I bought a small circle loom from Twill Textile Design on Etsy. Although I don’t really know what to do with the finished bowls, I’ve been making them like crazy because it’s such an enjoyable, soothing activity. Watching the colors form into slow, lazy rings is immensely satisfying.
You can find more details (including tutorials for using the circle looms) at the Twill blog.
If seeing “Made in the USA” makes you happy, you’re going to love this.
There’s an awesome company called American Made Brand making fabrics that are made from:
Like American Made Brand says, “Not just made here. Grown here.” Love it!
They’re hosting a 50 state blog tour showcasing American blogging quilters (quilting bloggers?) with each blogger creating a pieced license plate to represent their state in any way they choose. These imaginative re-invented license plates will be sewn together to make up a colorful quilt of license plates from all 50 states.
Each blogger will also be giving away eight different fat quarters from American Made Brand, so be sure to visit them all! Did I mention there are 50 colors in their palate? Love that. The blog tour will start May 19th, so be sure to check back at American Made Brand’s site daily to click through to the next stop.
And did I mention that I was asked to represent West Virginia? I’m kind of stunned by that, and completely honored and maybe even a little nervous. (I’ll be posting my contribution on June 11th.)
I mean, these are gorgeous fabrics, and buying them brings business to American farmers, spinners and weavers, not to mention our beloved quilt shop owners.
As quilters, we love to have meaning and purpose behind the things we sew. The love we stitch in just goes a few layers deeper with this fabric, doesn’t it?
I love using advent calendars to track the days to Christmas. Mr. Printables has this free printable Christmas Street Advent Calendar available in black and white or with pops of accent color. Your city grows by a building each day, and every building is a tiny box if you’d like to include a small gift. Just print them on cardstock, cut them out, score along the dotted lines to help in folding and add a couple pieces of tape here and there. (I used the blunt tip of a knitting needle to score mine.) In no time at all, you’ll have your own gorgeous little city!
Yesterday I saw a post for Cord Keepers made from fabric scraps. This was one of those “Doh!” moments when I realized I really should have made these years ago. There’s a tutorial on Made by Me, Shared with You along with a nice template, but I just made simple rectangles with velcro stitched to either side.
Useful just around the house, but just think of how much easier it will be to handle all those power cords during travel!
It really doesn’t take much more than that, a couple of rectangular scraps of fabric and velcro. Mickey makes organization more fun.
And like any other useful, quick craft, once you start you’ll quickly have a stack to share!
And apparently, everyone wants these! These would be great to make in bulk when you have some free time, ready to wrap up when you need a quick gift. (I’m thinking they’d make nice teacher gifts, helpful for summer travel over break!)
I found this prayer this morning and thought it sounded so modern, that it fit “today” so well. I was surprised to find it was written by Sir Francis Drake in 1577.
This makes me want to dream a little more, dare a little more and try not to worry so much when I lose sight of land.
CoopCrafts 