Happy 4th of July!

Here in the USA, we're having a celebration...

happy 4th of July!

I made a sweet new Stars and Stripes table runnner.

You can find the free tutorial with instructions here,

at A Bright Corner.

Photo and reference to free pattern used with permission from A Bright Corner blog

Here's how mine turned out.

I used a couple of different fabric collections

from my stash...the stars and the stripes came

from a fabric line called Simply Sweet from Henry Glass.

For the star background, the border and binding,

I used Smooth Sailing from Connecting Threads.

They gave my runner a nautical flair.

The border wasn't included in the tutorial,

but I liked the way it added a few more inches

of width and length to the runner.

I used wavy quilting lines, randomly spaced.

Don't you think wavy lines are perfect for flag designs?

I think the striped binding is my favorite detail.

This runner is even reversible!

The beachy print is fun for the back deck at our house,

near the swimming pool.

If you're looking for a fun and easy project,

with just the right mix of applique and patchwork,

you'll love making this project!

Enjoy your summer, friends!

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Comfort and Joy Mug Rug

I really glad  relieved that I've been sewing

for Christmas all year long!

Already, I'm noticing that I've

got less and less time

available for holiday stitching.

I was asked to make up some reversible mug rugs,

celebrating the four seasons,

so I started with Winter and Autumn.

{Here's my Christmas-y Winter mug rug for October's Christmas-y project.}

I didn't use a pattern this time...

rather I let my Winter's Lane fabric bundle speak to me,

and this mug rug kind of just happened!

I began with one of the "Christmas cards" 

from the Winter's Lane fabric panel.

I love the way this image expresses 

a favorite holiday sentiment, but can be used all winter long.

Cheery colors...a sweet font...even some snowflakes!

For the side panel, where the mug sits,

I made 3 background squares,

then fused a brilliant poinsettia flower to each block.

This is my favorite part!

A bit of sashing tied it all together.

I just trimmed the mug rug to size,

making it exactly the same size as the reverse,

which was the Autumn Ticker Tape featured in my last post.

The hardest part was choosing a binding fabric

that would set off both sides of this mug rug.

I used my own free tutorial

for Machine Binding, and I was done in a flash!

{My new iron made it a breeze!  Do yourself a favor, and use a decent iron.}

Here's another view of the finished Winter mug rug.

Now this little holiday mug rug is all set

for cups and cups of Christmas cheer, all winter long.

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Christmas in July

If you're like me and you love Christmas,

you are going to love what's coming up this month!

First off, we'll have fun with the

Across The Pond Sew Along.

Susie has selected the theme for

this month, and it is

"Christmas in July!"

{I can hardly wait to see what Susie and Amanda are dreaming up.}

Also, I invite you to join the blog hop over at

The Crafty Quilter,

as Julie hosts a new Christmas project

every day between July 12 and 19.

{I'll have something new and special to share, too!}

Here is the schedule for The Crafty Quilter blog hop:

July 12:  Amy - Amy Made That 

July 13:  Amanda - The Patchsmith

July 14;  Elaine - Summercrafter

July 15:  Sarah - Sarah Rose Quilts

July 15 - Patricia - Quilting Lines

July 17:  Sheri - Sunshine in the Attic

July 18:  Julie - The Crafty Quilter

July 19:  Wrap Up and prizes

Now, if you've been reading my blog all year,

you already know that I've been making

at least one Christmas-y project

each month, all year long.

{Nothing like waiting until June 29th to start this month's project!}

I decided to make some Holiday Gift Tags,

using the free patterns and tutorials

from Pretty by Hand and Nana Company blogs.

{I've had my eye on these beauties for such a long time!}

Photo from Nana Company blog

I had all the stuff on hand,

and just needed to collect everything and print the templates.

This is a really quick and fun project.

I was able to stitch up the basic tags very quickly.

I used some Pellon Decor-Bond

for the fusible interfacing.

It was easy to trace the pattern and cut out the shapes.

I added a bit of trim before I stitched the layers together.

The top-stitching helped to define

the curves on the fancy shapes.

{TIP:  I shortened my stitch length juuuuust a tad to 2.0.}

I used a Darice kit for making little teeny eyelets.

How easy!

Here's the reverse side...also very pretty.

Hmm...don't you think they still needed

a little something "extra"?

I got my little buttons out,

to see if any of those would work.

 Oooooh.  That's much better!

Then I had a couple of bright ideas.

I made this little folded hexagon,

and added that pretty red button.

I made the tiniest yo-yo

and added another button

I'd saved from a favorite dress.

I can't wait to make some more!

Maybe I'll just add a sticker on the back

with the "to" and "from" names.

{See the comments below for BETTER ideas!!!}

I would love to be able to use these over and over

through the years.

All in all, not a bad finish, for the end of June.

Come back often in July for more great Christmas ideas!

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Be My Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!
How would you like to stitch up your own version of my

BE MY VALENTINE mug rug?

The pattern is only $3.00 and is available at

Etsy in my shop, called eamylove.
It's written in a tutorial style, with loads of step-by-step photos and tips!

I've had fun this month creating hearts

in anticipation of this lovely holiday,

and today I have a few more to share with you.

I love that ricrac

and all those little squares of pink and red and white.

I didn't have to go far to find some scraps

from my table runner and pillow

that were perfect for these mug rugs!

The trimmed pieces from the Herringbone Blocks

and leftover strips gave me a jumpstart,

 using these fabulous fabrics.

I'm not gonna lie...it took me a long while

to create a piece of patchwork made up of 

tiny little squares.

Then I did some cross-hatching

and cut a pretty heart shape from the quilted magic

that came from my sewing machine.

Here's where I veered away from the original...

I put my ricrac between the layers, to finish the edge.

{Love at first sight!}

Want to see the back?

So sweet...and fun to make, actually.

I just had to make another one.

Instead of all the little squares,

I pieced a large patchwork from those 

herringbone block trimmings,

then cut my heart shape.

This time I did some stipple quilting.

I had enough left for a third mug rug, too,

quilted in square cross-hatching again.

I like the way it looks like a crazy quilt.

Here are the backs of the whole set.

They look so pretty all together.

Each one is cute on its own, too!

I have such a great sense of accomplishment,

creating a few of these things that have

been in my mental Pinterest file

since before Pinterest came along!

I hope you'll enjoy

a very special St. Valentine's Day

with someone you love!

If you would like to make your own "Be My Valentine" mug rugs,
the pattern is available here on Craftsy, for only $2.99.
I'd love to see what you create!

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