July 29th, 2010
Posted by Guest
Hi I’m Renée the crafts intern and a few weeks ago I visited some really great places in the city to pick up a few things for the Crafts Dept. The first place was the flower market on 28th Street, between 6th and 7th avenue, in Chelsea. It's a street lined with florists and floral supplies. Next I stopped by Elegant Fabric at 222 West 40th Street in the Garment District. This two story fabric store is a treat for fashion and craft enthusiasts.
Tags: fabric, floral, florist, flower, intern
Posted on July 29th, 2010 in Our Sources | direct link to this entry |
July 28th, 2010
Posted by Morgan Levine
We've just launched a new circle cutter. It cuts up to 12" circles and doesn't leave a hole in the center. We've been using it a lot recently here in the Crafts Dept, and it's certainly a time saver. Take a look at these simple projects below. They add serious color and impact to any setting, and are quick to put together with a little paper, string, tape, and, of course, a circle cutter.
Want your own? Leave us a comment in 50 words or less explaining how you'll use your circle cutter, along with your name and a valid e-mail address. All comments must be received by 6 PM Friday, 7/30. We’ll choose one commenter at random to win a Large Circle Cutter.
See official rules here. Please be aware, comments may take time to show up on our site.
Posted on July 28th, 2010 in Inspiration Board | direct link to this entry |
July 27th, 2010
Posted by Kirsten Earl
Back in September, I blogged about some of my favorite quilting sources while I was in the midst of making baby quilts. To my own surprise, I actually finished one of them before the recipient reached college! Thanks to his photographer mom, Rhea Ramey, I have some great photos to share with you.
To create the circle-in-square blocks, I used freezer paper to make circle appliques. Some of the blocks I left whole (the ones that featured Michael Miller's great "Zoology" fabric). I cut the other blocks into quarters - then mixed, matched, and sewed the quarters back together to make new blocks. See the gallery below for a quick circle-in-square tutorial.
1 Fold a piece of freezer paper in half, and cut a circle using a circle cutter or bowl as a guide. You will end up with TWO perfect freezer paper circles.
2 Iron one freezer paper circle onto the wrong side of a piece of fabric, shiny side down.
3 Trim fabric, leaving about 3/8 inch all the way around circle (this does not have to be perfect).
4 Place second freezer paper circle shiny side UP on top of fused circle. Use a couple small pieces of double-sided tape to temporarily tack the two together.
5 Fold the excess fabric over the two paper circles, and press in place (the fabric will stick to the top circle). If a bump shows up, simply lift the fabric and press again - freezer paper allows repositioning.
6 A completed circle will look like this - not perfect from this side, but all fabric has been secured to the edges in smooth curves.
7 Cut a second piece of fabric to the size of the finished block, plus seam allowance.
8 Fold both the square and circle in half one way, then in half the other way.
9 Place circle paper-side-down on top of square, lining up the folds, and press in place. The circle will temporarily stick to the square.
10 Machine-sew all the way around the circle, about 1/8-inch from the edge.
11 Completed circle attached to square.
12 Turn over block and cut the fabric from the inside of the circle, leaving about 1/4-inch within the seam.
13 The fun part - carefully rip the paper from within the circle. Use tweezers to get any stubborn bits out.
14 Flip the block over and press. Sew two together into a pillow, or a bunch to make a quilt!
Special thanks to little Graham for modeling free of charge!
Posted on July 27th, 2010 in Our Sources | direct link to this entry |
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