Fake food

Made some fake food out of felt and flannel for the school play Stone Soup. All of the fabric cost me less than $6 to make all of this.

Carrots were 60 degree triangles with a rounded bottom. I sewed them in a cone shape, stuffed, and cinched them yo-yo style. The leaves are felt I stuffed in the hole and stitched in place. 

The potato in the back was tricky. To make it look less football like I cinched it in in several places to make it look like it has eyes.

If you want to know about the steak or cabbage, let me know. 

Thanks for reading,

-Allyson

Valentine Mug Rug

Just wanted to share a cute little mug rug I made for a swap at my guild. I am not a fan of red and pink so I tried to get creative for our valentine swap. 

A lot of little pieces but super easy to assemble. You sew the triangles into strips and then sew all the rows together. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. 34 background triangles and 14 for the heart. I used 1.5" triangles that finished into 1" triangles. I put mine together by machine, but I bet this would be fun to English paper piece as well!

Back is kind of interesting as well. It's all out of my overflowing scrap basket. The pearl bracelet stripes were actually already sewn together and leftover from another project. I love it when I can reuse things!

Thanks for reading!

-Allyson

Arcadia Avenue Block one

So here is January's finish. 

This project was kind of dizzying at first, but Sassafras lane had great fabric cutting directions. I was pleased to see very little waste fabric (relative to other paper piecing patterns). Piece 14 and 15 were kind of frustrating because the fabric piece was barely big enough to work. Stitches were ripped here, people!

After the first few slices I thought it was pretty fun. 

But it became quite tiring. Three slices was my max for one day. 

The center was a little bit of a bear, as you can see here. A couple of pins set it straight. Sassafras lane has posted a handy guide on perfect centers. 

Pretty happy with the outcome. 

Thanks for reading!

-Allyson

Needle Saving Button

I can't remember where I found this idea. Bought a cover button kit out of the clearance bin at Stitched with Love in McKinney, TX. Just took a small circle of thin cotton batting and a larger circle of fabric and followed the directions on the button package. 

The buttons make great needle savers for that one special hand sewing needle you're working with! Just gently slide the needle through the thin layer of fabric on the button and store it there. 

Using a curved basting safety pin, I pinned the button in my handwork bag. This way I can move it if I need to. Just a fun little idea I wanted to share!

-Allyson

Feather Quilt- Piecing

Found this really cool feather pattern online. What impressed me was the pattern is traditionally pieced and not appliqued or paper pieced. The feathers are made alot quicker than one would think as you sew the fabric in strips before cutting the pattern piece out. The pattern is by Anna Maria and can be found for free here.

Before sewing the pieces together.

Completed "half block".

I will keep you all updated on the progress of this one.
-Allyson

Dear Jane- Piecing by hand

I decided I needed a little bag with handwork to take with me places in my purse. I am making the 4.5" blocks found in the book Dear Jane. I found I enjoy handwork! I feel like a pioneer woman! ...Except with freezer paper!

There are so many blocks and some I'm not even sure how to put together yet, so I started with an easy one. (C-1 in the book)
The book does not tell you how to make the blocks, it only has drafted pictures of each block. My approach was to trace the picture of the block onto freezer paper and then cut it apart. I then ironed the freezer paper pieces to my chosen fabrics and cut them out using my add-a-quarter ruler, adding the 1/4" to all sides past the freezer paper. I sewed the pieces together by hand, back stitching every few stitches and using the freezer paper as a seam guide. Once complete, I took off the freezer paper from all but the edges. (Leaving that until I attach the block to something else.) I will post blocks as I finish them :)

Thanks for reading!

Allyson

Batik Fabric Shopping!

Just a quick post to share some fat quarters I purchased today. These gorgeous colors make me smile :) Berry Patch Fabrics was having a 30% off sale. Still deciding what to make...
-Allyson