Let It Snow - A Winter Pillow

I hope all of you have enjoyed

a very merry Christmas!

I've just spent some time catching up

with my good friend,

and I gave her a little gift

that can be used all winter long...

a Let It Snow winter pillow!

For this project,

I used some "ink swatches"

I had purchased from Sweetwater on Etsy.

{They don't seem to be available any longer, but they carry some similar items.}

I used the pattern that was included with the ink swatch,

to create the pillow front.

For the pillow backing,

I followed my own free tutorial

for making Covered Zipper Pillow Backings.

This particular pillow finished at 12" x 16",

so I just started with a backing piece that was about 13" x 17".

I decided to attach the zipper cover

about 1/3 of the way across the pillow,

vertically, for extra interest.

I am sew in love with this project!

The lipstick red ink swatch looks great against

some white-on-black polka dots.

{The polka dots look kind of like snowflakes, right?}

On the back,

I've chosen a large red gingham print.

It contrasts well with the polka dots, don't you agree?

I added my little eamylove label,

so my friend knows that I made this pillow just for her!

My little snowman models are cheering for snow.

So far, there's been no snow to shovel here in my neighborhood.

I have a feeling that we'll be seeing some flakes soon, though!

Have a Happy New Year, Friends!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you dozens of sweet Christmas memories,

lasting long after all the cookies are gone.

Merry Christmas, friends!

Across the Pond - Christmas Trees and Santas for December

Better late than never...

I'm sharing this month's themes for the

Across The Pond Sew Along.

Christmas Trees and Santas!

The Patchsmith has devoted two posts

{so far} to this timely topic,

and she has even supplied us with a fun free pattern

for making Quilted Christmas Trees.

Photo by The Patchsmith

Aren't they just so sweet???

I'm very late in decorating for Christmas,

but I hope to find time to share photos

of my own quilted trees soon!

If you enjoy stitching,

Amanda has curated a wonderful collection

of free designs for many more trees,

in the followup post found here.

I must find time to make this gorgeous Nordic tree!

Susie's been busy over at Susie's Sunroom,

making a series of Santas!

Here's Santa's hat, which she made using the

foundation piecing technique, 

with warm and fuzzy fabric for the trim.

Photo by Susie's Sunroom

Head on over to Susie's blog post

for more inspiring Santa projects!

Photo by Susie's Sunroom

I've been busy sewing something special

for a Christmas tree in New Mexico.

Last year I posted about 

the Holly Jolly Tree Skirt I made

using Kate Spain's In From the Cold collection.

I made this same pattern again, but smaller,

using the same prints.

I think the cocoa cups are still my favorite,

but I'm loving those mittens, too!

This time I used green mistletoe for the binding.

There's my little label, on the back,

to say, "Amy Made That!"

The backing is beautiful,

and the tree skirt is actually reversible.

Those Christmas doves are so pretty.

Right after I finished that tree skirt,

I noticed some more pretty Christmas doves

over at Debby Kratovil's blog!

Debby has a free download available

here on Craftsy, 

for heart and dove ornaments!

Photo by Debby Kratovil

I had a few minutes to try out Debby's tutorial

using some scraps from the tree skirt.

My Frixion pen came in handy

for tracing the design onto the fabric.

I used a zigzag stitch,

setting the width to 2.5 and the stitch length to 1.0.

Once I'd stitched the outline,

it was sew easy to cut away the excess fabric

and add a hanging ribbon.

I hope you'll have time to add some

homesewn Christmas photos to our Flickr page

for Across The Pond.

Now I'd better put up that Christmas tree,

so my doves will have a place to nest!

Teacher's Pet Mug Rugs

One of my blog's most popular posts

has been "Be My Valentine,"

featuring heart-shaped mug rugs.

I've made a few different versions

of these ric-rac trimmed sweeties,

and they never fail to make me happy.

Here's one I made in earth tones - quite different!

When I finished making my hexagons

for my guest posts at Bear Creek Quilting Company,

I had lots of nice scraps of Elementary by Sweetwater.

I patched together this little heart...

perfect for presenting to a favorite teacher.

I really enjoy the process of making these

mug rugs, edged in ric-rac.

The black looks so sharp against the fabrics in this line!

I made a matching one...
they will make great teacher's gifts.

{Whoever gives these will be an instant teacher's pet!}

The backings are pretty, too.

These mug rugs look especially great with a cup of coffee.

Oh, and a cookie really makes the difference between

a good coffee break and a great one!

I found these chocolate-coated biscuits,

and they are soooooo delicious!

Do you have these where you live?

These cookies made great props for my mug rug photos.

{I don't have them any more...not sure where they went...hmmm.}

Luckily, I've still got quite a few of those Elementary scraps.

Maybe a few more of these Teacher's Pet mug rugs will

pop out of my Elementary scrap box.

Central Park Squares Baby Quilt

There's a new baby in my world...

one of my friends has waited for a very long time

for the safe arrival of little Samuel.

I just had to make a quilt for this special little boy!

{ALL babies are very special, but Samuel is truly a miracle.}

Samuel's nursery is filled with animals,

so I started with an animal print

from Kate Spain's Central Park line for Moda.

I found most of these coordinating fabrics at Rose Room Quilts.

I had recently stocked up on polka dots,

and they were fun to use in this quilt.

I love the Ta Dots in Sea...

 the small cream dot in orange from Riley Blake...

and the solid olive green.

My favorite print, though,

was the Random Pencil Check in Linen,
which I used instead of a plain background solid.

I labored {hee hee} over what pattern or design to use,

and in the end, I decided to use colorful squares,

set off by the neutral pencil-check blocks.

Before I knew it, I was ready for the quilting step.

I kept the quilting very simple, 
just stitching 1/4" on each side of the seams.

{I wanted to give this quilt to baby Samuel before he is ready for kindergarten.}

This quilting looks so cool on the back, too!

For the binding,

I chose those happy orange polka dots.

I finished the binding by hand-stitching,

and that is a process I really enjoy.

{Do you like that part, too?}

So there we have it...

just 5 different fabrics, made into a finished quilt, 

ready for a bundle of joy!