Scrappy cards

A couple of years ago I was part of a Christmas card exchange with a group of quilters from all over the US and Australia. I wanted my card to be something quilt related. I never learned how to make cards where you cut out the center and sew the fabric onto the cardstock. So this was the method that I came up with using my scraps to make a fabric card.

I used lots of different fabric scraps and snippets.
First thing first - iron all the little pieces so they are flat and smooth.


Take all of your pressed scrap pieces to the sewing machine.


Start sewing pieces and strips together. You can use as many different ones as you like. This is a great way to use up some of those little pieces of fabric that you just can't bear to throw away.

Press the seams. It's sometimes easier to use my little wooden presser, or just the iron, whichever is handy. I do sometimes try to press the seams open, but there doesn't seem to be any hard and fast rule. Do whatever works best for you.


I keep sewing pieces until I've got a fairly nice size to work with.

Next I draw my pattern. I really like how the heart shape turns out.

It was easy to find a nice size heart in one of my quilting books, but you could make your own by folding a piece of paper in half and drawing 1/2 of a heart. You can also do a wonky heart, or a star, or a leaf, or wherever your imagination takes you. Copy or trace your pattern onto HeatnBond (I like the ultrahold) on the smooth side. It's easy to copy several patterns and then cut them all out. Seems to save time and materials.

I position my shape on the sewn piece of fabric.





It is VERY important that you position your pattern to the wrong side of the fabric. (ask me how I know this :-)


Press the pattern onto the fabric following the instructions from HeatnBond.

Here you see two different heart patterns that I've pressed.

Now cut them out and turn them over. Voila! Patchwork hearts!


Tomorrow I'll show you how I finish my fabric card.

Happy Quilting!

So's what's up?

What's in store for you and your family this holiday weekend??

Are you taking a trip?


Spending a day at the park?

Taking a walk by a waterfall?


Enjoying a picnic?

Listening to the surf as you walk on the sand??

or will you dig into your stash and sew up a storm?

Whatever you do, I hope you enjoy a happy holiday weekend with friends and family :-)

Desperate!!!!

I've yet to find a place in my sewing room to use as a design wall. It became more evident that I need one when I was working on a quilt pattern this week, and my fabric pieces were redistributing themselves :-(

In my sewing room at our old home, I had carpet on the floor, and was able to lay out my pieces and pick them up to sew. So when I tried to lay out the pattern on my sewing table.......... well.... it was a disaster.

What to do, what to do ............

Hummmm............

As a temporary solution, I opened the closet door, and hung an old plastic tablecloth, backwards. I had to find some heavy enough boxes to hang the tablecloth from the top shelf.

Hey, maybe this will work after all.

Sewing the pieces together.

I was able to get this quilt top put together quickly and even did the quilting.

woo-hoo! Here she is - all quilted and waiting now for the binding!


If you would like to see some beee-u-tiful quilting work, hop over to Leslie's blog MarveLes Art Studios. Leslie is having an amazing giveaway.

And did you know that our very own fabulous Southern Belle Pat from Silver Thimble Talk has written a quilting book? And of course you KNOW she is going to have a good old fashioned par-tee to celebrate! Hop over and give that girl some quilting love for her amazing accomplishment :-)

Today I am joining Angie and Karen for

Finished It Friday

and Sew Darn Crafty ;-)

Happy, happy quilting!!

Nat'l Sewing Month

With September being National Sewing Month, it got me to thinking about how I started sewing. I did not grow up in a home where sewing was a mainstay. But learning to sew in high school gave me the basic skills of garment sewing. Does anyone remember the days of pant suits and mini skirts??

I remember sewing garments and actually wearing them :-) It was truly amazing to me that I could make a wearable garment.

It wasn't long before home made garments went out of fashion when it became less expensive to just buy pre-made clothes.

After my second child was born, I decided that I would like to make a quilt. So I took a quilting class at the local craft shop, as there were no quilt shops at that time. We cut everything out with scissors and used cardboard templates. Talk about the dinosaur age! Then my sister in love learned about the rotary cutter and how to make a Quilt in a Day created by Eleanor Burns. Boy did that ever change my quilting.

If you would like to do a fun little project, hop over to I Have a Notion blog and take Kelly's challenge. Do you remember who taught you to sew? Wouldn't it be fun to acknowledge that person and send them a little note telling them what an impact they made in your life?? So tell me, who taught you how to sew?? It truly is a gift of stitching :-)

Don't be scared!

Blogger is at it again!

Yes they are making more changes. If you go to your dashboard, right above your reading list of Blogs your are following is another tab called Blogger Buzz. This is how it starts.........

Blogger’s fresh new look

August 31, 2011 — permalink

Posted by: Chang Kim, Product Manager

As you may have heard, things are starting to look a little different across many Google products—and today, Blogger is the next product to get a makeover.

It’s been a few years since we made major updates to Blogger’s look and feel, and there’s a lot more to these changes than just shiny new graphics. We’ve rewritten the entire editing and management experience from scratch so it’s faster and more efficient for you—and easier for us to update and improve over time.

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So my friends, if you start having troubles with Blogger again, it may be because of the upgrades. I've noticed that it's taking longer for me to load my blogs from my dashboard. Has anyone changed over to the updated interface?? Inquiring minds want to know :-)

Why Quilts Matter

PBS is about to explore the History, the Art and the Politics of Quilts. Watch this trailer. I was fascinated that our craft is being brought into a new light.

Why Quilts Matter You’ll need to check your PBS schedule for Fall 2011 to find out when this series will be available in your area.

sigh, such is life............

Do you know how sad it is to drive all the way to another state, and find that the ONLY quilt shop in the area is closed!!

Yep, they are only open on Tuesdays and Thursdays :-(

What a life...........

Happy Quilting!