Catnip laced nap mats

Our cat Louie loved catnip, and we'd always spread it around, but then it made a mess I'd have to clean up later.  The mats keep all the catnip contained, and the kitties roll around (and sometimes into) the mat.  A little later and they are happily snoozing, still on the mat.  I wish I was making these when Louie was still alive... but there are plenty of lucky cats across the West that are very happy with me and their owners. 

~ Enjoy ~

p.s. - I sell the mats on Etsy, you can get to my store through the link on the left!

The Purple Quilt

I am so excited to give this lap blanket to my nieces for Christmas this year.  I LOVE purple, so making this for someone else was hard .... but as they say 'if you love something set it free'.  And oh my gosh, it even has bling! 

They are both young ladies, but I didn't want to make them something in their age range because I don't want them to grow out of it in a few years.  I want it to be a blanket they can cherish forever (as long as they continue to like purple).  :)

For the first time ever, I pieced the back.  That was fun and much easier than I thought it would be.  I don't know why I was hesitating for so long.  There is a mix of stitch in the ditch and free motion quilting.  Also - I used continuous binding for the first time on this quilt.  The bling is a series of 3 crystals every six inches set on the outer border.  The quilt measures 42x42.  It's quite a treasure to me - I hope Emily and April love it as much as I do.

Merry Merry Snowman Blocks 7, 8, 9

I know I've been bad about posting recently, but I didn't realize I failed to post my finished Merry, Merry Snowman blocks.  I have finished all the blocks!!!  I also recently added both borders so now it's ready to sandwich and quilt!

My mission - find a backing.  At first I was sure I would do a red flannel.  The more thought I put into it, I realized I probably wouldn't be using the blanket a lot.  It will come out after Thanksgiving and be more of a decoration with occasional use.  I put so much work into I don't want to be washing it repeatedly every season.  I've settled on a fabric backing.  Now I just need to decide if I'm going to get a matching solid and add some leftover pieces from the top or pick one of the fabrics in the top to be the back.  Decisions, decisions!

This will probably take quite a bit of time to quilt.  My plan is to stitch in the ditch around each block, then go back and free motion stitch around all the applique.   It will be my biggest challenge in machine quilting so far.

Continuous Binding

One of the things that really bug me with traditional binding (making a pocket for the ends) is that it's bulky where the ends meet up, and the binding strip is a little loose inside the pocket.  Every time I look at a project I can always easily spot the start/end of the binding.  A few months ago, I saw a tutorial for continuous binding (no pocket method) and wanted to try it.

I just finished a blanket (pictures coming soon) so I figured this would be a good time to go for broke.  I had been dragging my feet on doing the binding because I was a little nervous about messing this up.... but, to my surprise - it's EASY!!  It worked perfectly!!  I'm so excited and I don't think I'll ever go back to the pocket method again!

I can't find the video I originally saw/used, but this tutorial is really good and will get you started on continuous binding as well!

~ Enjoy ~

p.s. - those little tree quilts are ADORABLE!  I want to make some.  :)

Knitting Needle Case

A dear friend of mine is amazing with needles.  She knits and crochets turning out beautiful, wearable art.  For her birthday she received a entire set of gorgeous wooden needles.  In order to protect them she wanted a case.  When she asked me to make it for her I was so honored, and excited to get going on the project. 

Renee sent me a few ideas for cases she found online, and gave me some stunning seahorse fabric to use.  Having never made one before, I chose a tutorial, made a prototype out of scrap fabric, and jotted down notes on how I would do it different.  We met for lunch so she could see it before I cut into the good fabric, and she loved it.  YAY! 

It was a bit nerve wracking making the first cut - I didn't want to make any mistakes and waste any of the seahorse fabric.  But, all went well and the finished project turned out beautifully!

Thanks Renee for letting me make this for you, for giving me projects that challenge my skills and knowledge, and for letting me use your photo of the case all filled up.  :)

~ Enjoy ~

Turning Tip

So recently I was making a narrow tie, and needed to turn it right side out.  I don't have any wire hangers, so I went in search for something that would fit.  I ended up browsing through closets and drawers all over the house and came up with a Q-Tip.  Sounds strange, but worked so good!  I just pulled the cotton tip off each end... in that regard clean lollipop sticks would work too, but I don't have any of those.  Next time you're in a pinch with a sewing project, you just might find what you need in the hall closet!