Free project highlight - Dressing Gowns quilt from Zandra Rhodes!

Wiggles, stitching, frills and flowers intertwined in the Dressing Gowns Quilt from Zandra Rhodes new collection Lace Mountain.

For this Lace Mountain collection I have delved into my vast Rhodes repertoire of wiggles, stitching, frills and flowers. Lace Mountain represents memories of Australia’s Ayers Rock (The “Lace Mountain”), and the spinifex grass that grows around it. The way the imagery is interpreted is influenced by my mother and my sewing background. - Zandra Rhodes

Download the free project from makeitcoats.com.  Check out the Discover section for loads of more free projects and patterns featuring our FreeSpirit designers and fabrics!

Fastest Holiday Gift Ever!

Add a homemade touch to the standard gift of a bottle of wine by making these classy, linen coasters. Featuring FreeSpirit Cocoon and Jenaveve Linen/Cotton by Valori Wells, this quick gift idea will dress up any table any time.   Click here for directions. Cheers and Happy Holidays!

Faster Holiday Gift Idea! The perfect Hostess gift!

You have one hour till your neighbor’s Holiday gathering and you do not have any idea on what you are going to take as a Hostess gift.  Well, plug in your iron and dust off your machine for this low sew, trendy idea using FreeSpirit Cocoon Linen/Cotton by Valori Wells. A simple topstitched double hem or two, along with raw edge applique pieces adhered with a fusible web and voila, a cute gift you can partner with a plate full of cookies.  Fast, fun and hip.  Click here for directions!

Fast Holiday Gift Idea!

Over the past weeks, we have shared with you some Fabulous and Fun gift ideas you can make. As time ticks by and the days before Christmas become fewer, so does the time you may have to sit in front of your machine and create.  Here’s one quick idea to help you with those last minute creative gifts. Scarves are hot and very simple to make. This Infinity Scarf, featuring FreeSpirit Prince Charming Voile by Tula Pink, will take you less than an hour. 

So rev up your machine and get sewing one, three or a dozen . . . perfect for the tween or teen or any lady in your life! Click here to get started!

Next Project- Acacia Floor Cushion!



 

Happy Friday- I hope everyone has their sewing projects lined up for the weekend! Here's another to add to you list: the Pieced Floor Cushion Cover by blogger Amanda Hall (check out her blog at http://thecraftjunky.blogspot.com/). This pillow using Tula Pink's Acacia will give any room some extra spunk!

Click HERE for the instructions!

To continue the National Sewing Month Celebration, a new free project!

I hope everyone has been celebrating National Sewing Month accordingly and started on some great new sewing projects!  We want to continue inspiring you to rev up your machine and make some fun and easy projects using beautiful FreeSpirit fabrics!  This tutorial is the second of four in our National Sewing Month feature.  Thanks Jacey Lucas for this great project.  Visit her blog at http://jaceycraft.blogspot.com.

 

This is a simple sewing project, and the resulting café curtain will add color and fun to any room! The finished curtain in this tutorial is 42” L x 15” W and uses Erin McMorris' awesome collection Astrid. Click the picture below to get started!

DOVECOTE by Tina Givens

There’s never a lull in the beautiful fabrics our designers keep turning out, collection after collection. With such a great team of artists, you're bound to find a collection that suits your tastes and personality. Today, we highlight Tina Givens’ Dovecote.

“Flutter by in play feathered dove, Around your chamber of velvet, High in the sky. Your company is true and sublime as you dance Before mine eyes. My head soars as you fly and glide For love and in joy. I soften in thanks as I see thee graceful wing Allowing your beauty to rest upon. The air begins to soften, and pink blush on your wing Glitters by. Drift to slumber and stillness my love, the quiet of Your Dovecote in peace and joy.” Tina Givens

Tina explains the inspiration behind this collection. “I do find inspiration in all parts of my life. Being as busy as I am, I make sure I have a constant supply of imagery coming my way, whether in books, online or outdoors on my hikes. And came across an amazing image of a French pigeon with a sprout of amazing head feathers. I carried this image around me for the longest time, then forgot about my feathered friend.

One afternoon I sat on a quilt on the sidelines of the normal day activity of soccer practice for my John – I noticed a beautiful weathered Dovecote. This was a pigeon dovecote the nearby neighbors had apparently planned but it looked abandoned. As I sat there with intended paperwork for the 90 minutes in the late afternoon sun my attention focuses on a pair of doves who’d apparently made a home in the dovecote. They were darling and floated about, he left and returned and she playfully kissed him and took food indoors to her little brood. All the while my French pigeon had stirred my imagination yet again. Thus I wrote the above poem and sketched and played in color. Inspiration does come from everywhere. You just need to watch for it. “

Dovecote is arriving in quilt shops this month. Now it’s your turn to be inspired and make these beautiful prints shine with your creative touch.  Tina provides a place to start with her Framed Applique Art project available as a free download- Click Here!