Dad will love this big, warm Pendleton wool blanket with its own handy canvas tote. It's the perfect compact companion to take to his favorite sporting event. The Chinook pattern is a Pendleton classic, an authentic Indian design adapted from petroglyphs found in the Columbia Gorge. When the weather breaks or the game is over, roll up the blanket, wrap it and latch it, and he's good to go. Dad could even use it to wave over his head when celebrating a touchdown or goal... in the event he's left his giant foam finger at home.

Put your feet up and ponder this age-old question: what's the difference between a footstool and an ottoman? Besides the fact that an ottoman sounds way fancier than a footstool, the only real differences are: 1) an ottoman is always upholstered (footstools needn't be), and 2) sometimes an ottoman has another job: large ones fill in as coffee tables and hollow ones can open up and act as storage boxes. Our ottoman was a favorite kitty perch and had definitely seen better days. Why buy new when you can make a simple cover? Home décor sewing to the rescue!

Welcome to the first of our Turquoise 2010 projects. We're celebrating the many shades of this great blue-green blend all year, and what better place to start than the turquoise of a classic Native American design. You could make this type of bound blanket with any combination of fabrics, but what makes ours so gorgeous is the classic Pendleton wool and the surprise texture of its coordinated corduroy binding. The beautiful weave of Pendleton wool makes their fabric striking from both the front and the back, and with this type of binding, you can display it either way to dramatic effect.

You'll see from our instructional photos below that we made this jazzy ironing board cover while working in our booth at January's CHA Craft Super Show. So I don't want to hear any more whining about having no time and no space to sew. This tutorial is proof positive you can have success in the smallest of areas. An ironing board cover might seem like a rather mundane project, but think about it – you look at your ironing board a lot. Wouldn't it be easier on the eyes if it had a cheery cover?

This cuddly plush throw is framed with patchwork and pom poms. Even if you've never tried the quilting technique of patchwork, you can totally make this project. The fun part is picking all the squares – 72 of them in this case. It's like coloring with fabric; you mix and match, combining colors and patterns from square to square. The Heather Bailey Pop Garden & Bijoux fabrics we used create a vibrant and playful border, but you could shuffle your choices to be more subdued or even more zany. You know what I did once? I cut out my squares, then tossed them all up in the air, and picked them up in random groups. I stitched the groups together exactly as I'd found them. Kind of the '52 Card Pickup' of sewing.