Every new baby needs a handmade quilt, don’t you think? Alex Anderson’s Baby Quilts with Love gives us lots to choose from! This book is full of simple and adorable quilts for the little cutie in your life. We sampled the Tree of Life quilt to highlight Freesprit designer, Verna Mosquera’s Sweet Escape line of soft pretty florals. I love the vintage feel of this fabric and design - particularly the little border of stars that swirls around the edge. Very special!

Lots of sewers just want to have the fun of piecing a quilt top, and leave the quilting to the experts. Around the time that Michael was piecing this quilt, we had the good fortune to meet Kathleen. Kathleen is sweet as punch and a fantastic quilter to boot. She is the proprietress of a quilting business called Guinevere & Me. Who is Guinevere you might ask? Her long arm quilting machine, of course! We packed up our little baby quilt and sent it off to meet Guinevere. When it came back, we were thrilled. She helped us pick just the right pattern and thread to make our quilt special. In additon to machine quilting, Kathleen offers services such as binding and machine basting for handquilters. If you are interested in meeting with Kathleen, please call the shop for her information.

Wonderful work, Michael & Kathleen! This quilt is just lovely!

Michael really outdid himself with this beautiful mobile. He had come up with the pattern for these little birdies when he used to frequent the craft show circuit, and shared it with us when he started here at Spool. We had been toying with the idea of a mobile project and these birds seemed the perfect fit. I knew it would be adorable! What I hadn’t expected, though, is how some tree branches and a few carefully placed eye-hooks would transform this project into a work of art!

This would be a welcome addition to a baby’s room or a great project for a baby shower. A single bird would be a whimsical way to highlight favorite prints around your home. Since all this birdie takes is two pieces of fabric and a needle & thread, it makes a great travel project. There are many possibilites, plus they’re just so darn cute!

Let us help you get started on your flock! Handsewing is relaxing and rewarding and a small project like this is a great way to learn. This a free pattern from Spool, and we will be offering demonstrations on how to stitch these little guys throughout the summer. Enjoy!

P.S. You can now download a pdf of this pattern from our sidebar. If you’d like to share your finished birds, we’d love to see them! You can join our flickr group here. Have fun!

Sarah started sewing just a few short months ago and had a plan in mind from the get-go. She is getting married and wanted to make gifts for her wedding party. Sarah’s wedding is being held in a castle in Scotland - amazing! Since her bridal party will be traveling to get to her, she wanted give them each a special travel bag filled with gifts to make their journey more comfortable. Using Lotta Jansdotter’s All Day Tote from Simple Sewing as a guide, she picked out special fabrics for each of the 6 women in her wedding. This one is Sarah’s favorite and I can see why! The navy Shot Cotton looks so rich against Amy Butler’s gingko print fabric.

Since the pattern called for cotton canvas and Sarah was using quilting cotton, she used interfacing and snaps to make the bag more sturdy. I think it’s wonderful that she used the pattern as a jumping off point and customized it to make the project she envisioned. That’s what creativity is all about! I think the ladies in Sarah’s wedding will be thrilled at these thoughtful handmade gifts.

Best wishes for a wonderful wedding, Sarah! Congratulations!

Olive Rose is the latest line from Freespirit designer Valori Wells. Using nature as her inspiration, she abstracts the line and color to create vibrant designs with electric hues. These fabrics inspire you to get creative!

We have been on a handbag kick here at Spool and one of our favorite patterns is the Swing Bag fom Amy Butler. The shape is so darn cute and it’s simple to stitch together. Michael sewed this one up in an afternoon! It’s also reversible which gives you the chance to use more than one of your favorite fabrics. Purses are the perfect vehicle for bold pattern and color that you may not normally choose for your wardrobe. The pink hibiscus fabric from the Olive Rose collection instantly stood out to me and the matching stripe is such a fun contrast. Just looking at this combination puts me in a cheerful mood!