We have begun our ambitious crazy quilting class with seven lovely and talented ladies. As we mentioned in a previous post, Crazy Quilting—Start to Finish, we have created a six-month crazy quilting class that teaches our students how to piece their blocks, stitch and embellish them, and finally put them together in the format of their choice. Taking photos of the class models for reference All our ladies had been eagerly awaiting this class and were ready to get started. Each student was instructed to bring at least 24 different fabrics, which could include cottons, silks, satins, or any other fabric they liked. We did have some fancy fabrics for sale to help their collection, but some of our ladies had been collecting fabrics over time, just for a future crazy quilt. A rainbow assortment of silks, satins, and velvets Many of these fabrics were sourced from thrift stores. One student's collection Each lady received four different patterns, as well as a fabric Little Red Riding Hood vintage postcard print to use as a center for one of their blocks. Most of the patterns were put together the same way, by having a center piece and then sewing each section around that center piece. We had the ladies bring in four 9" squares of flannel to be used as a base for the block, and Teri demonstrated how to construct the block with the flannel base. The flannel base provides a great support for the future block embroidery, and it also helps manage some of those slippery fabrics. The first piece is centered on the base. The second piece attached. As each piece is added, the excess underneath is trimmed away. Ready for embroidery After the demonstration, the ladies got to it and began constructing their blocks. Getting ready to choose fabrics Going around the center block with the next piece Checking if this fabric is a good fit This block is ready to be trimmed to its finished size. Such beautiful, bright colors We designed the patterns to be 8.5" finished, so having 9" base allowed for a little wiggle room as we pieced. An 8.5" square ruler was used to bring the pieced blocks down to their finished size. Trimmed and ready to go After the block was finished, the ladies basted around all four sides, and their blocks are ready for next month's embroidery session. Some of our students' finished blocks: The silver fabric in this block is a lacy overlay. Most of these fabrics were found at local thrift stores. As an unexpected treat, one of our students brought in some antique crazy quilt blocks that she had purchased. The blocks were in various stages of completion, absolutely beautiful, and she has more of them to bring to the next session. We can't wait to see them, and we will be sure to share them with you as well. Such lovely embroidery This unfinished, basted block is mostly made of silk. Another block a little further along in regard to the stitching Everyone was able to complete one block and will have the other three ready for our February meeting, where we will be focusing on motif selection, transferring design, and stitching the motifs. Thank you for joining us as we build these crazy quilts, and please come back to see the outcome of our next session.

Lacy luminaires wouldn't ordinarily be my style, but when I saw the rustic burlap mixed with doilies, I stopped dead in my tracks. The contrast of lace

How To Hang Your Scarves Kim's Vintage Sheet Scarf Hanger  Would you like to know the best way to hang your ...

Je vous ai tellement déniché de belles idées estivales! Elles ont toutes deux choses en commun :

Explore thefabricofmylife's 2428 photos on Flickr!

Hi everyone!!!! I have two cool things to show you today ~ hopefully inspire you to try them. I have done these very cool tags for heAR...

~ yes I am ready for spring probably because that is when my favourite colour {green} is in abundance out side and I can't wait for the buds on the trees and the birds chirping ~ cheryl

Below we present to you useful jewelry finishing knots and their easy tutorials which will help you design some incredible pieces of beauty for any man or woman.

Double Arrow Quilt Pattern by Material Girlfriends This beautiful square is called Blackford’s Beauty, first recorded in 1941. It is also known as Arrow Point, Arrowhead, Black Beauty, or Stepping Stones. PDF download. This 7-page pattern is in full color with step-by-step instruction and multiple, colorful diagrams. A confident beginner can master this beautiful quilt. The Cutting Instructions are for the Twin Size Double Arrow Quilt, (shown on cover), however, wall/crib and a queen/king sizes are also included. Fabrics used in the quilt sample are from Marcus Fabric Primo Batiks Finished Wall/Crib size 40 1/2" x 40 1/2" Fabric Requirements 1/4 yard Navy 1/4 yard Tan 1/4 yard Pewter 1/2 yard Cream for Blocks 3/8 yard Cream for Sashing 1 yard Cream for Setting Triangles 1/3 yard Tan for binding 1 1/4 yards backing Finished Throw/Twin size 60" x 79" Fabric Requirements Cover sample was made in a variety of the colors below. 1 yard Navy totals 1 yard Tan totals 1 yard Pewter totals 2 yards Cream totals for Blocks 1 1/4 yards Cream totals for Sashing 1 1/2 yards Cream totals for Setting Triangles 1/2 yard Tan for binding 5 yards backing Finished Queen/King Size 98" x 98" Fabric Requirements 2 1/2 yards Navy totals 2 1/2 yards Tan totals 2 1/2 yards Pewter totals 4 1/4 yards Cream totals for Blocks 1 3/4 yards Cream totals for Sashing 1 2/3 yards Cream totals for Setting Triangles 3/4 yard Tan for binding 9 yards backing Optional Supplies Nice to have but not necessary OmniGrid Marking Ruler Trio OmniGrip 20.5" Square Ruler for Setting Triangles Material Girlfriend Patterns are easy to read and follow with detailed cutting and sewing instructions. Enjoy step-by-step instructions with plenty of graphics for the visual learner. Visit their youtube channel for many free sewing videos. ABOUT THE PDF PATTERN:

This listing is for the digital PDF copy of this pattern. You will receive a PDF file to download to your computer. Can be printed as 8.5x11 or viewed on your device. The pattern is in color with clear instructions and diagrams. The pattern is one-person use. Do not copy, sell, or distribute without written consent. License to sell: You may sell the items you have made using this pattern as a small independent seller. Please credit the pattern design as Material Girlfriends Patterns. I don't accept returns, exchanges, or cancellations. But please contact me if you have any problems with your order.

Made of sewing machine spools and snap fasteners

I have to say good riddance to March. It had some ups, some downs and I spent the last week in bed with the flu so I'm hoping April will be a happier month! Gracious Tina, the leader of EWM let me add a late addition to this month's update and here he is. He's a sweet design by Brenda Gervais and I've made him into a 15" x 11" pillow. Thanks to all who gave suggestions on what to do in Pennsylvania. We enjoyed our time there. We spent the first night in Philadelphia at the Morris House. It was conveniently located within walking distance of the historic sites in downtown Philly and the other visitors were very friendly. We had visited Pennsylvania many years ago but I had forgotten how beautiful the countryside is with all the lovely old houses and taverns. The stone houses really made my heart go pitter patter. I've taken on additional duties at work and will be full time from now on. It's been a lot of years since I've worked full time and I'm trying to remember how to get everything done. If you have any good hints, please let me know!

I ran into this on MarthaStewart.com.... paper-doily-wreath Wouldn't this be cute in a little girls room or something for January snowy days?

Hello everyone! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I had planned to blog yesterday and show you some of the treasures I found over the weekend, but the day didn't go as planned, and time got away from me. I'll share in my next post..but for now... today is Crafty Secrets first "linky party". Everyone is welcome to play! The more the merrier right? They will be the first Monday of every month, and you can get all the details here on the Heartwarming Vintage blog. Be sure to pop over there to get all the links... and suck up the inspiration :) Today for my post, I'm going to give you some tips on how to make these fun altered spoons. OH.. and don't forget to leave a comment if you want your name in for a chance at the giveaway. ( more details at the bottom of this post). To get started all you need, other than basic supplies, is old silverware pieces (which you can usually find at the Goodwill, or second hand stores), Altered Fairy Creative Scraps, moss, hot glue gun, foam tape, ribbon, and a few embellishments. Start by cutting out the pieces you want to use, and inking them a bit (if you like). It's best to go ahead and assemble the main pieces of your fairy before you add it to your project. It's just easier to handle when it's not attached to the utensil. As long as you have the major assembling done, you can easily go back and add the little things . simple things, like adding foam squares to add dimension, really make a difference. ( below, I just put some in the little fairy book she's going to hold) Depending on how "deep" your utensil is, you may want to use Crafty foam tape (even build a couple of layers if you need to, like I did here). It works great for holding the moss on. Add your moss, and then using your glue gun, attach your fairy to the moss. ** About moss** If you look in your local craft store in the floral dept. you will probably see a number of different kinda of moss. There are two that I use, and I like them both for different uses. The kind below "Super moss"(fist photo) .. is really pretty, but its a bit more expensive then regular "Excelsior moss"(second photo). So I use the inexpensive excelsior moss for two things. First. .. as a filler. I put it down first and then hot glue the pretty moss on top. Not that big of a deal for this little bit, but especially if your doing a big project. The Second thing I use if for is to make my own little nests with it. Okay, now that we've cleared up the "moss thing" lol, back to finishing the spoon. You can attach your ribbon a number of different ways, but I'll show you how I did mine. I first added the piece of ribbon the spoon will actually hang from. I wrapped it around the spoon handle, tying it in the back. Then.... then I cut another piece of ribbon to wrap around the spoon and tie into a nice bow in the front. Now is the fun part ( well, I think so anyway), it's adding all the embellishments and little final touches. Glitter, gems, buttons .. whatever you little heart desires. I used some of my moss to create a nest for my birdie, and added the rest of my embellishments. If you decide to add some twigs like I did, it's a great time of the year to go outside to a bush or tree in your yard and snip a couple. If you can get the new fine ones, they are pliable enough you can even kind of wrap them around your project. ( especially if they had a few tiny buds on them... wouldn't that be adorable?) First spoon all finished. The other one are done similarly, but you can see how you can adapt your project to many different utensils. For this one I used a ladle, and added a little nest and eggs with the cute bird image from the Creative Scraps . ( I put glitter on my bird.. I don't know why it looks to odd in this photo.. lol) This nest is not one I made. I had the nest, but added the green moss to the inside. ( you can find nests and eggs at Hobby Lobby and Michael's.. especially this time of the year. Here you can see if from the side. I also decided to do one with this pie server. Each one has it's own look. Kind of fun. I did all of my spoons with the images on the Creative Scraps Sheet..but if you'd rather stamp, Crafty Secrets also has Born to Fly Clear Art Stamps . You can see some of them on the bottles I did a while back. Okay... time to tell you about the giveaway, since I have you all ready to make altered spoons :) If you want in on a chance to win, all you have to do it leave a comment in this post between now and next Monday April 9th. I'll announce the winner Monday. Whats in this kit, I'm giving away? A big spoon ( for your fairy of course:) , A sheet of Double Sided "Altered Fairies" Creative Scraps from Crafty Secrets, ribbon , lace, gems, lace, ribbons, vintage buttons, Bling ( pearls) from Creative Impressions, 3D from Squares from Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L, a nest and eggs. Thanks for coming by, and be sure to pop over to the Heartwarming Vintage blog. ps. Hey.. we'd love to have you play along! Get the details on the Heartwarming Vintage blog. Vic