The Splendid Sampler Sew Along

Good  Morning peeps!

Today I am thrilled to share a very exciting sew along - The Splendid Sampler.

Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson came up with the amazing idea to invite 80+ designer to create original blocks for a year long Sew Along!

When Pat contacted me back in August to be a part of this wonderful project, of course I said "yes"!  

As a designer, I have access to the patterns before the QAL starts and I have to say they are incredible!

The quilt along starts February 14th and you can find all the details [HERE].

There is a Facebook group which is a great way to share fabrics and get to know everyone.

You will also find an extensive list of sewing tutorials on the blog as well!  From Applique' to English Paper Piecing to Foundation paper piecing!

I've made six blocks so far and can't wait to share my versions of the designs - they are absolutely amazing!

I am going to use my extensive stash for the quilt along focusing on happy Yellow and Red.

Happy Sewing!

xo

Charise

Hope Blooms

Welcome to my stop on the Fat Quarter Shop's Top Ten Videos of 2015.  

Today I'm sharing the Hope Blooms Quilt Block.  

I love log cabin blocks and the video from Fat Quarter Shop ensures your log cabin blocks will be perfectly square!  The video shows how to make the 8 1/2" log cabin using the Creative Grids Log Cabin Trim Ruler.  I seriously love this ruler!

If you want to make the quilt, you can find the pattern HERE.

My favorite part of any new sewing project is picking out the fabric.  I was inspired by this Fat Quarter Shop bloggers bundle from Quilt Jane.  I love the coral pink, turquoise and grey combo.  

I chose to use predominately coral pink and grey for my blocks.  You can see some Paperie by Art Gallery Fabrics and Lakehouse Favorites that I used in the blocks.

I decided to make a pillow with four squares and grey dot sashing from Lakehouse.  I love how it turned out and you can never have too many pretty pillows : ) 
Next project is a full size quilt to match the pillow!

If you’re on Instagram, use the hashtag #hopebloomsquilt to share your Hope Blooms Quilt Project and #FQSTop10 for a chance to win a Fat Quarter Shop $100 Gift Certificate.  
The contest ends January 31, 2016 and the winner will be announced on Instagram February 1, 2016.

Be sure to check out the other lovely blogger projects here:

Shruti of 13 Woodhouse Road

Seema of Hooks, Needles, & Brushes

Sinta of Pink Pin Cushion

Rachel of PS I Quilt

Julie of The Crafty Quilter 

Christopher of The Tattooed Quilter

xo ~ Charise

Welcome Fanny ~ Farmer's Wife 1930s Quilt Along

Happy New Year to you!

Today it is my stop on the Farmer's Wife 1930s Quilt Along hosted by Kerry at VeryKerryBerry.

I have fallen a bit behind in making blocks due to the Holidays and time spent with family and friends. 

And, some Holiday Gift Sewing that was lots of fun.  I'm pleased I made time for it this year!

One of the things I like best about this quilt along is the pace - nice and slow : )

I'm still on track to have enough blocks to make a nice sized quilt at the end of the Sew Along.

This week I am sharing the block "Fanny".  This is another straight forward block to make.

I am using the sewing method ~ Foundation Paper Piecing, which lends itself well to fussy cutting. 

For this block I combined both new and vintage fabrics.

The Pink Floral and White Ground Floral are some "new to me" vintage prints I found at Mary's Funky Finds on Instagram. They work so well with the "Kerchief Girl" print!

Happy Sewing
xo
Charise

***Merry Christmas***

Merry Christmas to you!!!  

It has been a very busy December getting ready for my kids' favorite holiday. 

 I've had so much fun sharing some of my favorite patterns and gifts to make the past few weeks.  

You can find a recap and all the tutorial links [HERE]

Handmade Holidays are the best : )  

I was able to finish up a few more gifts for my family which I will share today.

My mom has been doing some embroidery and I wanted to make her a few useful and cute items to keep her embroidery supplies at hand.  I made the pouch big enough to hold a small embroidery hoop with inside pockets for storing notions and supplies.  The dress on the pouch is from my Vintage Dresses pattern reduced to 6" tall.

The needle book has a paper pieced design with my favorite "Kerchief Girls" print as the focal point.

Two front pleated pockets hold embroidery thread.

My favorite feature is this cute little scissor holder.

My boys both have MP-3 players and are always misplacing them!  I thought it would 

be fun to make a gadget pouch so they could keep their player and earphones in one place.

It was fun to put together a boy colored palette of blues, golds and browns.

Every Christmas my boys get a new stuffed animal in their stocking.  I found these cute Husky dogs but they needed a little something to make them extra special.  I made each a hand knit scarf and think they look extra adorable.

Wishing you Love, Peace and Happiness and a 2016 filled with Joy!

xo

Charise

Handmade Gifts ~ Vintage Kitchen Hot Pads

It is not too late to stitch up some gifts in time for the holidays!  This sweet potholder set is made

with my vintage bowls and vintage apron pattern. 

I used my round potholder tutorial which you can find [HERE]

This pattern is perfect for an orphan quilt block 8" or smaller. 

 I embellished the back pockets with cotton lace and ric rac. 

 It would also be fun with a self fabric ruffle or some whimsical ribbon trim.

Include a pair of color dipped kitchen utensils and you have the perfect gift for you favorite cook!

You can find the Vintage Bowls and Apron Patterns in my Etsy shop [HERE] and my Craftsy shop [HERE]

xo

Charise

Handmade Gifts ~ Apple and Pear Potholder

Hello and Happy Thursday.  Only 15 more days until Christmas!  Yikes.....

I am working on more Holiday Sewing and thought I would share a quick make 

that is a wonderful gift.

These round potholders are made with my free apple and pear paper piecing pattern which you can find [HERE].

The round potholder tutorial can be found [HERE].  

I am pairing them with a fun set of 

colored dipped bamboo spoons I found at a local kitchen wares store.

I found these on Etsy which are adorable!

If you missed any of my previous Handmade Gift posts, You can find them [HERE]

Wishing you Happiness and Peace during this hectic Holiday Season!

xo

Charise

Handmade Gifts ~ Citrus Pouch

Happy Friday!

Today I am sharing another handmade gift idea for my Handmade Holidays series.

I designed the citrus pouch for the Liberty Craft Blog.  

It is the perfect size for a pencil pouch.

I have shown it here with a lovely, colorful Moleskin Sketch book and some fun colored pencils.
Another perfect gift for your creative friends and family.

It is also the perfect size for portable sewing supplies or a make-up pouch.

The fabrics used in the pouches pictured are from Liberty of London. They are a lightweight cotton lawn, but any quilting weight cotton print or solid would work nicely, too.

You can find the pattern and instructions on the Liberty Craft Blog [HERE]

  Happy Sewing

xo

Charise

Sewing Machine Review ~ Janome CoverPro 1000CPX

A few months back I purchased a Coverstitch machine from Pink Castle Fabrics ~ the Janome CoverPro 1000CPX. 

A Coverstitch is a sewing machine that has multiple stitches mainly used for hem finishing on knit garments. 

It can be used on Sleeve Hems, Bottom Hems and Necklines.

I love to sew knits but I am perennially disappointed with the hems on my garments made with a straight stitch home sewing machine.  They look nice but aren't stretch enough for knit fabrics. 

If you look at a purchased knit garment, you will notice the double or triple needle stitch used to finish hems and sometimes necklines on garments.

The Janome machine has options for three different stitches:

single stitch or chain stitch 

double needle coverstitch 

triple needle cover stitch.

I decided to try it in a few different applications ,other than hems, which you can see below.

 I used the double needle coverstitch to stitch down an elastic waistband.

The machine can handle multiple layers of fabric.  This waistband has five layers of knit fabric plus elastic and it sewed like a dream.

This nightgown has lace that is applied on the top edge using the double needle coverstitch.  I love the way it turned out.  It is a nice clean finish with plenty of stretch.

The machine comes with a presser foot that is solid metal.  I had lots of trouble seeing where the needles were stitching.  So much, that I did a bit of research for a solution before using the machine again. 

 I found a partially transparent foot (pictured above) that allows you to see where you are stitching.  

I highly recommend it.  It is a bit spendy but worth the extra $.

You can find the foot [HERE]

Another great attachment is the Adjustable Seam Guide.

The Instruction Manual advises marking the hem width on the right side of the garment.

You then stitch on the line.

The seam guide can be set to the edge of the fold of the hem so you can skip the marking step.

To use the ADJUSTABLE SEAM GUIDE follow these steps:

1. Fold the hem to the wrong side, the desired width. Press in place.

*If your knit is having a hard time keeping a press, spray some Fabric Spray Starch on the fabric.*

2. Set the seam guide to the edge of the folded hem.

3. With the right side of you garment facing you, stitch your hem.

A FEW MORE TIPS:

1) Keep the instruction manual handy. 

You will need it for machine basics, threading, and tension information. 

  

2) Keep stitch sample for different fabrics and stitches.

I decided to attach mine to the Instruction manual so I wouldn't lose them : )

I hope this review was helpful.  If you like to sew knits, I highly recommend this machine to give your garments a professional finish.

If you have any specific questions, please leave a comment and I will reply on the blog.

xo

Charise

~~~November~~~

Sewing this pouch for my mom with my Vintage Dresses pattern.

My Diamond Patchwork Purse in Stitch Winter 2016.  

Carved another block from Design, Carve, Print Class. More details [HERE]

Made a purse from my first block print from the Design, Carve, Print Class

Making progress on my Farmer's Wife Quilt

Loving this knit top and plan to make more : )

Playing with my new coverstitch machine and will share a review this month.

Finished my blocks for Amy's Maker Quilt and even mailed the package!

Shared some Free makes and Patterns just in time for Holiday Gift Giving

Have a lovely 1st day of December!!!

xo

Charise

Holiday Sales at Charise Creates & Fat Quarter Shop

Wishing you a wonderful day after Thanksgiving to all my U.S. peeps : )

This is a quick post to share a sale in my Etsy Shop ~ Charise Creates.

20% off with the code thankful20.  This is for all items in my shop.

Sale lasts until end of day Sunday.

If you happen to purchase a pattern from my shop and need fabric, Fat Quarter shop is having a Black Friday Sale.

They have 25% OFF all orders from Friday, November 27 until Saturday, November 28 at Midnight CST. Excludes purchases of gift cards.  No code necessary.

xo

Charise

Handmade Gifts ~ Good Night Nightie

Today I am going to share a night gown I designed for Stitch Beautiful Bedrooms.
Another gift for a special gal in your life.

The neckline has a pretty ruffle detail made with elastic thread.

The armholes are bound with self fabric binding that also creates the shoulder straps.

A perfect night gown made in a lightweight cotton voile, it would be equally lovely made in a drapey silk or rayon.
The hem has a pretty lace trim detail.

A lovely gift paired with a pretty scented soap.

You can find the FREE pattern on the Sew Mama Sew website [HERE]

Happy Holiday Sewing!

xo

Charise