Terri Wilhelm Designs

I've mentioned my friend, Terri, a time or two. She designs and makes the most amazing totes, bags, zippered pouches, just to name a few things. I have an official collection of things that Terri has made. Seriously. Some people may collect Dolce & Gabbana or other designer labels. I collect Terri Wilhelm.


Not only does she make fabulous sewn items (and lots of great patterns, too), she has branched out to graphic design (she has cool fabric on Spoonflower). She has many items that would make wonderful holiday gifts. Notecards, field guides, calendars.  In fact, you can find a free download for the cutest gift tags here.

Terri is such a gifted artist and because she is a good friend, I really want to spread the word. Terri graciously agreed to give away one of her 2013 calendars to some lucky commenter. I seriously jokingly wondered if there was a way I could "fix" things so I would be the winner.

But don't worry. I'll leave the winning up to one of you. I hope you will stop by and say hi to Terri. Do some shopping while you are there.

I'd love to know if you are giving handmade items this Christmas.Leave a comment and I'll choose a winner on Wednesday, December 12.

Deck the Halls winner!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to check out my tutorial for the selvage Christmas tree. I hope you had a chance to check out all the tutorials because there are some really great ideas.Here is a picture to give you an idea of the fun projects that Jennifer helped put together. Although the giveaways are closed, it's not too late to start one of these creative projects for this holiday season.

11/26: S.O.T.A.K. Handmade

11/27: Live A Colorful Life

11/28: Petit Lyons

11/29: Little Bluebell

12/3: Between Quilts

12/4: Jednoiglec

12/5: Owen's Olivia

12/6: Stitchery Dickory Dock

12/7: Ellison Lane Quilts

The winner of the $20 gift certificate is No. 171, Barb, who said:

I love the traditional colors of red and green with splashes of white and royal blue all enhanced by bits of silver and gold.

Barb, I'll contact zip-it and get your contact information to them.

We did a little bit of vintage decking the halls ourselves--I had Mark get this Christmas card mailbox down from the rafters. It's something I painted in the 1970s and some of the painting has been scratched off over the years. It's been years since we've gotten it down and it's kind of nice to have around again.

Are you working on any holiday sewing/creating this weekend?

WIP Wednesday

It's Wednesday and I'm glad to finally have something to show, especially since my good friend, Elizabeth, is hosting, and all of what I have to show was completed at her house last weekend!

The most wonderful thing about blogging is the friends I have made. Elizabeth and I finally met last January at Road to California.We spent about two hours walking around, getting to know more about each other. Last Thursday I took Amtrak down to see her. First of all, I highly recommend Amtrak, although I wish the whole trip was on the train rather than just two hours on the train and four hours on an Amtrak bus. But never mind.

It was fabulous weekend. Around Halloween last year, she posted pictures of her quilting group which has gotten together nearly monthly for 16 years! The Halloween party looked like so much fun that I repeatedly begged politely asked if I could attend this year. It worked out for me to come to the Christmas party this year.

Thursday night after supper, Elizabeth and her husband, Dave, took me to a spectacular place pretty close to where they live. Oh the lights...

And the cupcake shop,

Okay, these moving figures/animals were slightly creepy, since they just moved around without singing, but the lights helped a lot.

 The next morning, we went to IKEA, where I purchased some fabric.  Good thing we are each honest quilters...

 When we went home, we got the house ready and started warming up the most delicious chili.

Her quilting friends were welcomed by this very festive door.

After supper, the tables were cleared off and we started sewing. Elizabeth has the nicest friends. I felt very comfortable with all of them.

There were nice little gifts for everyone, pincushions made from an antique quilt,

and the cutest zippered pouches, made by Elizabeth and her friend, Leisa.

The next day, Elizabeth and I spent the whole day sewing. I had brought along my Farmer's Wife blocks. I'm only putting 81 of them on the front of the quilt. The other 30 are going on the back. (Or maybe only 29--I counted and counted over and over, and can only find 29--I know I did all of them so some stray block must have attached itself to another quilt...).

Chain piecing...

The stack on the left looks kind of weird because there are sashing strips on two sides...

(I probably should mention that a couple of these pictures were "borrowed" from Elizabeth's blog...)

 

Anyway, 41 will have straight sashing, 40 will be set on point, alternating with each other in nine rows of nine blocks. These are the only two that are completed.

This is one of my favorites:

Elizabeth worked on pillow shams for a beautiful Christmas quilt:

I started this cross stitch on the train--another benefit of not doing the driving!

This was such a fabulous weekend. Sewing together, getting to be closer friends, both of which are works in progress. Thanks, Elizabeth!

Deck the Halls: Selvage Christmas Tree tutorial and giveaway!!

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for stopping by!

It's true--Christmas is less than a month away! Today I'm a guest at Jennifer's blog, with a tutorial on how to make this cute little selvage wall hanging:

Zipit is generously giving away a $20 gift certificate. An early gift!

I hope you will check out my tutorial, and then leave me a comment here telling me whether you are decorating with traditional colors of red and green, or going out on a (Christmas tree) limb and doing something retro or modern. Pink...aqua...limey green...purple? I'd love to know! A winner will be chosen on December 8.

Be sure to check out the rest of this fabulous schedule for lots of fun ideas!

11/26: S.O.T.A.K. Handmade / Giveaway from Sew Me a Song

11/27: Live A Colorful Life / Giveaway from Zipit!

11/28: Petit Lyons /Giveaway from Zipit!

11/29: Little Bluebell / Giveaway from Mountain of the Dragon

12/3: Between Quilts / Giveaway from Six Munchkins Stitching

12/4: Jednoiglec / Giveaway from Sew Fresh Fabric

12/5: Owen's Olivia / Giveaway from Sew Fresh Fabric

12/6: Stitchery Dickory Dock / Giveaway from Pink Castle Fabric

12/7: Ellison Lane Quilts / Giveaway from Contemporary Cloth

Selvage Ornament Pillow

Selvage Ornament Pillow

Being the selvage obsessed person that I am, this simple pattern is a perfect fit for me. 

Here is what you need for the pillow front:
2 - 2 1/2" x 8 1/2" red print
1 - 4 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of muslin
4 - 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" white
1 - 1 1/2" x 8 1/2" white
2 - 1 1/2" x 3 1/4" white
2 - 1 1/2" x 10 1/2" white
1 - 1 1/2" x 3" gold
2 - 2 1/4" x 10 1/2" green dot
2 - 2 1/4" x 14" green dot

You will need this for the pillow back:
1 zipper (at least 14" long)
1 - 8" x 14" print
1 - 7" x 14" print

1 14" pillow form.


Start with your piece of muslin, or any scrap fabric--you're just using it as a base and covering it with selvages so it won't show.

I happen to have a whole bag full of Christmas-related selvages, but any selvages would look cute. I always try to add at least one that has the color registration dots.

Place a piece of scrap piece of fabric at the bottom your base, like this:

Lay out your selvages to check the spacing and order,

then just start sewing them, one at a time, close to the selvage edge, adding the next one on top, building your way up to the top until your fabric base is covered.

Turn it over and trim to 4 1/2" x 8 1/2" inches.

Next add your red print, one at the top and one at the bottom of your selvage piece. Draw a line diagonally from corner to corner on each of the 2 1/2" squares. Place a square piece at each corner, sew on the diagonal line, trim and press open so you have a square piece.

 (Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of this portion after pressing the white pieces open to make a square)

Sew one  1 1/2" x 3 1/4" white piece on each side of the 1 1/2" x 3" gold piece. This is the top of your ornament. Sew it to the red piece.  Add the 1 1/2" x 8 1/2" white piece to the bottom, and then a 1 1/2" x 10 1/2" white piece to each side. Now you are ready to add the green dots. I decided I wanted a little ornament hanger so I basted a little piece of ribbon to the gold piece before I sewed on the green dots at the top.

then you can add the green dots on the top and bottom, and then on both sides. Voila! Your pillow top is complete!

I wanted an exposed zipper for my pillow back. This tutorial is great! When you have sewed your zipper to the two backing pieces, trim it to 14" inches, make sure your zipper is at least halfway open, and then sew the pillow front and pillow back together.

 Add your 14" pillow form and enjoy your pillow!

The Name Game: A Quilter's Table

This week Debbie is here from A Quilter's Table.

I was trying to think when Debbie first popped up on my quilting radar. You know--that moment when all of a sudden you see something that just makes you stop and pay attention, and then you want to see all the other things that quilter has made. I'm pretty sure it was this quilt:

I spend my days at a computer doing medical transcription, so of course I was thinking I really need a quilt like this one!

Since this quirky "qwerty" quilt, I have been following along with the adventures at A Quilter's Table.

     How did you choose the name for your blog?

 I really struggled with the name of my blog. First and foremost, I intended for it to be a journal of sorts of my quilting journey. But I also am such a foodie, and The Table is such a meaningful place for me and my family. I really wanted to be able to share about that too. I finally settled on including ‘table’ in the name, because it could refer to either a table where meals are shared or a cutting or sewing table. It also seemed to reflect a speaking platform, and since my blog would be an extension of me, that seemed appropriate.

 Were there other names you considered, and can you share any of them with us?

 Oh my goodness, there were oodles! Some of the major contenders were quilteatrepeat, stitchabit, stitchesandtastes, aquiltingfeast, aquiltersspace, and aquiltingandtastingjourney.

  Now that you are recognized by A Quilter's Table, are you happy with it, or do you wish you could change it to something else?

 I am pretty happy with it. Sometimes I question my choice, and even my decision to include ‘The Table’ as much as I do. But the name “A Quilter’s Table” definitely reflects a lot about me, and I like that.

Debbie recently hosted a Polaroid block swap on Flickr.  Such cute blocks! She used one of her blocks and made this cute little drawstring bag using Jeni's pattern (this pattern is worth every penny, by the way--and would make great presents for the upcoming holidays).

 

Be sure to check out this part of Debbie's blog. Yum!

And Debbie's tutorial for the triple-zip pouch is high on my list in the next couple of months.

Debbie has some other great tutorials as well, so please head over and say hi. Lots of cheery inspiration to be seen. Thanks, Debbie, for playing the Name Game this week!