Let's Go Fly a Kite

New Pattern!

We adore this fabric.  It's so soft and beautiful, and reminds us of cool, breezy summer days- kite flying days.

These kites are really simple appliqué.  If you're just starting to catch the appliqué bug, it's perfect for the beginner- with large pieces and straight lines.  And the rest is simple piecing! And bonus, it works up pretty quickly

The fabric is Glimma by Lotta Jansdotter for Windham Fabrics.  And the pattern can be purchased here.

A Pocket Full of Posies

This is one of those patterns we had in our "idea" folder for quite a long time.  It progressed from one idea to another but was constantly pushed back by other projects.  And this center picture has been drawn for years.

And suddenly, we came across this darling line of fabric, and magic hit! Sometimes, it just happens that way.

Though, I really adore this line.  And I adore the designers (Thimbleblossoms and Cottonway) and have been blog stalking them since 2006 or something like that.

The piecing here, is quite easy.  And is a small stack of fat quarters, which is the most fun thing to buy, really.

And these girls! I'm so glad they found their way over to this quilt.  We love it.

Pattern is quite adorable and found here. 

Canvas Tote Bag Makeover/Tutorial

These are easy, I promise.  All you need is a canvas tote (found at your local craft store), a favorite design, 1/2 yard of fabric, embroidery floss and/or scraps for applique and heat 'n bond (appliqué only).

First, you want to pick a design to go on the outside.  These birds are found in Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Issue 7.  For this tutorial, I'm going to use one of the 12 Dancing Princesses from on of my favorite patterns (ever).  And it was hard to choose just one, but I went with the jumping princess.

Since you can't see through these bags to trace the images, we like to use Sonja Callaghan's tip. Basically, it's just tracing your image on Glad Press 'n Seal, and embroidering over the top of it, then removing the paper at the end.  We don't usually embroider this way, but it is definitely worth it when you can't see through your fabric!

Before removing the Press 'n Seal

Since we're not taking apart our tote bags, embroidering or appliquéing is all done by hand.  It can get a little tricky, especially when you're working towards the bottom, but totally do-able. For the appliqué, we found using a fusible-method (with Soft Fuse or Heat 'n Bond) and hand stitching a button-hole stitch around each shape was the easiest.  Really, any hand appliqué method would work.

Next: Cut your lining fabric: 14" x 35".  For the lining, we simply measured our bag (taking note of seam allowances) and doubled the length + 4".

Iron wrong sides together (making a 14" x 17.5" shape), creasing the fold. Then fold one side over leaving 1.5" overlapping the other side (or the width of the bottom of the bag) and crease again.  Flip bag over and line up edges and crease on the other side.

These photos illustrate what it should look like after creasing.

Sew 1/4" on both the left and right sides.  The inside should look just like this.  And just like your tote bag. 

Next, fold down the unfinished edge 2" and crease.

Place the lining inside your tote bag.  Line up the creased edge right at (or even a little under) the lip of the tote bag.  Line up seams, and pin like crazy.  

Sew as close to the (previous) hem as possible without sewing *on* it.  The dotted line shows the tote bag hem/lip.  I'm not sure what seam allowance this is.  1/8"? Just make sure it's straight :)  The other option here is hand stitch an invisible/blind stitch to sew the lining to the bag.

And that's it! Pretty easy.  I'm thinking this will make a perfect dance bag when my daughter starts ballet this fall.

Winners!

First of all- thank you all so much for your comments.  We absolutely loved reading them, and hope you'll stay around!

A few people asked about a tutorial for the tote bag- I'm working on it as we speak! Check back here later this week and we'll show you all our tote bag tricks :)

Winner of the Quiltmaker Magazine is Comment #71 Cindi W.! Thanks Cindi! This is a great issue!

And winners of the PDF copies are:
#19- The Stylish Home
#270- Dee
#159- Anonymous (Thanks for leaving your email)

Thanks again.  We had so much fun and hope you did too!

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Blog Tour

**Giveaway Closed**

We are SO excited to be a part of this amazing magazine (and blog tour!) again.  We were ecstatic to receive the magazines in the mail and find our block was featured on page 4!  The details of the block are really great.

We've been loving birds lately.  The simple shape of their bodies are really quite easy to applique and who doesn't love embroidery details!? So fun! Our block is called Birds of a Feather no. 604, and is found on page 23.

Truth be told, I have a little bit of an obsession for tote bags.  I love taking them to the library, to hold half the children's section when my kids go.  I love taking them to church, on a picnic, to the zoo. So when I decided to save a little cash, and make my own, I went straight to our block.

You have no idea how happy I am about this.  We bought a pack of plain canvas totes and went to town!  A little applique, some favorite scraps, the remainder of brown floss in my stash (confession: our embroidery floss stash is just as insane impressive as our fabric stash) and ta-da! A one-of-a-kind, made-by-you bag, perfecting for toting all of life.

Not stopping at one, we took just part of our block and made a little pocket for the front. 

The possibilities are practically endless.  And we even lined them!  These make great gifts!

Madeline here, says, "Since I am modeling these for you, can I have one? I need a new babysitting bag."  

Babysitting bag.  This girl is a genius.  We said yes.  She couldn't decide!

So! If you like us, follow us!  We like facebook, pinterest, bloglovin, google+, and just started getting into instagram.  If you'd like our blog posts to go directly to your email, the "follow by email" option is to the left.  We do lots of applique/embroidery quilts and patterns and have loads of fun!

***For a chance to win your very own copy of Quiltmaker's 100 block magazine, OR one of three PDF copies of any one of our patterns-  leave us a nice comment, we love reading them.  (A mean comment will still get you entered, we just won't like you as much.)***

Please make sure your email address can be found on your blogger profile, or just leave it at the end of your comment.  We want to be able to get in touch with you if you win!

The giveaway will end Sunday at midnight and we'll post the winners here Monday morning!  

Check out Quilty Pleasures, the Quiltmaker blog, for more great blogs and more awesome prizes.  The blog tour goes through May 3rd!

Blossoms Pattern+Fabric Giveaway

Another awesome giveaway from Clothworks! Head over to the Clothworks blog to see how you can win this beautiful quilt kit. All supplies included!

Blossoms Quilt Pattern

A new pattern!

This quilt is easy.  It's perfect for beginners- no templates involved what.so.ever.  Just you and your rotary cutter, your trusty machine, and you are good to go! We whipped this beauty up in no time, and loved every minute of it :)  This is the perfect project if you're looking for something fresh and quick.  Plus, it comes in 4 sizes! (Wouldn't this be gorgeous as a bed spread?)

The fabric is Flowering Around by Laura Jones and Lynnette Sandbloom of Beach Garden Quilts and Studio for Clothworks.

I love the aqua and red tones- so beautiful for summer! 

Pattern is found here.

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 7

We're so excited to be featured in Quiltmaker's 100 Block magazine again! I *love* the block we created, and I can't wait to show it to you!

The blog tour is only a few weeks away! It starts April 29 and goes through May 3.  There are prizes given away each day, and new blogs to follow.  It should be a lot of fun!

Also, I'm sure you've heard by now that Google Reader is going away this summer.  If you follow us through Google Friend Connect, we don't want to lose you!  (Edit: GFC will still exist, it's just the reader that is going away.  Thanks to Sowing Stitches for catching that) Follow us with an email subscription (to the left), Facebook, or blog lovin - which is an excellent choice if you are looking for a new reader.

Visit the Quilty Pleasures blog April 29-May 3 to see more block designs.  There are prizes given away, and new blogs to follow! And don't forget to check back here April 30th to see our block!