Blossom Pillow

I'm guest posting over at the Fat Quarter Shop blog today, sharing this patchwork pillow I made using the Blossom quilt block pattern from Fat Quarter Style. Pairing Amy Sinibaldi's lovely new Charleston and Les Petits collections with some Sevenberry dotted canvas and this simple quilt block might just be the best decision I've made all week -- I'm definitely in love with the results. Head over to the blog to check it out!

Hair Bow Pouch

I'm guest posting over at the Fat Quarter Shop blog today for this month's Pattern Makeover post. A fun block from Fat Quarter Baby has become the sweetest little pouch for hair accessories...donut charm included. Head over there to check it out!

Handmade Holidays

Today I'm guest posting over at Ellison Lane for Jennifer's fabulous Handmade Holidays series. I'm sharing more versions of my new Pocket Mending Book Tutorial as well as three of my favorite online recipes for the holiday season.

Take a peek at the fabulous December giveaway she's hosting too. Yep, lots of good stuff going on here. Click on over to check it out!

Purse Palooza Guest Post

You'll find me over at Sew Sweetness today, helping to kick off Sara's annual Purse Palooza event. I'm reviewing one of my all-time favorite patterns, the Triangle Patchwork Box Pouch from Patchwork, Please! by Ayumi Takahashi. Go check it out!

Ipanema Beach Bag Tutorial

Happy Friday, everyone! You'll find me guest posting over at the Birch Fabrics blog today about my beach bag tutorial using their fabulous new Ipanema collection. Christmas may be only five days away, but it's never too early to start planning for summer, I say!

Linking up to Finish It Up Friday.

The Constance Organizer Tutorial

It's been an exhausting week here at our home. My daughters have been fighting a nasty bug that comes with endless high fevers, and it's been a constant battle to keep their temperatures below 101 degrees. Blogging and blog reading naturally fell by the wayside for the past few days, so I missed the posting of my latest piece for The Glamorous Housewife blog. I promised you all a tutorial for that organizer I showed you last week. Here it is: the Constance Organizer.

This version is slightly different from last week's. It has an extra pocket on the left side of the interior, a flap closure, and a much simpler exterior. The basic pattern is no problem to customize, though, so you can easily change this to make it whatever you want. That's the beauty of patterns for me -- I love to play with the details and make something new.

These make great last minute gifts for those of you who are already casting an eye toward Christmas presents. If you make one of these, please do send me pictures or mark a photo with #fabricmutt on instagram. I'd love to see what you're making!

And now I'd better head back to the couch to sit with my sick little Bear as we watch the never ending Handy Manny marathon that's been parading through my living room all week. Remember this old Calvin and Hobbes cartoon? Once in a while I share the same feeling for those who write children's programming. Not that I'm bitter or anything...

So You Want to Sew...

Yes, I'm aware that most of you already do know how to sew. For those of you who don't, however, or who might have a friend who's looking to get started, head on over to The Glamorous Housewife and check out my guest post.

A quick note, by the way...you'll notice my reference to the Patchwork, Please! Sew Along in the article mentioned above. I wrote this a few weeks back when the Zakka Along 2.0 was still going on, and as many of you know, it just came to a close. There's plenty of eye candy in the flickr group, though, so be sure to stop by for a visit.

Happy sewing!

Nora Clutch Tutorial

image courtesy of The Glamorous Housewife

My first contact with The Glamorous Housewife was through the pages of Country Living Magazine, and I admit that I still sometimes stop by here to revisit those gorgeously inspiring photos of Bethany's California house. One look at the incredibly chic yet practical details she featured in her interior decorating, and I knew that this was a blog I needed to visit. Bethany's website is a home for all things vintage, showcasing hundreds of ways to add retro touches to your life while still living in a modern world. I don't think a week passes without my picking up at least one great idea from her blog, so when the opportunity opened up to be one of her contributors, I naturally jumped at the chance.

Today you'll find a tutorial on The Glamorous Housewife for the little clutch I shared here a few weeks back, now officially christened the Nora Clutch. This bag is about the easiest thing in the world to make -- less than an hour to cut and sew the entire thing -- and it's roomy enough that I've had no trouble using it for regular daytime errands with three children in tow. With Christmas inching closer on my calendar, I'm also adding this project to my list of cute, easy gift ideas.

Head on over to Bethany's blog to check out the tutorial and be sure to take a look around while you're there. I promise you'll enjoy yourself.

A Season by Hand: Plain & Fancy

Today I'm guest posting over at Jennie and Clara's blog Clover & Violet, one of my favorite places to visit in the online quilting community. I always feel so at home there among the stories of family life and happy sewing. Jennie was kind enough to invite me to be a part of their wonderful summer series, A Season By Hand, and I'm so pleased to share with you my latest finish -- Plain & Fancy -- and a little bit about my ongoing friendship with hexagons. Come take a look!

Linking up to the Modern Mini Quilt Challenge and Finish It Up Friday.

What's Going On

I had planned to add a few announcements to my Fresh Sewing Day post tomorrow, but there's so much going on in the next month that I felt it deserved a post of its own. Click on the title for each event to see all the details. Here's the quick list of what's coming up...



1. Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition: visit the Pinterest board here to see all the entries and repin the ones you like -- my Mosaic Bag is in there too. The project with the most repins wins the viewer's choice prize, and there are some insanely gorgeous projects. I'm having a ball just going through them all this morning and doing a little pinning of my own!



2. Let's Get Acquainted New Blogger Blog Hop: My friend Beth from Plum & June is bringing back last year's wildly successful blog hop for another run. So many bloggers out there give Beth credit for introducing them to a wider audience, so if you're new to the online quilting community, you'll definitely want to get in on this before all the spaces fill up. I'll be guest posting for the blog hop on June 8th here at Fabric Mutt.



3. Season By Hand Blog Hop: Jennie at Clover & Violet is hosting a blog hop all about hand sewing projects -- such a great idea for staying crafty during summer travels. I have a project I've been working on for a while that I'm hoping to finish by June 14 which is my stop on the blog hop. There are going to be some great posts and amazing bloggers involved, so be sure to check out all the details.



4. Kate Spain Blog Hop: Alyce at Blossom Heart Quilts is celebrating all things Kate Spain in the month of June, beginning and ending by interviewing the lady herself. All of the bloggers will be sharing projects we've made with Kate Spain fabrics -- I'll have mine here on June 18th -- and you'll have the chance to link up your own for some wonderful prizes. You can even submit questions for the final interview if you get them in before the month is out!

So there you have it -- June is going to be one big sewing/blogging/hopping extravaganza. Sounds like fun to me!

Capturing Inspiration

Today you'll find me over on the Pink Castle Fabrics Blog as a guest blogger for their Spring Cleaning Series. I thoroughly enjoyed writing this post about different ways to capture inspiration for your sewing projects. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic too, so be sure to come back and share any ideas. Happy Wednesday!