Witch Hat Table Runner

I had lots of scraps left over from the bat and witch garland that I made last year, so I decided to use them to create this cute little Halloween Table Runner. I did purchase 1/3 yard of green that was used in between the framed hats. Ray did the quilting on this with her free motion foot....she did a great job! Very inexpensive and easy.

Quilt Calculator, How Big Will Your Quilt Be?

How big will my quilt be? That's the question I always find myself asking, myself.

I stumbled upon a site that has a calculator to measure how big your quilt will be! This is great for me since I am always buying fabric and making stuff up, I never know how big my quilt will end up. Which means I always have to wait to buy the backing and batting for my quilts.

Not anymore!! Thank you quilt calculator!

QUILT CALCULATOR

HERRINGBONE QUILT

Wedding Cake & Photos

PHOTO OVERLOAD! 

A couple summers ago, my little sissy got married. I did her photos and cake. Here are a few of my favorites

I know she's in the shadows, but I love how this looks with all the light coming through the trees

Can't go wrong with a bridge, and having such a pretty subject helps too! 

The CAKE! To make this cake less stressful, the bottom two layers are Styrofoam. I was able to make them days before the wedding, which allowed me time to help out with other wedding activities. My sister-in-law made the birds on top with clay. They turned out super cute! 

Focaccia Bread

I love making bread, all sorts of bread! I like the whole process, I like the mixing, and the kneading, waiting for the dough to rise, shaping the dough, etc. I love it all. This is an easy focaccia bread recipe, it's super simple to make, if you've got the time. It does rise three times though, make sure you'll be around for that! 

Here's the recipe-


1 1 /2 C warm water
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
2 TBSP olive oil
1 1/2 tsp table salt
3 1/4 C flour

Add 1/2 Cup warm water to bowl with 2 1/4 tsp yeast and 1 tsp sugar. Let sit for about 5 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients, mix until just sticking to the bowl, turn on lightly floured surface, and knead 5-7 minutes. Place in bowl with oil, coat dough so it doesn't stick, cover with plastic wrap or clean dish towel and let rise in warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled.
After 1 hour, grease a cookie sheet, punch dough down, and press dough into cookie sheet, cover and let rise 45  minutes.
After 45 minutes, press fingers in dough to create indentations about 1 inch apart. Cover and let rise 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450
Take another 2 TBSP olive oil, drizzle on top of bread, and add salt (if you're adding other ingredients, place those on bread and then drizzle with olive oil and salt)
Bake 12-15 minutes.

You can find the tutorial here
FOCACCIA BREAD

The great thing about focaccia bread is that it's very versatile. I like to add fresh chopped tomatoes with oregano, and basil. Or you can saute onions until they turn golden and sweet, and add them on top before you bake the bread. 

15 Minute PJ Pants

Super simple PJ bottoms, just in time for Christmas! No pattern needed.

Pick your fabric, I like to use flannel to make nice warm pants. Pre-shrink your fabric before cutting and sewing. 

Take a pair of existing PJ bottoms, or shorts. Fold fabric in half, lay pants on top of fabric, with the leg on the fold. 

Cut out your first piece and then use it for the pattern for your second piece. You can make these as long or as short as you want. Just measure your length before you cut them. Make sure you add 1 inch to the length so you can fold the seam under. Leave 2 inches on the top for your elastic and seam as well.

 Place your two pieces right sides together and sew only along where the crotch will be (crotch seam? Is there a different term for that??)

 Now open your pants and sew along the leg seam.

 Fold your fabric under twice in order to finish the legs

 I did my first fold 1/2 inch and then my 1 inch, sew your seams.

 Use 1/2 inch elastic to finish your pants off. Fold the top over 1/2 inch and iron down, the fold over another 1/2 inch and iron, then add elastic. I like to attach the elastic to a safety pin and pull it through. Sew your elastic together, and finish your seam. 

Ta-Da easy 15 minute PJ pants! 

Reversible Fall Table Runner

Reversible Table Runner

After I made my cute pumpkin wall hanging (PUMPKIN) I realized something... I HATED wasting the fabric for the back of something that was only going to be used during Halloween. I decided that for my next Holiday project, I would make something that was reversible.That way I'm not buying extra fabric just to put on the back, the back that will never be seen! I had fabric that I wanted to use for a matching Halloween table runner, I just needed Thanksgiving prints to make the back. I had no problem going to the fabric store and finding! Here's what I did.

 Decide how long and how wide you want your runner. I cut out all different widths for my strips. varying between 4 1/2 inches wide and the smallest was 2 inches wide.

 After you cut out your strips, sew them together in the order you like. This will be the "back" of the quilt (which I will refer to as the Halloween side). You can also do this with a solid piece of fabric if you want a solid back.

Next, cut out your front fabric (Thanksgiving side) in strips. They can be the same width as the ones you used for the back or you can change it up. Just make sure it's going to be the same length and width as the back you just sewed together. For example, with my Halloween fabric I had 2 strips that were 2 1/2 inches, but for my Thanksgiving fabric I decided to cut one strip that was 4 inches (taking into account seam allowance) instead of two 2 1/2 inch strips.

After you have all your strips cut out, cut a piece of batting to fit your runner. Pin it to the back side of the Halloween fabric.

  IMPORTANT- Cut the batting off EXACT with the top piece of your first strip, you will line this up with your next strip and you want it to be as exact as you can get it. Don't leave any overhang (overhang is fine everywhere else)

You're ready to start sewing (again). Take your first strip of Thanksgiving and lay it right side up, on top of the batting, matching it up to the edge we just cut, and sew 1/4 inch seam.  Remember, your Halloween fabric will be right side up on the bottom, you are sewing this strip to the batting and to your bottom fabric.

Once you finish that, add another strip wrong side down on the orange and sew 1/4 inch seam

 OK now this gets tedious, but it is important. You MUST iron after every strip. Press the seam, then open the fabric and press again. You want the strips to be flat and straight before you continue adding to them. Don't skip this, even though it means you have to sew, get up, sew, get up, etc.. It's good exercise.

Woo-Hoo look at it coming together!

This is what we will have once it's complete. Trim the edges, and add the binding. 

 Now go put it on your table and show it off! 

I fell even more in love with the tree fabric after making this. It's SO adorable! 

 I'm so happy that I can flip this over for Thanksgiving! It's two projects in one sewing session! 

Broken Mirror Quilt

I bought 12 fat quarters to create this quilt I had about 3/4 yard of the green polka dot that I used for the in between rows and the edges. It ended up being a lap-size blanket, so depending on what size you want that would be the gauge of how many squares you would need. As stated in the directions you iron all your fat quarters and then stack them. This is a very simple quilt for someone that is just beginning.