As a kid I used to hate flying kites because mine never got off the ground. My brother’s kites would be way up in the sky and mine would be broken before the first hour was up. Sniff, sniff, poor me! But hey, now I have nine kites that are flying across one quilt. They are up so high in the sky that they are flying with the birds. Yea me! This pattern was my Mom’s idea. Good idea Mom!
I don’t know if it is a good thing or a bad thing to always be changing the type of patterns I create and publish. I just love it all. Sometimes I’m in the mood for fast piecing. Other times I’m in a silly kid mood, and want to create whimsical applique. Other times I’m feeling practical and I create totes, place mats, and accessory bags. This week I’ve been into paper piecing, and I have a new star design. It will be available this week on Craftsy as a download. This project was so much fun; however, my graphic design person is not going to be happy when he sees the diagram I will need for the paper piecing instructions. ( Love you Sean!) I’m thinking that I might have to turn this star block into a pocket on a tote bag now. Back to the studio I go!
If you have ever had a teen age girl’s in your house, you will understand the need for our new Nail Salon in a Bag pattern. Anytime I would sit down at a table in our home, or go to dust the coffee tables end tables, I would have to grab a container to gather up all the nail polish so I could carry it upstairs and dump it in our daughter’s room. Then anytime someone in the family needed a pair of nail clippers or a finger nail file, it became a massive game of hide and seek, or should I re-name the game as seek and seek, and possible buy again. So I came up with a stylish bag that holds it all. It has 10 pockets for nail polish, open space for other items like polish remover, and a tool mate for holding clippers and files. Now I have two cute clutches that sit on our two coffee tables, and when someone asks for nail clippers or a file, I smile and say, “in the bag.” Mom is happy once again!
This pattern has 27 step by step diagrams, for those of us who are visual. There are lots of words too for those who like to read instructions. Check it out at www.ameliescott.com.
Wow! A lot has been going on at Amélie Scott Designs. We have just released 3 new patterns and we have two more coming out very shortly. Plus, half of our staff has either started college or is in their senior year, and that has been a huge change around here. Katie designed a cute draw-string bag. We decided to name it Katie’s Draw-string Bag, because everyone around the studio kept referring to it as “Katie’s project”. The bag is fully lined, and has great diagrams thanks to Sean in our graphic design department. Check out the photo below!
I want to show you what I did with the Scrappy Bali Bag. I took Anita Good Design’s Asian Quilt Embroidery Cd, and embroidered a yard of fabric with the beautiful scalloped block design onto a blue batik fabric. There were 24 blocks all together. I used the wisteria design for the pocket. Then I just assembled the Scrappy Bali Bag according to the instructions. I call it the Silky Bali Bag. If you want detailed instructions, email us. www.christine@ameliescott.com. Tell me you saw it on our blog.
I tried a product by Superior Threads called Charlotte’s Web. It is a fusible thread that you wind in the bobbin. Then you put their Monopoly thread in the top. Any color will do because it will come out. Trace your applique design onto the right side of the fabric with a water soluble marker. Then stitch around the design with the fusible in the bobbin. Cut the design out close to the stitching, and press onto your background fabric. The top thread will loosen and you can pull it right out. All you have under the fabric is a thin outline of glue from the bobbin thread.
I made a very layered applique puppy quilt that will premier in Spring. I used this method around tiny little puppy noses, and eyeballs, and it worked beautifully. The quilt top is so soft and bendable, unlike a fusible web product that can become stiff.
Give it a try sometime. You can go to www.superiorthreads.com and watch a video on this product. I love Superior Threads! 
By Marcia Brown
Congrats to Marcia Brown who did her own spin on Pan Pipes and entered it into the Hoffman Challenge. Sadly, it didn’t win, but it did make it as one of the traveling exhibits which is HUGE since they have so many entries. Be sure to look for it at the International Quilt Festivals!
Hey, it’s Sean from Amelie Scott and we’re dying from the heat, so what better time to put out a snowflake-themed pattern called Let it Snow! It’s basically three patterns in one, and includes instructions for a pillow, a placemat, and a stocking. Order it now so you can have plenty of handmade decorations in time for Christmas.
We are real excited at Amélie Scott. We are about to release a new contemporary Christmas pattern with three projects. We spent all day photographing the projects. It always amazes me that it can take all day to photograph three items, but it truly takes that long. We even made iced sugared Christmas cookies for the shoot. Mmmm, they were good too. Pattern should be available end of July.
Amélie Scott has gone country. I made strawberry jam for the first time, from strawberries I pick this morning. Last year it was all about pie. Hmmm, this year there might be a jam theme brewing. I feel like such a country gal. Got to rosin up the bow and put some cakes on the griddle now. 
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