Fabric Fortune Cookies

Great for Chinese New Year or anytime!  I sewed these for Valentine's Day.  I am going to hide a love note in each one.  The spaceships are for my son, a pretty stripe for my daughter, and hot kitty fabric for hubby.  Thank you Mollie for the tutorial !   

Happy Chinese New Year!

Here is a tutorial for fabric fortune cookies!  Great for new years and also for Valentine's Day.  I will be sewing some later today for sure.  Actually it is also my birthday today so I always feel like this is my personal new year starting.  I refuse to do any chores today!

Here are some small quilted bags I did a day or two ago.  Slightly larger than

these in this tutorial. 

2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge with SewCalGal

SewCalGal is offering a sew along for Free Motion Quilting (FMQ) here .  There will be monthly practices to do and experts to help you learn and improve your skills.  This is not an actual class, but a very doable challenge.  I'm excited!  Here is my January assignment completed and I am ready for more!

I started with a 12"x12" quilt sandwich of fabric and batting I had on hand.  I was having so much fun, I did another sandwich until my thread ran out.

I found that controlling my speed was difficult at times and that I got the best results when I didn't go too fast or too slow (with my foot pedal and my hand movement).

I used regular sewing thread because it was what I had on hand.  I was inspired by the heart shaped leaves so I cut up my smaller sample and made valentines!

Quick Change Valentine's Day Wreath

 Here is my winter wreath.  It is just a fake pine wreath with Styrofoam snowballs (just pushed onto the wire) and a fleece scarf tied around it.  To make it ready for Valentine's Day, I just use twist ties to attach paper doilies.  Ta da!  For St. Patrick's Day, I remove the hearts and put on paper shamrocks.

 Same story with my ficus tree.  Winter snow theme gets replaced by hearts!

 And lastly, my son (8yrs. old) and I made this "Box of Chocolates"- totally fat free!

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Valentine's Day Tree Ornaments

We decorate our ficus tree every year for Valentine's Day. Some hearts are from years ago, my husband's and my first Valentine's Day together!

This year I sewed a bunch of small pillows with ribbon, lace and ricrac scraps. Lots of fun!

My kids made pipecleaner and pony bead hearts last year.

Heart shaped paper doilies too.

This one I made 20 years ago out of scraps from my wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses. It is cheerful to look at and easy to do!