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
 

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

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

Tips and Tricks for Working with Wool Felt

It never fails:  I pick up my sketch pad to begin a new design and am torn between using the lovely hand-dyed wools that hang on my color wall or pulling from the rich colors of wool felt next to my work table. Each has its own benefits and drawbacks, and I know I'm not the only person out here who has trouble choosing.

What's the Difference Between Working with Wool or Wool Felt?  When I buy hand-dyed 100% wool, it comes to me pre-felted. That means the wool was placed in a warm or hot bath and then dried (usually in a dryer).  If you know anything about 100% wool, you know that causes it to shrink or "felt" as the industry calls it.  The "felted" wool can now be cut for rug hooking, quilts, applique templates and just about anything, because it can no longer fray.  That's wonderful, because you now don't have to worry about hiding or turning the edges under, which opens up a whole world of possibilities.

There are many advantages to using 100% wool, and the most important are (1) unlimited color possibilities and natural mottling variations, (2) durability, and (3) it is washable. Once wool has been properly felted, you don't have to worry about further shrinking, so you can wash it and give it a little steaming to return your project to brand new. The main disadvantage is hand-dyed 100% wool is expensive and can ultimately run $30 to $50 a yard depending on where you get it. However, if I am working on an heirloom project that I want to last for 300 years,  then 100% wool is my choice.

Wool Felt is a Whole New Game!  Here in the United States, wool felt is primarily manufactured by National Nonwovens.  There are many retail distributors of wool felt, one of which is Commonwealth Felt and another is Wool Felt Central.  The wool felt I use is a 20/80 or 35/65 blend of wool and rayon.  Its advantages are (1) it is inexpensive and runs only $8 or $9 a yard or about $1.75 for a 12x18" sheet, (2) it comes in near 100 colors, (3) it is already felted, and (4) it can be made to look like expensive "boiled wool".  Unfortunately, wool felt should not be put in a washing machine and it's not suitable for projects that will get heavy use in your home, like a bed quilt or a hooked rug.  However, wool felt is great for table runners, candle mats, wall quilts, penny rugs, etc!

I've created an easy printable tutorial sheet called Tips for Working With Wool Felt  I hope you enjoy.  It shows you how to make your felt look like "boiled wool" (if that's how you want it), how to use it in projects and how to care for your wool felt.  There's lots of information on the tips sheet, so please feel free to share it with your friends or even pass the link forward.  I think you are going to love working with wool felt!

If you haven't joined my Birthday Club yet, don't forget I'm drawing three names early next week for the January, February and March Birthday Club winners! It's free to join and you get big discounts and can win free patterns during your birthday month.  Several of you birthday babies have already taken advantage of their membership to purchase kits for my "Snow Days" and "Halloween Jacks" designs and they are shipped and on their way to you!  My new design for a Halloween table runner is done and I'm working on the pattern and a kit I know you'll like, which should all be finished and ready for shipping in the next few days.  I take the photos outdoors and will get the photography done as soon as it stops raining (geez, I mean if it stops raining).  Remember, you'll be able to pick up the pattern and kit for 25% off during your birthday month if you're a Birthday Club member.

That's it for today.  I've got my brain full of another idea I want to get started on over this weekend if the hubby doesn't decide we're going four-wheeling or fishing.  I can never decide if I like fishing or stitching better--are you the same way too?

Until next time, Happy Stitchin'!  --xoxo Melanie