Pleased to Meet You!

 Is it Hop Day 10 already?? My turn to introduce myself if you are new to my blog. I am Mary Wilberg,  owner of Quilted Treasures of Rogers quilt shop. Rogers is an easy drive just 30 minutes west of Minneapolis. In addition to running Quilted Treasures, I enjoy designing quilts occasionally. My most memorable design was the"T is for Treasure" quilt that made the cover of the Fall 2005 Quilt Sampler Magazine when Quilted Treasures was recognized as a top shop.

                 

My designs usually have a traditional look, often with pieced borders incorporated into the design. You can  find other original designs on my QT Exclusives web page.

For our Minnesota Designer Blog Hop, I decided to show you  grommets , an item which has been really popular at Quilted Treasures. This is a picture of our "Grids and Grommets" purse sample. As you can see, grommets are not just for curtains! They can add function and attitude to a purse.

                                             

I designed a very quick pillow project for you to see just how fun grommets can be. No extra tools required, and they are reusable!

                                    

Supplies: 3 fat quarters,  3 grommets, and a 14" pillow form.

Step 1: Fold the two fat quarters to be used on the pillow front in half to form  rectangles 18" long and about 11" in height. Overlap the folded ends of the rectangles about 5" and pin. Trim this piece into a 14 1/2" square. (I wanted the grommets to end up on the top third of the pillow, so I trimmed away more of the green fabric than the black.) See the finished pillow above for an idea. Stitch the sides of the folded edges in place. This will become your pillow front.

Step 2: Cut the remaining fat quarter the exact size as your pillow front, and sew right sides together with pillow front. Trim corners, turn right side out and press. (No need to leave an opening, you will be turning the pillow through your folded edges.) Topstitch 3/8" from edge of pillow. Next, mark grommet lines  1" down from fold and 3/4" from topstitching on side. 

                   

  Step 1:Over lap folds 5", stitch in place.   Trim to 14 1/2".

               

   Step 2: Make pillow, topstitch and mark guidelines for outer grommets.

Step 3: To mark the grommet holes, measure the distance between your two outer marks, and mark the pillow center. Line up the edges of a grommet with drawn lines and draw a circle using the center of the grommet as your template.

             

 Use grommets to draw placement circles.  

           

 See drawn placement circles.

Step 4: Using the template in grommet package, center the template around your placement circles. Draw a new circle just outside of your first circle, using the template. This will be your cutting line.

              

  Use template to draw cutting line. 

Step 5: Cut away holes on top fabric, just inside the cutting lines you drew using the template. Lay the rimmed side of the grommet piece under the hole.

                  

 

                        

 Notice that the rim of grommet peaks through hole.

Finally, snap "tooth" part of grommets on top, insert the pillow form and presto, you have a cute pillow!

              

           

Look around you house to see if you have a window treatment that could be jazzed up. I just did a make-over on my den curtain panels that were boring and not fitting the rod. The grommets were installed so easily and I love the look. Purses, pillows, window treatments...Grommets are HOT!

Just a couple additional hints: Don't cut your holes too big! Remember to cut just inside of the template line you draw. The grommet holes will be stretched slightly with use, so it is best if you cut them just large enough for the rim to peek through. If you are using grommets in a purse, the grommets should be placed one inch or more from the top of the bag in order to wear well. Whenever possible, reinforce fabric where grommets will be placed with a light weight fusible interfacing.  Grommets come in packages of 8 and the cutting template is included.

GIVEAWAY TODAY FROM QUILTED TREASURES: I will be giving away a box of Grommets to one lucky winner. Just mention the word "grommet" in your comments to me and I will announce the winner next week. Don't forget to comment on each blog at least once, to be eligible for our blog hop grand prize!

Thanks to all hoppers for your participation in our hop! We sincerely hope you had a great time, and that you found inspiration for a future project in your "travels".

Stay tuned next week to find out if you are a Minnesota Blog Hop winner...

God Bless America-Happy Independence Day!

Mary

 

Comments

[Martha Robinson]

I love your bag and pillow made with the grommets. I recently helped a friend make window treatments using the grommets and they were such fun. I hope I win these. I can't wait to make your bag and pillow. Thanks!!

[Cathy]

Now those are some big grommets and what a really fun looking project! I love the bag too! Thank you for such a wonderful tutorial and it's great finding your blog too. I am off to peek around some more. This hop has been absolutely wonderful!

Cathy ♥

[Jo Okita]

Grommet, Grommet ...... Sounds like something a frog says after eating some of those good ol' Minnesota mosquitoes. But they do make such cool design elements.
Aloha, Jo

[Sharon S]

Wow! Grommets are really a great addition to the quilting world! This past 2 weeks have been fun! Thank you!

[Barbara York]

The grommets make a nice design element, do they need a special tool to put them on. The pillow looks good with them. I can envision a tote bag with grommets at the top.

Barbara

[Joyce]

Grommets are something new to me....can't wait to try grommets....thanks for sharing today
happy grommeting~ and quilting too :)

[Martina]

Thank you for sharing. These grommets really look great. It so good to get to know all these blogs. I had great fun and for sure will return and follow up.

[Glenda]

I love how you incorporated grommets into your pillow. They are so stylish!
Thanks for the tutorial.
glenda

[Narelle]

I have to say that I've never heard of grommets (except the ear kind), but I do like the way they look.

[Crystal Day]

I had never heard of grommets till today! What a fun use for them. The pillow looks like a great project to try. Thanks for the tutorial. This Blog hop was a lot of fun. What a great idea!!!!

[Crystal Day]

I am so glad I'm a QT eNews subscriber. My favorite blog spot for the Blog hop was ankas treasures. I loved the flower applique wall hanging. I am excited about making up the pattern. Thanks so much for letting me know about the Blog Hop.

[KarenCA]

i like the look of those grommets .. would be great on a bag ... i have enjoyed the blog hop .. learned about a lot of different things .. thanks so much ... karen ca

[Kim]

Grommet, grommet, grommet! I want some! LOL! What a fun project! I had no idea they were making big grommets now--I've seen (and used) the small ones before, but these are SOOOO decorative! Thanks!

[Mary Carole]

Grommets - Grommets - Grommets!! Does that work?
Your pillow is fantastic and doesn't look too difficult. I have never use grommets on a project.
Thanks for giving me a chance to try them out.

[Gran]

Grommets galore! I can hardly wait to try them out! Thank you for sharing your time and your talent,,,,

[Linda O]

Thank you for showing how to use grommets. This was the first I've seen on pillows. I like them. They look nice on your purse too.

[Marilyn]

And I also thought grommets were only to use to make curtains!!! I like the idea of using grommets to make purse handles.

[Helz]

Grommetts... A 'Hole' New World... Ahhh but edgey that's the thing !!! I have some fabrics in mind...

[Lil]

I never used grommets, but the idea of using them for bags is exciting

thanks for the idea

[Shirley]

Thank you for showing us another idea for using a grommet--so fashionable this year in handbags--who would have thought of a pillow!!

[Noela]

Very interesting. Never thought of using grommets in pillows or bags. Thanks for the pillow pattern.

[Loralynn]

I've never seen grommets that big! What a clever use of them in the pillow!

[Pat A]

Thanks Mary for the tutorial on using Grommets.
The hop has been great way to showcase our Mn designers, and great fun. I have completed three of the projects already, hope something like this can be repeated in the future.

[Vickie E]

I didn't know grommets that big existed! I have never used them...but it doesn't look too hard..so I should give it a try. Thanks for the tute!

[Marlys D,]

I have just discovered GROMMETS and they are so fun and add so much to a bag! Thanks for this info and for being in this blog hop. I hope I win the grommets!!!