I Need TeePee For My...

I need TP for my pumpkins, you silly ol' readers. Though kudos to you if you get my Beavis reference ;o)

Have a toddler in need of something to do? Want a new way to make a cute pumpkin?

Grab that itchy roll of TP no one wants to use.. and read on!

What do you need?

*A fresh roll of TP

*A fat quarter of fabric

*Some extra batting, smaller than your fat quarter

*A jumbo twig

What do you do?

You layer it as the image shows above, and ya stuff it all in!

That's it!

Here's Kiddo with her pumpkins. Sorry for the blurry image, but playing with these pumpkins is MUCH more fun than posing with them..

Love my stem? It's a real pumpkin stem! Now before you go to your local pumpkin farm in the middle of night to scalp some stems, here's the deal. Wait till Halloween is over and ask nicely =) You can't even use them yet anyways.. Let them sit out and dry for weeks and weeks. Don't put them airtight in a ziploc unless you want to see a science experiment... Sure, ask me how I know..

And next year you will have these AMAZING stems to craft with.. I'm going to be making a few velvet pumpkins for my Thimbles & Threads class attendees ;o)

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! **

GO! Baby Fabric Cutter Giveaway

Would YOU love to place this badge on your blog in a few weeks?? I would love it if you could!

Sooo excited to announce that Accuquilt has given me a GO! Baby Fabric Cutter & your choice of 3 dies to giveaway!!

Woot Woot! This is *just* in time to help you with all your holiday sewing and quilting projects! You will be able to make quilts in a flash and appliques to sew on adorable tops! The sky is the limit!!!

Sooo.. how do you win this awesome prize package??

1st Option - Visit the Accuquilt site and let me know a die you would pick to craft with this holiday season! Just leave me a comment on this post. (1 entry)

2nd Option - Twitter or Facebook about this giveaway. Just leave me a comment with the link. Please include @allbelle if you post on Twitter - thanks! (1 entry)

3rd Option - Be my friend! Join my blog. Just leave me a comment that you joined (1 entry)

That's it! You have 3 options. You can do one, you can do all, but the maximum entries per person is 3.

This contest runs from now until October 30th (midnight, mountain time). What a sweet Halloween morning you could have!

Accuquilt & I would love it, if you added us on your Facebook as well. These don't count as entries, but you'll get the latest news from us.

Did you know Accuquilt has *22* FREE patterns just waiting you you?? Just click the icon below.

I wish I had one for everyone - I adore my Accuquilt cutter. Fingers crossed for all of you!!

Rag Time Fun!

I love my toys.

And I really love my sewing toys!

When I learned about the AccuQuilt Studio last year,

I knew I had to have it!

I love quilting, but cutting the fabric is not my favorite thing..

I'm always sooo eager to sew!

I had been enjoying my Studio for several months before I

became an official blogger for AccuQuilt.

And I'm super excited that now I have the chance to do tutorials for you.

I just know that after you see how much it can help you can do,

you're going to want a machine too!

And well.. there just might be a GO! giveaway very soon...

For my first AccuQuilt tutorial, I'm going to go over how to make a fun and easy toddler rag quilt. Want to learn how to make this super snuggly quilt? Of course you do!

What do you need?

* AccuQuilt Studio or GO!

* 5 1/4" die combo

* Cotton fabric for the top (it is impossible to find Halloween flannel!)

* Flannel fabric for the back

Where oh where is the batting? I didn't use it in this blanket. It makes it very light weight and perfect for car rides. I tend to blast hot air in the car during the winter months here in Utah, and I wanted a blanket that would be comfy but not too heavy. You of course can use batting if you wish. And have no fear, that batting die is not going to waste. I have another raggy quilt tutorial in the works that uses only the batting die....

OK, so this quilt took a total of 49 (5 1/4") squares. After it is completed, the final size was close to 25". Why the 15" + loss of material? You will be sewing a 1" seam allowance to accommodate the ample fringe that the die cuts for you.

When I cut my fabric with the Studio, I rotary cut my fabric into 6" long strips. I then layer 8 -10 of strips on top of the Studio die and run it through. Super quick!!! No more itty bitty fringe cutting! **Now it does make a ton of lint, so have a lint roller handy..

After all your squares are cut, you will want to match a cotton top with a flannel back, pin them wrong sides together. Then you will sew a X through each square - you want to sew from corner to corner. And remember to backstitch at the start and end of each X. You can absolutely chain stitch these, it will make this quilt go by even quicker!

Once the squares are sewn, clip the threads and start to play with your quilt placement. Honestly I worked on this scheme all day. I even enlisted the help of my parents, eldest daughter, and hubby. I wanted to do a chevron theme, but it just didn't play well with this style of quilt. I ended up with a traditional pattern, but I do love it. The skull fabric helps modernize the look of it!
After you find a quilt motif that you are happy with, you can finish up your quilt. Carefully match up the seams, flannel sides together, and sew 1" seam. When you have completed sewing the rows together, you will then topstitch a 1" seam allowance around the quilt.

Now I read that it would be best to wash it at a commercial laundry mat, but I'm WAY too impatient for that and did it at home. It was totally fine and came out beautiful. I washed it with a baby detergent and used 3-4 dryer sheets to really soften it up.
Here is the final, raggy, soft blankey! Now the only problem is I have 1 snuggly quilt and 2 little girls that want to snuggle up in it! Time to make another one...

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I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and I will be bringing you more very soon!