I love hand work: embroidery, knitting, crocheting, hand sewing binding to quilts... It is relaxing and the final products make beautiful gifts. I made the pincushion above for a blog hop (click here to read about it). This is an embroidery project I made for Christmas a few winters ago (click here for details). My mind wanders as I take each stitch, the textures of the project make me feel good, and the colors cheer me up. I have another passion: reading. I read many books per year (my … [Read more...] about Reading while hand sewing
Spinning Wheels Quilt Pattern
Hello, everyone! I am happy to introduce another pattern to the Pieced Brain line: Spinning Wheels. The blocks are very fun and easy to put together, yet I added photographs and diagrams to make the process even quicker. It is downloadable from my Etsy store Quilterly so you can start choosing the fabrics right now! Speaking of fabrics, Spinning Wheels features a beautiful fabric collection by Timeless Treasures: Tonga Cranberry. Here are some of the batiks I chose from this line for … [Read more...] about Spinning Wheels Quilt Pattern
Rock Solid Giveaway!
[Giveaway Closed!] Have you seen the book Rock Solid - 13 Stunning Quilts Made with Kona Cottons? Karen Burns from Martingale compiled an astonishing selection of modern quilts made with Kona solids by Robert Kaufman to inspire quilters who already work with solids, and entice those who don't to start picking colors. The designers pulled out all the stops to create masterpieces which we, thanks to detailed instructions and an abundance of diagrams, can replicate easily. The palettes chosen … [Read more...] about Rock Solid Giveaway!
Lady of the Lake
Are you sewing today, too? Here is what I am working on: Fat Quarter Shop has a new pattern coming up in a couple of weeks and I am sewing along with other bloggers. The pattern is called Lady of the Lake, which makes me wonder why on earth I am indoors on a beautiful summer day! Anyway, I had time to begin it and decided to show you my progress. I made half square triangles working with the 3" Half Square Triangle Paper Triangles on a Roll but ended up having to use a … [Read more...] about Lady of the Lake
Quilts with House Blocks
This is the first quilt I designed with house blocks: Country Road. I have not yet written the pattern but will do it soon. This simple quilt - only the roof eaves change from house to house - uses precuts from Fat Quarter Shop: they are called Jolly Bars and measure 5" x 10". I love the size of these precuts because I can make quilts very quickly with them. Click here for a pattern for a very quick quilt featuring Jolly Bars. Each block measures 13-3/4" by 8-3/4". There are some … [Read more...] about Quilts with House Blocks
2017 Designer Mystery BOM-2
Yesterday I had time to work on the second block of Fat Quarter Shop's 2017 Designer Mystery BOM. Guys, these fabrics are amazing and the blocks are so beautiful! This month's block is called Piece of Cake and was designed by Me and My Sister Designs and, as usual, they did not disappoint. I like to label the patches, place them on the back of a cutting mat, and bring them next to me at my sewing table. Patches and pattern were ready, and so was I. If the block stopped right … [Read more...] about 2017 Designer Mystery BOM-2