Author: Sew Happy by Sarah

Aunties Two

Sleigh

Sew Happy by Sarah

This sleigh is perfect for holding holiday cards or candy to put out on display on your table! I actually made three of these and gave two away as gifts this year.

The pattern calls for Peltex 72F stiff double-sided fusible interfacing. It was my first time using this interfacing and it worked well! Between that and the fact that each side of the sleigh is doubled up and sewn together (each with a piece of Peltex 72F), it has a great structure. I was surprised when I came to the step where you need to hand sew the sides to the gusset piece. I was skeptical that it would hold together well, but in the end it did! It feels very strong.

I added on some shiny red jingle bells and a glittery bow I found at Michael’s in their Christmas decor section. I hand sewed these on at the end.

Finished Size: Small - 7.5" x 5.5" x 5"
Pattern: Sleigh-Full AT602 by Aunties Two
Fabric: Naughty or Nice by BasicGrey
Round Robin

Round Robin #9 – Mine!

Sew Happy by Sarah
  • It’s finished! My Round Robin quilt.

Starting in January 2020 and ending in November 2020, I was a part of a “Round Robin” made up of 9 quilters formed from a quilt retreat I attended in November 2019. We each started by creating our own quilt block (minimum size of 12 inches) and mailed it to the next person in the chain. The next person would add on to the block in any way they wanted with their own fabric. When they were done they would mail it to the next person in the chain, and so on, until it finally reached the original person who would get to keep the quilt. So, we had 9 quilts rotating through our chain during the year and we would each add on to them at various stages.

See my previous Round Robin posts which show what I added to each one:

This is the finished quilt I received and I absolutely love it! See the original block I created here. It was the trees and applique birds in the middle. From there, someone added the yellow bird house, the next person added the scrappy nest in one of my trees, the next added the picket fence and cat, then came the blue flying geese blocks, then the orange bird house by another person, and each set of borders after that.

I’m so in awe with it! It is totally my style and colors. Everyone did a great job at staying with the theme and the little scene that resulted is amazing! In addition to birds, I love cats, so that was a great surprise! I don’t know any of the women personally, as we only met at the retreat one weekend and didn’t converse with each after that except to mail each other these quilt blocks.

Next up I will need to choose a backing fabric and get this on my longarm! I will have fun quilting this for sure!

The Stranded Stitch

Meowy Catmas Cross Stitch

Sew Happy by Sarah

After my first successful cross stitch project (No Prob-Llama), I found another pattern by the same designer with another cute play on words: Meowy Catmas. Fitting, since we got two kittens this year!

This was fun to stitch! The only issue I came across was at the end when I realized the design looked crooked as I put it in the frame. There must have been something wrong with the cheap Aida cloth I bought at Joann Fabrics, but since I’m still a beginner at this I’m not entirely sure. I also cut my fabric a little too small so I didn’t have a lot of room to wrap around the Pres-On Mounting Sticky Board I used from Fat Quarter Shop. I used this tutorial to frame the piece: How to Frame Cross Stitch, however I didn’t add the batting because there wouldn’t have been enough room in the frame. I just wrapped the fabric around the sticky board and stuck the edges to the back of the board. 

Finished Size: 60 by 89 stitches, or approximately 4.3 by 6.4 inches
Pattern: Meowy Catmas by The Stranded Stitch
Fabric: 14 count white Aida
Other

Noah’s Ark Wall Hanging

Sew Happy by Sarah

I went to Joann Fabrics looking for the cheapest panels I could find to practice free-motion quilting with my new longarm. I picked up this Noah’s Ark panel because of all the opportunities to trace around the animals and add designs to the background elements. By the end of it, I had a great feel for the machine and it turned out pretty cute! My daughter claimed it, so it worked out well!

Finished Size: 34" x 41.5"
Fabric: Noah's Ark panel from Joann Fabrics
Sugaridoo

Sugaridoo Foundation Paper Piecing Course

Sew Happy by Sarah

I have followed Irene of Sugaridoo on YouTube for awhile and was amazed at her foundation paper piecing patterns, but had never done foundation paper piecing myself. When she offered a beginner’s class I signed right up! I took the four-week Foundation Paper Piecing E-Course and learned so much! She went through the process step-by-step, explaining the different methods and materials for foundation paper piecing along the way. She even held a weekly live Q & A Zoom call.

During the course we made these two paper pieced blocks which are mug-rug sized (9″ x 6″). I, however, have hung them up on my sewing room wall! I definitely see more paper piecing in my future!

Fat Quarter Shop, Sew Sampler Box

Pack-and-Go Project Bag

Sew Happy by Sarah

This cute project bag pattern is exclusive to the Fat Quarter Shop Sew Sampler September 2020 box. It was an easy make with clear color illustrations. The back of the bag uses ByAnnie’s Soft and Stable foam stabilizer and the front has a handy vinyl window. It’s a great size (16″ x 20″) and could fit a large project inside. I also loved the Balboa fabric that was included with the box. I wish I had more of it!

Finished Size: 16" x 20"
Pattern: Pack and Go Project Bag Pattern (exclusive to Sew Sampler September 2020 box) by Sherri McConnell
Fabric: Balboa by Sherri & Chelsi
Sew Sweetness

Grab and Go Sleeve – Version 2

Sew Happy by Sarah

When my 8-year-old son got an iPad to use from school and was told to bring it home each day, I quickly saw he needed a case for it to protect the screen. I had some Minecraft fabric he had wanted me to buy for some other project that I never did, so I used it in hopes he would be impressed with his new case.

The Grab and Go Sleeve pattern gives you a formula to enter in your own measurements for your device or book so you can calculate the size of the pattern pieces. It was pretty slick! The pattern calls for both ByAnnie’s Soft and Stable and Pellon #71 Peltex ultra firm fusible interfacing for extra protection for the device. This is a quick and easy sew when you are following along with the included step-by-step video that comes with the pattern bundle.

This is my second time using the pattern, I have also done a version 1.

Finished Size: 
Pattern: Grab and Go Sleeve from the Minikins Season One Bundle by Sew Sweetness
Fabric: Minecraft from Joann Fabrics