Verity Vintage Studio

All the Kitchen Things - Painted Blossoms Fabric Tour

It's time to share the projects I made recently with a brand new fall fabric line called Painted Blossoms, by Poppie Cotton. It has a lovely color palette, and lots of pretty floral prints. My favorites are the butterflies!

Here is the selection I chose to use from my fat quarter bundle. The colors are so perfect for this time of year! 

 

I felt a little burnt out after making two quilts on a close deadline with the last blog tour, so I wanted something smaller and easier this time.

 

I had a little yardage of two of the butterfly prints, so after some debating on what to use them for, I settled on making a fun little coordinating set of little girl size coverall aprons from a 1960s pattern.

They were super cute and easy to make! Just one piece to cut out, sew the shoulder seams, and bind all the edges. 

 

For the larger size apron, I used a contrast floral from Painted Blossoms to bind the edges. I think it turned out so cute in this pink color!

 

Of course there are roomy patch pockets. 

 

It slips on easily, is loose fitting, and snaps at the back of the neck - a great size-versatile way to protect the clothes underneath. 

 

I scaled down the pattern quite a bit to make the 2-year-old size, and bound it with a gingham basic.

 

I could make the whole thing in an hour or less, so these were very easy and quick projects. My girls were thrilled with them! I have a feeling these will get a lot of use during the upcoming holiday baking season.

 

But as usual, when I only use a few prints from a collection, I like to also play with the rest of it in something smaller. This time it was a selection of kitcheny things!

 

I badly needed a hotpad refresh in my kitchen, so I could get rid of the sadly stained and greasy ones I've been using.

 

I made 4 quilt-as-you-go hotpads in different styles and sizes. 

My last item was a non-quilted cloth for my folding bed table that I use as a tea tray almost every afternoon on the sofa. I used some prints that will hopefully hide any tea stains, and added some vintage lace for the perfect trim.

 

It's completely reversible, so I got two different looks in one. It's hard to decide which side I like better!

 

All of these were fun to make, and as usual if you check out the other makes on this blog tour you can see a wide variety of lovely and creative projects which are sure to give you inspiration!

Vintage Style Quilts with Poppie Cotton's Market Day

I've been eagerly anticipating when the time would arrive to sew with my sample yardage of Poppie Cotton's new fabric line Market Day, and it finally happened!

 

I love this line so much...definitely another top favorite of mine. So many sweet designs, pretty colors, little berries and florals and wreaths, buntings and dolls!

 

I couldn't stop with one quilt, so I made two! First I noticed that the fabric was a good match to the colors I had used to embroider these Sunbonnet Sue blocks I started as a teen and finished up the first year I was married (before I had taken up quilting, so I just stored them until later).

 

There are plenty of flaws from my less-experienced needlework days, but I still think the blocks are super cute. In order to turn the embroidered blocks into a crib size quilt, I alternated them with a print block.

 

I settled on deconstructed hourglass blocks, since those are fun to make. I had to do some tests first to come up with the correct size to pair with the embroidered blocks.

 

After sewing them together, I only had a few weeks left to quilt it, so I was hand quilting every spare moment in order to meet my deadline - and I finished it up by sewing the binding the very same day I had to take and send in the photos!

 

I custom quilted around each of the Sue blocks (the one with the parasol is my 2-year-old's favorite!), adding fun little details in some of them, and did all the star blocks alike. It was quite a bit of hand quilting in a short time, so now I'm ready to take a break before I start the next project!

 

This was also my first attempt at a scalloped border. I've wanted to make one for some time, and finally decided to just tackle it. It actually was fairly easy, thanks to online tutorials like this one, and now that I've done it once, I expect it will be even easier next time.

 

The scallops finish the edge perfectly, making it such a fun little girly quilt! I had to hang it up in my living room so I can enjoy it for a while.

 

But I also had a second idea I wanted to make, if I could squeeze it in. Teapot wall hanging!

 

For this one I used Lori Holt's Granny's Teapot pattern, making 4 teapot blocks, and adding my own border to make the size a good one for my space (and to add in more of the cute prints). 

 

I actually made this one from start to finish (except for one teapot block) in one day, so it went pretty quickly. 

 

I love how the large size of the teapots show off some favorite prints! Now if I could just find some REAL teapots with chintz prints like this...

 

I machine quilted it all over with a double line diamond grid, and really love how it looks. I think I'll use this for a larger quilt when I have one I want to machine quilt.

 

So many pictures in this post, but I was so pleased with both these projects that it's hard to narrow it down!

 

There have been so many adorable projects using this new fabric line, in this blog tour. I hope you check them out, and ask your local quilt shop about the availability of Market Day! It's honestly the cutest.

Monday, August 19	@elliebugmakes	Ellie Bug
Tuesday, August 20	theredfeedsack.blogspot.com	Dori Troutman
Wednesday, August 21	http://prettybyhand.com/	Kristyne
Thursday, August 22	https://charismascorner.com/category/blog/	Charisma
Friday, August 23	https://www.nannygoatquilts.com/	Lisa Garlic
Monday, August 26	https://verityvintagestudio.typepad.com/my-blog/	Kristen Clay
Tuesday, August 27	creamcraftgoods	Karen
Wednesday, August 28	Website: http://blueribbondesigns.com	Belinda Karls-Nace
Thursday, August 29	https://www.mollyandmama.com.au/blog/	Lauren Wright
Friday, August 30	charisecreates.blogspot.com	Charise Creates

 

Gingham Placemats with Cottage Charm

Today I get to show you some fun little crafty projects I made with a new Poppie Cotton fabric called Cottage Charm. I selected a just a few prints from this new fabric line to sew with. 

 

Of course the little cottage prints called for fussy cutting, so I featured them along with some coordinating florals to make a set of 4 gingham placemats. 

 

I think they are perfect for setting a summer or fall table!

 

I cut 3" squares and made a super basic patchwork panel, so it went quickly. 

 

I like how the gingham frames the little cottages. 

 

Of course you can mix up the colors, but I think it's fun to have them in color groups like this. 

 

There wasn't a pale aqua floral, so I chose one of Poppie Cotton's basics to go with this one.

 

For another small project, I took my favorite little cottage and embellished it with freehand embroidery. It adds some cute texture and detail. 

 

I'd never done anything like this before, but I've seen it done - and I think mine wasn't too bad for a first attempt!

 

We can always use placemats in our house, so these will come in useful - and the hoop will decorate my sewing room.

 

If you like whimsical prints in earth tones, you should definitely check out this new fabric.

 

Check out this list of participating makers to see all the lovely variety of projects featuring this fabric!

Friday, July 5	Website: http://blueribbondesigns.com
Monday, July 8	theredfeedsack.blogspot.com
Wednesday, July 10	http://neverlandstitches.blogspot.com/
Friday, July 12	https://charisecreates.blogspot.com/
Monday, July 15	https://www.nannygoatquilts.com/
Wednesday, July 17	https://bemandythings.com/blogs/news
Friday, July 19	http://www.happyquiltingmelissa.com/
Monday, July 22	@elliebugmakes
Wednesday, July 24	https://www.sewmariana.com/
Friday, July 26	https://verityvintagestudio.typepad.com/my-blog/
Monday, July 29	http://www.creamcraftgoods.com/

Christmas in June with Poppie Cotton Prairie Christmas

I believe in enjoying the current moment, so I always prefer to sew or craft in the season I'm currently in - but when I need to work ahead of schedule, I find it's also nice to get a jump start on my later seasonal sewing! This month I took a few days to make some Christmassy projects with new Christmas fabric by Poppie Cotton, and it was rather fun...also nice to stock up on some gifts and decor before the seasonal crunch begins. 

 

This is a rustic Christmas line, and while it's not a style I would normally gravitate towards, I quite enjoyed these projects using it, and kept making just one more thing! The little town and farm scenes are especially adorable.

I started with a couple of 18" pillows. 

 

I used the Flower Love pattern by Sew Mariana and made 1 block in 2 different combinations, choosing my favorite prints to highlight in the bigger areas of the block.

 

I quilted them differently, and added a basic envelope back. This is so helpful if you have a lot of pillow covers but limited space. You can fold and store the covers flat, and reuse the same few pillow forms as you switch out the seasonal covers. 

 

I really love the bold flower block look. It reminded me of a giant Christmas bow, and really works well for Christmas with the star and heart center - perfect for this traditional collection. 

 

The edge finish provoked thought since I wanted something stronger than hand stitching a binding, but that looked nicer than a machine stitched binding - which I still have not mastered.

 

The answer was to hand stitch it through all layers with size 10 crochet thread. Super strong, looks nice on both sides, AND adds a lovely contrast stitching detail to the edge. Now I want to try this technique with a full size quilt. 

 

I'm looking forward to using these on the couch this Christmas season.

 

Then I grabbed the leftover fabric and made a slew of smaller scrappy projects!

 

I quilted two panels, cut them in a circle for potholders, and added a pocket for little gifts or decor.

 

I did my favorite quilt-as-you-go string blocks, sorting the strings by color. The green one I left as is; the white one I added little raw edge hearts on each corner and loved it! These are so quick and easy - sew your fabric strips together through all the layers, trim, and bind! Great for a quickly made addition to a gift basket.

 

I think my favorite potholder though was the log cabin - also quilt as you go, starting with a large center cut from the scenic fabric. I loved it so much I'm thinking about doing a whole quilt-as-you-go quilt like this, with fussy cut floral centers!

 

I love how they all coordinate but are all different and unique. 

 

The final project was one I've wanted to try for years, and this fabric line was the spur to finally make me get around to it - folded no-sew Scandinavian stars. I followed this YouTube tutorial and found it quite clear and helpful.

 

It was SO FUN and easier than it looks. I want to bust out my Christmas scraps and make more this year for sure! 

 

The one other thing I had made earlier were these easy gift placemats for our table this past Christmas, and really enjoyed how festive they were during the holidays.

 

I do wish Prairie Christmas had more red options in it, as I quickly ran low on the reds. But I'm still super pleased with the results of a few days of crafting. If you love rustic or country Christmas, this is definitely the fabric line for you. Stock up early for this holiday season, as it's shipping to quilt stores now!

 

Check out the other lovely Christmassy makes too. It's so fun to see everyone's unique spin and creativity using the same bundle of fabric. 

Monday, June 3	@sewmaryhappy
Wednesday, June 5	http://neverlandstitches.blogspot.com/
Monday, June 10	https://verityvintagestudio.typepad.com/my-blog/
Wednesday, June 12	Website: http://blueribbondesigns.com
Friday, June 14	http://www.creamcraftgoods.com/
Monday, June 17	http://www.happyquiltingmelissa.com/
Wednesday, June 19	@elliebugmakes
Friday, June 21	theredfeedsack.blogspot.com
Monday, June 24	https://bemandythings.com/blogs/news
Wednesday, June 26	https://ivoryspring.wordpress.com/
Friday, June 28	https://www.arabesque-scissors.com/journal
Monday, July 1	http://prettybyhand.com/

 

 

Girl's 1950s Jumper Dress

Today is my slot on the blog tour for Sweet Tooth, a new retro fabric line by Poppie Cotton. It is a Halloween fabric line, and though I don't celebrate Halloween at all, I thought this little kitty print was adorable and instantly knew it would make a perfect novelty print 1950s dress for one of my girls. 

 

It was hard to choose which pattern to pair with it and I debated over 3 different ones...but I finally settled on this adorable jumper dress that I'd copied from my sister-in-law years ago.

 

It turned out to be super fast and easy! I put the whole thing together in an hour or two. It was lovely to have no buttonholes or sleeves to set. :-)

 

You cut double the amount of top pieces and use them as facing, so the bodice inside is nice and tidy, and the V front has no troublesome facing pieces. 

 

I lengthened the skirt as much as I could fit on the width of my fabric, and it still ends up just below the knee - but for an everyday dress for an active girl, that works fine!

 

It's a circle skirt, so I opted to turn up and top stitch a narrow hem.

 

I definitely hope to make this pattern again. Think how cute it would be in wool plaid for the winter! But meanwhile this adorable kitty print is perfect for summer and fall...and since this girl needed some everyday clothes, it was quite a timely sew for me despite the fall fabric! 

She loves it a lot and calls it her "ginger dress". :-) 

Nature Sings Blog Tour - Quilt, Apron, and an Easter Dress!

I have been anticipating for months sewing with the upcoming Poppie Cotton collection called Nature Sings. Finally the time arrived, I completed 3 out of 4 of my project ideas for it, and today I'm going to share them all for my slot on the blog tour!

 

The fabric was so pretty, I had a hard time narrowing it down to what I did make. Such dreamy florals and a pretty color scheme. It's not quite my usual style, but when I had it in my hands I was struck by how pretty it was. 

 

One thing I knew was that I was going to do a dress for my 4 year old in the purple bird print, and I ended up making it in time for her to wear for Easter.

 

I used a more modern (but still classic) McCall's pattern, and did a contrasting bodice in the gingham. I couldn't figure out how to do the collar since I didn't have enough bird fabric for it, and more gingham didn't look right on top of the gingham bodice. I feared adding yet another print would make it too busy, but I think it works for a little girl's dress! I was able to squeeze the collar out of one of my fat quarter pieces.

 

It's such a cute sailor collar style. I really like how it looks with the square back and tapered fronts. 

 

I added a touch of bird fabric to the sleeves to tie that in, and then when she tried it on I realized the skirt was pretty short, so I ended up lengthening it with a strip of the gingham since I was out of bird fabric. It all worked together quite well, and she loves it! 

 

You can see how cute her Easter outfit was, with the little pink vintage bonnet. :-)

 

As usual, when I make a garment, I want to also make something quilty so I can play with all the rest of the fabrics I didn't use. This time I was struck by a photo of a kit by Shabby Fabrics for a rag quilt. I had never seen a rag quilt that wasn't just basic squares or strips, and was quite intrigued by the fact that you can also do this with basic patchwork, in a slightly more elaborate design. 

 

I made up my own pattern, inspired by the photo, and scaling it to fit with the fabric I had to work with. 

 

I used a floral flannel from JoAnn for the backing, and a pink solid flannel for the center layer. The last time I made a rag quilt I used batting for the center, and I really liked using flannel instead. It still has quite a nice drape and weight like a regular batted quilt does, but the triple layers fringe better, and they were easier to stack and stitch. 

 

It was very nice to finish the piecing and then go straight to binding with a nice finished back - no basting or quilting an unwieldy quilt sandwich! I usually gravitate toward traditional quilt making, but when I do a quilt-as-you-go project like this it's refreshing for a change. 

 

It makes such a pretty, sturdy, spring-colored throw blanket!

 

My 3rd and final project with this fabric was an apron. The large scale floral in blue just begged to be made into an apron, so I made up my own pattern, using 1/2 yard of the blue, trimmed with lavender gingham. 

 

The gathered top is so flattering! I was very pleased with how it turned out, especially when paired with the wide waistband. 

 

A gathered pocket with a wide gingham band pulls it all together. I will probably try this idea again with some tweaks, but for not having a pattern I quite like the finished product. 

 

So there are my 3 most recent projects - I was sewing up quite a storm there for a few weeks! 

 

I hope you've been following along with all the other gorgeous projects made from this fabric! It never ceases to amaze me how many different looks can be created from the same fabric, depending on the individual taste of the creator. There's always so much inspiration in these blog tours, and I'm delighted to be a part of it. 

Early Easter Projects with Finding Wonder Fabric

Today I get to show you what I made with some of the happiest spring fabric around! It's my slot on the Finding Wonder blog tour hosted by Poppie Cotton to promote their new fabric line, and honestly, it was just my style. So much so that I had to make TWO projects with it, and thoroughly enjoyed each stitch on each project!

 

It has just the cutest retro prints (obviously right up my alley!), and a lovely color range. The prints work well for baby and/or girly projects, but without being super infantile, so they are quite versatile.

 

I'm not often a big yellow girl, but the yellows in this line were definitely some of my favorites! 

 

I looked forward to sewing with it for months, and then when the time finally arrived I had my projects all planned out. First up, I used this adorable 1930s vintage toddler dress pattern to make a dress for my 1 year old. 

 

I chose the blue bird medallion print and accented it with the pink star, which also stretched my amount of fabric enough to make the dress feasible.

 

Of course there had to be pockets! She is a big fan of pockets. 

 

It is a loose A shape dress that slips over the head, and the sash fits it at the waist. It was nice to need neither buttonholes or a zipper on this one. I also like how doing the sleeves in a contrast show their unique construction. 

 

Plus it's very breezy and cool, so really perfect for the warm spring weather we have been having already. It would be a great summer sundress pattern, so I may make it again before she grows out of the pattern size.

This one I will save for Easter (nice to be ahead on my Easter sewing!), but took photos for this blog post before I put it away for a few weeks. 

 

As always, though, a garment doesn't use enough of my favorite prints so I like to make something quilty in order to get a chance to play with more of them. One of my ideas stashed away was this chunky Dresden quilt by The Crafty Quilter. It was the perfect pairing for this fabric!

 

Making only 4 large Dresdens meant they worked up very fast, and then I just top stitched around the edge onto a 17" square of fabric. After that it was easy to add basic sashing and borders, so it was a very quick quilt top.

 

I fussy cut some of the bird medallions for the centers, of course!

 

Since it worked up so fast, I decided to take the time to hand quilt it. I had about two weeks, and I worked at it pretty diligently - and made my goal, finishing it the day before I had to get photos. (It actually was a good lesson to me that even though hand quilting is a slower finish, it doesn't have to take an age - if I am diligent. :-)

 

I used a heart stencil for the Dresden corners, and a diamond scallop border; otherwise just let the Dresdens guide the quilting, so there was less marking. 

 

It was really fun to make, especially during the gray days of February. Quilting on my sofa corner with such cheery fabrics under the needle was a great mood booster; and because I kept at it, I didn't have time to grow tired of it. (Hooray for the motivation of deadlines!)

 

These are the quilting tools I used. The thimble is by Dritz, and my favorite of the quilting thimbles I've tried - it's cool, comfy, doesn't slip, and absolutely SAVES my fingertips! And after some frustration with my thread knotting mid-stitch, I remembered my trusty beeswax, which helps tremendously with minimizing thread tangles. 

 

I debated doing a scrappy binding, but ended up deciding to save my fabric for something more fun and use more of the pink star. But I think it would have been cute with a scrappy binding too!

 

Anyway, now I have both a little Easter dress and an Easter-ish quilt to enjoy!

But as always, you need to check out the other makers on this blog tour, since there is SO much creativity and cuteness to be seen. 

 

Monday, March 4	http://www.creamcraftgoods.com/	Karen Pratt
Wednesday, March 6	http://neverlandstitches.blogspot.com/	Lisa Jo Girodat
Friday, March 8	Website: http://blueribbondesigns.com	Belinda Karls-Nace
Monday, March 11	theredfeedsack.blogspot.com	Dori Troutman
Wednesday, March 13	https://www.sewmariana.com/	Mariana
Friday, March 15	http://www.abrightcorner.com/	Andy Knowlton
Monday, March 18	@elliebugmakes	Ellie Bug
Wednesday, March 20	https://verityvintagestudio.typepad.com/my-blog/	Kristen Clay
Friday, March 22	@arabesquescissors	Ali Phillips

 

12 Days of Valentines - Easy Heart Napkins

Poppie Cotton is hosting a fun 12 Days of Valentines freebies event, and I'm happy to be included. I want to show you how to make simple quick & easy heart napkins, a sweet way to dress up your table for Valentine's or any other event!

 

Disposable napkins are great for convenience, but for a dressy table (or even just to save money and waste) washable cloth napkins are such an upgrade! And they are so easy to make, even for beginners! 

 

Let's pull out our supplies. You will need:

-1 18" square piece of fabric per napkin (I'm using Berries & Blooms background here by Poppie Cotton)

-misc. pink and red fabric for hearts (can use charm squares, or just scraps!)

-heart cookie cutter, stencil, or cut your own heart template

-pencil or pen

-sewing machine, scissors, iron, pins

 

I chose to cut out my own heart template since I didn't have a cookie cutter the size I wanted.

 

Narrowly hem all 4 sides of the napkin square with matching thread.

 

Now you can play around and decide how many hearts, and where to place them! Stack two sizes?

 

Just do 1 in 1 corner? or 2 in alternate corners?

 

1 in each corner? or maybe alternate sizes all the way around?

Each of these would give a different look!

 

Once you decide on how many hearts and where to put them, time to pull out all your pink and red scraps!

 

Trace your hearts on the backs of the fabric you choose.

 

Cut out the hearts. Don't worry if the edge isn't perfectly smooth.

 

Pin them in place on the hemmed napkin.

 

Stitch around the raw edge with a dense zig-zag stitch, starting at the point and working slowly around the curves.

Test out your stitch first on a scrap to make sure it's wide and dense enough to securely cover a raw edge.

 

All done!

 

Repeat with any other hearts for as many napkins as desired! I chose to use coordinating fabric for hearts on 2 opposite corners. 

 

The fun thing about using different fabrics for each heart means that depending on how I fold the napkin, I can have 2 different looks. This pink gingham and the strawberries are on the same napkin.

 

Of course, this is easily customizable. Most dinner napkins are 18-20" square, and 18" is a great size because you can get it out of a fat quarter, or 4 per yard of fabric. But you could make them larger or smaller depending on your needs or preference. 12" square is a good size for luncheon or tea tables.

 

You can also use any other simple shape and applique the same way. No special tools or scary fusible required!

 

One fun alternate way to make these is to use a statement print as the napkin fabric instead...

 

...and applique hearts cut from vintage embroidered textiles!

 

I think this would be especially fun for tea party or birthday party napkins.

 

I hope that inspired you to do some holiday crafting! Something practical yet pretty that you can make in 15 minutes...what's not to love? :-)

Strawberry Time: 1940s Novelty Apron in Poppie Cotton's Promise Me Fabric

It may not be strawberry season at the moment, but it's always strawberry FABRIC season! 

 

Today's my day on the Poppie Cotton Promise Me blog tour, and I picked just my favorite print to showcase with a fun 1940s novelty apron. 

 

I think I got this pattern along with several others in a lot, and I thought the "deck of cards" shapes were super fun, especially the diamond one, so that's what I chose to pair with this  pretty fabric. That heart one is on my list to make at some point too.

 

The pattern calls for ribbon to edge the diamond and do the neck tie, but I chose to make my own out of a coordinating pink print. 

 

The ruffle took up quite a bit of fabric, but still overall it was an economical design, and quick to make. 

 

I like how the ribbon finishes the edge, decorates, and also looks like it runs up around the neck. In reality the neck piece and bow is a separate piece.

 

It was funny - when I was cutting it out I didn't notice that it was a one-way print until I was already part way through sewing it - but luckily I had accidentally gotten all the pieces oriented right side up anyway! Whew.

 

Isn't it a perfect match to my vintage strawberry canisters??

 

It's a fun, simple design for an apron, and I will enjoy wearing it as I cook! It's hard to go wrong with pink and strawberries. :-)