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