At the beginning of the year, we created eleven Valentines Day projects, and of course, had to include a little something for our furry friends. Coming in at #17, these organic catnip mice were purrfect in every way. Ours were made from Valentine-themed charm pack squares, but you could just as easily dip into your scrap bag for little bits and pieces. We sensed early on that these were destined to be a kitty-crowd-pleaser because Alicia had oodles of feline assistance during their construction.

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Our Nature Brights Kitchen series from February of 2010 was a huge hit. Using Patty Young's wonderfully vibrant Flora & Fauna Collection by Michael Miller Fabrics, we designed ten tutorials to fill the brightest, happiest kitchen ever. These clever dish towels made it on to our list at Fave position #18, because they allow you to start with something off-the-shelf and add your own sewn touches to make it unique. We took plain white towels from Crate and Barrel, then added one, two, three stripes of color. Two narrow bands highlight a center swath of patterned fabric. An easy touch that adds some zing. S4H fans voted these the perfect gift idea.

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In the Spring of this year, we created a small series called Sweet Softies, and little Eggy Pop was the star. Eggy still lives right next to my computer, because stuffed animals make me happy. I can glance over at Eggy when I'm having a bad day or when someone has shot down another one of my 'spectacular' ideas, and there he sits. Always calm, always smiling. Nubby chenille combines with the smooth, retro-inspired cotton of Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane for a sweet and soft vintage look, like a treasured toy you might have found in Grandma's attic. The super-plush minky we used for his hands, feet, legs, top knot and beak make him irresistibly squeezable. Don't you need your own darling Eggy to keep you company?!

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Making it onto our "Faves" list as number 20 is nothing to sneeze at, especially given that we've posted hundreds of articles since our launch. I think the appeal of this beautiful journal, covered in elegant French General Rouenneries in Turkey Red Josephine, is our subconscious desire for a bit of the analog in an increasingly digital world. It's probably ironic writing that sentence on a website, huh? No matter; try it for yourself. Turn a plain spiral notebook into your own inspiring journal with our step-by-step instructions. From March of 2010, this project is a bit more advanced than many you'll find here at Sew4Home, but there are lots of pictures and careful notes about measuring and assembling.

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Thanks to everyone who signed up for our S4H mail list in order to be automatically entered to win our fun Fresh Cottons prize package, courtesy of Joanna Figueroa. As promised, we randomly drew a name at midnight on August 16th, and the winner was... Shirley Chaney of Delaware. Pre-cuts and patterns are on their way to her this week from Joanna. Shirley says, "I have never won anything before, and I'm very proud of this prize." Congrats, Shirley. We have more contests planned for the coming months. Stay tuned!

Eeeek! Thinking about Halloween in August! But, when it comes to seasonal fabrics... you snooze, you lose. By the time October rolls around, the most bootiful and ghoulish fabrics mysteriously disappear off shelves in a puff of smoke only to be replaced with holiday fabric. If you like it, snag it now, and put it in the crypt until you're ready to sew your frightful creations.

We introduced you to Jo Packham last month when we told you about The Creative Connection, a must-go-to event this September 15th through the 18th. When she's not working with Nancy Soriano, putting together one of the year's coolest events for creative women, she's wearing her editor hat at Where Women Create magazine. Each issue of this unique quarterly publication invites you into the inspirational spaces of some of the most extraordinary women of our time. It is filled with gorgeous photography and beautiful stories about what motivates these women to create such incredible art, craft, stories, music, dance, and more. And I mean filled... like Alice in Wonderland, I want to step through the pages right into the rooms.

Shopping for back-to-school is almost a rite of passage. You must have at least one new sweater to wear. Because even if the thermometer still reads in the 80s, the beads of sweat are worth the fashion statement. But this year, many of us are on a pretty tight budget. So before buying a complete wardrobe, maybe you should check and see if there are some items you could re-make and re-use. Brush up on your fix-it skills with our basic sewing tutorials, and put a new spin on some rough-around-the-edges favorites.

I used to watch the TV show, ER and think, "I could do that." Not be an actual, real-life doctor. But I could wear a white coat and stethoscope and yell, "Get me a C-Spine, Chem 7, and a V-Fib!" I have no idea what any of those terms mean. They're just fun to say. Well, now I've discovered one of the medical devices I saw Dr. Greene use every week can be a big help in my sewing room. It's called a hemostat, and it's basically a locking clamp shaped like a long pair of scissors. (Probably what Dr. Greene wanted when he yelled, "Clamp!") A hemostat is extremely useful when you need to turn long, narrow tubes right side out.

A charming collection of country-modern prints from Bari J for Windham Fabrics, a Blissfully sweet and inspiring collection from Moda, and Fig Tree Quilts has yet another gorgeous collection as uplifting as morning sunshine. That's what Sew4Home loves in August. Make something pretty!

Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree Quilts says: "Hello Sew4Home readers! I am so impressed with all of the wonderful projects the ladies over here have done with my newest fabric collection, Fresh Cottons, over the last few weeks, WOW! I was seriously tempted to make some of them myself and that just hardly ever happens. The look was so elegant and so vintage and so fresh, well it was Fresh Vintage ™ if you will! To finish things off, I thought I would add a few goodies and send a lucky winner a little care package of Fig Tree patterns and some Fresh Cottons fabric. Best of luck to you all!"

Ruffles. Bet you can't use them just once. We've added ruffles to a number of recent projects, and so thought we'd take the time to talk about the accessory that makes our ruffling easier and faster: the Ultimate Ruffler from Janome. This attachment is designed to work with any machine that can accept a snap-on presser foot, which means you don't have to have a Janome. Other machine manufacturers make similar attachments, which work in the same way. It's time to go from flat to frilly.

I had a personal decorating challenge I recently overcame, which I thought would be a dandy one to share. Chances are slim that you will have this exact same challenge, but you just might face something similar. We made the decision to move our bed into the center of our bedroom, allowing us a lovely view out the front windows. Yikes! The back of the bed's headboard was definitely not meant to be seen by anyone other than the wall. What to do? A lovely flat fabric curtain panel buttoned on to a row of simple drawer pulls allowed me to hide the unsightly frame and mattress and add a great blast of color and pattern to the room. I bet you have something you might want to hide.

With our focus on kids and birthdays this week, I found myself dwelling on fabric designed for children. Kids have an amazing, and often vivid memory for details of clothing, bedding, curtains, books and wallpaper. Ever try to skip a page when reading a book to a child? I can still visualize the circus wallpaper in my room that my mother tells me was gone by the time I was three. The light aqua background and colorful tents and animals left its mark, and I'm still partial to the mix of pale aqua with brights. It makes me realize that choosing fabrics your child likes may create a life-long happy memory.

What's the biggest day of the year for any kid? His or her birthday! It's the one day of the year to be the center-of-attention... no questions asked. Our summertime birthday celebration has a colorful, Day At The Beach theme and is a perfect choice for either a boy or a girl turning about four, five or even six. It seems everywhere you turn these days, you find those paper and plastic sets of cheesy decorations and party favors with grinning television and movie characters to tempt your little one. Enough already! We found our initial inspiration in the vivid designs of Patty Young's new Playdate collection from Michael Miller Fabrics. When you create your own decorations and take-home gifts, you throw a party that is more memorable, more unique, and more green, because nearly all the elements are reusable.

We just wrapped up a series of seven awesome Baby Gifts, using the beautiful Pretty Bird collection by Pillow & Maxfield for Michael Miller Fabrics. Now that you have them all made and ready to present to your expecting friends and family, we have a few more ideas on how to go the extra step and create the ultimate Baby Shower Power Gifts. Use a green wrapping idea, bundle-up some unique accessory sets, and create a clever presentation. We've also collected some of our favorite past baby gift projects to add to the mix.

I always assumed that 100% cotton fabrics were the 'good guys' of the textile world – all fresh and natural. It's only recently that I've learned that cotton covers 2.5% of the world's cultivated land, yet uses roughly 25% of the world's pesticides – more than any other single major crop. Yikes!

Surprisingly, until World War II, cotton had been grown successfully for more than 5000 years without the aid of chemicals by planting at lower densities, rotating with other crops, and considering pest cycles in planting and harvesting. After World War II, things were different. Neurotoxins such as DDT were considered to be a cheap way of controlling pests, and dependence on chemicals became the rule.

The good news is that organic cotton crops are increasing. According to the Organic Exchange Farm and Fiber Report 2009, organic cotton is now grown in 22 countries worldwide, with India being the top producer. Organic fiber sales in the United States grew more than 10 percent over the previous year. Today, unlike just a few years ago, organic cottons have found a growing spot on fabric shop shelves. And, they are not the rustic, pale textiles you might imagine...

What is soft, pliable, and waterproof; can withstand fairly high temperatures; and holds up to a lot of use? Like me, your first guess might have been those dang swimming pool noodles you always buy too many of and then never know what to do with once summer is over. But... the real answer is: PUL, polyurethane laminate if you wish to be formal. The broad category refers to any fabric with a polyurethane laminated to a base fabric. Most common is a polyester knit fabric laminated to a thin waterproof, non-breathable polyurethane backing. Originally developed for use in the medical industry, it's very durable and very popular right now for folks making diapers, diaper covers, changing pads, bibs, training pants, and outside the world of babies, it's often used to create reusable sandwich, snack and lunch bags. As with most man-made fabrics, there are some tips and techniques that make sewing with PUL easier.

They're everywhere. Airliners have rivets. The pockets of your Levis® have rivets. Frogs make the sound, "rrriiiiiivvvet." That last example probably isn't applicable, but it kinda makes you wonder, doesn't it? Not only are rivets ubiquitous, they look super professional when used on a sewing project. Rivets also have a very logical purpose: they hold loads of thick layers together at points where it would be impossible to stitch with a sewing machine.

Coming this September, THE place to be is Minneapolis, MN at The Creative Connection.This brand-new event is as exciting as finding a twenty dollar bill on your way out of an ice cream shop. It's the brainchild of and a joint venture between Nancy Soriano and Jo Packham of Where Women Create. Jo is a good friend of mine (since she's my friend, I'd like to think Nancy is my friend by extension), and when I first heard her musings about this event, I was hooked. Sign me up and book my ticket... I'm there. It's four days of learning, crafting, bonding, laughing, shopping, meeting and succeeding with like-minded creative women, women entrepreneurs and 'Mompreneurs' from all across the country. Women. Passion. Business. All rolled-up and tied with a handmade, originally-designed, artisan-dyed bow.

Your project calls for a panel of fabric two or even three times wider than the fabric you bought at the store. No problem. You're going to sew multiple widths together to get the bigger width you need. But you can't just start cutting widths of your fabric. The pattern isn't going to match up and/or your beautiful design motif is going to end up in the wrong place on your project. Instead of wasting expensive fabric through trial and error, you need to figure out your cuts based on the fabric's design repeat.

'Matchmaker, Matchmaker, make me a match,' the girls sang in Fiddler On The Roof . They wanted husbands. But they could just as well have been singing about matching up both sides of a seam when goes through the middle of a design. Both kinds of matches can be tricky to pull off. And even worse, they're obvious to everybody when not done correctly.

For some sewing applications, there's nothing that works quite as well as a metal snap. They're easier to use than buttons and more durable than Velcro. That's why they're used in everything from mountain climbing jackets, to yacht covers, to baby clothes. Just think how long it would take an NBA player to jump up from the bench and get into the game, if he didn't have "quick release" sweat pants with snaps running up both sides. He'd probably fall into the stands trying to pull his sweats off over those big shoes. Installing snaps is pretty simple. You just take a series of tiny metal rings (which can be set up twenty wrong ways and only one right way) line them up within a millimeter of perfection, and then crush the whole assemblage together as hard as you can through several layers of fabric. What could possibly go wrong?

Father's Day is June 20th. If you haven't yet come up with any brilliant ideas for showing how much you appreciate a wonderful dad in your life, we have some suggestions. Dads can be difficult to buy for since the fun stuff they like tends to be expensive, but a gift from the heart made with your hands is appreciated by dads everywhere.

This month's selection of fabrics is very summery, warm and luxurious. Right after Quilt Market, we see so many gorgeous new collections that narrowing our picks is not easy. It's a terrific time to look for lovely new fabrics like the ones we've chosen. These collections are either fresh in inventory at your favorite fabric shops or will be very soon. We're always interested to know what new fabrics are catching your eye.

I call it, 'The Great Divide.' Your window valance needs to be 82" wide, but your home decor fabric is only 54" wide. If you just sew an additional 28" onto one side, that'll make the fabric's design repeat look totally wacky. So... do you put off sewing the valance until they come out with 82" wide fabric? No, because then you'd also have to give up sewing duvet covers, curtains, slip covers and anything else requiring fabric wider than what comes off the bolt. It's time to ask our friend, and home décor expert, Donna Babylon. She explains that when you join fabric widths to make an extra wide panel, you need to make sure it's added to either side of the center fabric piece and it's done symmetrically – the same on both sides of the center point.

If you ask traditional quilters about quilt finishing or quilting (finishing is the fancy term for creating stitches all over the quilt top to keep the layers together), they will most likely tell you the threads used for finishing should match the fibers used in the quilt itself. So, if your quilt is made of cotton fabric, all of the thread used to hold it together should also be cotton. This is good advice if you're planning to make a quilt that can stand up to a large amount of wear and tear. There are, however, a wide range of really fun textures and colors of thread available, and part of the fun of sewing is trying new things!

When I was first introduced to outdoor sewing, I have to admit I wasn't very enthusiastic about it. (And, no, I didn't think it meant taking my sewing machine outside.) Why would I want to put all the time and effort into sewing home décor items and then leave them outside in the weather? I'd seen what happens to cloth items that get left out on the deck overnight. I was missing an important piece of information. There is a whole array of great looking fabric designed to be left outside. They're called... wait for it... outdoor fabrics. If we can put a man on the moon, we can make great looking fabric that doesn't mind being outside.

It's something you might not have noticed until you started sewing. The pattern on a printed fabric is not always lined up with the grain of the fabric (the up-and-down and side-to-side direction of the thread -- the warp and weft). Back when all patterns were woven into fabrics this wasn't a problem because the weave was the pattern. But now with most patterns being printed onto the fabric after it's woven, the 'registration' can be off a little. Or a lot. And that can wreak havoc with your sewing.

Sewing is rarely taught in school any more. And for years the media have scolded 'working-parents-who-want-it-all' to forget about learning traditional skills, like sewing or baking or putting up peaches for the winter. Experts say if things continue at this rate, the knowledge of how to sew will be completely lost and our grandchildren will be making pillow covers out of pounded bark! I made up that last part for dramatic effect. But... the times they are a-changing. The ‘domestic arts' are cool again. Making something with your own two hands is a skill to be valued. Which means... it's very important that those of us who know teach other people to sew. It's fun, it saves money, and it's an amazingly creative outlet.