Sunday, April 29, 2012

A Sneak Preview of "Fall is in the Air"

With only four months until you can begin enjoying your autumn/fall decorations (can that be true?!!), I want to introduce a sneak peak of my newest design, "Fall is in the Air", a 34" x 34" wall or table quilt. This design will be available this week as a pattern or easy wool felt quilt that you can make from beginning to end in about 21 days of evenings and weekends, or much quicker if you don't have a day job and like to watch daytime soap operas while you stitch!


The stitches are easy (using only the blanket stitch, "x" stitch and running stitch, and I'm including diagrams so you can complete them on your own (they are sooooo fun!). "Fall is in the Air" has eight different blocks (each of them repeated twice), including the Log Cabin, Mosaic, Twelve Triangles and other favorite blocks.  They are created using simple applique, so you don't have to worry if your cuts are a little off.  And since we're using wool applique and not real "seams" for this quilt, you don't have to worry about making sure your triangles and points are perfect!


It's topped off with a great border and fall oak and maple leaves . . .


and I've included the templates for the lettering (of course)!

You can win this pattern if you're a member of my Birthday Club (and I do hope you'll join!), or you can get 25% OFF if it's your birthday month.  Just click here for details about the Birthday Club.  If you're already a member, be sure to check email this week to see if your name was drawn as the lucky winner of a free pattern of your choice from my website! Many of you have taken advantage of the Birthday Club, and it's not too late to get your name in for our drawing this week. If you're confused or have trouble signing up, just send me your name, address and birthday month (melanie@americanpiedesigns.com) and I'll get you entered!

Well, it's back to the worktable for me!  I'm creating a new candle mat that is rich and wonderful and you can finish in about a week of evenings and get it out on your table in time for the hot days of summer!  Please always feel free to leave a comment or email me if you have any questions--I'm usually available most weekdays, unless my hubby has put a fishing pole in my hands!  In the meantime, Happy Stitchin!  --xoxo, Melanie
 

Thursday, April 19, 2012

New Designs on their Way!

You might be wondering why I'm designing Halloween patterns when it's spring in most of the world? Who wants to work on fall and autumn projects when the flowers are just coming up? We do!  Fall is only four months away (can you believe it?!?), so it's not too early to get stitchin' on a beautiful runner or penny rug to grace your table when summer gets tired. I apologize for not posting recently, but with deadlines for a wholesale show coming up, I was running a little behind. That said, I want to introduce my newest design, "Halloween", which is an 18" x 30" table runner or penny rug you can make from hand-dyed wool or wool felt . . .


This project is so easy to make and I've included complete templates for all the pieces and simple illustrations for the three decorative embroidery stitches used in the pattern. The pattern includes eleven photographs and diagrams to help you complete your runner. As you can see, I used wool felt for the model, which is easy to find at either your local fabric store or in a kit that I offer on my website. I've been posting about the fun I've had working with wool felt from National Nonwovens. They make wool felt in around 100 different, rich colors and blends. You can use wool felt straight off the bolt or you can  "felt" it to make it look like expensive boiled wool. If you'd like instructions on how to make wool felt look like boiled wool, check out "Tips for Working with Wool Felt", which is a full-color printable instruction sheet I created just for wool felt.



Don't forget, if you're not already a member of my Birthday Club, I hope you'll join! You'll receive a WHOPPING 25% OFF ALL PATTERNS AND KITS DURING YOUR BIRTHDAY MONTH Plus, a winner is drawn each month from all Club Members with a birthday that month, and the winner receives their choice of a free pattern from my website! It's easy to join and costs you absolutely nothing--it's just my way of saying "thank you" to all my friends.  If you don't want to use the Birthday Club link above, just email me your name, address and birthday month and I'll get you enrolled.


What's coming up next?  I'm working on one last design for autumn and it's a doozie! I expect to have the model and pattern finished by next week. I can't post pictures of it yet (it's in too many pieces on my worktable!), but I can tell you it will be a beautiful 34" x 34" wall/table quilt in rich, brilliant shades of burnt orange, yellow, berries/plums and fall greens. This is another design you can make from wool or wool felt that you can stitch on when you travel or if you have some quiet time in the evenings. More about that pattern next week!

I've got to get back to my worktable now, but want to wish you a good weekend and Happy Stitchin'!    xoxo--Melanie

Monday, April 2, 2012

Announcing the Birthday Club Winners!

It's already April--can you believe it?  All the April birthday babies who are Birthday Club members already received a special email early this morning which contained a code to receive 25% off everything on my website.  If you haven't joined yet, you can either click here or simply email me your name, address and birthday month at melanie@americanpiedesigns.com and I'll get you entered.

Now it's time to announce the January, February and March Birthday Club winners!  Each month I put all the members' names in for a drawing for a free pattern of their choice from my website.  Since the Birthday Club didn't get started until late this year, I pulled THREE names from the hat, and they are LaKay Bergin, Mary Linderud and Denise Boyce.  Congratulations ladies!  Please visit my website at http://www.americanpiedesigns.com and let me know which pattern you choose!

That's it for now.  I've got to head over to my Pinterest Page and add some yummy images I've been hoarding all weekend.  In the meantime, Happy Stitchin'!  xoxo, Melanie