Tube Pillowcase Envelope End Tutorial Done

I have completed the tutorial for the envelope end tube style pillowcase that is so popular to make by home sewers and quilters.  My reason for doing this is that I love the idea of the tube pillowcase but I also like pillowcases where you can tuck the pillow into the envelope end and that keeps its secure as well as looking more aesthetically pleasing on the bed.There are two versions.

 

Version 1 has a contrast cuff and a plain back to it with an envelope end .

Tube Pillowcase with Envelope End Version 1

Tube Pillowcase with Envelope End Version 1

 

Version 2 has a contrast cuff on both  the front and back as well as having the envelope end.

Tube Pillowcase with Envelope End Version 2

 

Envelope End of Pillowcases

 

I have sent out the tutorial to those on my Projects list. You can also download it from HERE

 

I was also very excited to see the latest designs from Embroidery Library. They are redwork designs and are Blooming Art Nouveau Redwork 2 and a set  of Australian designs. You may remember that I made a quilt out of the Blooming Art Nouveau Redwork 1 set. You can find my tutorial for that quilt here. I am going to buy both sets of designs and I am thinking that perhaps a quilt in blue embroidery may look very effective.

 

 

Tube Pillowcase-Variation

I have been wanting to make some pillowcases to match the quilts that I am taking to my daughter in February. Although I love the tailored look of the tube-sausage type pillowcase that are popular among quilting people, I also like to have the envelope flap inside the pillow to hide the pillow. I have been working on a prototype and have the first one done. The first one does not have the contrast fabric on the back but I have now planned how to make ones that does, as well as having the envelope finish inside. I am trying to have minimal seams as in the  original sausage-tube type pillowcase.

 



I will send out the tutorials to those in my projects group when I get them done. 

Tube type pillowcase with envelope end

Front of pillowcase

End of Pillowcase with Envelope

Back of pillowcase is plain without constrast trim

 

 

Projects made by those in our IEC group

Shirley and Lyn  have sent in pics of the projects they have been making.

Lyn has made a the coat hanger cover and valentine sachet. Shirley has made the coat hanger cover as well. In fact her machine was running hot not long after I sent the instructions out.

Lyn's Sachet

 

Lyn's Coat Hanger/ Closet Safe Cover

Shirley's Coat Hanger/ Closet Safe Cover

 

Blocks 10, 11 and 12 have been sent out in the Blackwork Birds BOM. I am now putting the quilt together. I did plan on doing an embroidered border using part of the design from one of the blocks but have changed my mind to just doing a normal border.

Blackwork Birds Block 10

Blackwork Birds Block 11

Blackwork Birds Block 12

Tea Towel Apron - Great for Valentine's Day

I have spent last night and this morning designing and constructing the latest project in our 2013 Project Series. This apron is based on the tea towel apron tutorial by  Missouri Star Quilt Co. with some modifications.

Valentine Tea Towel Apron

Pocket on Apron

 

 

Once again I am using one of the design from the Martha Pullen IEC which if you may recall is the basis for the majority of my projects for the year. I understand that we do not all have disposable cash to spend on a new set of designs every week so the one off spend of $49 is trying to be my limit for projects. Of course quilt  BOM's are a different matter. I am currently writing the tutorial and it will be emailed to those who have joined the Projects group later on today. If you wish to join this group please email me.

 

We are currently watching some harrowing footage on TV of the devastating floods that have once again hit Queensland. what a land of diversity. Down in  Victoria there are bushfires and up  north we have serious flooding once more reminiscent of  January 2011.

 

 

More cushions

I have been busily designing and stitiching  the black/white and pink cushions. I have finished the mock cathedral window cushion also known as the origami folded bow tie block. It has also been given the name 10 Minute Quilt block. The front and back of the cushion are quilted, it is piped around the outer edge and the overlap back sections are bound.The tutorial for this cushion will be sent out to those who have signed up for my free Projects 2013 group.

Origami Folded Bow Tie Block Cushion



Bound edges on back overlap

I have also stitiched the front of Cushion 4 and that is called the Believe cushion.

Believe cushion

Weekly Roundup

Feel a bit under the weather. Seem to have picked up a bit of a head cold. I am working on cushion number 3 in my series of black/white and pink cushions for my daughter. Cushion 3 is a little more simple in design and hopefully I will get that finished today. It is a version of one of the blocks from my Blueberry Crumb cake quilt. I still have to write the tutorial for Cushion 2  and send that out to those participating in my Projects Group for 2013.

Blueberry Crumb cake block

The latest edition of Flair magazine is now out and there is a great free download. If you go to their website you will find the links for that the template and designs for a beautiful embroidered owl pillow (Shown in the screen shot below) are on the right hand side of their home page.

 

Flair magazine

 

 

Block 8 and Block 9 have been sent out in my Blackwork Birds BOM.

Blackwork Birds Block 8

 

Blackwork Birds Block 9

 Block 12 has been sent out in the Crazy Quilt BOM.

 

Projects are multiplying

I have spent part of a day quilting Hexies on the Fly and I am very pleased with the way it is coming up. My quilting abilities are very limited but the meander quilting is bringing out the character in the quilt.

Ric Rac Cushion Project 4

Bound lapped edges of cushion back

Both cushions to date

I have made another in the series of cushions that I am making for my daughter in the black/white and hint of pink palette of colours. Once again I have used one of the designs from the Martha Pullen IEC making this Project 4. This time I have done a bit piecing/slashing/piecing and slashing again. The pieced sections are not done individually but in strips and then re cut to give the wedge shaped effect. This cushion has bound edges (similar to those on a quilt) on the backs that are lapped over each other. The cushion also has ric rac around the outer edge but it is a bit hard to see. I also have not stuffed this cushion properly as they will be going to my daughter with me in my suitcase and I will finish stuffing them etc when I get there.

 

I will be sending out the tutorial to those who have joined my free projects group when I get tit written up. If you wish to part of this groupp please email me .

Jake embroidered pillowcase

Rubie embroidered pillowcase

Annabelle embroidered pillowcase

I have also put some pics up of the embroiderd pillowcase that I did for some friends last week. Might be a good idea if I photographed them straight rather than crooked.

New Quilt Top Done-Grannie's Hexies on The Fly

Grannie's Hexies on the Fly

 

 

Have just finished putting together my latest quilt. I am calling it Grannie's Hexies on The Fly. I have used the Hen House embroideries Grannie's Hexagons 2 for my twenty embroidered blocks. I was determined to use the left over fabrics from the Antique Rose quilt and was going very well until the last border. I was 4 inches short so decided to put the cornerstones in. The pieced/string flying geese are made using a method devised by Bonnie Hunter over at Quiltville. I just loved making these flying geese and devised a method that enabled me to make better use of the larger length scraps from the layer cake. The quilt measures approximately 80 inches square and would look good oriented both ways on a bed if you did not use directional fabrics in the hexies. 

String Flying Geese

 

 

I will be writing a detailed  tutorial l for this quilt and will be sending that out automatically to those who did the Antique Rose Squares with me. If you have been on another of my lists or are a new visitor to my blog you can email me for the instructions when they are done.

 

Liz has sent me a progress picture of her blackwork birds quilt. She has been using a Bali Pop jelly roll . Isn't it just beautiful!

Liz's Blackwork Birds in progress

 

 

Sandy has done a fantastic job of adapting the blocks so that she can use her small 4x4 hoop. Love the red accents between the blocks as well.

Sandy's Blackwork Birds

 

Zig Zag Pillow- IEC Project 3

I have finished Project 3 using designs from the Martha Pullen IEC for 2013, this time from the garment fashion set. I am making a series of cushions/pillows for my daughter in black/white and pink tonings and this is the first one. It is approximately 18 inches square. I am trying to make these cushions without piping/ zippers etc so that my daughter can wash and iron them with little trouble. I have meander quilted around the embroidery and in the star print fabric. I have just place some filling in this cushion and will remove it later as I will taking them in suitcase on the plane and space is a premium. I will make a fabric insert and buy some filling when I get over there and stuff them then.

 

I will be sending out the instructions to the people in my email group when I get them done.

Zig Zag cushion/pillow

 

Zig Zag cushion

 

Cushion back using buttons for closure

 

Yesterday was spent by going with my husband to the dentist. He went to the dentist and I went to  Spotlight in Burnie. Walked in the door and they had one Small Semco Crafter's iron for $10. I have been wanting a small iron but not willing to outlay a large amount of money and find out it is not that good.

Valentine Heart Sachets Finished

I finished my little collection of  heart sachets using one of the designs from the Martha Pullen IEC for 2013 and the instructions have been sent out to those who have signed up. You are limited only by your imagination here as to what you can do with these.

Valentine Heart Sachets

I have finished embroidering the named pillowcases I needed to do for gifts. However, I did have a bit of help along the way. If I don't spring to attention when my cat wants something he jumps up on my cutting table and chews anything he can find. Before I knew it, he had started to demolish this template I had printed off.

 

Gorgeous sunrise

It is 5.45am here in Tasmania and I caught a glimpse of this beautiful sunrise outside my sewing room window so raced outside before the colours disappeared. I am working on getting BOM lessons done as well as the instructions for the Valentine sachets. The Hen House Hexagons also came in yesterday and I could not wait to see how they stitched out. A sneak peek of what quilt will look like in a day or two but I am really liking the effect so far. Just need to check my calculations again before trimming up my blocks.

 

Project 2 underway

I have spent the day designing the second project for the year using the Martha Pullen Internet Embroidery designs for 2013. I have taken a pic for a sneak peek of these little heart shaped ornaments/ sachets that can be filled with lavender. Will add small bows etc to them later.

Heart shaped sachets

 I set myself the goal of designing and making as many projects as possible from this one collection of machine embroidery designs. Hopefully the instructions for these will be ready to be sent out tomorrow to those who have signed up to my group . If you would like to participate you can email me.

Hanger/Closet Safe Project



Coat Hanger/ Closet Safe Cover

Coat Hanger/ Closet Safe Cover Lining

I have finished the first project for the year. As mentioned in earlier posts I am using the Martha Pullen IEC designs for most of my projects this year. This hanger cover does not have any exposed seams and has a discreet concealed zippered pocket at the top of the cover.

I will be sending out the instructions tomorrow to those who have emailed me to sign up. We will be going to do the Little Penguin guiding tonight. Just a reminder that these are free project instructions and will not be available for download from this blog.

Useful Resource

I remembered a useful resource that I have not revisited lately and that is the Bernina website free online magazine called Through The  Needle. Be patient as the page may take a while to download. Although the projects are designed to showcase the fabulous Bernina  sewing machines, the tips, tricks and techniques can be adapted to be used by most home sewers. The majority of the projects can be completed using most home sewing/embroidery machines. Once you get to the page you can download all the issues to your computer.

First Project Of the New Year

I have just planned the first project using the Internet Embroidery Club designs from Martha Pullen. It is going to be a coat hanger/ dust cover hanger that will also have a concealed zippered pocket on the inside . There will be no visible seams on this hanger when it is finished and will only involve a small section of hand sewing that will not be seen. The screen shot of the edited/colour changed design is below.

Coat /closet safe hanger cover design

I plan to have this project finished and the tutorial ready to be sent out in the in the next day or so. The design is one from the Christening gown collection and one of the alphabets. If you wish to be a part of this project group please EMAIL me as these projects will not be available directly from my blog.

Crazy/string flying geese

I have also started the stripped/crazy flying geese sections of the new Hen House quilt that I will be doing when the designs are released.

Another hot and smokey day and an interesting resource

It is very very smokey here today as we now have a bushfire to our left but it is a fair distance away. It is thought that Australia will have it highest average temperature (43C) ever recorded today.

 

I came across a great You Tube channel resource with a good selection of how to videos. The Sew Easy You Tube channel can be found here. I have included a link to one of them here.

 

 

I mentioned on a previous post that I will be doing some projects throughout the year showcasing the Internet embroidery club from Martha Pullen. After an initial hiccough whist trying to find a way to buy these designs I finally discovered that you have to register on the Internet Embroidery Page first. I hope to have the first of these projects out in a couple of weeks.

Easy Street Finished-Update on my other BOM's

Before I share pics of my projects I thought I would include an update on the fire situation in our state. Personally my husband and I do not live in the affected areas. My sister and her family do and they did need to evacuate on Friday but are back home safe and sound. However, there are many homes lost and thankfully the 100 or so people  previously unaccounted for have been found. There is more unfavourable weather on the way so please keep those people in your thoughts especially those fighting the many fires still burning, with many of them still not in control.

For those of you in a position to make a donation to the Bushfire Appeal, the Red Cross have set up a donation page.

 

I have finished quilting and binding my Easy Street quilt. I just love the gorgeous colours and my daughter will more than likely get this quilt.I quilted it in a cross hatch pattern using a variegated thread from Superior Threads. You can see the progress of other people on the link up page here

 

 



Easy Street Quilt Finished



 



Close Up





Block 7 has been sent out in the Blackwork Birds BOM.

Blackwork Birds BOM Block 7

 

I have also put the first two rows together in this quilt.

Rows 1 and 2 Blackwork Bird Quilt

Block 11 has been sent out in the Kenny Kreations Crazy Quilt BOM.

Crazy Quilt Block 11