Tag: Home Decor

FREE Woodland Mushroom Quilt Block :: Fabric.com Fall Block Party

It’s Week #2 of the 9-week Fabric.com Fall Block Party and I’m ready to take you into the deep woods…  I just love this season with the air getting crisp, the foliage changing colors, and the weather is cool enough for a good long hike.  It’s so much fun to explore the wilderness, especially with my young boys.  We find so many little critters, unique leaves, and lots of different plant-life.  Our own discoveries made me think of the quintessential Woodland Mushroom.

For this design, I wanted a fun scrappy mushroom to go along with all the different colors and textures we see out in nature.  The 12.5″ x 12.5″ (unfinished) block is based mainly on half-square triangles and you will love how just a little rearraging can give your block a new look.

For the Woodland Mushroom, I stuck to the Kona party theme found here, but prints are my key to scrappiness 🙂  These are the fabrics I selected (from top to bottom):

As I was making the block I was thinking of all the ways I could the mushroom as decor….because my house need some help!  I thought of all the fabric signs we see in big box stores with witty sayings all bound together with living picture frames (just a piece of wood at the top and bottom.)  Then it dawned on me to use pant hangers!  I know a lot of you already use them to display blocks, but I thought I would turn it up a notch and refinish a few.

I found these two pant hangers for a total of $0.60 at my local thrift shops.  Both were blonde wood with the same nickel finish on the wire.  With a little fine sandpaper, I took the shine off the entire hanger and used materials I had around the house to refinish it.  A watered down brown acrylic craft paint gave me the “stain” and I happened to have this gorgeous hammered bronze spray paint leftover from another forgotten DIY project.  A few layers of clear coat topped it off to protect the fabric against any paint which may rub off.

The hanger makeover really makes the piece more modern with an industrial rustic feel.  It works well with this fall palette and displays my Woodland Mushroom mini perfectly!  It will be easy to change out mini’s over time and through the different seasons.

Here is the mini displayed with some upcycled “ribbon” cut from a burlap coffee bag and leftover lace from my sister’s wedding.  It is displayed on a mantle with a wreath hanger and helps to bring the random decor I had around the house together.

And if mantle or table-scapes aren’t your thing, the pant hanger make it easy to display a mini quilt on your front door.  I think quilts should be the “new” wreaths, don’t you think?  We should get on that movement!

I hope you enjoyed our walk in the woods!  To make your own Woodland Mushroom block, visit Fabric.com’s blog here.

Don’t forget to keep sewing along and follow the rest of these amazing designers and their Fall #fabricdotcomblock party patterns!

Sept 12 – Fall Geese

Kristi Schroeder – Initial K Studio – @initialkstudio

Sept 19 – Woodland Mushroom

Cristy Stuhldreher – Love You Sew – @loveyousew_ (You are here!)

Sept 26 – Mod Tartan

Jenn Rossotti – Ginger Peach Studio – @jennrossotti

Oct 3 – Time Lapse

Christopher Thompson – The Tattooed Quilter – @thetattooedquilter

Oct 10 – Double Windmill

Haley Anderson – Happiness in the Making – @happinessinthemaking

Oct 17 – Antlers

Lisa Hofmann-Maurer – Sew What You Love – @sewwhatyoulove

Oct 24 – Gather

Elise Baek – Elise & Emelie – @eliseandemelie

Oct 31 – Forest Floor

Sarah Thomas – Sariditty -@sariditty

Nov 7 – Flutter By

Nicole Young – Lillyella – @lillyellasworld

 

Happy Foraging!

Cristy

 

***This post was sponsored by Fabric.com and there are affiliate links.  The block design, instructions and post are my own original work with my own opinions.

Love Story {Pattern Testing}

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LoveStoryTitleI love Lilly Ella Stitchery‘s paper-pieced patterns ever since I tried her Butterfly Charm Blocks.  When Nicole sent out the request for testers of her new patterns, I seriously could not say no.  I didn’t even know what I was going to sew….all that I knew was that it was gonna be good!

PoetryCloseUpThen these beautiful hearts from Love Story appeared in my email….Oh my mercy!  How gorgeous, right?  The pack includes two patterns – Poetry (as shown above and below) and Prose (as shown in the title pic.)  Both square patterns come in 5″, 10″ and 16″ (finished) sizes.  You can find them over here.

NameTagLanyardMy first attempt was to make this 5″ version of the Poetry pattern.  The piecing in the heart was just screaming for a rainbow color palette.  The pattern and size were perfect for the Name Tag Lanyard Swap for my Central Ohio Modern Quilt Guild.  I used the Swapaholics tutorial and just raised the vinyl window up so the heart would not be obstructed.

ProseCloseUpNext, I tried out the 5″ Prose version.  Now this was a bit more difficult given the number and size of the paper-piecing.  There are more corners to match up and some bulk to contend with, but it’s all worth it!

LoveStoryPillowLastly, I used the 16″ Poetry pattern to make a special pillow for Valentine’s Day.  My house is lacking in the home decor department so I’ve been trying to add more handcrafted items in between all the ones I sell or giveaway.  I practiced my free-motion quilting by using some variegated red Aurifil 4668 in a simple loopy pattern.

LoveStoryPillowBackA border all around the pattern was added to fit the 18″ pillow form I had on-hand. For the back, I used Arrow Flight from Michael Miller to complement the V-day heart.  Having this in my stash paid off 😉  Since this is intended as seasonal decor, I made the pillow back in two pieces with a 2″ overlap and added KAM snaps to keep the pillow in place.  I’m set for Valentine’s Day now!

What would you make with these patterns?

 

Hugs and Stitches,

Cristy

 

Pattern was provided by Lillyella Stitchery for testing but you know projects, thoughts and opinions are my very own.

 

 

Fall Fabric Pumpkin Decor

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Fall Fabric Pumpkin Decor

I know I’m a little late…but it’s still before Halloween….so Happy Fall, friends!  From lattes to lights, you can find everything in pumpkin form this time of year.  So, how about some fun Fall Fabric Pumpkin decor?

Last year, I found this great tutorial from Fiskars to make a Pumpkin Pincushion on Pinterest.  I had a bunch of random JoAnn’s fabric scraps and wanted to have some new autumnal accessories for my home without having to buy them.  (Nice when that can actually happen, right???)

Fabric Pumpkin

Instead of using the 6″ circle pattern (4″ diameter,) I enlarged the circle to a 9″ diameter and then to a 12″ diameter.  This was a simple adjustment with a compass to draw up the circles.  TIP: You can use some household bowls that are roughly around the same size as templates.

Fall Fabric Pumpkin

Instead of embroidery thread (which I didn’t have on-hand,) I used good old fishing line with a large-eye needle to make the ribs.  TIP:  Start sewing from the top of the pumpkin.  There will be large knots from the fishing line which can be secured and hidden by the stem later.

Fabric Pumpkin with Ribbon Detail

For the stem, I hot-glued a 2″ x 4″ piece of craft felt into a tight rolled cigar and then set aside to cool.  With two different colors of 1/2″ ribbon, I created the “leaves” with loops; securing them with hot-glue in the center of the pumpkin.  The “tendrils” are just wound ribbon with small dots of hot-glue securing them directly on the fabric.  Lastly, the stem is glued in the center to hide the fishing line knots and the ends of the ribbon.

I have several of these pumpkins that adorn my mantle and dining room table.  They are so festive and it brings me so much joy that they are hand-made.  What decor do you love in the fall for your home?

 

Happy Stitching!

Cristy

 

 

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