Last year, my “deer” friend Mary made a pillow that I just absolutely fell in love with. She has such a creative mind! Check hers out in her blog post. Isn’t it awesome!?!?
Since I’ve been wanting to add a little sewing decor to my sewing corner in my home, I thought it’d be fun to make a mini quilt version of Mary’s pillow to hang on my wall. I just LOVE how it turned out. The handquilting is my favorite part.
Also, I’m so honored to be celebrating “National Sewing Month” with the Fat Quarter Shop! I haven’t had a lot of time to sew since giving birth to my 4th baby this summer, sew it was nice to finish up this project I began back in February. FQS challenged me to sew something I’ve never tried before. I’ve never made a mini quilt, nor anything to decorate my sewing room, so this project was great!
I’m not sharing the entire tutorial, because this creation was Mary’s idea, and I think she’ll be sharing it on her blog. But here’s a few pictures of the sequence behind the scenes. She hand drew the template both for the deer and the scalloped shield, and shared them with me 🙂
Tracing:
Reverse Applique-ing:
Basting:
Quilting:
Binding:
Finished!
Be sure to visit Mary’s blog, Molly Flanders, for lots more sewing inspiration and tutorials!
Also, if you’re in the market for fabric, I just LOVE online shopping with the Fat Quarter Shop. Not only do they have a huge fabric selection, great sales, quick shipping, but their staff is super nice and helpful, and they always do such a nice job packaging the goodies 🙂
Also to celebrate National Sewing Month, FQS asked me a series of sewing questions…
so here we go!
1. How did you start quilting/sewing?
I was exposed to sewing as a child, as my mother is an excellent seamstress. I sewed a few things alongside her, but it wasn’t until I went to college that I truly desired to learn the art of sewing. I took every sewing class I could at BYU, and they were my hardest classes! I stayed in the sewing lab past midnight several nights a week. Things haven’t changed much– I am often awake past midnight sewing in my little sewing corner of my house!
2. When was the first time you knew that you were a quilter/sewer?
I landed my first job out of college as an 8th grade sewing teacher. I learned so much about sewing from my student’s trial and error. They came to me with a lot of questions and sewing mishaps, and together we learned to work through them. Until then, I had never learned to thread a serger– now I had 4 sergers that needed to be rethreaded frequently! I didn’t have a sewing machine of my own, but was lucky to have 30 machines at my fingertips in the classroom. I worked on class samples and a few of my own projects in between class periods. One day, my husband and I both decided to make a quilt for our mothers as a Christmas gift. I’ll never forget our trip to the fabric store. He chose several African inspired prints, and I thought he was crazy! I went with an Americana theme. After school was over, he’d come to my classroom, and we would sew and listen to music. Together, we both made our first quilts! And that’s when I knew I wanted to be a quilter!
3. Do you have any sewing/quilting horror stories or faux pas?
The hardest thing I have ever sewn was a man’s collared button up dress shirt. I made it for my husband, and guess what…. it was too tight in the neck and shoulders. He was never able to wear it. Years later, when cleaning out his closet, it ended up in the Goodwill pile. He’d forgotten I made it. I almost had a heart attack when I found out he got rid of it!
4. What advice would you give to someone who’s just starting out in sewing/quilting?
These days, I truly believe that anyone can learn to sew. Start with an inexpensive machine and online tutorials; the possibilities are endless! I have continued to learn so much beyond what I learned in my college classes. What I love about sewing is that you can create something that will last forever. Sewn gifts are my favorite. If you have the desire, you can do it! I’m so excited about the sewing and quilting revival that has taken place in the last 10 years. Being part of the online sewing community is one of my favorite parts. Don’t be afraid to dive right in! There’s room for everyone!
