and whimsical! Next I am using the garden gnomes on some pillows for a gift.

The 3 day sewing competition is called TOP STITCH and was held in Ripon, Wisconsin. There were 4 of us competing, sewing a different challenge every day. The first day we created umbrellas…

Chris, Myself, Jill, and Deanna

Our second challenge was a lampshade…

Can you guess which lampshade is mine??? Here’s a hint…it’s the paper pieced one!

The best thing about the competition was meeting 3 new wonderful friends. Jill’s company, June Tailor, is having a huge WAREHOUSE SALE in West Bend next week. She invited me to be a vendor.

I will be vending on Thursday and Friday, August 26 and 27 at this awesome fabric and notions sale in West Bend, Wisconsin.

If you are wondering who won the TOP STITCH competition…it wasn’t me! But I will keep the names of the winners a surprise, as you can watch the video on Creative Spark soon.