The Mint Needle

The Odesa Quilt... Where do I start? It appears that these 'ideas' sneak up on me. What starts off as a "I love these fabrics, gotta buy them" turns into a... "Oh my gosh, this would look great" moment. Mix that in with late nights on Adobe Illustrator and traveling the world through the internet, as many of us did in 2020, The Odesa Quilt was born.  I absolutely love and adore this throw size quilt to pieces. It's fun, vibrant, and the perfect size! I feel very fortunate to say I had an AMAZING group of lovelies pattern testing it to perfection! Just check out the hashtags on Instagram. (#odesaquilt & #amintneedlepattern)  I decided to take a different approach and not make multiple sizes for the pattern. (Price point taken into consideration.) Instead, I wanted to design a quilt with endless possibilities. It's a pattern that can be used over and over again. The blocks are quite easy to make and only include half square triangles, squares, rect...

It's here and it's been here, but this blog hasn't seen the details surrounding The Felix Quilt until today.  What started off as some late night doodling earlier in the year, turned into one of my FAVORITE projects ever. But not all happened as I would've liked. The truth? For starters, the quilt top didn't get quilted on time. (And I really really wanted a completed top for the pattern cover.) Second, pattern testing seemed discouraging as a handful of testers opted out. Which makes me so extremely THANKFUL for the AWESOME ladies that stuck by my side and really pushed this project along. They are truly amazing & gave me wonderful insight! Jennifer Phillips Quilt & Clay Lavender Lamb Gifts Paperclip Quilter The intermediate pattern, consists of 2 sixteen block quilts that go step by step to show you how to create the quilt. In short, it's one block that gets flipped in the rows to create the design. Bonus patterns are also included. One is for an eigh...

Hello friends, it's been awhile. When I came back to the blog for this post, I hadn't realized how much time has actually gone by. It was a busy summer, working on projects around the yard, garden, & home. I have to admit, I'm looking forward to cooler days and nights.... and less humidity.  Sewing was limited but I was able to complete one very special quilt, but you'll hear more about that in weeks to come if you haven't checked out The Felix Quilt already.  For today, I wanted to share an awesome project that was super easy to make! I created this pattern after an adorable bag my neighbor gifted me. Check it out below! Isn't the mint green fabric with flowers the sweetest? Definitely has a nostalgic vibe. The bag isn't very large which is what made me want to make another one. This was the first time I created a cinch bag and must admit, I am totally hooked! I broke the bag down into sections, drew out a template, and headed over to the wonderful worl...

Hello friends!  Every late spring, for weeks on end, I'm busy outdoors picking herbs, flowers, and different types of grasses to dry for teas, tinctures, and rubs. Why pick in the spring, when I have all summer? Because I like to get to all the goods before the bugs do!  And I feel the grasses are more potent at that time, instead of picking during the hot summer weather when most plants begin to wilt and weaken. So, I wanted to share with all of you, my tested ways of drying herbs! But first things first! To wash or not to wash?  Yes, you read that correctly! Believe it or not, not all herbs and flowers need to be washed prior to drying. My rule of thumb - if it's in an open field, high of the ground, (yarrow, St. John's Wort, Elderflower), you don't need to wash it. Plants like Chamomile are very sensitive to being washed in anything but the rain. So, if you're going to plant Chamomile for tea, make sure it's in an animal free area, high off the groun...

Hello Friends! A quick trick for all you quilters starting your own designs! As some of you know, my latest obsession is with pattern making. With it, comes a ton of trial and error. So I wanted to share a little something special that helps me figure out 'block size', especially for those that don't have specialty programs that do the configuring for you.  I think all the beginner quilters or visual learners with REALLY love how easy this will make your projects run! So.... take a look at this pic. What I was trying to do, was figure out what size of fabrics I'd need for the center block in the shape shown..... Here's how it works.  Start by measuring the empty space and add 1/2" to that size if you are using 1/4" seams.   This block needed to be 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" trimmed, not sewn. Create a paper template to size.  Draw in the 1/4" seams on all sides first. Then draw the ...

My favorite pair of jeans ripped. And I'm not talking about the purposeful rips I bought them with.  An unfortunate bout with cleaning (since there is so much of it going on being quarantined) is all it took to snag the 'already' made fashionable tear into a very unfashionable 4 inch vertical slit. Ouch. But I knew it was fixable. And what a great time to give my already adored pair a quick makeover. Here's how I did it! The first thing was to seal up the vertical tear by stitching it closed.  After measuring the rectangular size needed, all edges were ironed inward so that fraying wasn't a possibility. I placed my patch over the rip and stitched 2 parallel lines. My machine was not small enough to be able to stitch the sides to the denim so I used witchery stitch to fuse them together. In the photo, you can still see my jeans are wet in that area!  Next I started working on the new floral hem. Start by snipping into the seam vertically.  ...