The Mint Needle

Our little redbud tree in bloom. The days of April seem to be passing along, promising sunny days and warm breezes. Everything is waking up and turning gorgeous shades of green. As many sewistas are taking advantage of Autumn fabrics to get ahead on sewing projects, I'm opting for staying in the moment and sewing with some beautiful shades of summer.   I've been wanting to make Art Gallery Fabric's Spectrum Quilt for some time and I finally did it! What a fun quick sew! If anyone is looking for a simple project, this has to be it. I've been thinking about doing a second one in black and florals. Could you imagine? The contrast would be stunning! The only thing that that the free pattern was missing was how to sew the strips together. There was no emphasis on placing them a 1/4 inch off to make up for the seam allowance. My first row was a mishap and ended up being ripped and restitched. Well, you learn something new every time! And since ...

Looking for a really simple project? Well, look no further! This quick and chic clutch is perfect for everyone & it's a cinch to make! Here's what you'll need: 2 coordinating fabrics ~ (cut 2) 8 x 16 inches; (cut 2) 6 x 16 inches 13 inch zipper 1 large button 7 inch piece of twill (or ribbon for extra closure) Lining fabric ~ (cut 2) 16 x 13 inches Start by sewing the 6" x 16" piece to the 8" x 16" piece. (Keep face sides together.) Open the connected fabric and top stitch the hem. (This part isn't necessary, but I love to do it when making bags because it minimizes a crease and bulging.) Center & place the twill cord at the base of one panel and stitch it in place.  You can replace the twill cord with a couple of other items like piping, ribbon, or stitched bias tape. If you're going to use the ribbon, I would triple it up and braid it. Especially if it's going to be a frequent...

The house is still beaming with flowers we received for hosting Easter Sunday. Tulips, hyacinth, and hydrangeas are nestled throughout the kitchen, family room, & bedrooms. It's quite lovely. Plus, my tulips finally bloomed, hooray! We've been busy starting up our yearly outdoor work loads tiding up the flower beds and garden area. And I'm very pleased to say our cool crop lettuce has started growing:) With all these blooms coming up I was inspired to prolong my use of the 'shorts' fabric from a previous post and use it to make an adorable day dress. Take a look! I've had this vintage pattern sitting on my sewing desk for sometime. An Ebay find, originally I bought it for the 2 piece swimsuit, but decided to try the dress first. Why, you ask? Because it had everything going for it. No measurement for the waist, length could be adjusted, and a loose fit in the bust. Perfect, perfect, perfect! One interesting thing about this pattern ...

  The wrong way of doing things is what the title of this post should be. Yup, as a self-taught seamstress I've become a little stubborn over the years and refuse to spend time researching the correct way of making items....Hence, the make up bag. Here, one can find a really cute project, all by going about the wrong way of doing it ;) But it worked .... I needed one of these for storing some items and refused to pay the measly fifteen bucks at target. Why? Because I sew, I have fabric, and all those remnants could be put to use for a really cute one of a kind make up bag. So here we go!   You might recognize those adorable stripes from my first "strip & flip" quilt. Yes, these are the leftovers. I used a 9" zipper and cut my material 10 by 6.     Two additional pieces were cut out of pastel satin for the lining. I didn't measure the satin. I just used my outer fabric as a template and with a straight edge, I cut around it. Why satin...