Thursday, August 29, 2013

Patterns, Patterns, and More Patterns!

I have three new patterns to tell you about...yup THREE! Two are for sale in my Etsy and Craftsy shops, and one is a free pattern available to everyone!

First up is a pattern for the wool felt and cotton project I just did for the "I'm a Hexi Queen Blog Hop":

Next, is a re-working of the piece (again in wool felt and cotton) I did for the "For the Birds Blog Hop":
And finally, here's the link for the FREE pattern for my (cotton with wool felt accents) Hexi-Pumpkin Candle Mat, which I also created for the "I'm a Hexi Queen Blog Hop": (click on the image to get the .pdf file).
 
And one more thing... if you've already downloaded my free Floral Pincushion pattern, please download it again. I've made a few minor changes in the instructions.
 
Whew!
 

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

I'm a Hexi Queen!

Here we are in another great blog hop! A big thanks to Madame Samm and Debby for all their hard work and support.

The timing of this blog hop coincides with the publication of a series of table runners I designed, using hexagons, for Create & Decorate Magazine. The first was printed in the July/August issue:

 
As you can see, the sheep have hexagons for bodies.
 
The second table runner is in the current issue, with hexagon pumpkins:
 
 
And the third (in the Holiday issue) will be hexagon snowmen, but I'm not able to show you a picture of that one before it appears in the magazine.
 
Anyway...back to this blog hop! I've created two projects, the first one is a little pumpkin candle mat.
 
 
I cut out 14 hexagons and applied fusible fleece to half of them. Then I paired up a fused piece and a non-fused piece right sides together, added in the wool felt stems, and sewed together with a 1/4" seam leaving the bottoms open. I turned them right sides out and whip stitched the bottoms closed. Then, I whip stitched the hexagons to each other on the back, added three wool felt leaves on the front and did some simple machine quilting. The candle mat measures 12" from stem to stem.
 
The second project is an appliqued table mat that I'm calling "A Bed of Hexi-Roses." The roses are folded-petal hexagons. They start out like this:
And end up like this:
 
 
I added more hexagons for the centers, and some leaves. All the stitching is done by hand with DMC floss and a blanket stitch.
 
As in my poinsettia project that I did for the Ho Ho Ho Blog Hop, the whole piece is constructed from wool felt, with a cotton backing and binding.

Here's the finished piece:
I will be making the pattern for this project available for sale soon in my Etsy and Craftsy shops.

Would you also be interested in a free pattern for the pumpkin candle mat? Which project do you like better? (I will be offering a free pattern for the pumpkin candle mat if there's enough interest. The Hexi-Rose pattern will be for sale soon.)

Please leave me a comment and let me know. Thanks!

Be sure to visit the other talented participants on today's list:

Wednesday, August 21

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Giveaway Winner and New Published Project!

Congratulations to Margaret in AR who is the winner of my Ho Ho Ho Blog Hop Giveaway! She has won my Poinsettia Gift Tag Ornaments. Enjoy Margaret!

I have another published project in the current (Sept./Oct.) issue of Create & Decorate Magazine:

It's the second of three WoolFelt table runners. The third (snowmen) will be in the Holiday issue which I believe comes out in October.

Monday, August 5, 2013

New Patterns!

As promised, my Potted Poinsettia Party Table Mat pattern is now available!

It is for sale in .pdf format in my Etsy Shop and my Craftsy Pattern Store.

And click on the picture below for the FREE pattern for my Poinsettia Gift Tag Ornaments:

Friday, August 2, 2013

Ho Ho Ho!

I'm excited to be part of another great blog hop! These hops are really stretching my creativity and enhancing my skills. I'm trying techniques and ideas I've never attempted before. In the last hop, I did machine quilting for the first time. In this one, I'm tackling bias binding around a circle, but more on that later lol. First of all, a big thanks to Madame Samm and Carol for all their hard work and support.

My favorite Christmastime motif is the poinsettia, so I decided to design an appliqued piece with them. Now poinsettias always come in pots, right? So the title of my piece is "Potted Poinsettia Party." Poinsettias come in many colors, although red is primary one used in holiday décor. For fun, and the look it achieved, I included a non-traditional color in the project...pink!

I came up with my design and hand-appliqued the entire top with DMC floss. The appliques are all pieces of wool felt from my stash. The background is also wool felt, and the entire piece is backed and bound with cotton. Buttons were added for the stamen in the centers.

After finishing the applique, I attempting the bias binding. I cut 4" wide bias strips; joined them together (per this demonstration); folded the whole thing in half; stitched it on with a 1/2" seam; folded the binding back and hand-stitched it on the back of the piece. It wasn't too difficult and I think it came out well!

Anyway here's the finished piece. It measures 16".


The pattern for this project will be available soon in .pdf format in my etsy and craftsy shops.

For a giveaway, I took my same applique shapes, made them slightly smaller, and created a set of poinsettia gift tag/ornaments. They can be hung as ornaments or tied onto gifts! I'm giving away a set of three...just leave a comment and you'll be entered into the random drawing. I will also soon make the pattern for the ornaments available for free on my blog!


Be sure to visit the other creative people on today's list!

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs (that's me!)