Aprons!

Are you heading out of town for Thanksgiving this year, or staying home and hosting the party?  Well either way I have a great idea for you!  Every hostess loves a fresh, new apron to work in.  If you’re heading to someone else’s home for dinner this year, why not take a new apron with you as a thoughtful hostess gift?  And if you’ll be staying home and doing the cooking, why not treat yourself to a new apron?

We have dozens of cute apron patterns here at the shop, and plenty of fabrics to choose from.  Want a fun and trendy apron?  How about a pretty flowery one?  Need a more manly version for the guys who help in the kitchen?  (We have ninja fabrics – or maybe a classy stripe is more his style!)  Stop by and grab what you need – you still have time to whip up a new apron!

To see more of the aprons we have in the store, click here.  The apron pictured above is called the “Apple Pie” apron and it’s one of our faves!

Custom Jelly Rolls

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We have a whole slew of new precuts on the shelves here at The Fabric Mill!  In addition to all of our new Jelly Rolls, we also have just a few of these fall colored custom jelly rolls left! 

These jelly rolls are full of luscious fall colors, and in each jelly roll you have everything you’ll need to make one of these Jelly Roll Race quilts like the one hanging in the shop.

Of course, you don’t have to make a quilt like ours!  You can take that same jelly roll and create something more like this -

This quilt pattern is available as a free tutorial from the Moda Bake Shop here. 

Or how about a new table runner or topper for your Thanksgiving table?  Check out our “Jelly Roll Ideas” Pinterest board!

If you’ve been eyeing one of our fall custom jelly rolls you’d better grab one quick – they won’t last much longer and we won’t be cutting more.  You can purchase them in the shop or over the phone by calling 801-225-3123

"Fall"ing for a Jelly Roll Race quilt

 Autumn is on it's way!  We're starting to see some fall colors popping up in the mountains- and here in the shop.  We have these pretty fall colored jelly rolls available - these are custom jelly rolls hand cut here in the shop from some of our very favorite fall prints!

 And we've used one of those custom jelly roll bundles to make an updated version of the Jelly Roll Race quilt!

You can see our original Jelly Roll Race display quilt here, and see the free online video tutorial on how to make a Jelly Roll Race here.  But because we did a few things different than the video tutorial, we have a 1 page pattern showing you how to make this same, gorgeous fall quilt.  When you stop by to grab the custom jelly roll, be sure to ask for the pattern that goes with it!  (pattern is free with purchase of a jelly roll)

Want to see more fun, Jelly Roll Race quilts?  We have a Pinterest board to provide inspiration!  And while you're there, be sure to follow us!

Fallen Leaves Table Runner tutorial

I have another quick and easy burlap project for you – and this one is even easier than the last one! 

This is my “Fallen Leaves” table runner:

Everything you need to create one of these is at our shop!

I began by cutting a 12” by 40” piece of burlap.  I chose 12” because that is slightly thinner than the width of my bookcase.  You can choose whatever size you want – a square one would be great! 

I also cut two 14” pieces of jumbo yellow ric rac.

Then I drew some simple leaf shapes onto a piece of paper.  I found that I liked the leaves that were 3.5”, 4” and 4.5” long.  I placed my Heat n’ Bond lite over my leaf drawing and traced several of each size onto the paper side of the fusible web.  

I ended up with 17 leaves total.

I cut out around each leaf (not right on the line, I left about 1/4”) and pressed each one onto a piece of fall colored fabric (I used the scraps from this Thanksgiving banner).  I then cut out each leaf (right on the drawn line) and removed the paper backing.

I spread out the burlap, placed the ric rac and scattered the leaves around until I liked the way it looked. 

I pinned each one in place just to hold it there while I moved it all over to the ironing board.

Then I ironed all of the leaves in place.  This burlap had kind of an open weave and I was concerned about the adhesive from the leaves getting through to the ironing board, so I put a piece of paper beneath the burlap.  No problems whatsoever. 

Then came the fun part!  I used my free motion quilting foot and using a brown thread I quilted around each leaf 4 or 5 times.  I allowed the lines to be a little messy to give the “scribbled” look.  It was so much less stressful than trying to get a nice, exact line around each curved edge of all 17 leaves.  What a headache that would have been.  And it would have taken me twice as long.  This was FUN!

The last step was to stitch on the ric rac.  Here is the finished table runner- already at home on the top of my bookcase!

Tutorial: Burlap Thanksgiving Banner

Can you believe Thanksgiving is next week?  Wow - that snuck up on me!  When we put away our Halloween decorations two weeks ago my house felt so bare.  It's a bit early to pull out the Christmas decor, and I have absolutely NO Thanksgiving decorations.  So I grabbed some burlap (yes! We have burlap!) and some fall-ish fabrics and put together this Thanksgiving banner.  It's a quick project - really!  And I love the look of the burlap.

Burlap Thanksgiving Banner Tutorial

by Andy Knowlton

www.abrightcorner.com

Supplies Needed:

• Burlap (if it is 40" wide, you will need 1/2 yard)
• several 1/8 yard cuts of your favorite fall prints**
• Heat n' Bond lite (or similar fusible web product)
• twine or string for hanging
• printed letter template (download and print here)

**the fabrics I used for the banner pictured are:

Red:  red daisy from "Delighted" (Riley Blake)

Orange #1:  orange circles from "Decadence" (Riley Blake)

Orange #2:  orange daisy from "Country Harvest" (Riley Blake)

Green:  green circles from "Decadence" (Riley Blake)

Brown:  good swirls brown from "Good Life" (Riley Blake)

Yellow: yellow herringbone from "Apple of My Eye" (Riley Blake)

Other supplies to gather:

• thread
• pencil
• scissors - nice and sharp!
• iron
• rotary cutter and mat 

Steps:

1.  From the burlap, cut 10 rectangles that measure 6" x 9".  note: the burlap is trickier to manage than fabric is.  I first cut my burlap into rough rectangles and then trimmed each one individually down to 6" x 9".

2.  On one of the 6" ends of each rectangle, fold in half and crease about 1.5" in.  Lay on cutting mat along the guide lines (the printed lines on your mat).  Place your ruler at the top left corner and at the 1.5" mark along the folded edge of the rectangle.  Cut along that edge, using your ruler as a guide. 

Unfold.  Repeat for all rectangles.  

3.  On each burlap rectangle, fold down 1" along the top edge.  Press with iron.

4.  Sew the folded flap down by stitching in a straight line about 3/4" down from the folded edge.

5.  Next you'll need the printed letter template (3 pages) and the Heat n' Bond lite (or similar fusible web).  Place the fusible web over the template and carefully trace each letter onto the paper side.  Cut out letters using scissors.  At this step the letters do not need to be cut out perfectly - leave some space around each letter.

6.  Decide which fabric you would like to use for each letter.  Following the manufacturer's instructions, fuse each letter to the WRONG side of the fabric.  Using sharp scissors, carefully cut out letters - this time cut right on the lines. Remove the paper backing from each letter.

7.  Lay out the burlap pieces and arrange the letters.  Once you like the placement, carefully move them to the ironing board - you can use a pin or two to keep them in place.

8.  Following the manufacturer's instructions, press each letter in place.  If you are using an open weave burlap, you may want to place a piece of paper behind the burlap to protect your ironing board cover from any adhesive residue.

9.  Top stitch each letter in place.  I used a brown thread and a straight stitch.

10.  Thread the twine through each burlap piece.  (To help with this I tied one end of the twine to a large safety pin.  The pin slid right through!)

Your banner is ready to hang!  As I said above, the Fabric Mill does carry burlap, as well as all Heat n' Bond and all of the fall colored fabrics you need!