Sew The Library: Modern Maples

Welcome to another edition of Sew the Library! I've been enjoying so much going through my books and putting them to use. It feels so satisfying to make the beautiful projects that inspired me to buy those books. This month I was not sure what project to make. There are so many on my list that sometimes it is difficult to choose which one to start next. But one day inspiration stroke and decided to begin working on a  Modern Maples Quilt. It has been on my mind for quite some time. We are still in the middle of summer around here but there are some trees that are beginning to turn color and I got nostalgic about autumn. The warm colors, crisp air and colorful foliage. I can wait to snuggle under this quilt this fall. The pattern is by the very talented Amanda Jennings (from Hey Porkchop) and featured on the book Pretty in Patchwork Holidays. 

How about you? Have you been working on any projects from a book or a magazine? Link up your recent finished of WIP and let's inspire each other to sew from our libraries. 

Thank you for stopping by!

Martha

Another Envelope Bag

Oh my goodness how time flies! This summer has been so busy and with very little sewing time. A few days ago I managed to sneak in a few moments in my sewing room and I made another envelope bag. This one was for my dear sister. She wanted something funky and fun, so this is what I came up with. I love how it turned out. The bright pink bias tape against the black gingham fabric is one of my favorite parts (I think I want to make a quilt using that color combo), and the diamond quilting is definitely something I'd try again. If you would like to make your own envelope bag you can download my free pattern here.

I hope you have an wonderful week!

Martha.

Sew The Library: Needle Book

Welcome to another edition of Sew the Library! I'm so happy you stopped by. For this month's project I chose a lovely book that has in my library for quite some time but I've never got around to making a single project from it. It is such a shame because it is an excellent book. Hex-Go-Go by Tacha Bruecher gives us a new take on traditional  English paper piecing with great projects for all skill levels. I decided to start small and tackle one of the more beginner friendly projects: the Rosette Needle book. The colors I chose are very different from the ones on the book, but I really like how it turned out. It feels very warm and the brown and oranges really got me thinking about autumn. However, I ran into a little problem while making my needle book. I didn't have enough felt for the 'pages' of the book so I ended up with only two pages rather than four as the pattern suggests. Oh well sometimes we have to improvise :)

How a bout you? Have you been sewing from your library? Please link up any projects that you have completed or are WIP's from a book or a magazine.

Thank you for stopping by!

XO

Martha

Ho, Ho, Ho & On We Sew, Giveaway & Free Pattern

Thank you for stopping by to this month's Ho, Ho, Ho & Oh We Sew. I'm so glad you are here. On this month's stop Chelsea from Patch the Giraffe and I are sharing hosting responsibilities. She has a wonderful tutorial to make a Christmas pillow cover.  It feels a bit strange to be talking about Christmas right in the middle of July, but it is never too early to get a head start on our handmade Christmas makings. Fiona @ Celtic Thistle Stitches & Paula @ Mud Pies & Pins  had the most brilliant idea to organize the link up and get us motivated to start early making our Christmas presents. 

At the beginning of the year I made and envelope bag to keep my date book and stationery organized (you can see it here)  and it has been such an useful bag that I thought I'll make another one to carry my iPad and share the pattern with you.  It super easy to make! And the would make great personalized gifts. You can download the pattern here. This is my fist try at pattern writing so if you have any questions or need clarification, please let me know. 

An now on to the giveaway... this month's giveaway is sponsored by The Fat Quarter Shop. The winner will receive a Mini Charm Pack. There are over 60 to choose from. To enter the giveaway please ink up you makes below:

An InLinkz Link-up

Thank you for stopping by!

XO 

Martha.

Finally Off The Needles

Happy Sunday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Things continue to be a bit hectic around here so there hasn't been a lot of finishes. I have so many projects I wish to work on, but sadly so little time. My poor sewing machine feels very neglected lately. But I've been working on my knitting (I love how portable it is) I carry my projects around everywhere I go. I love to knit in the car and my commute to work with the morning light is my absolute favorite time to get some knitting done. In the past  couple of weeks I made so much progress on my Nae shawl that I have been working on for quite some time (you can read about it here and here) and today I finally finished it! I love the way it turned out. I can't wait to take more photos and show you what a lovely pattern this is. 

I hope you have a wonderful week.

*Linking up to Wool on Sundays at Rainbow Hare Quilts and Yarn Along at Small Things*

XO

Martha

Sew The Library: Felted Necklace

Hello and welcome to another edition of Sew the Library! I can't believe how fast this month went by. For this month's project I chose a book that has been in my library for quite some time: Stitch Magic by Alison Reid. The book is about techniques for stitching fabric to create different textures; some of the techniques include pleating, pintuckig, cording and smocking. I think it is a great book to have in the library and the techniques could be applied to many other projects. This necklace is part of the chapter about folded shapes: basically you cut small pieces of fabric and fold them to add a three-dimesional effect to a project. The necklace came together very quickly and super fun to make.

How about you? Did you finish or are working on a project from a book or a magazine? Please link up your projects and don't forget to visit others. 

Thank you for stopping by!

XO

Martha

On the Needles...

Happy Sunday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I'm so happy to have a few minutes to write on this space. Life has been crazy busy around here and sometimes it feels like there are not enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do. But slowly things are getting back to a normal pace. While I've been mostly absent from the sewing room and blogging most days I'm able to sneak in a few minutes of knitting during my morning commute. Even though I'm still working on my Nae Shawl; I decided to start another shawl. I found the yarn on clearance at my local crafts store and I couldn't pass it up. It is super soft. I wasn't too sure about the color at first but the texture and soft feel immediately caught my attention. However, the more I work on it, the more I like the color. It is so different from the colors that I usually pick, but I think it is good to try something different once in a while. 

Wishing you a beautiful week and lots of crafting time.

XO

Martha 

Sew The Library: Needle Case

Welcome to another edition of Sew the Library! For this month's project I decided to make a project from an old time favorite: The Zakka Style book. I just love every single project in that book and hopefully one day I could say that I had made them all. This is the Patchwork Pencil Case designed by Shannon Dreval, but instead of using it as a pencil case I decided to use is as a needle case. The size is perfect for holding a set of double pointed needles or a pair of circular needles. And since I do most of my knitting on the go is always good to carry an extra set. 

How about you? Did you finish or are currently working on a project from a book or a magazine? Please link your finished projects or WIP's* below and don't forget to visit others. 

*I understand that sometimes it takes time to finish a large project. So I decided to add the option of including works in progress.

Thank you for stopping by!

XO

Martha