scrappy, hand quilted 20-patch {a finished quilt}

 

My scrappy 20-patch quilt is all finished and ready for snuggles, yay!

I don't even remember last time I enjoyed making a quilt as much as I did this one. It wasn't a quick finish. I pieced the quilt top in October and have been slowly hand quilting it for about a month.

 I usually go with perle cotton #8 or embroidery thread when hand quilting my quilts. This time though I decided to use Clark bold hand quilting thread in white I had in my stash. And now I want to hand quilt everything using this thread. See this absolutely fabulous texture? I wish you could touch this quilt, it feels divine.

I took the inspiration from Rachel's beautiful Blue Phase quilt and quilted each rectangle using different patterns. Nothing too fancy, just my absolute favorite straight lines.

I chose dark-ish fabric for the quilt back and I just adore the way quilting looks on this side, as well. At first I wasn't sure how all those white stitches will look on such dark backing, but I'm super happy with the finish. 

And now I'm completely obsessed with hand quilting. OBSESSED!!! I tell you. Which is not such a bad thing, I guess. Hand quilting is pretty relaxing after all. I guess I'll just relax a bit more than usual in the next couple of weeks :)

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QUILT STATS

finished size: 48" x 69" 

fabrics used: favorite scraps + light colored solids

batting: Pellon's Nature's Touch Natural cotton batting

thread for quilting: Clark bold hand quilting thread in white 

Thanks for reading, friends. Svetlana

black friday sale

Hello, happy Black Friday to you all!

Ready to start tackling those Christmas lists? I definitely am :).

I hope you will like this special offer I prepared for you. All the items in both of my etsy shops are 20% off with coupon code THANKS16. This is the first time ever I'm offering not just my patterns, but also the kits, screen printed fabric, as well as all my handmades on sale. 

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You can purchase my patterns, kits, and fabric panels here,

and my handmades (finished pouches, pillows, quilts, and more) here.

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And just a quick side note, I'm taking a break from offering screen printed panels and kits at my shop after this sale, so once they are sold it will be it for quite some time.

The sale runs through Monday, Nov. 28th.

Thank you for all your continued support and encouragement.

Svetlana

striped cats tote

I absolutely love this time of the year. I love all the hustle and bustle of preparation for Thanksgiving and then Christmas (oh, I do love Christmas so very much), and two of my children were born in November which makes this month extra, extra special. But, I also feel like a hamster in its wheel. Running at neck breaking speed yet feeling like I'm not getting anywhere, or many times even falling more behind. Gah!!! Totally frustrating!

I managed to do a bit of sewing the other day though. And it totally helped with my mood :). So I decided to try and squeeze in a bit of  "sanity saving sewing" into most of my days.

I usually make a bag, a pouch, or a pillow. Nothing too huge and time consuming.

This little tote bag was one of those super quick, super satisfying projects. I made it for my son's friend. It was her birthday and she likes cats, so he very carefully went through my stash choosing the best cat print he could find.  He chose well, I must say. I love these Cotton and Steel striped cats.

He also chose these Cloud 9 owls (from Joann) for the lining. I thought it was a bit too much and wanted to steer him towards a plain lining but he insisted they were too cute not to be included :). Oh, well! 

Once the bag was finished he was super happy with the way it turned out. And so was his friend. I'm totally calling this a very successful collaboration.

Wishing you all a happy day. 

Svetlana

21 free christmas sewing tutorials

I know, I know! Thanksgiving is just around the corner and it's a bit too early to go into a full Christmas mode, but I simply couldn't resist any longer and I started working on my Christmas sewing list.

And, in case some of you feel the same and would like a bit of Christmas inspiration, I put together a list of 21 free sewing tutorials for you. Enjoy :)

(click on the picture below to be taken to original tutorial)

diamond stocking	christmas tree skirt	merry and bright cushion
circle tree quilt	stocking advent calendar	a bit of cheer ornaments
mini christmas tree ornament	reusable gift bag	table runner
patchwork pillow	simple sixteen quilt	advent calendar
felt woodland ornament	spiral stocking	patchwork pillow
kitschy christmas quilt	tree skirt	bullfinch ornament
gift tag	potholders	tiny trees bunting

Wishing each and every one of you a creative and relaxed weekend.

 Svetlana

winner, winner

Hello friends, 

a great thank you to all who took part in my screen printed fabric bundle + drawstring bag giveaway. You guys totally made my day, thanks for all the lovely comments.

As promised, Mr. Random helped me choose the winner.

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Congratulations, Kathy E. !!!

Hope you have great fun using these prints in your sewing.

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Wishing you all a relaxed and creative day. Svetlana

sotak prints giveaway

First off, just a quick reminder you can still take advantage of 20% discount on all my pdf patterns. Just click here to be taken to my etsy shop. No coupon needed, offer expires at midnight today.

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Let's talk giveaway now, shall we? 

I thought it would be fun to share a few goodies so I put together this bundle of five screen printed panels as well as my very own custom printed drawstring bag to give away to one lucky reader.

Simply leave a comment below for a change to win. All entries (domestic as well as international) are welcome. The giveaway is open through Wednesday, Nov. 16th.

Good luck to you all. Svetlana

20% off pattern sale

Hello, happy Saturday to you all!

I just wanted to pop in and let you know I'm running a sale on pdf patterns through Monday, Nov. 14th. No coupon code is needed. Simply stop by my Etsy shop and a 20% discount will automatically be applied to all patterns. 

Enjoy!

Svetlana

a bit of printing

Friends, I can't find any words as all the turmoil, disappointment, and utter despair of the last few days leaves me completely speechless. I did, however, want to share my newest screen printed panels with you. Hope you like what you see.

Wishing you all some peace and quiet on this beautiful fall day. Svetlana

shibori pillow + custom pillow form

I keep going back and forth on what to do with my lovely stack of indigo dyed fabric. I'd like to make a quilt, something like this or this would be absolutely wonderful, I think. But, I am totally not in a mood for any quilt making at the moment.

So I decided a pillow cover will suffice for now. This way I don't feel like fabric is just sitting there without me ever touching it while at the same time there's no need to commit to a long term project :).

I didn't want to cut my panels too much so I simply trimmed them to the same size - they were about 18" x 23". I then adhered SF101 interfacing to both panels to make them a bit more sturdy and turned them into a pillow.

I added an invisible zipper for closure. I am a  firm believer in zipper closure for each and every pillow I make for my house and I love that the panels don't have to be chopped up when I add an invisible zipper. 

Now, since I based my pillow cover measurements solely on the size of shibori panels, of course I didn't have a pillow form that would fit. So made my own pillow form. I cut two rectangles of white cotton fabric 1" larger then pillow cover panels on all sides, placed them right sides together, stitched all the way around the perimeter leaving a 5" opening in the bottom seam. I pressed the seams open, clipped the corners, and turned the pillow form right side out. I then stuffed it with polyester fiberfill, stitched the opening closed and my custom pillow form was done. 

I love how simple and super easy it was to make my own pillow form. I must remember to do it more often. Do you ever make your own pillow forms? I hope you give it a try if you haven't already. 

Wishing you all a relaxed rest of Sunday. Svetlana