How to Assemble a Quilt that Uses an Alternate Grid – video tutorial

March 8, 2017
quilt showing applique woodland animals - fox, raccoon, owl, deer squirrel, bunny, bear, etc.

Quilts that “break” the traditional simple checkerboard grid can be really fun and dynamic, but if you’ve never worked with an alternate grid before, figuring out how to assemble the blocks can be kind of tricky. Take a look at the Noisy Farm quilt.

applique farm animals quilt

You can’t just sew all the blocks into rows and then sew the rows together!

Instead of rows or columns, you break these quilts into chunks – and there’s an easy way to figure out how. That’s what I show you in this new video. 🙂

See? Now that you know how easy it is, try breaking the grid on your own! You could take the Lovable Mutts pattern – a simple grid. . .

Lovable Mutts applique quilt pattern

. . . and add a bunch of half-blocks with puppy sounds using this free alphabet pattern. Arf! Woof! Yip!

Use this free guide to help you calculate yardage and plan your layout (includes 6 common sizes). . .

And you could have a really fun and dynamic version of the puppies quilt all your own! Noisy Puppies!

Here are a few more posts you might find helpful. . .

Find links to all the posts about pattern size and layouts here.

Quilt Sizes and Supplies Needed

Play with Your Layouts – Multiple Possibilities for One Quilt Pattern

Sashing

How to Make Applique Bust Out of Its Frame

Alternate or Broken Grid layouts (adding half and double blocks)

How to Make an Applique Rag Quilt

How to Make a Polaroid Quilt

How to Make a Wonky Churn Dash Frame for Any Block

Finished with this topic?

Return to the Let’s Make a Quilt main Table of Contents.

Move on to the lessons about choosing your fabric.

Happy quilting!

QuiltCon 2017

March 2, 2017

QuiltCon 2017

I went to QuiltCon for the first time and it was So Much Fun!

QuiltCon is a modern quilt show – so it was right up my alley. I didn’t get into any of the classes – but next time I’ll be more organized and I’ll be online the day those registrations open. They had a great slate of instructors there!

So for me it was a shopping and soaking up inspiration weekend. 🙂

The quilts in the show were amazing! Here are some of my favorites. . .

Bling by Katherine Jones

Bling by Kat Jones was the big show winner. I’m completely in awe of it. Isn’t it amazing? Abby Glassenberg recorded a podcast with Kat during the show and it was really interesting to listen to her talk about it. You can listen to that here.

Arches by Leah Pahlmeyer

Arches by Leah Pahlmeyer was inspired by her time in Alhambra, Spain. I just love the repetition of shapes, the solids, the simple quilting.

Cursive by Paige Alexander

I loved Cursive by Paige Alexander – it made me look closer and closer. The quilting is like those practice pages of letters we used to do in grade school. 🙂

Inner Monologue by Anne Sullivan

You all know I’m a sucker for stripes, so of course I loved Inner Monologue by Anne Sullivan. I love everything about this! Here’s a closer look at the stitching detail – a mix of machine and hand stitching.

Inner Monologue detail

Yum!

Mend by Melanie Tuazon

Speaking of big stitches – look at Mend by Melanie Tuazon! It makes me think of huge running stitches!

Moonie McMoonFace by Melissa Averinos

This is Moonie McMoonFace by Melissa Averinos. That title just makes me smile. 🙂 She does a lot of improv face quilts and this was her first attempt to make one that she could release a pattern for that people could reproduce. I love it!

My Cat Is a Jerk by Monica Solorio-Snow

My Cat Is a Jerk by Monica Solorio-Snow was made after she took one of Melissa’s improv face classes. I love it! And I think I really want to take one of these classes sometime. It would be loads of fun!

Organic Mid-Century Mod by Laura Bennet

This one is completely different – Organic Mid-Century Mod by Laura Bennet. Beautiful!

Sunday Best by Michelle Wilkie

Sunday Best by Michelle Wilkie really caught my eye. She made this in bits and pieces every Sunday over a period of months.

Vertigo by Elaine Poplin

Vertigo by Elaine Poplin knocked my socks off and made me dizzy. If you look closely you’ll see that it’s four simple circles – but the way they’re offset and the angles of the squares that make up the rings make the whole thing spin. Wow.

There were more show quilts that I loved – but I accidentally took videos of a lot instead of photos. Oops!

My favorite booth quilt was this one at Michael Miller Fabrics.

Michael Miller booth quilt

Look closer!

Michael Miller detail

Most of the quilt is quilted so densely that it makes the less-quilted parts really stand out. Just awesome!

Michael Miller makes the fabrics I used in my two newest fabric bundles – Box of Crayons and Dots.

And here’s my favorite purchase.

Malka Dubrawsky fabric and Wonderfil thread

The fabrics are hand-dyed batiks from Malka Dubrawsky and the threads are gorgeous 8 wt. (that’s even thicker than 12 wt.) rayon threads from WonderFil. You’ll be seeing more of these soon. I can’t wait to play with them!

Happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi
Wendi Gratz from Shiny Happy World

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Norah Gaughan’s Knitted Cable Sourcebook: Review

February 14, 2017

This book. Norah Gaughan’s Knitted Cable Sourcebook. Drool.

I saw it. And I bought it.

I don’t buy a lot of craft books. (Seriously, all of my books fit on one shelf!)

But I bought this one and love it. And I added my old cable stitch dictionary to my ‘Spring Cleaning’ pile. Because I don’t need it any more.

Norah Gaughan's Knitted cable sourcebook

(does this inside cover give you an idea of all of the amazingness inside?)

I had read a lot of amazing reviews about this book, but I’m a bit of a skeptic. I thought, ‘oh, they’re probably just saying nice stuff because Norah Gaughan is really famous’. (geesh, that makes me sound really awful, doesn’t it? It’s just that in my job, I see a lot of books.) And the cable on the cover is nice, but it didn’t make me pass out from the amazingness.

But once my book arrived I discovered that my skepticism was unwarranted. It actually IS really amazing.

The introduction isn’t very long, but it’s packed with pretty juicy information. The topics covered include:

  • Using a double point needle as a cable needle
  • Left vs. Right slants
  • How to slip stitches onto a needle & how to work the held stitches
  • Cable terminology
  • How to read cable charts
  • Tips for keeping your place on a chart
  • A full explanation of Norah’s own Stockinette Stitch Equivalent System (SSE), so you can swap different cable stitches into different patterns
  • How to fix a mistake in a cable
  • How to count cabled rows

I read the introduction and felt like, ‘Wow. That has everything I need to know.’

The cable designs (many not previously published) are just stunning. Look at this one.

Norah Gaughan's Knitted Cable Sourcebook

What?!?

Very few are this complicated… most of the stitch patterns are two notches above ‘simple’, but stunningly beautiful and hovering significantly below ‘crazily complex’. Which is exactly what you want in a stitch dictionary.

I fell in love with the Seed Rib Half Drop (#84 in the book) and cast on for a scarf immediately.

Seed Rib scarf from Norah Gaughan's Knitted Cable Sourcebook

Isn’t it gorgeous? (The cable pattern, I mean… not my knitting!) It was so enjoyable to knit… I felt like each cable was a little piece of knitter’s candy. I just kept wanting to get to the next one!

FreshStitches scarf cable pattern norah Gaughan's

The book also contains 15 projects, which are all quite lovely and creative projects using cables, in addition to the more than 150 stitch patterns in the book.

Pullover Norah Gaughan's Knitted Cable Sourcebook

Whoa. This book is just plain fabulous. Treat yourself.

Those links are affiliate links. That means I earn a tiny commission if you buy after clicking through. 🙂

Zoomigurumi 5 Review + Giveaway!

February 7, 2017

Zoomigurumi 5

Today I’m reviewing and having a giveaway for Zoomigurumi 5! I’m really excited about this one… keep reading for details on how to enter the giveaway.

The Zoomigurumi series is published by the folks at AmigrurumiPatterns.net, which, in my opinion, is the premiere place for amigurumi patterns. The offerings are curated (giggle, I’ve even had some of my patterns rejected!), so you’re browsing through a lovely selection of both paid and free patterns by the leading designers.  There are over 22,000 amigurumi patterns on Ravelry. It can be overwhelming.

And by the way, Zoomigurumi 6 is available for pre-order! It’s your chance to get one of the first copies!

Zoomigurumi 6

The Review

All of the Zoomigurumi books are curated by the editor of AmigurumiPatterns.net… and the result is 15 amazing and adorable patterns! Other AmigurumiPatterns books (like Amigurumi Circus) are created by customer votes on submissions… isn’t that such a great idea, too?

table of contents for Zoomigurumi

I don’t think I’ve ever said this before, but I’m going to say it: this book is as close to a perfect amigurumi book as you can get. At least in my opinion, anyway.

Look at all these cuties!

Zoomigurumi 5It’s a pretty thin book, only 80 pages. So I was expecting compromises. Sometimes small books skimp on the step-by-step photos. Or they don’t include tutorials on the basics, like how to single crochet or do magic ring. Or they write the patterns in a super-cramped format (like “[inc, 2] 6 times”). Or the patterns are crazy simple to keep the instructions really short. But this book doesn’t take any of those shortcuts.

inside of Zoomigurumi 5

The patterns are delightfully complex (not overly complicated, but have significant character) and the pattern pages feature step-by-step photos of advanced parts. The introduction covers all of the basic stitches and skills (with illustrations!) and the patterns are well-written and include the specific rounds in the attaching instructions.

And a beautifully illustrated table of contents and biographies of the authors! How did they squeeze it all in? I have no idea.

caterino the walrus from zoomigurumi 5

Each pattern features multiple photos of the finished object, so you can see it from every angle.  It’s truly very lovely.

Each pattern includes the yarn weight, recommended hook size and yarn shown in the sample, something that is often omitted from amigurumi books. Sometimes you really DO want to know what yarn the author used!

If you love these cuties, then grab this book. I don’t think you’ll see patterns done much more clearly in a printed book. And they’re adorable!

Giveaway

Would you like to win a copy? Sure you would!

To enter, just leave a comment on this page! It’s that easy! A winner will be randomly chosen on Tuesday, February 14th.

Update – The giveaway is closed now.

Good luck!

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Silly Sloth Fabrics

January 29, 2017

Silly Sloths Quilt Pattern from Shiny Happy World

A lot of people have asked about the fabrics I used for the Silly Sloths quilt pattern.

They’re all from Dear Stella Design.

I used five different prints, with three colors (a dark, medium and light) for each print.

I used the darks for the background blocks and the eye patches.

I used the mediums for the bodies.

I used the lights for the faces.

I used solid black for the eyes and noses.

Here are the specific prints I used. . .

Scallop Dot Fabrics from Dear Stella

Scallop Dot

  • dark – Tangerine
  • medium – Sorbet
  • light – Whisper

Wee Gallery Hearts fabric from Dear Stella

Wee Gallery Hearts

  • dark – Turquoise
  • medium – Mint
  • light – Smoke

Positive fabric from Dear Stella

Positive

  • dark – Ink
  • medium – Atlas
  • light – Smoke

Net fabrics from Dear Stella

Net

  • dark – Mustard
  • medium – Butter
  • light – White

Polka Dot fabrics from Dear Stella

Polka Dot

  • dark – Coral
  • medium – Blush
  • light – Silver

Here’s a photo showing the binding and a bit of the back.

Finished Sloth Quilt - pattern from Shiny Happy World

I used charcoal Cuddle Fleece for the back and Steam Texture in Smoke (also from Dear Stella) for the binding.

Happy quilting!

Best,
Wendi
Wendi Gratz from Shiny Happy World

Stitching Eyes and Mouths – video tutorial

January 27, 2017
Stitching Eyes and Mouths - a video tutorial from Shiny Happy World

I get two questions a lot when people are ready to start outlining on my face applique patterns.

  • How do you stitch around small parts like eyes and noses?
  • How do you stitch the mouth?

I made a video to show exactly how I do both of those steps!

That’s it!

Remember. . .

  • Shorten your stitch length.
  • Go slow!
  • Stop with the needle down and pivot your work as often as you need to to keep a smooth curve.

This post shows my favorite sewing machine feet – include the clear applique foot I use to get good visibility. That’s essential if you want to neatly outline applique pieces.

If you like that adorable sloth face I used in the demo, get the Silly Sloths applique pattern here. It’s one of my easiest patterns – great for beginners!

Here are links to all my posts about outline stitching.

Finished with this topic?

Return to the Let’s Make a Quilt main Table of Contents.

Move on to the lessons about how to trim and assemble your blocks.

Happy stitching!

Tips for Organizing a Charity Craft Fair

January 17, 2017

There are a lot of charities in the world doing really amazing work. I’ve written about how to donate stuffed animals, but frankly, most charities benefit from donations of cash. Large organizations are typically more efficient with cash, not only because they are able to better use the resources (for example, a charity that helps the homeless can usually purchase food at a better price than you as an individual can), but also because money avoids the cost required in shipping and transporting physical goods.

It’s why, for my most recent sample sale, I sold my stuffed animals and donated the money to Heifer International. The cash allowed Heifer to buy a dozen animals, a far greater gift than what they could have accomplished with some plushies!

Mirena recently organized a Craft Bazaar in her hometown, Athens Greece, to benefit Amimoni, an organization dedicated to children with vision impairments and developmental disabilities. It’s a cause close to Mirena’s heart, the organization helped her daughter see… taking her daughter’s vision from 0 to 5/10.

I thought the idea of organizing a craft fair with charity in mind was brilliant! So, I reached out to Mirena to ask if she had any tips to share with us in case you’d like to try this in your own community! A huge thanks to Mirena for chatting with us today!

Event success!

I organised the bazaar together with my friend Chistina Vaggele, who has been in the jewellery business for 30 years now. We raised almost 1000 euros for Amimoni, which is a huge success! Especially for our first fair!

We chose as venue a coffee shop located near our homes but not to the centre of the town so that our guests had easily-accessible parking. This way we were also offering coffee and wine. The coffee shop also provided for a very large table for the display of our goods.
For the promotion, we printed flyers that we gave to every single student of the school our children attend and to stores. We also printed posters and we put them to the school, to the coffee shop and to various stores. Of course we posted on our social media (Instagram, Facebook and Twitter) and Amimoni did too.
We also organized a side event: as we were anticipating that most or all of our guests would be women (given of the goods we were offering – jewelry and stuffed animals-), we called upon Irini Fthenaki of House of Color who did a mini seminar on what colors we are suggested to wear according to our complexion.

Tips for organizing a charity-focused Craft Bazaar

1) Pick your cause: Get in touch with them, tell them what you want to do. They won’t say no! They will probably provide assistance with the organisation of the event. Ask them for their logo to put on your promotional material. Ask them for help in the promotion of the event (they can put an announcement on their website, on their Facebook page, they can put flyers and posters to their offices etc). Decide if you are giving all or portion of the income.
2) Pick the date: Consider picking a date close to a holiday when people are likely to buy and bound to help! That’s why we picked a December date for this event.
3) Pick the venue: Where will you hold the bazaar? Consider:
  • is there enough room to display your goods?
  • is the parking easy for your guests?
  • are there passers-by or is it more secluded?
  • what is the fee for holding your event there?
Craft fair items for sale
4) The promotion: social media is your number 1 go-to place for the promotion of your event. You can also print posters and flyers. Don’t forget your acquaintances!
5) Plan for an extra side event that will attract more people to your bazaar: a mini seminar, live music… Find someone who would want to advertise themselves through your event.
6) Have plenty of goods to sell! This requires a lot of advance planning!
7) Don’t forget your packaging! Simply because it is a charity event it doesn’t mean it has to be sloppy! Maybe one of your guests is buying a gift and would like it wrapped.

Ideas for the Future

What I would change for next year in our bazaar? (Yes, we are doing it again!)
  • Have more stuffed animals available to sell (the truth is I had only 1.5 months to prepare the whole thing!)
  • Have a book with photos of the stuffed animals so that people can place custom orders
  • Select a venue where there are more passers-by
  • Organise a mini concert during the event

Thank you so much, Mirena!

Have you ever organized a charity fair? Any more tips to share?

Children’s Books with Knitting (and Yarn!)

December 12, 2016

It’s gift-giving time! And I LOVE giving books as presents!

So I’ve compiled a list of Children’s books that contain knitting (or spinning or weaving or yarn… but it’s mostly knitting)! Not all of these books is about knitting, but yarn gets either a mention or an illustrated appearance!

Maddie of FreshStitches reading a book, recommendations for books about knitting for children

Some of these we already own… but I’ll tell you, I added quite a few to Maddie’s Wish List! Thanks so much to everyone who chimed in on Twitter and Facebook to contribute their faves!

This post contains affiliate links to amazon.

book recommendations with knitting for young children

Books for Small Children (to 3 years)

Knitting book recommendations for children

Books for Bigger Children (4 – 8 years)

Knitting book recommendations for young children

More Lists!

I’m not the first one to put together a list of books of children’s books featuring knitting! Check out these other lists!

Any I’ve left out? What’s your fave?

 

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Guide to Donating Stuffed Animals

December 5, 2016

I’m incredibly passionate about sharing the love of stuffed animals with children in need.

In this post, I’ll be sharing tips for finding a local source to receive your handmade creations.

The comfort of a plush

I love stuffed animals and I totally believe in their power to comfort. You had a favorite as a kid, didn’t you? One that you slept with and was like a security blanket?

I had a bear named “Teddy” (creative, huh?) and then I moved onto a purple hippo when given to me by a teenage boyfriend. (It was just like this one, but bigger. Can’t believe you can still find them! I got rid of mine along with the boyfriend).

And now Maddie has a puppy (named “Puppy”) that she sleeps with and feeds in her high chair.

There’s just something so special about having a soft toy to call your own. It’s always there to give you a snuggle.

My love for stuffed animals is why I do what I do: I think everyone deserves that special someone.

Choosing donations sites, carefully

It’s heartbreaking to think about, but there are so many kids who don’t have that special toy. Kids in poverty. Children whose families have lost everything they own in a fire. Foster children who are moved from house to house without any possessions of their own. There is a need for donated plush toys. Especially handmade ones that are created with love.

However, we need to be selective in where we send our animals. After the Newtown shooting, I helped organize a toy drive of handmade animals to send to Connecticut. I was devastated to discover that pretty much everyone had the same idea, and when I visited, I saw piles of animals by the side of the road, left like trash.

Since then I’ve learned that it’s best to NOT donate toys during a time of crisis. First responders and resources are tied up doing other things, and our best intentions often create an organizational nightmare, which of course, isn’t what we intended! For more details and my thoughts on the issue, please read An honest talk about charity, donating and the Philippines.

It can be difficult to find a charity that accepts stuffed animals. Because any item given to children has safety concerns, many hospitals have chosen to not accept donations.

How to find a place to donate locally

You don’t have to wait for an Ami Club drive to donate! I know that our drives involve shipping fees… money that could be spent making an impact in your area!

A few types of places are often eager recipients of stuffed animals. Call the chapter/office closest to you and ask if they are accepting donations and where you can drop them off.  Look for:

  • Police and Fire Departments (first responders often distribute a toy to a child on the scene of an incident to reduce fear and anxiety)
  • Foster Care agencies (usually with your county’s Childrens and Family Department)
  • Children’s Hospitals (enquire about allergies and age-appropriateness, below)
  • Women’s Homeless shelters (as they often have children as well)
  • School counselors (either to distribute at the in counseling sessions, or they may be aware of children needing a little something extra to take home)

Questions to ask

A surprising number of charities aren’t able to accept stuffed animals due to safety or allergy concerns. So, in addition to asking whether they accept toys, ask some of the following questions:

  • What ages are the children you serve? (if they are mostly infants, consider making toys with baby-safe eyes)
  • Are there any fiber restrictions? (many places request that animals be machine-washable, and to avoid wool for allergy concerns)
  • Is there anything additional I can add to make the gift special? (For example, some hospitals may be thrilled with a sweet card with well-wishes)
  • What is your timeline? When can I drop the toys off? Do you have a minimum number of animals you need?

Note from Wendi – I’ve been told by many that their local hospitals really like Warren the Charity Bear – for reasons I didn’t anticipate when I designed the pattern. I found out that children who have chest or abdominal surgery are required to cough frequently after their surgery, and to support their incision with a pillow when they do this. Warren is just the right size and shape for that. Nurses also like that he has very short arms and legs – nothing that will get caught or snagged on the many tubes and monitors that kids in the hospital often have to deal with. So keep those tips in mind if you’re making toys for kids in the hospital – and definitely talk to someone at your local hospital to find out what restrictions/needs they have.

basket-of-toys-freshstitches

Find out more!

Here are some more links you might find helpful!

Do you have any tips to share? Let us know in the comments!

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