I realized that I haven’t gushed about Little Folks yet on the blog, and I’m shocked. You may have seen it around. This is Anna Maria Horner’s newest collection, and rather than regular old quilting cotton, it’s printed on the most luscious, silky voile. (Rhymes with wall, toile…) There are also coordinating flannels, oilcloth, dobby dots, and solids. I squeal inside whenever I look at them.
When the collection arrived, Jennifer knew just what she wanted to do with it first. Before we could even put the bolts out on display, she was working on a scarf inspired by this one from Anna Maria’s blog.
She has since made more, as have many of our shop friends, and how could they not! It only takes about an hour and it’s such an easy way to use and wear a favorite print. To make your own, check out the Little Folks Voile Scarf Tutorial.
Jennifer (my right hand lady) and I have so many projects we want to do, it’s making us a little bonkers. So like good organized girls we made a list and started scheduling (softies this Thursday!, pre-cut freestyle next month…) The first thing on our list? Freeform blocks with Hope Valley. This is the newest collection from Suppose favorite Denyse Schmidt, and we are obsessed. What’s new, right? So, inspired by DS’s improvisational style and these, we picked out about 10 fat quarters each, plus a shot cotton here and there and just started cutting and sewing away.
Here are our first wonky log cabin blocks, J’s on the left, mine on the right. We were both drawn to the New Day and Piney Woods colorways, so they look like mateys.
Jennifer got all tricky with the center of her next block. We’ll do a few more and then set them into a background and square them up before putting them in quilts. I must say, sewing without rules is such a nice break from the pressure of perfect cutting and perfect seam allowances and perfect corners. Try it next time you feel intimidated by a project.
You’ve spent all that time crafting a totally personal, unique, handmade gift. So why not wrap it up in one-of-a kind handsewn gift wrap too? Or if you didn’t quite have time for handmade gifts this year, this is a quick way to spiff up that present with just a touch of handmade care. Not to mention, it’s a great way to recycle paper grocery bags and other paper around the house.
Let your creativity run wild and try whipping up some custom stitched gift wrap with instructions at our Stitched Holiday Wrapping tutorial.
As the shopping days left till Christmas wane, we are still finding more decorations to put up and trying to finish those last handmade gifts, not to mention scrambling to get in our online shopping before the shipping deadlines. If you feel like we do, and don’t have an extra moment to dream up the perfect gift, consider some suggestions.
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1 -Amy Butler Softwares : $29.29 : for the techie sewist
With over 22 fun projects & patterns in Amy’s modern style, we find this pretty irresistable.
2 -Kaffe Fassett’s Quilt Romance : $24.95 : for the book snob sewist
This is Kaffe’s newest book, with breathtaking photos and quilt patterns that will go straight to that must-do list.
3 – Kinkame European Taupe II Quilt Kit : $55.10 : for the world-travelled sewist
Soft colors to pacify any room with this wall-hanging sized quilt kit including fabric and pattern.
4 -Sweet Harmony Handbag Pattern : $12.95 : for the trendy sewist
The latest and greatest bag pattern from Amy Butler, best of all, this bag definitely won’t have that “home crafts” look (you know what we mean).
6 – Rouenneries Jelly Roll : $35 : for every sewist
French General’s Rouenneries fabric collection has pleased young and old alike. Here we have every print in a sweet little bundle.
7 – Paper Dollies : $16 : for the young-at-heart (or just young!) sewist
Just because you’re grown up doesn’t mean you can’t play with toys on Christmas morning!
8 – Liberty Of London Tana Lawn : $36/yard : for the sophisticated sewist
For someone who won’t indulge on themselves but should, 2 yards of a Liberty print can become a runway worthy blouse or skirt.
My mom has a rule: no shopping for yourself before Christmas. I haven’t quite adopted that rule myself, and with stuff like this around, how could I?
Just remember, orders must be placed by Sunday, December 20 to arrive by Christmas Eve with Priority Shipping.
There’s so much to be excited about lately, you’d think we would hit overload, but not possible. Just like it’s always possible to love another friend or another child, there is always enough love in our hearts for more fabric. Like Nicey Jane. Check out this sweet little slideshow Heather Bailey put together to show off her new line, then check out the complete collection here.
Our small town main street after the first real storm of the season.
Winter is not being wishy washy this year. Way to be loud and proud, Winter. So I am trying to get as close as I safely can to the fireplace in the classroom at the shop. It’s not all bad; things are feeling especially Christmasy and it’s a good excuse for homemade soup!
Last week at our Creative Guild meeting Kathy provided some hot liquid comfort of the savory sort. As is always promised at these meetings, we’d like to share her secret recipe right here.
Kathy’s homemade chicken soup has long been a family favorite, and the secret is in the dumplings. After boiling a chicken, shredding it and adding it back to the broth along with carrots, onions, celery, potatoes, and other favorite veggies, the true magic commences with the addition of the dumplings…
Dumplings for Chicken Soup
For a pot of soup feeding more than 4 people, double this recipe. You may find you need to make another batch the next day to add to the leftover soup!
bring to a boil:
1 cup milk
1/2 cube butter
dump into milk mixture all at once:
1/2 cup flour
1 scant tsp salt
Stir vigorously until a ball forms in center of pan. Remove from heat and add, one at a time, 2 eggs, beating each one in individually. Drop by teaspoonfuls into hot soup, scraping batter off spoon with index finder. Do not boil. Heat for 20 minutes.
This week we celebrate the official launch of the Suppose web shop with free shipping! Just choose FREE USPS Priority Mail as your shipping option at checkout.
You could say we’ve been in beta mode for a little while, but now we are full steam ahead. All of the fabric in our brick & mortar store is available online, from the oilcloth & laminates to Christmas prints and everything in between. Plus the ric rac. Oh the ric rac!
Not to mention, many of our favorite books and patterns. Free shipping will end Sunday. Have fun shopping, and don’t forget to show us what you make with your purchase in our photo pool!
{Free shipping has ended, but stay tuned for more great deals.}
The weather is nearly to freezing today in Idaho, a fine time to reminisce about warmer weather. Like last summer when I was seeing poppies everywhere and became obsessed. During my weekly drives from Utah to Idaho, I was distracted by the poppies off the side of the highway next to the wheat fields. And there was my local library.
When something chases me like this, it usually means I have to use it in a project to get it out of my system. So I dug through my embroidery floss and my fabric stash, and a few days later, had this.
Now these stolen shapes and colors bring me a little cheer during the barren winter months.
You can have your own fake summer on a pillow, or tote, or skirt, or whatever–the Poppies Embroidery Pattern is available as a free download! Full details at the Poppies Embroidery Pattern page.
she sewed. Today is her birthday, a good day to get nostalgic and show you what creative things she was up to before the quilting obsession took over.
Kathy is a good momma. She did lots of sewing for her kids. Which was especially lucky for me, being the first. I’ve still got this brown calico blanket she tied.
What great custom pieces she created! A knit jellybean jumpsuit for my first day of kindergarten. (And apparently my birthday. Two birthdays in one post!)
Matching kittie Halloween costumes for my brother and me. Cleverly made large enough that we could get years of use out of ‘em!
Kathy’s always been a great designer too. For Girl Scouts’ International Day, she conjured up this Canada flag from scratch. (Which we were clearly, uh, very happy about.)
You can check out even more of her work over on Flickr. Including a felt shark (notice the sweet beard on my pops), some Easter applique, and finally something for herself: a Hawaiian shirt (catch that Karen O-worthy haircut!).
Happy birthday to my dear mother, the other half of Suppose, the creative genius of the family!
Let’s catch up with the goings on of the Suppose Creative Guild, shall we? For many of us, the favorite part of guild meetings is show & tell. Here’s a taste of what we got to see at our November meeting.
Faye showed off some intricate paper piecing in this Christmas wall hanging.
Emma Jean made this quilt with one of her daughter’s old dress. Way to repurpose!
And finally somebody else made something with the ugly fabric from our December party game. Check out Evelyn’s scrappy scarf that will end up with frayed edges. Too bad she didn’t use the purple lamé (she claimed it frayed too much).
Impressive festive wool creations from Leanne:
And Jennifer demonstrated a quick and fun way to make coasters, the way we learned on Allsorts, and she added a triangle variation. Great idea for a quick gift as you can make a set up in no time and tie it up cute.
And last but not least, the treats! Emma Jean brought some delish Apple Bread, perfect for this time of year. A big thanks to her for sharing the recipe (and credit where it’s due: it came from a 1971 Ensign magazine!).
Apple Bread
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups cooking oil
3 whole eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups thinly sliced peeled apples
Sift together flour, soda, salt, and cinnamon. Cream together by hand the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla. (Be sure to add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.) Add the sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternating with the apple slices. Beat well. Bake in a loaf pan at 325° F until lightly browned and done. Wrap bread in foil as soon as cool, and it will keep in the freezer very well.
When the collection arrived, Jennifer knew just what she wanted to do with it first. Before we could even put the bolts out on display, she was working on a scarf inspired by this one from Anna Maria’s blog.
