Sarah J. Doyle | November 30, 2008
Where we live there are literally thousands of acorns falling off the oak trees! Somebody told us last year that if there are tons of acorns, it means we’ll have a bad winter, and that the squirrels will be storing them as fast as they can to make it through the long cold winter. Well, [...]
Sarah J. Doyle | November 29, 2008
There aren’t too many days left before Christmas, so I’m thinking that whatever gifts we still have time to make need to be some nice, but quick and easy gifts to make.The first idea that comes to mind are washcloth slippers – you’ve probably seen them on our PatternsThatFitYou site, as well as our Patterns2Go [...]
S. Denise Hoyle | November 28, 2008
Gerald Durbin is an avid Civil War re-enactor and former truck driver. During a downturn in his trucking business in 1990, Durbin’s life changed forever when he decided to make a replica shirt for himself because his wife was too busy to sew it for him. He found the pattern he wanted in a book, [...]
Sarah J. Doyle | November 26, 2008
I have mixed feelings about the Sidewinder bobbin winder.The cost is about $35.00 and can be purchased from many brick & mortar stores, as well as online mail order catalog companies.On the positive side, the unit is small, lightweight and compact, making it easy to move around. The other good thing about it is that [...]
S. Denise Hoyle | November 25, 2008
The American Sewing Guild and Simplicity Patterns invite you to enter the 2009 ASG Creativity Contest. There are six award categories and lots of terrific prizes, plus its free to enter if you are a member of the American Sewing Guild!To enter the competition, you will need to select one or more of the following [...]
Sarah J. Doyle | November 24, 2008
Add New Dimension to Your Sewing — Make Memory Quilts!Memory quilts, like the one above, can be done several ways. The finished size of the wall hanging memory quilt shown is 23″ x 32″ tall, and has loops at the top in order to use a dowel for hanging.This particular one has fabric pieces of [...]
Sarah J. Doyle | November 23, 2008
After doing the post yesterday about decorating with scraps, I decided to do a little more research on using scraps for Christmas decorations. I found some really cute decorations, AND tutorials on how to make them. WOW! This is your lucky day — so dig back into those scraps and start making some decorations. (Bet [...]
Sarah J. Doyle | November 22, 2008
Trims by the yard and large-motif trims are great for use in making Christmas ornaments, greeting cards and gift items.A burlap wall hanging or a greeting card made out of construction paper can have candles of woven-braid trim, each topped by a flickering flame (a single notch from gold rickrack makes a perfect flame). Or [...]
S. Denise Hoyle | November 21, 2008
Sam Schoeler and her husband Chuck ran a distribution business together from their home for 15 years. When Chuck died unexpectedly two years ago from an aneurysm, Sam says her life changed in more ways than she could imagine. “The beauty of our relationship was that we had talents that interconnected,” Schoeler said. “He was very good [...]
S. Denise Hoyle | November 20, 2008
Singer Sewing Company has announced that it will sponsor the “Best Handmade Handbag Category”, one of the most popular categories in the competition for the 2009 Independent Handbag Designer Awards (IHDA). Gary Jones, President of the US Singer Sewing Company says that “downloadable patterns for totes and handbags are one of the most visited categories at Singer.com. Our [...]
