Halloween is the favorite holiday of my 20 year old son, Luke. I have collected Halloween and Fall décor for years. In fact, last year, there were so many bins that I donated a huge bin to his school. I wanted to share with all of you some of our Halloween staples that have become part of our family tradition to pull out and arrange.
I also wanted to share with you some amazing playful outdoor home décor that I see around our neighborhood!
I love fabric and here is a playfully bright quilt that I made with fabrics collected through the years. I just love my antique cloths pins that this quilt is hung on. Can you see the pumpkins that I long arm quilted into the layers!
I enjoy sewing Halloween Trick or Treat Bags for my kids and have lots of extras for their friends too! All of the trick or treat bags are interchangeable and were sometimes made to coordinate with their costume. I had lots of fun taking these photographs!
I Setting up tables with Halloween settings that include bright Halloween fabric table runners. This table runner was so simple to make with basic squares and actually has no batting in it so it is sewn like pillow case and then turned inside and out.
This is our dining table room table decorated! The table runner is simple, just small scraps of fabric squares stitched together and bordered. Halloween decorations are out for such a short time of year so why make something too complicated? Upright in a glass sundae cup are table triple dipped pretzel rods in caramel, chocolate and then green dipping chocolate with an almond slice as a fingernail for a witches finger! My kids and I love making and eating these! The Halloween platter closest to you has double dipped caramel apples! There is nothing like enjoying apples in the fall! What recipes do you enjoy? We have several and one of our favorites is caramel and chocolate dipped apples! This year we dipped the caramel apples in expensive Peter’s Caramel and then grocery store purchased caramels. What a difference the block of caramel from Peter’s made! The melting point was lower so the caramel during the night didn’t slip off the apple like the inexpensive caramels. But to tell you the truth after we dipped both sets of caramel dipped apples and then dipped them in chocolate, we really couldn’t taste much of a difference. Just chill the apples with the dipped caramel before you leave dip them in the chocolate! YUM!
What about right outside your dining room door! Here are some great ideas for outdoor FUN!
How about just decorating your lovely gardens with some Halloween embellishments! It doesn’t take much! These are some old pieces of wood cut and simply painted.
Just add some pumpkins or gourds here or there for some Halloween Glam.
These pumpkins are ready for a masquerade!
Your Halloween yard art can be as simple or complex as your imagination!
Then there is our fireplace mantles, this year I decided to go a bit smaller and simpler. Well my boys and great nieces decorated the house this year. They love when I say to get the orange and black bins from the garage and I love to see where they put everything! That is some kid fun isn’t?
But back to the stitching, I sure had a lot of fun stitching together Rosie the Zombie in Zombie Love Fabric designed by Emily Taylor for Riley Blake Designs. Over three feet tall she it was a blast seeing her come together. There is a tutorial on how to construct Rose the Zombie here.
Halloween is a time for family fun and to bring neighborhoods and communities together! What are some of your favorite Halloween items that bring that playful feel to your family? Remember enjoy the moment and find delight!
The next Halloween items that I am making for my home will include a Immortal Zombie with a bit of Zombie love quilt and table runner! Check out the fabrics that I will be using for this project! My husband is excited to have these items completed! Won’t they be fun! My husband wants it to look ripped up and fun! Any piecing or quilting suggestions?
Now how about a giveaway…
A beautiful thread set from
Aurifil. Go to the Sew Incredibly Crazy to enter the Giveaway!
Its that time of the year welcoming guests into your home for the holidays. Are you starting to get your home ready and planning food? We are and enjoying the process. I have lots of recipes that I would like to share along with simple Fall décor and easy sewing quilting projects to fit in before the holiday comes.
These are very simple table runners that I made just out of scraps of fabric. I used a strip quilting method and how it went together so very fast. I enjoy setting these around during the fall months to bring a bit of Thanksgiving and Fall décor without making too strong of a statement. Here you will see the shorter table runner on my cedar chest. This is a special little spot in the dining room for us to reflect upon those things that we are most grateful for. Making your home ready for Thanksgiving or Fall Festivities doesn’t need to be stressful just lay out some simple items to celebrate the season.
Simple Fall Table Runner
This is our narrow long farm house dining room table, that I made this table runner extra long for. Gathering together just a few items with the table runner is just enough to set the tone. I tend to purchase through the years metal holiday décor and one thing that I really love about it is that it just doesn’t break! I gathered clumps of sunflowers to brighten up the table with a couple acorn salt and pepper shakers and I am certain you probably have a fantastic turkey or holiday platter that rarely comes out of the closet that you can use on a metal easel to make that Fall Thanksgiving mood. When I pieced this table runner together by strip quilting, I just didn’t fuss about what fabric was touching which one and there are a couple of the same fabrics touching each other. I like to not have to spend so much time thinking through something, get a project done and enjoy it! What do you think?
Fall Dining Room Table Decor with Quilted Table Runner
These quilted fall Thanksgiving Pillows are perfect to toss around for your family and guests, especially after eating that turkey dinner! These pillows are so fun to make with just four cream squares in the center, leaves blanket stitched appliqued after a couple borders. What another great way to use scrappy fabrics laying around just begging to be used. I am going to make some more pillows this week with feathers reminding of the First Thanksgiving and the generosity of the Indians! May those pillows remind us to always be accepting of those around us and know that by uniting we have much that we can share and enrich each others lives. The feather pillows will be a full tutorial with downloadable pattern for you.
Toss around some Fall Thanksgiving Quilted Pillows for people to nap with
For anyone that has been entertained at our home they know that I love to make guests feel welcome. One of the things I do is having inviting places for people to sit and visit. Our backyard patio is really an extension of our home with pillows, tablecloths and holiday décor to greet all. We spend lots of time on the back patio entertaining, so I keep the table cloths and decorative table squares always on the tables. The couches and chairs are full of bright pillows to cozy up to and of course there are quilts to wrap up in to stay warm if it is a little breezy. I love pops of color! You will notice that I have used Riley Blake’s home dec fabric to create matching fabric squares and table runners for the tables. I just used a 1 1/2 yards of fabrics for a table square and then just hemmed the edge. They are outside all year long and wash very well! I throw placemats to add color for the different seasons. Easy way to create warmth for you and your guests. The fabric is available in the online store to ship immediately.
Outdoor Patio Fall Table Squares to invite your guests to
I’ll even stitch together a quick table runner for the coffee table of the coordinating Riley Blake Home Dec fabric with a bit of their extra wide ric rac stitched down the center. I just love the yellow fall aspen tree leaves that are falling everywhere.
Riley Blake Home Dec Fabric used for Table Squares and Table Runner
Our family loves to separate our pumpkin seeds from the pumpkin to bake and nibble on. It is a tradition that goes back a long way, that my great nieces and nephews along with my own children look forward too. Notice the fabric I’m planning to use for the feather fall pillow tutorial later this week! I can’t wait!
Fun in the Kitchen with Pumpkin Seeds and cooking up plans for those new quilted pillows!
Now remember that the pumpkins we buy are not just for decoration or pumpkin carving. We always buy small pumpkins that we slice open the top and then microwave until the sides are soft and then use that raw pumpkin for real homemade pumpkin pies. The challenge is worth it along with the full your children and family members will have watching a small pumpkin become a pumpkin pie. I don’t save these pumpkins for Thanksgiving Day but cook these up so the kids can do it with me and marvel at how simple it is to make pumpkin pie! When we make ours this week, I will take lots of pictures and post our recipe with complete instructions online!
Don’t forget to cook up your small pumpkins for pumpkin pie
We have a very wide fireplace mantle. This is just some simple classy decorating of the fireplace mantle. Dried gourds that I have kept through the years, our two small pumpkins for pumpkin pie, sunflowers, metal pumpkin and a cornucopia basket. These are the things that have lasted through the years. After I set it up and thought – I didn’t use any burlap that I have so much of but I think it looks simple and clean. I think I might just use that burlap to create a fresh wreath for the front door that can be versatile from holiday to holiday. I’ll keep you updated. I would love to see all of your fantastic ideas and thoughts. What have you used this holiday season?
Thanksgiving Fall Fireplace Mantle Ideas
One thing our family does enjoy is lighting the fireplace and feeling that cozy feeling. There are lots of quilts folded on the edges of the couches and chairs waiting for people to get comfortable and cozy! Enjoy your family and focus on your blessings this season. Remembering our bounty can take away the feeling that we just don’t have enough!
The Beginnings of a Glammy Grinch Christmas – My husband absolutely loves the story of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I was one that didn’t really relate to that story and focused on other ones. When we play the DVD of the Jim Carrey movie of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, will bring my husband to gravitate to the couch and then invariably start laughing so much that we see his sparkly white teeth. The children just get a kick out of watching my husband do this and they start the movie to just watch the phenomena and start quoting Grinch quotes from memory. I’m adding a link to the book and movie because I actually had someone message me from another country not familiar with the story of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Our two dogs get involved in the movie watching too by barking at poor Max while we watch the movie. Since my husband’s birthday is November 22, the kids and I would always buy my husband Grinch things and we dedicated a corner, then a room and now most of the house to decorating Christmas Grinchy. I now have the dining room for my angel tree and all the nativity displays. Funny isn’t? We do a lot of spiritual things during Christmas but I have to say by embracing the Grinch everyone is certainly having a lot more fun helping me decorate the house (which is good). Each year the family comes up with some more great ideas that we need to execute – including my husband.
I don’t have the BEST Grinchy Christmas decorations PHOTOS but we will be getting our Grinch bins out soon to start getting up to enjoy a long time and share with all of you. I will post regularly on how to make all this stuff yourself with many easy ideas coming soon. I recommend signing up for the Stitches Quilting newsletter so you don’t miss a single post. There will be free downloads, printables, instruction by photograph and video that you just won’t want to miss!
I never understood the message of the Grinch book but now I have a better idea. The message brings in family discussions of character, compassion, sharing, acceptance, respect, positive thinking, increasing love in our life and more. I will not only provide tons of big or small ways to bring a bit a the Grinch into your Christmas traditions.
If you are ever facing a hard Christmas from either a loss or financial distress – then the things I will teach you are easy practical fun things to implement as a family and really embrace the spirit of Christmas in a playful way. We still decorate in a traditional way but use some of our things in a Glammy Grinchy way too.
My husband used to dread the Christmas season with extra financial stress of buying things that we might not need but buy for the sake of holiday gift giving. My husband is a family law attorney and not many people are hiring divorce attorneys in the month of December, so being the conscientious man that he is – he just doesn’t feel passionate about spending when he is feeling the flow pull back. People usually put off the paperwork of filing a divorce until after the holiday season. So with my extra resourceful nature along with my deep belief in repurposing; pulling together a bit of a Grinchy decorated Christmas is practically brilliant.
Here are a few photographs for you to get a hint of what we did last year, I took these photographs just right before we packed everything back up. May they inspire you to do something just a little different this year!
Our 2014 Grinch Christmas Tree. Notice the quilted Grinch Tree Skirt.Our Quilted Grinch Tree Skirt that I long armed quilted Grinch stuffed creatures to it! Tutorial coming later this week.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the ornaments that we are using on our Grinch Christmas tree.
Look at these simple Grinch Christmas Tree OrnamentsLook at these simple Grinch Christmas Tree OrnamentsLook at these simple Grinch Christmas Tree Ornaments
I got a large FREE used artificial Christmas Tree and we will have a post on how to take a traditional looking tree to looking like a Glammy Grinch Tree. Tutorial coming soon!
Now let’s take a peak at what we did to Grinch Glam up our Christmas Fireplace Mantle. Do you notice the green directional lighting? My husband does the green lighting. I never really noticed it until years later when someone was visiting us and asked if that was a green light bulb and I answered, “Well yes it is.”
Let’s Glam Grinch out our Christmas Fireplace Mantle! We even use green directional lighting!
Start looking at your online classified ads in your area to see if people are selling their Grinch décor items really inexpensive. The stuffed Grinch hanging out on the left of the mantle we actually picked up for $10. You never know what you can find.
Here are more details of how we decorated the Glammed out Grinch Fireplace Mantle.
Tulle Grinch Ball at end of mantel. Here are more details of how we decorated the Glammed out Grinch Fireplace Mantle.
Corner of Grinch Mantel. Here are more details of how we decorated the Glammed out Grinch Fireplace Mantle.Grinch Decor Mantle Glittery Sprigs and Peppermint Candy. Here are more details of how we decorated the Glammed out Grinch Fireplace Mantle.Grinch Decor Mantle Glittery Fanned Out Sprigs. Here are more details of how we decorated the Glammed out Grinch Fireplace Mantle.
What ideas do you have? What traditions do you celebrate? Well more Glammy Grinchy Christmas ideas and instructions coming to you, so sign up for the Stitches Quilting Newsletter! We will see you tomorrow – this is only the beginning!
I have officially as of today become an affiliate blogger to point readers to items that they might want to purchase. I do this as a service to you and may be paid for the link but I do not recommend items that I do not have confidence in.
Day 1: People feel just like YOU – We have each other!
Parents of Special Needs Children are some of the strongest people that I know. We are a breed of people that are different from others. We are tired, exhausted and spent being pulled in many directions. There is enormous responsibility because no one is going to take this path with our child.
Disappointments began when we noticed that our child’s growth or development just wasn’t quite right and then more disappointments to follow when least expected.
We celebrate and appreciate moments that parents of typical children may never even notice. We grow in ways that we never imagined, developing abilities beyond our foresight. Being consumed taking care of others, we may not even know who we are anymore.
We may feel nervous asking ourselves are we doing too much, too little, the right thing, or are we focusing on the completely wrong thing? We try not to step on anyone’s toes as we advocate for our children. How do we network to figure out what is right for our child to reach their potential?
We juggle the impossible of raising our child/ren to their fullest potential, accessing resources for their development, their siblings, our spouse and finally ourselves.
I remember when my son was diagnosed with a disorder that would most likely cause significant development and medical issues for him. I was stunned, numb while activated to search everything to learn what I needed to do to help him. How was I stunned, numb and yet activated to a higher level than I have ever been?
During that time in our little family, our life revolved around his diagnosis. Time passed with his disorder became just a part or appendage of our family that was a part of us. Later we got in the rhythm of existing as a family but taking care of the specials needs when needed. Occasionally there would be unexpected hiccups that we hoped wouldn’t impact our son. Naturally we shifted our routine to mobilize but then those hiccups became routine.
Somewhere though I think on this path we tend to lose part of ourselves taking care of critical along with other needs of the family. Larger life ordinary events creep in, we lose a spouse, death of a parent, divorce, remarriage, step-children, more children, etc.. We once again shift our family unit and the needs of our unique family into these unexpected events.
Something happens to us as we drive and push the momentum of caring for so many others that we sometimes stop feeling or at times feel too much. We disappear, become invisible and our needs …. well our needs – we don’t even think about our needs anymore. That is when I have seen us lose something deep within us.
Then we become so strong and caring for a chronic disorder that people don’t come around to help anymore. We are long forgotten and even avoided. When someone asks us how we are doing or how our child or family is, they are being polite but don’t really want to know and truthfully couldn’t even imagine what our world is even like.
We need less strength at time and allow ourselves to soften to feel parts of the world that we don’t even notice passing by us. It is then that we begin to reach out and participate in them again.
I will be writing for the next 31 days in the month of October about strategies that can enable us to avoid chronic dullness or burnout as caregivers of long term disorders.
I’ve been a parent of a special needs child/ren since 1996 and I may have another 50 more years ahead of me. As parents of special needs children, we can relate to each other in ways that our own extended family members can’t possibly understand.
We are all in different stages of this journey. Let’s break those stages down and when a stage might return we can understand what we need. I want to help identify those stages, feelings to empower ourselves with strategies to get through those stages in the healthiest way possible.
I want to learn from all of you too, your comments and shared journey is important. I learn from my experiences and other caregivers I know with special needs children and what strengthens them.
I want you to know that I know you are out there and even though what I may speak of in a particular stage may not be you, I want to learn how you get through it. I have crossed paths with many exhausted caregivers that just didn’t know where their next drop of energy would come from. We spend a couple hours sharing and I think we both go our separate paths strengthened.
I will share the deepest part of my heart with you and I hope that you will feel comfortable sharing parts of yourself. I have been through a lot; have seen a lot and I am certain that you have too. Share your story… share your heart and what has helped you during different parts of your journey. We will all grow together… you can comment below or email me personally at deanna@stitchesquilting.com For this first post please know that there are many of us that feel different but similar things at different times and find comfort that we are not alone.
Let’s start this journey together and identify more strategies for our future. Let’s not just exist but live uniquely as we navigate the windy paths. Each day will have a message and then printables that you can print off and write down how your unique path has carved you and how you have carved out your own journey.
Are You Worried About Your Children? Are you overwhelmed not knowing what the best thing is to do? Or completely bewildered how to raise children in this day in age.
The climate of raising a family has completely changed from raising my 22 year old son to now my 14 year old son. My girlfriends and I are just stunned at how different it is! Need a new way to look at the challenges of raising a family then allow Matt Townsend (Setting Boundaries), Brad Barton (Resilient Kids), Carmen Rasmusen Herbert (Kid’s Self-esteem), Clay Olsen (Effects of Pornography), Lucy Delgadillo (Money Talks) with a Special Musical Guest of Joshua Creek INSPIRE YOU! You will not be disappointed and NEED this Parenting Evening to get you going!
Last Chance to purchase a couple’s date night or individual tickets with dinner for this Saturday, September 19, 2015 for the 2015 Uplift Families Parenting Conference. With Stitches Quilting Coupon $5.00 off Code of Stitches2015 your couple ticket will only be $20.00 and an individual ticket $10.00. Click above to purchase your ticket now before it is sold out!
There will also be resourceful exhibits at the Thanksgiving Point, Show Barn set up for you to obtain additional community information available here in Utah. Don’t miss out! Remember not only can YOU do hard things but YOUR kids can do hard things too! We can raise better children, families and communities together!
Summary of things that would describe this quilter:
Blogger & Owner of Stitches Quilting Online Store – Live in Salt Lake City Utah – Born on a farm but now live in a city – Quilter – DIY – Sewist – Pattern Writer – Surface Pattern Designer – Graphic Design – Special Needs Mom – Proud Handy User of Power and Hand Tools – Hand and Machine Embroidery – Heirloom Maker – Long Armer – Jewelry Maker – Gadget Lover – Technology Lover – (I use every gadget to its fullest potential to not waste money – I like to read the entire manual) – Social Media Networker – Laid 2 stories of my own hardwood floors – Redecorated husband’s law office with DIY Repurposed Stripped Filing Cabinets in Industrial Look – Thrift and Repurpose Lover – Positive – Appreciates Antique, Vintage, Simplistic Items – Bargain Enthusiast – Spiritually Oriented – Survivor – Creative parent – Gentle Spirited – Non Judgmental – Divorced and Happily Remarried for 12 years – Mother – Practical – Enjoy making Household Products and Makeup – Novice Photographer & Videographer – Entrepreneur – Firm Personal Believer in the Quote, “Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.” (Often in this day and age we live a life of such over excess.) – Generous and Love to Share what I have with Others – Always and Endlessly trying to improve myself to be a better person.
My love of sewing started when I was a young girl and I actually made a vest with my grandmother on a non-electric foot treadle sewing machine!
My First Sewing Experience Was on This Manual Machine
As a teen, I loved finding a pattern to make something to wear or a gift for someone else. I always felt a sense of accomplishment after I made something, although I have to admit that sewing my own clothing was disappointing at this age.
I learned about quilting when I was in high school and I know this is mind boggling but my first quilt was a whole cloth hand quilted quilt. I started it in the 1980’s which the shiny fabric and design dates my selection, I found hand quilting relaxing although I have to admit that family members helped me finish it as it was a huge undertaking.
My very first hand whole cloth quilt I started my senior year in high school
My next sewing adventure that I loved was making Halloween costumes for my children. It was something that my girlfriends and I enjoyed doing with our children and my children loved how I could make their imagination come alive with fabric. My children loved the super hero capes and everything else I sewed for them. Just a few years after I had my first child, a good friend, Randi Welch, taught me how to cut fabric and piece it back together again to create a quilt top. I loved it and embraced the craft with precision. The quilting generation at that time taught you to always press your seams to the side with the darker fabric. I lived in Galveston Texas at the time, with no fabric store on the island with my only access to Walmart fabrics and one small darling quilt store that I didn’t feel I could afford the quality quilting fabrics. Not having much of a budget for gifts during my 1st husband’s school and training, I made every gift for each holiday to extended family members. I loved giving gifts that were personal, useful and handmade. We didn’t have much money so I was very frugal with what I made.
Stitches Quilting Brick and Mortar Storefront
I never lived in a place where I had easy access to trendy quilt stores and especially in Yuma, Arizona. I found myself having to travel three hours to Phoenix or San Diego to try to find quality quilting fabrics. Even though there was a quilting store in Yuma, they did not sell Moda fabrics, and I really loved the style of Moda fabrics. After my divorce in 2002, I invested some money into opening a 2,000 square foot brick and mortar quilt store.
I loved my Shoppe and it was a second home to my three young boys. When the fabric started arriving, I was in ecstatic and loved touching and arranging displays. My Shabby Chic Italian themed Shoppe attracted new young quilters along with the snow birds that would travel to Yuma for the winter months. The Shoppe had a large variety of classes available, but was ALWAYS open and room for someone to just plop in with their sewing machine to stitch there and socialize instead of being alone at home. The Shoppe had a beautiful area for children to play that had a custom crafted stucco Italian playhouse as the central feature along with dolls, quilts, tea sets, dress up clothing, legos, TV’s gaming and more.
Custom Stucco Italian Playhouse for Children to play in while their Moms shopped
It was darling because no child ever wanted to leave my Shoppe. After a mother would make her selections, we could see her nervously approach the child to say it was time to leave, and the child always protested. The mom would have to say to the child five or ten more minutes and then nervously walk the Shoppe and visit with others going back to retrieve the still resistant child. People loved to come to the Shoppe although leaving the Shoppe was often difficult. Every month I showcased a local ordinary quilter’s work and displayed all their pieces in the store. The Shoppe evolved monthly with new quilts from designated local quilters of the month let alone the beautiful samples for the fabric, books, pattern and notions being sold.
My Boys and I at Stitches Quilting in Yuma AZ
One of the hardest things I did was close the Shoppe, my youngest child sustained a traumatic brain injury at 11 months of age from riding a horse. He was paralyzed on the right side and had to learn everything over again and I already had one autistic son diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosiss . I knew I needed to focus all my energies to my children and it was costing so much to have other people run the shoppe. I remarried and moved to Utah. I had no idea how much fabric the sweet employees and snow birds had packed up for me after my son’s accident. Unknown to me these boxes traveled with me from Arizona to Utah. After getting my master’s degree 2008 and being the practical person that I am, I decided to re-open the Shoppe online with the boxes of bolts of fabric newly discovered from the store. The fabric sold like hot cakes because by that time the fabric was highly collectible and out of print.
Current Stitches Quilting Shoppe Studio
After selling enough fabric, I saved up to buy a long arm quilting machine. I always wanted one and would only machine quilt my quilts on my domestic machine. I had a friend, Renae Haddadin, at Quilts on the Corner, that encouraged me that I could operate a long arm machine and after admiring them for years, I finally bought one in 2010. I don’t care to long arm for other people but love to long arm for myself and teach others how to long arm quilt tops they would make in my studio.
Innova Long Arm Machine that Renae Haddidan encouraged me to get
I choose the name of “Stitches” for my business in 2002 but after reopening it in 2008, I had to add “Stitches Quilting” to the name in Utah. The name Stitches represented happiness and lightheartedness. I am a glass half full kind of gal, and the one that looks at things through rose-colored glasses. I am one of those positive “Tiggers” that seem to naturally annoy “Eeyores”, although when I sense an “Eeyore” is with me, I am sensitive and naturally limit the positive annoying “Tigger” within me.
Stitches Quilting
One thing that I love about quilting is the connections it brings with other people. Either making a gift by hand or building relationships through spending time to teach someone how to quilt those connections naturally come. I have domestic machines that are always available for people to come over and sew with.
I wouldn’t be able to even count the number of quilts I have made in my lifetime or the number of people I have taught to quilt. I’m apprehensive to just show you quilts I have made, as it isn’t the quilts that I work hard at making but connections with other people and impacting others’ lives through quilting that is important to me. Do you feel the same way about your quilts that each one is a personal journey of growth or meaning with an entire story behind it? An extremely simple quilt of mine may have the most amazing personal impact in my life based on why I was making the quilt and what journey I was on in my life at the time.
A Quilt I made for my Mom before she passed away of ALS Lou Gehrigs
Many people think that they can’t quilt, based off of negative impressions say from their home ec class. Nothing thrills me more than to share my enthusiasm that anyone can do anything they set their mind to. Nothing is as difficult as it ever seems when it is broken down into sizable pieces. Especially for quilting because anyone can embrace it at any level as really it begins with simple sewing of straight lines. I love to teach people and even children that what they have told themselves from past experiences that they can’t do they really can do and are capable of anything if they have the faith and encouragement to try. Were you someone that didn’t think you had a skill set or thought it would be too difficult that made you apprehensive to enjoy quilting or something else in life?
Quilting is also a hobby that is simple or challenging as one wants. Each quilt is uniquely personal by learning new techniques, using different materials, fabrics, threads or expressions of what one loves at the time. That is what I love about quilting is the connections you make with others and that the craft is as easy or challenging as you want it. I now no longer need a pattern to make anything. Someone can just show me a picture or doodle of something and I can personally make it or teach them how to make it. I love the challenge to create my own patterns based off of the fabrics available, project needed and limitations existing. I find that sometimes the limitations we are given is what draws out the most creativity that is within us. Do you feel the same way? What is the simplest quilt you have made and then the most challenging? Do you find your emotional attachments of the quilts you make are based on the complexity of the quilting?
This quilt I made for my youngest son upon his birth. I customized it with his eyes looking at a bumble bee on his nose.
This blog is dedicated to teaching others what I have learned from many years of quilting and “stitching through life”. I fiercely believe that if someone buys fabric from me that I don’t want it to sit somewhere unfinished because they are overwhelmed by the project or just in need of some encouragement. I believe in supporting those that purchase things anywhere so they are used in that the work of our hands can delight the souls of others along with making ourselves feel uplifted and good.
May the Work of Your Hands Delight the Soul
A blogging tip from me at this time of developing my own blog is to make sure your branding is carried through all of your social media. Social media is a free place to draw others to the things we love. Make your email, usernames of all accounts the same along using the same profile picture and banners on every social media platform. Even if you are not comfortable with a certain social media platform and not nearly ready to even use it, save the user name so it is consistent with all your other social media accounts. One can also really polish their social media networking by inserting hyperlinks into the bottom of your email signature including social media icons, a photograph of yourself and logo of your brand. (photo) What blogging tip do you have to share, because I have a lot to learn including that this blog post should be shorter in length?
Another quilt blogging tip is to join our #Quilt Bloggers# Pinterest Group Board where we can pin our blog posts to and then each member of the group will repin each other’s group pins posted to the group Pinterest board. Email me at deanna@stitchesquilting.com to request to join.
For a quilting tip – take care of yourself meticulously now so that you can continue to quilt and share with others you love for a very long time. When I say take care of yourself, live a gentle life of balance, keeping in mind that a healthy physical, emotional and spiritual well-being will give you more time to quilt and create giving you extended years of health. I also believe in making your craft a family social affair to spend time together. What life or health things do you think can extend your ability to quilt a long and healthy life. My children always played right with me as I created things sometimes with them joining in to help and sweet gentle boundaries were always set to not touch the rotary cutter etc.
My son Nick helped me select every fabric for this quilt. Watched me stitch it together as he played along side me for his lizard decorated themed room.
A quilting tip is to always have your sewing machine out or fabrics to cut. I reward myself with a bit of stitching after getting a ton of required demands of life done. But even that 15 minutes I may have been able to stitch something and admire the block or item gives me much pleasure. If you always have a small area available it is amazing what time can be carved out of a day while you wait for noodles to boil for dinner or whatever it might be. So have your machine or hand sewing project easily accessible. What do you think helps you make progress on your projects?
A quilting tip is that hard and fast rules of quilting may change through the years as access to quality quilting materials, techniques, technology and sciences evolve. (ex. the standard is now to press your seams open because thread and fabrics are of a very different strength) Summing it up don’t be so rigid on yourself. What quilting technique have you seen change through the years?
A great long arm quilting technique is to use Renae Haddadin’s “Red Snappers” to attach your backing and quilt to the leaders by just snapping away instead of pinning or sewing zipper leaders to your quilt top and backing. It saves a TON of time! Are you not amazed by the things that can still be invented in this quilting industry that has been around for centuries? Below is a video of Renae explaining how to use these “Red Snappers”! What an invention!
My dream is to make a complete cathedral quilt and have that quilt be on my bed in my later years when I can no longer quilt and pass on to another season and phase of life. But before then I plan on sharing what I have learned in my younger years with anyone that would like to join me on the journey and share their experiences with quilting and life. Attached is the picture of the cathedral window quilt that I have kept posted on my daydreaming board next to my sewing machine for years. What ultimate quilt do you day dream of making? What other life experiences have you learned from embracing the art of quilting?
Please comment below, I love to interact with people and hear the thoughts that you have. I certainly don’t just want to ramble but look forward to having a dialogue with all of you and learn the thoughts you have about quilting. I hope this article helps you learn more about me as the store owner of Stitches Quilting and author of “Stitching through Life” Blog.
I was challenged to write this blog post as a member of the 2015 New Quilt Bloggers Group. This is week 4 of the group and there are many other wonderful Quilt Bloggers that are a part of the group that you would enjoy reading about them and their blogs. There are also several valuable Giveaways that you can enter that are being used to promote this group of Bloggers. I can’t possibly thank enough the four group leaders that have inspired all of us to collaborate as a group and optimize our skills.
My personal group leader is Terri Ann with Childlike Fascination and my group is called the Sewcial Swarm
Welcome to the final week of the 2015 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop! I’m so happy and thankful that you’ve all been here to follow along and check out all these new quilt bloggers along with us. Today I am excited to introduce you additional members of the Sewcial Swarm Hive that are posting in week 4:
I invite you to click and visit their blogs, and leave them a friendly comment to say hi. Bloggers appreciate comments so much; so many of us don’t have friends to sew with and connect to the quilting world virtually. Comments make the online quilting world go ’round!
I always drooled over I SPY quilts and waited forever to make one for our family! I waited and waited because I just didn’t think that I had enough pieces of fabric to make the quilt! I didn’t want the quilt to familiar like it had pieces of every single other quilt I had made in it. Which I actually think now is a charming idea because my children can look at pieces of the I SPY fabric and actually remember other quilts made with the same fabric. Well it took me a long time to collect enough novelty pieces for the I SPY quilt that I was day dreaming to make. I did eventually get this quilt off my quilting day dreaming bucket list!
I stuffed all the obscure novelty prints in a squished plastic shoe box and often I would pull the pieces out to count them and see if I was close to collecting enough pieces that could work for the quilt. Disappointed after counting, I would shove those pieces back into their plastic bin determined to keep collecting! But one day I went through the count and holy cow I finally thought I had enough of a diverse variety to start the process of making the quilt.
I SPY Basket of Swap Fabric
I was so excited and my biggest admirer of my quilts was my darling son, Nick, so I immediately showed him that I had enough pieces. I so vividly remember Nick and I, sitting cramped against my sewing room wall examining and counting each piece. The pieces stuffed in that plastic box for years were now crumpled up odd pieces of fabric! They were really crumpled! I quickly grabbed a cutting board with rotary cutter and placed it on the floor next to us along with an iron and tiny ironing pad to start it right away. My son, in fourth grade at the time, and I sat so awkwardly against the wall with him just as excited about the project as me. We had bought so many I SPY books through the years and loved reading those. Maybe these I SPY quilts remind of my days as a child sitting in the doctor’s office going through Highlights magazines searching the hidden pictures! I guess I figured this quilt could be something like a permanent huge Highlight magazine hidden picture. No one in those days other than family practice offices had those Highlight magazines back then.
Well my sweet Nick would iron each of the crumpled ODD shaped fabrics and I was sitting on Nick’s left side fussy cutting away these pieces to work with the pattern I had in mind! It was a big task ahead of us and I have no idea why we didn’t do this process on a table. I know my back starting hurting crunched over to make these perfect cuts. Sweet Nick would iron each one and hand it to me and I would cut away. With excitement we examined each piece of fabric together to decide which image would be fussy cut and then BAM I felt this HOT searing feeling on my arm. Nick and I were sitting so close together watching what each other was doing that when handing me another pressed piece of fabric the iron hit my arm and I had one heck of a burn! Nick felt so bad but we just kept working away. I had a scar from that iron burn for the longest time but it represented a sweet memories of the two of us finally accomplishing something we daydreamed about.
I have no idea why I made the quilt in the pattern I did with all those hexagons! Being thrilled to finally have the resources to make this quilt, I got it put together quickly! Through the years, our family has cherished the quilt with the memories of playing I SPY and interacting with each other. I can only imagine the years and years of fun we will continue to have with this quilt with grandchildren and more! What an heirloom! I embroidered all around the border of the quilt different things to search for to start the challenge and interaction.
I SPY Embroidery of Items to Search For Completely Around Perimeter of Black Border
I have found some fabulous ideas for different I SPY quilt patterns! You may already have a pattern in mind. I have a Pinterest I SPY Quilt Board and would love if you pinned ideas or post them with #ISPYQUILT and I will find them! I will summarize my favorites in a blog.
At Stitches Quilting when I had a store front, we always had a basket that people could trade novelty square pieces of fabric for the pieces in the basket. It was fun and I still have that same basket today! You can mail me some of your extra novelty fabrics and I will mail you back the same number of pieces from the basket. Let’s keep that I SPY basket of fun swapping away. Click the following link to see 20 piece – 5 inch I SPY charm packs and 10 inch layer cakes for sale in the Stitches Quilting Shoppe! Let us know if you would like some! Many of the prints in the basket are out of print and no longer available so you will be getting a very unique collection and of course if you have a particular interest in girl, boy, fish, holiday etc. prints just let me KNOW!
Share the quilts that you waited and waited to get just those perfect fabrics that took forever and then you finally had it perfectly right to then assemble! What fabrics did you stash away for that perfect quilt? Post photos on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #quiltybucketlist #quiltfabricstashaway or #stichesquilting to share with each other what you are daydreaming about or have accomplished! I can’t wait to see your things and read your comments! Where you ever quilting with a family member or friend that developed into a first aid experience and memories? Tell us your stories!
What could be better than reading to a child wrapped in a kid friendly quilt? Reading couldn’t be more important to instill in our children; so making reading warm, friendly, and cozy in a kid friendly quilt just couldn’t be more ideal! They feel your love and warmth as you read to your children or grandchildren wrapped up in a quilt together. Not only can the quilt be used to cover eyes with anticipation, but the reading draws you and your child closer together. There are so many fantastic books to read! There is reading to babies, toddlers, grade school children, middle school and even high school teens. Maybe by that time we will need two quilts, one for us and one for the teen! The books to choose from are just endless in each of these age ranges. Each of our children have had their favorites and for Christmas one year we purchased a copy of their favorite childhood book, signed the front of the book with memories of reading the book with the child and how the book ties into the beauty of their individuality. What a great way to make your children feel loved and important to you than setting aside the time to read with them and enter their world with books that interest them.
Another way to help a child feel loved and appreciated is to make them a child friendly quilt to read those books in! TIP 1: Fancy quilts are not necessary; they will appreciate anything! TIP 2: A great way to learn how to quilt is to make a quilt for a child. That is one of the ways that I learned how to quilt was to quilt for my children along for my nieces and nephews. I love to do the quilting of the quilt with them right along side me. No surprises because I want them to see the way steps to build a quilt and constructed.
TIP 3: A child loves to watch a loved one make something extra special for them. Children playing along aside you as you piece the quilt top together is ideal. They can help in whatever way they can. My children loved to see me make a quilt for them. TIP 4: My children loved to help with picking out fabrics, designing a pattern, cutting pieces, ironing and sometimes piecing bits of the quilt together with guidance. All the children that I have done this with have enjoyed every aspect of the project, although when they tire of things and get distracted with other items, that gives me the time to get some real work in. TIP 5: Sometimes I involve them in the initial process and then as I build the quilt together, I continually show them it as it grows into what you designed together. They are just marveled…. marveled that you would do something like that for them and feel loved as you do it.
TIP 6: Now we don’t want to make the quilt too difficult and keep the pattern simple so the process goes quickly and it gets finished never becoming a UFO. TIP 7: The other reason we want to keep things simple is we want to get to the reading part of snuggling up with that child and read a book! We daydream that possibly this quilt will be the quilt that they drag everywhere feeling that safe loved feeling when they are sick, traveling, or creating good memories with. TIP 8: Do we really need to hand stitch the binding? No, we don’t because if one of those hand stitches get worn out with use, then that binding is going to start to unravel. Can’t you just picture those cute little fingers irresistibly fingering a worn spot with the binding not attached to the back and the batting now showing! Do we really want unraveling quilts?
TIP 9: Some tips with piecing the quilt…. too many things to come apart and become vulnerable with time. Kids appreciate the memories that these quilts bring and treasure them so keep it simple so they stay intact. TIP 10: Thinking of hand quilting that project? No, resist the urge, the quilt is small but once again we really dream of them wanting this quilt when they are sick and washed properly without jeopardizing the construction of it. TIP 11: So use this opportunity to try a new machine piecing, machine binding, or machine quilting technique that we have been curious to try. AND for goodness sake…. please let’s just domestic machine quilt the quilt.
TIP 12: Don’t send the quilt to a long armer for months waiting for completion. TIP 13: I promise you can quilt a child’s quilt. Easy peesy and you will love it too – so lower those feed dogs on your domestic sewing machine. Quilting three layers together is NOT difficult – I will teach you just how to do it. TIP 14: Now we have to resist the urge to fuss over perfection, remember ladies we are NOT submitting this to a quilt show or entering it into the county fair. This quilt is for the beloved child in your life and you know what…. I bet if you are a great lady then there are probably lots of beloved children you have around you that you want to give a quilt of literacy to.
TIP 15: So let’s keep everything simple because the point of these quilts is to make those kids feel loved and to read to these kids we adore! You need time and money to run to get a book that you will to read to this child with this quilt. TIP 16: Don’t fuss over quilting details because you really want to sign the front of the book with a personal message that the child can read emphasising how important reading and the child is to you. Below you can see my 21-year-old son’s favorite book was Good Night Gorilla, and you can see the message I wrote for him in the images. I not only tell him that I love him, that reading is important but I also share why I think that book was so important to him because he had the same mischievous snuggly spirit as the Gorilla in the book, wanting everyone included and part of the party! TIP 17: An extremely shocking tip for you, please hand print the message in the front of the book instead of cursive. Kids are no longer learn how to read cursive in schools…. yes one of those lovely cut backs. It’s okay…. just be aware of it so that your adorable child will eventually read the book and your message too.
TIP 18: As you work on the quilt, think of things to jot down for front of the book that is unique to the child and your love of reading – Post It notes are handy in my sewing station for this.
TIP 19: Now picking out the fabric…. find out what the child’s favorite colors are…. dive into your stash… I know you have those colors in there somewhere. TIP 20: You probably don’t need to spend any money whatsoever. TIP 21: If you are new to quilting, be sure to go to a quilt shoppe or visit an online quilt shoppe to purchase fabrics. The fabric dyes are stable and the fabrics shrink together. TIP 22: Have a special fabric that is a family heirloom then incorporate it into the quilt! I promise… you don’t need to follow a pattern. TIP 23: Design your own and sweet ladies out there quilting is just about math and it is simple math – you can do it. I have an entire series of videos that I plan to create to help you through every ounce of this process and then I’ll be learning from you. I LOVE to learn from other quilters! They are the best ladies in the world – gentle spirits, always willing to share. TIP 24: I know this is controversial… but you do not HAVE to pre-wash your fabrics! I don’t saving loads of time with every single one of the quilts in these pictures never pre-washed. Guess what? That is more time reading than washing and then ironing those fabrics. Let the fabric, batting and everything else shrink together after you complete the quilt. TIP 25: You do not need to wash the quilt prior to giving it as a gift. I never have and guess what… every quilt that I gifted was loved and then washed many time. That saves you more time and I like the way the sizing in the fabric feels.
TIP 26: Now what could be a family heirloom – grandpa’s ties or handkerchiefs. There are so many items in your home to cut up and put into a quilt making your gift even more special than you ever dreamed. Remember when you were newly married or a new mom and you just had to get creative. TIP 27: Pull yourself back to that creative place and pull out things that you would like to see become an heirloom within an heirloom.
Attached are pictures of many quilts that I have made for my children and the books I LOVED to read to them. TIP 28: Notice the quilts are simple – I made them fast and I wasn’t worried about them being perfect. TIP 29: The purpose of the quilt was to get it in the hands of the child I loved.
TIP 30: I think my children, my nieces and nephews sincerely felt valued when I made a quilt for them. I’ve made quilts for the friends of my children to comfort during difficult times they faced for instance, a parent passing away to cancer in 6th grade to have something special representing memories. TIP 31: Giving a quilt is more than giving a gift of love it is giving part of yourself to that child permanently.
May we all celebrate the opportunity to quilt for loved ones or just special kids out there that need a little extra love. TIP 32: Let’s combine those quilts with a book to read because quilting truly can increase literacy. Right now I am enjoying curling up at night reading Jonathon Living Seagull by Richard Bach with my 13-year-old son. TIP 33: Not all children are natural readers but as life changes and my 21-year-old son is a now a ferocious reader and even though he isn’t living in my house, I know my quilts are with him in his apartment at college and that dreamer of a son of mine is curled up in the quilts I sent with him to college reading those books. The reason I know is that I’ve seen him time after time reading in his room with several quilts propping him up and covering him to make him comfortable in his reading positions. TIP 34: Make the quilt kid size friendly. It doesn’t need to be a crib size or a twin size….. there are other sizes… you just make it up! I like to think the size of the quilt is a Reading size…. something they will drag around the house with them. That size to me is maybe around 40 to 50 inches wide by 60 to 70 inches in length. Just wing it – you don’t have to be precise! TIP 35: Remember after you give the gift, you can always read to your children or grandchild via FaceTime or Skype. Learn how to use the technology that is available so that reading becomes a past time that goes away. We can still read to our loved ones even if they are far away!
May we enjoy the process of creating quilts and sharing our quilts with loved ones. May our quilts support our families as they grow up and then as our children launch in life knowing we did our very best at balancing being a good mother and parent to them with all the needs of life. Most of all…. my motto… may the work of your hands in every way delight the souls of others to help them grow the ways they need to. More than anything kids in the world need to feel loved and accepted – the kids in the world today face more than you can ever imagine. I’m dedicating this blog to affirming that the quilts we make for our loved ones make a difference and they really can improve literacy when we let them know how important the individual is to us along with how important reading is to us too. Let’s not allow reading to become a pastime with all the distractions of the world but use our cozy quilts to actually read with our loved ones and increase the self-worth of those we love.
Please share what are some of your most cherished books or quilts that you want or have shared with you loved ones! Let me know if you want a pattern or some fabrics for the quilts above. I can do any tutorials for you on my YouTube channel of making any of these quilts or a particular skill you want to build. Just let me know and I can’t wait to hear from all of you! Please I am very respectful to all quilters and their desire to pre-wash fabrics or wash quilts prior to giving them away. We all have different styles and please don’t let any of my time-saving tactics turn you off from quilting with literacy. It is always up to you to decide your style of quilting. I’ve always been a busy mom with kids everywhere and very often quilt for my love of others and to relax and unfortunately at the time of life with many demands and have to get to the hands on of parenting. So many seasons of life and we must enjoy each and every one of them!
Well….. Here are two more fabric collection ideas for Mother’s Day! We have Michael Millers Vintage Mom! Isn’t this fabric just the very best? One of a kind and now out of print. Purchase now while stock is still available.
Another playful collection for the cooks in all of us, is the Domestic Diva collection by Emily Taylor for Riley Blake Designs.
These fabrics would make great aprons, fabric boxes to store kitchen items in, quilts, hot pads, curtains and more! Exciting things to daydream about for yourself and loved ones….. Fabrics available on www.stitchesquilting.com
Below is a reversible apron that I made with some girlfriends. I made one for myself and my girlfriend made four to give as gifts. This apron would look great with any combination of the coordinates. I also trimmed the apron with Riley Blake’s 1/4 inch Velvet Brown Ric Rac! Doesn’t the apron look just delicious! The velvet RicRac is in stock and available online!
I am just itching to spend some time sewing and quilting in the quilt studio. I am resisting though as the kids are home for the weekend and it is time for an outdoor adventure downtown Salt Lake City.
Don’t forget my last weeks blog about more Mother’s Day Quilting Fabric Ideas and Gifts. Below are just a few of the photos….
Happy Stitching!
Deanna
Please let me know of ideas you have for these fabrics and for honoring mom or women important to you for Mother’s Day! Can’t wait to hear from all of YOU! Hash tag #stitchesquilting to show me some delightful photos of things you are making! Free Give Away coming soon!
Mother’s Day is a special day of the year to honor mothers and women important to you that have played a critical role in your life. It is an unique time to let all those special people out there know just how really important and valued they are. I love nothing more to receive homemade, handmade or personalized gifts or share ideas for Mothers Day gifts. For gift giving, I just love to make something personal for those I am trying to honor. Now I can only number on maybe two hands the handmade gifts given to me, but those gifts are certainly the gifts I cherish those above and beyond anything else.
At Stitches Quilting, we have some unique fabrics for you to use to honor those mother’s, grandmother’s and daughters our there everywhere. First we have these out of print toile fabrics from the collection “Watch Over Me” designed by J Roche & C Kramer for Chanteclaire fabric pattern 322 color navy blue 1 color red 7. The toile scene features a vintage mother and child carefully walking along with a beautiful angel watching over them from above. I love this fabric because as we are watching over our loved ones there are others watching over all of us. We are never alone. This fabric comes in the hue of a red wine type color and a navy blue. Below you can see a pillow sham that I created out of the Navy Blue “Watch Over Me” and a table runner made out of the Red Wine “Watch Over Me”. I have seen beautiful quilts made from these fabrics. You would want to design the quilt so that it had large blocks to feature the scenes depicted in the toile fabric. It would be simple to create a very quick quilt from these fabrics as you would want to accent the fabric and allow the toile scene to be the feature. There are many shades of reds and wines along with navy blue fabrics to coordinate with these toiles.
At Stitches quilting, we have another unique set of coordinates designed by Nicole de Leon actually called Mother’s Day Bouquet manufactured by Alexander Henry. The main piece titled “Mother’s Day” features mothers with their children in various settings with bright colors and flowers for Mother’s Day. I have never seen a piece of quilting fabric like this. The coordinating fabric is a gorgeous bouet of brightly colored flowers. These fabrics could be used to create a beautiful quilt honoring the generations of motherhood. It would be easy to combine a contrasting black, white or other brightly colored fabrics to feature these coordinates. This fabric is a 100% cotton high quality quilting fabric by a the well renowned manufacturer of Alexander Henry. Another excellent gift to make from these fabrics would be a diaper bag, tote, zipper pouches, bibs, burp pads, diaper changing mat, quilt for mother or quilt for a brand new mother to celebrate. A.H. Prints 15146 D12 and 15147 D Made in Japan
Below are just a few ideas of items I have already made with these fabrics. The King Sized Pillow Sham is cross hatched quilted on the front of it with a scalloped edge. The table runner is diagonally quilted with four lines of extra quilting around the scalloped edges. Both of these items were machine quilted on my domestic machine. Included in the pictures is a photo of my mother, Deanna, that passed away from Lou Gehrig’s Disease in 2005. If you would like to subscribe to the blog, I will send you the pattern for the King Sized Pillow Sham and Table Runner. I will also publish this week a video tutorial to learn how to machine quilt a cross hatched scalloped pillow sham on your domestic sewing machine. It is extremely simple and easy to do.
Items to create with these fabric collections are really up to you and your imagination and how you want to celebrate the mothers and those women around you!
Please comment about this post with additional ideas that you have to celebrate the women around you this special time of year. What are your traditions in your family to honor those lovely women that sacrifice so much on your behalf? I would love to hear your ideas of items that you have made in the past, received in the past or other acts of service or traditions that you do to celebrate those you love. Send me photos of items or ideas that you have made either with these featured fabrics or with other fabrics you already have collected and used and also indicate if you would like to give me permission to publish them on the website to share with others.
Setting up tables with Halloween settings that include bright Halloween fabric table runners. This table runner was so simple to make with basic squares and actually has no batting in it so it is sewn like pillow case and then turned inside and out.
How about just decorating your lovely gardens with some Halloween embellishments! It doesn’t take much! These are some old pieces of wood cut and simply painted.
Your Halloween yard art can be as simple or complex as your imagination!
Halloween is a time for family fun and to bring neighborhoods and communities together! What are some of your favorite Halloween items that bring that playful feel to your family? Remember enjoy the moment and find delight!
Yvonne
Cheryl
Stephanie
Terri Ann
