Sewing Accessories Blog Hop Week 4!

Howdy everyone and welcome to week 4 of the Sewing Accessories blog hop!

 

This week, the talented Jamie over at Pure Joy is sharing the Sew on the Go Tote bag and giving away a copy of the book!  She did an amazing job on the bag and thanks Jamie for being a part of the blog hop!!  Be sure ya'll check out her blog and leave a comment!

 

 

This week I'm sharing the Hanging Ruler Organizer.



 

This ruler hanger holds all of your rotary cutting rulers and hangs on your wall!  The bottom pocket holds your 6" X 24" ruler and the top pocket holds your 15" an 12 1/2" square rulers.  I couldn't wait to get this project back from the publisher, I LOVE having all of my rulers hanging in one spot on the wall in my sewing room! 

 

Fabrics used: Oh Deer! by MoMo for Moda

 

The remaining schedule:

July 29^th-Diane www.fromblankpages.blogspot.com

August 5^th-Jamie and Jill www.jamiemueller.blogspot.co m www.constantlyquilting.blogspot.com

You can purchase a copy of our book on our website, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Annie's Publishing.

 

If you make something from the book, we would LOVE to see it, so make sure to add a photo to our Flickr Group!



Sewing Accessories Blog Hop Week Three

 

 

Don't forget, The amazing Janice over at Better Off Thread has another great project from the book! Be sure you hop on over to Janice's blog and give her don't forget to leave a comment because she's giving away a copy of the book! Thank you Janice for being part of this blog hop!

 

 

This week I'm sharing our Embroidery Pouch project!

 

 

 

The Embroidery Pouch is perfect for all of those hand projects you work on! The Embroidery Pouch is perfect for the travel sewist with a handle and zipper enclosure. This pouch has lots of pockets inside to hold all of your embroidery items: floss, needles, scissors and your hoop!  And if you make the Embroidery Tote from the book, this pouch will fit inside!  Check my Mom's blog to see more about the Embroidery Tote!

 

Fabrics used: Kate Spain's Cuzco by Moda

 

 

Here is the remaining schedule for the Sewing Accessories Blog Hop:

July 22^nd-Jamie www.jamespurejoy.blogspot.com

July 29^th-Diane www.fromblankpages.blogspot.com

August 5^th-Jamie and Jill www.jamiemueller.blogspot.co m www.constantlyquilting.blogspot.com

You can purchase a copy of our book on our website, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Annie's Publishing.

 

If you make something from the book, we would LOVE to see it, so make sure to add a photo to our Flickr Group!



Sewing Accessories Blog Hop Week Three

It's week 3 of the Sewing Accessories Blog Hop and the amazing Janice over at Better Off Thread has another great project from the book!  Be sure you hop on over to Janice's blog and give her some comment love, she's giving away a copy of the book!  Thank you Janice for being part of this blog hop!

 



Sewing Accessories Blog Hop Week Two...Con't....

 

Hopefully ya'll hopped on over to Steffani's blog to see the adorable Iron Caddy she made! I absolutely love the fabrics she used, they are perfect!  If you haven't seen it, make sure you hop on over and leave her a comment to win a copy of our book!

 

Today I am sharing our Armchair Caddy/Pincushion

 

 

This Armchair Caddy comes in handy for all of those hand sewing projects you might have!  Whether you're hand sewing the binding, English Paper Piecing some hexagons, or doing some embroidery or applique, this caddy will hold all of your essential items.  There are two pockets to hold scissors, thread, or anything you might need and there is a convenient pincushion on top for your needles and pins.  We used flannel on the bottom so it will stay put nicely on the armchair of your couch or recliner!

 

Fabrics used: Tula Pink's The Birds and The Bees

 

Be sure to hop on over to Steffani's blog and my Mom's blog for more book projects!

 

Here is the remaining schedule for the Sewing Accessories Blog Hop:

July 15^th-Janice www.betteroffthread.com

July 22^nd-Jamie www.jamespurejoy.blogspot.com

July 29^th-Diane www.fromblankpages.blogspot.com

August 5^th-Jamie and Jill www.jamiemueller.blogspot.co m www.constantlyquilting.blogspot.com

You can purchase a copy of our book on our website, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Annie's Publishing.

If you make something from the book, we would LOVE to see it, so make sure to add a photo to our Flickr Group!

 



Sewing Accessories Blog Hop Week Two!

 

 

Howdy Friends, it's week two of the Sewing Accessories Blog Hop! 

Up this week my talented friend Steffani over at Sew With Sass!  Make sure you stop by her blog to check out what she made and give her some love. She will be giving away a copy of our book so make sure you check that out too!  Thanks Steffani for being a part of the blog hop and sharing your talent with everyone!

Sewing Accessories... Blog Hop Week One!

 

Welcome to week one of the Sewing Accessories...Blog Hop for our first book Sewing Accessories at Home and on the Go!  Thank you to Annie's Publishing for helping our book dreams come true! We are so excited to share this book with everyone and can't wait to see the projects ya'll create!

 

 

Each week (every Monday) during the Sewing Accessories...Blog Hop Mom, myself and a special blogger friend will share a different project from the book with you.  Each of the special bloggers will be giving away a copy of the book to a lucky reader so make sure you stop by their blogs and give them some love!

 

Here is the schedule for the Sewing Accessories....Blog Hop:

July 1^st-Jamie and Jill www.jamiemueller.blogspot.com www.constantlyquilting.blogspot.com

July 8^th- Steffani       www.sewwithsass.blogspot.com

July 15^th-Janice                    www.betteroffthread.com

July 22^nd-Jamie                    www.jamespurejoy.blogspot.com

July 29^th-Diane                     www.fromblankpages.blogspot.com

August 5^th-Jamie and Jill www.jamiemueller.blogspot.co m www.constantlyquilting.blogspot.com

 

This week I am going to share with ya'll our Sew on The Go Tote Bag!

 

This is one of my personal favorites from the book! I mean, who doesn't love a giant bag??  A little back story from how we came up with this big ole bag...I am a member of the awesome St.Louis Modern Quilt Guild and 4 times a year we have an all day sew-in where you can bring lots of sewing projects to work on and socialize with your friends (they are so fun!). Anywho, I wanted a bag to carry all of my stuff in so I didn't have to make lots of trips from my car to the building. The Sew on the Go Tote is the bag for such a reason!!! 

 

The Sew on the Go Tote has a front pocket to hold an 18" X 24" rotary cutting mat, the inside has pockets to hold a 15" square ruler, 12 1/2" square ruler, 6" X 24" ruler and a rotary cutter. It's also large enough to hold your sewing machine or some sewing projects inside!

 

To show you how big this bag is, my cat Ozzie is over 20 pounds...

 

Here is my bag holding my sewing machine..

 

Fabrics used: I used Dear Stella Bukhara and solids for the bag in the book and Tula Pink's The Birds and The Bees for a second bag.

 

Be sure to stop by my Mom's (Jill) blog today for another project from the book and come back next Monday for more projects and a giveaway on Steffani's Blog!

 

You can purchase a copy of our book on our website, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Annie's Publishing.

 

If you make something from the book, we would LOVE to see it, so make sure to add a photo to our Flickr Group!

 

 

Sewing Accessories at Home and On the Go Blog Hop!!

Announcing the Sewing Accessories at Home and On the Go Blog Hop!

 

 

Starting on July 1st, every Monday through August 5th we are having a blog hop to share projects from our new book! Here is a schedule and list of awesome people involved!

July 1^st-Jamie and Jill        www.jamiemueller.blogspot.com & www.constantlyquilting.blogspot.com

July 8^th- Steffani                www.sewwithsass.blogspot.com

July 15^th-Janice                  www.betteroffthread.com

July 22^nd-Jamie                  www.jamespurejoy.blogspot.com

July 29^th-Diane                   www.fromblankpages.blogspot.com

August 5^th-Jamie and Jill   www.jamiemueller.blogspot.com & www.constantlyquilting.blogspot.com

Each awesome blogger will share a project from the book that they made AND they will be giving away a copy of the book!   Plus, Mom and I will be sharing ALL of the projects from the book throughout each week giving away lots of fun stuff sponsored by Moda and Dear Stella!

Thank you to everyone who has already purchased a book and if you would like to purchase a copy you can do so on Amazon, Barnes and Noble or of course Our Website!

 

If you make a project from the book, please share a photo in our Flickr Group or if you Instagram #SABlogHop because we'd LOVE to see it!!!

 

Thank you to the awesome bloggers and sponsors for participating in our blog hop and make sure ya'll come back Monday July 1st for the first post!!



Brick Road Sew Along Winners!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Brick Road Sew Along! I had so much fun watching the progress with all of the photos in the Flickr Group; lots of beautiful quilts and fabrics!! I am using your Flickr usernames to announce winners. I numbered every photo in the Flickr Group and used good old random.org and the winner of the RJR fabric is.....Kathy Parks!!!

Congrats Kathy,  I will be sending you a message through Flickr soon, so be on the lookout!

 

 

And I decided to choose two winners for the SunFlower Quilts patterns!!

Ratamaa and Mego_98125

I will also be sending you a message through Flickr soon,so be on the lookout! You each get to choose one PDF pattern from our website! 

 

 

 

Congratulations to all of the winners and thank you so much for participating!! Click on their names to see their awesome Brick Road quilts!  Come back later this week and I'll show another quilt made with all RJR solids!

 

Binding Tutorial



Today we are going to talk about binding! I love binding so much, it's fun to make and I love being able to sit down on the couch and hand stitch the binding to complete my quilt! Let's get started...

 How much fabric do I need for the binding?

To figure how much fabric needed for binding (based on width  of fabric) take the total number inches of all four sides and add 15” (for turning corners and connecting ends). Take that measurement and divide by 42” (42” is the width of the fabric). That will tell you how many binding strips you will need and the amount of fabric yardage.

  Example: Brick Road Quilt Size: 63” x 78”

                     63 + 63 + 78 + 78 = 282” + 15” = 297” total

                     297 ÷ 42 = 7.071 (round off to next highest number)

                     You will need 8 binding strips

 

                     Cut binding strips 2 ½” (this is your preference, but I like to cut 2 1/2" binding strips, I find that this width works the best)

                     Multiply 2 ½” x 8 (number of strips = 20”)

                     You will need to purchase 5/8 yard (or 22.5”) of binding fabric

 

 Preparing the Binding:

1. Cut 8 – 2 ½” x width of fabric strips. Before moving strips, cut off selvage.
2. Take 7 of the strips and on one short end of each strip, fold a 45° angle towards the right, wrong sides together. Press. (the pressed crease will be your stitching line) See diagram.  

3. Lay one end of the strip not pressed right side up with 1 short end at top.

4. Open up one end of the pressed strips and lay on top (of strip from step 3) right sides together to the left side of the unpressed strip. Pin. Stitch on the 45° pressed line. See diagram.

5. Take the next 45° pressed strip, placing on the unpressed end of the previous sewn strip. Repeat until all strips are sewn to make one continuous strip.

6. Trim off excess fabric ¼” from seam of all sewn strips. Press all seams open. See diagrams.

 

7. Take the long continuous binding strip and fold in half wrong sides together. Press entire strip being careful not to distort.

8. Now you will square the binding strip to 1 1/8” wide by placing the 1 1/8” ruler line on the fold side of the binding strip. Trim off excess binding (raw edge). Do this for entire binding strip.. This is an important step to ensure a straight, even binding. See diagram.

 
Sewing the Binding to the Quilt:

2. Use a walking foot to attach binding to quilt to avoid puckering of quilt layers.
3. Start on front of any side of quilt (not at a corner) by laying binding strip on edge with raw edges of binding on edge of quilt. Start by leaving 6” – 8” of binding as a tail that will be joined at the end. See diagram.

 

4. Sew strip with ¼” seam allowances all the way to the first corner, stopping ¼” short of edge. Cut thread.  See diagram.



5. Fold binding away from quilt to form a 45° miter at corner. Fold binding back over quilt square to the edge going down the next side. See diagram.

6. Start sewing from the edge all the way down to the next corner. Repeat Step 5 for all corners and stop sewing 15” – 20” short of where you started.   See diagram.

 

7. To connect ends, lay binding loose ends down on quilt and fold back leaving ¼” gap between folds. See diagram.

 

Cut one end off at fold on right side. Open out cut piece and lay under other folded side to measure cut line of left strip. To join, open right side strip end and lay right side up. Open left side and fold left end corner over wrong sides together and press as you did in joining strips together. Open, lay on other strip right sides together, pin, and sew on pressed line. Be careful not to get strips twisted. Cut off excess fabric ¼” from seam, press seam open and sew strip in half wrong sides together. Lay strip to edge of quilt and finish sewing down.  See diagrams.

 

Hand Stitching Binding to Back of Quilt:
1.       Hand stitch to back of quilt using hand quilting thread color that matches the binding fabric, being sure not to stitch all the way through to the front of the quilt. I like to stitch every 1/4" or so to secure nicely!

 
 
Ok, that's it for the Brick Road Sew Along!  Now, go finish your quilts and upload them to the Flickr Group to be in the drawing for all of the awesome prizes including: RJR Fabrics and SunFlower Quilts patterns!!


Thank you for participating in the Brick Road Sew Along and I've loved watching your progress and seeing your photos! 
Also, a HUGE thank you to RJR Fabrics for the Cotton Solid Supreme fabrics, they are wonderful to work with and ya'll are great too! :)

 

 



Brick Road Sew Along Week 6: Machine Quilting

Today we are going to focus on machine quilting. Let me begin by saying that I am by no means an expert, I've been machine quilting for a few years and these are just some tips and tricks that help me along the way.  I am just going to give some basic machine quilting advice.

Two websites that I love are Angela Walter's and Natalia Bonner's.  They are both longarm machine quilters and have beginners FMQ books with lots of cool designs to try. Check out their books and websites and learn from them, they know a lot more than me! :)

 

 

One BIG trick on becoming better at machine quilting is PRACTICE!!  Practice, practice, practice....the more you do it, the better you'll be!  I like to take larger scraps or FQs that I have laying around and make quilt sandwiches with them (backing/batting/top) and practice machine quilting on them.  Practicing on smaller pieces allow me to learn with ease instead of pulling a huge quilt through my machine.

 

Some tools I like for machine quilting:
Machingers Gloves

These gloves are soft, light and have fingertip grips to help grip the fabric as you quilt. I'm sure there are many places online where you can buy them, and I know JoAnn's carries them (so grab your coupon and go pick up a pair!)

 

Walking Foot

I love using my walking foot when I'm straight line quilting.  A walking foot has feed dogs along the bottom, so that there are two sets of feed dogs pulling your quilt through for an ease while quilting.  If you don't have one already, I highly recommend getting one!

 

Free Motion Quilting Foot

A free motion quilting foot has a wider/open foot to allow for better vision while quilting.

 

 

 

Straight Line Quilting:

 

Straight line quilting is exactly what it says, it's quilting in straight lines. Straight line quilting is how I started machine quilting. It's one of the best (easier) forms of machine quilting for beginners.

Depending on the quilt, you can decide how far apart you want to space your straight lines.
Some tips:
-I like to adjust my stitch length to either 3 or 3.5, I find that these to lengths make quilting much easier and I'm not having to pull on my quilt.
-Use painter's tape, chalk, or water soluble pencils to mark lines to follow. If you use painters tape you can follow the edge of it with your foot or needle.
-use a walking foot (for reasons above)

Please ignore my dorky self on the videos....this was my first video so I say "um" a bit at the beginning....I'm sorry, it gets better! Don't you just hate seeing yourself on camera?

 

This video is about straight line quilting and can be found HERE on our YouTube channel. I was going to upload the videos on this post but it was taking forever and there are three separate videos.

So, please check out our YouTube channel to find all of these videos plus more!

Free Motion Quilting FMQ:

Free motion quilting is when you quilt freely. You are the one controlling your machine, design and stitches.  FMQ can be any design you wish.
Some tips:
-Before I start any new quilting design, I like to practice drawing it on paper first. This allows me to feel where the design is going and learn where to go so when I'm quilting on my actual quilt I can freely quilt around it. 
-use your FMQ foot
-feed dogs down
-stitch length at 0, this allows you to control your stitches
-start in the center of your quilt and go outwards. This allows you to smooth out your quilt as you go.
-Start out slow when you first start FMQ. Your pedal (foot) and hands should be going at similar speeds, this will insure your stitches will be equal.

The next video is pebble quilting and can be found HERE on our YouTube channel.

The last video is swirl quilting and can be found HERE on our YouTube channel.

So, hopefully you're still with me after those videos!

Try one or all of these machine quilting techniques (or something completely different) on your Brick Road quilt and don't forget to upload photos to the Flickr Group! Just remember to relax and have fun!!!
I will post a binding tutorial tomorrow; this post already seemed long enough!

Next week, winners will be announced! Remember, you can only win if you've uploaded photos to the Flickr Group!
Up for grabs, RJR fabric and SunFlower Quilts Patterns!

http://youtu.be/bXh9aebXn2w