Quick Jelly Roll Table Runner : :

Here is the EASIEST quilt/table runner I have ever made!

I made it from a Jelly Roll. The fabric I used is called Honey sweet from Moda. Can you believe this is the first time I have used a Jelly Roll? It was soo much fun! I'm planning a rather big quilt using Jelly Rolls, and I'm really looking forward to it now! They are such a great way to get a good variety of perfectly matching fabric!
To make this table runner I used a quilt-as-you-go method (QAYG).

A Christmas Stocking Tutorial : :

My sister has been pestering and pestering me to make up this tutorial, and I have been meaning to do it for a little while now, so here it is (just in time for Christmas).

A CHRISTMAS STOCKING TUTORIAL: 

Firstly, you will need to gather your supplies! 

To make one stocking you will need:

A Christmas Wreath Tutorial : :

I have always admired pretty Christmas wreaths on front doors.

I decided that this Christmas I would make one. When I envisioned it in my head I imagined Christmas balls, tinsel, and lots of other Christmas-y things on it, but when I was in spotlight, I thought some red flowers would be nice. 

However when I saw the pink and white ones, I changed my mind, and got them instead! 

You can really let your imagination go wild when decorating your wreath, but this is mine....

(If someone knows how to get rid of smudges from a camera lens, please let me know! I've tried lint-free wipes and other things but nothing seems to work!)

To make this wreath you will need:

• A Wreath 
• Decorations (I used fake flowers and some hessian material)
• A hot glue gun
• Some clear sealing spray (Optional)

To start with, I decided that I wanted to put some sealing spray stuff onto my wreath. Our front door is under a verandah, and never really gets wet, but I didn't want it to get damaged by the weather, or start to go mouldy. 

So this step is completely optional. You could even paint your wreath a colour, which would offer protection, and look awesome too. 

1. Following the directions on the can, spray your wreath. 

This is the spray I used. It has been in my shed for years and years, so I don't know if you can even get it anymore, but I am SURE that there will be something similar at your local paint or hardware store.

I started off spraying the wreath on some newspaper, but then I couldn't spray the back of it, so I found hanging the wreath on the bush worked really well for me. I gave my wreath two coats, then left it to dry completely for 2 days. As I mentioned before, this step is completely optional, and I'm sure it would work just as well using this wreath without anything on it. 

2. The next step is the fun part! Decorating your wreath! You can do this however you want, with whatever you want. For mine I threaded the flower stems through the wreath until I had an arrangement that I was happy with.

Basically just keep adding and experimenting until you have something that looks good. 

I also had some hessian fabric that i wanted to make into a sweet bow, so I used my handy-dandy overlocker, to overlock the sides of my fabric. When I was overlocking, I tapered in the middle section of the bow so there wasn't a big bulky knot when I tied it (sorry I didn't take a photo of that part, but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out).

3. Once you have everything the way you like it, get your hot-glue gun and glue it into place. I used heaps of glue on mine, as I didn't want curious fingers to be able to pluck flowers from it once it was hanging. 

4. Then using some scissors you don't care if you wreak, or a pair of wire cutting scissors, trim all the stems, putting more hot glue where needed. 

5. Put a small screw, nail or whatever takes your fancy into your front door and hang your wreath!

6. Finally, take one step backward and admire your handiwork! 

I really like this wreath. It was so much fun making it too! I may leave it up all year! It doesn't really look as Christmas-y as I was planning, but hey, its a wreath and I love it, Mr Handsome thinks its OK too, so it stays!

Jessica

(Step 7. Clean ones camera so photos don't look all smudgy....seriously, any tips would be most welcome!)

Quilt Binding Tutorial

 I've decided to make a tutorial for binding a quilt. Its really quite easy, and I hope I can explain it clearly.

If you haven't already, trim your quilt's excess wadding and backing. The backing and wadding should be trimmed to the same size as your quilt top.

First thing you will need to do is cut your binding fabric into 2 1/2'' strips WOF (width of fabric). The WOF is from selvage to selvage.

Once you have your strips you will need to sew them all together to make one long strip. The best was to sew them together is on the diagonal.
To do this lay one strip out like so (face up), and lay the second strip on top (face down). Then sew from corner to corner, as indicated below. (sorry for the scrappy photo, still learning!)

After that is sewn, trim the seam to 1/4''. (if you keep your scrap triangles there are quilt patterns that use these scraps). Sewing your strips together this way (instead of straight edge to straight edge) will not only give you a more professional finish, but it reduces bulk.

Continue sewing all of your strips together until they are all joined.

Once you have your long roll of binding, fold it in half, with wrong sides together and press.

Get one end of your binding, and starting in the middle of one side of your quilt (your quilt should be right side up), line up the raw edges of your binding, with the raw edges of your quilt.

Using a 1/4'' foot, sew the binding to the quilt, leaving about a 4'' 'tail'.

(In this photo, there is an un-sewn 4'' portion behind where I'm starting. I'm opening the fold to show that the raw edges are lined up with the raw edge of the quilt).

Now, when you get to the corner keep sewing until there is only 1/4'' left. Reverse to tie your stitches and remove from machine. (As seen Below)

Now, fold your fabric up, as below.

Then fold it down, keeping the edge of the fold you just made lined up with the edge of the top of the quilt.

Now put that under your machine and sew from the top, 1/4'' as before.

Repeat for all other corners. When coming back to the start, stop 8'' before where you started sewing. 

Now, line up your binding, and cut it (straight), allowing for a 1/2'' overlap. Open up the binding and with right sides together, sew the ends together with a 1/4'' seam. (Some people like to sew this seam on the diagonal too, but I find it much easier to do it this way, completely up to you).

Then finish sewing your binding to your quilt top.

Now flip your binding over to the back of your quilt and hand stitch in place. You'll notice that your corners will be already perfectly mitered in the front. I love that! Its such an easy, professional way to bind a quilt!

And there you have it! I hope that was helpful. Any questions feel free to ask :)

Jessica