Christmas Wreaths

Today it's snowing outside. It's our first snow of the season. I forgot to post these Christmas wreath photos. I decorated these wreathes and my husband and I hung them up right after Thanksgiving.

These two wreaths are on the entrance gates.

The snowman face I made out of a can lid.

This wreath and the wreath below are on the exit gates.

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Busy Creating...

I have been so busy knitting and sewing for gift giving that I cannot post them yet on my blog until after Christmas. I will have a lot of things to share with you later this month. Just wanted to let you know I am here creating and finishing up some gifts. I am sure a lot of you are also busy creating and baking and shopping too. Looking forward to sharing my creations and seeing your creations too (those of you with blogs). Until then, happy sewing, knitting, crafting, baking, etc.
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Nesting Baskets

I tested the small size basket for Annie (byAnnie.com) which is a pattern that includes 3 sizes of these nesting baskets with lids. When not in use they can nest into a larger bowl. You can add the handles and a clear pocket on the bowls too so you can grab them and place a small card in the clear pocket with a label written or typed on it so you know what is inside the bowl. I decided to quilt my fabrics before making the bowls.

Small basket with lid, handles and a clear pocket to place a label showing what you have inside the basket. 

With the lid off.

You can fit quite a lot inside this small basket. If you need a larger basket then you can make the medium size or the large size basket.

  Annie just sent an email wishing those on her email list a Happy Holiday Season and showed 3 of these nesting baskets made up like an adorable snowman! So I wanted to share that with you too~

Isn't this adorable? Check out Annie's pattern here.

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Painted Flower Quilts

I took some photos of a Sunflower and some Cosmos flowers when I was in Sisters, Oregon in July for the annual quilt show there. I used Picasa program and turned the photos into a black and white sketch. I then printed them onto fabric. You really need an inkjet printer to do this, but I still printed mine using my laser printer. I traced the basic lines of the flowers with a pigma pen because the laser printer is not permanent on fabric and the printed lines aren't very dark. Once I had the lines drawn in, I used Caran d'Ache Neocolor 2 Artist Crayons to color and then paint the flowers. The laser printer made the colors look dull, that's why an inkjet printer works better. After they dried I heat set with an iron and then quilted these small quilts.

This is the photo I took of the sunflower.

Sunflower.

This is the photo I took of the Cosmos flowers.

Cosmos quilt.

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2015 Bag-of-the-month Club

Rather than rewrite this information, I just took it from ChrisW Designs blog. I made all 6 bags from the 2014 Bag-of-the-Month Club and enjoyed making them all. Each of these designers have excellent instructions and this is a super great deal if you join this month. If you wait to join, it is still a great deal.

Bag of the Month Club 2015 - Pre-Order and SAVE!

 Pre-orders are going on sale for the Bag of the Month Club for 2015! If you are not familiar with the club, please click here to view the club offerings for 2014 so you can get a taste of the quality of bag patterns that are in store for you in 2015!

The Details:

6 of the best bag sewing pattern designers in the business are teaming together to bring you a 6-month membership club. The club runs from January-June of 2015. Each month, you will receive an exclusive and brand-new pdf bag sewing pattern from that month’s designer, delivered directly to your inbox.

If you are familiar with even one of the designers, then you know that you can expect a high-quality and easy-to-understand sewing pattern each month! The bag designs will be a mystery until each pattern is revealed every month. We promise, they will definitely be worth the wait! The patterns will be exclusive to the club for the duration. Each pdf pattern will be delivered on the 1st of the month, and will include detailed instructions, illustrations/photos, and templates needed to make the bag pattern.

If you join after the club begins, you will receive all patterns released to the club up until that point (for instance, if you join on February 14th, you will receive the patterns for January and February automatically).

We are all so excited for you to join us! The one-time fee for 6 months of Bag of the Month Club is $40, during which time you will receive 6 pdf bag sewing patterns. HOWEVER, if you sign up during the month of December 2014, you will receive an early-bird membership fee of only $35!

The club runs from January through June of 2015. The club is a great value; pdf bag sewing patterns usually cost around $10 each, and you will be receiving 6 patterns for only $40 (or $35 in December)!

The Designers

January - Samantha from Sewing Patterns with Mrs. H. is a Welsh pattern designer with a group of pretty yet practical bags in her pattern library. I heard about January's bag design and I was very excited, as it's a piece of purse hardware that I have never used before, but always wanted to. Look out for January's bag, as it's going to be amazing!

February - Sara of Sew Sweetness. Sara likes bags with a lot of pretty details, and since we had a lot of requests last time for smaller bags, she is going to see what she can come up with! Sara has lots of fun, modern bag patterns in her pattern shop here.

March - Anna from Noodlehead has many versatile free tutorials and paid patterns on her site, many of which are wildly popular with quilters! Anna's first book is due out in February, called Handmade Style: 24 Must-Have Basics to Stitch, Use, and Wear.

April - Janelle of Emmaline Bags. Janelle has a thriving pattern business, where she also sells all the hardware, handles, and interfacing needed to make the bag patterns in her shop. Janelle's first book is coming out in 2015.

May - Betz White is a bag designer and textile artist, and she is the author of three books, most recently Present Perfect: 25 Gifts to Sew and Bestow. You can find her patterns available on-line in her pattern shop, as well as her video classes on Creative Bug and Craftsy.

June - Christine of Chris W. Designs I have yet to decide just what I am designing for June ....mysteries are such FUN, don't you think? LOL

How Do I Join?

All you have to do to join is click on the ‘Add to Cart’ button on any of the designer's blogs listed above and you will be able to sign up and pay for the club via Paypal.

Also join us on Facebook and Flickr for photo shares of members’ bags and member questions!

Current Subscriber Notes: All patterns will be sent automatically on the 1st of the month using automated software. If your Paypal e-mail address is different from the e-mail where you would like to receive the patterns, just drop Sara a line sara@sewsweetness.com and she will make that adjustment. If you feel that you have missed a mailing (please check your spam folder also!), or you have a question about the club, please do not hesitate to e-mail christine@chriswdesigns.com or Sara sara@sewsweetness.com at any time and we will work quickly to solve any issues! Thank you! 

I hope you will join in the FUN! :)

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Knit Neck Warmer

I knit this neck warmer for my son using a 100% merino wool which is soft and doesn't itch like most wool does. He will be visiting at the end of January, so this should help to keep his neck warm and it's easy to just pop on too. This is a free pattern that also doubles as a headband to keep your ears warm too. The pattern is called Easy Neckwarmer Headband by Jessica Bolof and is on Ravelry.

The yarn is variegated in browns with green.

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Quilted Table Runner

I made a couple of quilt blocks a few years ago. I wanted to see how this block would look made up. I wasn't sure if I wanted to add more blocks to it or what to do with it so it sat for years. years. I finally decided to just finish it and make it a small runner. I don't remember the name of this quilt block or where I found the pattern.I really should write these things down and pin it to the fabric so I will know myself in case I did want to make more blocks.

I quilted swirl flowers in a variegated blue thread.

This is one quilt block. Some sort of pinwheel.

This is the secondary pattern you get when 2 blocks are side-by-side.

 I used a fish print fabric that I had for the back of the runner.

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