Going on a Wooly Block Adventure!

We are thrilled to participate, for the first time, in this year's Wooly Block Adventure! The theme this year is "Into the Woods," and our offering for this fun program is Going to Grandma's.

Our sweet little girl is traveling over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house, and on the way she stops to make a few woodland friends. 

The theme this year is great, and we loved creating this block and then embellishing it with some fun embroidery stitches. Wool appliqué and embroidery are a match made in heaven, and we think you are going to have a great time bringing this block to life with the stitches we used.

Simple straight stitches create snow.

Your sign can say anything you would like!

Straight stitch branches

Pekinese boots!

We have announced our block on our Facebook page, and it has also been shown on the Wooly Block Adventure Facebook page. We did have a few comments asking if there would be a little boy template, and while we didn't have one originally, you spoke and we listened! Now you have the option to have a girl OR a boy in your block.

Girl or...

...boy! Which will you choose?

The Wooly Block Adventure starts on October 1st. For brick and mortar shops, you can go into that shop at any time from October 1–November 30 and get a copy of the pattern for free. For online stores, like ours, the block will be a free download during the week that the pattern is highlighted. On our website, we have full wool and thread kits available for purchase, and if you prefer a printed pattern, you can purchase one for only $5.

We would love to have you join us as we embark on this fun stitching adventure. Our block is one of many, and it will be fun to collect them all. And speaking of other blocks, stay tuned for more information on a special project involving our block. We can't share just yet, but we think you are going to love it!

To find out more details about the Wooly Block Adventure, you can head to the links listed below. 

Wooly Block Adventure Website

Wooly Block Adventure Facebook Page

I Can't Believe I Organized the Whole Room!

I (Teri) have spent the last two weeks touching every single item that is housed in this room. Determination to conquer the chaos and tame the mess took control of me, and I'm happy to say it paid off nicely. Here is a tour of my new space, which I actually enjoy working in now!

Welcome!

I'm embarrassed to share this photo from January, when I made it a goal to clean and organize. Yes, it really WAS that bad!!

I started in the closet, refolding every piece of fabric to size and organizing by color and type of fabric: homespun, batik, wool, and cotton.

I had boxes of these scrumptious hand-dyed wools that needed room on the shelves!

I cut old cardboard bolts in half to put between the stacks of fabric for stability.

Plastic trays, 10"x16", were perfect for fat quarters, also arranged by color and stacked on top of each other.

The other side of the closet has baskets filled with ribbon, more wool, and packing materials. Scraps were sorted and put in the drawers on the right by color. 

Wool by color

Ribbon by type

A drawer of silk and velvet

And one of wired ribbon

I got this adorable clock a couple of years ago, but my room was in such disarray that I never got it hung. It is now ticking happily above the closets.

Past the closets, I have hooks to hang tote bags, a design wall, organization cubbies filled with various tools, and a new book shelf for patterns.

I flipped my sewing table around and put drawers beneath. One has files and cards, and the other is filled with threads and needles.

One of said drawers with threads assorted by type: wool, chenille, pearl #8 and #12

Beyond the sewing machine is the ironing board. The bookshelf houses resource books and teaching notebooks. And pictures of my kids...

My pegboard wall is filled with all kinds of threads and ribbons, arranged by size and kind of thread. The idea is that if I can see it, I am more likely to remember that I have it when creating a new design.

Ribbon racks and drawers of threads for selling in classes. Oh, and my Martelli light box is always on hand for prepping blocks to stitch. (Email us if you want to purchase one of these gems: we have some available!)

The dresser is filled with vintage linens, batting, flannel, and a few UFOs. It is topped with more cubbies filled with teaching tools.

Sitting at my machine, looking out the window. Rulers are arranged by size.

The cutting table is to the right of my sewing table. I used mugs to arrange my markers, pens/marking tools, pencils, and scissors.

I have used my Martelli cutting table so much that I thought I might have to replace the mat. Imagine my delight when I remembered that it is reversible, so I just had to flip the mat over and start afresh. 

On the end of the cutting table is a pegboard stand that my husband made, where I hang patterns and kits that are ready to be mailed. 

This table, which belonged to my grandmother, used to sit in the corner, piled with projects. Now it is in the middle of the room, where I can sit to make kits or fill orders, or just stitch. 

So if you are ever feeling overwhelmed and discouraged about cleaning out and organizing your sewing space, just picture my before and after—and you'll KNOW that it could probably be worse. Mine sure was awful!! 

But it feels wonderful now. 😃

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A Reminder!!

Registration for the Academy of Appliqué in Williamsburg, VA, opens on Monday at noon. That's Labor Day. September 7, 2020. We would love to build some houses with you!! For registration info, click here.

Village Wanderings: Homes

A New Pattern—Floral Box Toppers

We are excited to show you one of our latest patterns—Floral Box Toppers! Four designs that combine, wool, cotton, and embroidery to make flowers that can grace the top of a small box or tin.

 

This project came about because I (Kara) had a lot of flea and tick collar tins that I had been saving. The collars were packaged in plastic inside of the tin, so I had no fear of the chemicals being a problem. The tins were a nice size and it seemed like I should be able to use them in some way. I love to mix wool and cotton and thought that flowers would be a great way to do that—and then of course, embellish them with embroidery. While I used these tins, any box that is 4 3/4 " or larger would work well. Because these patterns are relatively small, it is easy to whip a few up in a short amount of time, and they will make great gifts. They could even be used to hold a gift! 

Pictures always help me when I am following a pattern, so when you make your own boxes, you can look at this post for some pointers. Here are some images of how Flower 2 in the pattern is put together.

Trace around template

Cut out just inside of the drawn line.

Use same template to cut out wool and
trace cutouts.

If you cut carefully, you will have wool hearts!

Center cotton and wool on background.

Staple or fuse in place and it is ready to stitch.

Once you have stitched your wool down, the embroidery fun begins. The pattern tells you what stitch goes where, but feel free to get creative and add the stitches you like.

The actual assembly is pretty straight forward and the directions are included in the pattern  I used an acid-free glue stick to adhere my pieces to the tins and found that it was more than adequate. The process for covering the bottom of the tin is the same as for the top, and the instructions in the pattern describe that as well. When adhering the fabric to the tin or box, you will need to do a little smoothing of the gathers. On a round tin, you just need to smooth them out evenly, whereas on a square tin or box you can pleat the fullness at each corner. Your boxes might not be the same as the ones shown, but the process for covering them will be the same.

I used velvet ribbon on the round boxes because it helped camouflage the bunchiness of the gathers. On the square box where the sides were smoother, I used seam binding. Whatever trim you use, it just needs to hide the raw edges of your fabric.

I measured the side of the tin so that I know how much seam allowance 
to cut, and then I added a bit more. You can always trim later.

All cut out and ready to put on my tin

Glued and trimmed

Velvet trim to hide the raw edges

Pleated corner on a square box

The sides of the finished boxes.

You can purchase the pattern on our website listed below in either digital or printed form. We hope that you find making these boxes as fun as we did. I have a lot of tins left, and I've already started picking out color combinations. They are a great way to use some small pieces of wool that you have laying around.

What will your boxes look like?

Floral Box Topper Pattern