spilling the beans!!! :D

rachel

to market, to market.

my bags are packed and i'm headed to houston.
boy, i love quilt market.
i can't wait to see everyone and everything.

i'll blog when & if i can. promise.
i do hope y'all will follow along with me via instagram the next few days. (@rachelgriffith)
i'm 99.99% positive that i'll be snapping pics and sharing them there.
-the pic above is via instagram-

anything particular y'all want to see?!?!

oh, and as promised ...
the winner of the halloweenish fat quarters is jess.
email me: rachel {at} psiquilt {dot} com

rachel

strippy table runner.

{comments closed.}

it's october 22nd, folks.
that means that today is MY day for the fat quarter gang.

i'm gonna show y'all how to make a strippy table runner.
it's SUPER simplistic and perfect for sprucing up any kitchen table.

the tutorial is over on the art gallery fabrics blog.
so go check it out and tell me what y'all think.
{direct link here.}


as promised ...
a set of fat quarters {that matches the set i used for my project} is up for grabs.
so one of y'all lucky readers will win all 8 of the fat quarters pictured above.
{note: the solids pictured are not part of the giveaway.}

to get in on the giveaway . . .
my rules: leave a comment telling me which of the 8 prints is your favorite.
art gallery's rules: subscribe to the art gallery fabrics blog AND follow art gallery fabrics on pinterest and facebook.
{winner will be drawn wednesday.}

hope y'all enjoy.

rachel

new york. <--in pictures.

i'm only like 8 months late showing these, but ... i've been a little busy.

-new york, new york.

-our lovely hotel room.

-me taking a breather before hitting times square.

-times square!!!

-the lorax.

-m&m wall.

-wicked!!!

-giant m&ms.

-taking the subway.

-supper with friends at lombardi's pizza in little italy.

-mmmm. lombardi's.

-me & my baby.

-rice to riches.

-our hotel.

-radio city music hall.

-magnolia bakery.

-mamma mia.

-ready for NYC. day 2.

-tkts.

-we have mamma mia tickets.

-coke.

-us.

-hubby making some evening plans.

-the lorax. again.

-serendipity 3!!!

-serendipity's famous frozen hot chocolate.

-mmmm.

-we're gonna see alan rickman today!!!

-ms brown.

-jerry o'connell and ME!!!

-alan rickman!!!

-omg!!! i just got jerry o'connell AND alan rickman's autograph!!! {yep, that's trip mcnealy AND professor snape!!!}

-ricky martin.

-THE sardi's.

-i love this man!!!

-bubba gump.

-disney.

-times square. again.

-new york public library.

-me & my honey.

-*sigh*

-i LOVE this city.

-hubby.

-our last night in times square.

general consensus: we had such a blast.
these pics only touch base on a little bit of our trip.
we're currently planning our next NYC trip.

ps. most of these pics were taken via our cell phones, so don't judge the picture quality too harshly, please. :)

rachel

gearing up.

it's that time again, folks.

the time where apparently i can't get enough done, my to do list is the size of texas and i feel like i haven't slept in days.

i've been living on starbucks {& hot chocolate}, utilizing my very trusty sample makers and per usual, driving my family insane.

yep. i'm gearing up for market.
i fly to houston in 10 days.
so y'all stay tuned.

rachel

fabric pumpkins tutorial.

during fall you'll always find pumpkins in all the nooks and cranies in our house.
these fabric pumpkins are SO easy to make that you'll have your own pumpkin patch in no time.

materials needed:
1 fall themed layer cake {or several pieces of fall fabrics.}
perle cotton size 8
rice or dry beans
stuffing
sticks or actual pumpkin stems
raffia ribbon
hot glue gun

i'm going to show yall a few different shapes, styles and sizes of fabric pumpkins.
we'll start with basic directions for making a fabric pumpkin.

take one of your layer cake squares and cut it into a 5" x 10" rectangle.

fold your rectangle in half, with wrong sides together, and stitch down the side.

now you should be looking at a fabric tube.
{if you are using a directional print find your top and bottom.}

take perle cotton and double it for durability.
with your wrong side of fabric facing out, start stitching around the bottom of your fabric tube eyeing a 1/4" seam allowance.
it doesn't have to be perfect.

after you have gone all the way around the tube, pull your thread until it starts to gather.

make sure it's pulled really tight.
make a knot.
cut off your excess thread.

note: the reason i use perle cotton is because it's stronger than regular cotton thread.
you really want this to hold.
trust me.

turn your fabric right side out.
you'll have a cute little fabric bowl.

pour about 1/4 cup rice or dry beans down in the bottom of your fabric.
this will ensure that your pumpkin can stand on it's own.
then start adding your stuffing.

add a stick that suits your pumpkin size.
continue adding stuffing until your pumpkin starts to look a little plump.

stitch around the top of your fabric eyeing a 1/4" seam allowance.
again, this does not have to be perfect.

pull your thread so it gathers, making sure you pull it real tight against the stick.
make a knot.
cut off your excess thread.

to ensure that your stick stays in place, add a dab of hot glue between the stick and the fabric.

now add some raffia ribbon using a glue gun.
and you're done.

SUPER cute huh???
and it's easy peasy just like i promised it would be.

to make different shapes and sizes you need only to change your begining dimentions of fabric.

to make a striped pumpkin ...
take 10 layer cake squares and cut them into 2" strips for a grand total of 50 strips.
{you'll only use 20 of these strips now, but you'll have a nice selection &/or a great start on your next striped fabric pumpkin.}

sew together 2 rows of strips, 10 strips per row, then sew the two rows together.
from this point, you just fold this in half and follow the above steps all over again.

to make a patchwork fabric pumpkin ...
take 4 layer cake squares and cut them into 5" squares for a grand total of 16 squares.
{you could even use a charm pack if you wanted.}

lay your squares out in a 4 x 4 square layout.
stitch together to make one big patchwork block.
from this point, you just fold this in half and follow the above steps all over again.

to make a whole cloth fabric pumpkin ...
it's as simple as cutting whatever size square or rectangle you want, then folding it in half and following the above steps.

note: if you want a rounder, plumper pumpkin, you'll want to start with a rectangle shaped piece of fabric.
if you want a taller, more slender pumpkin, you'll want to start with a regular square shaped piece of fabric.
i know it's backwards, but it's how it works out.

either way, it's easy peasy, just like i promised.

now go make one for you, your neighbor, or maybe even your mother in law.

rachel