sewtakeahike

modified infinity scarf tutorial {a gift for you}...

 

 

 

The winter weather we're (finally) having is warming my heart and making me want to wear warm things around my neck.  So a week ago I made an infinity scarf, which I love, but wanted to customize it a bit more to the length I prefer and add some flannel to the inside for an extra cozy feel. 

Also, I shortened the length from the other tutorials I found so it wouldn't hang so low.  In doing that, I wanted to give an alternative to putting it on over the head since I usually put my scarves on as I'm walking out the door, after my hair and makeup are done.

 

This scarf is really super simple, and will take you about 30 minutes to make.  I hope you enjoy this little Christmas gift from me to you!

 

What you will need:

• 52" X 11 1/2" outside fabric
• 52" X 11 1/2" lining fabric (I used flannel)
• 3 buttons
• water soluable marker
• three 2 5/8" lengths of 1/8" cording (I used my size 6 clover biased tape maker to make the 1/4" tape then folded it in half and sewed the folded edges together to get the 1/8" cording.  Also, with the size 6 bias tape maker, you start with a 1/2" strip of fabric.  Here's a pic of sewing the folded 1/4" tape in half.  I had to move my needle position to get the feed dogs to feed it through:

 

Note:  All seam allowances are 3/8".

 

Directions:

1. With right sides together, sew the lining and outside pieces together along one of the 52" edges and press the seam open.

2. Sew a gathering stitch along the two shorter ends of the joined lining and outside fabrics.  Do this by lengthening your stitch length as much as you can and sewing 1/8" and then 1/4" from each edge.

3. Pull the threads on one side of your gathering stitches to gather the scarf ends so they are 12".  Make sure the lining and the outside fabrics are evenly gathered, so each one is 6". 

4. Topstitch 1/4" from each edge to tack the gathers down.

5. Fold your three lengths of cording in half and pin them down along the edge of the short edge of outside fabric, lining up the raw edges of the cording with the edge of the fabric with the loops inwards.  Topstitch the loops down so they don't shift.

 

 

6. Fold the scarf in half, right sides together along the first long seam you sewed, and pin the three remaining edges together.  Sew the three edges together, leaving a 3" hole along the long edge for turning.

7. Turn the scarf, press, and either hand sew the opening closed or topstitch it closed with your machine.

8. Evenly mark and sew your buttons onto the gathered edge that doesn't have the loops, about 1 1/2" from the gathered edge.

You are done! 

 

I would love to see the scarves you make from this tutorial!  Please post them to the sewtakeahike flickr group here!

 

xo,

Penny

quilty love from quilty friends

I don't even know where to begin.  I'm still in a sort of shock about it all and words are not coming easily for me.  So I'll just start with this:  I have the sneekiest, most wonderful, thoughtful quilty friends. 

To say this last year has been trying is an understatement.  But as trying as it has been, it has also been just as much of a blessing.  (That is really hard to say when I focus on all of the heartwrenching events that have happened in the last year, but it's true.)  And when Amy contacted Kerry about doing something for me, Kerry set into motion "Quilty Love".

 

 

Quilty Love is a quilt as you go quilt consisting of 36 blocks and is approx. 84" square.  It was made using Monica's tutorial.

 

 

 

I have literally spent hours pouring over the blocks in this quilt.  There is personal meaning in the fabrics (and selvedges!) each person used that went right to the heart of me. 

And Fozzy must feel the love, because he wants to be in it every chance he gets!

 

 

Sonja, Nova, Ayumi, Kerry, Laurraine, Krista, Marit, Lynne, Angela, Charise, Anna, Dan, Tamiko, Amy, Laurie, Faith, Amanda, Melinda, Amber, Monica, Leila, and Jody:  I heart each and every one of you!! and thank you from the bottom of my heart!

And last but certainly not least, I must say a special thank you to Tara, Michelle (sewdemented, isn't that the best name??), and Carmen.  Tara collected all the blocks and while Tara sewed them together, Michelle and Carmen made binding and supplied moral support.  You girls are the best and I still can't believe you had sewing days without me! :)

 

xo,

Penny

a debt of gratitude

 

 

The second annual Sewtakeahike weekend paper piecing workshop was a huge success!  We had a cozy group of 8 and sewed our hearts out.  Aaaaaand, to top it all off, everyone left with some seriously great booty.

Take a look at these two pics:

 

 

I was so humbled by the generosity of the sponsors for the workshop.  Tara worked her tush off to make it all happen, but these shops, designers, and businesses went above and beyond with their support and I am so thankful to each and everyone one of them!

Laurie Wisbrun who sent loads of fq bundles from her personal stash

Angela at Mama Said Sew who provided embroidery floss, a pattern, a sweetwater fq bundle, and that sweet Simple Home book you see up there and a discount for all purchases by the attendees

Randi at Fresh Squeezed fabrics who provided scrap packs and fq bundles of fabric (also, Randi has all her dot fabric on special sale this week!)

Olfa who provided a cutting mat and a rotary cutter

Kelly at Superbuzzy for the fab gift certificate

Kimberly at The Fat Quarter Shop for two awesome gift certificates

Warm and Natural for the batting

Fig Leaf for the discount to all the attendees

Kathy at The Inn at City Park for allowing us to workshop there

And of course the lovely Tara, who made the a pillow, a quilt as you go bag, and donated the Modern Patchwork magazine and made goodie bags for everyone and stuffed them chock full!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!  I am deeply indebted to each and every one of you!

~Penny

teach a man how to fish

 

Last spring, Kay emailed me to ask if she could teach my wrap it up bag to the "tailors" at Musana Children's Home in Uganda, "so that they could make these bags and sell them to benefit the orphanage."

 

 

After I answered her back, I didn't think anything more of it, until I received her email a month or so ago giving me an update.

Not only did Kay update me in written form, she also sent along these photos. The first one is of her and Irene. It appears Kay is getting a lesson from Irene on using a treadle machine before Kay teaches Irene the ins and outs of the wrap it up bag.

 

 

And here is Irene with a wrap it up bag!

Kay says, "not only are the bags selling here stateside, they are also selling them in Uganda where no one has ever thought of using a reusable bag!
It was sheer joy to teach Irene how to make your bag. She and the other ladies work on really lousy treadle machines with the worst thread tension you can imagine! They use a stick inserted in the bobbin to wind their bobbins! It took me forever to get the hang of those machines. But what fun! And as an a muzungu (white person) telling her, "i sew just like you in america" it gave her such affirmation and value."

 

 

Kay, I just want to say how much your email has touched my heart! I so appreciate the time and energy you have/will invest in the women and children at Musana. Thank you for caring enough to involve yourself in others lives by teaching others "how to fish"! And thank you for allowing me to be a small part of it all!

So what do you say? Would you like to get involved too? Check out Musana's website here! Want to make a donation? You can do that online here!

 

And here's one last gratuitous shot of "Solomon", one of the children at the Children's home.

 

 

 

Happy, happy Wednesday to you all!!

~Penny

 

this weekend

Was full of fun for L-man and I!

 

We flew down to Arizona for our friends Anthony and Jeanette's wedding and visited with L-man's parents for a couple of days as well.  This is the label I made for A&J's Unity quilt.  Yes, they were married on October 1st!

 

 

For our trip, I went armed with all the supplies to make a new and improved scrubbie pattern.  L-man's mom is a master at these and after several pointers from her, I gave it my own twist and came up with this new scrubbie pattern.  I'll be posting the PDF pattern for sale sometime this week for a minimal cost for those of you who are interested. 

 

And as you can probably imagine, L-man and I are out of our minds excited for our upcoming move.  I am so thankful to you all who left us encouraging comments about our new home, you guys absolutely rock!  Lenny and I sit and look at the pictures we have of our new home daily and plan and dream about all the improvements we will be making.  So until we actually move in, I'm making what I can for our new home. 

 

What do you all think of my new hand-soap dispenser for our kitchen?  It was super easy to make and all you need is a jelly jar, a pump and a lid for the jelly jar.  L-man drilled a hole in the lid so that the inside of the pump would fit snugly, I painted the lid parts and then glued the pump to the lid.  Easy peasy!

 

 

Here's a view through the kitchen door and windows that lead on to the deck.  One thing Lenny and I wanted was a home that didn't require a lot of upkeep in the yard.  We both agreed that we have too many things we enjoy doing in the summertime to have a yard that required any time at all.  We truly found what we were looking for in this home!  The complete 1/2 acre our home sits on is natural-scaped, complete with moss rocks, a few succulents, and whatever else grows up there naturally.  It really is a beautiful scene!  My plan is to throw out a few wildflower seeds, plant a few munstead lavender plants and call it good.

 

 

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend and have an even better week!

~Penny