My gift to you. Feel free to use this to your heart’s content. I uploaded it to the Brother Canvas Cloud, resized, and cut out using my Brother Scan n Cut. Then I stitched it on using Simply Applique software – a module of BES4 that can be purchased separately. Bag instructions are below. I had some canvas laying around so I put it to good use! My original thought was to also applique the “Happiness is…” lettering but decided that it was too small. However, you can have that svg as well if you like. I ended up just embroidering the letters. The font is 1″ Evangeline from Designs by JuJu. The heart is a shape from the Canvas cloud or you can use one that’s inside the Scan N Cut. In the video, I used two different software programs because I prefer to do embroidery lettering in Embrilliance and use BX fonts. There are fonts in Simply Applique (BES4) but I didn’t care for those.

There were issues with being able to access the svg files from inside the Word document for my viewers, so…$300 later for a WordPress upgrade (just throw money at it, right?) I’ve created individual download files for the svg’s. So ignore the part in the video about moving the files from the Word doc to your computer. Just click the Download buttons below and they will be in your Downloads folder.

The tote bag was very straight forward and I pulled the design and size from thin air. To sew the straps, I cut two 4″-wide strips that were approx 40 inches long. I ironed a crease down the center and then folded the sides into the center and stitched down each side 1/8″ from the edge.

The body of the bag is 16″ x 29″. (No reason for that odd number). I folded it in half widthwise and stitched up the side and bottom. I did the same for the lining but cut it to 15.5″ x 29″. After embroidering, I turned the lining right side out and tucked the outside of the bag inside out into the lining so the wrong sides of the bag were together. I folded over the top 1/2″ edge of the outside of the bag and matched up the side seams. I stitched in the handles at a 1/2″ seam allowance measuring in 3″ from the outer edges and turned the bag right side out.

Then I made sure the handles were straight from the top of the bag and stitched around again 1/8″ from the top. I used a 90/14 Schmetz jeans top stitch needle and Dual Duty jeans top stitching thread. I needed all the extra oomph to get through all those layers of canvas.

I seriously love how it turned out! Thanks for reading!

Growing up in South Texas, we didn’t get a whole lot of snow, ice, or frost of any kind. But occasionally… every once in awhile… Mother Nature would descend on us with a wintery blast. Unlike my mother who grew up in Wisconsin, there wasn’t an ice scraper to be found anywhere near me. So what did we do for those occasional frosty windshields? Well, we’d “McGyver” a credit card! Of course!

I always loved studying those individual ice crystal formations on my windows. This “Icy Windows” block reminded me of those beautiful creations that are as unique as all of us.

The image above is 4 of the blocks together, but a single one finishes at 6″. Here’s how to put it together.

All pieces are cut at 2 3/8″. This is a Jelly Roll friendly block! You’ll need 3 shades of luscious blue frosty-looking prints and a white background. In the photo below, I opted to leave out the greener shades.

A – Cut 2 2 3/8″ of the darkest blue shade
B – Cut 6 2 3/8″ of the white
C – Cut 4 2 3/8″ of the medium blue
D – Cut 4 2 3/8″ of the lightest blue

Pair 2 A with 2 B
Pair 2 B with 2 C
Pair 2 B with 2 D
Pair 2 C with 2 D
Draw a diagonal line on the top square of each pair.

Sew the pairs together by stitching a scant quarter inch down each side of the drawn line.

Cut the squares apart on the drawn line to create half square triangles (HSTs). Finger press them open without stretching the bias.

Using the finished block as a guide, sew blocks together into 4 rows according to the picture.

Sew the rows together and nest carefully so as not to tip your V’s or points!

Here’s a beautiful Winter Wonderland setting for this quilt. Can you find my block in this setting? 🙂 Hint, in this setting, the white is used as the lightest blue.

I had so much fun with this project. I’d like to thank Moda for sharing my block with all of you. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and God’s blessings on each and every one for the New Year. Merry Christmas!

POST UPDATE: NEW WINNER! The original winner of the Sulky box never responded after several attempts. The response time has passed and a new winner has been chosen! Sharon Baxter ! You’ve won the Sulky box! Please email me at powertoolswiththread@outlook.com with your mailing address. CONGRATULATIONS!! The new winner is also a member of the Power Tools With Thread FB group and it has also been posted there.

We have a winner of the Sulky Mystery Box 2020! Congratulations to YouTube commenter QuiltNut851 ! Here’s how the winner was chosen.

The video link was input to the CommentPicker.com website and entries had to say somewhere in their comment “Sulky box”. Replies were included as well as top level comments. Duplicate entries were eliminated.

The comment picker found 484 unique entries.

The CommentPicker found the winner! Congratulations QuiltNut851! You have until 5PM CST, 12/13/20 to claim your prize by emailing me at powertoolswiththread@outlook.com with your mailing address. If the box goes unclaimed, another winner will be chosen.

Congratulations again!

Congratulations to Janet Bradford, winner of the #Kimberbell Bella Box giveaway!

The YouTube comment picker was used to choose the winner. They needed to say, “I’m a Kimberbella too” somewhere in their comment, and I chose a filter of “Kimberbella too” for a word search among the comments. I filtered duplicate comments.

The Comment Picker found 613 unique commenters. WOW!

The “Choose A Winner” button was clicked and Janet Bradford was our winner! Congratulations Janet. Please email me at powertoolswiththread@outloo.com NLT 5pm CST 12/10/20 to claim your winning prize. I’m SO glad it went to someone who is also a member of our Power Tools With Thread FB group. Congratulations again!

Don’t miss my live presentation December 3rd through the 5th at 10:00 AM CST in the @Brothersews booth presented by @allbrands1976 at the Virtual Quilt Festival hosted by quilts.com! Join us for education, and giveaways after each segment!

I want to thank Allbrands for this opportunity. AllBrands.com is a family owned and operated business since 1976 and is proud to host Brother virtually this year. Meet your favorite stars for live demonstrations: Angela Wolf from Its Sew Easy TV, Cindy Hogan, Reen Wilcoxson founder of Embroidery Garden, Becky Thompson from Power Tools with Thread, Brother national educators and much more! Allbrands stores in Houston, San Antonio, and Louisiana will be offering the best festival packages of the year with 60 month financing! Visit us for show specials and giveaways.

I’ll be sharing a demo on how to use the Brother Scan-n-Cut to cut fabric for applique quilts! During the festival, you can get specials on the patterns I’m using in the links below.

Watch Allbrands Live on FB! (you can see me here and post comments!)
FacebookDay 1: https://www.facebook.com/allbrands1976/posts/10160188944593644
Facebook Day 2: https://www.facebook.com/allbrands1976/posts/10160188945893644
Facebook Day 3: https://www.facebook.com/allbrands1976/posts/10160188947488644

YouTube Day 1: https://youtu.be/OE65DqvWdLI
YouTube Day 2: https://youtu.be/OJ6ppJQFkAc
YouTube Day 3: https://youtu.be/gN-bx2aTuBM

Tickets to the entire Quilt Festival which includes classes can be purchased here: Home – Quilts

Autumn Owl Pattern (includes FREE Santa Hat pattern) from Pamalama Jo Designs (digital download available): Autumn Owl (pamalamajodesigns.com)

Patchwork Pines for Christmas Quilt Pattern (20% off Discount Code: PINE) from Bunnie Hill Designs
Patchwork Pines for Christmas – Applique Quilts – Patterns (bunnyhilldesigns.com)

#brothersews #allbrandssews #scanncut #luminaire #quiltbroidery

I hope you can join me! Thank you everyone for all your support for me and my channel. I love you all!

I’m doing a video series for beginner quilters using the Fa La La Quilt Pattern by Villa Rosa Designs.

In the link below, I created my ABC diagram in Word for how I labeled my fabrics according to the pattern in the video series. If you need the actual measurements, the links to purchase the pattern are at the top of the document. The way this document is laid out, corresponds to the cut pieces on the pattern. It will make it easier for you to understand which pieces I’m cutting and using.

Click HERE to download the document.

Enjoy!

When I did the Creative Notions bag reveal for September 2020, it came with a Quilt in a Day Flying Geese ruler by Eleanor Burns. Fabulous inclusion in the bag BTW.

Since I already had one of these, I offered it up on my channel as a giveaway. The giveaway closed at midnight on Oct 4, 2020.

To win the ruler, I asked commenters to leave a comment that says “I want the ruler”. There were 434 comments to the video in total.

After filtering out duplicates and telling the picker to look for the phrase “want the ruler”, there were 345 unique commenters.

I told the picked to choose a winner from those 345 comments by clicking the Choose a Winner button and the winner is Lani Rousseau! CONGRATULATIONS LANI!!

Lani, please email your address to me at powertoolswiththread@outlook.com no later than 5pm CST Oct 14, 2020 to claim your prize and I’ll get it right to you. Thank you for watching the channel and congratulations again!

I’m doing a quilt along with #PatSloan using Lori Holt’s Vintage Christmas book. This quilt is called “Bringing Home the Christmas Tree”. It’s made up of two blocks: a set of three trees and a station wagon with a tree on top.

I cut all the fabric for both blocks first, and then started sewing the trees block. It was very easy with the blocks under the pointed tree top having blunt tops so there was no need to match the seam point on a standard flying geese unit.

However, once the tree units were sewn, sewing the strips together is a bit more tricky. As we all know, the 1/4″ seam allowance can go flying right out the window (pardon the pun!) on the side points of multiple flying geese units. Starting with a proper cut is essential, but even then, pressing and machine goblins can do their best to cause a 1/4″ seam allowance to be a thread or two off on the sides.

I’ve used this method successfully for years. The trick is to make sure your target is visible. That means that when pressing the back of the strip, make sure you can actually see the intersection (or join) of the backs of the geese units. If it has been pressed with the bottom of the geese folded up over the join, you can’t see what you’re doing. I know…I know…”But what about press to the dark side?” In this case, not cutting off or tipping the tree points is more important than pressing to the dark side. This is a judgement call all quilters face.

The trick here is to sew your seam just outside the join at the bottom of the “V” seam. First, I decide which piece is going to be the one on top – that I can see from my angle. Usually that is the one with the MOST tree points. Then I pin on each end first to make the strip lengths match, then the center to even out the two strips, and then at the 1/4 and 3/4 marks. This ensures the strips are evenly balanced to start with to prevent puckers due to a mismatched length.

Then I flip the strip set over so I can see the points on the bottom that I need to hit just outside of the V in the seam allowance. I take a pin and place it EXACTLY where I want to stitch. The image below shows the backside of the unit and I’ve pinned where I want my seam stitch to be.

Once all of those points are pinned, I flip the unit back to the “front” and begin sewing. I make sure to keep as close to a 1/4″ seam allowance as possible and sew outside of the V on the front tips and then sew EXACTLY where the pin entered from the back side. I marked the one below with a purple dot so you can see what I’m aiming for. I stop one stitch before I get there and remove the pin.

It’s also very important to make sure you keep to that 1/4″ seam allowance at the end of your strip set for joining to the rest of the quilt blocks. I leave the pin in until the very last and use a stiletto to hold it straight in case of any wiggles. The use of washi 1/4″ diagonal seam tape on the bed of my machine has helped tremendously in my piecing accuracy. If you have a face plate for your machine with a single needle hole, be sure to use it.

The end result may not have the exact straightest 1/4″ seam, however a good pressing with steam will alleviate any appearance of puckers or wobbles. Again, not tipping the tree points is more important than a perfect 1/4″ seam in this case. Also, any appearance of wobbles will go away in the all-over quilting but a chopped off tree point won’t. It’s the lesser of two evils. 🙂

Here are my finished tree blocks! Now on to the cars!

Do you have any techniques for this quilting issue? I’d love to hear about them. Happy quilting!

I recently had a wonderful opportunity to meet Pam McHenry, the life-spirit behind Pamalama Jo Designs. I became aware of her work when I found her quilts hanging in my local quilt shop and purchased two of her patterns: Ocean Friends and Forest Friends. Just adorable stuff. 🙂

Here is a video of our interview and she graciously offered a free copy of her Ocean Friends patterns to my viewers!

To give away the pattern, I used the YouTube Comment Picker and looked for the phrase “I want ocean friends” just as instructed in the video to be eligible to win it.

There were 522 eligible comments.

And the winner is Sharon Quaife! CONGRATULATIONS!

Sharon, you have 1 week to claim your prize. Deadline is 8/27/20 at 5pm CST. Please email me your address at powertoolswiththread@outlook.com If I don’t hear from you, I’ll choose another winner.

Congratulations again. Please share your finished quilt in our Power Tools With Thread FB group!

Here’s my submission for the Moda 2020 Summer Sew Along. This fabric line from Me and My Sister is just adorable! Thank you Moda, I loved being a part of this. 🙂

https://my.modafabrics.com/inspiration-resources/summer-country-millennium