Tiny Toffee Designs Blog Hop

I'm so excited to be a part of this special blog hop hosted by Susi of Tiny Toffee Designs. 

Heidi (aka Fabric Mutt) and I get to kick off the fun and WOW is there an amazing line-up! [Full list of people participating can be found on Susi's blog and also below.]

I've mentioned before that I am constantly being blown away by Susi. By her kindness, her creativity, and by her talent. I'm thrilled to have this opportunity to showcase her patterns. If you haven't seen her adorable itty bitty paper piecing patterns - you need to check them out. Seriously - go to her shop right now! She's releasing a complete new set called "Dream Big." 

If you are new to paper piecing, Susi has a photo tutorial on her blog that you can check out. And there are lots of great sites and videos online. This is an amazing community! And don't let the size scare you away - these patterns can be easily scaled up and down for any project or if you are a beginner and the small scale is intimidating. 

Let's get started! My favorite notion for paper piecing is my Add-A-Quarter Ruler - but for this tiny piecing you really need the Add-An-Eighth Ruler. If you don't already have one, you'll thank me for suggesting it. These are some notions I always have close by when paper piecing. 

The patterns (once pieced) are designed to work perfectly as 1" English paper pieced hexies. But really they are also stand alone patterns that can be worked into a variety of projects. I know you will see some amazing projects (and hexies, too) on this blog hop, so I decided to do something a little different with the patterns. Today, Heidi and I get to feature the "follow your dreams" pattern in her new set. 

This is similar to the flying geese found in Susi's "I Love Quilting" pattern - but the geese here change size on a slight gradient. I immediately pictured a forest of trees. Standing tall and proud and reaching toward the sky. 

I wanted to use a variety of sizes for the trees, so I enlarged the pattern to a few different scales. The tree pictured above (and all the way to the right in the picture below) is printed at 100%. The tree in the center was printed at 300%. I also enlarged the pattern and only used two geese (instead of all three) and incorporated the tree from Susi's "Christmas Delights" pattern to add some variety to the trees. Then I started working on my layout. 

See that little red hood peeking out behind the tree? I think we may be in the Enchanted Forest.

And the little pom pom detail I added is one of my favorite features. Plus, the Big Bad Wolf is here, too (made using the fox from the "Into the Woods" pattern set).

I decided to finish my project by wrapping it around a canvas to hang on the wall. It's always fun to have handmade work decorating my happy sewing space. This will be a fun reminder of fairy tales and the importance of dreaming big.

Creating your own custom canvas is not too difficult and a technique I've used before (see here and here). Maybe I'll write up a little tutorial one day.

I hope you enjoyed visiting my blog today. Be sure to check out all the other great bloggers!

FULL BLOG HOP SCHEDULE

March 4th: Heidi and Andrea

March 7th: Alyssa and Mike

March 11th: Mary, Kate, and Amy

March 14th: Cheri and Karen

March 18th: Jennie and Rebecca

March 21st: Amanda Jean and Sarah

March 24th: Rachel and Mollie

Gnome Home

Last summer I pattern-tested the Circle Box pattern for my friend Amber. As soon as I was working on my test piece an idea took hold in my mind. It was several months until I could complete it, but I'm so glad I did. I have a penchant for woodland themed projects and love how this toadstool circle box came together (bonus that I'm keeping it for myself!). 

The top is made with 1/2" English paper pieced hexies. The box is also all pieced by hand following the circle box pattern. This was not a quick project - but was a good project to have while sitting at the ice rink through the many hours of hockey we have each season. 







To make this project even better...in comes my friend Susi. She is one of the most talented people I know. She is creative on many levels and through multiple media and is a total sweetheart. She offers some really great tiny paper piecing patterns. I'm currently in love with her "Into the Woods" set. As soon as the pattern was released, I knew I just had to make my toadstool box the perfect gnome home. 

I think he look pretty happy here! And he has his own little mushroom stool, too!

Susi's patterns come with a hexagon template, but as you can see here they don't have to be used that way. They can also be enlarged and the possibilities are endless. She has several sets which, in my opinion, are all amazing. Please check back in a couple of weeks because I am participating in a fantastic blog hop as part of the release of a new Tiny Toffee Designs pattern! The blog hop is hosted by Susi at http://tinytoffeedesigns.blogspot.com and has an amazing line-up that you will not want to miss. 

What's in a name?

I am very fortunate to have a great sewing area in my home. It's amazing what a dedicated space can do for your productivity. Before this, with little kids in the house, I spent more time taking out and putting away projects than actually working on them. 

My sewing room triples as an office and guest room. My husband made all of the custom furniture and built out the closet for my fabric stash. I use the guest bed as a design wall and I love my Janome Horizon. I keep small scraps in mason jars next to my cutting area while larger scraps go in the color bins on top of my work desk area. 

Outside the window my view is of our yard where I can watch my kids play and see our crabapple tree. My husband came up with the name "Crabapple Quilts" because of this tree. We've even made crabapple jelly! Really I think he suggested it because I can be crabby if I go too long without a creative outlet.  ;)

Since the picture above (take about 2.5 years ago), there have been a few upgrades. I now have clear containers in the closet perfectly organizing fabric and preventing it from falling over (another custom make from my hubby). And I have walls that make me smile with beautiful handmade pieces. I have walls filled with original artwork from dear friends.

Including those fabulous pillows and a great display of mini quilts and hoop art (received in various swaps).

I love this space!

Hi there!

Hi there! Welcome to my little blog. My name is Andrea. If you found your way here, you probably already knew that. I live in a suburb of Cleveland, OH with my husband (and high school sweetheart) and our two boys. I'm a biomedical engineer by training and when I'm not working my day job, I'm busy with hockey (some weeks I think we live at the ice rink) and crafting. 

I've been sewing for years, thanks to my aunt who would make our Halloween costumes with us, and quilting since 2003 when I made a tree skirt for my first Christmas married. 

(photo taken in 2006)

After 2003 my quilting stalled a bit, but my love for quilting was renewed a few years later when I had the special task of completing a quilt that my grandmother had started. I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful mentor help me with that - my husband's aunt.  Seriously, she is super talented!  After that I upgraded my sewing machine and kicked it into high gear. I found so many amazing resources online and cultivated a love for online swapping through Flickr and Instagram. I've made some fantastic friends and have learned so much from this talented community. This year I will also be making my debut as an instructor at a local quilt shop.

I'm not really a blogger, but would like to explore this as a forum to share my projects and experiences.  Not sure what will come of it in the long run, but for now...here I am. I hope you enjoy the glimpse into my crafting world.

To see more of my previous work, please look for me on Flickr or Instagram @crabapplequilts.

Andrea