24
Feb

Riley Blake Designs Josie Mae Bonnet

Josie Mae Bonnet Pattern from The Cottage Mama. Fabric is Farm Girl by October Afternoon for Riley Blake Designs.

Today I’m excited to share the Josie Mae Bonnet that I created from one of my current favorite fabric lines, Farm Girl by October Afternoon for Riley Blake Designs. I can’t get enough of this line, every single print is just precious and perfect for so many different projects. I pretty much have all the prints from the collection (if you remember my On the Cutting Table post from last week). I was just telling my mom that I love everything that October Afternoon creates when it comes to fabrics. Their designs are classic, but are always so well suited for children’s clothing and projects. There is just something about their design aesthetic that makes my heart go pitter-patter.
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22
Feb

Janey Jumper Scallop Tutorial

Check out this awesome Janey Jumper Scallop Tutorial from The Cottage Mama!

I have been dreaming about creating this version of the Janey Jumper Pattern for a long time. I always have all these ideas, but actually putting my ideas to fabric doesn’t always work out. I’m so glad I finally found the time to create the vision that has been in my head. Today’s tutorial will show you how to create this horizontal scallop overlay on the top of the Janey Jumper. This is also how I create scallops on just about everything I sew, so if you are looking for a basic scallop tutorial…..look no further! The tutorial is assuming that you own the Janey Jumper Sewing Pattern. If you don’t, you can check out the pattern HERE. So let’s get started………

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16
Feb

Modern Sewciety Podcast: The Cottage Mama

Modern Sewciety Podcast Interview: Lindsay Wilkes from The Cottage Mama

Several weeks back I chatted with Stephanie from Modern Sewciety. Modern Sewciety is a wonderful free podcast where they talk to all sorts of people in the sewing, quilting, fabric industry…….designers, fabric shops, quilters, bloggers….you name it! I just wanted to let you know that my podcast (episode 85) is up and ready for listening over at Modern Sewciety. I had such a fantastic time talking with Stephanie about all sorts of things…….how I started The Cottage Mama, balancing business and family life, what’s in store for The Cottage Mama this next year and the list goes on. We really had such a great chat. I’m pretty sure if we lived closer to one another, we would be fast friends.

It’s kind of a lengthy interview, but if you ever wanted to know a little bit more about the woman behind The Cottage Mama, this gives you a pretty good sense of me (in a nutshell). So grab a cup of coffee, tea (or whatever your beverage of choice might be) and head over to Modern Sewciety to listen to an hour long chat with me, Lindsay Wilkes, from The Cottage Mama!

Click HERE to check out the podcast!

15
Feb

Lessons with Lindsay: Getting Creative with Trims

Great video tutorial by Lindsay Wilkes from The Cottage Mama on Getting Creative with Trims!

Today I’ve got a brand new Lessons with Lindsay video tutorial discussing all about Getting Creative with Trims. If you’ve been following The Cottage Mama for any amount of time, you probably know about my passion and love for trims when creating projects and especially, children’s garments. I’m excited to share with you some tips and tricks about incorporating trims into your garments as well as how to create unique, one-of-a-kind trim. You don’t want to miss this video! It’s a great little peek into my creative process. Hopefully it will inspire you to start playing with trims!

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10
Feb

On the Cutting Table: Fabric

Pretty Fabrics from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

It’s been awhile since I’ve done an ‘On the Cutting Table’ post. The truth is, there hasn’t been a ton on the cutting table this last year due to this and that. But 2016 is a new year and there are lots of fun exciting things on the horizon for The Cottage Mama! This last week I received a box of fabric from Riley Blake Designs for some upcoming projects. Riley Blake designers always create the most adorable fabrics. Seriously. It just doesn’t get a whole lot cuter than these……..

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8
Feb

Tooth Fairy Pillows

Adorable Tooth Fairy Pillows on The Cottage Mama

I wanted to share these darling Tooth Fairy Pillows that my mom (Grandma Jane) created for Savannah and Matilda. We just absolutely love how they turned out. I think, as of now, Savannah has lost 8 teeth and Matilda has lost 6. They have had quite a few visits from the Tooth Fairy. Mom said she’s planning on making a boy version of the Tooth Fairy Pillow for Caspian soon since it won’t be long before he loses his first tooth!

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1
Feb

Girls Chandelier Makeover

Girls Chandelier Makeover. This is SO cute! From The Cottage Mama

When we purchased the New Cottage Home, there were not a lot of things in the house that I wanted to save……especially in the lighting and wallpaper department. As I’ve mentioned before, this home was a foreclosure and the previous owners left years before we purchased the home back when the bank took possession. The old owners had taken all the things they wanted when the house was foreclosed on…….i.e. all the shelving in the closets, pantry and other things.

The fixtures were very outdated, rusted and old and there was a really ‘unique’ antler chandelier in the great room. And I know there can be some gorgeous antler chandeliers, but this was not one of them. The room that the old owners were using as a dining room, we decided to use as our formal living / music room and we moved the dining room to a larger space. There was a chandelier in the dining room that I actually liked the shape, but it was shiny brass and the crystals looked like plastic (it hadn’t been cleaned in a very long time). Anyway, rather than getting rid of that chandelier, I decided I would try my hand at making it over for my two oldest girls, Savannah and Matilda. I figured, if it didn’t turn out, no biggie, we’d just buy a fixture for their room, but it would be fun to try!

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27
Jan

Patchwork Baby Bibs for Josephine

Patchwork Quilted Baby Bib Pattern. www.thecottagemama.com

My mom (aka Grandma Jane) is amazing. She sews more in a year, than I think most people sew in 10. It helps that she retired almost two years ago and has time to really sew, but even when she was working full time, she always amazed me with the amount of projects she could finish in such a small amount of time.

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25
Jan

Lessons with Lindsay: How to Gather Fabric

Lessons with Lindsay: How to Gather Fabric. Check out this great video to learn how to gather fabric on your sewing machine and serger!

It’s that time again…….another Lessons with Lindsay sponsored by Baby Lock Sewing and Embroidery Machines. On today’s Lessons with Lindsay: How to Gather Fabric, you will learn traditional gathering techniques as well as how to use a ruffler attachment for a traditional sewing machine and how to gather using a gathering foot on your serger.

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21
Jan

Cottage Quilt Block Pattern

Cottage Quilt Block Pattern by Lindsay Wilkes from The Cottage Mama

I just received this Cottage Quilt Block back in the mail last week. I don’t know if I mentioned it here, but last year my sewing machine sponsor (Baby Lock) flew me to Iowa to film two episodes of the PBS show Fons and Porter ‘Love of Quilting’ with Mary Fons. A few of you have emailed and said that you saw my episodes (yay!). Surprisingly I haven’t seen them myself. Unfortunately, our PBS station doesn’t pick up the sewing shows, but hopefully I’ll get a copy someday and can check it out……..or not……..it’s always so strange to hear myself talk.

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