Here is a picture of the Four Freedoms Quilt I designed and Beth recently Quilted for me.  She took this picture, but I do not think it shows how great she did on the quilting.  Beth wrote on her web page:

Our Stitch Every Day series begins anew in January 2009 with the Cup O’ Tea series. Monthly patterns will coordinate (but not match) with the previous year Tea Pot series. These patterns and buttons are also still available.

Here is how the program works at Heart To Hand. Buy the Handmade polymer clay buttons for embellishment of this cross stitch design and we will send you the cross stitch chart for free. Each button is reversible, and durable enough to machine wash or dry clean. Button Pack includes all buttons shown in photo. This kit does NOT include the fabric or floss for the project, just the buttons and free directions. Finished Size: 6″ square.

NEW AUTO SHIP OPTION: We will auto ship these kits to you once a month for a year if you check the auto ship option. Susan will just charge your credit card on the first of the month the $10.20. Find out about this great cross  stitch program here.

I just finished making this easy Halloween Project that you still have time to make before next week.  I used the Mummy Mambo Panel from Clothworks, black fabric, and scraps from my scrap basket. This is a very easy project for all skill levels and you can finish the top in one short evening. 

Directions:

1. Mummy Mambo Panel, if you need to trim up the panel to make it even, rotary cut ½” from colored shapes closest to the edges of the fabric.

2. Cut Three 2” Strips x Width of Fabric from your black fabric.

3. Measuring as you would for borders, frame the Mummy Mambo Panel with the black strips you cut in step two.

4. I then went through my scrap basket and collected all my Orange, Yellow, Black, and Gray scraps.  I cut them into strips that were 2 ½” wide, then sub-cut them into assorted random lengths. Some were as small as 1” and some were as long as 5”. 

5. Sew the scrap strips together making a long chain of assorted scraps that is 2 ½” wide.

6. Again measuring as you would for borders, frame the quilt top with the 2 ½” wide scrap strips.

7. Cut four 3” strips for last border out of black fabric and attach last border.

8. Quilt and bind.

You are done and your project is ready to hang in your house or on your door to greet your harvest visitors.

Happy Day!

BOGO 50% off Sale

Buy one yard ($6.99 a yard or higher)

 get a second yard of select fabrics 50% off

October 21st through October 31st we are offering a Harvest Celebration Sale. Here is how it works. Buy ANY one yard of fabric on our website priced at $6.99 a yard and up and get 50% off a yard of  your choice from the selected Harvest Celebration Sale Bolts of fabric. For more information click here.

Buy One Get One Free Book Sale Here

Quilting Kits Sale Here

Quilt shown is Tumbling Leaves from All People Quilt.  Free Pattern available here.

Fall is here, Harvest time is here, and Halloween is coming.

Time to think about making a wonderful Autumn wall hanging. We have lots of beautiful Autumn fabrics to assist you in your creations here.

Here is a list of wonderful links to some beautiful and unusual Autumn patterns.

Country Harvest from McCall’s Quilting. Reap the bounty of the season’s offerings when you sew this autumn wall hanging. Start with two fat pumpkins for the center block, and then keep adding colorful borders. Whether you add all the borders or just one, this quilt is certain to accent your fall décor.

All About Autumn: What says “autumn” better than crisp, colorful leaves? Welcome guests with these lovely wreaths in fall foliage colors. The woven background design will add a new technique to your piecing skills.

There are several ways to transfer photos to fabric for photo quilts or journal quilts. The short video below talks about one way using Bubble Jet.  I strongly encourage you to use fabrics that are 100% cotton, a very fine texture or fabric no texture at all.  Finally, opt for pale colors for the background of your photos.  This way the pictures will show up easily.  Despite the fact that I do not pre-wash any of my fabrics for sewing, I do recommend that you prewash all your fabrics for you photo fabric projects. The author of this video prints on flannel, and personally I do not like printing on napped fabric, however, it does have its place if you do not mind that the clarity of the picture is not real sharp.

Any ink jet printer will transfer photos to fabric.  Laser printers will not.  For best quality prints, using the technique described in this video, Make sure that your picture has a moderate to high resolution, preferably of around 300 dots per inch (dpi) or more.

Happy Day!

Okay, I will be honest.  I grew up loving shop tools.  I got tossed out of my seventh and eighth grade sewing classes because I was telling the teacher she was teaching people how to sew incorrectly!  So they sent me to wood shop, which I hated in one sense because it was all boys, and I did not like boys too much at the time.  But I did have fun playing with all the shop tools.  Now at 55 you may find a bunch of unique tools in my garage most of them I inherited from my dad, but you would not find me MAKING THINGS with them.  Oh I have made my fair share of furniture in my lifetime, mainly for my doll house, but those tools are now all put away and hiding in the garage.  I am a quilter now, and so I spend my free time QUILTING of course!!

However, while looking for a quilt pattern today I came across these great Quilt rack directions from Lowes.  You can find the pattern here.  The staff at Lowes writes: “Looking for an attractive way to show off a favorite quilt? This easy-to-build quilt rack will make a handsome display, whether you plan to keep it yourself or give it to a quilter you know. It’s a perfect project when bad weather might have you house- or workshop-bound. The lumber choices include pine, poplar and oak, depending on how much you want to spend on material. The rack may be painted, stained or have a natural finish.”  Let me know if you try it!  I would love to see your handiwork, of if you get a loved one to build it for you!!! 

Happy Day!

Beginners

All quilters start out as beginners.
No one is born knowing how.
But all who would be good quilters
Should make this solemn vow:

I will buy only quality fabrics.
I will keep clean my sewing machine.
I will help my fellow quilters
Be they eighty or seventeen.

I will carefully follow directions
That I am given in class
So that what I’m trying to make
Will truly come to pass.

I will try never to feel guilty
About my stash or my UFOs:
These are part of the quilting mystique
As every quilter knows.

Above all, I will embrace
The joys that quilting imparts
Of friendship, fun and sharing
That cheers and fills our hearts.

And when I’m no more a beginner
I won’t hold in disdain
Those who know less than I do–
Who knows what heights they may attain?

(Author: unknown)

National Tie One on Day™ is the brainchild of Ellyn Anne Geisel, author of The Apron Book, and is now in its third year. In keeping with Geisel’s vision, on the day before Thanksgiving, women across the country will be celebrating the day by wrapping a loaf of bread in an apron and tucking a prayer or a note of encouragement in the pocket—and then delivering the bundle to someone in need of physical or spiritual sustenance—or both.

You can participate in this worthy event by taking part in a Tie One On Day™ class or sew-in offered at your local quilt/fabric shop or online retailer. Join hearts to hands with others to put the “give in thanksgiving” for someone in need of a kind word…and the special gift of an apron.

Your gift…

A handmade apron, a loaf of bread and an encouraging note… will make someone’s Thanksgiving Day brighter. Your local shop will arrange for the aprons you create during their Tie One On™ event to be delivered to a local women’s shelter or other charitable organization that assists women in need.

To participate…

Contact Heart To Hand or Visit one of the shops listed here.

Happy Day!