A quick, little 4th of July Bunting

A few weeks ago, I stumbled across this adorable idea on Pinterest and decided to re-create for the upcoming Independence Day celebration!  It was tucked away in the back of my mind, but when I ran across the flags in the Dollar Section at Target, the idea was born.

Supplies:

• Small fabric flags - I found these at Target and they were 3/$1 :)
• Burlap
• Jumbo Ric Rac
• Wonder Under
• Thread
• Sewing Machine

1. Cut the flags off the sticks to a uniform size - mine ended up being 4" x 6".
   
2. Apply Wonder Under to the flags.
3. Cut burlap to desired size - mine are 7" x 7" square.  If you need tips on how to cut burlap straight, check out our tutorial.
4. Iron the flags onto your burlap squares and stitch around the edges to secure.  Make sure you leave enough room at the top of the square to add the ric rac.
   
5. Stitch the ric rac to the top of the squares.  I left about 12 inches of "tail" on both ends so that I can hang however and wherever I want.
   

And voila, you are done and ready to hang!  Here's wishing you and yours a blessed holiday - and prayers to all the wonderful servicemen and women who help provide the independence and freedom we live under.

 ~Blessings!

An "Affair" Texas-Style

Many of you have met us along our journey with the Affair of the Heart shows in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.  Well, the amazing people of Affair of the Heart decided to take that wonderful tradition south of the border (well, the Texas/Oklahoma border that is).  

We have arrived, set up, and the doors are open!  Come out to the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio this weekend and visit us - we are in Booth #266-269.

Karen will be doing her demo of the AWESOME Quilter's Grid, we have more fabric than ever, and all 50 states in our Hand Embroidered State Towel collection. 

Tutorial: Toweling into Towels

Have you ever seen our collection of toweling and thought "so cute, but what would I do with it?"  Well, here's one thing... you can make your own kitchen towels.


SUPPLIES:

• 2 yards of the toweling of your choice.  Check out our selection here.
• Coordinating thread
• Twill tape or trim of your choice
• Iron and ironing board
• Rotary cutter
• Rotary mat
• Ruler
• Sewing machine

STEPS:

1. Take your 2 yards of toweling and fold into equal thirds.  Press the folds.
2. Using your rotary cutter, cut just to the edge of the fold, creating 3 equal pieces of toweling.
3. Fold over the edge the same distance as the side seams and press.
   
4. Fold over again to enclose the raw edge.
   
5. Repeat on the other end.
6. Cut approximately 5-1/2" of trim (you can alter depending on the size of the hook you want) and fold in half.
7. Slide the raw edges of the trim under the folded seam and pin into place.
   
8. Sew the seams down, staying close to the edge.  

And voila, you now have 3 new kitchen towels!

 

Happy Sewing!  ~Jill

The Perfect Little Summer Dress (and it's super easy)

Recently, one of my adorable nieces celebrated her 4th birthday.  She truly believes she is a princess and insists on wearing dresses every day.  So, what is a better gift than a new dress.  I didn't really follow a pattern, but by using tips and tricks that I learned using Angela Yosten's Rags to Ruffles pattern.

My girls thought is would be fun to make her a matching dress for her doll as well. 

I found a tutorial for this pillowcase-style dress on the "Creating Kidstuff" blog.  Click here for the tutorial.


Happy Sewing!  ~Jill

Table Runner Tutorial

Our "Say It With Words" panels are great for quilts - but here is another fabulous way to sew up some inspiration.  This table runner can be used on special occasions or even everyday.

Snug up with a "Flannel Tonight" Quilt

For those of you who knew Karen back in her quilt shop days will remember the "Flannel Tonight" quilts that everyone HAD to make!  We finally got her to sit still long enough to write up a tutorial so we can share this great quilt pattern with all our friends.

Great gift ideas for Springtime Celebrations

Just recently, our beautiful goddaughter made her Confirmation and my husband had the honor of being her sponsor. 

After scouring the Internet for the perfect gift idea, I decided to look no further than the amazing Home a la mode website (I'm not biased or anything :))  I decided to make her a quilt - I loved the idea of a keepsake that she could take with her wherever life takes her.  Naturally, I turned to our line of "Say It With Words" panels - especially the scriptural ones.  I felt drawn to the "Beatitudes" panel - I felt this is a great outline for how we should live our lives.