October Scrappy Project

I love making pot holders from scraps. It doesn't take much fabric and they make such wonderful gifts. We're coming into that time of year when we're always thinking, "what should I get for a hostess gift or co-worker, neighbor, hair stylist, teacher, dog groomer :) ", the list goes on and on!

Here's a fun way to make a great set of matching pot holders. For this tutorial, I'm using a super basic sketch of a pear, but I also like to make these by tracing around a cute cookie cutter. Then I can give them as a gift with the matching cookie cutter.

Back with a vengance....and a great tutorial!

Hello SassyFans!

I am so thrilled to be back and blogging here on our SassyBlog - it has been a long hiatus! In fact, I imagine most of you don't even know me. I am the other half of the SassyPacks team - the daughter, the beginning quilter, the one who spends nearly all her time in our quilt studio saying "that seems too hard."  :)

I haven't been blogging here for the past year or so as I have been on sort of a personal journey - and a literal one, I suppose! I recently had the privilege of spending about 8 months living in Nicaragua, helping to open a clinic for women and children. While I got to take a little quilting with me, I just didn't have much time to blog here, so I am thrilled to be back in the US, where I can quilt and design and blog at will.

When I left for Nicaragua (if you want to see what I was up to, check out Clinica Verde), I basically ditched my old life - sold nearly everything and made a clean break.  Now that I am back, I am resettling into a more familiar life, and once again setting up a living space.  When I was pitching the remnants of my old life, the first - and I do mean FIRST - things to go were the cluttery things....knick-knacks, decorative items, candles, dust collectors, all of them.  Turns out, now that I am back, I am left with a home full of functional furniture and zero personality.  Thus springs the inspiration for today's tutorial - using your beautiful fabrics as wall hangings.

Scrappy Fall Colors - A Wall Hanging

This month's scrappy project started out as a lap quilt, but I liked the look so much I thought it would make a better wall hanging.

It's a bit of a departure from our usual quick scrappy projects. Although it's an easy pattern, there are quite a few smaller pieces and an accurate 1/4" seam allowance is important.

Scrappy Fall Wall Hanging

Yikes! The end of the month again, and we are just finally getting our next Scrappy Quilt-A-Long Project up! Well, the good news is this project comes together super fast -- in just a few hours, as a matter of fact :)

This simple wall hanging is a perfect example of using a few bold, modern fabrics to make something seemingly traditional – like subtle cream-on-cream prints – look so fresh and fun.  The bright leaves seem to dance across a brick wall, blowing in a crisp fall breeze.  What a great way to use up a few miscellaneous scraps that just don’t seem to fit with anything else!

Finished size:    28 ½” x 18 ½”

What You’ll Need:

• Assortment of creams and off-whites
• 6-8 different bold, bright scraps (florals, geometrics, etc.) - depending on how many leaves you want
• Fusible appliqué paper
• Brown fabric for backing and binding (or piece various dark scraps together to create a one-of-a-kind backing or binding) 

A Scrap Quickie!

I'm little embarrassed to admit that I've never made a disappearing 9-patch quilt before. To be honest, the block never really appealed much to me. But I made a small D9P for our July scrap-busting project and I have to say, it was a fun, fun quilt to make! I'm now a big fan of this block.

This 39-1/2" X 39-1/2" kid sized quilt was super fast to put together. You could make it this size for a quick shower gift or a great table topper, or add more blocks and make a lap or bed quilt. The blocks finish at 13" and we used only 9 blocks for this one.

Not so much "scrappy", but . . .

I've really fallen behind on my scrap busting commitment. As June comes to an end, I haven't even started this month's project. In fact, I haven't done any quilting this month except for one project. Even though it's not a true scrap buster, I think there may still be a couple of people who are interested in this. So I'd like to share what I did.

12 X 12 - Charm Scraps

This month's scrap buster project is really quick and easy, but I think you'll love it. And it's just in time to make a last minute Mother's Day gift!

Prairie Points

Now that we have a completed quilt top, we're ready to finish! Layer the quilt top with the batting and backing. Pin, spray or baste as you normally do, except do not include the border in the pinning/basting process. (If you have a border wider than 3 or 4 inches, you may want to quilt part of it. Just be sure to leave the outer 2 - 3 inches unquilted.) Now quilt as desired - I did a simple free-motion meander stitch. Do not quilt the border (or outer 3 inches) yet.

Then square up your quilt and trim all three layers even with the top layer.

Next, flip the quilt over and pin the unquilted part of the backing away from the edges The batting stays with the quilt top:

Set the quilt aside while we prepare the Prairie Points. Use the (80) 4" squares cut from the focus fabric and scraps to make the Points. Begin by folding a square in half, wrong sides together, diagonally; press. Fold in half diagonally again and press:

Once all the Prairie Points are pressed, begin laying them along one edge of the quilt, starting in one corner and matching the raw edges. Lay them out randomly, but keep in mind you have a lot more focus fabric points than any other so use them often.

Prairie Points overlap each other. One side of the folds is closed and one is open. The open side in my picture is the side on the left. The next point will be inserted in between the folds on the open side:

Lay 23 points along the long sides of the quilt and 17 along the short sides, spacing them evenly (you can just eyeball it!). Insert each point in between the folds of the one to its right like the picture above.

When you turn the corner, they just butt up against each other, as shown below:

Once you have one side evenly spaced and the points all properly laid out, pin each one to hold it. Now you can continue on with the remaining 3 sides or stitch the pinned side first. Stitch 1/4" from the raw edges, making sure you catch all layers except the backing fabric.

   Note: if you are making a boy's quilt, the Prairie Points are often left pointing toward the center like this and a binding is added to finish the edge.

Take the quilt to your ironing board and flip the points toward the outside, turning the raw edges under as you do. Press them well all the way around:

Unpin the backing and press fabric smooth. Now we just need to turn under a quarter inch and hand-stitch the backing to the Prairie Points, covering up the seam:

You may have to use a couple of extra pins and kind of work the corners to get them square. Just keep smoothing the fabrics and making sure you're not pulling one side too tight. Once you've hand-stitched the backing in place, you can go back and quilt the border. And it's done!

Please consider posting a picture of your finished Scrappy Rails to our Facebook page!

12 X 12 - Scrappy Pet Bed

I started this scrappy project as a way to use little "garbage" scraps. Pieces that are too small to use - like the skinny strips you trim off a block to square it up;  or a big pile of thread scraps. For more about this project or any of our 12 scrappy projects in 2012, click here.

The how-to for the liner can be found here. Once the liner is full, you'll need a nice scrappy, quilted cover for it.

Faux Piano Key Border

Here's a great use for wide-striped fabrics. I chose the center fabric of this little table topper because I wanted to free motion quilt around the flowers. (I don't like to practice on a scrap that I'm just going to throw away - so I make small things and practice that way.) Anyway, this seemed like the perfect, super-quick border for this mini quilt!

Chocolate Sampler! Fabric Giveaway! Yum!

Ok, so not that kind of chocolate sampler! I'm referring to my version of the Christmas Sampler being designed by Melissa of SewBitterSweetDesigns! Her blocks are so irresistible that, if you look, you'll want to quilt along. That's what happened to me - it was never a question of whether or not I wanted to make this quilt . . . only which fabrics to use. My favorite Christmas fabric in the store right now is Santa's Chocolate Shoppe. And the quilt is a "sampler" . . . so . . . well . . . you get it.

Baby Gift Set

Look at all the baby stuff you can make with just 2 fat quarters and a half yard of double-sided terry cloth!

The internet is full of great tutorials on making baby items. So we realize we're not showing you something you haven't already seen. And we certainly think these items are adorable, but the primary purpose here is showing you how to get the most for your money. How can you beat 9 - yes nine! - items for such a small amount?

Flower Garden Strip Quilt

Here's a quick and easy idea for using some of those beautiful large panels that have several coordinating fabrics like these from Free Spirit Fabrics.

We made a simple strip quilt with the panel centered. Here's how:

Mug Rug Inspiration

I love these little mugs rugs - I could have dozens for summer! Our patio table has a sort of faux rock top on it and when I set a glass down, it feels rough. These are so much more convenient than a big place mat and unlike a napkin, they don't blow away when I pick my glass up!

These fun and easy mug rugs were inspired by the fabulous Mod Mosaic Floor Pillow designed by super-talented Elizabeth Hartman ("Oh, Fransson!" in the blog world). We made ours approximately 7-1/2" X 9-1/2", but of course you can make yours any size you like!

For how-to details, click here to go to Elizabeth's tutorial:
http://www.ohfransson.com/files/mod-mosaic-floor-pillow.pdf

And follow our blog for lots more Mug Rug inspiration this summer!

STYLIN' DOGGIE LEASH

I'm forever leaving Tucker's leash in the wrong car or at home! I usually realize this when we get to the dog park and I start searching the floor in the back of the Jeep.

Sweetie Feeties ! ! !

It's summertime and everyone's hot and a little bit sweaty! And it seems our shoes get the worst of it . . . ew! So here's a super quick solution! These little shoe inserts are filled with kitty litter which helps absorb moisture and odors. Stick them in your shoes as soon as you remove them to help minimize some of the ickiness!

Quick Mug Rug for Dad!

  

Need a really quick gift for Father's Day? How about a super-simple, masculine mug rug for his coffee and snack? This generous-sized mug rug is roomy enough for the larger snacks that Dad likes!

Delectable Mountains Tutorial

Delectable Mountains Quilt

Made "Wild" with Ricky Tims'

Oodles of Doodles fabric!
Finished size approximately 48" X 60".

It's tutorial time! This project is a stunning quilt that you can customize to make it your own. We can't wait to see your projects (share 'em on Facebook) and, as always - post any questions in the comments. We're here to help! 

Materials:

   2 yards Ricky Tims Oodles of Doodles

   1/2 yard each of 5 different solids to coordinate

Purchase a kit for this project!

PILLOW CASES FOR SHEETS

These great little pillow cases are actually storage cases for sheet sets. The beauty of them is you don't have to fold those pesky bottom sheets perfectly to have a beautiful looking linen closet! Make as many as you have sheet sets for - all in the same size. Then fold your sheets to fits the case and stack them with the size facing you. Perfect!!

Use fabrics you already have or order a SassyPack -- our kit comes with enough fabric to make 3 cases (including the dotted fabric and a piece of steam-a-seam for the letters) at an organizational-friendly price!

 Here's what you need to make one:               

   - 16 X 34 piece of white fabric (body)
   - 8 X 34 piece of white fabric (cuff)               
   - 2 X 34 piece of contrasting fabric (band)
   - enough contrasting fabric to cut letters for king, queen, full, or twin
   - piece of steam-a-seam (or other fusible) for letters



For letters, use the free download from our website or make your own by enlarging the letters on your word processor and printing them in outline form.

Class Is In!

Happy New Year, everyone! 

Is your New Year's resolution to quilt more?? Hey, me too!

So let's start the year off right with a super-easy tutorial. Our friend April over at PolkadotSparrow (read her - she's very funny) put together this fabulous Nine-Patch tutorial, using the oh-so-popular Riley Blake Rainy Days and Monday's fabric line.

Isn't this adorable?

The tutorial a great way to learn the basics, with step-by-step instructions and photos...and even if you've nine-patched yourself silly, you may pick up a trick or two here!

Get the full tutorial here: Nine-Patch Tutorial

Let us know what you think, in the comments. Did you like this project? Want to see more tutorials? Have an idea yourself? Share away!