Getting ready for my first fair

I haven't blogged much recently because I've been very busy getting ready for a craft fair this weekend.

I've never been in a fair before, so I was afraid I wouldn't have enough items to fill my six-foot folding table, but as I arranged them all last night, I realized my problem is that I'm running out of space, which is a good problem to have I think.


I've made table runners, table toppers, pot holders, Christmas stockings, a messenger bag, baby/lap quilts and matching doll quilts. I'm still finishing up a few items, but I'll have close to 50 available on the day of the fair and all but three are priced between $5 and $30.


On top of those low prices, I'm offering 20 percent off to anyone who mentions this blog when purchasing.

The fair is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 25, at Ben Franklin Crafts, 2500 52nd Ave., Moline. It's behind SouthPark Mall. I hope to see you all there.

Christmas in July sale

It's Christmas in July here at Custom Quilts by Stephanie Soebbing.

All Christmas stockings are 30 percent off. There are nine styles available in traditional and novelty prints including pet and sports themes. And if you don't find what you're looking for, I'd be happy to make a custom stocking for you.


Ready-made items are also 10 percent off throughout the entire month and I'm offering free personalization on all Christmas stockings. So get a really early jump on your holiday shopping here.


And especially for you blog readers, I am offering free shipping on all orders over $50. Just mention you read this blog in the notes section when you check out at www.stephaniesoebbing.etsy.com, and I'll refund your shipping costs on PayPal.

Merry Christmas.

Quick weekend projects

I started and finished three quick projects on Saturday.

First up was a fabric book for my six-month-old niece. Since fabric books come in ready to cut out panels, this project was very quick. All I had to do was cut out the page spreads, fuse half of them to fusible fleece and then sew the other side of the page on.


I would recommend switching to a heavy duty needle in your machine when it comes time to sew all the pages together down the center, as I broke my regular quilting needle within the first five stitches.


The first thing my niece did was pull at the pages, so fabric books make great presents for little ones who like to grab at everything but still enjoy a good story.


I also made my niece a quilted Christmas stocking. This would have only taken a couple of hours, but I decided I didn't like the original top to the stocking. So I took it off an replaced it with the red fabric you see here.



Then when I made a trip to the weekend sale at JoAnn Fabrics, I found a panel for this purse. I changed the pattern by attaching fusible fleece to the outside layer and quilting it. I think the next time I make a purse I'll also add medium- to heavy-weight fusible interfacing to the inside layer as well to give it a little more stability. But I really like how it turned out and I've already gotten compliments on it.

40 percent off quilted Christmas stockings

All the Christmas stockings on my Etsy site are on sale for $15, that's 40 percent off, through Thursday, Dec. 3.

There are 20 stockings available in eight different designs click here to see the selection.

Paper piecing and Christmas presents for a baby

Today was going to be a busy enough day without having to fit in a trip to the doctor for an ear infection.

But since my husband and I are taking an eight-hour flight to Hawaii for our honeymoon one week from today, I need to get on antibiotics now if my suspicions about the pain in my ear are correct.

I'm going to bring my English paper piecing with me to bide my time in the waiting room. I'm trying to get as many pieces basted as possible so I can sew them together on the plane ride.


Then when I get home I need to finish a fabric book and a quilted Christmas stocking for my six-month-old niece. My husband and I are traveling to visit his side of the family tomorrow and I was hoping to give them the early Christmas gifts then.


I have several more Christmas stockings for sale on www.stephaniesoebbing.etsy.com. I'm offering free shipping on Christmas stockings to all U.S. addresses through Cyber Monday.

Are any of you quilting this holiday weekend? Or are you all just decorating the house and shopping?