calendar // print & post love birds for february

Do you love February as much as I do? I mean, there's still a ton of snow around here, and it's definitely still winter, but there's also a lot of pink. It still surprises me just how much I love pink!

To help balance out this very rosy color, I'm tossing in some green on this month's calendar...in the form of some love birds. (Don't worry...there's still plenty of pink in the background of the calendars!) Grab a wallpaper and prepare to be as tickled pink as the love birds are! There are a few options for your computer, phone, and tablet, plus the new printable page for kids to trace...or simply to enjoy!

Download the Printable Calendar.

Download the 2560x1440 Wallpaper.
Download the 1920x1280 Wallpaper.
Download the 1280x800 Wallpaper.
Download the iPhone Wallpaper.
Download the iPad Wallpaper.

To use the iPhone and iPad versions, click the link for the wallpaper you want. When it opens, touch and hold the image until it pops up with the option to save. After you've saved the image, go to your settings, choose wallpaper, then find the image you've just saved.

So, let's welcome February, make some hearts, show some love, and get a new calendar in place!

on choosing needles

Do you have a favorite needle that you use? I try to have only one needle going at a time, because I'm more likely to not lose it that way. But really, there are different kinds of needles for different purposes. Whether you are embroidering, doing hand sewing, cross-stitching, or simply working with different types of materials for any of these, you'll be happier as you work (and have a better finished project) if you choose the right needle.

When I was in the Sewing Tales blog hop, one of the items I received was this pack of needles from Dritz. There are eight different types/sizes in there, which means you have plenty of options to work from and you're fairly likely have what you need with this one pack. Since pulling this out the other day (I needed a cross-stitch needle...more to come on this bit of craftiness!), I've used three different kinds, AND I've put them back when finished. Is it strange that this makes me happy?

If you've been using one kind of needle for everything, go get a pack of these. Then, check out Dritz's guide to choosing the right needle. You'll also find helpful guides from DMC and Craft Stylish.

Okay...I'll stop needling you now. (Sorry...I couldn't help myself!)

project // baby groundhog plush with shadow blankie

I'm so excited. In just a few days, a furry little groundhog will pop up out of the ground and let us know if there will be six more weeks of winter or if it will be coming to an end soon! My prediction is that there will be six more MONTHS of winter, but that may be the sub-zero temps getting to me.

Instead of waiting for winter to be over, how about we just hunker down and do some sewing? And then after that you can cuddle with the sweetest, softest little baby groundhog. She even has a security shadow...er, blankie! This little weather-predicting gal has me and my youngest sister smitten, and she's been playing Groundhog Day ever since I let her adopt what she has called Peek-a-Boo the Groundhog.

This goes together really quickly, so there's plenty of time to make a groundhog baby of your own!



Here's what you need:

Tan fleece- 1/4 yard or about 9x24 inches
Dark gray fleece - about 9x11 inches
Black felt - scrap
Black embroidery floss
Two 5mm safety eyes
Stuffing
Sewing machine
Needle and thread (I used tan to match my fleece)

Baby Groundhog Pattern PDF

Notes: I highly recommend using anti-pill fleece. Use 1/4-inch seam allowance (included on the pattern).



Here's what you do:

Cut two body pieces and two tail pieces from tan fleece, and one body piece from dark gray fleece. Cut one nose from black felt. Be sure to take note of the stretch of the fleece, as well as the right and wrong sides, which sometimes look similar.



Using the pattern as a placement guide, stitch the nose onto the front body piece. Use an applique stitch with three strands of embroidery floss. Stitch the mouth with back stitch. You'll find that it's pretty easy to just stitch this freehand.



Attach the two safety eyes by snipping a teeny hole (it will stretch!) on each side of the nose, again, using the pattern as a placement guide. Slide the posts through the holes and push the backing in place.



Eep! What a sweet face! I just love how these eyes give toys such character. Of course, if you're giving this to a small child, skip the safety eyes and applique small black circles instead.



With right sides together, sew around the tail, leaving the flat end open. It's a good idea to back stitch the start and end of this.



Turn the tail right side out and tuck the raw edges in a bit. Fold one side in just a little more than the other. This will make it so the tail points down.



Place the tail towards the bottom of the back body piece. It should sit at a slight angle, pointing down. Use an applique stitch with regular thread to stitch the tail in place.



Fold the tail up a little, and lay the front body on top, so the right sides are together. Pin, pin, pin. Pin some more. The poor dear looks like a scared voodoo doll, but it will be happier in the end this way!



Sew around the shape, leaving an opening for turning and back stitching at the beginning and end. I left my opening right between the bottom of an arm and the top of a leg.

Check both sides to be sure you caught your fabric...fleece can be tricky sometimes!



In all the places where ears, arms and legs meet the body part, there's a corner. Carefully clip those, except for the corner at the opening.



Turn baby groundhog right side out. This is the part where the personality shows up...Prepare to have your heart melt!



Stuff your groundhog to be nice and plump. Get the stuffing into the ears and limbs (although sometimes with tiny ears and arms it slips out a little) and take care to keep the eye posts straight (so her face looks right).



Sew the opening closed with ladder stitch.



Then, watch to see if your baby groundhog sees her shadow! But if she does, since she's just a baby, she might get a little scared.



That is, until she realizes that her shadow is really her blankie!



She'll probably want a little cuddle, so rock her to sleep, then...



Tuck her in so she can sleep for the rest of winter.



With any luck, she'll be up from her nap in no time!

I had so much fun making this, and I hope you give it a try too. I didn't get a photo of her backside, but tail acts as a sort of support to hold her in a semi-standing position. All those pics of her standing in front of her shadow? She was doing that all on her own!

color combo // twenty three

If you haven't been introduced to fabric charm packs yet, let me start this post with an apology. I'm so very sorry that you're about to form a new addiction.

Charm packs (as they are most commonly called) are little bundles of fabric, pre-cut to 5 inch squares. They also come in mini charm packs (2.5 inch squares) and layer cakes (10 inch squares). The packs include pieces of every style in a fabric line, which make them handy for incorporating many prints without buying lots of yardage.




I've been building a collection of them, and I'm pretty sure that I play with and admire them more than I actually use them in projects. I have plans to remedy that, but in the meantime, my addiction has inspired a new version of an ongoing series that I'll be sharing with you!

Along the way, I've created embroidery floss color palettes to inspire your stitching, and this time around I'm choosing colors from fabric! Looking at fabric lines is a great place to get color ideas, because you'll see hues working well together. Then all you need to do is find floss, paint, or whatever medium you are using, in those colors. I'm just doing that for you with these posts!




These colors are taken from Moda's Twenty-Three line, which has warm pinks, oranges and yellow. There's also some cream, gray and a teeny bit of green, though I left the green out of my floss palette.

Use these colors alongside this fabric line or use them on their own, because I'm sure you'll agree...these colors are as charming as the charm pack they're taken from!

project // english paper-pieced heart mat

I heart english paper piecing. I really do. I heart it so much that I just had to make some hearts using this technique!

After I had created a template and made my hearts, I wasn't quite sure how I would use them, and really, you could do a lot with these I'm sure. I opted to stitch them down onto linen and make a little mat. At my house it will probably get used for a variety of things: mug rug, candle mat, trivet, or quite possibly a Frisbee. Hopefully not that last one...



Here's what you need:

Valentine fabric - scraps for five hearts, plus 12x12 inches for backing
Linen - 12x12 inches
Batting - 12x12 inches (I used cotton, but you may want to use Insul-Bright for heat resistance)
Perle cotton
Needle and thread
10-inch Embroidery hoop
Sewing machine

Heart EPP templates (download my PDF) - printed on card stock

A note of thanks: Most of my Valentine fabric was a generous gift from Nicole of Modern Handcraft! I made this mat in the light colors, but I plan on making a darker one too. Thanks, sweetie!



Download and print the template, then cut out all of the pieces. They are similar to the jewel shapes that you can buy pre-cut, but I didn't find ones that made the design I wanted...hence my own template!

To make each piece, pin the template to your fabric and cut around the shape leaving a 1/4-inch border.



Baste the top edges down as you would for making EPP hexagons.



The long edges can be a little funny to work with, but fold them down around the template as best as you can and tack the point as shown.




Finish with a stitch at your starting point, just to help hold that last side down. You can also take a stitch through the fabric and paper on each of those long sides, just to hold it better. Later, you'll need to cut away those stitches before removing the papers.

For each heart, you need two halves (I recommend using the same or very similar fabric), and you need five sets of these all together.



Hold each pair of heart halves with right sides together and stitch the seam. I used ladder stitch, but you can join them with whip stitch or running stitch too. Just do your best to have the points match up, and to hold those long sides down along the edge of the template. This will prevent weird puffiness. Because who wants weird puffiness, right?



Oh hey! It's a heart! Now make four more of these.



Oh hey! It's five hearts! Arrange them how you want them, then get ready to put them all together. And don't worry about those flappy "tails" at the points just yet.



Start joining the hearts just as you did the heart halves. This time, you really want those points to match.




Speaking of points, you'll find that all of those "tails" will start to stack up in the center. I suppose there are some cases where this wouldn't be an issue, but if you want your work to lay flat, you'll need to trim away some of the seam allowance. It's scary, but just take a pair of scissors and carefully cut. Don't take too much off though, or you'll be sad. My center still has almost 1/4-inch of fabric.



And here's the center when it's flipped over. One big goal with something like this is to have perfect points in the center. But to me, a second big goal is to enjoy the process and not make yourself crazy over points. Ten points is a lot! Do your best, but don't over-stress!



Remove the papers from the backs (remember that if you basted through the papers at all, you'll need to trim those threads!) so you can stitch them down onto the linen.

Place the batting and linen in your embroidery hoop and lay the pieced hearts on top. You may want to pin this in place, but I found that once I got stitching, it was easier to work without the pins.




Use perle cotton to stitch around each heart with running stitch. Keep close to the edges! After you stitch the first heart, stitch one on the opposite side of the circle to help hold things evenly. Again, this helps avoid weird puffiness.



After you've sewn down all of the hearts, use the center ring of the 10-inch embroidery hoop to trace a circle on the linen, and also on the backing fabric. Cut these out (you'll be cutting the batting at the same time as the linen), then pin the backing and linen/batting with right sides together. I find it easier on my machine to sew with the batting up.

Sew around the circle, leaving a 2-inch opening for turning and backstitching at the beginning and end. I used a 1/8-inch seam allowance, but you can use a 1/4-inch allowance and trim it down when you're done. The small seam allowance gives this a nicer curved edge.



Turn the mat right side out and use ladder stitch to close the opening. Do your best to make that closure blend in with the curve!

Now, use perle cotton to add a line of running stitch about 1/4-inch in from the edge.




Now you can enjoy your heart mat! Along with the crush I have on english paper piecing, I also adore these big running stitches on linen. So zakka!

Another fun variation would be to make these hearts in conversation heart pastel shades. Hug me!





Happy stitching, friends!