Do you remember my Baby Blocks post? I finally finished the tops and sent them off to Missouri Star for finishing. I tried their quilting service once for a small baby quilt and was very impressed with it. You can even pay for add-ons such as piecing the back together and machine or hand binding! …
As long as I’ve been sewing, I’ve never had a strawberry emery! An emery pincushion is filled with emery powder, which is essentially aluminum oxide. It can remove tarnish from pins and needles as well as polish them. The ubiquitous tomato pincushion will often have a small strawberry emery attached to it. You can learn …
Did you get any crafting done over the holidays? I managed to dig out some scraps I had from two baby quilts I made a few years ago. I had adapted the “Mosaic” quilt from Fat Quarter Style to incorporate different panel designs, and it turned out really well! One of the ongoing projects I …
Do you give your furbaby Advent calendar snacks each Advent? I noticed Trader Joe’s selling dog and cat Advent calendars in November a few years ago and usually purchase that one for my dog. Since then I’ve been wanting to make my own prettier calendar, something I could put my own treats in if I …
I actually have several sewing kits around the house: one with notions for the sewing machine, a pouch with the serger accessories, a carefully curated hand sewing kit I keep in my nightstand. There are also boxes and jam jars filled with thread, trims, zippers, buttons, and other embellishments and fasteners. Having the tools on …
Do you find it difficult to find inspiration for your dance costumes? Are you looking for something similar to something you’ve already seen? Or are you trying to create something new from your imagination? Answering these questions can help guide you to designing something you will be really happy with. Questions to Ask Yourself First …
Have you ever wondered how to design dance costumes for yourself? Have you ever looked at a dancewear website and said, “That’s so expensive! I bet I could sew that!” but then couldn’t find the pattern you wanted? I’m going to share my design process with you and show you how to make dancewear that …
I recovered my ironing board years ago, but I wasn’t very happy with it. I finally got tired of it (the pad was starting to show the imprint of the metal mesh of the ironing board base) and decided to finally sew a new one. Sewing a new ironing board cover takes just over an …
An old friend recently asked me to participate in her “Snail Mail Initiative” for three weeks in August; each participant sends a little something in the mail to the others in their group. The project was more focused on calligraphy, writing, and paintings/artwork, but the theme was “Relaxation”. I had such a hard time coming …