A Snuggly Quilt for my Dad

My dad, like a lot of dads out there, is really hard to shop for.  So this year for Christmas, I wanted to do something for him besides just buying another gift card.

When we got our “Generation Gap” panel in featuring the Pickles comic by Brian Crane, I just knew it would be perfect for my dad.  So, I got out some of my Moda Jelly Roll strips and other coordinating fabrics and got to creating.

The smaller comic strip blocks weren’t completely square so I decided to do a reverse applique technique.  Hope this inspires you to make something for that special dad/grandpa in your life!

~Happy Sewing!

Table Runner Tutorial

Our “Say It With Words” panels are great for quilts – but here is another fabulous way to sew up some inspiration.  This table runner can be used on special occasions or even everyday.

Supplies:

• “Table Grace” Say It With Words panel
• Jelly Roll of your choice – I used the “Flats” by Angela Yosten for Moda
• 1 yard of backing fabric
• 1 yard of Fusible Fleece
• Coordinating thread
• Rotary cutter, rotary mat, and rotary ruler
• Basting Spray or pins
• Iron and ironing board
• Sewing machine

*Use a 1/4″ seam allowance, unless otherwise noted
Steps:

1.  Layout your Jelly Roll Strips and design your pattern.  Here is how I do my designing, with grid paper and colored pencils. 
   
2. Iron panel to remove all creases. 
3. Cut out the 6 large squares from the Say It With Words Panel, using the tick marks on the panel.  Each square should measure 6-1/2″ squares.
4. Cut (2) 6-1/2″ strips from your desired fabric for each block.
5. Sew the Jelly Roll strips to the top and bottom of word block.  Repeat for all 6 blocks.
   
6. Press all seams away from word block. 
7. Measure your blocks to determine the overall size for the sides – mine measured 10-3/4″. 
8. Cut the Jelly Roll strips to that measurement and sew to the sides of each block, creating a frame around the words.  Repeat for all 6 blocks. 
   
9. Cut the coordinating vertical Jelly Roll strips and sew.
   
   
10. Measure the top & bottom of the completed block and cut to fit.  Repeat for all strips.  Sew to the bottom of the first block.  Join the remaining blocks in the same way.
    
11. Measure the overall size of the runner and cut fusible fleece to fit.  Iron on.
12. Cut backing fabric to desired size.  Layout and attach top with basting spray (If you have never heard or used basting spray, I highly suggest you try it.  You will NEVER pin a quilt or project together again)
13. Quilt as desired.
14. Trim and attach binding as desired – I used the leftover scraps of the jelly roll strips to make the binding.  I found this tutorial on Pinterest and it helped me. (Just note, I only machine stitch the first side of the binding – I always hand stitch the backside complete)
15. Hand-stitch the binding and you are done!!!
    

If you liked this project, stay tuned for the tutorial using the small word squares to create matching coasters.

I’m new to writing tutorials, so any constructive criticism or complements are greatly appreciated.

Blessings,
Jill

Great gift ideas for Springtime Celebrations

Just recently, our beautiful goddaughter made her Confirmation and my husband had the honor of being her sponsor. 

After scouring the Internet for the perfect gift idea, I decided to look no further than the amazing Home a la mode website (I’m not biased or anything :))  I decided to make her a quilt – I loved the idea of a keepsake that she could take with her wherever life takes her.  Naturally, I turned to our line of “Say It With Words” panels – especially the scriptural ones.  I felt drawn to the “Beatitudes” panel – I felt this is a great outline for how we should live our lives.

Whenever you are looking for the perfect gift for someone, look no further that our “Say It With Words” panels – there is something for everyone.  We are adding more and more as they become available so don’t hesitate to let us know what you are looking for.

I would love to see your projects that you have made with our awesome panels – feel free to email them to me at jsmisek@homealamode.com

Happy Sewing!

Tutorial Thursday – Table Grace Coasters

A few weeks ago, I posted a tutorial for the Table Grace Table Runner.  Here is the follow-up that I promised.

Supplies:

• (6) small remaining squares leftover from the Table Grace panel
• Fusible Fleece
• Backing fabric
• Sewing Machine
• Thread
• Rotary cutter
• Rotary ruler
• Rotary mat

I used the 6 small remaining squares from the Table Grace “Say it With Words” panel.  Each square measures approximately 3.5″.  You will just cut (2) pieces from your jelly roll (or scraps) 3.5″ long.  Sew the strips to the top and bottom of the square.  Press seams.  Measure overall height of block.  Mine measured approximately 5.75″.  Cut (2) 5.75″ strips from your jelly roll (or scraps) 5.75″ long.  Sew the strips to the sides of the block.  Press seams.  I then took the finished block and trim it to 5.5″ square.

Now, cut (6) square of fusible fleece and (6) squares of backing fabric to match the size of your complete blocks.  Iron the fusible fleece to the completed block.  Then take the front and back of the blocks and put them together, right sides facing each other.  Stitch all the way around, except for about 1.5″ section.  Trim your corners for easier turning.  Now, turn the entire piece right side out through the small section you left open.  I like to us my Pointer Turner by Lee for precise corners.  Press smooth.  Top stitch all the way around, making sure that the stitch closes the space you left open.  And, you are done!  Just repeat for the remaining squares.

Hope you enjoy!!!

Happy Sewing,
Jill

Charm Pack Quilt for a New Prince Charming

A dear friend of mine was expecting her first baby.  So of course, I HAD to make her a quilt!!!  Her and her husband decided to go “old school” (which I love!!!) and not find out the gender of their little miracle.  While I decided to do the same with both of my children, you probably know just how hard it is do find the perfect fabric for a great gender-neutral quilt.  Well, of course I turned to Moda, the greatest fabric manufacturer in my opinion.  And anytime I can use precuts, I am a happy girl.  Even though I have been sewing for awhile, I am still one of the worst cutters of square fabric in the world!!!

Armed with 2 charm packs (which I didn’t use completely) and some jelly roll strips, I came up with the simple quilt design.  It is just 6 vertical rows of 9 squares with strips in between.  And my favorite backing for a baby quilt is our 100% Cotton Chenille – it get softer every time you wash it.

Here is the mama-to-be with the classic “tummy shot”… doesn’t she look adorable!!!

And just the other day, this adorable little man made his entrance into the world.  I can’t wait to get my hands on this little guy and cuddle him up 🙂  But knowing how life goes after bringing home the baby, I’ll give mama a few weeks before I show up 🙂

Honor your Teachers with this Cute Gift Idea!

“A teacher is a compass that activates the magnets of curiosity, knowledge, and wisdom in the pupils.”  ~Ever Garrison

As National Teacher Appreciation week fast approaches, I find myself, yet again, scouring Pinterest for ideas to make for my girls’ teachers.  As they get older and have more teachers, I find myself looking for gift ideas that help me stretch a buck.  After looking through my stash of school supplies (yes, I am addicted to them) and came across my extra composition books.  My search then turned to ways to cover them with fabric.  My favorite came from one of my favorite fabric designers, Vanessa Christenson of V and Co.

I used her tutorial to make this adorable cover for my oldest daughter’s teacher – I hope see likes it 🙂

It’s amazing what you can do with some fabric scraps, a sewing machine, and a little time.  I used some jelly roll scraps that I had lying around.  Check out our collection of pre-cuts on our website!

Jelly Roll 1600 Lap Quilt Tutorial

Do you know how to get this….

To look like this?

With this!!!   Check out this tutorial that Kristin adapted from www.heirloomcreations.net.  It’s the perfect way to use some of the jelly rolls you have in your stash.  Or check out our website for all the jelly rolls that we offer!  I used our new Windsor Lane Junior Jelly Rolls by Bunny Hill Designs – it took just one of each the blue and the green.

1600 Lap Quilt Tutorial by Home a la mode

http://www.scribd.com/embeds/123084659/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll

We have also gotten some new chenille in our inventory, which makes a perfect backing for these quilts!

A Honey Bun Pillowcase!

Good Monday Morning!  For the next 3 days we are offering 10% off of all of our fabrics.  I wanted to show you a pillowcase tutorial that you could quickly make up with some of the great fabrics that I know you will want to get.

Supplies

1 honey bun–I used Bungle Jungle

1.5 yds of main fabric–I used Christmas Red Dottie

Ric Rac–I used Medium Aqua

.5 yd of lightweight interfacing

Have you ever noticed that when I am using a honey bun or jelly roll that my pictures never have them rolled up?  It is because I can’t wait to open them up and see what is inside.  It is the little kid in me…it is like Christmas every time I get a new one…just can’t wait.

Choose 22 strips.  Lay them out and get the look you are going for.

Sew your strips together.  The easiest way to do this is sew 2 together at a time.  Then add them all together to form one piece.

Cut 2 strips that are 11″ wide x the width of the fabric that you have sewn together.

Now, sew the 2 strips together end to end.

Add your interfacing to the wrong side of the strips.  The only reason I did this, is so when the pillow case is washed, the seams won’t get all bunched up and weird.  You can completely skip this step if you like.

Cut your main body of fabric to 21″ x width of fabric.

I folded my sewn together strips of fabric in half and laid them down on the main body of the fabric, then trimmed the main body to the same size as the strips.  It is hard to give an exact measurement here because of how your strips come together.  Just make that both are the same size and you shouldn’t have any problems.

Choose another Honey Bun strip.  Press it in half along the entire length of the strip.

Sew a piece of the ric rac along the entire length of the strip.  I placed mine really close to the edge of the fold so when I sewed the case together you could see all of the ric rac.

Layer your 3 pieces together.  Make sure your fabrics are all unfolded.  Place all right sides of the fabric facing up.  You want to start with the stripped fabric…then the main body…then the strip that has the ric rac.

Line up all your edges. 

 I place 3 pins along the edge just to hold everything together.  Trust me it is a pain to sew it all together and the realize that you have missed places because the fabric has shifted.

Roll up your main piece of fabric.

Now, fold up your stripped fabric and pin the edges together.  You want to make sure that the main fabric is not in the way.  When you roll it up leave yourself about 2 inches of room so you can pin the edges together. 

*On a side note.  See that really awesome pincushion?  That is a Grabbit Magnetic Pin Cushion.  If you don’t have one…GET ONE.  I love how powerful the magnet is on this.  With a little one around, I don’t have to worry about my pins falling off and her finding them with her little foot.

Sew along your edge using a 1/4″ seam.

Grab your main fabric and start pulling it out of the end of the tube you just made. Don’t forget the pins that you put in to secure your layers.  I did…it hurt…learn from my mistakes…lol.

  

Keep pulling until you have turned the entire tube inside out.

This is what you should have.

Press your pillowcase with wrong sides together.

Using a scant 1/4″ seam sew along the 2 open edges.  Once you have done this, turn your case inside out.  Press again.

Now you want to sew down the edges that you had sewn in the previous step. Use a 1/2″ seam.  This gives you a French seam and you have no open seams on your pillowcase.  Turn it right side out again and press.  WooHoo!  You just made a pillowcase.

  

Here it is completed.  Now, my question for you, would you like to see a tutorial of how I made the adorable little pillow in front?

I had told you on Friday that I would show you all of the things that I was able to make with the honey bun.  Here they are…

So, what do you think?  Personally, the little bag with the flower is my favorite!  I think I will have to make ups some more of that one.

Now, head over to Home a la mode…check out all of our fabrics…and get to sewing.  Remember, if you use my Discount Code it will give you an extra 5% off your order.  That means you can get 15% off of your fabric.  That sounds like a pretty good deal to me!

Quilt Tutorial and Giveaway!!!

Good Morning everyone!  I hope you have had a great weekend.  We had some crazy storms come through last night.   Thankfully, everyone is OK.  

I want to share a tutorial today using a jelly roll and one of my favorite Say It With Words Panels.  This is the second quilt that I have made with the What Cancer Cannot Do Panel.  I love these.  While I was making this one, my Mom called to ask me to pray for a couple of her friends that had just been diagnosed with cancer.  I told her what I was doing and said that maybe she should make one for her friends.  I think these are so inspirational!  Now on to the tutorial…

Supplies

1–Jelly Roll–I used Salt Air

1–What Cancer Cannot Do Panel

1.5 yds of Kyoto Batting

1.5 yds of Backing Fabric–I used Salt Air Tiny Bubbles–Mist

Start by cutting your panel.  

Open up your jelly roll and select 12 strips.  I like to lay them out and try different combinations.  This is the final layout I decided on.

Line your first jelly roll strip up with the short edge of the first saying that you want to sew…use a 1/4″ seam and sew down the edge.

Repeat for the other side.

Press your seams towards the jelly roll strip.

Trim the strip.

Here is what it should look like.

Next, sew the jelly roll strip to the top and bottom of the saying.  Trim the edges so that it is all even.

You have completed your first block.

Repeat the steps for the remaining 11 saying blocks.

Now, you want to lay out strips to make columns and rows.

Take the first strip that runs vertical and sew your blocks to it.  Leave some space between the blocks as you sew them…

When you have sewn them all… cut the jelly strip apart lining up all your edges.  This will create your first “column” on your block.

Repeat for your 2nd “column”.

Repeat again for your 3rd “column”.

Again, repeat for your 4th “column”.  Can you see it starting to come together now?

Start assembling your rows now.  Line your first jelly roll strip with the top edge of the first row. Sew and press your seam.

Add your 2nd strip between the first and second row

Repeat these steps until you have added all your strips between each row and after the 4th row.  Trim up your edges.

Now, it is time to create the header for the quilt.  Add another jelly strip to the top of your quilt top.  

Take the part of the panel that has the title.  Cut a jelly roll strip in half and sew it to both side of the words.

Sew this strip to the strip that you just added to your quilt top.  Add another strip to the top of the title piece.    Trim all of your edges so they are squared up.

You have now completed the quilt top.  I love showing pictures of the quilt tops with the sun shining through them.  They remind me of stained glass.

Now it is time to make your quilt.  Layer your backing fabric first, then your batting, then your quilt top.  I like to trim my batting an inch to 2 inches bigger than my quilt top…and then my backing fabric a couple of inches bigger than that.  Trust me, there is nothing more frustrating than being in the middle of quilting and realizing your layers have shifted and they don’t fit together anymore.

I have a confession…I HATE TO PIN QUILTS!  There, now that it is out there for the whole world to see…hehe…I will share my secret weapon.  Quilt Basting Spray!  This stuff is soo awesome.  Just spray it between layers…smooth them together and voila…you have “pinned” your quilt.

I spray my quilt one half at a time.  Always remember to only apply the spray to your batting.  I fold my quilt top and batting back so that I can spray the batting.  Then lay the batting back down on the backing fabric…smooth it…

Spray the top of the batting…then smooth the quilt top down on top of that.  Repeat these steps for the other half of your quilt.

Now, using your quilting foot…quilt your layers together.

When your have finished all of your quilting…run a zigzag stitch around the outer edge of quilt top.  This will bind all of your layers together and make it 10 times easier to add your binding.  Make a binding using scraps and leftover jelly roll strips.

I will be back tomorrow to show you my completed quilt.

Now…on to the giveaway…we wanted you to have the chance to win one of our 

Say It With Words Panels!

To Enter:  Check out the different panels we have and tell us which one you would like to win.  You might also let me know what you think of the tutorial.  I love your feedback!!!

I will announce the winner tomorrow morning!!!  

Good Luck to Everyone!

The one that hurt….

I have a confession.  When I am designing projects I never plan anything out.  I usually start cutting fabric and see where the project leads.  Sometimes I will hit a snag, but usually things go along pretty quickly.  Such was not the case with this quilt….

I started with a Brights Jelly Roll and a Say it With Words Comfort of Psalms Panel.  I am not going to lie, my lack of preparation going into this quilt, really showed.  I felt like I was hitting a snag every time I turned around.  After fighting it all day long, I had come to the point of being able to quilt it.  I was under a bit of a time crunch so I got in a hurry.  The next thing I know, I am standing in front of my husband holding my hand with a shocked look on my face saying, “Honey, I just did something bad.”  That’s right folks, I had just SEWED through my fingernail and finger…not just once, but 3 times!  Let me just tell you…it hurts.  Not just kind of, either…it really, really, really hurts.  Especially when I type…why am I typing, oh the pain and agony…..No really,  it is already healing.

With all of that being said.  As much as I struggled with this beauty creating her, I have to say, she is now one of my favorites.