Seuss Hat Pattern

This Saturday (March 2nd) is Dr. Seuss' birthday!

To celebrate, I designed a new paper-pieced pattern of the Cat in the Hat's iconic hat.

"And then something went BUMP!

How that bump made us jump!

We looked!  Then we saw him step in on the mat!

We looked! And we saw him!

The Cat in the Hat!"

This was also my first design submission to Fandom in Stitches!  I am honored to have my pattern available alongside so many other wonderful designs!  Since this is a "fandom" pattern, it is available for free.   

The Fabulous Fandom Mashup

This month the folks at Fandom in Stitches gave us a challenge:  The Fabulous Fandom Mashup!

Basically, we had to take one of their hundreds of fandom patterns and use it to create a project that represented a different fandom.  At the end of the month, everyone who is a part of the Fandom in Stitches community on Facebook gets to vote on their favorite!

I completed 3 entries, and here they are:

I used Jennifer Ofenstein's "1967 Impala SC" pattern (the car from Supernatural), gave it a paint job and turned it into "The General Lee" from Dukes of Hazzard.

Liljab's "Lightning McQueen" got some tech upgrades and became "KITT" from Knight Rider.

And last but not least, the Connie Tessier's "Hogwarts Express" became "Thomas the Tank Engine!"

And yes, I realize that there is a theme among my mash-up designs... I stay at home all day with a toddler boy who is obsessed with cars and trucks and trains and things with wheels, okay?

Purrot

Announcements, announcements, annouuuuuuuuuuncements!

I'd like to introduce, Purrot!

Purrot was a collaborative effort between myself and my brother-in-law, Elliot, who first sketched him out as a little watercolor doodle.  I translated him into fabric.  You can check out more of Elliot's graphic design work here.

Would you like to make your own Purrot?  Well, you can!

...because I am also excited to announce the grand opening of my new shop on Craftsy where you can buy the paper-pieced pattern for Purrot!  Craftsy is great in that once you pay through PayPal you get an instant PDF download of your purchase.  Check out my shop here!

Purrot is relatively small (only 10 inches square) but his pattern can easily be enlarged with a photocopier or by changing your print settings.  He would make a great pillow or wall-hanging for a kid's room!

If you have never done paper-piecing before, I would highly recommend Jen's tutorial over on Sewhooked, which you can find here.  Once you get the hang of it, it is a wonderful technique with unlimited potential!  I love how much detail and precision can be put into a quilt block so simply... just by sewing on the lines.

Hopefully Purrot will be the first of many new quilt patterns!

Not All Who Wander Are Lost, Part 2

It's the second month of Fandom in Stitches "Not All Who Wander Are Lost" block-of-the-month quilt!

Here are my finished blocks:

"Rivendell"  designed by Regina Grewe

"Elvish Tengwar for '9'"  designed by Breanne Cremean

"Nazgul"  designed by Michelle Thompson

Vintage Valentine's Day Garland

In honor of St. Valentine's Day, our library's "Dream and Create with Pinterest" group made festive heart garlands!

The idea came from some 3-dimensional heart valentines that Jen posted about on her blog i{heart}2stamp which we came across via Pinterest.

The hearts were relatively simple to make.  I cut out 5 hearts of the same size from some vintage-y scrapbook paper (you could use more hearts if you wanted a "fuller" look).  I folded them in half, glued them together kind of like a book and trimmed the edges.  Then using a needle I threaded some string through the top of each heart and tied them to some sheer ribbon that I had laying around.

I'm not usually a fan of soft pinks and floral motifs, but for Valentine's Day these hearts add just the right amount of Victorian romance!

Pinterest Project: DIY Bracelet

This week's "Dream and Create with Pinterest" project was a simple "do-it-yourself" bracelet.

We followed the visual guide that can be found here.  The bracelet is made by wrapping embroidery floss around two strands of leather cording and one strand of ball-chain.  The finished result reminds me of a zipper!

Cowabunga!

I just finished some gifts for some little kids who are obsessed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!  I found some awesome paper-pieced patterns (designed by Schenley Pilgram) over on Fandom in Stitches and turned them into pillows.

We have Leonardo, the fearless leader:

Donatello, master of the bo-staff:

Raphael, who never backs down from a fight:

...and the lovable and friendly Michelangelo!

Together they make the streets a little safer... and the couch a little comfier.