Hi friends! Today I have a really special (long) post for you! Today I want to share a quilt that took me two years and about 85 hours to...

Sewing doll clothes for American Doll and or 18 inch dolls. Plans for tutorials on sewing, crafts, and Serger in my blog.

Create your own handprint collage for a fun way to explore art with kiddos of all ages. Simple materials and do-able art for kids.

Gigi Hadid compartió con sus fans algunos detalles de la decoración -hecha por ella misma-, de su nuevo apartamento de Nueva York

Hi friends! Today I have a really special (long) post for you! Today I want to share a quilt that took me two years and about 85 hours to complete - my Postage Stamp quilt! I got so many questions on Instagram every time I posted pictures of this project so I will try to cover all the FAQ's here. First, let me start at the beginning... THE INSPIRATION My grandmother passed away in October 2019. She was the one who taught me how to quilt and who my pattern company is named after. After she passed, my mom and aunt asked if I would finish a couple of the quilts she had been working on so we could give them to family members. This red, yellow, and green 9-Patch quilt one was one of them. I don't know the name of the pattern but I know it came from a magazine. I remember her working on this quilt over the years and I know each individual square finished at 3/4". Can you believe that!?! The quilt top was finished many years ago so I just got it longarm quilted (with a Baptist Fan pattern) and then I bound it by hand. The back was white with colorful buttons and the binding is black with red and yellow flowers on it, as you can see here. The backing fabric was hanging with the quilt top in her closet and I believe I picked out the binding fabric from her stash. This quilt went to my aunt Janet and her husband Dave. The other quilt I finished at that time (I have 2 more I still need to finish!) was this little baby quilt. I think the squares finished at 1-1/4". My aunt and I chose the back and binding fabrics from my grandmother's fabric stash and then I had it longarm quilted with the Interlocking Orange Peel panto by Karlee Porter. This quilt went to one of my cousins. So after finishing both of those quilts made by my grandmother, I was inspired. I never thought I would make a Postage Stamp quilt; too intense for me! But I got the itch around that time to make something with tiny squares and a little while later I made my first blocks. CUTTING I cut 1-1/2" squares that would finish at 1" each. I did not do all my cutting at once. I found that I liked to cut batches of squares, both bright and white, whenever I was running low or got tired of the ones I had in my pile. It was a nice way to break up all of the sewing. When I was actively working on my Postage Stamp quilt I would keep piles of squares by my machine so I could easily grab and sew. I didn't put too much thought into what fabric went where. I just tried to space out colors to create balance. When I needed a break from that project I simply put the squares in a ziplock bag. They didn't get wrinkly so it was easy to pick up where I left off the next time I was ready to work on my quilt. FABRIC I used lots of different whites, creams and low volumes for my "whites". If you look closely at some of the following pictures you'll be able to tell. From far away, everything reads as white but the quilt still has a really scrappy feel to it. Plus it was a great way to use up scraps! As far as the brights go, I used alll the colors. My only requirement was there had to be enough contrast between the brights and whites. There are several fabrics of my grandmother's in this quilt. Including a few squares that have remnants of her embroidery! Those are my favorite! ASSEMBLY There are several ways to assemble a Postage Stamp quilt. You can strip-piece units together. But since I used scraps for all of my pieces I cut squares and sewed them together one-by-one. I didn't mind; in fact I preferred to do it that way so it would be extra scrappy! But of course, you could strip piece if you wanted. For the most part, I chain-pieced rows together to make regular, small 9-Patches (above). I made some that had brights in the corners and some that had whites in the corners. This was such mindless sewing and I quite enjoyed it! Immediate satisfaction! Then I sewed nine of those 9-Patches together to make big 9-Patches that had 81 squares in each block. I figured out it took me about 45 minutes to make a block (maybe about an hour with cutting). Towards the end of this project, I switched from making small 9-Patches to just chain piecing squares together to make a row for the big 9-Patches. I started by sewing tons of pairs of bright and white squares together. When I got bored I separated the pairs and then sewed them together to make units of 4 squares each. Once I had all those sewn together I sewed 2 of those units together plus one extra square to make a row of 9 squares. PRESSING After I made each block row, I pressed the seam allowances toward the dark/bright fabrics. After I sewed the rows together, I pressed the seams open. I pressed everything as I went. It may seem daunting but I honestly got faster the more I did it. It really wasn't too bad. I definitely recommend pressing as you go and pressing the seams open will help your quilt lay nice and flat. Quick side note here: I never pin when I piece. If you're really accurate in your cutting and piecing all of your seam allowances should be able to nest together nicely. I'm sure that saved me a lot of time while making this quilt. I have some tips saved in my Instagram highlight bubbles on precision piecing and cutting. Check it out @gigis_thimble. As I worked on this project, I found it helpful to set little goals for myself. I started by making two blocks and kept trying to double the number of blocks I had until I finished. One month I challenged myself to make 100 little 9-Patches and towards the end of this project, I challenged myself to make 1 big 9-Patch a day until I was done making all of my blocks. I always tell myself, "A little progress every day adds up to big results!" and that is definitely the case with a Postage Stamp quilt! Because there are a gazillion seams in this quilt, it is heavier than normal. The seams can start to stretch apart because of the weight and become harder to match up. So I would recommend that you make two halves of your quilt; press the row seams and then sew the 2 halves together to complete your quilt. Here I am at the halfway point: And here is the finished quilt top. An exciting moment! FINISHING I bound the quilt in this red and white gingham fabric that I had in my stash. I also had this rainbow fabric in my stash that I had bought recently for another project (that didn't turn out how I wanted so I gave it away). The fabric is 55218-20 from the fabric line Shine On by Bonnie and Camille for Moda. I used it for the back of my quilt and I love it. My friend Jen Ostler quilted it with the Scribble Hearts panto. She always hides an object in her quilting for her clients to find so this time she did a rainbow. It took me forever to find but I think it's darling. It's much easier to find from the backside of the quilt than the front! One of my Instagram followers sent me a picture of her Postage Stamp quilt that had been quilted with the Scribble Hearts panto and I thought it was sweet and fun so I decided to do the same on mine. I love the quilting community where we can all inspire and learn from each other! I've been buying custom quilt labels from Ever Emblem for the last couple of years. I get the 2" cotton fold-over, sew-in labels and I've been really happy with them. They're really inexpensive and a quick way to label your quilt. Well that's it! I think I addressed all of the FAQ's! Please let me know if I missed anything. Just to recap here is a quick breakdown of all of the details... DETAILS Finished size of individual squares: 1". Finished quilt size: 72" x 90" Total number of big 9-Patch blocks: 80 Layout: 8 x 10 blocks Total number of 1" squares: 6,480 Start date: December 27, 2019 Finish date: November 3, 2021 Longarm quilter: Jen Ostler in Highland, UT (@drycreekquilter on Intstagram) Quilt panto: Scribble Hearts Hidden object in the quilting: rainbow Backing: Rainbow 55218-20 by Bonnie + Camille for Moda Approximate time to make this quilt: 85 hours Batting: 100% cotton Machine pieced Hand-bound 1/4" seams I hope you enjoyed this post! Like I said, please let me know if you have any questions. I'd love to know what you think about this project and whether or not YOU might make a Postage Stamp quilt someday! Happy quilting!

This looks amazing!

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my girl gigi is well and truly in her mom era! i've gone for more of like a grown up quiet luxury aesthetic for ms hurley as she's hitting her 30s now and is looking better than ever ♡ look 1 ♡ ~ h…

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What a great guide! <3

The Fall Preschool Unit is packed full of hands on math & literacy activities as well as no prep worksheets for easy lesson planning.

A touch of design and bright originality in your interior. The GIGI lamp created by the Parisian design studio Waren & Laetitia, is a modular pendant light, made up of 3 interchangeable parts, 6 for the GIGI 5. It is made by 3D printing in their studio from recycled and recyclable plastic bottles as well as industrially compostable bioplastic made from corn starch (rPETG + PLA). Perfect for bringing a touch of design and originality to your interior. It is ideal for a bedroom, living room or dining room. Delivered with a horn matching the color of the cable. Dimensions: Between 2& and 28 cm, 1m cable Composition : Material: r-PETG (recycled and recyclable plastic bottles), PLA (bioplastic made from corn starch) Details: To be used with an E27 LED bulb (not included). Be careful not to use a halogen bulb to avoid deformation of the lamp.

Gigi no. 1 lampen er modulopbygget og består af 3 dele. Den er lavet i 3D-print af genanvendte og genanvendelige materialer, såsom plastikflasker og bioplast fremstillet af majsstivelse. Gigi No. 1 Pendel har et retro-look og vil pifte ethvert rum op. Lampen kommer her med blå ledning og med blå, orange og hvide detaljer. De 3 dele er udskiftelige og kan kombineres på forskellige måder. Du kan dermed skabe din egen unikke lampe. Skal bruges med en E27 LED-pære, 220-240V, max. 10W (medfølger ikke) Brug ikke en halogenpære for at undgå deformation af lampen. Materiale: Genanvendte og genanvendelige plastikflasker (r-PETG) og industrielt komposterbar bioplast fremstillet af majsstivelse (PLA) Mål: 28 x 28 x 21,5 cm Tekstilkabel: 1 meter

Hey there! I've missed you! Seriously! It's been way too long. I've been itching to get back to my blogging roots for a while now and I'm happy to finally be doing it. But first, a few highlights from the last few months: - Exhibiting at the Spring 2016 International Quilt Market in Salt Lake City - Summer, well, Summer completely kicked my butt - Trip to the Pacific Northwest for my 20-year High School Reunion - Hiked Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon with friends - And finally, this isn't so much of a "highlight" but it is a big deal to me: I recently put in my resignation notice at my local quilt shop. I worked at Just Sew in Highland, UT. for 8 years and I am bummed to say good-bye. I am, however, looking forward to finding new focus and new opportunities. Which brings me back to blogging! Today I want to finally and officially introduce you to my 6 new patterns, which I call my "Vintage Collection" as they are all based off of vintage quilts. I love the good ol' classic quilt blocks and vintage-inspired quilts and I hope you do too! First up is Ruby. Ruby is not for the faint of heart. She's made up of a bazillion half-square triangles (which will make you either love her or hate her by the time you're finished!) My friend, Aniva (on Instagram as @aniva_rose) made about half of the blocks on this as I was going crazy with Market prep when I designed it! She's amazing and I'm so thankful for sweet friends like Aniva!!! Ruby was made up with scrappy fabrics from my stash and comes with instructions for 4 size options (throw, twin, queen and king). Next up is Jack. Jack combines two of my loves: 9-Patches (a classic for sure) and neutrals. Black and white never goes out of style but I think it would be wonderful in any colorway. There's lots of room to get creative with color on this one! And wait, it also has straight-line quilting on it (which is another favorite of mine) so that's three! This quilt has found a home in my family room on my husbands recliner. Jack comes in 3 size options (throw, twin and queen) and was made with scrappy low-volume and black fabrics from my stash. The third pattern is a little different from the rest. It's my Scrappy Strip Block Paper Piecing Patterns. Each package of Scrappy Strip Block Paper Piecing Patterns comes with 5 copies of 5 different blocks (which make a nice lap size quilt when sewn together). The size to cut your strips is printed on each strip so you can cut as you go and they were designed so you won't have any itty-bitty triangles in the corners of your blocks. They can be used on their own to make a scrappy string quilt OR with the companion pattern, Ava (which is the 4th pattern in my Vintage Collection). Meet Ava: Ava was quilted by Denae Hansen who lives in American Fork, UT. I've used Denae a couple of other times since then and she does absolutely beautiful work! She does both hand-guided and computerized quilting. This was hand-guided. Ava comes in 3 size options (crib, twin and queen) and was made with mostly Katie Jump Rope fabrics by Denyse Schmidt plus a few from my stash. The awesome check fabric on the back is by Maureen Cracknell for Art Gallery. It was just sitting around it my stash (being awesome) and I knew it was the back for Ava. Fifth up is Lulu. Lulu is Jelly Roll friendly and one of the easiest patterns you'll ever make. She comes in 2 size options (lap and twin). My friend, Christine Cook (on Instagram as @stitchingrevival) put this together for me. She did an awesome job and completely saved the day in all my Market prep mayhem! And last, but not least, is Pearl. I love Pearl. One of the true classic blocks. She's paper pieced and curved pieced but really isn't as hard as it looks. The quilting was again, done by Denae Hansen in this simple, yet beautiful cross-hatching. I have never had this kind of cross-hatching done before but it is a new favorite for sure! Also, I collected some beautiful Liberty of London fabrics for this project and they were a dream to work with! Oh, and don't worry if you've never done curved or paper piecing before, Pearl comes with 4 size options (mini, crib, twin and queen) and the mini is the perfect place to start! It may even add a little sunshine to your life! Well, that's it for the Vintage Collection! Thanks for sticking around through the worlds longest blog post! I plan to be around more often so please feel free to leave a comment. I'd love to hear what you think about my new patterns. Also, I'm taking ideas on future blog post ideas too! See you soon! ~ Amber P.S. All patterns are available in my Etsy shop! Click HERE. Use coupon code "VINTAGECOLLECTION" for 20% off all items through Sunday (9-18-16).