Octagons and Squares Mystery Project 2024

The first Mystery project of 2024 for the Sip Tea and EPP party is almost here! This time around, Irina and I have something special for you: we are going to introduce you to the lesser-known but equally delightful EPP shapes. Say goodbye to the usual hexagons and diamonds, because we will be exploring octagons and squares!

Prepare all your supplies and get ready to discover how to create practical and sweet makes that will beautifully complement our previous sewing projects. We believe that when it comes to making sewing accessories, there is always room for more! In this blog post you will find out about all the supplies and fabric choices you need for this exciting project.

Sip Tea and EPP Party 2024

Welcome to the 6th season of the Sip Tea and EPP party! Can you believe it’s been six wonderful years already? Time flies when we are sewing together! Over the years, we have been sharing our passion for English Paper Piecing (EPP) and hand sewing, and building an incredible community along the way. This is the fourth year that we (Irina @nordiccrafter and I, Larisa @stitchingnotes) are hosting the party together! It’s been an amazing journey, and we are thrilled to begin another year of sewing together with you.

Our party is back on the 18th of January, and we start the year with a sneak peek at our plans and a few small changes coming your way this season as well as an introduction of the party to new people.

Tutorial: Hello, Kloosha! Easter Ornament

With just a few days before Easter you still have time to make this cute chicken ornament that is perfect for hanging on your Easter tree or using it as a charming decoration in your home. The best part is, all you need is a small piece of fabric and some embroidery floss to make this sweet chicken. So why not give it a try and bring a smile to your face this Easter season!

Here's what you'll need:

• 2 pieces 5" x 5.5" of lightweight or medium weight linen or quilting cotton in natural colour
• Embroidery floss in dark brown, red, yellow, pink and green
• Embroidery needles
• Soft fill
• Sewing accessories
• Optional: A small piece of ribbon or string if you want to make a hanging ornament

NOTE: The bottom of the chicken is rounded so it won't stand upright on its own. However, after you finish your chicken, you can gently push the bottom in to give it a flatter bottom so it can stand leaning against something or even on its own. If you would like to turn this ornament into a pincushion, you can fill the bottom part with rice.

1. To start, download and print out the chicken template at the bottom of this page. Cut out the template.

2. Put two pieces of linen right sides together. Centre the template on sandwiched pieces, pin it and trace it with a water/heat removable pen. Mark the opening.

3. Set the stitch length to 1.8 (or the one shorter than you sew with) on your machine and stitch on the marked line. Backstitch the start and the end of the seam.

4. Trim the seam allowance to about 1/8" and clip the curves and corners.

5. Carefully turn the chicken right side out, pushing all the corners out gently. Using a small amount of soft fill, fill the chicken until it's plump and firm. Do not overstuff it.

6. Sew the opening closed by hand with a Ladder stitch.

7. Use a running stitch and two strands of brown embroidery floss to trace the shape of the chicken on both sides. Then use two strands of red floss and long straight stitches to add the comb, two strands of yellow floss to add the beak. For the eye use brown floss and Colonial knots.

Optional: You can add flowers on the side of the chicken. For the flowers I used two strands of floss and used a Lazy Daisy stitch and Colonial knots.

Here you have it a cute chicken Easter ornament. You can easily enlarge the pattern and make chickens of various sizes. You can add a ribbon loop if you would like to hang your chicken on a tree. Happy sewing and happy Easter!

Larisa xo

Pink Paws Bunny Hanging Ornament

Easter is just around the corner, and it's the perfect time to add some sweetness to your home decor with a delightful felt bunny ornament. This simple, yet charming and fun project is sure to brighten up your day and make you smile. Whether you are an experienced crafter or just starting out, this is a perfect make for anyone who loves crafting and decorating for the holiday season. So why not grab your materials, get comfortable, and let's make something sweet together!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

As the Winter Mystery Project Sew Along comes to an end, I cannot help but feel grateful for the joy and excitement it brought to me over the last three weeks. From the very start, my dear friend and co-host Irina and I wanted to share some happiness and mystery with all of you. We wanted to create a special experience that would leave you feeling intrigued and uplifted, would help you learn new skills in an easy way, and hopefully would help you make new friends along the way and so the idea of the Mystery Project Sew Along was born. This Sew Along was planned for the autumn of the last year, and even though the prototype of the basket was made, we had to postpone it till winter due to many personal reasons and the challenges of this design as we were not convinced it was suitable for the beginner sewists.

Winter Mystery Project Sew Along WEEK 2

Welcome to Week 2 of the Winter Mystery Project Sew Along for Sip Tea and EPP hosted by Larisa @stitchingnotes and Irina @nordiccrafter. Sewing together is always fun and we are incredibly happy that many of you were able to join this SAL! We are delighted seeing all of your beautiful patchwork panels popping in our feeds! Well done everybody for keeping up with us and thank you so much for trusting us to lead you on this adventure!

Winter Mystery Project Sew Along WEEK 1...

 ...is finally here! Irina and I are thrilled to be sharing this new adventure with you again! By now you should have picked some fabrics for this project, most importantly 24 (or 12) prints of quilting cotton as we are going to be using them first. If you need more help with choosing your fabrics, please read our previous blog posts here.