Marcelle Medallion Pillow

A few months ago, I decided that I wanted to make a Marcelle Medallion quilt- even though I had about a million other projects going on at the same time. 

I am kinda weird about finishing things when I start them, and I tend not to have too many W.I.P. (work in progress) projects lying around. Instead, I try to work on something until I finish it before starting another project..... but this time I threw caution to the wind and started my Marcelle Medallion since I was so excited and everyone else was doing it! ;)

I loved making my center medallion for the quilt, but once I finished it, other projects took precedence and I was forced to put my budding Marcelle away. For months it was eating at me that I had such a beautiful WIP that I couldn't get to and knew I wouldn't be able to get to for a while. So, one afternoon, I decided to turn her into something smaller than originally planned and got to hand stitching...

I knew a pillow would be the perfect project and I had a dear friend that moved across town, so a house warming gift was in order... 

I used double fold bias to finish the edge of the pillow and give it a pop of pattern/color. I opted for an envelope closure. I used a cute little twill tape label that says "stitched with love" that I found at this darling etsy shop.

I definitely have plans to make a full Marcelle Medallion quilt in the near future. I love, loooove the pattern and I have been so inspired by the other quilts I have seen in the land of sewing blogs. I can't wait!

iPad Mini Cargo Case + Tutorial

I think my iPad mini has to be one of my favorite possessions. I love it... like a lot. 

Since I got it for Christmas, I have just had a clear hard case on the back of it. The case doesn't do much to protect it except for scratches on the back, but I kinda like that it keeps it small and un-bulky (is that even a word?!). The only problem is- I like to take my ipad places and I have been cringing every time I have tossed it into a bag full of things that could scratch or damage it- so it was high time I did something about it. 

Let me introduce you to the little home I made for my mini... I think it's kinda cute, but still very functional: win-win.

When I was designing the pattern for the case, I knew that I wanted to have a simple sleeve that my mini would slide into quickly but I also wanted to have a place to store the charging cord while traveling so I decided on a little cargo pocket on the front. It turned out pretty nifty! ;)

It's padded with a layer of duck cloth and quilt batting in between the outside and inside panels of the case so it is nice and safe while stored within.

I made mine for my iPad mini, but it would be super easy to change the measurements and make it for  a regular sized iPad, kindle, tablet, etc.

Here is what you will need to make it:

-2 fat quarters

-1 package of 1/2 double fold bias tape (unless you want to make your own like I did)

-a bit of leftover quilt batting or fusible fleece

-duck cloth

-one large snap, magnetic clasp, or velcro for closure of flap

- 7.5 inches of 1/2 elastic (you could use 1/4 inch if desired as well)

-1 inch button (optional)

-light interfacing (optional: depending on weight of fabric- I used quilting cotton so I used light interfacing on the cargo pocket)

Measurements for cutting fabric:

Fabric A & B: cut one of each size per fabric-

-9 x 7.5 inch (front of case)

-12 x 7.5 inch (back of case/ top flap)

(optional: I used a bowl as a guide to slightly curve the top edge for the flap on the 12 x 7.5 panel on both fabric A & B- there is about a 2 inch overhang of the flap when closed so be sure to not round your edge further than around the 10 inch mark on your panel if that makes sense)

 - 4 x 9.5 inch

- 2 x 6.75 inch (this will be your flap for the cargo pocket- I used a bowl to slightly curve the bottom edge of these as well)

Next you will want to cut your quilt batting/fusible fleece and duck cloth panels. You will use one of the largest rounded panels and one of the 9 x 7.5 inch panel and use them as a guide to cut one panel of duck cloth exactly the same size of each. Next you will cut your batting/fusible fleece- you will want to cut your batting slightly smaller than the panel so you reduce bulk while sewing. 

When you are done you should have 2 duck cloth panels and 2 batting panels total.

Step 1: Quilt your main panels. I did a very basic quilting on my 2 main panels- just a couple straight lines of stitches to hold the layers together, but you can go as crazy or conservative as you would like on this step. To start take your large curved panel pieces and create your "quilt sandwich"- you will start by putting the interior fabric wrong side up, followed by the duck cloth, followed by the batting, and ending with the exterior fabric right side up and use pins to hold the 4 layers together while quilting. You will layer the smaller 9 x 7.5 inch panel the same way and quilt both as desired. Set your two main panels aside.

Step 2: Create your cargo pocket. Take your two 4 x 9.5 inch panels and apply interfacing if desired. Then put them right sides together and sew along one of the long edges using a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Press the seams open and then fold in half with right sides facing out and press top edge again.

Step 3: Create a casing for your elastic. I used 1/2 so I created a casing that was slightly larger than 1/2 so that the elastic fit very snug.

After your casing is sewn, set your stitch length to the longest your machine allows and sew a basting stitch along the raw edge of the panel you have created. This will be for gathering the bottom of the cargo pocket. Take your 9 x 7.5 inch quilted panel and gather the bottom of your cargo pocket so that it is 7.5 inches wide and pin and baste it to the bottom of your quilt panel.

Step 4: Feed your elastic into the casing by using a small safety pin to guide it through. 

 Once you have it evenly fed through pin the side edged of the cargo pocket to the side of the main quilted panel and baste them together. Be sure when basting that you catch the elastic good and back stitch over it well to secure it so it doesn't come loose while completing the next steps.

Step 5: Take your two curved panels for the cargo pocket flap and apply interfacing if desired. Place them wrong side together and pin the bias tape along the curved edge of the interior side or "wrong side" of the flap and sew. Then fold your bias tap over to the right side and pin in place and stitch to the front side of the flap. You may need to press well afterwards to help the panel lie completely flat. 

Step 6: Apply bias tape to the top edge of the flap. Pin your bias binding to the "wrong side" of the flap but leave an inch overhang of binding on each side and sew. Next instead of folding the bias tape over to the "right side" of the flap and stitching in place, fold it over to the "right side" of the flap and then pin the flap with the overhanging edges of bias tape to the main panel just above the gathered pocket. Once you have it pinned evenly, you will stitch along the bottom edge of the bias binding to secure to the flap and main panel of the case and then you will also stitch along the top edge of the binding to secure the binding to the main panel even more. 

 Step 7:Apply bias tape to the top edge of the main panel.

*If you are using velcro or anything other than a snap as your closure, you may want to apply it to the pocketed panel you have just created so that you don't have to wrangle it once the case is all put together.*

Step 8: ( not pictured) Place the main pocket panel  on top of the quilted large panel with the curved edge on top so the the interior fabrics are facing right side together and the exterior of the case if facing out. Line up the squared edges at the base of each panel and pin along the side and bottom of the panels to hold them together. Baste along the pinned edges to secure both panels.

Step 9: Apply bias tape to the case. I pinned the bias tape to the back of the case and had the edges of my bias tape connect at the bottom of the case so that the seam wasn't as noticeable. Then fold the edges of the binding over to the front of the case and pin in place and sew. 

Step 10: Sew your closure. I chose to use a large snap, and then I added a fabric covered button on the flap just for kicks. Remove any visible basting stitches if necessary.

That's it! Pretty slick huh? 

Fabric that I used in this project: navy two inch stripe by Riley Blake, Anchors Away in navy by Sarah Jane, and Taza Stripe in Yellow by Free Spirit.

Out to Sea Quilt

One of my very favorite quilt blogs is Red Pepper Quilts. I love Rita's style and I can always count on her to inspire me daily with the things she creates! When I saw her Pieced Scrap Border quilt tutorial a couple years ago I knew that I wanted to make one very similar! 

I followed her tutorial to put together my blocks but changed up the measurements a bit- I used 2.5 inch strips instead of 1.5. I had to throw in the map in the middle because it just seemed like the perfect place for it, and also added some borders.

I absolutely love the Out to Sea line from Sarah Jane. Most of the fabrics I used in this quilt are from the line, but I did throw in a handful of other scraps I had lying around.

When I was initially gathering my fabric and planning for the quilt, I was only going to use navy blue and pink. Last minute I decided to throw in some orange to match the mermaids hair and I am so glad that I did. I love the colors and it is one of my favorite quilts I have made thus far!

I wanted this quilt to be light and easy for my daughter to drag around the house, so I backed it in minky and skipped adding batting. I love the weight of it.

I quilted straight lines diagonally creating large X's through each block. 

I used all of the leftover scraps to create a super scrappy binding... It wasn't the smoothest binding with seams every 2 inches at some points but I love how it turned out. 

Happy Hexagon Trivets

There are certain people that just inspire me with everything they make... Ayumi is one of them... 

When her book Patchwork, Please came out I knew that it was going to be awesome! I bought it knowing without a doubt that I would not be disappointed! Every project is darling in this book!

I was most excited about the Happy Hexagon Trivet... It is adorable! I knew it would make the perfect Mother's Day present for my mom.

To make the trivet you foundation paper piece the top. I love foundation paper piecing! Everything turns out PERFECT! I was so pleased with this project... I made a couple for my mom and one for my grandma . I think this will be my go-to housewarming gift for the future! It is simple but packs a big punch when you use up all your favorite scraps! :)

Another darling project in the book is this Prettified Pincushion... It is also foundation paper pieced. I knew it would be the perfect gift for my mom-in-law since she likes to sew as well. 

My hubby's grandma loves to drink tea so I figured that I would make her a "mug rug" for her tea cup... I made a mini version of the hexagon trivet by just printing it at 100% instead of enlarging it like that pattern calls for. 

You can see the difference in size... It was a cute tiny thing! :)

I LOVE THIS BOOK! I definitely recommend it to anyone that loves making pretty little things! Check out the Flickr pool for the book to see some of the things others have made by using patterns found in the book. 

Field Study Reversible Sunday Sling

It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Anna Maria Horner fabric and Amy Butler patterns!

AMH's Field Study line has been one of my favorites this year... I used almost the entire line in my Scrappy Trip Along quilt and used up some of my leftover scraps to make a makeup bag...

Last year I made Amy Butler's infamous Weekender Bag. So I thought I would try another Amy Butler pattern... I went for the Reversible Sunday Sling. 

I love love love this bag! I made this one for my little sis and have plans to make one for myself and possibly another for a gift.

For the Exterior of the bag, I used Field Study Parenthetical in Potpourri . It is a linen/cotton blend. I love working with it. It is a gorgeous fabric! Those feathers.... ahh....swoon!

One of the things that drew me to this pattern was the cute handles. I love how they are just tied in a knot. It totally makes the bag different than any other I have seen or made.

Did I mention that it is reversible?!? Umm... Can it get any better?

For the interior of the bag I used AMH LouLouThi Clippings in Passion. I love this fabric so much! I have quite a bit of yardage in this print and am thinking it would be perfect for a summer skirt.

I wish I would have placed my pattern pieces a little different so that the huge roses weren't lined up awkwardly... Oh well- you live and you learn- right?

I am loving these big pockets! They are on both side of the bag. Lots of places to store things!

I made the small version of the bag... Which is still quite large-  It measures 18" wide x 14" tall (28" tall with handles) x 3 deep.

I pretty much stuck to the pattern when making this bag but I did make one little change- I left off the cell phone pocket. I figured with all of the pockets on it already I didn't need to make a separate one for a phone. 

My only tip when making this bag is to make sure you use a brand new heavy duty needle when putting together the bag!

This pattern was super easy to follow and very clear. I definitely recommend it! :)

(I bought my pattern here.)

Out to Sea and Oliver + S Dresses

So I know Easter has come and gone, but it's never too late to share a cute little dress, right?

Last year I made handmade Easter dresses for my girls for Easter Sunday.... So I wanted to do the same this year, but instead of designing them myself, I opted to use a pattern. 

I am head over heels for this Out to Sea fabric by Sarah Jane... I knew that it would be perfect for Easter Dresses.

I used the Oliver + S Puppet Show Dress pattern for my youngest daughters dress. I made the size 2 but it was slightly large on her through the sleeve and pretty roomy in the skirt/dress... She is almost 3 but she's a tiny little thing. It will fit her for a while...

I used the My Favorite Ship in Breeze for the main part of the dress and then Raspberry Pirate Stripe for the accent fabric and I used up some of my vintage anchor buttons that I inherited from my grandma. 

I really loved this pattern. I love anything by Oliver + S so that is no surprise! It is out of print so it is only available in PDF form but it's just darling! I can't wait to make some of the puppet show shorts for my girls to wear this summer. 

I used the Oliver + S Fairytale Dress pattern for my oldest daughters dress. It is probably my favorite Oliver + S dress I have made yet ( I have made this dress, the Ice Cream Dress, and the Puppet Show Dress now). I have made the Fairytale Dress twice now (still need to blog about the first one I made). This time I made it without the collar and sash. It's fully lined with lightweight voile and has an invisible zipper in the back. It is such a great pattern! I will make it again and again I am sure...

I used the size 3 pattern for the bodice and the size 4 for the skirt of the dress. She is 4 years old but tall and skinny. 

One of my very favorite things about this dress is the tulip sleeves. Could they be any cuter? I think not! ;)

For this dress I used Sail Away in Bloom for the entire dress. This fabric is mostly white but has ships, water, and clouds along each of the selvage edges so I was able to place my pattern pieces to keep the ships along the bottom edge of the dress and keep the bodice and sleeves white. I did have to place my pattern pieces the opposite way the pattern called for on the skirt, but it turned out great still. I needed a bit more yardage so that I had enough of the white for the top of the dress too. 

I love the way they turned out and so did the littles... Job accomplished!

DIY Dolly Towel Tutorial

Last weekend while we were visiting family in Kansas, we were able to take our girls to the American Girl store.... They have been a couple times and they LOVE it! It is was fun to watch them look at everything and try out all the fun accessories with their babies. 

My oldest had been saving her birthday money for our trip so she could buy something new for her baby. Once we got there, she was torn between a new outfit and a towel. She ended up buying the new outfit but I could tell that she was still thinking about that towel for the rest of the day. Once we got home from our trip, I decided it would be fun to make a towel for her baby.

It was so easy and quick... I made two towels for about $6. Pretty great deal since it would have cost me over $20 to buy at the store!

Supplies:

(you can actually make 2 towels with the supplies listed below... If you make two towels be sure to measure twice and cut once because you will need almost all of the fabric I listed. If you prefer to only make one towel you can just cut one of each piece instead of two like I am instructing)

1/2 yard terry cloth (I got mine at Joann- located in the baby section near the minky fabrics)

1 package double folded bias tape

(I made my own bias tape- I used a fat quarter per towel- I am not sure how much binding comes in the prepackaged binding so you may need 2 packs if you are making two towels-)

Step 1: Cut two pieces that are 18x18. These will be the main part of each towel.

Step 2: Cut one 9x9 square. Then cut it in half diagonally to create  triangles. These will be the hood for each towel. 

Step 3: Place one triangle on one of the corners of one large square. Be sure the nap of the terrycloth is going in the same direction on each piece. I used a plate as a template to round the edges of my towel, but if you prefer you can leave them straight. (if you are making two towels repeat this step for the second towel)

Step 4: Bias binding... If you are using a pre-made bias binding then you are all set- if you are making your own binding you will make the bias tape at this point. (I am not going to do a step by step on how to do this, but if you need one, Dana at MADE has a great tutorial on how to make bias tape. If you rounded the corners on your towel you will need to make your binding on the bias for stretching around the curves but if you are leaving your corners square you don't have to make your binding on the bias.)

I wanted a really tiny binding so I cut my strips of fabric on the bias to be 1 1/2 start so once I folded them (double fold) they were pretty tiny (just under 1/2 inch). You can use whatever size you would like, but I think the weight of the tiny bias worked well with the thin terrycloth. I used a fat quarter so I had to piece a lot of strips to get the length I needed... I made about 90 inches of bias but didn't use quite that much per towel.

Step 5: Attach the bias binding. (I am not going to do a step by step on how to attach the binding, but here is another great tutorial by Dana at MADE on how to sew on binding. I sew my tape on the "proper way" like she explains and it looks really nice.)

To start, sew your binding to the bottom edge of the triangle. 

Step 6: Once your binding is sewn to the hood of the towel (triangle) place the triangle back on the main part of the towel and pin in place. I basted the hood to the towel so that it stayed in place when I attached the rest of the binding but that step is optional.

Step 7: Apply the rest of the binding to the outside of the towel.

That's it! You are done!! Unless of course you are making two towels- then repeat the steps for the second towel. 

I hope your little one enjoys this new towel as much as my gals do!