I am a quilt designer/teacher/author, a wife/mother/grandmother, and certified yoga instructor who is searching for balance, strength, and happiness in all things.
I recently bought matelasee bedspread that doubles as a nice, light-weight blanket. I love it and it was totally perfect until Jim decided to take a running jump at the corner of the bed.
OMG… And then he did the same thing on the other side. This is why I don’t have quilts on the beds!
I decided to use my sewing skills to mend the rips with thread. I knew the mends would show, so I embraced it. The gray #8 perle cotton is a little darker than the spread and, yes, indeed, those stitches show at every rip on both corners of the bed.
Surprisingly, the mends don’t bother me nearly as much as the rips did. And it doesn’t hurt that I now have a fake fur throw at the bottom of the bed.
It’s gotten cold so the fur throw is coming in handy. And if Jim goes after it with his claws, it won’t hurt it.
I often sit on a wood barstool to work. While I have natural padding, the seat is hard! I couldn’t find a more comfortable barstool or cushion but I ordered something in that came padded with two sheets of foam. Great!
After two months of sitting on plain foam I decided to make a ‘real’ cushion to fit the stool. This is not great foam, but it was free and here. I cut both pieces to fit the top of the stool.
Once I was sure the foam fit the seat, I cut fabric for the cushion top and Easyliner Grip shelf liner for the bottom, adding 1/2˝ seam allowance on all sides.
I sewed the fabric and Easyliner right sides together using my walking foot, a long-ish stitch length, and a scant 1/2˝ seam. The grippy stuff does not slide on the bed of the machine so sew with it on top. There isn’t fabric between the Easyliner and the foam. You could add fabric, but I couldn’t see the point. Leave an opening to insert the foam.
Getting the foam in place wasn’t exactly easy, but it was possible. I pinned the opening closed and whipped it shut by hand. I would have sewn it on the machine but decided that would be way more trouble than it was worth.
I thought about making this cushion for weeks. Why? After less than an hour I have a functional, cute cushion that will last a long time. I might eventually get fancy and purchase high density foam to make another one—but not today :-).
Take a look at the projects that you keep putting off. They might be like this… faster than you think and very grin-inducing!
eeBoo’s NEW Holiday puzzle this year has EVERYTHING, and it just arrived here! So much detail to enjoy as you work on it together. Sure to put you in the holiday mood.
A Happy Holiday 1000 Piece Puzzle
The Dutch Quilt Sampler is just like a wonderful quilt, the more you look the more you smile—patterns, colors, appliqué animals. It is delightful! I love the bird. Did you find the tiny frog? (Below, left.)
Over at Lorna’s house, they’ve put together the Green Kitchen twice because they love it so much, and of course they do. So cheery! (Above, right.)
The Alchemist’s Home has been so popular we only have a few left, and you can see why. It has a lot going on, even the trees and sky in the background are beautiful (birds and little bird houses). Look in each room, and find the living and the friendly ghosts co-inhabiting this old Victorian home. There are just so many moments to discover as you put this together. There’s even an antique sewing machine.
Lorna and Chris went to the beach for their birthdays a few weeks ago along with Judy, Bear and friends, Kathryn and Nathan. They took puzzles :-). The round Moths puzzle was the favorite. Each moth is gorgeous and unique. It really does change how you think about and work on a puzzle when it’s round. Kathryn and Bear look like master puzzle builders in the time-lapse video, below.
Kathryn and Bear, the puzzle masters :-).
The round Hummingbirds Puzzle is inspired by vintage ornithological illustrations, and captures the magical beauty of the hummingbird. I have hummingbird lovers in my life, and this will make a perfect gift.
Hummingbirds 500 Piece Round Puzzle
Kathe Holden designed this whimsical 1000 piece puzzle from Moda —Tomato Pincushions! Obviously an ideal gift for the sewers and crafters in your life.
We still have a very few glow-in-the-dark 100 piece puzzles. Geared to kids, but definitely engaging for all ages, because the designs are beautiful. Bats and Bioluminescent creatures turn into fascinating jigsaw puzzles.
Love of Bats 100 Piece PuzzleBioluminescence 100 Piece Puzzle
Remember what I said about gift giving? The criteria I try to live by at this point is that items need to be useful, or delicious, and never require dusting. So everything on my Stocking Stuffers page is useful. Below are just a few fun items to get you started. Go to the page for even more ideas.
These first two tools are designed by Cindy Needham. “The Perfect Spot Magnetic” Tool Holder is helpful and versatile; it sticks to your sewing machine or other surface with a square of adhesive that is easy to remove, without leaving a residue. The magnet is strong enough to hold the EZRipNGrip tool or a small pair of scissors, pins, needles and more. The EZ RipNGrip is one of the best seam rippers I’ve every run across and likewise the tweezers side.
Telescoping Magnets are a perfect tool for sewers, but really they’re handy for everyone. Last year we sold out way too fast, and couldn’t get more —supply chain issues. Right now we still have a few! Yay! But don’t wait too long, because I don’t know if we will be able to get more.
These reusable silicone straws come with their own tiny brush. High quality, pretty colors, and go into a drawer to be used ;-). See what I mean? Jubilee Straws, below.
With help from my woodworking friend Elizabeth, Judy and I created these one-of-a-kind Piece O’ Cake Wool Pincushion Rings! Each one is hand made by us, and they’re all a little different, let us know your color preference, and we’ll choose a perfectly cute one for you!
New from LoLo, lovely moisturizing bar soaps. There are 4 scents: Lavender, Orange Vanilla, Goat’s Milk & Tea Tree, and Coconut Plain Jane (unscented).
All LoLo makes a perfect stocking stuffer or gift, because of the quality we know and love, and it’s affordable!
Plus LoLo is a woman owned small business, and it makes me so happy to give my support. All around win.
The one really big bag you need is this one, AND it folds up to fit in a purse… or a stocking, of course. Click to read more about the Rainbows of Happiness Tote, and how Judy and Lorna have used theirs.
This eraser is impressive! Just watch the video below as I use it for the first time. The Hand-Held Eraser + Holder is new from Blackwing and it’s a must-have for anyone who uses a pencil.
Bee Lovely Needle Minders definitely meet the criteria, and they are so pretty! Magnetically attach to your shirt while you’re sitting on the sofa hand sewing, and it grabs your needles and small scissors, even. So you won’t lose them while you work.
For your crafty friend or loved one, an Animal Hand-Sewing Kit or an Embroidery Kit might be just the thing. We have many to choose from, so you can find the perfect one(s).
This is a page of gift ideas, but don’t forget yourself. I have been known to stuff my own stocking a little, too!
April, grandson Jack’s dog, ate a hole in his bed quilt. Deep sigh. This is the dog-eaten hole. Notice the irregular stitches that I used to sew together the tears on either side of the hole.
Follow the progression of the fix in the following photos. It took about 2 hours plus a few miuntes to machine quilt over the patches.
Patch basted then appliqued on the top of the quilt.I cut batting to fit the hole and basted it in place.I basted a patch on the back and then trimmed it to follow the shape of the hole, plus some.Back patch appliqued in place.I decided to add some blue to make the white patch blend better.Not too bad!I machine quilted through all layers and this will keep the batting from shifting inside the quilt.
I meant for the patch to blend but not be invisible and that worked. When Jack and I put the quilt on his bed, we almost couldn’t find the patch—but then we found it :-). Jack was as impressed as a nearly 15-year-old boy can be 🤣🤣🤣.
The moral of the story is not to put off this sort of mending. It goes fast and it’s very satisfying.
Wowie Zowie, from Piecing the POC Way, 2nd ed.— before April ate it.
Lorna had her hands and feet in the sand every day last week at the beach! She has some thoughts to share about LoLo, the crafter’s skin care we have been using and telling you about for years now. She says…
I struggle with consistency in my self care. The truth is, you might find a different product that works for you, but the most important thing is to get into a routine. I’ve had a nightly routine of Cuticle Intensive and LoLo Bar on my hands for years, but a few months ago I added the O’ for Feet’s Sake (OfFS). And I do encourage you to pay attention to your feet. Creating this habit has improved my skin, of course, but working the feet can make the whole body feel different, too. Becky teaches that in yoga; sometimes she has us massage our feet with our hands or gently with a ball.
I have dry skin, and my toes were actually not in great shape before starting OfFS. If I bumped them, they hurt worse than they should, and they did not look good. I can’t say for sure, but I think the Tea Tree in OfFS has made a big difference for me. I feel like LoLo makes skin, not just softer, but stronger.
A week in the sand and salt water, and I’m honestly surprised at how well my skin and nails have done. They look healthy! And my skin feels good, even on the bottoms of my feet.
I also use my LoLo bar on my lips. Turns out it’s the same basic formula as LoLo Lips. But I need to tell you, not all scents are the same; for instance, the bars that have clove or cinnamon are not great for lips, they tingle and burn like a lip plumper. I still use them, just not on my lips. What I use on hands, body, lips (near the nose if I get a little chapped) is usually Orange Vanilla. I don’t know why, but I think it works better on my lips.
Two favorite things about LoLo:
How quickly it absorbs, and then you can turn a doorknob, or handle fabric, or walk across the floor, or slide your feet into bed
How wonderful it smells, but it’s not overwhelming, and I don’t offend the people in the car with me 🙂
It’s amazing what LoLo can do in just a week of regular use, for my feet, or my cuticles. Sometimes I lose my routine, but I can get it right back with all the benefits. That has trained me to be more and more consistent. Whatever you use, I encourage you, be kind to your body and keep it going.
Becky here again! I made a how-to video for O’ for Feet’s Sake, see below.
Piece O Cake Blog 