Sponsor News ~ Black Friday Sales

Hello and Happy Friday! 

I wanted to share some sponsor new with you just in case you "need" to do a bit of shopping for yourself!

Sew Me a Song is having a Thanksgiving shipping special: $0.99US/ $5.99 Canada/ $8.99 everywhere else running through Cyber Monday. 

Fat Quarter shop Black Friday Sale is 25% off the whole store!

Pink Castle Fabrics is offering 30%!

Have fun!

xo

Charise

Sale in My Etsy Shop & Holiday Gift Making Ideas : )

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I hope you are having a lovely holiday with family and friends!

I am having a sale in my Etsy shop - 30% off all patterns through Sunday November 30th!

Use the code Thankful

It is still time to make a gift for that special someone!

How about a hot pad for the cook in your family?

These are made from my Apron and mixing bowls pattern.  Find the tutorial for the round potholder HERE

Or this charming Apple Potholder!

Cozy Cottage Pattern available at Charise Creates Etsy Shoppe

Any of my Paper Piecing Patterns make an adorable pillow!

Mini Cottages Pattern in Charise Creates Etsy Shoppe

Sachets are always a welcome gift.  I can't seem to have enough of them!  They make your clothes smell diving and keep your fabric stash smelling lovely!

If you are looking for some Free patterns and Tutorials - I have lots of those too!

Pouches make a fun gift - filled with goodies of course!

Find my 12 Patch Pouch Tutorial HERE

A frame pouch makes a fun gift as well.

These sunny  Citrus Pouches are the perfect size for a pencil pouch.

A set of fun coasters is always a wonderful gift!

Especially when it is adorned with my free paper pieced apple design.

Or a perfect project to use up some scraps like my pinwheel coasters!

How about a Sketch Book Cover for your favorite artist?

Happy Creating

xo

Charise

Sunday Stash ~ On Monday : )

Fabrics Left to Right, Top to Bottom
1) Essex Steel Yarn Dye linen and Annika Wester for Kokka Fabric, 2) C+ S Fabrics: XOXO and Mustang Arrows
3) Cotton + Steel Fabrics: Rose Border and Netorious 4) Gold Daiwabo Dot and Cotton and Steel Metallic Netorious Fabric 

 I hope you are enjoyed your Sunday!  All my boys (The big one too) headed  to the in-laws to watch the Seahawks game so I was home alone sewing!  Happy Day : ) 

The swatches above are for a new pattern I'm working on - The Lovely Gathered Purse Trio.  There will be a clutch, small bag and large bag or what I'm calling a shopper size.  The project is easy to sew and makes great gifts.  Stay tuned for finished project images!

I posted this photo on Instagram and there was a lot of love for the zippers - aren't they perfect?  I found these metallic beauties at Joann fabrics!

I am also cutting out this fabric combo for the Large Shopper.  An older Melody Miller Print with Denim and Leather Trim.  You can still find this fabulous print at Sew Me A Song!  I'm almost out so I need to order more!

Last week I received these lovely fabrics from Krista at Spotted Stones.  I love them all and can't wait to make a patchwork pouch.

Enjoy your day!
xo
Charise

Work in Progress Wednesday - Lovely Gathered Purse

I've taken a little break from my "deadline" sewing. Well...at least the deadlines I have set for myself- 

Finishing my Anna Blouse Pattern (release in January!) 

and the last block in my Vintage Block Quilt Along.
As well as a few blocks for the Cocorico Bee.

This little number - I'm calling it the "Lovely  Gathered Purse" has been in my sketch book for ages and when I found this fabric I knew I had to make it.
The zippers are a perfect match to the metallic dot print.

The fabrics are from Daiwabo and I love the simplicity and modern feel of the fabrics.

The colors are perfect for winter outfits in such pretty metallics,
 and cool wintry shades of silver, gray and blue.

I found the fabric at my local Pacific Fabrics.  It is also available online too!

This bag is a nice medium size at 11" tall x 11 wide at the top,
 and I just cut out a larger "shopper" version today!

I love the inside zipper pocket and it is so easy to install!

xo

Charise 

Friday Favorites and a little peek of Vintage Block #12!

1. image, 2. Look who's back from the long-armer..., 3. 318 Patchwork Patterns, 4. Huggy basket for a wonderful teacher. Fully handsewn and so satisfying., 5. 20141107_141448, 6. Blocks for Jenna @jennaappleton #muststashbee

I hope you are having a good Friday!  

With the invent of Instagram, I visit Flickr less and less.  Today I decided to head on over to Flickr and discovered that they have redesigned the site.  I like it so much better!  I even found a group of wonderful projects to share with you!  All the photo credits are listed above.

My focus lately has been to finish projects and clean up my sewing space.

I have finished the last block in the Vintage Block Quilt Along and look forward to sharing it soon!

xo

Charise

Patchwork Patterns 318 & Cotton + Steel Winner!

I am so excited to announce that Allison Sews is the winner 

with the winning entry #42!

She is a member of the Seattle Modern Quilt Guild and a super sweet gal who makes amazing quilts and quilty items  : )

She said:

"These are both so cute! Wish you were coming to retreat this weekend, I'll miss you :(

Handsewing is not for me but you know I love me some paper piecing!"

I was bummed to miss our annual retreat this past weekend - maybe next year!

Thanks everyone for participating.  Look for another give-away soon in celebration of my contribution to the book "Mollie Makes Patchwork and Quilting"!

xo

Charise

*Patchwork Patterns 318 Blog Hop and Give Away*

I'm so happy you stopped by my blog for the Patchwork Patterns 318 Blog Hop!  Patchwork Patterns 318 is a Japanese sewing book by Kumiko Fujita.  It has recently been published by World Book Media for the first time in English!

The book is written for hand sewing but can be easily adapted to sewing on your machine using foundation paper piecing or freezer paper piecing.

I decided to make a few projects from the "Girls Night Out" section of the book.  The patterns are adorable and the perfect designs for embellishing some very practical items.
I couldn't resist making a make-up bag - perfect for the lipstick and nail polish block!

The fabrics used for the lipstick and nail polish are Cotton + Steel Mustang Collection.  The large floral is a cotton canvas designed is Ruby Star Polka dot in Pink by Melody Miller.  The background dot is Essential dots in Pink from Moda.

 The lipstick and nail polish block were enlarged to 4".  The patterns in the book are approximately
2 3/8" and are not reversed for paper piecing, so I scanned the image and used Adobe Illustrator to enlarge and reverse the image.  I added a seam to make the piecing a bit easier and numbered each section.   If you don't have Illustrator you can use Photoshop Elements as well.  Kerry has a great tutorial for sizing the blocks which you can find here.

The next project is a shoe/project bag. (Shhh.... don't tell anyone but I had an almost identical pair of pink kitten heels I wore in the early 80's : )

The shoe is made with Cotton + Steel Mustang, the bottom and top border are
 Ruby Star Polka dot in Pink by Melody Miller.  The background fabric is Essex Yarn Dyed Linen from Robert Kaufmann.

I enlarged the pattern to 8" - large enough to adorn a roomy bag - perfect for a shoe bag or project bag.  I am currently using this one for a knitting project.  It is a roomy 13" x 16"  - so it will fit a pair of long knitting needles or your favorite pink high heels : )

Now for the fun part!!!  I will be giving away one copy of Patchwork Patterns 318 compliments of World Book Media and a FQ set of Mustang from Cotton + Steel from Fat Quarter Shop!  Don't forget to take a peek at the New Cotton + Steel line at Fat Quarter Shop.

Please leave a comment below sharing whether or not you have tried foundation paper piecing.  If you have tried,  what did you make?
Give away is open to USA and International commenters.  Comments will be open until Friday 9:00 p.m Pacific Standard Time.


And.... be sure to check out the other projects on the blog hop - they are wonderful!

Good Luck!

xo
Charise

318 Patchwork Patterns Blog Hop 

October 2oth Kerry Green from http://verykerryberry.blogspot.com 

*Project: House Mini Wall Hanging & Freezer Paper Piecing Tutorial with Y seams

      October 22^nd  Penny Layman from http://sewtakeahike.typepad.com

*   Project: Gardening apron with blocks from Vegetables collection

      October 24^th Angela Pingel from http://cuttopieces.blogspot.com

*   Project: Wall hanging or bunting from Halloween collection

     October 27th Amy Sinibaldi from http://nanacompany.typepad.com

*   Project: Tote bag with appliqué blocks

      October 29^th Amber Carrillo from http://oneshabbychick.typepad.com

*   Project: Blocks from Christmas collection

      October 31st Latifah Saafir from www.thequiltengineer.com

*   Project: Baby blanket from At the Circus collection

      November 3rd Charise Randell from http://charisecreates.blogspot.com

*   Project: Make up kit and shoe bag from Girls’ Night Out collection

      November 7th Amy Friend from http://duringquiettime.com

*   Project: Table runner with blocks from Fruits collection

      November 5th Leila from http://wheretheorchidsgrow.blogspot.com

*   Project: Tea Cozy from Tea Time Collection

      November 12th Caroline from www.sewcanshe.com

*   Project: Tote or pouch with appliqué block

      November 10th Faith Jones from www.freshlemonquilts.com

*   Project: Mini quilt from Vehicle Collection

      November 14th Rashida Coleman-Hale fromhttp://iheartlinen.typepad.com

~~~Happy Halloween~~~

From the House of Gryffindor to yours ~ Happy Halloween!!!

Work in Progress Wednesday

Fall is in full swing here and the leaves are turning beautiful shades of yellow and orange  : ) 
                            The knitting bug never fails to bite me this time of year!  

I couldn't resist trying the pattern you see above which I found in Mollie Makes issue 44.  The cowl is from the book "Scarves and Cowls" and I immediately ordered the book.  All the projects are adorable and I can't wait to finish this one so I can begin another!

The log cabin block on the left was made for a friend and of course I got the log cabin sewing bug, too!  

The little cottage in the center of the log cabin block is from my Mini Cottage pattern.

Which inspired me to start another project.  The blocks shown above are the beginning of yet another quilt - yikes : )  I love the scrappy look and seeing the pattern emerge.

My projects for the Patchwork Patterns 318 blog hop are well underway.  I can't wait to share them with you on November 3rd!

xo

Charise

Citrus Pouch on the Liberty of London Craft Blog!

I absolutely love Liberty fabrics!  The colors, quality, drape - they are divine.  My inspiration for the latest project I designed for the Liberty Craft Blog came from a paper piecing pattern. I thought the Citrus wedges would make an adorable pouch! 

You can find the pattern and instruction on the Liberty Craft Blog.

At 10" x 5 1/4" it is the perfect size to use as a pencil pouch, make-up bag or to carry a small, portable sewing project.

Happy Sewing.

xo

Charise

Patchwork Patterns 318

Blocks from Patchwork Patterns 318

I love Japanese sewing books and Patchwork Patterns 318 is one of my favorites. 

The book is by Kumiko Fujita who also designs wonderful  fabrics.

A few years ago I belonged to a quilting bee where we made blocks for the other members from the book.  You can see all the blocks I made in the photo above. 

Sewing Books by Kumiko Fujita

The book is filled with adorable themed blocks and pretty floral appliqué patterns.

The only problem is that it has been out of print for some time.  Ebay and Etsy prices were out of control!  Thankfully, Zakka Workshop (World Book Media) reprinted the book in English and it is available now!

You can find it at Sew Me a Song, Pink Castle Fabrics and from Zakka workshop!

Zakka Workshop kicked off a blog hop on Monday!

It is filled with wonderful projects - the first being a cute house wall hanging by Kerry Green.

Kerry shares some great tips for enlarging the blocks and piecing using a freezer paper method.

The perfect method for a block with "Y" seams. 

I will be sharing my projects on November 3rd - a cosmetic bag and a shoe bag from the "Girl's night out" collection of patterns.

Check out the schedule below and be sure to stop by each blog for wonderful projects and inspiration.

If you are on Instagram - you can find the blog hop with #318PatchworkPatterns and #pp318qal for the Quilt Along.   

318 Patchwork Patterns Blog Hop 

October 2oth Kerry Green from http://verykerryberry.blogspot.com 

*Project: House Mini Wall Hanging & Freezer Paper Piecing Tutorial with Y seams

      October 22^nd  Penny Layman from http://sewtakeahike.typepad.com

*   Project: Gardening apron with blocks from Vegetables collection

      October 24^th Angela Pingel from http://cuttopieces.blogspot.com

*   Project: Wall hanging or bunting from Halloween collection

     October 27th Amy Sinibaldi from http://nanacompany.typepad.com

*   Project: Tote bag with appliqué blocks

      October 29^th Amber Carrillo from http://oneshabbychick.typepad.com

*   Project: Blocks from Christmas collection

      October 31st Latifah Saafir from www.thequiltengineer.com

*   Project: Baby blanket from At the Circus collection

      November 3rd Charise Randell from http://charisecreates.blogspot.com

*   Project: Make up kit and shoe bag from Girls’ Night Out collection

      November 7th Amy Friend from http://duringquiettime.com

*   Project: Table runner with blocks from Fruits collection

      November 5th Leila from http://wheretheorchidsgrow.blogspot.com

*   Project: Tea Cozy from Tea Time Collection

      November 12th Caroline from www.sewcanshe.com

*   Project: Tote or pouch with appliqué block

      November 10th Faith Jones from www.freshlemonquilts.com

*   Project: Mini quilt from Vehicle Collection

      November 14th Rashida Coleman-Hale fromhttp://iheartlinen.typepad.com

Have a lovely day!

xo

Charise    

Friday Fun : )

The vacation was fabulous but now I'm back to work - I hate to call it that since I love it so : ) - and working away on some fun projects!  This is a glimpse of a project I am finishing up today for Stitch Spring '15.  The fabric is "Up Parasol" by Heather Bailey for Free Spirit fabrics.  It is such a beautiful collections and the colors are perfect for Spring.

I am also patiently waiting to receive a book I'm published in!  Mollie Makes Patchwork and Quilting.  This project was so much fun to make.  It is a Vintage inspired paper pieced laundry bag with a little embroidery detail. I cannot wait to get my hands on it and see the other projects in the book!

I hope you enjoy your Friday!

xo

Charise