Tag Archives: #pieceocake

Puzzles are for everyone :-)

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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.)

Dutch Quilt Sampler 1000 Piece Puzzle
Green Kitchen 1000 Piece Puzzle

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 Puzzle
Bioluminescence 100 Piece Puzzle

Click here to find all of these puzzles, plus a few eeBoo games, on the Puzzles & More page.

Stocking Stuffers 2022

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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.

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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!

When the dog eats the quilt, visible mending for the win!

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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.

Show and tell from the Chaska Quilt Show…

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I recently taught at the Fall Splendor of Quilts show in Chaska, MN, where I got to award a Speaker’s Choice ribbon. The quilt I fell in love with is this one, made by Joan Goetteman (with me, below) and Audree Sells.

The quilt is named “Carnival” because of the nine traditional “Carousel” blocks in the quilt. The blocks were made using the paper-piecing method and assembled by the late Audree Sells, my best friend, mentor, and unofficial adopted mother (her idea). Her biological daughter Suzanne Thiesfeld suggested the name. 

Audree made the top. Joan repaired missed stitches from removal of paper and yo-yos, stitched “broderie perse” floral pieces at some of the intersections of blocks that had only been basted, and she heavily hand-quilted the quilt. Joan is now the owner of this lovely quilt. 

Joan wrote: As a charter member of the Chaska Area Quilt Club that began in 1988, co-founded by exceptional quilters Audree Sells and her cousin Phyll Eder, I have learned so much from these two women. Namely how to make tiny, even quilt stitches and with adages “just do it, get it done” and “it will quilt out”!! 
I miss them both dearly. 
This award is in honor of Audree. R.I.P.

JOan Goetteman, Carver, MN

I really do love this quilt. It makes me smile :-). The picture does not do it justice.

Carnival by Audree Sells and Joan Goetteman

The show ribbons were lovely, hand-beaded by a few members of the guild. In a nice coincidence, Joan made the speakers choice ribbon using a design from one of our books. And, yes, she did ask permission for that :-).

There were many lovely quilts in the show and I enjoyed seeing them all. I encourage each of you to get out to some local shows, in addition to the big shows. Big shows have big quilts but not always the extra-fun, quirky quilts that I love the most.

Thank you, Joan, for sharing your quilt! Well done!

Finally, it’s Fall!

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The temperatures are actually dropping bit by bit here in North Texas and we are ready to get in the Fall mood. Lorna and I got our Halloween decorations up because it made us both happy!

We are pulling together Autumn items in the shop, and enjoying every minute. Here are a few…

This orange and purple mug is just begging for your coffee and pumpkin spice creamer. My granddaughter, Elanor (in college), already claimed hers—the gnome is so cute!

And for full on Halloween fun, these paper chains from eeBoo. Judy and Bear put one together and it is even more impressive in person. It makes a really long chain, which is awesome, or you can use fewer and make several smaller chains.

Halloween Paper Chain Kit—fun for all ages, but especially kids!

The paper strips have slots that fit together. Judy did say that small hands might struggle a little, so it’s nice to have an older helper. Work fine motor skills and hand eye coordination, plus Judy says it made them both happy. You could staple them if you really wanted to. But if you don’t, they are easy to disassembled and save for next year. The patterns are magical, and the quality is 100%, like we’ve come to expect from eeBoo.

And new from eeBoo is this 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle that is both spooky and beautiful. It has everything + ghosts! The Alchemist’s Home is not just for Halloween, but it sure does fit the theme. These puzzles from eeBoo are so detailed, they add layers of fun as you hunt for pieces and make those satisfying connections.

The Alchemist’s Home Puzzle

The 100-piece Love of Bats puzzle is on point for Fall and Halloween, too. Click here to look back at the blog post —it’s glow in the dark!

And Halloween scissor charms! Just tell us in the comments when you place your order: Purple Skull, Candycorn, Black Cats, or Owls. (If you need a witch or a pumpkin we can special order for you.)

Last, but definitely not least, if you’re working on a Fall wool project and looking for oranges and other Fall colors, Piece O’ Cake has you covered. I carry Tracy Trevethan wool, the best quality wool and colors I’ve found. Her’s are the most consistent as well, especially for hand dyed wool. Really vibrant.

For her Coordinating Solids, Sweet Rolls, and Felted Stacks, just click, or click All Things Wool. I have really extensive thread collections to match: shop Wool Threads and Perle Cotton Threads.

I hope this has put you in the mood to enjoy the seasonal changes as they come this Fall, and to make yourself happy!

Show and tell Hexie Garden…

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Mary Ann Karpinski shared her quilt with us—thank you Mary Ann! She combined the flowers from my book, Hexie Garden Quilt, with Toes in the Sand by Julie Herman from Jaybird Quilts. What a great idea!!!

Mary Ann says that she got a little carried away with the hand quilting. I don’t think she did, do you?

Well done, Mary Ann, and thank you so much for sharing your quilt with us :-).