Pieced Brain

All about quilting, knitting, crochet, embroidery, free tutorials, quilting and crafting book reviews.

Laminate Placemats

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As I promised, here is the tutorial for the placemats I made using Riley Blake's laminates, which go together with the table runner I showed on my previous post (see it here). They are reversible, each side having a different combination of fabrics! I added a pocket for utensils to both sides and quilted right above the pockets only, to hold the batting in place. For the quilting motif, I chose to mimic the chevron laminate design, as you will see in a close-up picture below. My family LOVES … [Read more...] about Laminate Placemats

Laminate Table Runner II

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I finished this table runner a few days ago - it turned out super cute, if I may say so... I used laminates by Riley Blake Designs, and made it a bit different from my last one (see post here). The folks at Riley Blake liked my first laminate table runner idea so much that they asked me to make a tutorial for them. So, for step-by-step instructions, please go here. It is fun and easy to assemble, and because the beautiful fabrics are laminated, it will not get ruined in the kitchen (although my … [Read more...] about Laminate Table Runner II

Giveaway Day!

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[This giveaway is now closed.] It is Giveaway Day at Sew, Mama, Sew! and I am participating! This giveaway will be open until December 7 at 5pm PST. The winner will be announced on December 9 here at my blog. Here is what you can win: Use this cool bag instead of a gift wrapper, or as a carrier for your embroidery project, book, ebook reader... the possibilities are endless! And... a honey bun by Moda! I will ship internationally, so get ready! The winner will be chosen randomly. To … [Read more...] about Giveaway Day!

Happy Birthday Banner

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  I was asked to put together a banner for someone who bought the kit but did not know how to sew. This banner is easy to make! You will need assorted [coordinating might work best!] fabrics for each rectangle, a backing fabric, black fabric for the letters, and black ric-rac. Just cut the 8.5" x 10.5" rectangles for each letter out of the front and backing fabrics, then sew three rectangle sides together (right sides facing), leaving the short top end open. Press it, flip it inside … [Read more...] about Happy Birthday Banner

Numerous Blessings

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Here is an excerpt of an email my husband received this week from someone at work: " Met a woman tonight at UofU [University of Utah] hospital that makes the phrase "count your blessings" come alive.  Be good.  Be nice.  Be grateful.  Life is too darn short... ... Stage 4 breast cancer that has moved to multiple locations.  Cancer has broken her neck and spine and is incurable at this point.  7 months pregnant and trying to keep alive for healthy delivery. … [Read more...] about Numerous Blessings