Ironing board cover tutorial

I picked up this small sleeve ironing board at the Re-Use It shop the other day for a $1.00

I can't even believe I found such a great find!!!  WHAT A FIND!!! Being a quilter, this little ironing board will be great for pressing open small seams on the fly when I don't want to pull out my big ironing board.

First thing I did was flip it upside-down and cut out my batting, I used 2 layers of Insul-Bright. I trimmed it about an inch from the edge of the board, and clipped the corners around the backside.

Next I slid my fabric under and and measured all the way around leaving 3 inches.

For the corner, I just marked off 3 inch dots going around the outside, and then...

Just connected them...

Then just cut out your pattern!

Sewing it together:

I sewed a rolled hem all the way around.  Since I didn't have a rolled-hem pressed foot, I basted around the curves using a large stitch length, and slightly gathered it so the rolled hem would not pucker and pleat on me...

Then I sewed another hem all the way around, but left about 3/8 inch for my elastic to be fed through.

I left a small opening near the back.  I attached a small safety pin to 1/4 inch elastic and feed it all the way around.  Tied it off, and fits perfectly!!!

Annnnnnnnnd ........ Done!

Always in Stitches!!!!

Carol

Holiday Gift Shop - Opening

I am so happy to announce that my tote bags are now available for purchase in THIS adorable Holiday Gift Shop located on Rt. 183 in Bernville, Pennsylvania.

The shop features many handmade gifts... lots of beautifully quilted items, hand painted décor and ornaments, jewelry, yummy smelling soaps, awesomely cool blacksmith items -- ALL from local artisans.

The Holiday Gift shop opens this Friday, November 21-- and will be open every Friday & Saturday until Dec 20th.  Stop by, and tell them that Carol sent you!!

Here are a few highlights of this quaint gift shop:


Totebags from... yours TRULY!  :D




















aDORable home décor for ALL your Holiday decorating!


















Hand woven baskets...
  and beautiful jewelry









 




MANY cute wall hanging and signs
 
 









 







Hand forged Iron works from local blacksmith Luke Shultz



















YUMMY smelling soaps

and MANY MORE items coming in this week!


Please make this one of your shopping stops for some special homemade gifts for your loved ones! 



Always in stitches!!
Carol

Totebag Explosion!!

Totebags, and more totebags!!
Sooo... I guess I haven't blogged lately because I've been trying to get a TON of totebags ready to sell.  These bags are not your typical grocery store bags, as these are made with heavy-duty mesh, canvas, and webbing for the straps.  I will have over 20 of these beauties ready by the end of this weekend...  

    Here are a few samples.... I'll post some more when I finish taking the pictures.

So.... hopefully.... these will all sell quickly!!  

Always in stitches!!
Carol
 

Name THAT Quilt!!

So much goes into making a quilt... from choosing the right pattern, to carefully selecting the perfect colors, piecing it all together... then there's the backing....  oh and lets not forget about the binding....  Then there is that all important decision you have to make on just HOW you want it quilted.  Specialty quilting??... Edge-to-edge??... which design to use??.... color of thread??...  Decisions, decisions!!  Then, FINALLY, the beautiful quilt that you have been nursing along comes together and its DONE!!  Such a great relief of satisfaction............. but wait.................. oh NO!  It needs a name!


Are YOU kidding me??   quilts get names??  How... WHY??... does it need a name.  How about we name it Alexis... after all, that's who's getting this one!..   no..no..no... that just won't do!  Picking a name for the quilt seems like its just as important as picking a name for your child.  Ok..ok.. maybe not THAT important.  So... a name.. a name...hmmm... yeah... how about "Colorful Squares"??.. Nah..  "Pretty Rectangles"??  No, that won't do either!  I've got it...... Colorbrick Road??
 YES!  That's it!! Colorbrick Road it is... 

Phew!... now I can say its finally done!  Take a look!!

Always in Stitches,

Carol

Mystery Quilt Finished!

I can finally call one of my quilts completed!

This was the mystery quilt from MSQC that spanned over 5 weeks of making blocks, where I had NO idea what the quilt was going to look like.  Week 6 gave us the final assembly and I just loved how it turned out.


So, here it is... all quilted and binded. (bounded? binded?)


Since I never had any practice on a long-arm quilting machine, and I didn't want it to look terrible, I decided to just do random circles.



Here's the upclose pictures of the quilting.

So, for my very first quilt....... I don't think it turned out too bad.

Always in Stitches!
Carol

Mystery Quilt - DONE!

Just finished the "Mystery Quilt."  What's a mystery quilt you ask? 

Well, First of all, you have to TRUST the person who is hosting the mystery quilt that you will just LOVE it after its all done.

Secondly, you obtain the necessary fabric, and cut each length according to the guidelines.

THEN, you get a clue each week or month, depending on the rules of the mystery.

And the last clue is how to assemble the entire quilt together.  SO, here is my mystery quilt all assembled... 

 

I was happy with how it turned out.  I kept making these crazy blocks, and wondering.... am I really going to like this?????  But after it was completed, I really LOVE iT!  It was a lot of fun. I know that they are starting this quilt again, but if you are interested, click [here]

Several weeks ago, I became certified to use this big, beautiful machine...
                                                    


Sew Pretty, isn't she??

It's Babylock's Crown Jewel long-arm quilting machine. 

Oh Santa, I've BEEN GOOD!!!  :D

Set up time was about 45 minutes by the time I FINALLY figured out why the thread kept breaking!  Once I got started, it really only took about an hour to quilt my mystery quilt.  It's not a huge quilt (only 54 x 60), but now I am certified to go and use the machine for some of my bigger sized quilts.  Quilting on a long-arm is WAY different than on my Espire.  It would take me TONS of practice before I would ever commit to quilting on someone else's quilt.

As soon as I add the binding, I will post a finished picture. 

Until then,
Always in stitches,

Carol

Mani/Pedi Purse

The perfect little project to complete in ONE day.  YEP!  One day!
(providing you have all the stuff)
    Aren't these CUTE???   

So, this cute little purse has a free pattern.. [HERE] and I found this little beauty while I was visiting Noodlehead's blog.

I told Jaimee to pick out some nice colors that go well together.  I think she did a pretty good job!!

So, I was a little on the lazy side, and didn't print out the pattern on the instructions, I just took a small glass, and used that to round my corners.

Yep!  easy peasy!!

Here's a picture of the inside! 

Now, go and sew something!!

Always in stitches,
Carol