Something sweet

Sometimes, as quilters, we are so caught up in the BIG projects that we don't really take the time to do some cute, achievable in an afternoon, mini-projects.

I have just discovered the mother and daughters' team at 'Sweetwater Designs'. After I received their book for Christmas and tried one of their patterns, I visited the online shop and bought this little kit. Then my friend Marieka kindly sent me a packet of 'Hometown' charm squares for my birthday this week. 

The instructions were a bit oblique in some places but I muddled through.


1. Sew strips of 8 x 2 1/2" squares together. Press.

2. Pin and nest the seams and sew 4 rows together. Chain piecing saves time and thread. 

3. Turn over and measure around your notebook for sizing. Mine was a bit too tight as my notebook was bigger than the pattern allowed. So I added an extra row.

 

4. Cut inside fabric and wadding slightly larger than the front patchwork. I used 2 scraps of wadding and used basting spray to fix it in place.

5. Using the plain inside fabric, cut the 5" book flaps slightly larger than the width of the notebook and sew a turned over 1/4 " hem. 

6. Lay these on the batting and inside fabric, right side up.

7. Lay the patchwork on top creating a sandwich.

8. This is where I deviated from the pattern. 


Measure your notebook size again and draw a line1/4" from this border. I added extra width because my notebook is spiral bound and would not be wide enough to fit when closed. I also found that if I moved my notebook up into the top corner, I didn't need the 5th row or 8th column. So when I trimmed, these strips were intact! (I hate wasting lovely fabric!)

9. Sew around the notebook line on all 4 sides and leave a 2" gap along one edge. Make sure that all your raw edges are lined up in your sandwich.


10. Trim away the excess. I also cut the diagonals off the corners.

11. Pull through the fabric to the right side and sew the hole closed.

12. Peel off the label and iron onto the front. Stitch around the label being careful not to stitch over the flap.

13. One sweet notebook cover finished!

Great for about 2-3 hours of fun with your 21/2" square stash. I am keen to make some more. They would make a sweet gift.


Also, today I posted out 3 of the 4 'fugly fabric' giveaways (still waiting to hear from Leena in India), 36 vintage sheet fat quarters for the swap and some 'little girls' squares to a good friend in England.

36 Vintage Sheet FQs all rolled up to save space. An extra treat for Kellie who is organising the swap.