Ritzy Bunny made from a Schnibble

Bunny Hill designs the most Beautiful fabrics for Moda and the baby quilt shown features the new Puttin' on the Ritz. The blocks are only 6 inches and the pattern calls for 2 charm packs. I hope to get the borders sewn on soon and get it off to the quilter. We used a Schnibble pattern by Miss Rosie's Quilt Company. Precuts are in stock and bolts will be here soon. Reserve yours today.

How to tips for sewing hot pads

While making this fun pieced hot pad , I had decided to quilt in the ditch (right next to the seam) around the words meow and the black and white wavy stripe. It was quite thick as I used my favorite product Insulbrite and a second layer of cotton batting for the filler. No polyester please, it will melt and conducts heat. I then wisely decided to sew about 1/8th of an inch in from the edge all the way around. This really made attaching the binding a lot easier. I think I might try 2 layers of Insulbrite next time. If you really want your hot pads to be functional and not just cute, I can tell you from experience 2 layers for the filler is better.

I cut my binding 2½ inches wide and fold it in half and press it. Then I pin it on one side at a time. Because of the thickness of this hot pad that worked out well.
Be sure to preview your binding around your hot pad , you really would not want your seam in the binding to be any closer to the corner than the picture above or you will just have to much bulk to turn and miter the corner. I was pushing my luck here and would repin this so that seam is farther away from the corner.

Finished is such a nice word .

Hope you love this fun fabric "Witty Kitty by Julie Dobson Miner for StudioE fabrics".

All the fabrics used in this project are in stock.

This is my 20 pound Hungry Kitty and he would be just like the the cat on the hot pad holding the bag of food if he wasn't in his favorite spot sleeping. I had to sneak up on him to take this. He is Mr Boots, but must mostly we call him Boo.

Do you love to Etch or Sketch?

What ever your choice to etch or sketch the lovely, lovely, lovely fabrics "Etchings " by Three Sisters for Moda will fill the bill. Grey is one of the major colors in this grouping and soft blues and reds. Several pieces have strong architectural drawings and I personally love the ones with writing all over them. Words and letters are one of those themes no one is getting tired of. The book "More Layer cake, jelly roll and charm quilts just arrived and has a basket quilt on the cover that would be so perfect to make out of these fabrics. If you love soft and subtle fabrics this is the group for you. Hope to see you soon. I will be sending a small sample featuring these fabrics to the quilter tomorrow. And I will post a picture as soon as it is bound. Bolts and precuts in stock and available.

How to Sew on Laminated Fabric

We put out heads together and created this fast and easy Just Stylin'

bistro style apron featuring fabulous Japanese fabrics.

Kits are available at our Etsy Store.

Simple cutting and sewing directions are included..

Here are some tips to help you sew with laminated fabrics.

To reduce bulk when hemming the sides and bottom of a

laminated fabric apron, fold in the bottom corners at a 45 degree angle.

Fold in sides and bottom 1/4", then 1/2".

Just work with the corners a bit until you have a nice mitered corner.

I used Wonder Clips by Clover to hold my folded edges in place.

They work great! (You could use clothes pins or paper clips, but NO pins!)

If the corners were not mitered, here's how much bulk you would have to sew over.

Since I didn't have a teflon foot as recommended to sew on the

laminate, my goal was to be able to sew as smoothly as possible.

I used a NEW, sharp size 80 needle, lengthened my stitch length

and sewed slowly. It worked!

For a finished look, cut out the square that shows from your corner after you sew.

Finished hem with mitered corner.

So, don't be afraid to give sewing on laminated fabric a try!

Fresh, Fearless, and Fun Quilting

One of the quilters that I really enjoy watching is Malka Dubrawsky who wrote the book Fresh Quilting. We ordered her entire line of fabrics which we have given you a sneak peek of here in the jelly roll pictured above. If you would like to see more of her first line of fabric for Moda "A stitch in Color " she has been previewing several projects on her blog. http://stitchindye.blogspot.com/ If you want to be the first to buy her fabric, e-mail us and we will get you on the list. This wonderful fabric is scheduled to release in January of 2012.