Love Notes Table Topper...A quick Valentine idea

Love Notes Table Topper or Wall Hanging was a fun and quick project.  I thought it might be fun to add some pockets to my table topper to tuck valentine notes inside.  My husband  traveled often years ago and was such a sweetheart - he sent me letters from wherever he traveled.  I loved receiving them even though they often came after he had returned home.  Thanks honey!  My grown children still like receiving Valentines candy with a fun card.  So hence....Love Notes

I used one Always & Forever Charm Pack and some additional yardage - 1/8th yard pink swirl, 1/2 yard of Red Love Words, & 1/2 yard of the White w/red Swirls.  If you are using fabrics from your stash you will need 5" squares.
I used 1" sashing strips on this quilt and I wish I would have used 1 1/2" because when I pressed the 1/4" seams towards the sashing pieces they were really close.
I cut the outside borders  4" wide x the length.  That will make the finished outside borders 3 1/2" wide.
I have enough squares and fabric left to make another one row wall hanging with 3 pockets and one heart square!

The pockets are so so easy to make.  Here is a little tutorial if you need it.

Step 1: Separate your lights and darks from the charm pack.  I used the lights for the background and the brights for the hearts and pocket folds.  Fold two of the bright 5" squares in half on the diagonal for each pocket you are making. Press.

Step 2 Lay each pressed triangle on the bottom of your light square creating an envelope.  I apologize for the blurred image in the top picture!!!  Forgive me. I took it with my phone and I don't have another one.  :(

Step 3 Baste with machine around the outside edge to keep your triangles in place.  I basted just inside the 1/4" seam allowance.

Last step   Sew your pocket into your quilt top.  The squares are all 5 inches. Decide on your envelope placement ahead of time.  Note in this picture  that  I switched the overlap on the envelope so that the top fold would be on the outside corner.   I used 1" sashing strips and I wish I would have used 1 1/2" because when I pressed the 1/4" seams towards the sashing pieces they were really close.

Up close picture of one pocket.  Fun huh?

 I used a 3 1/4" cookie cutter for my heart pattern.  I love this size because I could get two hearts from one charm square if I placed the heart point in the corner  of the square when I cut out the heart.  I also think you could use some of those funky uneven hearts.  Draw your own!  I machine appliqued the hearts onto each square.  It is much easier to applique the hearts on before you piece your quilt top together!


I think this would be fun to create an envelope for each member of the family and make it into a wall hanging. If you can see in the top right corner a regular sized greeting card fits just fine.  You will need to make bigger pockets if you purchase those huge cards!  You will need to cut your own squares instead of using a charm pack.  NOW  its off to the quilter.  Yes! I posted this tutorial without having Leisha, my quilter, do her magic because Valentines is just around the corner.  I'll post a picture when it is finished.  Have fun.

My next project......Hearts Heart Hearts with the fabric collection Little Pink Stars.  See last weeks post.  Wish me luck!  Have a wonderful week!

REMEMBER THIS ?? "OUR TEASER" ??? 

WELL, HERE YOU ARE!!

FROM THIS.......

TO THIS....  (pinned together)

TO THIS......

TA DAH!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT DO YOU THINK???



HEARTS HEARTS HEARTS QUILT

CLOSE-UP OF THE HEARTS AND QUILTING

The triangles are all cut by machine then sewn together to make this beautiful quilt. It turned out GREAT!! Does this say "Valentines" or what? Leisha sewed this up and quilted it. She did a beautiful job as always! Isn't it soooo cute. We are going to have a class and kits available. We are also offering kits in this colorway. We have a few more pinks and creams coming to add to this bundle.

LITTLE PINK STARS

We will have a short class to show a few tricks we have learned about sewing all the triangles together. The class will be at 2:00 pm or 7:00 pm on Thursday at Sandra and Leisha's home in Providence. It will last 30 to 45 minutes.

The kit is $72.00 which includes:

1 Class

Pattern

Fabric for the quilt top, including borders and a 2 1/2" binding.

Backing will be extra and offered later.

This quilte measures  61" X 70"

Leave a comment if you are interested in a kit :)

Kit without the class is $69.00

More fun sewing ideas and more fabric bundles!

Let's share some fun ideas first......

Do you remember Simple Sadie Quilts?  It is where you showcase a main  fabric print in the center of your quilt, framing it with a pieced border.  Fun, quick, and easy to do....but also you can be very creative with your borders.  Like these quilts made by Leisha Farnsworth of FlutterbyBirdie on Etsy.

 What fun borders!  Don't you think?  In the traditional Sadie quilts the borders were usually several small strips sewn together.  We love how Liesha used the cute animals and kids in the borders.  Very creative.  Leisha made these with Moda's  Lil Rascals prints designed by Chloes Closet. (The main prints are only $6.99 per yard right now).

 

We love love love the this border.  We have included several pictures so that you can see how nice these prints are when they are quilted.  You can see more pictures in Leisha's Etsy Shop.  Click Here

Take a look at these.....

Darling clutches made by CuteFairyBear.  The first clutch is made from Black Aspirin Polka Dots by Windham Fabrics and the other two are made from Ann Kelle's Urban Zoologies prints.  How many items have we feature with these prints?  They are so popular and adorable!   You can find CuteFairyBear at this LINK.

AND speaking of Ann Kelle prints......check these brand new Remix Fat Quarter Bundles out! As you can see this Bermuda bundle looks great with the owls (above) and the Bermuda Birds (below).

As you know we have searched high and low to find fabrics to go with those Urban Zoologie Prints.  Now Ann Kelle and Robert Kaufman have teamed up to create these new bundles for you.  No More guess work.  You know they will be perfect coordinates!

 This Remix Garden Colorstory (above) coordinates perfectly with the Bright Butterflies and the Spring Birds.

And the Remix Royal Lime Colorstory coordinates perfectly with the Royal Blue & Green Owls and the ever so popular Royal Monkeys!

We loved this Celbration Colorstory of Aqua, Grey, Red, & Black.  These prints together would make a really fun quilt for those youngsters and teens in your life.   I think this fabric would be fun in Camille Roskelley's Wild Thing pattern.  It is my new favorite.  Only seams to match.....corners when sewing rows together.  I just made this with our Whimsy Fabric Collection designed by Heather Mulder Peterson.  Here is a sneak peek since it hasn't been quilted yet.

This pattern is super easy - made from 84   5" squares which is two charm packs.  The only thing that takes some time is trimming all of the sewn blocks down to 4 1/2" squares.  I can't wait to see it quilted.

We have several new fabric lines and charm packs in!  

LITTLE PINK STARS II AND PUT YOUR HEART IN IT

We have been so excited to receive these two fabric lines.  Who doesn't love reproduction fabrics!  We are so happy that we can offer these lines to you.  The first collection is a reproduction line named Little Pink Stars by designer Margo Krager for Newcastle Fabrics.  Margo Krager has spent several decades researching historic cottons fabrics used in quilts.  

  Sandra has organized them into beautiful bundles for you.  You can purchase them by color, fat quarters, or by the yard.  If you need a custom listing...just let us know!  This pink collection would make a beautiful quilt for valentines.

 Good navy prints are so difficult to find!  You will love these prints.

 This brown bundle also includes reproduction fabrics from Battle Hymn by Barbara Brackman (top fabric) and the cream polka dot is a Basics by Buggy Barn.

Newcastle is offering a free pattern:  Little Pink Stars II     Click Here for Link

"The inspiration for Little Pink Stars II is a quilt made by Margo’s friend Bette Faries. Bette lived in the Tidewater area of  Virginia in the early 1970s. While shopping for Blue Flow china at local antique stores, Bette started to pick up quilt tops and blocks. Always fond of pink, she chose pieces that contained classic double pinks but were damaged or poorly sewn. Bette took everything apart, saving the good parts.

Bette's quilt, entirely hand pieced and hand quilted, contains 432 mostly pink star blocks with a sprinkle of other colors: lights, taupe/tan, warm browns and several Indigos. The background fabric is late 1970s broadcloth; all the stars are antique fabrics, 1840-end of the century.

Bette, an inspiration at 87 year of age, still has a small pile of 19th century double pinks and is recently completed small 9-patches for a full size quilt."  (Newcastle website)

The second line of fabrics that we just love is Put Your Heart In It by Buggy Barn for Henry Glass & Co.   These beautiful soft hues of pink and blue grey paisleys,stripes, and flowers are gorgeous fabrics.  Both of these reproduction fabrics will go beautifully with your stash of traditional or civil war prints.

I know what your thinking!  Which ones do you choose?  We promise you that you will love either of the fabric lines.  And please send us pictures of your projects with any of these fabrics.  We love to see what you are creating!


Valentines projects are coming sooon.....

Valentines Fabrics Have Arrived!

First here is a teaser...What will we be doing with these triangles?  Tune in later this week and find out!  You can see some of the Valentines fabrics mixed with a few of the Ruby Fabrics.  

We love red! Here is a sampling of the reds we have to offer -  The only problem....which red prints do you choose?  We have made it easy and put them all in fat quarter bundles!

Always & Forever by Deb Strain is all ready one of our best sellers!  As you can see in the two bundles below there are lots of hearts, swirls, and roses.  One of my favorite is the second one down - Romantic Red Love Words.  Don't you just love the swirls with hearts too?

 In this bundle, Sandra has combined some of the Always & Forever Reds with designer Liz Scott's Domestic Bliss Floral Kitchenette in Pink (3rd fabric down) and Floral Check Lattice Pink (bottom fabric).   

 We love the Pink Roses from the Always & Forever collection.  All of these fabrics coordinate very well together.  Convo us if you have any questions about combining any of the patterns.

 And we were able to put together another Red & White bundle with the new Half Moon Modern Reds - Dots, Leaves,Butterflies, Paisley, Geometric Ovals.

My favorite in this bundle is the Cherries print at bottom of the bundle.  It is from the Redwork Renaissance Collection by Chloes Closet for Moda. 

 Rouenneries Deux by French General for Moda Layer Cake is one of my new favorite fabric lines.  The yardage will be out in just a few weeks and yes, we have some of theses reds coming.  I think this layer cake or the charm pack (we have that in stock as well) would make the perfect Vintage Valentines Table Topper.

Hmmm now where do I begin....keep checking back.  Sandra, Leisha, and I are each working on a Valentine treat for you!

ANOTHER PROJECT SHARING DAY!!!!

Our Echo Fabric Bundles FLEW out the door!  If you missed them on the first go round, don't worry.  We have another shipment coming in a few weeks.  YAY for you!  For those of you that are not familiar with these fabrics, they are from designer Lotta Jansdotter's newest line of fabrics from Windham. One of our customers made these beautiful bags that she sells in her Etsy Store Mackenzie Monroe.

 Look at the coordinating fabrics used for the lining.  We love the way Makenzie Monroe mixed up the patterns.

Another peek inside her bag.  We love the detail on these these bags. You can find these bags at this link:  Makenzie Monroe

Leisha Farnsworth took a Fat Quarter Bundle of 2 fabrics from Amy Butler - Wall Flower and Full Moon Polka Dot to make these scrap fabric baskets.  Just 2 fat quarters and some interfacing or denim for stability.  Leisha got the idea from The Sometimes Crafter free tutorial (don't you love free tutorials?) Here is the link: http://sometimescrafter.blogspot.com/2009/04/tutorial-fabric-scrap-basket.html

Leisha added handles to her basket.

Happy Birthday to me!  Lucky me.  Sandra and Leisha made me this Circa 1934 Table Topper.  I love it!  This is made with 16 charm squares!  What a great project this would be for the Valentines.  We have several new charm square precuts to choose from - some REALLY cute Valentines fabrics from the Always and Forever Collection.

Sandra made this quilt for one of our customers who also happens to be her neighbor.  She used 4 Back Country 5" Square Stackers Bundles (Charm Squares) and added sashing strips out of Riley Blake's Tan Grunge and corner squares out of the Chocolate Grunge.  The plaid border is from the same Back Country Collection  designed by The Paper Loft for Riley Blake.

 I know this is a large close up....but you really need to see how gorgeous these fabrics are.  They are perfect for that outdoors man  or cabin quilt.  Minky on the back really made this a cozy quilt for her neighbor's family room.

Utah winters are sooooo cold.  We love Minky on the back of our family room quilts.

Thanks everyone for sharing your projects.  Please send  us more ideas. We love to share your ideas and see what you are making!

Happy New Year!