Burlap Table Runner

Decided to jump on the bandwagon and make a burlap table runner.    Purchased  1 1/2 yards of burlap and washed it on gentle cycle.  Air dried and shook all the shreds off.   (well, as much as I could.  It is messy!)  I then ironed the burlap with a steam iron to smooth it all out.  Started by measuring a 17" width of the burlap, full length of fabric.  At the 17" mark I pulled a thread out.  I was then able to cleanly cut the burlap.

Then I sewed  in one inch all the way around the piece and repeated about 1/8 inch (one thread worth) inside that stitch line.  This will prevent any unraveling of the burlap. 

I then taped the runner down to my work table trying to get it as straight as possible.  I used painter's tape to mark a one inch strip inside the stitch marks.  And another rectangle of painter's tape 1/2 inch inside that.  Using fabric paint, I painted this 1/2 inch border.  Then I used some letter templates to paint my Thanksgiving message on the table runner.  Lastly, I removed all the threads outside of my stitch lines to give a 1 inch fringe.  A quick morning project.

Ceramic gift tags

Here are some of the tags I've been making. 

And here is photo of me little drawstring bag with a set of gift tags.  Cute, huh?

Gift Bag Tutorial

I am making some ornaments and/or gift tags to put on my etsy shop and have been trying to decide on packaging for these items.  Originally, I thought I would purchase cellophane or paper bags and print off a label for the bag.  But then I thought about all the fabric I have in my stash.  Why not make drawstring bags. 

So today I sat down and made a prototype.  I think I like it. 





Here is my step by step tutorial on how to make these bags.  You can make them any size, so adjust if you want something larger or smaller.

Cut out two squares of fabric.  I cut mine 5.5 inches square.   Measure and mark about 1 1/4 inch down from the top on the sides of both squares.  Make  a 1/2 inch cut into the squares from each side.  Finger press the cut corners to the wrong side of the fabric and stitch close to the edge. 

Now fold the top edges of both squares down about 1/8 inch and then again at that 1 1/4 inch mark that you made.  Pin this edge down. 

Sew close to the open edge of these folds, creating a casing for the drawstring.

 

 

Now lay the squares right sides together and pin the sides and bottom.  Sew all 3 sides, turning at the corners.  I used a 1/2 " seam allowance. 

 



  Now you could just turn the bag right side out at this point, thread ribbon through the casing and be done making your gift bag.  BUT,  I wanted to make a flat bottom bag.  So, the next step is to press both side seams to the left.  Then lay the bag down so that the side seams are now centered on the top and bottom. (instead of being at the sides)  When you have it lying like this, you are going to tuck the bottom of the bag inside.  Huh, you ask.  Okay, go to the bottom corners of the bag and start pushing the fabric inside so that it looks like the picture below.  I left a little more than 2 inches of fabric straight and tucked in all the fabric below that. 

Mark a line about 1 inch up from the bottom point.  Do this for the top and bottom point.  Then sew across each point on this line.  Cut off the excess fabric on the points. Look at that bag sitting on its flat bottom! 

Now turn the bag right side out and look at the wonderful job you did.  Here is what the bottom should look like. 

Now, cut two pieces of 1/8 inch ribbon about 12-14" in length.  Feed the first ribbon from the left all the way around the bag.  Tie the two ends of the ribbon together.  Feed the second ribbon from the right side all the way around the bag.  Tie those ends together.  The result will be ribbon tied on opposite ends of the casings. 



Now fill those bags with your gift of choice.  Here are some of my gift tags in this bag. 

 

Now I need to go make a bunch more!  Have fun making yours.  



 



 

Patchwork Quilt using Vintage Modern Charm Squares

I have been working on this quilt for over 2 months now and just could not finish it.  Over Labor Day weekend, I buckled down and finished not only this one, but another using the same fabrics.  Hurrah!

Here is the back:

It was fun to quilt once I finally figured out how I wanted it to look. 

Lemon Burst Cookies

Our church is hosting for the Hypothermia Shelter this week and today is Family Circle's day to prepare and serve dinner for the shelter guests.  I volunteered to make dessert, so I made some cookies this morning.  They were so yummy that I thought I should share them online.  I found these cookies on Pinterest a few weeks ago and pinned it.  They are called Lemon Burst Cookies.  There are a few different recipes for them online.  One called for Cool Whip, oil, 1 egg and a box of Lemon cake mix.....hmmm, I didn't like the idea of Cool Whip.  In addition, several people said their cookies came out flat (probably because of only 1 egg).  I found another recipe that used 2 eggs, oil, lemon cake mix, and lemon juice/extract/zest. That's the recipe I decided to use.

Aren't they scrumptious looking?

They tasted as good as they look.   A soft, cakey, lemony cookie.  The recipe made 30 cookies....but a few mysteriously disappeared as they were cooling. Uh-oh.  So, I made a quick trip to Giant for another box of cake mix and made another batch. 

Here's the recipe:

Lemon Burst Cookies

1 box of lemon cake mix (18.25 oz)

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

zest of one lemon

2 Tbls lemon juice

1/4 tsp lemon extract

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or use a SilPat baking mat.

2.  Into a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients except the powdered sugar.  Mix with a hand mixer until well blended.  Dough will be sticky.  I found that the dough became less sticky after a few minutes. 

3.  Put the powdered sugar into a small bowl.

4.  Use a small scoop to made a small ball of dough.  I used about 1 1/2 Tbls per cookie.  Roll into the powdered sugar.  Get a pretty heavy coating if you want that powdered sugar look on your finished cookie.  Place onto cookie sheet.

5.  Bake 9-10 mins until edges are just lightly browned.  Cool a couple mins on cookie sheet and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Makes between 30-36 cookies depending on size. 

I've already dropped the cookies off at church for tonight's dinner.....wish I would have kept a few....yum

Turquoise and Black Reversible Table Runner

Made a quick table runner this week using yummy shades of turquoise with black prints.  I used the same method that I did for Nana's table runner...just strips of fabric quilted directly onto the backing fabric.  I decided not to add a "bojo" label so that it could be easily reversible.  The back is a pretty floral print, can't remember the name of it.  It's about 42" long and 14" wide. 

I really like the contract between the black and the blues. 

First Quilt Sale

I am so excited.  I sold my first quilt on Etsy...both my first quilt sale and my first quilt.  This one, the disappearing nine-patch.

I was starting to think that I would only be able to sell season-themed table runners.  Not that I mind sellign those, I just don't have the passion to make them as I do a quilt.  After selling it, I started to have seller's remorse, after all, it was my first quilt.  But I know it went to a good home and they will love it too!