Oh boy I haven’t posted “Make Something” in awhile so I think it’s time for some quilts don’t you think? We all know that there are fantastic quilt patterns over at Amy Butler and all the other designers, but how about these quilts and block techniques?

Disappearing 9 Patch - a classic, but I still have to make one.

Olive Rose Quilt - really bold and beautiful design.

Tea Pot Block - don’t quilt? I’m sure you’ll still find a use for this.

Honeycomb Smocking  - one word: AMAZING.

Mod Quilt - in case you lived under a rock: Oh Fransson awesome quilt along.

String Block - go, use your scraps!

Circle Blocks - fancy some circles in your quilt? Here you go.

Circle Blocks II - and another technique in case you didn’t like the first one,

And in case you forgot: some tutorials I posted a while ago 

Miter Quilt Corner - you can also miter your quilt not only your binding.

Wonky Log Cabin - Log Cabin + Wonky = a lot of fun!

Basting a quilt - interesting version for basting a quilt (video).

Ty & Hide the knot - what to do when the bobbin runs out (video).

Still not inspired? Check out these fabulous quilts on flickr:

1. pineapple in green, 2. the back!, 3. Drawing Room Quilt, 4. DollQuiltFront, 5. crazy log cain, 6. jay’s quilt, 7. Orange 4, 8. finally finished!, 9. Green Quilt

I love owls, so it was only a matter of time until I had to look up some pattern and tutorials. Unfortunately I’m having crafters block at the moment, so no owls for me in the near future :( 

Owl Hoodie -  how about some appliqued hoot on you hoodie?

Owl Doorstop - owls can be useful too

Crochet Owl - for you crazy crochet people out there

Holiday Hoot - pretty ornament from Anna Maria Horner

Owl Softie - cute and tiny softies

Owl Pillow - I just had to repost this cute pillow

Owl Bean Bag - you can even use this for your camera

Owl Plushie - don’t you just wanna cuddle it?

For even more owliness, check out these cute feathered friends on flickr:

1. silly peepers Mr. Owl, 2. Ollie the Owl, 3. Whatizzit? Amigurumi Owl or Pill Stuffie, 4. DSCF2718, 5. Olwen the Owl with Patchwork Quilted Belly, 6. Lucky Owlie, 7. Hooty owl zipper pouch, 8. Little Birds 9, 9. Bubbly the Owlet with Patchwork Belly

As you probably know by now I’m planing to make a new sleeve for my MacBook - perfect time to post some tutorials. And because it fits the theme, and I already made one I still need to post, some covers for your journals too.

Laptop Sleeve- easy version using bias binding and Velcro closure

Quilted Sleeve - quilted and with button hole closure

Canvas Sleeve -Laptop sock made with artist canvas

Felted Cozy - really pretty non-sew felt cozy

Neoprene Sleeve - that’s a cool one, I wish I had some neoprene lying around

Journal Cover - lovely journal cover I already made & will show you tomorrow

Moleskine Cover - a free Keyka Lou pattern, pretty as all her stuff

Patchwork Cover - use up your scraps for this

Book Cover - keep your journal warm with this felt cover

Unfortunately none of these sleeves look like the one I have in my mind so I’ll come up with my own pattern and will post it, hopefully along with a tutorial, sometime this week.y

Flowers and Slippers? I know this seems like an odd choice, but I figured why not. We all could use some flowers and our lives and why not sew them on to some slippers? 

Flower Cluster - make a beautiful bouquet for a belt, brooch or  hair piece

Flower Brooch - a cute Yo-Yo flower brooch

Fabric Flowers - another pretty version with scalloped edges

Scrappy Flowers I - use your scraps to make these pretty flowers

Scrappy Flowers II - yet another way to use your scraps

Summer Slippers - make your own flip-flops

House Slippers - cozy felt slippers

Recycled Slippers - use your old  jeans to make these house slippers

Spa Slippers - we could all use more time at a spa :)

Tie on Slippers - not really practical, but oh so stylish

I’m awfully late on this weeks “Make something”, but I totally forgot to post it :( This week there will be no patterns or little project, but helpful techniques that you can use in your future projects or that may inspire you to try out something new. 

Dress Form - make a dress form with your exact measurements

Dress Form 2 - and some other ways to do it

Basting a quilt - interesting version for basting a quilt (video)

Ty & Hide the knot - what to do when the bobbin runs out (video)

Rotary  Cutting - how to cut with a rotary cutter

Cutting Curves - you can even cut curves with a rotary cutter

Zippy Zips - get rid of the bulk on the end of your zipper

Put a zipper in a pillow - while we’re on the subject, just make a pillow

Easy Circle Blocks - easy peasy circle piecing (video)

Freehand Embroidery - embroider a t-shirt with your normal sewing machine (video)

I saw a lot of great knitted neck warmers on Etsy and I really wanted to buy one because, well I can’t knit. But then I thought, hey I can  probably  sew one myself, and there you go I had my new project.

I made these two about 2 months ago and the first one was a breeze, but for some strange reason the second one was pure horror because suddenly my sewing machine didn’t want to sew through the layers with a denim thread and I still don’t know why.

I don’t have any pictures of the process but if you want to make one yourself here is how:

What you’ll need:

• Some pretty wool fabric for the outside
• Matching fleece for the lining
• Fleece of any color for the interfacing (I used a cheap Ikea fleece blanket)
• Matching thread
• Contrasting top-stitching thread (either buttonhole or denim thread)
• Two buttons you like

1. Measure your neck and add a few centimeters until it feels comfortable, you don’t want it to be too tight. Then add another 2 cm seam allowance. In my case 53 cm

2. Measure how high you want the neck warmer to be and add another 2 cm seam allowance. In my case 13 cm

3. Draw these measurements on a sheet of paper to make your pattern (so you can use it again)

4. Pin your pattern to the fabric, the short side along  the selvage and cut one each from outer fabric, lining and interfacing.

5. Layer the fabric like this: Outer fabric right side facing up, lining right side facing down and on top of that the interfacing. Pin in place.

6. Start sewing on a short end about 1 cm away from the corner with 1 cm seam allowance. Sew around the 3 sides and stop on the same short side you started 1 cm away from the corner. That should leave you with an opening so you can turn the neckwarmer inside out.

7. Trim the seam allowance, especially on the corners. Turn inside out and press. The edges and corners should be neat and flat.

8. Tuck in the seam allowance on the opening and topstitch  0,5 cm away from the edge around all 4 sides, starting on the short side with the opening. Since I want this stitching to show, I used a thicker (denim or buttonhole) thread and used the longest stitch available on my machine.

9. Take a break and make yourself comfortable on your couch, because the rest is done by hand.

10. Measure your buttons to find out how big your buttonhole has to be. To do this, take a strip of paper and wrap around the button, measure from start to end. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Check here

11. Lay your buttons on the neckwarmer so they look nice, mark the place, take them away and then mark the buttonholes. Make sure they are at least 2 cm away from the outer edge.

12. Since my sewing machine couldn’t make buttonholes this big I had to stitch them by hand. If you can use your sewing machine: DO IT. Because my buttonholes really turned out crappy. If you have to do them by hand, cut really carefully along your buttonhole marks with a seam ripper, thread your needle with the same thread you used for the topstitching and then start at the corner using a buttonhole or blanket stitch all the way around. Repeat with the other buttonhole.

13. Put the neckwarmer on, adjust how wide or tight you want it to be, and through the buttonholes mark the place for your buttons. Hand stitch the buttons to the other side of the neckwarmer.

14. Put on your neckwarmer,  make a happy and prettier face than I did and enjoy the winter.

If you have any questions, just leave a comment and I’ll try to clear things up.