I wrote a pattern for these Winter Flower hair ties for We All Sew. They came to be out of necessity one afternoon, when we were in need of a birthday gift for a little girl that same evening. I loved ruffling the leaves it gives them dimension and a more natural shape (even if they are purple!). You can find the pattern here, it's been made into a gorgeous pdf by the Bernina team.
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Finn's birthday is in a month and a half but he is not shy about discussing the future event daily. Can I have Legos for my birthday? Yes. Will there be fireworks? No. Because last year's bash at the house left me on my knees, or rather collapsed and sleeping on the couch, we have opted for renting the event room at the swimming pool on the splash side. It's very affordable and best of all you are not expected to clean after yourself, major plus!
Still, it's great fun planning a party and I have already started crafting 'save the date' notes for his little classmates. The envelopes are also the notes and the idea comes from the excellent blog Boheme Circus, via pinterest (again!).
Image used with permission of the author.
I found out quickly that the first fold is crucial and highly recommend you try your hand on copy paper which you will use later as a template. Here the new Heather Ross Prints book comes in handy as you can find many boy appropriate options on the CD as well as not so manly ones ( see below):
For Finn's I went with a beach print and teal washi tape, the information is taped as well on the inside... The front of the cards is still under consideration, how will I add the children's names, to be continued...
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Another Chickpeastudio pattern is up for free download at Bernina's We All Sew.
This scandinavian inspired wreath is one of my favorite project, and I splurged on Danish linen for the sample. It's worth it, with its timeless dots and all! The pattern also includes a recipe for the little flag garlands that decorate our tree every year since last. You can find the linen in this etsy shop (randomly picked).
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I know it has been a while since I last posted... It's odd working under the cloud of confidentiality! (LOL). Really, as luck would have it more magazine and web work came this way and I may not speak about it before it's published... That said here is a new free pattern, hot from Bernina's We All Sew. Have you ever wanted to try out one of your machine's decorative stitches? Or a wing needle? In order to explore Heirloom sewing, I wrote this simple pattern for a mitered Linen Table Topper for a wedding, a feast or simply a quite corner.
It is sewn from handkerchief linen and would look at home on a side table either round or square. I imagine it would be fabulous on the guest book table at a wedding.
I love Handkerchief Linen, it's transparent as well as stiff. You can crease it with your fingers to fold in hems. It was hard deciding which stitch to use as the B 580 has them in abundance but in the end the best is to try all your favorite on a scrap of linen with the wing linen in and decide which is showcased best under these specific circumstances.
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the file is a bit large, sorry... here it is as a word doc first and then as a pdf:
Download The Everything Pocket Bag
Download The Everything Pocket Bag
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It's not that I am cheap...I just don't like going to the store, especially with a cranky baby in tow. Maybe I am the cranky one? Well if you need a larger piece of batting then what you currently have in your scrap bag, you can join up some piece and pretend like nothing ever happened!
So here, I made us a tutorial to show how it's done, like that, although it almost midnight and I'm hurting all over from a regular day of motherhood:
Download joiningbattingblog_copy.pdf
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Hats are in great demand at this house, it's been sweltering hot in Utah lately. As per recommendation of the flight attendants I made myself one first and now I am ready to give assistance to others while keeping my cool.
In this spirit I rummaged my pattern collection yesterday only to find out that I have none for a baby sun hat. A quick web search revealed the evidence that I had to draft my own. After taking a few measurements of the boy's head I came up with a little reversible number that still need twicking but can definitely hold his own. I will try again, paying more attention to what I am actually doing, making the crown deeper and fixing up the brim. After that you should have a tutorial in no time...That's a promise! (sort of).
Tell me what you think:
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When I first started working for Elaine's a few years ago, I discovered a really neat way to greatly enhance the National Nonwovens felt we sell. It is the same product carried by the Joann's stores. Usually a blend of about 35% wool and 65% rayon. the felt is not bad to start with, and it comes in a lot of colors, for about $8 or $9 a yard.
At the store we cut fat quarters in the yardage and then felt them even further. They become really thick and soft to the touch. The material is also much stronger. It's hard to believe when you have the before and after product in hand that they are the same thing. 
The fist step is to wash the felt with very hot water in a clean sink. I am currently making a tree skirt out of the white felt on the picture and will be sure to make some kind of tutorial about it tonight or in the next few days. Once the felt is nice and wet I press as much water as possible out and throw the pieces in the clothe drier on high heat for a while. I remove the felt when it's just short of dry. By this point the felt is really thick and looks crinkled (look at the last picture). It a good idea to press it well right away, but it can also wait a few days. You will want to iron the material vigorously with or without steam to flatten and stretch is back a bit. It will look fuzzy but flat like the picture on top. By that point you are ready to cut out the pieces of your project.
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