What’s Sewing On – March 2024

Featured ~ Pamela Klingensmith ~ 3 Comments

Happy Resurrection Day (Matthew 28:1-10), Sewers!

My kitchen needed a Spring refresh, so I added a couple new pot holders to my cooking supplies. These sweet little chicken hot pads are stitched from some Lori Holt fabric.

I used elements from the Lori Holt Cookbook Panel to sew up these quick hot pads. The panel is perfect for pot holders because it is lightweight canvas and is a bit heavier that quilting fabric. When I closed my Etsy shop last year, I had some inventory left. If you are interested in one of the Cook Book kitchen panels, send me an email and I will send you info about the panel along with a great price.

I wanted to experiment a bit with my Ditto Pattern Projector, so rather than following the square pot holder cut lines on the panel, I downloaded the rounded corner pot holder pattern from Ditto. The pattern has two pieces, which I arranged to fit over the chicken for the front of the pot holder, and over the mustard color print for the back of the pot holder. I used my rotary cutter to cut the two pieces.

Then I projected the pattern pieces on my batting and insul fleece to cut those pieces as well.

After straight line quilting the front, back, batting, and insul fleece layers together, I finished off the pot holders with some Lori Holt 1/2″ Bias Tape. This was a quick, easy, and useful project.

I also quilted my wall hanging/table topper that I talked about in my February blog post.

I chose a combination of stippling and circles free motion quilting for the background. And to make the chicks stand out a little, I used a simple floral stencil for their bodies. Since they are not quilted as densely as the rest of the wall hanging, they show up as a bit ‘puffier’ than the rest of the project.

The backing fabric is by Lori Holt and the quilt label is from my Sweetwater Tagged monthly quilt label subscription.

The last project I completed this month was the next set of blocks for the Sew Very Easy – 2024 Block of the Month, Scrappy Sunshine. We made twenty four 6 1/2″ quarter snowball blocks.

I also chose to stitch the leftover corners into twenty four 3 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ blocks for the extra project that Laura will be showing at the end of the sew along.

As some of you already know, we moved to the east coast from Utah last summer. My husband gifted this great barn quilt to me a few years ago. It was hanging on my cute little she shed in Utah. I do not have a cute shed at my new home, so I chose to hang it on this corner of our side deck where it would be visible from the street. I love the homey feel it gives to our yard.

We are traveling for one week in April and I also have garden tasks to accomplish, but I have so many grand sewing plans! I am excited to see what April holds. 🙂

Have a Happy Easter and keep sewing!!!

What’s Sewing On – February 2024

Featured ~ Pamela Klingensmith ~ Leave a comment

Happy Almost Spring, Sewers! February was not an overly productive sewing month for me. But I do have a couple little items to share with you.

I sewed up the four patch blocks for the Sew Very Easy – 2024 Block of the Month, Scrappy Sunshine. We started with 288 two and a half inch squares (144 white and 144 multi color). That gave us a total of 72 four and a half inch blocks.

It’s not too late to join the Scrappy Sunshine block of the month. Click here for a link to the introduction video. The best part of the block of the month is that it is free and it helps use up scraps. If you are also participating in the Scrappy Sunshine block of the month, please leave me a comment and let me know what colors you are using.

I purchased the Cupid Box 2024 Limited Edition Mystery Quilting Box from Fat Quarter Shop. It had several fun little items in it. It featured the project instructions and fabric for this sweet table topper.

The sampler box also included a small bag of pink, white, and red buttons of various sizes. For the little bird beaks, I added a couple of heart buttons that were included.

I used some Lori Holt fabric that I had on hand for the backing. I do not have my table topper quilted yet, but I plan to quilt it this month.

I am earnestly trying to not purchase more kits because I have so many in my stash, but I have absolutely no self control!!! I picked up the new Kimberbell Ladder Quilt Machine Embroidery book and CD, the embellishment kit, and the fabric kit from Sew n Sweep in Westminster, MD. I am hoping to start this one soon because I really would like to have it done before the end of the year.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and to comment. I appreciate all of you very much. Until next month, Happy Sewing.

What’s Sewing On – January 2024

Featured ~ Pamela Klingensmith ~ 6 Comments

Hello Sewers! I bid farewell to 2023 and ushered in 2024 with this last-minute machine embroidery, small table runner. I needed a small table runner in Christmas-themed colors for my entryway table, so I used the December Kimberbell ME Time monthly embroidery shipment to put together this little table runner. I did not follow the instructions for any of the included projects because I had to make this one to fit my entry table. I embroidered 12 of the small (4″) blocks to assemble three 8″ blocks for my table runner. I added sashing and borders to finish it off, and I am quite pleased with it. It is the perfect size.

To machine quilt all the layers together, I outlined the blocks and borders with a straight stitch, and then I used this scallop stitch on top of the borders.

All of the fabric is from the December kit. I completed this little runner on Christmas Eve.

Michaels had a great sale on these storage cases that I like to use to organize the fabric that I have cut to prep for my quilt making projects. They were $2.99 each, so I picked up several to add to my supply.

This is how I like to use the storage containers. I cut all the pieces for my quilty project and then stack them in the container so they are ready to go when I have a chance to sit down and sew.

These are the pieces I need for a YouTube sew along in which I am participating this year. It is hosted by Laura at Sew Very Easy. The quilt is a mystery. We do not know as we sew each month what it looks like. I am making the scrappy version using fabrics that I already had in my stash. All of the fabric is by Lori Holt except the solid red (which is Kona cotton) and the white background fabric (which is Basin Feedsacks by Stacy West).

After cutting and labeling (Laura was kind enough to include cut apart labels with the instructions) all my fabric pieces, I add the instruction sheet on top so I know which project is in this container. Laura will post a new section of the mystery quilt each month. If you want to sew up your scraps, come join the fun on the Sew Very Easy YT channel. It is free and it is not too late to start.

I started a quilt from Charm School this month. It will be a WIP for a couple months, I only have 12 of the 42 blocks made so far.

Again, I store all my cut pieces in this handy container from Michaels.

My final quilty start this month is a small mini quilt by Sandy Gervais. I just received my 2024 Limited Edition Cupid Box from Fat Quarter Shop. This is the project included in the box. I am hoping to complete it before Valentine’s Day, but that will remain to be seen. I am still busy painting and making our new (pre-owned) home ours, so that is occupying a lot of my time.

I did manage to stitch up one piece of clothing this month. It is the Toaster Sweater by Sew House Seven. I am not going to do a review of the pattern because I have already done one on my blog. I needed another long sleeve top for winter, and this is one of my favorite patterns.

The fluffy, pink fabric is from Joann Fabrics. It is actually called Pink Fluffy Knit Fabric by POP! At first glance it looks like a bath towel or robe. LOL I believe it is marketed for young girls, but c’mon, who can resist that lovely bubblegum pink color and the softness of this great fabric? It is very fluffy (as the name indicates). I used my rotary cutter to cut the pieces, just as I do for most knits.

I find my serger/overlocker to be invaluable when sewing knits. If you choose to sew something in this fabric, I would recommend you use the extra presser foot lift on your serger to get the fabric up under the presser foot and to get a nice start to your seam to avoid the fabric bunching up as it tries to fit itself up under the presser foot. Other than that, I did not experience any problems sewing this fabric. It can be done with a domestic machine, but it would be beneficial to finish off the seams with a zig zag stitch because this fabric ‘sheds’ little bits of fiber everywhere. I have worn and washed my Toaster Sweater several times since making it, and it does not shed.

Okay, friends, that’s all I have for this month. Are you sewing any seasonal items? If so, I would love to hear what you are sewing right now. Please share with all of us in the comment section. Until next month, Happy Sewing!