Cute alert! My new sponsor, Elf Pop, is offering a giveaway of FIVE patterns for her adorable dolls, animals, and tiny clothing. Raynor of Elf Pop is a mother of three from Scotland. You can read more about her and learn about her creative process on her blog here.
These sweet little clothes fit both the dolls and the animals. I don’t know about you, but I am a sucker for a dog in a bow tie. Raynor also has patterns for an elephant, monkey and cat, so be sure to check them out in her Etsy shop! And there are some cute little boy doll patterns available over there as well.
These patterns are .pdf files for instant download, so this giveaway is open internationally! To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post by midnight eastern Sunday, April 14 and I’ll choose a winner at random. If you get a chance, you can also follow Elf Pop on twitter or join her Facebook group.
I recently ordered a copy of Sarah Fielke’s new book, Hand Quilted with Love. Wow, I love these quilts. She has some simple quilts for beginners as well as more challenging quilts for experienced quilters. All of the quilts reflect Sarah’s unique color sensibility and of course, they are hand quilted beautifully. If that makes you tired to think about, you can make these patterns and machine quilt them! Here are some of her amazing quilts.
In the introduction, Sarah says:
Try new things, be adventurous, and crack your own quilting code. Don’t be hung up on whether something is right or wrong, or on whether you are a “modern quilter” or a “traditional quilter”, or even an “art quilter”: just be a QUILTER, be creative and love what you do. It’s what I do every day – and I can tell you, I’m a happy girl because of it.
I couldn’t agree more! The internet gives us so much inspiration, but sometimes I think we can get too caught up in what others are doing rather than being true to our own sense of style. All modern quilters borrow from the past to one degree or another and you don’t need to fit someone else’s definition of what a quilter should be.
Sarah has a very helpful free video over on Craftsy where she shows you some of her secrets for hand quilting. She also has a class over there called Big Techniques from Small Scraps, which looks like it is full of useful ideas. And for more inspiration, be sure to take a look at Sarah’s blog, The Last Piece.
Here are a few lovely projects that I’ve seen made from my Stamped fabric.
Runaround Bag from Anna of Noodlehead. You can buy her pattern here.
Oliver + S jacket from Gail of Probably Actually, which she made for her swap partner. You should check out the link to see all the other projects this group made.
Some shorts from Miss Matatabi (and a beautiful top made from Nani Iro fabric).
And a 241 Tote made by Krista of Poppyprint (another pattern by Noodlehead). Stamped is paired with Melody Miller’s typewriters here.
Don’t sew? Above are a few items that you can buy made from my fabric:
Coin Pouch from Octopurse.
Ladybug Cushion from Hunkydory Home. She also has this fabric available as a lampshade, which I just love.
And Jenny Bartoy has some fabric buckets made from Stamped fabrics.
Pretty Pleats Zipper Pouch from Pile O’ Fabric.
Arrow Skirt from Me Sew Crazy.
3D Butterfly Wall Display from Make It and Love It.
Ombre Stitched Summer Scarf from Design Sponge.
Confetti Bowl from Homework.
Modern Block of the Month from Alyssa Lichner for Sew, Mama, Sew!
Ahem, updated note: This post was written on April 1st.
Although it’s a day after Easter, today I’ll show you how to achieve perfectly white eggs. Of course, your eggs may not look as good as mine, but you can still give it a try.
First, gather eggs from your chickens, boil and cool them (not the chickens, just the eggs). Then wrap one egg in aluminum foil. Use firm pressure as you wrap, sealing any cracks with duct tape, which can be painted in a later step.
Next, fill a measuring cup with gin, toss in the foil-covered egg and let it soak for several hours.
Finally, remove the egg from the gin, peel off the aluminum foil, and drain the measuring cup. The egg-infused gin makes a great martini, perfect for Monday mornings! To make the egg shine, polish it with a homemade chamois cloth moistened with rabbit saliva. If you’d like to achieve various shades of white, such as parchment, snow, or cotton, add dryer lint accordingly. Paint the egg white if needed.
Keep eggs away from pets and children.
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