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On the Wednesday before Fathers Day, my youngest daughter and I decided we would embark on a project for my husband who is an avid gardener and claims the garden for him is the best place on earth. We decided to make these stepping stones as a Fathers Day gift. I read a lot of tutorials and decided on a method. The picture tutorial below explains what we did.  Traced a circle with a cake pan onto contact paper/sticky drawer liner (the cake pan is the mold for the stepping stones)  Greased the pans very liberally with vaseline  Gathered a bunch of glass beads, stones and broken mirror pieces (all from the $ store) (you could use broken dishes)  Place contact paper sticky side up (facing you) in the vaseline greased cake pan and start placing pebbles, glass pieces etc. -This is an abstract moon and stars  Our stepping stone designs from right to left moon and stars, a spiral, a fish in water and a flower star. We have placed the moulds (cake pans) on cardboard to get ready for the cement pour  Mallory prepping for the cement pour- safety first! Gloves, safety glasses, dust mask, water near by, a stirring instrument and a pail are a must. We mixed the cement in a pail, poured in water from a large watering can and mixed with a shovel. The consistency is like wet porridge  we also cut and flattened wire screen (purchased by the foot at home hardware) for the pour of cement. Wire must fit inside your mold  We poured quick dry cement the consistency of wet porridge about 1 1/2" inch on top of the pebbles and then placed the wire mesh in the concrete and then poured the remaining concrete to about 1/4" from the top of the cake pan moulds  The result of our first DIY stepping stones?
Not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but my hubbs loved them ( I think just because we made them lol) The first pour was the best, the star flower and the moon and stars, the second pour was a bit too thick resulting in the pebbles moving and therefore the designs are not as distinct. We are not deterred though! Next time we are going to try and pour the cement first, place wire, second pour of cement and then pebbles on top and see if that works better. It will added some sun reflection and sparkle to our garden. Stay tuned! We will perfect this! If at first we do not succeed...... try and try again!! Happy Fathers Day to all those daddy's out there ❤️❤️
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I have decided that as my Sew Easy Baby Gift series is complete and I am gearing up to decorate more of the slant walls in my studio, I would start making mini quilts. Why?
What am I calling a miniature quilt? My blog = my rules, I am saying equal to or less than 30" square is what I am terming a "miniature quilt".' I realize that at some quilt shows < 24" square is the standard. I am trying to cut myself some slack. I may or may not share the pattern depending on time or may share the pattern in the future. The purpose of this series is mostly to inspire others by sharing what I am working on. Starting with June as we have just gotten it underway. The June monthly mini "Canning on the Shelf" is shown below:  Canning on the Shelf Canning on the Shelf was completed last month actually and is a miniature version of 3 large (double sized) canning jar quilts that my sister and I worked on about 3 years ago. I have not even made a dent in my food based fabric collection LOL! This quilt was one of my UFO's but now it's done Yay! Check out the blocks below aren't they adorable?  Not too much of a challenge these blocks finished at about 3" x 5" and were fun to simply piece with strip piecing and connecter corners. Not rocket science, I am starting out by going easy on this challenge. I may share the pattern in the near future as I drafted it up after working on the 3 larger quilts. Need More Mini Quilt Inspiration? Check out some great inspiration at Craftsy.com on miniatures. Take a class ...... Fabric Play: Sewing Mojo Minis or check out a fantastic blog post: Mini Quilts 10 Fresh Ideas to Inspire Stay tuned in and check out this series in the first wednesday of each month, I will let you know when patterns are posted.
Do you have a mini quilt you would love to share with us and inspire others? Please use the contact tab above and I will be happy to share your work on this blog. Why not challenge yourself to a mini quilt and share your work with us? Happy Wednesday! ☀️ With the world wide web we get to see and share all the work that is going on and that is simply awesome!. Kylie from New Zealand sent me a contact through FaceBook and it reads "Thank you for your double oven mitt pattern... I followed it to make a cute housewarming pressie for my Mum". So Kylie has downloaded and made my double oven mitt project, a free downloadable PDF pattern available here. Kylie made the oven mitts and a gorgeous hand towel to match. See the photos she sent me below:   Love the fabric choices too. Thanks for sharing Kylie and keep up the good work!!
Happy Monday ❤️
Something to consider on this lovely Friday>
There is now a FREE 7 Day Craftsy Unlimited Trial Dive into thousands of hours of expert taught videos and bring your best ideas to life. Whether you love stitches, swatches, pasta or paint, you'll never be without a source of inspiration. 
Have a great weekend and Happy Friday!
I know I have talked about easy flying geese methods before but I discovered these amazing rulers and I know they have been around for a long time. In fact one was in my stash of rulers unopened for about 5 years now. I do not know why and will blame my QADD on it (Quilters Attention Deficit Disorder) LOL!
The reason I love this ruler after finally getting it out and trying it is.
5. It is so accurate with consistent results every time! Pictures of the rulers I have are shown below: 
This amazing little ruler has been in my stash for 5 years and was lonely and unused!
A recent purchase after finding out how great these rulers are!
Another recent purchase after finding out how great these rulers are!!
How these work?
1. Choose some pretty fabric
2. Cut a large square of background as per the instructions and a smaller square of the geese fabric as per the fantastic package instructions. Lay them right sides together with the smaller square on top of the larger square and centre it as best you can.
3. Using a ruler and a pen, draw a line diagonally from corner to corner as shown below:
Drawing my line using my Quilters Magic Wand
4. Sew 1/4" out on either side of the line you just marked.
5. Cut on the drawn line as shown below:
6. Press both units towards the background or larger triangle as shown below:
7. Lay both ironed units on top of each other with opposite colours right side together as shown below:
8. Draw another line through the centre as shown below:
9. Sew 1/4" seams on both sides of the drawn line.
10. Cut down the marked line revealing the 2 odd looking blocks below:
11. Lay your flying geese ruler on top of your block aligning the "green V" marked on the ruler (see the ruler below) with the V of the geese fabric (Pebbled fabric). Square your unit with this ruler - you will get 2 flying geese units from each side of the units above making 4 in total. The ruler also allows for your 1/4" seam allowances
Sorry I got so excited about how the ruler worked that I forgot to take a picture until everything was cut away!
Make 4 units at a time with this ruler
Honestly this is so easy with these rulers and just imagine the quilts you can make with flying geese! Some of my work with these rulers are below:
Geese flying north , certainly a block but maybe a mug rug?
Dutchmans Puzzle
Playing with the Jumbo Flying geese rulers - makes 5 x 10" flying geese for big units to insert into a quilt
So many options but lets' make a "quilt in a day". Totally doable with this method and Jumbo Sized Flying Geese Ruler! I made the below jumbo geese units in an afternoon!
Playing with the arrangement
Hard to tell by the photo but this is a lap sized or throw quilt if I sew it together
Where to get these rulers?
Click on the links below:
Stay tuned to see what I actually do with my Jumbo Flying Geese :0)
Have a Great Thursday, I am off to Cookstown today to teach another Quilting with Rulers for Domestic Machines Class! ?
I have completed my 2018 series "Sew Easy Baby Gifts" with the items I have made recently. I just though I should add another 2 great baby quilt ideas! I would be remiss if I did not mention my two baby quilt patterns Pick Lots of Daisies and "Featuring" Baby Quilt Patterns. These patterns are "sew" easy as well. The Pick Lots Of Daisies looks a little more girly but the "Featuring" Baby Quilt Pattern is very unisex. Pick Lots of Daisies uses solid fabrics so it could be very affordable and the "Featuring" Baby Pattern was designed to help use up baby fabric fat quarters as the "feature" fabric. See pictures of my completed pattern samples below:   Pick Lots of Daisies is a "Sew" easy appliqué quilt pattern which includes full instructions and a poem to free motion quilt or use as wording on a label. "Featuring" Baby involves simple piecing and use of an entire fat quarter along with just 3 accent colours and a background. To purchase these patterns click here or on the shop tab above.  Craftsy also has an abundance of baby quilt resources! The best gifts are those you make by hand. Craftsy has the patterns, inspiration and tutorials you need to deliver a baby quilt that will be cherished for years. There are also a lot of Free or affordable resources! Check it out here Happy Wednesday! 😊
I know I talk about this tool all the time and those who have taken my classes will attest to this! I LOVE IT! Check out my previous blog post about this tool and heirloom quilting samples here. I took an heirloom quilting class a few years back and this tool was suggested and when I purchased it and started to use it. I sincerely thought "where have you been all of my quilting life?"
It is such a versatile tool that I take it out almost every time I am planning a quilt. As you can see it has lines every 1/2" and looks very much like the June Tailor Shape Cut Tool but it is a marking tool. So the lines/cutouts on the tool just fit a pen, pencil or marking tool and it is not made to use as a cutting tool. You don't have to look at it as just 1/2", you can skip lines and make squares, diamonds or lines any size you want. As a marking tool you can use it to draw even parallel lines at 90 degrees, 45 degrees and 60 degrees. This also means you can draw shapes with it , rectangles, squares, diamonds and more! You can also make all shapes as wide or as long as you like by moving the tool along your design. It is must faster than moving and trying to realign a ruler. See my (incomplete) sample below where I marked grided parallel lines, squares, diamonds and half square triangles and used it to mark and stitch out a "Robbing Peter to Pay Paul" stitch fill in the background. The fill stitches are completed free motion. Grid Marker sampler using 45 degree, 90 degree and 60 degree markings
Heirloom sample using 60 degree lines and a double needle for background diamond fill below:
Photo from Craftsy.com Lindsay Conner
What other larger shapes can we draw with this grid marker tool hmmm?
Recent shapes Square, Hexagon Triangle that had to be drawn before stitching
If you have a question like- How do I draw that shape? Or... I don't have that shaped template, how can I draw it? This might be the tool for you.
Where to get this tool? Click on the image of the Grid Marker below: 
This is just food for thought, there is so much more that can be done with this tool and quilting. It also comes with graphic diagrams to show you what you can do with it. I have just "scratched at the crack in the iceberg" as they say as to the grid markers many uses.
I hope this tool and ideas are useful for your quilting and design success! Happy Thursday!
Last week Wednesday, I promised I would share my pattern for pacifier clips to hold baby's pacifier to clothing or a diaper bag so that mom/dad/caregiver can find it quickly. A pacifier sure comes in handy when baby is very upset. Knowing where the pacifier is located, is critical for mommy and daddy's sanity! The idea is the snap connects to babies clothing and the loop end connects to the pacifier with a snap closure. I used size 16 pearl snaps from Snap Setter and pacifier clips that I purchase on Amazon- see resources near the end of this post.
5 of my pacifier clips
Last weeks blog post about the classic bib. Make it to match with the pacifier clip.
What you will need to make your pacifier clip:
How to Make A Pacifier Clip:
3. Press the long sides 1/4" in after the short ends have been pressed
4. Fold in 1/2 , press well along the length and pin
5. Top stitch with matching thread a scant 1/8" from all edges all the way around your fabric
6. Grab your clip and insert your fabric strip through the bottom of the clip as shown below , pulling about 1.5" of excess fabric to the back.
7. Top stitch a rectangle with an X through it as shown below to support the clip. Start sewing about 1/4" down from the clip
8. Loop the opposite end down about 1.75" and add a snap closure to the other end as per the instructions of the snap manufacturer - see below
Where to find the pacifier clips and snaps?
Click on the links below for these supplies
Don't forget to "package it up" and make our classic bib (free pattern download here) and matching pacifier clip! See below: 
I hope this tutorial is useful for your baby gift giving!
Happy Wednesday!?  It's time to spring clean our sewing spaces. Sewwwwwww my sister and I are hosting a quilters'/sewists' Yard Sale! This coming Saturday June 2, 2018 8 am until 2pm At 181 Rodney St. Waterloo, ON Rain Or Shine! All are welcome! Lots of Fabric, Patterns, Books, Magazines Kits etc. etc. etc. All related to sewing and quilting and a few household items AT BARGAIN BASEMENT PRICES OR MUCH LESS!!!  We look forward to seeing you there!😊
 On Saturday I was honoured to teach some members of the Erie Shores Quilters Guild in Kingsville. Check out their blog post about the class on Facebook here. Our subject of the day was Quilting With Rulers for Domestic Machines, you can check out my class description here or click on the "Teaching" tab above. This was one of many of my rulers classes and I still learned some new things along with my students. This is always wonderful! Learning and sharing together is the best. I discussed primarily the Westalee rulers and the Angela Walters rulers along with some helpful tips and design ideas. Believe me when I say these ladies were so positive, receptive to my ideas, talented and skilled. I thoroughly enjoyed sharing ideas with them. Thanks to all the ladies who participated. You can see this happy group above. Below I am sharing just some of the work they completed in the class. Student Work: Thanks to the ladies of the Erie Shores Quilters' Guild for hosting and organizing this event!
Also, Thank You to Hummingbird Sewing in Barrie, who allowed me to bring some notions and supplies from their store so that the ladies had some wonderful resources! If your guild or group, would like a domestic rulers class, I am ready for you. Just click on the teaching tab above. Happy Monday 😊 |
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