Good morning! It is so sunny and beautiful here today! I hope it is the same for you.
Recently, my friend Amanda Jean (who you might know as one of the authors of one of my most favorite books Sunday Morning Quilts--so proud of and happy for her!) wrote a pattern for her thread catchers. I was really excited about this pattern, because I had been wanting to make some. You might remember she gave each of us one as our "Happy" at our quilt retreat at Gruber's last July. I've been hoping she would put out a pattern, because I thought these were the cutest little things and would make great gifts. Well, her pattern is now out. She gave me a copy (so nice!), and I made up a couple this weekend. Here they are! They are about 6" tall and about 14" all the way around (so, around 3.5" on each side). How cute!
I used my stash of Mod Century fabric, which I got at Marmalade. (You can get there by clicking the button on my sidebar, too.) I just love this fabric! There are lots of great prints in this line, and the linen looks are also wonderful.
Each one is lined, so they are very finished and polished looking.
The pattern includes four variations. One of them is this one, which has no interfacing or batting in it. The top is cuffed over, and I used some variegated Valdani perle cotton to do the running stitch around the cuff. I didn't want to use any DMC floss, for fear it would run if it got wet! Looking at this closely....looks like I got a crooked stich there in my running stitch. Oh, well. The charm of something handmade, right? I used the turquoise blue linen look from the Mod Century line for the lining.
I like this one, because it's very "crushable." It's a great little thread catcher for throwing in your travel bag for use on the road or when you're at a sew in. It barely takes up any room. And when you get there, you just fluff it back up, and it stands up great. I love it. This is the style Amanda Jean gave me at our retreat, and I just love it. I use it a lot!
I also tried one of the other variations. This one has no cuff, but it does have batting inside. There is a strip of patchwork around the thread catcher. In her sample, the thread catcher was quilted with straight-line quilting, and the base was made of linen. I used the "linen-looking" fabric that is part of the Mod Century line and decided to practice my pebble quilting. This is a really nice sized project to practice some free-motion quilting on! I used some grey Auriful thread for the quilting. I had fun practicing, and I think it turned out very cute. Because this one has batting in it, it is more stiff and sturdy, if you are looking for that.
The other two variations are a cuffed version without the running stitch and a fully patchwork base. They are all so cute! These took very little time to make. I think the quilted one took me an hour, and the one with the cuff took maybe 30 min. And they would make great little gifts. I could even see these in a bathroom holding Q-tips or cotton balls. They would also make a nice little trash collector in the car, for all those little scraps of paper that seem to find their way all over my car.
The pattern is well written and easy to follow. This is another great beginner project or, like I said, a quick and easy gift project. (I needed a couple of little gifts for sewing friends in the next couple weeks, so these will be perfect.) I was thinking they'd also be great for making multiples (thinking of boutiques at your next quilt show) because they are quick and easy.
If you'd like a copy of the pattern, you can get it here. I'll definitely be making more of these. It's fun to put fabric combinations together for the project. And the two patchwork versions are great ways to use up small scraps!
Well, between yesterday and today, you've seen about everything I accomplished this weekend. We'll see if I have anything else to share this week! Not getting much done in the sewing room lately! Hope you have a wonderful day!
Until next time,
Full disclosure: Amanda Jean gave me a copy of this pattern. However, she did not ask me to review it in return. She simply gave it to me as a friend. Although I paid for the Mod Century fabric myself, Marmalade is one of my sponsors. I just love Tammy's (of Marmalade) taste in fabric and thank her for sponsoring my requests now and then. She has great customer service in her shop, too. Check it out! Neither Amanda Jean nor Tammy asked me to review these products. These are just my humble thoughts about them.
Very, very cute Mama Pea. I LOVE your pebble quilting!
Posted by: Thimbleanna | May 07, 2013 at 11:16 AM
Your blog post was so great and your thread catcher were so cute that I just ordered the pattern! I can't wait to make one! :)
Posted by: Cindy Smith | May 07, 2013 at 01:22 PM
You'll be the smarty pants at any sewing event - these are so cute!!! Thanks for the review - I think those are so helpful.
Posted by: Amy DeCesare | May 07, 2013 at 04:28 PM
Love your thread catcher. Can't have too many of those! Love that pebble quilting. I wish I could learn to do that. Great job!
Posted by: caroll | May 07, 2013 at 07:06 PM
Your pebbling looks great! Those are so cute! I saw them on Amanda Jean's blog recently. Great use for scraps.
Posted by: Lynn | May 07, 2013 at 08:09 PM
Amanda Jean's book is simply wonderful..those are really cute! As usual... u made them look terrific.
Posted by: Jackie W. | May 07, 2013 at 11:21 PM
I had made a thread catcher for myself before - but I didn't like it because it was too small. This is much better. I do like your choice of fabrics and your pebbling.
Posted by: Linda in Calif. | May 08, 2013 at 10:40 AM
Thanks for the kind review, Stephanie! Yours turned out so cute and I love your fabric choices! I love that you pebble quilted one! It looks fabulous.
Posted by: Amanda Jean | May 08, 2013 at 10:15 PM
Very cute - what a great way to use some "favorite" fabrics and be able to see them all the time. Nice pebble quilting!
Posted by: Deb | May 10, 2013 at 01:16 PM
I got me a pattern as soon as she posted them and can't wait to try it! Your's is so darn cute!
Posted by: kathy olkowski | May 10, 2013 at 02:12 PM
How nice, you reviewed her pattern for the Thread Catchers! I like how you described each of the variations. Love your examples.
Posted by: terriaw | May 13, 2013 at 10:03 PM