12.30.2017

Happy New Year!

Charise Creates 2017BestNine on Instagram
It is hard to believe that 2017 is almost over.
A good but also tough year that included moving back into our house after a 13 month remodel,  the release of my first book "Super Cute Paper Piecing" and the crazy politics and terrible natural disasters that occurred in the United States.  

Here is to a less turbulent 2018.  Cheers!
Last year I chose the word "Listen" as my mantra for the year. 
I'm not sure if I did very well but I am trying to be a better listener : )
I'm not sure what this year's word will be.....
I can think of a million things to work on - patience, peace - the list is long!

I thought it would be fun to share some of the projects I completed over the year.
The photo above is my Best Nine (most liked) photos on Instagram.

They are mostly images from my book : )



I also made a collage of all the projects in my book as well as some
new projects I made from my book.

The top row pictures are all new items I made in the past month.

From Left to Right:

1)   Umbrella pouch using the Vintage Apron Zip Pouch Pattern and the Umbrella paper piecing         pattern from Super Cute Paper Piecing.

2)   Daisy Pincushion using the Daisy Bowl pattern from Super Cute Paper Piecing.
      Tutorial for the pincushion can be found [HERE]

3)   Vintage Dresses Pattern from Super Cute Paper Piecing.

4)   Macaroon Pouch using the Strawberries pattern from Super Cute Paper Piecing.



I have spent most of my day cleaning my sewing room - it feels good - like a fresh start!
This little corner makes me very happy : )

Happy Sewing!
xo
Charise







12.16.2017

Spelling Bee Saturday



Today is Spelling Bee Saturday!
Lori Holt of Bee in My Bonnet wrote the cutest quilting book - "Spelling Bee".


It includes a complete alphabet, picture blocks, quilts and mini quilts.


For my stop, I am sharing the letter "i"
I decided I would make my son's name Liam to add to Lori's adorable Name Quilt.


He is 14 years old, so as you can see, the color palette is not my usual cheerful cherry red, sunny yellow and aqua, but a very masculine black and grey : )

My goal is to finish before Chrismas!!!!
Wish me luck!

Be sure to check out all the fun blocks.  
There is a complete list on the Fat Quarter Shop Blog.

Happy Sewing!
Charise

12.07.2017

Umbrella Pouch ~ from "Super Cute Paper Piecing"




This fun umbrella pouch pattern is from my new book "Super Cute Paper Piecing!"  I used the Vintage apron pouch pattern and the paper pieced Umbrella from my "Rain, Rain, go away purse" as the focal block.
The blocks in "Super Cute Paper Piecing" are interchangeable and can be used on different projects.
I love how it turned out.

It will be a great Christmas gift filled with some goodies!


The background fabric is Robert Kaufmann Essex Linen in color Steel.
The yellow/pink floral print on the umbrella is also Robert Kaufmann -  "Pretty Posies" by Darlene Zimmerman.
The tiny pink grid print is "Retro 30's Child Smile" by Lecien, 
and the text print is "Flower Patch" by Lori Holt for Riley Blake Fabrics.
You can find most of these fabrics at Fat Quarter Shop.
Another great place to find older or out of print fabrics is on Etsy.



I found this cute zipper pull on Etsy.  Such a fun way to add a special touch to your pouch.

Happy Sewing! 
xo
Charise

12.04.2017

Daisy Pincushion Tutorial


Hello and Happy Monday!

My book "Super Cute Paper Piecing" is now in stores and available online !
I also have a limited number of signed copies in my Etsy shop.

I created a tutorial/pattern from one of the patterns in my book.  This cute pincushion is made from the Daisy Bowl pattern in my book.
It would make a fun gift!
You can find the tutorial and pattern [HERE] 



The Daisy is paper pieced and I had fun fussy cutting the petals.
The background fabric is yarn dyed Essex Linen in color Flax.
My favorite places to find fun fabrics are Sew Me a Song on Etsy, Sunny Day Supply, Pink Castle Fabrics and Fat Quarter Shop.

And of course, I always try to support my local fabric stores : )


I filled the pincushion with a bit of fiber fill to give the corners a nice shape and then added ground walnut shells for weight and some lavender buds to add a light scent.

Have a lovely day!
Happy Sewing

xo
Charise





11.27.2017

Cyber Monday sale in my Etsy Shop



Hope you are having a good Monday!
The Holiday Season has begun at the Randell house.  We had a busy weekend filled with Christmas tree cutting and a Santa Photo!  I told my 14 year old son that he has to have photos taken with Santa until he moves out!!!! : )

I have a long list of Holiday Sewing and will get to that soon after writing this blog post and cleaning up my sewing room : )

I am having a sale in my Etsy shop today and tomorrow November 27th and 28th.  15% off of everything in the shop.  I have listed a limited number of signed "Super Cute Paper Piecing" books which have lots of cute projects for Holiday gift sewing.  They also make great gifts!

Happy Sewing!
xo
Charise

11.22.2017

Rain, Rain Go Away Purse in "Super Cute Paper Piecing"


Happy Thursday to you and also to those in the United States - Happy Thanksgiving!

My book has been released on Amazon and a few friends and family let me know they received it yesterday!  They are very sweet -  buying a book to support a friend : )
I am a very lucky gal to have such sweet friends and family!

Today I am going to share a fun project from the book - the "Rain, Rain, Go Away" purse.
I love this project and I think it is because of the colors.  
I am partial to the combination of blue and yellow!

It is a nice and roomy purse - 15" x 15 1/2" and has an inside pocket.
The straps are long enough that you can carry it cross body.
It would be great for a project bag  - totally big enough for a knitting project.


I have been working on another version.  The umbrella block fits perfectly on  the zipper pouch from the Vintage Apron Zipper pouch. 


I have finished the umbrella block and hopefully will find a bit of time to make the zipper pouch.


I found the cute little umbrella charm on Etsy.  It is a great place to find fun charms to add to your zippers.

Wishing you a lovely time with family and friends.
Happy Sewing!

xo
Charise

11.15.2017

Vintage Apron Pouch in "Super Cute Paper Piecing"


The Vintage Apron Pouch is one of my favorite projects in my new book "Super Cute Paper Piecing."
It is a perfect size to transport small sewing projects and also great for a larger make-up or toiletries bag.


The front top panel is about 6 1/2" wide x 9 1/2" tall so most of the paper pieced blocks in the book would fit perfectly on this fun zipper pouch!


A fun way to personalize your pouch is to add a zipper pull.

This apple zipper pull was found  at a local jewelry supply store.
Michael's and Joann Fabrics have a nice selection of charms and zipper pulls that can be purchased online.

A few of my favorite online stores carry adorable fabric as well as cute zipper pulls are SunnyDaySupply.com Deltapatchwork.com and  SuperBuzzy.com

Another great place to find zipper charms is on Etsy.com  
Just type in "charms" or "zipper pulls" and you will be amazed at the selection!


I have quite a collection I've amassed over the years : )


Don't forget, all the info about my book can be found on my blog [HERE]

Happy Sewing!
xo
Charise


11.09.2017

Macaroon Pouch in Two Sizes


I had some requests to make a smaller version of my Macaroon Pouch Pattern and I listed the new pattern today!  You can find it in my Etsy Shop.


The Large version is 11" x 8 1/4" and the -new- Small version is 8 1/2" x 6 1/2".   

 Don't you just love the zipper on the smaller version?  I got mine from a friend but you can find them at Sunny Day Supply!
They are the perfect size for the Small Macaroon Pouch.


I couldn't resist making a version of the pouch with a paper pieced motif.


The strawberries can be found in my new book "Super Cute Paper Piecing"!


Another fun way to customize your pouch is to add some hand topstitching.  I used a pretty red embroidery floss to frame the center of the pouch.

Happy Sewing
xo
Charise

11.07.2017

More Super Cute Paper Piecing!


I can't believe it is November already!  My new book "Super Cute Paper Piecing" is just shipping to stores and is available right now on the Shop Martingale website.

I have been sharing some photos of projects on Instagram and wanted to share them on my blog, too.

The fifth project in the book is "Summer Fruit Coasters".. I adore this project and it is a perfect block for perfecting you Fussy Cutting skills!

It is a simple project and I think it would be perfect for a Holiday gift.

 The sixth project in the book is this adorable "Daisy Fabric Bowl".  It is made with six identical paper pieced petals with a sweet hexagon center.  The outer petals that make up the sides of the bowl are hand stitched.  


I also created this fun little bonus project with the block.
Be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you can get the pattern and instructions before I release it to the public.  You can find the Newsletter sign up form on the side of my blog.

Wishing you a Lovely Day!
Happy Sewing

xo 
Charise

10.16.2017

Spelling Bee Sew Along



Good Day and Happy you stopped by!
Today I am sharing a fun sew along going on over at Fat Quarter Shop.

 Lori Holt of Bee in my Bonnet wrote another adorable book which features complete instructions for 100 letter, number, punctuaction and picture blocks in two sizes plus 18 quilt projects!

This Sew Along will feature 88 of the blocks from the Spelling Bee Book.
This is just a sampling the blocks and they are absolutely adorable.
Lasting 44 weeks, The Sew Along will feature 2 blocks from the book each week. You can find all the details [HERE]
I am going to be sewing along, too.  I have plans to make both my boys a name quilt - "Luc" and "Liam" - for Christmas.
My hope is that they are not too old (they are 10 and 14 years old) to get a hand made quilt  : )                      I have already pulled the fabrics - a black and green combo for Liam and a blue/black combo for Luc.
Be sure to check out all the cute projects from the Sew-Along [HERE]

Spelling Bee Sew Along

Happy sewing
xo
Charise

10.01.2017

Bella Skill Builder - Block 9 Lazy Angle

It is time for the last block in the Bella Skill Builder Sew Along designed by Sherri McConnell of a Quilting Life and hosted by Fat Quarter Shop.
This month's block is called Lazy Angle.  It is a fun pinwheel style block and easy to put together and incredibly easy with this handy dandy ruler.



I couldn't resist making a version of this block with a print background : )



It is hard to believe that this quilt along started 9 months ago!  How time flies!

Be sure to head on over to the other quilter's blogs who are part of this quilt along!

Happy Sewing
xo
Charise

9.28.2017

Super Cute Paper Piecing ~ Butterfly Cross-Body Bag

Today I am sharing the fourth project in my book "Super Cute Paper Piecing"

I love to make useful items with my paper pieced blocks and I think this project fits the bill!
It is a perfect size bag and can be carried cross body which makes it incredibly versatile.

For the paper pieced butterfly - I used a tiny gingham for the border around the wings and a couple of my favorite Japanese fabrics for the wings.  The butterfly body is a tiny grey dot fabric.


Yesterday I received an advanced copy of the book.  I can't begin to tell 
you how excited I am.  It really is a dream come true!

The Martingale team did such a fabulous job.

Happy Sewing
xo
Charise