In today’s post, I am going to show you the transformation of a dress that I took from a baggy/frumpy/awkward fit on my body to something that makes me feel comfortable and happy when I wear it.
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In this blog post, I will show you an easy way to piece 40 strips of a roll of precut 2 1/2” strips of fabric into a quilt top. The finished size before borders is approximately 55” square. In a future blog post, I will show you how to add borders to make a larger quilt.
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When my cousin asked my daughters to be flower girls in her wedding, we excitedly agreed! The couple was engaged for nearly 18 months so I waited to make the dresses because I knew the girls would grow a lot in that amount of time. It seems that Ellie is stretching out of her clothes these days nearly as fast as she did when she was a toddler. So, a couple of months ago, I settled on a pattern and ordered the fabric.
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In this blog post, I am going to give you a quick overview of how I turned an old button-down work shirt into a comfortable, Edwardian-era-inspired, dress.
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For many years, I have appreciated the embroidery skills that my Grandmother displayed on her amazing crazy quilts. I began using the featherstitch about six years ago, and learned how to make lazy daisies, but I hadn’t tried many other stitches.
Part of my ethos, both personally and professionally, is that items I make and items in our house need to be both beautiful and practical. I don’t have any plans to make velvet crazy quilts—but I do plan to learn all of the stitches that Grandmother used…AND…put them onto practical items.
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I haven’t posted for awhile because I didn’t have any new creative projects to share. Instead, I have been focused on completing another green and white Shoofly Star quilt. I finished it last week, but even more exciting is the announcement that I am opening registration for my first in-person quilting class!
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Inspired by braided rugs, I decided to make some coasters that looked like miniature braided rugs with a modern twist—ones that were neutral in color and made with new fabric. Using Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton 57" PFD Bleach White fabric, I made coasters, which led to making a Christmas tree skirt, and then braided fabric baskets, which I will show you how to make in this post.
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Greetings again, dear reader! When I last posted, I had no idea that it would be such a long time until I wrote again! I had some rather severe chronic health flare-ups over the past six weeks. I honestly feel that I am a month or more behind schedule. But I am trying so hard to go with the flow, realizing that life is not in my control…
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Because not everyone who has an interest in sewing has a sewing machine, I decided to share this tutorial for a hand-sewn drawstring bag. The idea came to me this summer when I made drawstring project bags as gifts for participants of the crochet workshop that I offered in July.
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In this blog post, I will teach you how to make a braided tree skirt using old sheets. Note: this tree skirt will fit over the base of an artificial tree BEFORE the tree is assembled! If you need to put a skirt around a tree on which you cannot slide this small circle opening, then please reach out to me for guidance on adapting the pattern.
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Yesterday, I was listening to a podcast that I recently discovered called Haptic and Hue. The topic of this episode was “Whole Cloth Quilts in the North Country” of England. While the entire episode was fascinating, a couple of minutes specifically grabbed my attention. (And, ladies, please forgive me if I made an error in transcribing your words.)
“…This very human trait of seeking something beautiful even though you might be surrounded by poverty and industry, these North Country quilts have the ability to help make houses into homes, give comfort, and provide pleasure for the eyes and solace for the hands.” -Jo Andrews
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In this post, I will show you how I made an original, completely unique linen tote bag—even I will never make another one exactly the same!
When I was originally planning this post, I was going to teach you how to design your own tote bag; however, I decided to wait to share that process with you until I have designed and made a few more sizes of bags to give you those instructions. For those of you who have no interest in designing a pattern, ByAnnie.com offers MANY patterns for purses and bags, as well as a variety of other products…
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About two years ago, I came across a YouTube video showing how to make braided baskets with fabric strips. It’s been a project that I have wanted to do since then, and last fall, I used the technique to make a braided tree skirt and coasters. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, I made several baskets. The first one was small and you saw a sneak picture of it in my last blog post…
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In this blog post, I share pictures of a poncho and two little aprons that I made for an infant friend.
When I was a little girl, my Grandmother made me lots of beautiful clothing. She made the dresses that I wore every day, and she also made cute pinafores and sunbonnets. My mother kept some of the dresses that I didn’t wear out and the pinafores and bonnets. My girls play dress-up with these items constantly, and I am so glad that my Mom saved them. I am also putting some of the items back into my cedar chest so that if my girls ever have daughters, my granddaughters might be able to appreciate them also…
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In this blog post, I show you the process for making miniature braided rug coasters with cozy texture.
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