A Christmas Affair

OK this is really unusual for me to post so often, I'm sure this will stop again soon (or I will force myself to blog every other day for the next 2 weeks)

I realised I needed something Christmasy to wear to work this week. Loving the hair band that I made I whipped some christmas fabrics out and some matching buttons.

Exactly the same process as the previous one, I played around with fabrics that I have. I have never liked the fabric with the girl on before, but being almost fussy cut so that there is only one she looks gorgeous, I think it really tones the hair band down from the crazy christmas look.

Proof that I am wearing it. I love the green button on the "vintage" style fabric its a heart shape, perfect for this time of year.

If you look closely I also have a bell on there, at the top of the green suffolk puff. I brought these last year and didn't really know what I was going to do with it. I love it on there, thankfully though it doesnt actually ring too much unless I shake my head hard.

Hope you like todays creations.

Will be back tomorrow to show you todays dying attempts, not sure if its a sucess or failure yet, its slightly patchy!

First Ever custom order!

I'm am sooo pleased about this. I have been putting it off for weeks and weeks.

A student at school came to me asking if I could help her with a christmas present for her little brother. She gave me strict instructions that it must be a green bib with a giraffe on it and be fastened with Velcro.

Boy do I feel I have delivered!!!

Thinking back to previous things I have made I feel that applique is something that I've never afraid of! this is a really complex shape that I wasn't sure I would be happy with.

I've surprised myself by choosing this brown fabric for the giraffe, it was something I had in my stash but I've no idea why I had it. When I saw it I immediately thought GIRAFFE!!!!!!

I totally love this and hope that the girl who brought it does as well. What do you think?? How much would you be willing to buy/sell this at?

This Week

Wow I dont know what happened this week but the sewing bug has really taken hold!!

I took my students to the Clotheshow in Birmingham on Tuesday, theres a brand new area there where you can try making different things.



I loved this in about 3 hours I made:

• A knitted Brooch (having never sucessfully knitted before)
• A phone case
• A sewn brooch
• And did quite a large amount of shopping

I managed to build up my fabric stash, mainly with Japanese fabrics. I've never seen such an abundance of these in one place in person. Had to have. Thank god I ran out of money is all I can say!!!

It was a real special occasion taking my students on their and my first school trip. They love it when I make my own clothes so I whipped this little number up especially for the day (Have worn it twice more already since Tuesday)The pockets and the ties on the dress are all removable. A nice simple denim dress that I can easily customise for different occasions!

Original 1960's pattern that I was kindly given by a little old lady who was having a clear out!Another purchase at the Clotheshow was a kit all made up from The eternal Maker they also have a blog which is really worth reading.

The only clear photo I could find of the head band

(while being made)

I loved this kit and again all my students commented on it (and slightly embarrasingly 3 Technology teachers that saw it decided to touch it) little awkward moments!!!

I love this and think I might use the pattern again to make a few more.

Few other activities gone on this week but I'm sure most of you are in the same situation that they are all christmas creations!

All for now!

Baby quilts

Ok I have been working on some treats last week. I only had 2 recipients in mind when I was making these how ever I got carried away and made a third because I had the fabric in my stash.

I think photo's will say everything I need.Girl'sBoy'sSpecial quilt for a little lady who is ill in hospital

They were all backed with the same fabric (IKEA)

Backing

The pink one was for a little lady called Daisy so its quilted with a Daisy instead of being signed.

My Brothers Birthday....

Ok this sounds a similar post to the previous one...

I fell in love with this fabric at the Knitting and Stitching show back in October, I've not seen this fabric since then (until today on someone's blog).

I wanted to go really simple for him, didn't want to make it look too girly if you know what I mean.
It was going to be single until he decided that he wanted to live with his girlfriend, figured it should be double bed sized.

As this was also partically for his graduation I always really wanted to applique a cartoon doctor on the back (this is what he has just graduated for...) However, I didn't think his girlfriend would be very impressed with this.

Sorry the photographs weren't much better, they were taken at 8am the morning that I was giving him them, yes as usual I was sewing the binding on the night before...

My Boss'es birthday

OK this possibly sounds a little bit late. My boss Sally's birthday was in March (I think) I made her a small collection of things for her newly furnished sewing room she had just finished before her birthday (and yes I am very Jealous!!!)

This was the small collection of bits, including a scrap fabric bin (only for the table top, please remember any quilter has a massive amount of scrap fabrics)

The Purple thing you can see is a shop brought letter S (for Sally or Sewing) to put up on the wall in her sewing room.

Two very cute "elf" houses, in red and white, very clean looking. And they look amazing on her black fire place!!!Here is an up close of the fabrics used for the scrap basket, she loves cats!!!

I also made her a tissue holder for her handbag from the fabrics left over from the basic, would you believe I must see it every week she carries it everywhere!! (for some reason I can't get Blogger to put these pictures on)

All these patterns have been taken from the sewing calendar 2010, I love so many things in there, had to spent about 48 hours trying to decide what I wanted to make.

Later I will show you another birthday present that I made. This time my brothers and my Dad's...

Finishes so far this year...

OK I can't believe that we are already into May!!!(well tomorrow we are away)

Was discussing with one of my students the other that that I should probably write down somewhere everything that I have finished this year...

In no particular order (as much as I can remember now)

• Linda's 50th Table runner
• Nan's birthday present
• Draw string bag(from the sewing class)
• Cushion cover (from the sewing class)
• Dad's birthday quilt
• Mum's mothers day present
• 4 table mats (for charity)
• 2 wall hangings (identical - one for me one for charity)
• 3 swap blocks

WIP List!

Ok this one is likely to be just as long....

• Mothers day gift for a friend
• Red and white quilt
• hexagon quilt (started over 7 years ago)
• Brothers graduation present(and birthday prsesent)
• Blouse

I will be back in the very near future to give some more information about the finished projects and hopefully to show you some more things that I will have got off the WIP's list at some point.

I can't believe how much I have made this month! Its been a mamoth sewing month and I believe my hands had enough of sewing bindings on for charity on Sunday (11 hours straight hand sewing, only stopping for the loo and food)

All the best everyone

Long time no post... (Mothers Day gifts)

OK guys I know that it has been absolutely ages since my last post. I need to start getting a bit more up to speed with blogging.

Since my last post the UK has had Mothers Day racking my brains to come up with something a little different I thought about a table runner (they have a octagonal dining table and its been bugging me for years that they have a mat in the middle of the table that is Oval, it never did go at all)

This is what I came up with, fastest table runner I think I have ever made, as soon as I saw the fabric I knew this was the fabric that mum needed.

Not sure if you can see the stitch I used for applique-ing the Dresden plate blocks onto the top, but I found it on a machine at my local quilt shop that I attend. Its tiny little M's Thought this was perfect considering its a mothers day present (and yes I did fall in love with a machine that night)

Quilting it was a real challenge for me, I have never done free hand embroidery like this before, I wanted to make this a little different from a table runner that I gave my gran for her birthday (you might get an opportunity to see that another night) so I highly quilted the middle circle leaving the edges raw, I love the texture and feeling that this has given!

Vermicelli quilting was needed for the rest of the quilt, and I even managed to quilt the word MUM into it somewhere...

Later I will blog about my Dad's birthday present but for now, I thought I wouldn't give anyone a heart attack by showing them EVERYTHING I have been working on since I last blogged.

What do you think about the runner? Anyone else love the fabrics as much as I do??

Linda's 50th

Ok, I'm sorry its taken me soo long to get back on my blog again. I know I have been very quiet for over 2 months! Begining of December I had an operation and since then I haven't been as good as I have been expecting, Although I have been doing quite a bit of sewing as and when I can.

Here is one of my newest completed projects for Linda, who I work withs 50th birthday. I totally forgot to take finished photographs of the table runner before giving it to her. But these were the photographs from her birthday meal (taking in our staff room at work hence the dish washer etc behind her)

On the back of the table runner I managed to get "Happy 50th Birthday Linda, Love Louise printed" I think this is what she is admiring in the first photograph.

The quilt was made with dresden plate blocks (made totally circular and appliqued onto a backing fabric)

It was the first time I EVER attempted to do free hand quilting and I absolutely LOVE the way it turned out, I soon realised that the only way to get the quilting to go right was to sew faster than slower.

Another birthday coming up on Wednesday, have finished the presents for this one last night, will put the photographs for this up soon, and will have a load more updates for you soon.

Sorry if anyone missed me too much.

XX

Finished Baby quilt

As you have all previously read, this was my first ever attempt at a baby quilt. I made a couple of close relationships with my unpicker while completing the top itself. But not as much as I thought I would do. I loved the finished top, the yellow really makes the top pop.

I included the next photograph, this is one of TWO only "I love Daddy" on the whole quilt, the fabric on the rest of the blocks were always conviently over the cutting line. I Love how the "I love Mummy" is right next to this.

I felt this very lucky and special little lady deserved something very personal to her. Which led me to painstakingly applique-ing her name on the back, the red fabric matched the small red spots on the front perfectly. I will admit I had several practices on applique letters before I started (I have two "e" letters appliqued somewhere in my room now, not that it bothers me, I'm tempted to make the rest of my name in different techniques to make something for myself)

The quilting is gorgous, I borrowed a machine from school for a weekend to be able to do this (I have brought my own machine, which will be arriving tomorrow!!!WHOOP WHOOP) this created a couple of problems in the backing fabrics (creases)after unpicking the worst, the small remaining ones became "Love wrinkles" I feel everything should be totally loved for what it is!

Here is the finished quilt with the very cute pink binding (with the same print as the red fabric for "Leah" but in the pink version that the company produce) And to finish it all off, a very cute awwwwww moment, the lovely lady Leah with her brand new quilt (looks a little big but she will grow to it)

Sorry to Mum and Dad for the lateness of the quilt, but the little lady joined our world much earlier than planned. Now she is home she will always be snuggled up tight.

So ladies and Gentlemen what do you think??

Look what I've done!!

Ever since I saw this baby changing bag on the Moda Bake shop I decided I wanted to have it!! I brought the fabrics back in July, and was convinced by one of my students last week to get my bum into gear and get it made.
Thought this would be ideal for my trip to the knitting and stitching show tomorrow with my colleagues from work.

I love the fact it has plenty of storage in it (never mind its massive) There are "hidden" pockets on each end and 6 pockets on the inside with elasticated tops.
The fabric is Arcadia by Moda, And covers everything I absolutely love, bright colours and great shapes and styles. Perfect.

I adore the lining in all the pockets adding extra colour to the bag, only thing I wish I could change would be making sure that the bag was totally reversable so these amazing fabrics seen inside could also be on the outside at some point.

I have included the divider in the bag, but for some reason I have a crease in this, and I might remove this as I'm not sure how useful this will be.

Thanks once again to Moda Bake shop and to Melissa of Polkadot chair who gave us this amazing tutorial on this bag. Made totally out of a layer cake and a charm pack, I have loads left over to create accessories for this bag as well!!

Christmas Stocking Swap

I'm sooooooo excited!!! Pop on over to Indigo Blue, she is arranging a christmas stocking swap. Would be lovely to see some of you lovely ladies there, joining in.


I have loads of ideas, can't wait to see what other people have for ideas as well. Hope you pop over quickly. don't want to see too many people dissapointed!

Click the picture to add yourself, (takes you to Indigo Blue's website where you can add yourself in her Comment box)

Hurry up and get yourself joined!!!!!!!!!!! You know you want to!!!

Update

I know I promised this sooner, I can only apologise for the delay with everything. The world seems to be travelling 20 times faster than I can handle right now. I have been poorly for the past few days, hence why this Thanks has taken its time to get out there into the blog-o-sphere.

Thank you ever so much Angela from Land of No Cooking. I won a giveaway over at hers, and by chance was visiting my parents (who don't live that far away from Angela when she delivered my prize)

Hope you don't mind Angela, I had to borrow your photograph as I have already started creating with these amazing fabrics before I had a chance to find the camera. She has got me perfectly, I have been admiring these fabrics from a far for a very long time! Very proud to say I am now an owner of some!! and the note cards and post-it notes are equally as gorgeous! Thank you!

The baby quilt is coming along really well, this was the last photograph I managed to take of it this evening before the light totally dissapeared. Trust me its alot less pink than it appears at the moment.

The pink fabric that the blocks are on is going to be the backing fabric, it's not actually creased its that the only fabric I could find that was big enough and the right colour was a Sainsbury's single fitted sheet, so the elastic is pulling it in a bit at the moment.

This is only half of the quilt, I aim to make another 6 patches to make it a little bit bigger, and the very lucky girl is going to have her name embroidered on the back of the quilt, in a way so that mummy and daddy could fold the top of the quilt over in the cot and see her name written. (Fingers crossed it works)

Thats all for now. Hope everything else is going well in the blogging world.

Ooo and keep your eyes open for a play it forward that's happening soon, I just got one but I must sleep now, will tell all you lovely people about it soon.

xx

AWOL

Sorry people I know I haven't posted in a wee while.

Its been mega manic around here recently. New job, commitments, moving house.

Last night my school had an open evening, and I feel like I've not sat down for a week.


More details of WIP's later.

My First Baby Quilt

Family friends have just had their first baby girl. Unfortunately they were expecting twins but I heard this girl is doing really well. Just a little bit early.

I decided I would make a quilt for the gorgeous little girl. As normal I thought it would be best to create a sample block before I actually plow my way into the real thing.

What do you think? I decided to try fabrics that would really stand out as different fabrics. The girl is going to be soo lucky in that her first hand made quilt will be made with moda fabrics in shades of white green blue and yellow.

What do you think? Wish me luck with my first ever baby quilt. Will give you an update when I get it finished hopefully in a few days time!xx