Snowman Coasters

Hello, Friends!

Happy New Year!

Today I'm sharing some snowman coasters

that I made for a dear friend.

I bought the pattern here.

It's so cute in grays and whites, with colorful scarves.

As soon as I shared the pattern photo on Facebook,

my friend asked me if I wanted to make some for her.

{It's hard to say which one of us was most excited!} 

Photo from Annie's e-Patterns Central
Snowman Family Mug Rug Set

I chose some of my Cherry Christmas prints,
by Aneela Hoey for Moda...

and I made each one a wee bit different,

but coordinated.

This was such a clever pattern!

True...the little scarves were very tiny

and a bit fiddly to turn right-sides-out.

But they're simply adorable, right?

I found some snowflake buttons at my local Walmart.
They're nice and flat, with just the right amount
of silvery sparkle.

 These little snowmen will warm hearts
all winter long.

Living in Pennsylvania,
we have already seen some snow this winter.
I'll have to make some more snowman
projects to warm my own home!

Have you found a favorite winter pattern?

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Sweetwater Mug Rugs

Hello, Friends!

I'm almost ready for Christmas...how about you?

Earlier this week, the scene was set with some

beautiful snow.

I love to sit near the window with a cup of cocoa

and a little treat.

Hershey's Kisses are my favorite chocolate snack!

Not long ago...

Sweetwater fabrics blogged about a box of fabric

that I couldn't resist.

I ordered one almost before I finished reading the post!

The box of Christmas goodness arrived quickly, 
and I was not disappointed!

I kind of hoard collect Sweetwater fabrics,

and I took great joy in creating a few mug rugs

to give as presents this year.

I mostly used the fabrics that came in my box,

but I had some of this fabulous Feed Company plaid

that was just right for the bindings.

I had purchased this plaid mug from Pottery Barn

and I love the way it looks with each of these

black and red mug rugs.

Other mugs look pretty, too, though...

here's a classic pedestal mug, called Heritage,
 that I've had for many years, made by Pfaltzgraff.

I've got a sweet little Dept. 56 Scotties mug

that looks inviting, too.

This is how it looks with one of my favorite

designs by The Patchsmith!

Pattern: Scotties and Westies, available here.

Here's the same mug,

featured with the Sweetwater snowflake.

The designs by Sweetwater are so cute...

this snowman will bring cheer all winter long.

The snowflake design is so pretty and simple.

It sets off fabrics exquisitely.

I love the black and red theme,

but I also made up a couple of mug rugs

in aqua and red.

I hope this mug rug brings JOY to its recipient.

A little star will shine in the snow

all winter long.

I love the dash of aqua in that plaid binding.

These mug rugs will be given as gifts

to some special folks.

Stop by again soon,
for some more winter mug rugs,
made for more special people!

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Christmas Once A Month - January

Here we are in the MIDDLE of January already.

Christmas will be here again before I know it!

{My little snow friend here...created by my sweet friend Janet...

reminds me there is plenty of wintertime left.}

But THIS time, I'm going to be ready.

I'm joining Julie at The Crafty Quilter,

 who is celebrating Christmas Once A Month!

Internally I had already made the decision to try

to sew something Christmas-y

each month this year.

My plan is to keep Christmas fun

and not overwhelming, yet to make lots of handmade

projects for myself and for others.

Last year, I felt a smidge too much pressure to finish

my Winter Dresden quilt in time for Christmas.

{Truthfully December is the hardest month for me to keep 

my dining room studio available for sewing.}

The Crafty Quilter is making it easy...

and Julie is starting off the year 

with a super-fantabulous Poinsettia Pillow!

{Is this not the most incredibly pretty flower there is?}

Photo from The Crafty Quilter

I definitely love that I have almost a whole year

to get one or two of these finished!

As I read the tutorial,

I was flabbergasted and flattered to learn

that Julie had used my free tutorial

for making Pillow Backs with a Covered Zipper!

Photo from The Crafty Quilter

This isn't the first time Julie has made my heart palpitate

with her interpretation of one of my tutorials.

Have you seen her Paper Snowflake Pillow?

{Sigh...notice that beautiful quilting, the charming button detail and the soft colors.}

Photo from The Crafty Quilter

Coincidentally, another snowflake pillow has just entered my life!

A friend of mine from work approached me about

making something special from a quilt that had seen better days.

Since there were areas with bleach stains,

we decided some pillows would be a great idea.

The quilt was made by her husband's grandmother,

but that's all the detail I have.

I would have loved to have known this woman...

her quilt would qualify as Modern by today's standards.

The colors, now faded, are very "in" for today's decor...

the blue has become almost a steel gray.

The blanket stitches are made by hand, 

and it looks like she used a raw edge technique that is popular now.

The wavy quilting lines must have been so unusual

for its time.

To make this quilt into a pillow, I simply cut two large squares,

centering a snowflake in each.

I stitched the blocks together,

right sides facing, and left an opening for turning.

After inserting a pillow form, I handstitched the opening shut.

OK...is it cheating to say that this is a Christmas project,

even if it could be used all winter?

{That's one great thing about using snow as a Christmas theme.}

I still have time to make some more quick items for next Christmas,

so hopefully I'll be sharing more later on this month.

I think we're off to  a great start!

I hope you'll join us!

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Paper Snowflake Pillow - a New Free Project

This morning at our house we had a few snow flurries...

nothing major, just decorative.

:)

I just love how each snowflake is unique, 

and also very beautiful.

{Here's how they look under a microscope...photo from interestingtopics.net}

 A few weeks ago,

snowflakes inspired me to create a pillow,

and the free pattern is now available for

you to download

at Pellon Projects!

{Go to pellonprojects.com and choose Projects, then the Home Decor tab, to find my Paper Snowflake Pillow project.  It's free to join the site, and then you can download the PDF file.}

I may have mentioned before how much I love using Pellon 987F fusible fleece

in so many of my projects.

I literally buy it by the bolt!

The brilliant idea I came up with was to use Pellon 987F Fusible Fleece

on the OUTSIDE of the pillow,

as the main design element!

Maybe you had been waiting patiently to see the front of this pillow.

{I featured the back for my own free tutorial for making 

Pillow Backs with a Covered Zipper.}

So now you can make your own

Paper Snowflake pillows!

I chose some aqua and red prints for my original pillow.

I love the contrast of the top fabric...both are from Joy by Kate Spain...

perfect for the background of the snowflake.

{The bottom fabric is awesome, too...will be used for a future pillow!}

Then I used some Ta Dots in Ocean by Michael Miller.

{Raise your hand if that shocks you.  Anyone???}

And for the backing, I love the snowmen from Ann Kelle's latest Christmas line, called Jingle, for Robert Kaufman.

I'm actually working on my second paper snowflake pillow right now!

I've got some Cherry Christmas for that one, by Aneela Hoey for Moda.

{I'm going to have to get a bigger Aneela Hoey box!}

I don't provide a template for the snowflake design, because...

That's the idea...no two are going to be alike!

But I promise...they will all be very pretty.

See what I mean?

I kinda went crazy with the quilting on my first one.

I liked the way it looked on the back, too...all squishy and soft!

A Snowflake Pillow can be used all winter, 

but a Christmas snow is always extra-magical.

Maybe you could partner up with a child you love,

to design and cut out the snowflake shapes.

If you do make one, or a flurry of Paper Snowflake Pillows,

I'd love to see them on my Flickr group page,

"Amy Made That! and So Did I!"

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