Fabric Rose Projects to make for your home

*fabrics in this post were provided by Penny Rose Fabrics as part of their Coming up Roses Blog tour. Projects and opinions are all my own

The first time I saw this Coming up Roses fabric by Penny Rose Fabrics two thoughts came into my mind. The first was that I needed to make an abstract rose mini quilt and the second was this quote by Anais Nin:

I have loved this quote forever. It makes me really think and want to try to bloom. :)

Don't these fabrics make you feel the same way? I love the purples, but I chose to work with the traditional rose colors of red and pink.

I wanted to mimic the abstract look of the flowers in the main print and found this great tutorial on Hey Let's Make Stuff. I followed most of her instructions, although I didn't do the final quilting until the end because I wanted to do a wavy spiral to mimic a flower. I started with 1 1/2", 2" and 2 1/2" strips of fabric for the center and then moved to 2 1/2", 3" and 3 1/2" wide strips for the outer petals. I just adore the green striped binding!!

I initially thought I would make a mini quilt, but in the end decided to make a fun pillow!  I used a 16" pillow form and a simple envelope closure for the back.

The next project I did was this dimensional flower banner. I just love how these 3-d flowers look! I'll be posting a tutorial as soon as I get better lighting. :)

And last, but not least:

These fabric roses were a fun accent piece to make up! I used this tutorial from Snowy Bliss. The only changes I made were to cut the strips 3" wide instead of 4 1/2" and on the two smaller flowers I used 26" long strips instead of WOF to make them smaller. A tip when making these: if you want the flower to be more open, gather the fabric strip more, it will push your petals out more.

I just love how these projects came out and I can't wait to find a special place in my craft room to display them and remind myself that it might take courage to blossom, but it's not as hard as staying small!
xoxo,
Amy

Joyful Snowflake table runner with free pattern

The fabric for this post was provided by Riley Blake Designs, the pattern and opinions are all my own.

Today is my turn on the Comfort and Joy blog tour for Riley Blake Designs. This fabric is seriously cute! I decided to take a motif from one of the mittens in the line and created a free pattern for a table runner that I just can't wait to use next holiday season. And, it's already ready, which is one of the benefits of sewing for Christmas in June! :)

 My kids thought it was crazy that I was using Christmas fabric in the summer time, but hey, what do they know?

 I just love all these great colors!
You can find the free tutorial available for download here. But, please remember that this pattern is provided as a courtesy. Every effort was made to ensure accuracy in fabric requirements, cutting and assembly instructions. But, I'm only human. If you do discover an error, please send me an e-mail and I will correct it as quickly as possible. 

 I am currently working on editing and modifying the patterns for these fun holiday ornaments as well. I'm hoping they will be ready for sale in July!

So, tell me, are you an early bird and get going on the holiday preparations super ahead of time, or are you more like I usually am and kind of a last minute person? Maybe you're a bit in between? I'd love to hear how you gear up for big events like the holiday season.

If you want to see more projects using this Comfort and Joy fabric, you can see the other stops on the blog tour on the Riley Blake Designs blog.
xoxo,
Amy
 

Patriotic Dresden Pillow

**This post is a partnership with Nancy's Notions all opinions are my own

I am so excited to share with you this Patriotic Dresden Pillow.  I was sent a dresden ruler from Nancy's Notions and decided it was time to start adding some accessories to my front porch, and a pillow for my prized chairs built for me by my dad more than 15 years ago would be a great place to start. The hardest part was choosing fabric. Sometimes you hang on to fabric for a while waiting for just the right project to come along. That happened to me with the Doodlebug Designs Star Spangled fabric bundle. I've had it for 3 years now just waiting for the right thing, and this project was the winner.
Would you believe I've never made a dresden plate before? They always intimidated me with their angles and applique. But, they are actually pretty easy and fun and with the instructions that come with the ruler, even a first time run at them can be successful!

I love every single print in this fabric line! I'm excited to finish up the second pillow so I can put them out on my porch.

I'm liking where this is going!

Some notes on the finished pillow:
I used a 20" pillow form and put a hidden zipper closure on the back. I used the 7" measurement on the ruler- it's so nice that you can make tons of different sizes with just the one ruler.

To center the dresden plate on the pillow front, I just folded the background fabric into quarters and finger pressed creases on the folds, then I lined up the points of the applique with the creased lines, quick and easy! I did the same thing when positioning the center applique circles. ;)

I used a simple edge stitch to attach the applique to the pillow front, but you could use any of the recommended stitches in the book that comes with your acrylic ruler.

I had a lot of fun using this ruler and I thought the book that came with it was very helpful and informative. I referred to it often when making this pillow. I will definitely be using the ruler again with future projects!
If you'd like a more detailed tutorial on how I constructed the pillow, let me know in the comments, I would be happy to help.
xoxo,
Amy

Project Teen Study pillow and Color block notebook from Game Day Fabrics

Today is my turn on the Game Day blog tour and I could not be more excited!  I love the fun color ways and the sports theme is perfect for my teen and tween boys! I was provided with fabric from Riley Blake Designs to create a couple of projects to show off this fun collection. I decided to sew a Study Pillow from the book Project Teen by Melissa Mortenson as well as a fabric notebook cover that I designed.

The Study Pillow is a hit with my boys and I foresee it getting a lot of use this summer when they head outdoors to read and hang out on the deck. I love the pockets and the down pillow inside will be a favorite of my kids for sure. Just as a note- if you have the book, the instructions for cutting the back are incorrect and should read 19" X 27"

I wanted to create a notebook cover to go along with the study pillow so I designed this one to mimic the color blocking of the Study Pillow. I love the addition of the piping to bring out the navy in the numbers fabric. You can find the tutorial for the notebook cover HERE.

I had a blast sewing with this fun fabric and hope you enjoy the projects I created!
XOXO,
Amy

Color Block Fabric Notebook Cover Tutorial

I love sewing notebook covers from fabric. You can customize them to match your style and add to the function by adding a pocket for pens and an elastic to keep the pages closed.  This is not the first notebook cover tutorial I have posted (you can see them HERE and HERE), but I realized that I didn't have one for a composition notebook that added a pen pocket, so I thought I would correct that.

Supplies:

You could make this from two fat quarters, but if you want to have the variety, you will need small pieces of other fabrics as well. I used fabric provided by Riley Blake Designs for participation in the Game Day blog tour.
fusible fleece
You will also need elastic and piping (optional)
Sewing supplies are a given. ;)
You will probably also want a composition notebook 

Cutting:

For the inside of the notebook cover 1- 10 1/2" X 16" piece

For the two flaps to hold the notebook in the cover 2- 5" X 10 1/2" (I cut this from the same fabric I cut the inside piece from)

For the front accent piece (the numbers fabric in this example) 1- 7" X 11" piece

for the front main piece (the orange fabric) 1- 10" X 11" piece

for the pen pocket  2- 3" X 6" 

1- 10" X 15 1/2" piece fusible fleece

cut 1- 11" piece of elastic

optional- cut 1- 11" piece of piping

Assembly:

*all seams use a 1/4" seam allowance

(from left to right)

• Attach piping to the main front piece (the 10"X11" piece)
• Place the front accent piece (7"X11") right side down on the main piece and sew
• press the accent piece to the side
• fuse the fleece to the back of the front piece, following manufacturer instructions
• Trim the front piece to 10 1/2" X 16"
• Top stitch the front accent piece where the piping is attached
• Take pocket pieces and place right sides together, sew around all sides, leaving an opening for turning.
• Clip corners of pocket piece and turn right side out.
• press and top stitch the top of the pocket
• position the pocket on the front of the cover- 1" to the right of the piping and 1 1/2" up from the bottom.
• Stitch around the two sides and bottom of the pocket.

• place the front cover piece face up on your work surface
• Position the elastic 2" in from the left side- pin in place (this pic shows it on top of the flap, but that's just so you can see the positioning, it should be UNDER the flap)
• Press the flap pieces (5" X 10 1/2") in half along the length to create 2- 2 1/2" X 10 1/2" pieces
• Line the raw edges of the flaps with the two sides of the front cover
• place the lining of the notebook cover right side DOWN on top of the cover, pin in place
• sew around all the edges of the cover, leaving an opening in the bottom for turning 
• clip the corners and turn the cover right side out and press
• stitch the opening in the bottom closed.

Slide in your composition notebook and enjoy!

These would be great for teacher appreciation or for keeping notes on your projects. I plan on making them for each of my children for our summer activities so they have a place to keep writing over the school break.
As always, if there are any questions, don't hesitate to ask!
XOXO,
Amy

Fabric Carrot tutorial

Sewing fabric carrots is simple and fun. Don't be surprised if you end up sewing a whole lot more than you think you really need. *update: if you want to cut these out using a Cricut Maker, you can find the link for the mini carrots here, or the medium carrots here.note: This post contains affiliate links

Supplies:
Fabrics- large scraps of orange and smaller scraps of green
Fiber fill or other stuffing material
Sewing machine and tools
Needle and thread

Make the Carrots

 The first thing you will need to do is decide how big you want your carrots to be. You will need two rectangles in the sizes shown for each carrot. (unless you are making multiple carrots of the same fabric, then see tip below) Fold the rectangle along the length and then cut from the top outer corner to the fold point to create the pennant shape. You can really use any measurement you want, the wider the rectangle, the fatter the carrot, the taller the rectangle, the taller the carrot.

1.  Cut a pennant shape that is the height and width you want for your carrot. Most of the carrots I made were 3" across the top and 9" tall. **A tip for cutting out multiple carrot bodies from the same fabric is to alternate the direction of the carrot so you can get more out of one piece. Cut a length of fabric the height of the carrot body you want, then fold it over so the right sides are facing. Use a rotary cutter and plastic ruler, or draw your lines for cutting to create the pennant shape- the point of the pennant will be at the half-way point of the width of the top. For example: To make the medium size carrots I would cut a length of fabric 9" wide. Then, I would fold over that piece so the right sides are facing. Next- using a rotary cutter or ruler, measure from one corner at the top, to a marking 1 1/2" (1/2 of the 3" width I want) in on the bottom and cut an angled line. From that bottom point, measure over another 1 1/2" (so you have 3" from the top corner) and cut your second angled line. Continue this process- measure 1 1/2" from the last point you cut on the opposite side so you create more pennant pieces that are 9" tall and 3" across the top until you reach the end of your fabric piece.
2. Sew along the two angled sides at 1/4" seam allowance. Back stitch at the beginning and ending.
3. Trim off the fabric around the tip to allow the point to be easier to turn.
4. Turn the carrot right side out. Tip* use a blunt, pointy tool (like a chopstick) to push out the point of the carrot.

Sew the Leaves:

1. Cut the green fabric into the size of leaves you want. For the larger carrots I used 2" X 3" rectangles, for the smaller ones, I used 2" X 2" squares. You need two pieces of fabric for each leaf. For the larger carrots I made 3 leaves, for the smaller carrots, I made 2.
2. Round the two top corners of the leaf pieces. (note: the larger leaves are 3" tall and 2" wide)
3. Sew around three sides of the leaf- leaving the bottom (straight) edge open. I do back stitch at the beginning and ending of each leaf so the stitches don't pull out when you turn.
4. Clip the rounded parts of the leaves. You can use scissors to cut notches out, but I like to just use pinking shears to trim it. Just be careful to not clip your threads.
5. Turn the leaf right side out and press.

 Assemble the carrots:

1. Stuff the carrot with fiber. I like my carrots extra firm, but you do you. Leave a bit of space at the top to turn the edges over and add the leaves.
2. Fold the top edge of the carrot body over a scant 1/4" and stitch a running stitch around the top. Bring the thread to the inside of the carrot. Pull the thread to begin to gather the top, but don't close it all the way- you still need to add the leaves. *tip: I used button thread which is thick and strong, if you use regular thread, just make sure to double it up so it's strong enough to pull tight to close the top of your carrots.
3. Add the leaves. You can either run a gathering stitch along the bottom of the leaves, or fold the leaf and then just push the needle through the bottom- which is what I do. I accordion fold the leaf into fourths and then just add it to the thread. I add all the leaves at the same time. Pull the thread to gather the top of the carrot closed, make sure the bottom of the leaves are all enclosed in the carrot.
4. Stitch around the top of the carrot again, catching the leaves as you go to keep them securely in the carrot. Tie off the thread when you are done.

 Tie a group of carrots together with a bow.

See- even the Easter bunny loves these fabric carrots!

As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out! I'm happy to help or clarify anything.

Have a wonderful Spring!
xoxo,
Amy

Scalloped skirt and floral garland with Lily fabric from Penny Rose

I am so excited to participate today on the Lily fabric tour for Penny Rose Fabrics. I had so much fun sewing up this scalloped skirt, mini tote and darling fabric banner using the pink and yellow colorways that I was provided by Penny Rose Fabrics. The first thing I thought of when I saw this fabric was pink lemonade. It's just so happy and bright.

It was almost exactly 6 years ago that I first published this skirt tutorial. I love the full scallops and the bell-like look of the skirt. Please bear in mind this was one of my first tutorials and the pictures are tiny- if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me! We still have that first skirt I made and it has held up beautifully. The skirt will fit from 2-4T just by adjusting the elastic in the waist. I couldn't resist making this for my sweet little almost 2 year old. It will be her Easter dress for church. This plaid is just so great!

I knew I needed to make up a mini tote for her, this little girl LOVES her totes. I wanted to make it special, so I added one of these dimensional flowers. I just love how it pops off the tote.

I wanted to create a little banner backdrop for these pictures and had the thought to add some of these fun flowers to the banner as well.

I love how the flowers add dimension and a bit of saturated color to these light, springy pennants. The pennants measure about 4" X 5" and for this size of flower, I used short strips of 1" and 3/4" widths to create the flowers. I am excited to add it to my spring decorations.

Someone else is so excited she can't stop dancing! :) If you have any questions- please don't hesitate to ask! Happy Spring Everyone!
xoxo,
Amy

On Trend Valentines Mini Quilt- Free tutorial and pattern

I have a spot on my gallery wall that has just been begging for a mini quilt.  I thought I would change them out seasonally so I started with this one.  Turns out it looks WAY better in my living room, and not the family room like I thought, so there aren't any pictures of it in the gallery wall, but you still get a free tutorial out of the deal, so I think we're good. ;) Plus, now I need to make a bunch of decorations that room and my budget is zero dollars, so we'll see what I can come up with- hopefully it will make for some good blogging. Lol.

The fabric I used is called On Trend and it's designed by Jen Allyson (My Mind's Eye) and produced by Riley Blake designs.  They provided the material for this blog post, but On Trend is available in fabric stores and online. I love the prints and my favorite part is the sparkle of the gold. I designed this quilt based on the note card print and I just love how it turned out.

Valentine Mini Quilt

Supplies:

• Fabrics- This would be a great quilt to use 5" squares with, or fat eights. You will need a bit of yardage for the borders and the binding (and of course the backing).
• I used 8 prints in this quilt along with some solid white to back the applique hearts. I will share the cutting dimensions and hopefully that will help you decide how you want to purchase your fabrics.
• Probably the most economical way to make this quilt is to get a 5" stacker, then you will also need 2/3 yard white triangles (if you want the triangles to all face the same direction) fat eighth of note card print (or 1/4 yard if fat eight is not available); and 1/4 yard raspberry polka dot for binding.
• Lightweight interfacing for applique (unless you want to use a different method to applique)
• cardstock for heart template

Cutting:

Cut:

3- 6 1/2" X 4 1/2" rectangles from Note Card print- I fussy cut these so the phrase I wanted to highlight was centered

4- 4 1/2" X 4 1/2" squares from solid white (in the picture my white squares are a little bigger because I thought it might be nice to have some wiggle room to square them up after applique, but it was unnecessary so I changed the pattern)

4- 4" squares- 2 raspberry and 2 mint polka dot

4- 3 1/2" X 4 1/2" rectangles (I cut 2- white triangle; 1 raspberry triangle; 1 raspberry stripe)

6- 4 1/2" X 4 1/2" squares (2 mint floral; 2 raspberry main; 1 raspberry stripe; 1 raspberry triangle)

2- 2" X 21" strips from white triangle for side borders

2- 2" X 18" strips from white triangle for top and bottom borders

Applique:

First take a 4" square piece of cardstock and cut out a heart shape.  I will work on getting my heart template online, but you can make your own if you don't want to wait. ;) *update: I have uploaded the heart template that I used here. Make sure when you print "Actual Size" is selected in the print option window and check the size against the 1" square on the template page. If you have any problems with this, please let me know! :)

1. Trace your heart on a 4" square of the lightweight interfacing.

2. place your interfacing on top of the RIGHT side of the 4" square of the polka dot print.

• Stitch along the pencil line around the heart.
• Cut around the heart, leaving a 1/4" of fabric in the seam.
• Trim around the point of the heart and cut out wedges from the curves so they will lay a bit flatter. 
• Cut a slit in the center of the interfacing and use that hole to turn the heart inside out. The edges will be contained inside the interfacing and you can use a dull edged tool to push the seams out. Press the seams well. (you can see what the finished heart looks like in the first picture)

 1. Take the white square of background fabric and fold in half. Lightly finger press to create a faint crease.
2. Unfold the white background square and line up the point and the dip in the heart with the center fold crease. Center the heart from top to bottom.
3. Pin the heart in place.
4. Top stitch around the applique heart.

Use the picture to help with your layout- I did switch the placement of some of the prints since I decided to use the white triangle print on the borders, I didn't want those pieces on the edges. (and imagine the hearts are sewn down ;) ) You will end up with five rows. Press the seams on each row in opposite directions. There aren't many places where seams end up in the same place, but it's helpful when they do. Sew the rows together.  Sew on the side borders and then add the top and bottom border. You are now ready to quilt and bind.

I'm showing a close up of the quilting so you can see that it doesn't have to be perfect. :) I really made some wonky hearts in my quilting, but it's a lot better than the last time I tried free motion quilting, so I'm going to take it and run with it.  You can also see in this picture how I quilted around the centers of the notecard print to accentuate the sentiments I wanted to highlight. (and if you can look closely- you will see how I totally missed the corner- oops)

I love the non-traditional look of the colors in these prints. Now to make accessories that match! ;)
As always, if you  make this quilt- I'd love you to tag me! @AmeroonieDesigns on facebook or Instagram.
Have a wonderful day!
xoxo,
Amy