Cozy Cottages

Over two years ago my first paper piecing pattern was published in Fat Quarterly - Cozy Cottage.

I have made it available for purchase in my Etsy and Craftsy shops.

I really do love the pattern.  It was fun to find cute images for the windows.

This is the "Sewing House" with the sewing themed items in the window.
The sewing themed brown roof and yellow details are from Suzuko Koseki - one of my favorite fabric designers.

This is one of my favorite pillows made with the "Sewing House".

I've dreamed of making a quilt with different themed houses as boutiques - Boulangerie, Sweets shop, Clothing Boutique .....shops that you would find in a quaint little town : )

Happy Creating!
xo
Charise

Fat Quarter Shop - Robert Kaufman Sale

Hello!  My apologies for being so quiet over here!  I have been spending time organizing my fabric which required a trip to IKEA for some bookshelves - with doors - to store my fabric.  My stash has outgrown the plastic bins I now store them in. I will share some photos soon!  It is so nice to have my fabric arranged by color! 

I wanted to let you know that Fat Quarter Shop is having a sale -  20% OFF ALL ROBERT KAUFMAN FABRICS with coupon code: RK2014

This includes Kona,  Ann Kelle, Carolyn Friedlander, Darlene Zimmerman, and Many more!

This offer starts TODAY, September 22^nd until SUNDAY, September 28^th  at 11:59 PM CST.

I may head over myself, but only if I have some room on those new shelves : )

xo Charise

Sunday Stash with Liberty Tana Lawns

I hope you are enjoying your Sunday.  I picked the last of the lavender from my garden that I will use for sachets and cooking.  My husband makes killer Lavender lemon scones!  The recipe is from my favorite Seattle bakery - Macrina.  

My roses are still blooming - you can see a little peek in the upper right hand corner of the photo.

My house is full of vases with the luscious smelling blooms.  I will be sad when they are gone.

I could't resist making a sachet with the my Liberty Tana 

Lawn scraps  and lavender from my garden!  The pattern is one I designed, way back when, for Stitch Gifts 2012.

You could also use my tutorial for a simple four patch sachet - tutorial is [here].  It is a great project for using your favorite scraps.  

Here is a little sneak peek of a project I am working on for the Liberty Craft Blog with these beautiful fabrics!  They are so summery which is nice since summer is coming to an end.  I love the citrus colors (hint, hint).

Have a lovely evening!

xo

Charise

Work in Progress Wednesday

It is Wednesday again and time seems to be flying by.  The kiddos have been in school for a week and I've been struggling with setting a schedule for myself.  My main work in progress is grading my Anna Blouse.  Basically grading means taking a pattern and making it larger and smaller.     I learned to grade in design school but that was over 20 years ago!  A task that I dreaded at first, but have come to enjoy as I measure each seam, feeling very satisfied when the pieces sew together!

I have a stack of fabrics to make more versions of the blouse and can't wait to share them here!

To help keep my sanity, I have set aside some time for sewing.  In celebration of National Sewing Month, I will be sharing a project that uses a technique that is new to me - appliqué.  I was inspired by the book Playful Patchwork by Suzuko Koseki.  The project pictured will be a sweet little bag which I will share on the blog later this month.

I hope you enjoy these last few days of summer.

xo
Charise

Sponsor News - National Sewing Month!

Becca at Sew Me a Song is having a sale this weekend

In Celebration of National Sewing Month! 

Take $10.00 off your purchase of $50 or more.  Enter coupon code :  SEWSEPT  at checkout. Offer good through September 8th.

I'm rather smitten with this I dream of Paris bundle : )

The Fat Quarter Shop is celebrating National Sewing Month with a free pattern.  The Color my Heart Quilt pattern is available HERE.  It uses a handful of charm squares and makes a 27" finished block.  I would be an adorable mini quilt or make a bunch for a larger quilt!

(Don't forget to use #colormyheart on social media when you create this quilt!)

They are also hosting a blog hop!  They have asked bloggers (me included!) to share a projects they have not made before ~ all month long!  Here is the list of bloggers!

Shruti of 13 Woodhouse Road 

Sherri of A Quilting Life

Amy of Amy's Creative Side

Alyce of Blossom Heart Blog

Charise of Charise Creates

Lucy of Charm About You

Erin of Dog Under My Desk

Amy of During Quiet Time

Rachel of Family Ever After

Anne Marie of Generation X Quilters

Marni of Haberdashery Fun

Melissa of Happy Quilting

Katy of I'm A Ginger Monkey

Elizabeth of In the Boon Docks

Jana of Jana Machado

Lynne of Lily's Quilts

Maureen of Made by Marzipan

Barb and Mary of Me and My Sister Designs

Melanie of I Heart Stitching

Kaye of Miss Print

Dana of Old Red Barn Co.

Natalia of Piece N' Quilt

Denise of Pieced Brain

Stephanie of Quarter Incher

Jane of Quilt Jane

Heather and Megan of Quilt Story

Cheryl of Quilter Chic

Michele of Quilting Gallery

Allison of Quilting Mumma

Teresa of Quilting Stitching & Sew On

Leslie of Seasoned Homemaker

Kelli of Seriously.. I Think It Needs Stitches

Liz of Sew4Home

Erin of Sew At Home Mummy

Sara of Sew Sweetness

Leanne of She Can Quilt

Vickie of Spun Sugar Quilts

Amy of Stitchery Dickory Dock

Tonya of The Crafty Mummy

Julie of The Crafty Quilter

Paula of The Sassy Quilter

Erin of Why Not Sew?


Happy Sewing!

xo

Charise

Summer Vintage Finds

Spring and Summer are usually spent with a fair amount of "estate sale" shopping.  This year I made it to only one estate sale and my favorite antique shop where I found this beautiful vintage toy sewing machine. 

The estate sale was a good one!  Most of the items were fabric - napkins, tablecloths and a bit of fabric.  I picked up a few of my absolute favorite items.

The fabric on the right is a vintage feed sack make into a tablecloth

This fabric on the left is an apron.  I love the teeny, tiny fruit : )

These are some lovely vintage fabric pieces.

I also picked up these cute vintage patterns! Gotta love the 60's!

I have been organizing and cleaning in preparation for school starting this Wednesday!

It is bittersweet - I will miss my rascally boys but it will also be nice to have more time for my design work!

xo

Charise

My Good Night Nightie at Sew Mama Sew!

Happy Wednesday.

This is a quick post to let you know the Good Night Nightie I designed for Stitch Beautiful Bedrooms is available as a free download!  You can find it [here] at the Sew Mama Sew Site.

I absolutely love mine and wear it often - so perfect for warm summer nights!

The fabric I used is a voile from Little Lisette which is now out of print but would be perfect in a lawn or lightweight silk.

If you like the cover pic - I designed that as well : )  it is a perfect lightweight robe with a pretty ruffle detail, shirred waist and inside tie.

The book has wonderful projects for your bedroom, from slippers and eye masks to quilts and a beautiful duvet set!

Enjoy!!!

xo

Charise

Sketch Book Cover Tutorial

Just in time for back to school, I designed this handy sketch book cover!

You can find it over at the Sew Mama Sew blog.

I love to have a sketch book in my bag at all times to jot down ideas or just to doodle!  They are also great for list writing and immortalizing all your fabulous ideas!  Since I change my bag often, I designed a sketch book cover that has a handy pocket on the back to keep your pen or pencils.  There is nothing worse than wanting to write down or sketch an idea but not being able to find a pencil in your purse - which happens to me often.  Thus the design for this handy sketch book cover!

The cover has a paper pieced pencil and embroidery detail.

This is also a great project to make for young artists - a perfect portable sketch book with everything in its place!

The handy pocket on the back has a velcro closure.

Perfect for stowing your favorite sketching tools.

You can find the tutorial and pattern at the Sew Mama Sew blog!

Happy Sewing!

xo

Charise

Coffee Koozie

The Fat Quarter shop is sharing a video and free pattern for this adorable Coffee Koozie. 

I take a cup of coffee with me on my daily walk to take the kiddos to school, so this will come in handy! 

And it is just so darn cute!!

It is perfect for a mini charm pack - or - choose your own fabrics.  I used some of my favorite fabric scraps!  I also found some vintage red buttons in my button stash.

A perfectly easy project, it took me about an hour to sew and a bit more time to pick out the fabrics and cut the 2.5" squares.  If you have a mini charm pack, the project is super quick!

I think this will be the perfect teacher gift!

Happy Sewing

xo

Charise

Work in Progress Wednesday

As the summer wraps I am looking forward to having more time to sew : )  The boys start school on the 3rd of September so we are doing our best to make the most of every last minute of summer!

Today I did a bit of work on a project that you will be able to find on the Sew Mama Sew blog next week.  It is a back to school project, one I've been wanting to make forever!  Look for the post on my blog and link up to Sew Mama Sew next week.

Ever so often I get an urge to do a bit of knitting.  I am a serious novice and have knit scarves and a few pair of slippers.  I had this blue and green yarn and decided to start a striped scarf.  I may have it done in time to wear for Fall - It has been a fun project to work on at the pool while the boys are taking swim lessons.

Check out the other Works in Progress at Freshly Pieced and share yours.  I would love to see what you are working on!

xo
Charise

Work in Progress Wednesday

This week's list is long with Works in Progress!

I have a few "secret projects" I'm working on.  One is pictured above.

I've made some more progress on my Spring Blossoms quilt.  May have to add this to my pattern list to dos!

I pulled these fabrics for an autumn version of my A-line skirt. The denim version will have the liberty stile floral as piping, waist and hem facings and I think it would be a great mid-calf length skirt.

And I definitely need to make one with the Cotton + Steel arrow fabric as well! 

  

The denim I found at a local shop with beautiful apparel fabrics - District Fabric - in the always fun to shop neighborhood of Fremont in Seattle. 

Be sure to share your works in progress at Freshly Pieced!

xo

Charise 

Summer Sewing for Myself ~ Swing Tanks

We have had the most amazing summer in Seattle.  The temperature has been in the 80's and 90's most every day!  I saw a cute tank in a local store that was perfect for this fab summer weather.  Fitted through the bust so it is flattering, but loose and swingy so it is comfortable too - just perfect for hot summer days.  

The style was a bit too junior for me - bra revealing low back and a Stevie Nicks handkerchief hem - so I decided to put my pattern drafting skills to work and created a pattern.  

The tank I drafted has a scoop back detail and adjustable straps.  The adjustable straps are such a nice detail and surprisingly easy to add. The version pictured above is an older Free Spirit print in rayon challis.  It has a beautiful drape and is super soft and comfy!  You can find the fabric Here.

The fabric I used for this tank is a Joel Dewberry rayon challis.

I purchased yardage to make a dress version in this Anna Maria Horner rayon challis print which I adore!

You can find the Anna Maria Horner fabric here.

The tank will also be a fun style to layer with a cardigan and wear with skinny jeans and boots this Fall.
I can see the dress with a knee length wool sweater, tights and boots : )

I hope you are enjoying your summer!

xo

Charise

Sponsor News!

Happy Friday Lovelies!

A few of my sponsors have a little news to share! : )

The Fat Quarter Shop is having a sale on all Riley Blake Fabrics Starting Tomorrow! 

Yes indeed.....20% OFF ALL RILEY BLAKE FABRICS with coupon code: RILEY

This offer starts FRIDAY, August 8 until THURSDAY, August 14^th at 11:59 PM CST (08/08/14 – 08/14/14)

                                                    I have my eye on this FQ bundle : )

Becca at Sew Me a Song has lots of new and adorable fabrics.

I love this FQ bundle of Toy Box IV!

And I'm smitten with this Suzuko Koseki bundle!

Have a lovely day : )

xo

Charise

FQ Shop Give away winner - Crystal!!!

Congrats to Crystal who won the FQ shop give away.

Thanks everyone for sharing "what you are working on"!  In really enjoy reading your comments.

xx
Charise

Fresh Sewing Day!

I love Lily's Quilts Fresh sewing day.  It is an opportunity to recap all your accomplishments for the month and meet new bloggers!

July seemed to fly by.  I was able to finish a few paper piecing patterns and start a new one.

I started a new quilt - Spring Blossoms and I love where it is going!
I've added some more blossoms since this pic was taken : )

My Anna blouse is being graded - by me!  The learning curve was a bit steep but I think I finally have it down.  I hope to have this pattern available soon!

I also had some wonderful beach and pool days which is probably the most important thing to be doing this glorious summer - spend time with my boys that are growing up much too fast!

Be sure to head over to Lily's Quilts and share your accomplishments!

xo

Charise