Good Clean Fun
Here it is! The place to find scintillating odds and ends (a.k.a. quilting tips, free project patterns, and my favorite sewing tools and notions), yummy bits and pieces (recipes that I love to make when I'm home long enough to cook!), and all of the other assorted little goodies that just don't seem to fit anywhere else.....basically, good clean fun.
As flashes of inspiration and tiny little light bulb moments strike me, this page will continue to grow, so please check back from time to time and we'll learn new things together.
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I'd like to share a quick and easy mini quilt project called "Candy Dish". This sweet little quilt can be pieced in a jiffy, and it's a perfect project for using up left over bits and pieces of your favorite prints. Raid your scrap basket, spend a little time stitching, and enjoy some (almost) instant gratification! Click on the quilt name for free project directions.
Here is a completely adorable little holiday project that you can whip up in no time! This Quilted Holiday Hanger is so fun and fast to make, why stop at stitching one just for yourself? Tuck them into your holiday gift bags along with a batch of your favorite Christmas cookies, and you may very well find that you're the most popular neighbor on the block! Click here for complete project instructions.
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Are you wishing that you had some beautiful and FREE wallpaper designs for your desktop? Well, wish no more! Martingale & Company has a FREE downloadable collection of summertime scenes and quilts (including a design from my Simple Seasons book) just for you! Did I mention that they're FREE?
Click here to "prettify" your computer.
Wow! It seems that people have enjoyed "prettifying" their computer screens so much with FREE wallpaper designs, Martingale & Company is offering a second FREE downloadable collection of applique designs, and they've included my Old-Fashioned Hospitality quilt in the mix.
Click here to jump on this, people!
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Do you find yourself sitting down at your sewing machine and wishing you had better lighting as you tackle your patchwork? Well, look what I've discovered! This awesome little lighting strip is designed to attach to the arm of your sewing machine directly above your stitching area, uses 3M technology for quick and easy installation, requires minimal electricity and is low wattage, and best of all...you'll no longer be in the dark!
Click the link to learn more about this neat little gadget. www.ecoluxlighting.com
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Are you twiddling your thumbs and considering doing some laundry or cleaning the house because you're completely bored and don't have enough to do? Ok, I know none of us are THAT bored, but if you're in the mood for a fun and fast patchwork project, I have just the thing for you! This scrappy little 22 1/2" square "Picnic Time" candle mat can be whipped up in no time. My project was made using prints from my "Along the Fence" fabric line, but you can easily raid your stash and dive into making this little quilt using prints you already have on hand.
Click here to download this free project.
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When I travel and share my quilts, one of the questions I'm most often asked is "What batting do you use?" That's an easy question for me to answer! My very, very favorite choice is Fairfield's Soft Touch batting, because I love the softly puckered, vintage look it gives my quilts. This 100% cotton batting is very fine and thin so it needles easily (whether by hand or machine), it's needle-punched with no added scrim, and best of all, my finished quilts drape beautfully without being overly heavy. This particular variety of batting can be a little challengng to find in shops, but with today's on-line shopping choices, it's only a click away and well worth the search!
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I love creating recipes, and these Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies are one of my family's favorites, especially during the holidays. Normally I'd say there aren't too many things better than warm cookies right out of the oven, but if you can wait, these are even better after the first day because they become very soft and almost cake-like. I hope your family will enjoy these sweet little morsels as much as mine.
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Pin Point: Try using just one ruler from start to finish for each quilting project you tackle. While you'd think that the measurements provided on all rulers are consistent, there can actually be tiny differences that become visible when you line them up side by side. Also, I make it a point to consistently align the marks on my ruler with the grid lines on my cutting mat when I'm cutting patchwork pieces or squaring up blocks, because even for this step there are several choices -- lines perfectly centered, or with the ruler line just under the grid line, or with the ruler line just over the grid line until it appears to barely be resting upon it. My personal choice is just over the grid line, because I find this gives me an extra fraction of cloth to help compensate for the fold of my seam allowances once they've been pressed.
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BUTTERY CARAMEL CORN
(Caution: highly addictive)
This recipe is fast, easy, and completely irresistible. Pour this tasty stuff into a large serving bowl and try not to eat it all by yourself! Click the recipe name for instructions to make this most excellent treat.
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I hope you don't mind my straying off the topic of quilting for just a moment, because I really can't help bragging about my "little" brother, Tracey Singer, and his newly released CD of children's songs called "Sweets 'n' Treats"! I mean, who knew when he was a six year-old with a cowlick and belting out his hip-shaking version of "hunka hunka burning love" that this would be the amazing result of his budding charisma and talent? With original music written and performed by Tracey and produced by Grammy award-winning children's recording artist Buck Howdy, you'll find songs that cover everything from the funny mishaps that can happen on a family camping trip, to a broccoli-slinging school lunch lady (I couldn't stop singing that one for DAYS), to a toe-tapping jazz tune about Foxy Joe, and even a soothing lullaby -- all created just for kids! Give this CD a listen, and I know you won't be able to resist giving it to some special little person in your life. Check out Tracey's Sweets 'n' Treats CD
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One of my hand's-down favorite products ever is Quilter's Choice Basting Glue by Beacon Adhesives. With an applicator tip that rarely (if ever) clogs, and a clear drip-free consistency, this water-soluble and acid-free glue for fabric is an undiscovered treasure that's completely indispensible to me, especially for the preparation of my appliques. Once you've given this a try, you'll wonder how you ever managed without it!
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Looking for a new way to use the last of your rhubarb harvest? Well, after searching through cookbook after cookbook hoping to find the "perfect" recipe (but not succeeding), I made up my own! Part pie and part crisp, this sweet blend of strawberries and rhubarb is great when served warm with a big heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Click here to view and print this yummy Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch recipe.
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For those of you who've seen my books, you know that I always make the time to hand quilt my very favorite projects using the "big stitch" method, because this lets me achieve a hand-stitched look in just a fraction of the time that traditional hand quilting takes. About a year or so ago I discovered Valdani's Perle Cotton, and I want to share it with you because it's now the only one I use for my big stitch quilting. Why? It comes in every color you can think of (and a few you haven't), the size 12 thread is just a skosh finer than the size 8 thread found in many quilt shops (which makes your stitches look even better), and the added option of variegated hues on a single spool allows your lines of stitching to fade in and out for a soft and subtle look....yes, I can sometimes be subtle! My personal favorite is color P3 (pictured), which features a blend of neutral tan shades -- and best of all, it goes with very nearly every quilt I make. Other faves that get everything handled for me are P4 (variegated creams), P-9 (variegated bronze tones that are great for wool applique), and O-501 (a mixture of black and almond tones). No matter what color you decide upon, break out your size 5 embroidery needle and your thimble, and start quilting!
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Pin Point: Applique motifs can work beautifully for your quilting designs and provide an unexpected surprise in your open background areas, especially for hand quilted projects. To easily transfer these designs without having to mark your quilt top, use your applique templates to trace the designs onto white "peel and stick" kitchen contact paper, cut out the shapes, and remove the paper backing to expose the adhesive. Next, press the shapes onto your cloth for an instant stitching guide. When your stitching is complete, remove and re-use the guide until the adhesive is gone! (I recommend always removing the adhesive shapes at the end of each day to prevent any residue from forming on your cloth.)
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Here's another one of my favorite sewing tools: the Omnigrid Fold-Away Cutting Station. This handy item combines a cutting mat with a firm-surfaced pressing area (perfect for my applique technique), it's available in three different sizes to make it very versatile, and it easily folds in half to make it super portable while also taking up very little space. My favorite is the 8 3/4" x 11 3/4" size, and I take this with me everywhere -- from classes, to group sewing days, and sometimes even to my coffee table so I can spend time with my husband while preparing my applique pieces. Look for this at your favorite quilting shop and I'm sure that you'll be tucking it into your sewing supplies everywhere you go (and still have room to pack your chocolate).