Wrenly...

Well, Christmas is just around the corner....we went Christmas Tree hunting this weekend. Such a fun tradition to do with the family. I can't remember a Christmas since I was a kid that we didn't go out to get a tree. My brother was in the forest service one summer and would find amazing trees for us to try and go back and find in the winter.Great memories....

With the season of giving upon us I find all the wrapping paper to be a waste....not for the kids of course it is a child's love of ripping paper off a gift that can just make you smile. But for my friends and my mom I love to create re-usable wrapping....

I have a few ideas for you.....

This is a perfect small gift box made out of paper and fabric.... you could do it out of all fabric or all paper if you want. I love the mixture.

Here is a free download for this little box.... Download FabricGiftBoxes-web-1 part two 

Download FabricGiftBoxes-web-2

I also love to just take a piece of fabric and use it as wrapping paper around a present and tie with yarn. Especially for the fabric addict....

A couple of Sewing Cards that I love for wrapping are Petal Pouches and Project Bags.

These can be made in lots of sizes...

I love to make these for my knitter friends and put yummy skein of yarn inside.

My studio is calling me...I am in the middle of PURGING....my husband reminded me that I always go through a purge after I finish a new collection and before the sample yardage of the next collection comes into the studio. I can't believe I get so many ideas when I clean the studio as much as I really don't like cleaning.....

I have 6 more bundles of Wrenly Christmas to give away...a little gift for you! If you have left a comment your number is in the mix or comment and get it in there again....

Have a great day!

XO

Valori

Wrenly on a Tuesday...

Good afternoon... the past week has been full of drawing and inking the new collection. I am completely in love with it! Always feels good when that happens... But let's go back to Wrenly Christmas...

Do you remember making those paper chains in elementary school? I thought it would be fun to make them out of fabric....last longer, something the kids can still make with me and the fabric is perfect for it.

The amount of fabric you need will depend on the length of the chain.

Two fat 1/4's will yield - Approximately 28 strips that are 1 1/4" wide by 9" long. Once they are put together they will be approximately 72"

You will need a fusible to put in between the fat 1/4's plus enough for 28 1" x 1" pieces.

All you have to do to make this cute chain is fuse together two fat 1/4's.

Cut into 1 1/4" x 9" pieces.

To start the chain press a 1" piece of fusible web onto the inside end of the strip. Fold over and press the front of the other end onto the fusible. Wala...a chain....

Continue this process adding strips to the chain.

That's it...easy and fun. To add to the fun here is a recipe for my friend Vaunel's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies... We make these every year, my husbands favorite!!!

Download Chocolatechippumpkincookies and the download for your recipe box...

Well, back to designing....have a great day!

XO

Valori

Gift Bird Ornament.....

AAHHH.....tomorrow I leave for International Quilt Market in Houston, TX. I have to admit having the deadline earlier for my booth to ship allows me a weekish to get other things done and not be so stressed out. Well, maybe not stressed out but BUSY and a little anxious.

I thought I would share a fun Christmas Ornament that I made out of Wrenly's Christmas. She is too cute. Simple project with a little pocket for a perfect Christmas treasure.....

Download Gift Bird Ornament

Here is the printable pattern.....Pictures included as well as the template for the bird.

If anyone is at market my booth is 1708....come by and see me!!!

Have a great day!!!!

XOXO

Valori

Wrenly Christmas.... Drawing...

Folding bundles today and I had Teague help me pick numbers. There have been 44 comments. Six have been drawn out. Keep commenting all of the other names or numbers are still in the bowl.
I will be emailing the winners today during nap time. Hope you have a great Sunday. New Christmas ideas coming soon!
XO
Valori

Wrenly's Christmas.....

Hello my friends.....I have missed a week of Christmas so today I have two wonderful things to show you.... Last week I finished up a marathon of photo shoots for my new collection of fabric coming out this fall, Novella.

On Saturday night we did a photo shoot called Indigo Nights.....based on the palette in Novella called Indigo. I had all my wonderful friends come over to my assistant, Sondy's, house for an evening to remember. It was amazing and I will give more details when I can share the photos.....now the reason I was telling you this is because I made my Roasted Butternut Squash soup.....there were lots of requests for the recipe.

I decided it was the perfect recipe to share in Wrenly's Christmas......

This is a great soup for any occasion. I also have changed it slightly when I took out the butternut squash, added a couple more potatoes and broccoli. It makes a yummy broccoli potato soup. I don't roast the broccoli but put it in the last 15 minutes before you blend it. Sprinkle with some cheddar cheese and it is ready to go.

For your holiday needs you might want to include the Wrenly Christmas Table runner.....

This table runner came from one of my sewing cards....

Along with the table runner you can always use napkins. I have the perfect simple napkin pattern for you. Not sure I would call it a pattern but a project. Take a fat 1/4, 18" x 22" and square it up to 18" x 18". Then pull the strings from the edges until you get about a 1/4" of fringe around the entire napkin. Clean up the edges with scissors or a rotary cutter and WA-LA! Napkin......they wash up great and don't continue to fray. Wonderful!!!

Great gift too!!! They are time consuming but worth it.

Tomorrow is Teagues's 3rd birthday....Poor guy is fighting a bad cold too! If he is still sick tomorrow I am going to have to cancel his little party. I am hoping that after his nap today he will feel better.

Hopefully next week I will not have as many issues and can actually get to posting on Friday for Wrenly's Christmas.....I am going to be sending out 6 bundles of Wrenly's Christmas on Friday.....so get your comments in. And  not to worry there will be 6 more bundles in November.....

XO

Valori

Wrenly's Christmas project Mitered Flange Pillows....

Friday was such a productive day for me.....getting a dress made for a photo shoot, quilting on a quilt, doing a post for Wrenly's Christmas.....going to a office party with my husband. Then I woke up in the middle of the night and realized that I didn't publish my Wrenly's Christmas......so here is Friday's post on Saturday.....

Sometimes all we need is a little redecorating to put us in the mood for the holidays. I have decided that changing the pillows is a perfect way to change a room.

I love the flange, mitered pillow because you can play with different fabrics. Doesn't Wrenly look like the perfect little birdy waiting for Christmas.....

I have a really simple pattern for the pillows that I thought I would share. Get a jump start on holiday decorating.

I hope you have a great weekend.....We have been dealing with a nasty fire around here. The smoke is horrible in the morning but tends to lift by the afternoon. At this point our shop is still on alert to evacuate if the fire gets much closer to town but the AMAZING fire crews up there are keeping it at bay. Unfortunatley this fire will be a problem until we get some really heavy rain or our first big snow storm. There is so much fuel inside the fire line that will just gradually burn. Our beautiful forrest! So sad....

Have a great day!
XOXO

Valori

Wrenly's 12 days of Christmas....

Happy Friday!!!

A year ago I introduced Wrenly....my spring 2011 collection of fabric. She was a big hit and I thought that she would make great holiday fabric. This spring Wrenly arrived in Holiday fashion......I believe you can't have a great collection of Christmas fabric without great projects...

Since there are 12 Wrenly christmas prints I figured we needed to have the 12 days of Christmas....featuring Wrenly. Starting today....and continuing for the next 11 Friday's I will be sharing Christmas ideas, projects, decorating ideas, quilts (of course) and recipes! Along with that I will be collecting comments and giving away 12 bundles of the entire Wrenly's Christmas collection.....

Today I thought I would introduce you to the 12 patterns of Wrenly....

Wren - Pine

Wren - Snow

Ingrid - Pine

Ingrid - Snow

Wildfield - Pine

Wildfield - Cranberry

Rosette - Pine

Rosette - Snow

Rosette - Cranberry

BoHo Stripe - Pine

BoHo Stripe - Snow

BoHo Stripe - Cranberry

Now to show you a quilt that uses all 12 pieces. I do think they stand on their own quite well, of course depending on what you do with them. I just love how they all came together in this quilt - Christmas Rosalie...

Rosalie is a sewing card I introduced last spring.....with Cocoon on the cover. The pattern comes with both sizes of hexagons. The cover uses the bigger size and the Christmas quilt uses the smaller size. Both are beautiful!

Rosalie in Cocoon.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I am off to get the cabin set up for our art retreat! YEAH!!!

XOXO

Valori