Monthly Archives: January 2020

Scrunchies with Riley Blake Gingham

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Have you been bitten by the scrunchie bug like I have been?? I keep thinking I should *maybe* stop making them, but I also keep thinking of new ways to use different fabrics to make cute scrunchies…… so I guess I’ll never stop!

I recently made a fun set out of Riley Blake 1/8″ gingham fabrics. I think gingham is one of those styles that will never go out, or at least I hope not. It is such a classic pattern and is really versatile as a binding, quilt backing, feature fabric for a quilt top, hair accessory, basically anything!

For my scrunchies, I like to use the Martha Stewart tutorial (HERE) , which calls for essentially 3 1/2″ x 22″ of fabric plus 9″ of elastic. I bought a huge roll of elastic from amazon because it was cheaper than buying onesies twosies here and there. It makes it fun to feel a little like Oprah. “You get a scrunchie! You get a scrunchie!”

I used 1/8″ gingham in the following colors:

Navy, Gray, Lavender, Hot Pink, Coral, Yellow, Aqua, Teal, Black, Red, and Baby Pink

Now tell me. How do you feel about gingham? Is it an undying love or a trend you hope will fade?

Making a Quilted Pillow with Cricut Explore Air 2

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I am excited to share a fun experiment gone right with you today. I was invited to participate in The Fat Quarter Shop’s Pillow Fight (I outlined what that means and all about the amazing book HERE) and thought this would be a fun time to experiment with my Cricut Explore Air 2.

Because I wanted to cut out circles from fabric, but I wanted extreme control over where the fabric was cut, I decided that using freezer paper would be my best option to get the results I was desiring. Did you know you can cut out freezer paper using your Cricut Explore Air 2? I sure did not.

To begin, make sure you have freezer paper. I found the cheapest place to get this is at the grocery store. Shocker there. 🙂

Cut the freezer paper down to the size of your Cricut light grip mat. I used a 12″ x 24″ mat, so I cut my freezer paper down to 12″ x 24″ using my rotary cutter that has been deemed my “paper” rotary cutter. Adhere it to the mat with the shiny side DOWN. Work in Cricut Design Space to prep whatever shape you are wanting to cut out (for me it was circles).

When you go to cut out your freezer paper shapes, turn the Smart Set Dial to “custom”. You will then need to search the custom materials until you find parchment paper. That will cut your freezer paper perfectly!

If you are using freezer paper to center on a fussy cut section of fabric, simply heat your iron up, and press it shiny side down onto the RIGHT side of the fabric. Good news. If you mess up a bit, you can lift it off and readhere it using your iron. Freezer paper is the best!

But wait, there’s more!!! You can also use your Cricut Explore Air 2 on the exact same settings to cut Heat ‘n’ Bond Lite!!! I cut out the circles I needed for my fabric fussy cuts using the same process outlined above (just make sure the paper side goes onto the sticky side of the Cricut mat)

I loved this experiment and I am so glad it worked out in my favor! If you are interested in making a pillow of your own, be sure to grab Edyta Sitar’s book Pillow Talk from The Fat Quarter Shop HERE!

“Pillow Talk” Pillow Fight!

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Vote HERE! (on The Fat Quarter Shop Blog)

Have you been following along with The Fat Quarter Shop’s “Pillow Fight” to celebrate the release of Edyta Sitar’s amazing Pillow Talk book??? I am so honored to have been invited to participate in a Pillow Fight between myself and Elise Baek of Elise and Emelie. Ironically enough, we both chose the same pillow from Edyta’s book without communicating about it. 🙂

There are SO many amazing pillows in Edyta’s book that it was really hard to narrow it down to one pillow. If you’re in the same boat I was in, The Fat Quarter Shop has offered up a kit for the pillows in Edyta’s book. Laser cut shapes that have already been fused!

For the pillow I made, I chose Edyta’s Dot Dot Dot Pillow. I knew I wanted to do fussy cuts for my circles the second I saw this pillow. I had lots in my stash from various designers (Tasha Noel, Amy Smart, original Cotton + Steel, Ruby Star Society, Heather Ross) and wanted to feature my favorites on this pillow.

I used a base of Robert Kaufmann Essex Yarn Dyed Classic Nautical for my front and backing. I wanted something that still had some personality without distracting from my fussy cuts. I quilted more or less a cross hatch down the centers of each square using Aurifil 50wt. I quilted on the diagonal before I fused my fussy cuts. For my process on fusing and cutting my fussy cuts, check out this blog post.

I then hand quilted around each circle using Aurifloss. It added a fun touch that fits my personal quilting style very well. Gradient + hand quilting = true love.

I added a Sally Tomato zipper to the back as well as a fun squirrel label because who hasn’t been distracted by a quilting squirrel or two or twelve before?! I’ve never quilted the back of a pillow before, but it will definitely become my go-to now.

The Fat Quarter Shop has opened up voting for this round of myself vs. Elise on their blog HERE. Who will come out victorious? Only time will tell!