The story of my Chinese New Year quilt.
Our youngest daughter was born in Taiwan. So we get to celebrate Chinese New Year as well as our regular New Year.
Chinese New year is also called Spring Festival, as it falls at the end of the still
very cold and wintry days, but marks the end of those days and welcomes spring,
with all its new beginnings and fresh starts.
You can also call it the Lunar New Year since its date is set according to the
Lunar calendar. The Lunar calendar is still very important in China and South East Asia and all traditional holidays are still celebrated and many people calculate their birthdays according to the Lunar calendar as well.

The idea for this quilt was born in January of 2020.
​I have to admit I always loved paper lanterns, they feel light, breezy and fun and always give a vibe of happiness, don't you think?
So I started my Chinese New Year series with all sorts of different paper lanterns.
There are 4 types of paper lanterns in this pattern.
The longer skinny lantern as you can see in the photo above.
A paper lantern that's shaped as a double trapeze.
The prettiest lantern of them all, called the palace lantern.
And of course the most popular paper lantern, the balloon lantern.

A quilt just with lanterns was the first idea, but it needed something more dramatic,
so I designed the dragon.
The dragon is a symbol of power, strength and good luck in East Asian culture.
​They supposedly control water, rain, typhoons and anything that has to do with water. Dragons are everywhere all over East Asia - in legends, festivals, astrology, art, names and idioms.  
Dragons are definitely seen as LUCKY and good, quite different from the evil, dangerous fire breathing dragons of most Western stories.
So here is my good luck dragon.

Just a dragon and lanterns didn't feel right and complete, so I added another very important Asian sign, the Yin Yang koi fish symbol.
​It represents duality and harmony in life.
In Feng Shui the Koi is tied to the Yin Yang symbol and it is said to represent two Koi, one female and one male and shows that all things in life are connected.

How did I decide on the fabric and colors?
First of all, I have always been a huge fan of Art Gallery Fabrics, because they are the nicest finest cotton fabric. And when it comes to detailed foundation paper piecing patterns a high quality cotton fabric is very helpful. A light weight cotton just makes your life so much easier when piecing small segments with many seams. It was an absolute joy to work with Art Gallery Fabrics for this quilt pattern. The fabric series 'Matchmade' by Pat Bravo was a real match made in heaven.
And second of all my color choices depended heavily on traditional Chinese colors in general and for Chinese New Years in particular.
Red is Chinas favorite color which represents luck, joy and happiness as well as it wards off anything evil.
Yellow is an imperial color and represents power, royalty and prosperity. 
So how perfect was the 'Matchmade' series for this quilt project?
I had to add a little more pink, since anything without a good splash of pink is just not me :-)
Therefore I mixed in some Art Gallery Pure Solids to add some more of my favorite hues.
I couldn't be happier with the fabric choices for this Chinese New Year quilt, I think it's the perfect combo. Don't you agree? 

It took me about two weeks to finish this quilt top. The paper lanterns are fairly quick and easy to sew, they took me about two hours each. The dragon was a great project for a Sunday afternoon.
And while this quilt top looks really fabulous as it is, I knew I wanted something really special for it as far a quilting goes.
I am usually very content with simpler straight line quilting, but I thought this quilt asked for more. 
So I called up Iva Steiner @schnigschnagquiltsandmore , and asked her if she would have the time to quilt this beauty. And yes thank goodness she did. 
So I drove down to Luzern/ Switzerland and brought her my quilt top. It 's about a five hour drive from Frankfurt, but I loved the nice change during our Covid lockdown.
And all I can say, Iva did a fantastic job, her quilting is absolutely stunning and the icing on the cake of my Chinese New Year quilt, don't you agree? 

 Thank you so much to Art Gallery Fabrics for supplying the fantastic  
 'Match-Made' fabric series designed by Pat Bravo that made this stunning quilt possible.
And a special thank you to Iva Steiner for her stunning quilting in this Chinese New Year quilt. 

So who is ready for a Sew Along ? Let me know :-)

Oh, when I saw this new fabric line from Riley Blake Design called Ahoi Mermaids! by Melissa Mortenson, I just new I had to design a matching pattern.
This mermaid pattern comes in three different quilt block sizes and it will be perfect for too many quilting projects.
I think I need to make a mini quilt for my youngest daughter.

And just because these Mermaids are so cute and pretty,
here are some Mermaid facts or stories:

1. The earliest mention of a Mermaid legend comes from Syria.
The woman's name was Atargatis. Apparently she was beautiful and powerful and fell in love with a shepherd boy. After she had his baby girl Semiranis the boy died and Atargatis became depressed and very , very sad. So she decided to throw herself in the ocean.
But because of her beauty, the gods saved her and changed her into a Mermaid, with only her lower body being transformed into a fishtail.

2. The name Mermaid literally means 'woman of the sea'
The old English word Mer means sea and maid means woman... There we go Mermaid,
ahh woman of the sea :-)

3. The aquamarine is said to be made out of a mermaids tears 

​4. Seacows or Manatees were often mistaken for Mermaids.
Many lonely and maybe drunken sailor saw these huge mammals and thought they were Mermaids. Christopher Columbus was said to have seen ' ugly and fat Mermaids'.
I mean can you blame Christopher Columbus or the sailors? Months at a time at sea... but then again apparently only 5% of the ocean has been explored, so who knows for sure.

5. A Mermaids kiss gives you gills.
According to an old folks tale, if you kiss a Mermaid you can breathe under water. 

6. The color of a Mermaids tail depicts her mood.
You be the judge, because whatever color a Mermaids tail is, is a clear sign of her mood.
And of course it totally reflects her personality... well if  was a Mermaid what color tail would I have ?

Don't these just look as if Mr. Bunny painted them himself?
This is a free pattern and step by step tutorial for adorable Easter bags... this cute little project was made especially for Riley Blake Designs.

Finished bag size :  8.5" wide, 9.5" high and 4" deep at the bottom

Fabric/ Materials needed: (all measurements are width x height)
>   1 FPP quilt block 8.5" x 8.5" (bunny pattern pattern shop here or the bunny on the pink bag is from my book 'Adorable Animal Quilting' )
>   2 strips of fabric on each side of the FPP block 2.5"x 8.5"
>   2 strips of fabric for bottom panel 12.5"x 3"
>   2 strips of fabric for top panel 12.5"x 2"
>   1 piece of fabric for back 12.5"x 8.5"
>   2 pieces of fabric for lining 12.5"x 12"
>   Fusible interfacing 2 pieces 12.5"x 12"
>   2 strips of fabric for handles 2,5"x 12"
>   2 strips of fusible interfacing 2"x 12"

Instructions:
-Sew your Foundation paper pieced quilt block - like the little bunnies here .
the block will measure 8.5"x 8.5" unfinished.
(unfinished - meaning not sewn into a project yet).
-Cut out all the fabric, lining and fusible interfacing pieces.
-Attach the side strips to the quilt block. Then attach the bottom and top panel to the quilt block ( see pictures below).
- Do the same for the back, attach top and bottom panel to the piece of fabric for the back.

-Interfacing gives your bag more structure and stand.
-Iron on the fusible interfacing to your front and back exterior main pieces of your bag.

Sewing the handles:
- iron on fusible interfacing on fabric strips of handles, center to width of fabric,
leaving 1/4" seam allowance on both long sides of the fabric strips.
- Fold over 1/4" seam allowance on each side of the fabric strips and clip or pin in place .
- Now fold the strip in half and clip in place again. Then sew along the clipped edge and the opposite long edge with a  small seam allowance to finish off the handle strip.
- Repeat for second handle.

- Quilt your exterior pieces to your liking.
- First I started with some hand quilting around the bunnies
- And then I did some diagonal and some straight line machine quilting.
- I drew the lines with a washable fabric marker ( this one can actually just be dusted off,
   it's a dressmaking chalk pen, that comes with several different color refills)
- Then I machine quilted the front and back exterior fabric pieces with straight lines or 
   some diagonal 1" squares.

Attach the handles at 3" from the outer edge to the top of exterior front and back fabric pieces. And clip in place.

- Lay lining fabric, right sides together, on top of outer bag pieces and clip in place at top edge. Handles are now sandwiched between lining and outer piece.
- stitch along top edge with 1/4" seam allowance.
- fold exterior and lining pieces open.

- lay both Easter bag pieces on top of each other, right sides together
- Clip or pin the raw edges in place, matching up each seam and clipping or
 pinning the matched up seams.
- Leave a 3"- 4" space at the center of the bottom end of the lining, this is your opening
 for turning the bag later.
- Then sew along the four open sides.  Do not sew the 4" opening at the end of the lining pieces.

For a  flat bottom of your bag, you need to box all four corners.
Two corners of the lining and two corners of the exterior fabric.
Starting with flattening the corner, the seams, bottom seam and side seam should be on top of each other. Then measure 2" from the top corner with an acrylic ruler and draw a line across with your fabric marker or a water soluble pen.

Stitch along that line and  trim off the corner, leaving a 1/4" seam allowance.
(Repeat this for all four corners)

Turn your Easter bag by turning the pieces right sides out, pulling through the opening in the lining. Push out the corners nicely. Press the lining opening under 1/4" and
stitch closed with a small 1/8" seam allowance.

- Fold lining into bag and stitch along top edge of bag to secure handles and lining.
TADAAA all done, HAPPY-EASTER-EGG-hunt.


Thank you so much to Riley Blake Designs for supplying the absolutely adorable 
'Easter-Egg-Hunt' fabric series designed by Natàlia Juan Abelló that I used
in this super cute Easter bag project.

What do you think? Ready for Easter?

Hey dog lovers, this little dog walking bag is absolutely perfect for you...

Our dogs are part of our family and we love them dearly.
The kids love playing with the dog and also love walking the dog as long as the
sun is shining.
The excitement fades quickly if it's raining and when it's cold outside. And it gets worse
if they need to look for all of the dog walking equipment before even getting to the front door. That's why you need a dog walking bag.

So I decided to come up with a cute little bag pattern,
to keep all the dog walking equipment handy.
This adorable dog walking bag is small enough to grab quickly, even when just walking around the block.
It is big enough to keep all your dog walking kit in one convenient place.
And most importantly this dog walking bag is pretty enough to keep by the front door.
So win, win, win!

Keep all your dog walking items in one convenient bag , the leash, dog litter bags,
paw wipes, treats etc.
Attach a pretty hook close to your front door and keep this cute dog walking bag right there beside it.
You will never leave the house again and forget your dog walking kit.

This 'walk my dog' pattern includes a foundation paper pieced beagle quilt block as well as the full pattern for the bag.
You will find the comlete pattern including step by step photos,  in the newest
'Make Modern Magazine'  issue 38.
I hope you will enjoy the walks with you puppy with this pretty dog bag.

Happy sewing

You know I love recycling and reusing. And you know I looove recycling and reusing fabric.
I roam through flea markets, garage sales, second hand and thrift stores and almost always find some pre-loved piece of fabric.

And I always buy old fashioned flat sheets, they're most often made of really thick cotton, or a cotton/linen mix, which is absolutely perfect for all sorts of sewing projects.
Especially dish cloths or napkins, but I also use them in quilts, key fobs, pouches and much more.
I wrote a whole blog on fabric recycling in case you want to know more.

Today I want to show you how to make the cutest dish towels with recycled cotton sheets and left over fabric scraps.

Materials/fabrics needed for 2 dish towels:
- 2 pieces of white fabric ( I use cotton table cloth or flat sheets for this, they're pre-washed so many times, that they work perfectly as dish cloths as they dry dishes very nicely) 20.5"x 27".
- 40 pieces of 2.5"x 2.5" fabric squares.
- 2 strips of fabric 2"x 5" for the hanging tab

Sewing the dish towels:
1. Cut your fabrics as mentioned above.
2. Sew your fabric squares into 4 strips of 10 squares each ( two strips per towel)
3. Press your seam allowances.
You can either seperate your seam allowances and press them each seperatly,
or press the seam allowances in opposite directions before joining your
fabric square strips. This is really easy and quick. (photo 1)
You press one strip in one direction and the other in the opposite direction,
this will help with nesting your seams and having accurate corners and matching points.
The seams sort of fit together automatically ( photo 2).
You end up with a perfectly flat fabric square panel. ( photo 3)

4. Fold over the long raw edges of your square panel 1/4" and press again
then pin or clip in place.

5. Place this panel on one of your white fabric pieces at 7", mesured from the bottom raw edge of your kitchen towel and pin in place.
6. Stich this panel in place with a small seam allowance. I also added some diagonal seams.

7. Sewing the hanging tab for the tea towel:
- Fold the 2"x 5" strip in half lengthwise and press. Fold in 1/2" seam allowance on each long raw edge and press again.
- Stitch with small seam allowance.
- Fold the tab in half and clip in place at the center of the back of your kitchen towel top edge.

8. Fold over the raw edges of your dish towel 3/8" twice and pin or clip in place.
I did just simple corners on these tea towels, but if you want to get really fancy you could do mitered corners as well.

9. To finish stitch all the way around your kitchen towel.

What do you think about these kitchen towels? Don't you agree they're ...... :-)?

Now I cant wait to see all of your tea towel versions...
use #dryinstyletowel on social media, so I can find your makes .... happy sewing.

Do you ever wonder what to do with all those super cute fabric scraps that are left over from your sewing projects?
Well, here are a couple of pincushion ideas for you to sew up with the smallest fabric pieces.

Now you might wonder how I get those fabric scraps color coordinated, and how I will find them when I need them. Here's a simple trick, I make it a habit to cut up the cutest scraps right away into 1.5" squares and sort them by color into a simple acrylic organizer box.
That way, I have them handy when I need them for fabric stamps, hang tags or smaller sewing projects like these pincushions. Plus that box is really pretty to look at, don't you think?

I also cut up some Dresden plate pieces every once in a while and keep them in another box sorted the same way. I like making these tiny Dresden plates, just because they're so super cute, and I can really make use of the smallest fabric pieces. For cutting Dresden plate pieces I use the Darlene Zimmerman Dresden Acrylic Ruler.

This awesome pincushion is also called Deluxe pincushion and is a super cute pattern from the book Sew organized for the Busy girl by Heidi Staples.
It's a great pattern and a quick and easy make.
This is an absolutely perfect pattern for all kinds of fabric scraps.
You can use them color coordinated or by theme, make a little fairytale pincushion, or one with just flowers, a Christmas themed one or use very modern little scraps.
I'm sure you will find tons of inspiration when you go through you fabric.

Mini Dresden plate pincushion:
finished size aprox 4"x 4"

Fabrics/ materials needed:
- 12  1.5" Dresden plate pieces
- 2 pieces of fabric 4.5"x 4.5"
- 1 basted 1" hexie, paper taken out.
- 1 piece 4.5"x 4.5" fusible interfacing
-a hand full of fiberfill, or your prefered pincushion stuffing material

Sewing the pincushion:
1. Cut all the fabrics as mentioned above. Cut 12 1.5" Dresden plate pieces. (photo 1)
2. Fold the Dresden plate pieces in half , lengwise , right sides together
 and stitch along the top edge ( wider part of blade) with a 1/4" seam allowance. (photo 2)
Chain piecing these blades makes this step super easy.
3. Cut off the corners (as shown in photo 3) at a 45° angle, this gives you nice, sharp points.
4. Turn each blade's sewn end right sides out. It usually just takes a finger to create a sharp point as you make that turn, but if necessary use a pencil to push the point outward. Be careful not to push too hard or cut through the fabric. Then press these.

5. Sew the Dresden Plate blades together by aligning the side edges right sides together with a 1/4" seam allowance from top to bottom, then press seam allowance open.
After sewing the full circle, press the entire Dresden plate.
Note: Most Dresden Plates are made with a 18° wedge ruler ( like the one I used), this means technically to form a full circle it would require 20 blades ( 18 x 20 = 360), but I use only 12 for this pincushion. Otherwise the full Dresden Plate would be too big and wouldn't fit on a small 4.5" square. The Dresden plate is so small, that it works just fine after pressing the full circle with 12 blades . And there will be a hexie placed on top anyways.
Or you could  us a 30° wedge ruler ( 30 x 12 = 360)

6. Stitch the Dresden plate onto one of the 4.5" x 4.5" pieces of fabric. Mark a cross in the center of the square to make placing  the Dresden plate easier.

 7. Place basted hexie ( paper taken out! ) on top and stitch in place.

8. Iron on fusible interfacing and place back 4.5"x 4.5" piece of fabric on top, right sides together and stitch around along the raw edges leaving a 2" opening for turning the pincushion.
Cut the corners at a 45° angle, this gives you nice and sharp corners after turning.
9. Turn your pincushion right side out, and fill the pincushion with fiberfill or your preferred pincushion stuffing material. Press the opening under 1/4" and stitch closed by hand.

The cutest little pincushions made entirely from fabric scraps, are all done .....
Aren't they just darling? 

Have lots of fun sewing up all your fabric scraps.

Do you ever wonder where certain Christmas traditions come from?
Well if you do and want to know more about Christmas stockings here is the story:
The Christmas stocking tradition started in Europe, I have to add, a lot of Christmas traditions have, not sure why though, I have to get into that some other time.
Christmas stockings traditionally have the owners name written on them, makes sence, otherwise Santa wouldn't know where to put the presents, right?

                                 " The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
                                    in hopes that St.Nicholas soon would be there."
                                                       - a visit from St. Nicolas

The Christmas stocking tradition is said to have started with the good deeds of a king noble man named Nicholas, who was born 280 AD, in Patara a city on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. ( If you ever visit Turkey , you have to visit that coast, it's beyond beautiful).
Nicholas became a priest and used all his money to help the poor, the needy, sick or suffering. He was very religious and was made Bishop of Myra at a young age.
He never married or had children. But he loved children and gave gifts often, this is why he also became known as the gift giver of Myra.
He was a rich man and traveled all over the country and gave his gifts generously.
He didn't want his identity to be known, so he gave his presents late at night.
Children were told to sleep early, otherwise Nicholas wouldn't come.
He became known as Saint Nicholas the patron saint of children and sailors.

The most popular legend about why stockings are hung on Christmas is this:
A very poor widowed father of three girls was worried his daughters weren't able to get married because of their impoverished status.
St. Nicholas heard the story of the man and wanted to help, but he knew the father wouldn't accept any charity. So he slid down the chimney of the family's house and filled the girls' recently washed stockings, which were drying by the fire, with gold coins.
When the girls woke up in the mornig, overjoyed with the generous gift, they were now eligible to marry and they all were happy ever after...

And there you have it, the Chrismas stocking tradition was born.

Now lets make some great Cristmas stockings ourselves:

Fabrics needed for a Hexie stocking:

- fabric scraps for about 42 - 1" hexies
- 2 pieces of fusible interfacicing 16"x 9"
- 2 pieces of fabric 16"x 9" for front and back lining
- 1 piece of fabric 16"x 9" for the back
- 1 strip of fabric 2"x 28" for binding
- optional: tassels, fabric hangtag

Sewing the hexie Christmas stocking:

1. Print the stocking template and glue the two pages together and cut out the template.
Find the PDF to the template here .
2. Baste about 42 - 1" sized hexies and place them on your stocking template. Depending on how you place them, you'll only need half hexies on the sides.
This is a perfect way to use up all your adorable Christmas fabric scaps and do some
fussy cutting.

3. Sew togther your hexies.
Add the fusible interfacing to your 'hexie fabric' piece and add the lining as well, wrong sides together  and quilt as desired.
I quilted diamonds.
Repeat the same for the back of the stocking. Add the fusible interfacing to the back fabric, add the lining fabric wrong sides together and quilt as desired.

4. Now cut your quilted pieces into stocking shapes , use the stocking template.
5. Place front and back of your Christmas stocking right sides together and stitch along the outside edge using a 1/4" seam allowance.

6. Turn your stocking inside out.
Attach the binding strip to the top edge of your stocking right sides together and raw edges aligned. Add a little hanging tab to the back of your stocking made out of the same binding strip. Clip or pin in place and stitch along the top edge with a 1/4" seam allowance.
Fold over to the inside and stitch in place by hand.

7. optional:
Add pompoms and/or tassels.

8. Make a little name tag.
I used white fabric and embroidered the name on it. I added some fusible interfacing, to give it a little volume and topped it off with another piece of white fabric.
I stitched the 'sandwhich' in place with a small piece of fussy cut motif and cut the outer edge of the white fabric with zig zag shears.
Add a metal eyelet, or just use a hole punch and thread a little ribbon.
Attach your name tag to your stocking.

Et Voila .... all done!

Now let your phantasie go wild and create stockings with all sorts of different patchwork techniques and styles. Whether you're using clamshells, triangles, hexies or just simple squares, these Christmas stockings will definitely make a lasting impression.

If you are celebrating Christmas, What's your choice of Christmas stocking?
Are you making one yourself? let me know in the comments.

happy sewing

Everybody needs pot-holders in the kitchen, and if they're this cute, even better, right?
So how about pulling out some fabric and getting started.
These are super easy to make and will be a perfect gift for any passionate cook.

'You-are-my-cupcake' pot-holders
finished size 8"x 10"

Fabrics needed per pot-holder:

- finished cupcake quilt block 8"x 8"
- cut 2 pieces of fabric for backing 8 1/2"x 10 1/2"
- cut 1 piece of fabric 8 1/2"x 8 1/2" for pocket lining
- 1 piece of fusible interfacing 8 1/2"x 8 1/2" for pocket
- 1 piece of fusible interfacing 8 1/2"x 10 1/2" for backing
- 1 piece of insul-brite 8 1/2"x 10 1/2" for backing
- cut 1 strip of fabric 1 1/2"x 10" as binding for pocket
- cut 1 strip of fabric 2"x 6" or use ribbon for hanging tab
- bias tape 2"x 40" for pot-holder binding

Sewing the potholder:
1. Finish the cup cake quilt block  ( shop pattern here ) in size 8"x 8"
2. Cut all of your fabric pieces as mentioned above.

3. Iron on fusible interfacing to your quilt block .
Then lay pocket lining piece of fabric face down on flat surface and lay quilt block face up on top of it. Clip or pin in place.
4. Quilt as desired, to hold these layers together.
I did 1" diagonal squares. I used my acrylic ruler and a fabric chalk pen to draw the lines.

5. Trim to 8"x 8" size.

6. Iron on the fusible interfacing to one of the backing fabrics.
Place the other backing fabric face down on a flat surface. Position the insul-brite on top of it and finish off with the backing/fusable interfacing piece, face up.
Pin or clip all three layers in place.
Quilt as desired, I did 1" diagonal squares again, as with the pocket piece.

Make the hanging tab: ( or use a strip of ribbon)
- Fold the 2"x 6" strip in half lengthwise and press. Fold in 1/4" seam allowance on each long raw edge and press again.
- Stitch with small seam allowance.
- Fold the tab in half and clip in place at the center of the back of your pot-holder.

7. Binding for the pocket:
Take the strip of fabric 1 1/2"x 10" and pin it to the top of the cupcake pocket with the raw edges aligned and stitch in place with 1/4" seam allowance. ( photo 1)
Fold the binding over to the back ( photo 2)  and stitch in place ( photo 3)
Finished binding seen from the front ( photo 4)
Trim the ends.

8. Place the quilted pocket piece on top of the backing ,
aligning the side and the bottom raw edges. Clip or pin in place.

9. Round the corners of your pot-holder.
I drew a 1/4 circle at the corners first and then cut it.
here's a template for the corners, cut it along the black line.

10. Fold the bias tape over 1/4" at one end of the binding strip and clip or pin in place around the pot-holder with the end overlapping about 1/2" ( photo 1 ) .
Stitch in place. ( photo 2 ).
Fold the binding over to the backof the pot-holder and then hand stitch in place.

Et voila .... all done.

Thank you so much to Riley Blake Designs for supplying the absolutely adorable 
'From the Heart' fabric series designed by Sandy Gervais that I used
in this super cute project.

 This pattern is perfect for any 8"x 8" quilt block.
I can't wait to see your makes.  How do you like these pot-holders?

Happy sewing

Halloween is approaching and I want to show you how to sew a stunning little
Trick-or-Treat bag with one of my quilt blocks... and best of all its really easy.

 Finished bag size :  8.5" wide, 9.5" high and 4" deep at the bottom

Fabric/ Materials needed: (all measurements are width x height)
>   1 FPP quilt block 8.5" x 8.5" (ghost pattern shop here)
>   2 strips of fabric on each side of the FPP block 2.5"x 8.5"
>   2 strips of fabric for bottom panel 12.5"x 3"
>   2 strips of fabric for top panel 12.5"x 2"
>   1 piece of fabric for back 12.5"x 8.5"
>   2 pieces of fabric for lining 12.5"x 12"
>   Fusible interfacing 2 pieces 12.5"x 12"
>   2 strips of fabric for handles 2,5"x 12"
>   2 strips of fusible interfacing 2"x 12"

Instructions:
-Sew your Foundation paper pieced quilt block - I chose the little ghost .
( shop Halloween patterns here ) the block will measure 8.5"x 8.5" when sewn together
(unfinished- meaning not sewn into a project yet).
-Cut out all the fabric, lining and fusible interfacing pieces.
-Attach the side strips to the quilt block. Then attach the bottom and top panel to the quilt block and fabric for the back ( see picture above).
Interfacing gives your bag more structure and stand.
Iron on the fusible interfacing to your front and back exterior main pieces of your bag.

- Quilt your exterior pieces to your liking.
- I did some diagonal straight line machine quilting.
- I drew the lines with a washable fabric marker ( this one can actually just be dusted off,
   it's a dressmaking chalk pen, that comes with several different color refills)
- Then I machine quilted the front and back exterior fabric pieces with diagonal 1" squares.

Sewing the handles:
- iron on fusible interfacing on fabric strips of handles, center to width of fabric,
leaving 1/4" seam allowance on both long sides of the fabric strips.
- Fold over 1/4" seam allowance on each side of the fabric strips and clip in place -
  (I use only orange and purple clips, to stay in the Halloween spirit :-)
- Now fold the strip in half and clip in place again. Then sew along the clipped edge with a small seam allowance to finish off the handle strip.
- Repeat for second handle.

- Attach the handles at 3" from the outer edge to the top of exterior front and back fabric pieces. And clip in place.
- Lay lining fabric right sides together on top of outer bag pieces and clip in place at top edge. Handles are now sandwiched between lining and outer piece.
- stitch along top edge with 1/4" seam allowance.
- fold exterior and lining pieces open.

- lay both trick-or-treat bag pieces on top of each other, right sides together
 - Clip or pin the raw edges in place, matching up each seam and clipping or
 pinning the matched up seams.
 - Leave a 4" space at the center of the bottom end of the lining, this is your opening
 for turning the bag later.
- Then sew along the four open sides.  Do not sew the 4" opening at the end of the lining pieces.

- For a  flat bottom of your bag, you need to box all four corners.
Two corners of the lining and two corners of the exterior fabric.
Starting with flattening the corner, the seams, bottom seam and side seam should be on top of each other. Then measure 2" from the top corner with an acrylic ruler and draw a line across with your fabric marker or a water soluble pen.

Stitch along that line and  trim off the corner, leaving a 1/4" seam allowance.
(Repeat this for all four corners)

- Turn your bag by turning the pieces right sides out, pulling through the opening in the
 lining. Push out the corners nicely. Press the lining opening under 1/4" and
 stitch closed with a small 1/8" seam allowance.

- Fold lining into bag and stitch along top edge of bag to secure handles and lining.

Et Voila.... your cutest ever quilted Halloween TRICK-OR-TREAT bag is all done.

How are you all celebrating Halloween this year? Let me know ....
Ingrid xo

This year Hallooween will be very special.
A full moon, a blue moon, daylight saving time, Saturday celebrations plus the unprecedented events of this year will make Halloween 2020 one day/night to remeber.
So much has changed, but the love for spooky, scary and fun delight is as strong as ever.
So lets see how we can celebrate this Halloween in a safe, fun and special way.

1. Small group Party
Invite a small group of your closest friends or family and have an unforgettable get together under the light of the blue moon. How about a Halloween picnic or a Halloween hide and seek?

2. Zoom Party
Why not coordinate a neighborhood Zoom Party with a costume contest, games and scary stories? Everyone can plan goody bags ahead of time and they can be dropped off on doorsteps in advance.

3. Candy games with your kids
Use your imagination and hide candy all over the house, maybe even inside and out.
Kids can win prizes for finding the candy. How about you create different theme rooms in your house and organize a Halloween scavenger hunt? Make a gift certificate to stay up late and watch a movie.

4. Fun and memorable photos
This year will be a very special Halloween. Don't forget to take 'once in a blue moon Halloween' photos. Make sure you show off all your fantastic Halloween decorations.
Now is the perfect time to sew some of your favorites. Use these photos to mail out some fun Halloween cards. Anyone will be happy to receive a spooky card at any time.

5. Scary memory videos
How about some fun, spooky and scary Tik Tok videos. Show off your fantastic costumes.
Maybe dress the family as a theme or all members the same?
Let your imagination run wild!

6.Halloween Karaoke
We all have those Halloween hit lists with Thriller or Monster Mash. Organize a Karaoke night with your family inside or with a small group of your closest friends in the backyard.
Your neighbors might enjoy to cheer you on.

7. Pumpkin carving Party
Every family member or friend carves his won special pumpkin. Organize a contest with prizes, photos and videos.
May the best carver win.

8. Halloween Pinata
Pinatas are always a fun way to entertain children. Fill your favorite Halloween Pinata with tons of candy. Organize a game night for your kids and the pinata will be the final prize of the night!

9. Cook a bloody Dinner
Don't just cook the Halloween dinner beforehand, but make it a dinner cooking Halloween night.  Your could make feet loaf, hot dog mummies a pumpkin puking guaamole or a berry eye ball punch. Dress up and cook together, celebrate the cooking and stay in your character, with the language, accent and more. Take tons of photos to remeber this special night.

10. Online murder mystery Party
Invite your friends and family to dress up in their costume and join the mystery fun. Design your own murder mystery party or sign up for one online.

Do you have any more ideas for a 'once in a blue moon Halloween night' ?
Let me know your suggestions....

Shop all the HALLOWEEN patterns here.
And show me your makes with #jjmhalloween

Most of all have tons of fun this year
Ingrid xoxo