We are thrilled to be hosting a trunk show from Meg McElwee’s new book, Sew Liberated: 20 Stylish Projects for the Modern Sewist. Each piece in Sew Liberated uses applique in a refreshing, new way. Get ready to start embellishing lovely things for your home, children, and yourself! This book will be your new go-to guide for all things applique!

It’s so cool to look around the shop and see such a cohesive group of projects with a fun, crafty aesthetic. Meg uses a primarily neutral color palette with pops of accent color to make the special details stand out. It’s amazing what a simple needle, thread, and a pretty print can do!

With in depth directions for each project, as you learn to hand and machine applique. I like that she uses projects with varying difficulty levels. If you want to start out simple, the duvet is a good place to start. For more of construction challenge, the Day Bag, will do nicely!

The Sew Liberated trunk show will be in the shop until the end of the month, so do stop by. It is truly inspiring to see a tried and true embellishing technique in a new way. Judging from the response the show has gotten so far, I expect to see some awesome applique walking around Philadelphia this Spring!

Bley’s Frenchy Bag is this week’s Pattern Free for All winner! She made the shoulder bag version using Amy Butler’s Daisy Chain fabric line. It looks so lovely and summery. Bley says,”Here’s a pic of the Frenchy Bag I made recently. It’s so great, and even large enough to act as a mini-diaper bag!” Very crafty! Bley will be receiving a yard of Amy Butler’s Midwest Modern fabric and a copy of her new Field Tote pattern. Great job, Bley! Enjoy!

We had so many wonderful entries this week! Thank you so much to everyone who participated this week, and throughout June. Be sure to check out more detail shots here. Amy Butler patterns rule! What a fun month it has been; I love seeing what all the pretty fabrics turn into once they walk out the door.

If you’re looking for more inspiration, we have an Amy Butler trunk show here at the shop through next weekend. Seriously, seeing so many awesome handbags in one place is a girl’s dream come true! See you soon!

This is Amy Butler’s Lotus Dress that I made with Park Slope fabric by Erin McMorris. I thought that the darker two-tone fabric would work well as the body of the dress, since it reads nearly solid. Pair that with the super cute, bright birdie fabric, and I think the whole thing comes together! Plenty of pattern but not too over the top. I am also proud that I feel this dress really fits. The princess seams allow for you to take it in or out all the way down the body, making for an easier time fitting the garment. And we all like that, don’t we?!

This is one of my summer favorites, and I think I will be wearing it to Stitch Party this Friday. Our Amy Butler Trunk Show will be here just in time, so be sure to stop by Friday from 5-8PM. Peruse Amy’s designs in person, have some wine and a snack, and get your weekend off to a creative start!

If you’ve made a Lotus Dress or any of Amy Butler’s patterns, don’t forget to email me a photo by Friday at midnight. You’ll be entered to win Amy’s new Field Tote pattern and a yard of Midwest Modern fabric for our contest. Keep ‘em coming!

This month is all about Amy Butler! She is holding a contest to celebrate the one year anniversary of her Midwest Modern fabrics and the release of her new Electric Quilt software. Amy says, “There is only one rule – make a sewing project using my Midwest Modern fabric.”. That’s right, ANY project! The contest starts today and runs through September 15th, when the top 10 winners will be announced. To enter, email a photo to contests_AT_amybutler.com. The winners will receive fat quarters, Amy’s new software and a selection of sewing patterns. Awesome! For more info, head to Amy’s website and click on the “new” button.

The contest sounds so fun, and since we are receiving a trunk show of Amy’s designs just in time for June’s Stitch Party, I thought we’d hold one of our own! Every week this month we’ll be featuring a different Amy Butler pattern. We’ll show you what we’ve made and we’d love to see what you’ve created. The projects can be in any fabric, but have to be made using the featured pattern.

Each contest will begin on Monday and end at midnight on Friday. On Saturday, we will pick our favorite, post the winning photo and the winner will receive 1 yard of Amy’s Midwest Modern fabric. Just email a photo to stitch_AT_spoolsewing.com, tell us a bit about your project, and you will be entered to win. Oh and by the way, we do love seeing you wearing your creations!

This week’s pattern is the Birdie Sling Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers hd Feast 2: Sloppy Seconds trailer

• Rawhead Rex release

Get Shorty on dvd . This versatile bag has been a Spool favorite, and there are so many fabric possibilities. I’ll post more about our versions this week, so get out those cameras and let us see your take on this tote!Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny on dvd

We had a wonderful weekend with the lovely and talented Betz White

. Thanks so much to everyone who came and made her feel welcome. Betz is such a creative person with great ideas, not just for better crafting, but for better living. I’m so pleased to have finally met her in person!

• Horror psp

The fun started off at Stitch Party, where we had a trunk show of Sewing Green’s projects, including the amazing Leaf Scarf from the book’s cover!

Then, Betz did a demonstration on making the plastic rings from milk jugs into adorable napkin rings. We learned to make rosettes from ric rac to embellish our rings. Everyone was very impressed by Betz’s clever technique!

Afterwards, we shopped and chatted with Betz.

Saturday, Betz taught a workshop on using repurposed items to make bags. There were so many cool raw materials and trims, including Betz’s new fave, karate belts! Students came up with awesome combinations and left with fantastic one of a kind totes.

Thanks so much for coming, Betz! We had a great time!

• Finding Neverland film

This is a big month for us! Not only are we celebrating our first birthday, but we have fabric designer and author, Heather Ross, coming to visit March’s Stitch Party. Heather’s new book Weekend Sewing is just gorgeous and we find ourselves wanting to make everything in it! There are baby garments, totes, and 5 full size adult paper patterns, just to name a few of the 40 projects in this exciting book.

Heather is also the talent behind the Mendocino fabric line- y’know the one with all the mermaids, seahorses and octopi. It is one of my all time faves, and I know it has become one of yours. West Hill and Lightning Bugs & Other Mysteries are Heather’s two previous quilting lines. These collections include the ever popular Russian dolls fabric and the sweet pony print, both of which are outfitting children all over Philadelphia! Heather will be bringing samples from her book to Stitch Party, and I’m sure she would love to see all of your creations made with her fabrics.

Heather will be signing books at Stitch Party this month on Friday, March 27 from 5-8 PM. Books will be available if you haven’t yet picked up your copy. As an extra special treat, Heather will be giving a demonstration of Weekend Sewing’s Little Girl’s Smocked Dress on Saturday, March 28th at 10AM. She will show how to use elasticized thread and talk about how to size this pattern for an adult. The demonstration is free, but space is limited, so please RSVP to the shop if you would like to join us.

See you soon!

Two of our favorite new lines are the Michael Miller’s Organics Collection and Ginger Blossom by Sandy Henderson. As luck would have it, our friend Debbie at Michael Miller sent us a trunk show with two sweet quilts in these pretty cottons.

This 100% organic cotton quilt is simple in color but has fun techniques worked in. The simple piecing creates the canvas for a modern applique flower motif. I love the yo-yo centers of the flowers!! This would be a great baby quilt for the parents that are keeping the baby’s gender a secret!

Sandy Henderson A Night to Dismember release is a new designer and Ginger Blossom is her first collection for Michael Miller. It’s easy to see her fresh and playful attitude in this fun quilt. The ruffle makes it perfect for the girliest of little (or grown-up) girls!

We are so pleased to be carrying these lines, both of these patterns are complimentary when you pick out your fabrics. We hope you’ll enjoy them as much as we do!