Spring Mini Quilt

Tabatha here again with another fun spring project. Now that winter has released its grip on us and spring is in full swing here, I decided it was time to update the porch.  I put away the snowman banner and decorations and then needed to make a new banner for the new season.

I chose Love My Fabric’s Camellia line once again for this mini quilt. I paired it with some random fuchsia hexagons that I had in my stash and a banner was born.

I hope you are enjoying my projects. Be sure to watch for April’s projects I will be sharing a baby quilt called “Here Fishy Fishy” based on Love My Fabric’s Snorkeling and Camping collections, as well as another small Camellia collection project! Happy Sewing, Tabatha

Linked Names Mixed Media Banner

Greetings! Scraps, here, wondering if you're still channeling the lovey-dovey vibes this month and looking for something sweet to make but not overtly Valentine's-centric now that the holiday has passed?

A couple year's back, when Todd and I were getting ready for our engagement photo shoot, banners were a popular prop and I decided why not make one for us. Trends lists might say pennants and banners are on their way out, but I'm thinking they'll stick around for a while longer. After all, what's more fun than seeing your name strung across your mantle or breakfast bar? (Okay, plenty, but it's a little everyday thrill and who couldn't use more of those?!)

(This project was originally featured on my wedding blog, and then Weddingbee.com, hence the Miss Road Trip tags)

I started by cutting out pennants from a fairly heavy canvas and then laying out die-cut letters and embellishments on each, layering and arranging several times before committing everything into place with glue.

But even that wasn't enough, so I embellished the edges with paint pens--I have a fixation on borders and think everything looks better with some edge details.

To join it all I set heart-shaped eyelets in the upper corners of each flag, then linked them together with binder rings. Those rings made it very easy to hang onto the banner during our photo shoot (we could just loop them over a finger or thumb) and it also worked well for hanging from push-pins on our mantle, where it stayed for many months and, yes, gave me a little heart-lift every time I walked into the room.

I just came across this banner from where it was stashed during our move last year and we have a lot of mantles to choose from in our new house, I just need to decide where it would look best!

Wishing you creative days and happy hearts,

Jennifer ~Scraps~ Vanderbeek

Sharing Some Valentine Love

Anita here writing to share some February Valentine love with all of you.  I used a pattern from Shabby Fabrics as a jumping off point for this wonderful banner.  I used my light pad to trace the hearts and used fusible web to adhere them.  The scalloped heart is made from 1010% wool felt and is very thick.  I had to iron on the reverse side to avoid the felt from scorching.  I made the holes with a standard whole punch.  I love the patchwork pattern on the hearts, worked perfectly with the jelly roll that I had of Valentine fabrics from Moda.

Hope you have a great day and I'll be back soon.

Hugs,

Anita

Winter Fox Banner

Hi! My name is Candy Spiegel. I am a paper-craft instructor and designer in Michigan. When my friend showed me some of the new fabrics offered from Love My Fabrics, I fell in love -- literally. I told her I wished it was paper so I could play with it (I cannot sew). She assured me that I could do something with it -- even if that meant ironing it together. And, to prove her point, she sent me a square to play with and asked me to be a guest designer.

I loved this fabric even more in person. So much so that I bought an old sewing machine at Goodwill and asked another friend to teach me how to sew so I could make this banner.

I started by tracing a chipboard template with a Sharpie onto the fabric, some muslin and fusible interfacing. I then ironed the fabric onto the interfacing.

Then, I sewed the muslin on the back. It took me a few tries to get my lines straight and I need more practice to get the edges even, but for my first try, I was pretty impressed.

After the pieces were sewn together, I folded over the top and stitched it to create a pocket for the string to go through.

Finally, I frayed the edges. I was impressed that not one string came off of the fabric while cutting, ironing or sewing it, but I was easily able to use my finger to fray the edges when I was ready.

I did not want to cover the foxes, so I left my panels plain -- letting the foxes speak for themselves.

I taped the end of the twine to a skewer and used that to feed the twine through the little pockets I made. In between each panel, I placed a button or some dangling beads.

I love my little fox banner and am looking forward to purchasing more fabric from Love My Fabrics to continue to practice my new love of sewing!

Thank you for sharing my first attempt at sewing with me. Visit my blog at candyscraps.com to see what else I am learning.