Christmas Tree Skirt Tutorials

Last year I designed two tree skirt tutorials, one for a Christmas tree and one for a table top tree. In case you are looking for some inspiration, I thought I would repost the tutorial links!

This is my Ribbon Candy tree skirt that I designed for Moda. You could easily change the serger thread or jelly roll fabric to any desired color for a different colored "candy".

And this is my paper pieced skirt for a table top tree that I designed for Riley Blake. If that much paper piecing gives you the shivers, you can easily replace those panels with coordinating fabric.

I have both of these skirts on our trees now and love the quilted touch. If you can believe it, I still have not made stockings for my family - we use store bought ones (boo!) That will be on my to-do list next summer.

What are your favorite holiday tutorials?

Show & Tell From Class

I was so excited when one of my attendees from my quilting class last week 

sent me photos of her projects.

 Aren't they awesome?! 

 Love, love, love!

I have another class this Wednesday - hope you can make it!

Quilting Class At The Library

I am still here. I am working like crazy these past weeks. I have nothing to show, err, that I'm at liberty to show. I will be back to posting some tutorial freebies soon, pinkie promise.

Until then, tomorrow I start my FREE paper piece quilting classes for the Salt Lake County Libraries. Want the details? Click on over.. I will teach how to do basic paper piecing and how to make it into this pincushion. Hope to see you there!

Garden Party - Summer Sweetness Block

I am very excited to be a part of Sewhooked's first blog hop party. I can't wait to see all the paper piece pattern goodness! I love that the quilting community can be so supportive and encouraging of each other.

For the garden party, I designed a teacup full of roses. When I think of a garden party, I think of a fanciful day full of flowers, tea, and the ladies dearest in my life. You could make the roses all the same shade or vary them as I did. My husband think it looks a yummy cup of fruit sorbet, so you are welcome to interpret it that way as well. I think I will be using this block to create a Mother's Day gift - wouldn't it be sweet as a pillow or table mat for someone that deserves a cup of kindness?

I think it would be fun as large quilt too, with many different patterns for the teacups.

The PDF pattern is here. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to drop me a line. If you are new to foundation quilting, I have a tutorial here.

Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you love the block and can use it in your quilting. I can't wait to see the other blocks this month.

Eggcellent Series #2 - Paper Pieced Cross Pillow

Okay, you got me, this pillow isn't an Easter egg motif..but it is Easter related. I think this pattern would be fabulous as a gift for a Baptism or Christening too.

 Materials needed:
*Travel pillow form
*3 fat quarters
* 1/4 yard of light weight fusible interfacing (optional)
*invisible zipper
*my paper piece pattern - click here to download

Step One: Print out the cross pattern; I gently color the pieces to remind myself which fabrics are to be used. Cut section A from section B (as seen below). You will then paper piece quilt this portion of the pillow. I have a tutorial here if foundation quilting is new territory for you. If you have any questions at all, please email me at allthingsbelle@hotmail.com

Your finished paper pieced section should measure 6" x 9.5" (for this pattern I did not use a 1/4" seam allowance on the border - I cut it down exactly up to the paper edge)

 Step Two: The remainder of the front cover is completed like Courthouse Steps.

Here are the pieces you will need to cut out.
Pink: (2) 1.75" x 9.5" and (2) 1.75" x 8.25"
White: (2) 2" x 11.75" and (2) 2" x 11"
Print: (2) 1.75" x 14.25" and (2) 1.75 x 13"

Step Three: Pin and sew the long pink strips that measure 9.5" as seen below.

Step Four: Pin and sew the remaining shorter strips that measure 8.25" long.

 Step Five: Repeat this process with the final two groups, sewing the longer strips first on the vertical and then the shorter strips on the horizontal. Your final front cover piece should measure 16.5" x 13".

(Optional): Cut a 16.5"x 13"piece of light weight fusible interfacing and iron on to the wrong side of the front cover. Serge or zig zag borders of cover for a professional finish.

 Step Six: Set aside the front cover for now. You will now need to cut the back cover and attach the invisible zipper. For this pillow, I placed my zipper right smack in the middle of the back.

For the back you will need to cut: (2) 13"x 8.5" pieces of fabric.

(Optional) Cut (2) 13" x 8.5" piece of light weight fusible interfacing and iron on to the wrong sides of the back cover pieces. Serge or zig zag borders as well.

Step Seven: As I mentioned yesterday, I think Sew Katie Did does a phenomenal tutorial on installing invisible zippers. However, I will show you briefly what I did since it is a little different (but not much..)

You are going to open your zipper and place one of the zipper tapes flush with one of the back cover pieces. You want the right side of the zipper tape placed on the right side of the fabric. Pin zipper to fabric and sew on with your invisible zipper foot.


 Here is a picture of my $2 Coats & Clark zipper foot that is awesome! Go slow and be sure that you are not sewing the zipper teeth as well (ahem.. don't ask me why I mention that..)

 Easy Peasy! Press and enjoy how simple that was.. ok, now to sewing the other side.

 You will want to zip your zipper up while aligning the next part. Again, you will want the other zipper tape right side on the right side of the fabric. Pin and then you can gingerly unzip and sew down.

 Step Eight: You can see below I have all kinds of extra zipper tape - no worries. Now you will pin the front & back cover right sides together. I'M GOING TO YELL THIS NEXT PART - UNZIP YOUR ZIPPER ABOUT HALF WAY. Seriously or else you will be throwing this whole thing away, and that will make you very sad.

Once your zipper is partly unzipped, sew around all the edges with 1/4" seam allowance.

 Great! You're almost completely down. Now snip the corners up to the stitching line - this will give you nice sharp edges and clip off any extra zipper tape.

Since your zipper is unzippped (right??) you can then pull your pillow cover right side out.

Step Nine: Stuff your pillow with the form and enjoy!

You can use this cross paper piece template for a number of things. The really great thing about foundation piecing patterns, is that they are easy to scale up or down. All I ask is that you use this pattern for personal or charitable use.

Come on back tomorrow for The Good/Bad Egg pillow tutorial..

MaryJane's Farm Magazine - Artist Feature

It's hard for me to keep secrets.. like super hard. So when good things happen and I have to keep it under wraps, I typically let little bits slip out before I can. As you may have guessed from previous posts and/or my Facebook chatter, I am in a magazine this month.

I was interviewed for MaryJane's Farm magazine about a new line of items that I will be offering in my Etsy store. I am creating DIY paper pieced fabric card kits that are perfect for the new quilter. They are small and not intimidating to create, but for the very lucky receiver they are mini works of art to be cherished. I love quilts - the love & the time that goes in to them. How wonderful would it be to receive a mini bit of love in the mail?

For those that don't want to quilt, but want to enjoy this textile loveliness - I am offering quilted cards made by me.. Now the real question will be, do you keep it or give it away?

I have just a few in the store right now, but there are many more on the way this month..

The ABC's of Paper Piece Quilting

I'm so excited about one of my new classes at Thimbles & Threads. I will have a year long class of paper piecing the alphabet. This would be an amazing baby or children's quilt for next Christmas. It will be scrappy, bright, and just so very cheerful. You will become a paper piecing pro by the time this beauty is completed!

I have a few more classes coming up in January & February and will post pictures soon.

Christmas Candy Tree Skirt

My girls have this adorable table top pink Christmas tree -

it's fanciful and so them!

Come see how I decked the halls with a

Riley Blake mini tree skirt tutorial.

Moda Bake Shop

It's up, it's up! I'm so excited to be on Moda's Bakeshop. I love Moda and it's a dream come true to be working with them. I hope you'll stop and leave my little quilt some love. It was a quilt that I had rolling around in my mind all year and ended up being a birthday gift for sweet Julie.

Only Bad Witches Are Ugly

It's no secret to friends and blog readers that I'm a tad obsessed with Elphaba, the green faced witch. But I also *love* the musical Wicked.. and Glinda.. and well I guess everything related to OZ.

I'm also a HUGE fan of Halloween! Having a whole day to pretend to be something extraordinary, receiving a pillowcase full of candy, and in general causing a raucous - yup, that's my ideal day! I was supposed to be a Halloween baby too..much to my Mom's dismay. My mom does not care too much for Halloween...but she does love Glinda the Good Witch..

Soo... I decided to sass up a pair of Glinda Witchy Boots! It's paper pieced quilted on wood.. Yup!

Here in Utah, we have an amazing wood craft store called The Wood Connection. They always have amazing wood pieces for the season as well as some fabulous year around staples. If you're in Utah, you have to check them out!

To make these fabulous pumps, you'll first want to draw the outline of the wood block on paper. I had to tape 2 pieces together. And be sure to outline both feet. When you paper piece quilt, your final product is a mirror image.

Paint the sides of the wood that will not be covered in fabric.

Decide on the color scheme of the shoes. And well Glinda is all about the pink & flashy silver!

Draw in the details of how you want to quilt the boot. Keep it SIMPLE - this is not the time to learn how to design paper piece quilting.. Check out my sample - super easy 3 parts. Then paper piece quilt it together. Need some help? Check out my tutorial on paper piece quilting here.

Once those are done, adhere to the boots with a fabric glue like Liquid Stitch. Now it's time to decorate those snazzy shoes.

I apologize that I don't have more in depth photos to share. Baby was up screaming from 9pm -4:30am..and I was brain dead when I finished these. So the details are labeled below..

Even if you're not a fan of Halloween or The Wizard Of Oz (gasp!!), you've got to love these Good Witchy Boots...

** ARE YOU LOOKING FOR THE GO! GIVEAWAY POST? CLICK HERE & GOOD LUCK! **

Linking up to: Lil' Luna, Someday Crafts, Tatertots & Jello

November Classes

I absolutely love the fall! I love the crisp night air, autumn leaves, and holiday spirit. I'm so excited to show you the November classes I will be holding at the fabulous Thimbles & Threads.

The class will be held on November 9th, from 6-8pm

There will be two options, but you're welcome to both exclusive patterns I've designed.

There is the Autumn Joy candle/vase mat. It is a 8" square and paper pieced. It's a quick sew and a perfect gift for the holiday hostess.

And of course Mr Wonky Turkey mug rug. Isn't he fun! I love his colorful feathers that have just a touch of quilting.
I've been working closely with Thimbles and Threads to create my exciting line up exclusive classes for 2012. Of course there will be lots of paper piecing, but also I'll be teaching some other quilt styles as well.

Hope to see you there!

** ARE YOU LOOKING FOR THE GO! GIVEAWAY POST? CLICK HERE & GOOD LUCK! **

Celebrate Christmas - Quilt Along

Welcome Quilters!

I'm so honored to be a part of Quilting Gallery's Quilt Along.

If you are new to my blog, let me give me a little background.

My name is Jennifer and I live in Utah with my 2 adorable little girls

and super supportive, handsome hubby.

I've been sewing on and off for two decades, and quilting in the more recent years.

Earlier this year I tried paper piece foundation quilting and fell in love.

I'm completely hooked on the technique and started creating my own patterns this summer.

I like to post free patterns & tutorials weekly - I highly recommend subscribing to my blog to keep up with latest!

For this Christmas quilt along, I created the paper pieced block "Santa's Mittens". If you have not done this technique before, I have a very simple tutorial here. If you have any trouble at all, please do not hesitate to email me!!

The block pattern is here. There are a total of 3 PDF pages to print - each one is a 6" printed square. ** With paper piecing you will use your add 1/4" ruler around the edge so it will be a 6.5" square upon completion.

I suggest printing out multiple copies - one to sew on and one to color in as a reference. Please remember that your block will be the mirror image of what you print.

How much fabric do you need?

I used 4 fat quarters and had LOTS leftover.

The wonderful thing about paper piecing is it's easy to use up your stash rather than having to buy new fabric, but I of course always want to buy new fabric.. I'm sure none of you can relate.. ;o)

How do you create the block?

You will do a single block of each mitten.

You will do two blocks of the 4 square. I alternated the colors in my triangles, but of course you can do what you like best.

For this block - you will need to cut the letter groups from each other - A,B,C,D,E, and F.

Complete each letter group and then sew together.

For example, sew A1 to A2, B1 to B2, and then the A group to the B group.

When you paper piece, you will leave a 1/4" border around the printed piece. Thus your printed 6" square will be a completed 6.5" square.

You will then sew the four blocks together and have a completed 12.5" square that will be 12" finished once you sew them to the additional Christmas blocks.

I thank you so much for your time and truly hope you love this block. I know that foundation piecing maybe new to some of you, but please give it a try. I personally find it much easier and I think you will have fun. Happy Holidays!

-Jennifer

Paper Pieced Snack Mat

I made this adorable little snack mat for Kiddo.

Sorry I don't have a picture after I bound it - she was eager to use it..

in fact it already has a sour cream stain..

Want the pattern?

Come visit Craizee Corners today - I'm guesting posting!

The Giving Tree

Do you love my little tree design? Did you know you can get the pattern for free? Did you know it's over at Quilting Gallery?

Would love to see if you make one!

Did you know I have a Flickr group for pictures of your projects using my patterns? Check it out!

Paper Piecing Tutorial

Today we are going to make a very easy peasy heart mini block. You can make this into a little pillow, mini quilt, potholder..and the list goes on!

What do you need?

*scrap fabric

*copy paper - for your printed pattern

*old credit card or something of that shape & weight

*rotary cutter

*cutting mat

*extra fine seam ripper

*tape

*iron

* add a 1/4" ruler

*tweezers

*glue stick

How do you do it?

1.) Print out this pattern - you can download it here. Keep in mind that your finished project will be a mirror image of your pattern. Now because this is an easy pattern, all the piecing will be done on the same page. With more complex patterns, you would have to cut apart main sections to complete and then sew together.

2.)In paper piecing we work in numerical order, so the first section we will do is #1. Pick a scrap piece of fabric that is at least 1/2" wider then section #1. Place the printed side of the paper down on the table. Add a dab of glue stick to the wrong side of the fabric and adhere right side up on the back of the paper - centered into section #1. It helps to hold it up against the light to make sure you have placed it correctly.

3.)Now before we begin sewing, decrease your stitch length somewhere between 1-2. This shorter stitch will make it much easier for you to tear the paper off later. You will not be removing paper until the very end.

4.) With the printed side of the paper facing up, fold back the line between #1 and #2. Using your add a 1/4" ruler, trim the seam allowance to 1/4". You can discard the excess fabric or save for another project. Unfold the pattern.

5.)We will always be sewing on the front side of the paper and laying fabric down on the back. Now find a fabric scrap that fits at least a 1/2" larger than section #2. Place this fabric down on section #1, right sides together with raw edges matching up. Hold or pin in place and turn the paper back over with printed side facing up. You will now stitch right on the line between section #1 and #2.

6.) Gently press the fabric open with an iron.

7.) Repeat step #4 for the section 2 borders. Find a suitable piece of fabric for section #3 -remember that your fabric can be scraps, but they must be 1/2" larger than the printed area. This is the most common step people have trouble with because they use too small a piece of fabric. It is much easier to cut away excess that to start over or to rip the itty bitty stitches..

8.) Place the #3 fabric right side down on section 1&2 - rights sides together with raw edges lined up. Again making sure that when fabric is folded back over it will completely cover the #3 section with room to spare. Hold or pin in place and flip over to the printed paper side. Sew on the #3 / #1&#2 border. Press fabric open.

9.) Now repeat those steps for the remaining sections...More pressing...
More cutting..
TADA! All done - whew! That was easy, right? Now you can gently remove the paper from the back. Use your tweezers to help remove small pieces in the stitches. Your project is now reading for finishing. I think this would be an adorable little sachet pillow.

There are so many fun things you can make with paper piecing. You will love and be amazed at the easy precision. You can find more free paper piecing patterns at my blog over at All Things Belle and ones to purchase on my Etsy store.

Thank you so much for joining me! I hope I have removed some of the mystery of foundation piecing and have you excited to go try it.

Linking up to: A to Z