Mary Engelbreit Fabric Tea Cozy

By now you figured I have a thing for tea cozies. There is never an end to ideas and fabric. This happy Mary Engelbreit fabric did a nice job on this one.  It has a pocket on both front and back. Then with the scraps I made a pad for it to sit on. I did some outline quilting on the pad around the flower. Yes, that's a yo-yo with a button center on top.

 

 

 

This is the other side.  Side the pockets with a tea bag and wooden  honey dipper? 

 

 

 

Cupcake Mini Quilt

Some of us dwell on holidays. I have a hard time putting things away after the day has passed. Since we've had such nice weather, maybe it is time to think spring.  It is right around the corner along with the time change to daylight savings time. My Valentine teapot has served me well and it's time to find a replacement. 

The mini quilt can stay a few more days.  It'll give me some time to  finish a project I am working on that'll fit that spot nicely. Since I use clear push pins to hang my minis, my wall is suffering from tiny pot holes.  I need to invest in some of those decorative wire holders wire holders.

Yes, the other day I bought a two cupcakes.  Talk about investment! But they were worthy.  We split them in half so we could taste each one.  The cupcakes disappeared in seconds. Even faster than some of the Olympic events. Hey, that's not a bad idea. I'd get a gold for sure.
 

Two-Colored Prairie Point Tut

Pat from Life in the Scrapatch asked for a tutorial on the two colored fabric prairie points from today's post showing my hugs and kisses table runner post here.. Being a visual person, I need pictures more than words. I'll try to make up for the poor photos with a brief description. So here goes.

Cut two strips, one ½ inch wider than the other.  The wider fabric will be the one that shows up as a tiny triangle point on the back and it’ll have the two accent strips on the front. For this purpose I used a 4 inch light fabric and 4 ½ inch contrasting fabric—the turquoise.
 

 Sew the strips together with a ¼” seam. Then press toward the wider piece.

 

Then fold over again and match raw edges together and press the fold.
 

 

For the prairie point I am making here for the tutorial, it will measure 8” across the raw bottom.

 
Fold on side at a 45 degree angle and press.  This will be at the 4” mark from the edge.

 

Then repeat with the other side.

 

Place your ruler a at the halfway mark and cut the bottom.

See how the 4" mark is the center?

 

Here's the back side with the tiny triangle point.

Another option is to cut your strip into the exact measurement and then fold and press.  For instance, I could have cut 8" pieces then fold and press.  Whatever works for you.

Here's a picture of my Valentine's Day runner using this method. Check my previous post for more pictures or click the link below.

http://madebymeinred.blogspot.com/2014/02/hugs-and-kisses-blog-hop.html 

 

 

 

Hugs and Kisses Blog Hop

This has been a wonderful experience viewing such beautiful creations made from the paper pieced pattern by Soma from Whims and Fancies and Mdm. Samm Sew We Quilt. Paper piecing tends to work a side of our brain not often used—the backwards inside-out mode. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes pure pleasure when you check how well everything meets up.

I tend to shop my stash but some Valentine’s Day fabric sparked my imagination.  It looked very romantic and the colors were subtle yet bright. I wasn’t sure what I’d make until a few blocks were complete.

So here’s my table topper. It’s all dressed up with two-colored points on the edge. I like the way they sort of accentuate the arrow point.  On the back side of those points there’s a tiny tip of the red.

Can you see the red tips on the backside of these points?

Okay.  I've rolled up my show and now it is time to move on to see what other goodies have been made by today's crafty quilters. 

Feb 19th

 Lady Bente

iliketoquiltblog

Lady Kristen

meadowbrook

Lady Linda

catsnqlts2

Lady Marcy (you are here)

Madebymeinred

Lady Susie

SusiesSunroom

Mdm Samm

sewwequilt

Happy Valentine's Day

The day has slipped by and I wanted to wish everyone in blogland a Happy Valentine's Day. Since my new Valentine project won't be unveiled until Wednesday, February 19th at the Sew We Quilt Hugs and Kisses bloghop, I took photos of my small machine trapunto quilt.

This is a panel friends. However, heavier batting is behind details I wanted puffed out.  Then tight stippling is done elsewhere. It's almost like machine quilting twice but not really.

See how the two hearts puff out more?  What looks like a pink yo-yo with a chocolate button is actually a long ruffle gathered up to make a flower.  There are two chocolate colored yo-yos on the far upper left though

I also stitched around all the green and pink lines that look like sashing and they, too, pop out.  It almost looks like binding as well.

Now remember to come back next Wednesday to see my entry.  You can see a schedule of all the entries of this great hop here.

Mesh Bag

I went to a quilt show on Friday and saw samples of a mesh bag with cotton fabric and four pockets.  Somehow, this was looking like a larger bag to set my Tammy Bag into.

It’s the vendor’s pattern and you can find it at Fabulous Fabrics. She also had the vinyl for sale in lots of colors. Somehow the red vinyl jumped out of the display at me. I was afraid the vinyl might be hard to sew through so I used my jeans needle. The pattern’s instructions are right on.  I did add a D-ring to clip my keys to and next time I’ll line the pockets with a coordinating fabric other than muslin.

See it’s like Tammy Bag’s big sister. You can find the Tammy Bag pattern from Sew We Quilt with others here. 

The purple tip on my sewing scissors is a knitting needle tip protector. It keeps my scissors from poking a hole in my bag. (Sorry for the fuzzy photo.)

Are you liking the yellow freesias? Those are the flowers that smell so good in early spring.

 

 Here's a scanned picture of the mesh bag pattern front.  Think beach or water aerobics, not just sewing tote.

 

Don't Let The Door Stop You

Nearly last, but not least, is my show at the hop.  Here is my cupcake door stop.  It stands less than a foot.  The bottom is filled with rice since I didn't have time to run out for some real weighted stuffing.  Then I filled the top with polyfil and add the cherry on top.

 

Here it stands by the door.  However, come summer I will need it to keep the door open when the winds fly through.

And here's the top view.

In the meantime, I can use it as a centerpiece on top of my cupcake quilt.

And it looks good with my other red, white and black goodies too.

Last year I posted some of my cupcake fabric creations and they are posted here, here, here and here.  Just wish I had a real cupcake--right now.

Here's the list of today's doorstop creators:

 

February 7th

GrammieQs

Pickles Quilting

Made by Me in Red

 A Passion for Applique

Living With Purpose

Sew We Quilt

How about a big thanks to Madame Samm of Sew We Quilt and Carla at Creating in the Sticks for providing yet another outlet for our serious creations.