verykerryberry

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

2012-01-29T15:42:00.001Z

The good...

a surprise present from Penny and a card that made me cry- in a good way! Penny and I Skype, we plot and plan, we show and tell and our animals misbehave in the background desperate for

our attention. Love ya Penny x

The bad...

making a quilt for my sister, there have been casualties along the way. Quilt making is not my strongest sewing skill, it always feels like war- me versus a big mound of batting and fabric, wrestling it through the machine.

The Ugly...

this weekend's sewing time lost to a practice skirt that is the most unflattering garment. The dual length shows my internal style narrative, "shall I go short or keep it maxi as per usual?" As it turned out, short or long wasn't relevant, nothing about this skirt was going to make it look good. A learning experience I guess and proof that it is always best to have a trial run when making clothes and that not everything I sew works out well, we all have failures from time to time. Nothing wearable or useable was sewn this weekend, sometimes it is just like that! It does make me a little grumpy and then I look at Penny's card on my pinboard close to my sewing machine and smile :)

Teapot Fancy Cozy Tutorial

2012-01-27T07:12:00.000Z

This is a very exciting week, I have a pattern published in Fat Quarterly Magazine! This issue is all about piecing and there is a huge range of piecing patterns from simple to advanced. My pattern is for a teapot block and I have written two ways to piece it- freezer paper template style and foundation. It is a great pattern if you are new to piecing as I take you through both methods step by step. I have designed a simple tea cozy for the finished blocks but you could make it with a different block or just out of patchwork fabrics. This cozy should be big enough for a 4 cup teapot.

Finished size 9" tall, 12" wide.

You will need:

2 blocks/fabric pieces 14" x 10" wide for back and front. If you use the FQ teapot blocks you will need to add sashing to make your block up to this size

Fabric for lining- 2 pieces each measuring 14" x 10" wide

Batting/Wadding 4 pieces each measuring 14" x 10" wide

Fabric scrap for hanging loop

BiasBinding strip 1.25" x 26" wide cut across width of fabric

Basting Spray- I use 505

Usual Sewing Supplies

Pattern template here

1. Making the Cozy Front and Back

Make your quilt sandwich with 1 piece of batting and your quilt block. Spray the batting and lay your quilt block on top, repeat for the other block. Quilt blocks as desired. Find centre point along top and bottom edge of each block and mark with pins. Place pattern on the centre pins and using pencil or erasable marker, draw round pattern piece, flip over centre and draw round again. You should have a semi circle type shape.

I added a little had hand sewn detail around the spout for steam after I had drawn round the template to make sure it would fit. Cut out the semi circle and zig zag round the edge of front and back.

2. Making the Cozy Lining

Repeat the process in step one for lining. I kept my quilting simple and wide so there would be lots of space in the batting to trap heat and keep tea warm! Use the template, cut out and zig zag as in step 1. You should now have a front and back outer and front and back lining pieces, 4 pieces in all.

3. Making the Hanging Loop

From a scrap cut a bias strip 1.25"x4'. Fold in half lengthways so the long edges meet, press. Open out, bring the long raw edges into the centre and press along the folds so your strip looks like the picture below.

Bring the folded edges together, press again and stitch along the edge.

On one of the outer cozy pieces, find the top centre point, loop the bias strip and place either side og the centre point with the loop facing inwards. You can adjust the size of the loop to whatever works for you! Stitch the loop to the top of the cozy stitching within the quarter inch seam allowance.

4. Completing the Cozy

Taking the two cozy outer pieces, place right sides together, pin around edge and sew using a quarter inch seam all round. Repeat with the lining but sew a scant 3/8"seam. This will make the lining a little smaller so it fits nicely inside the cozy. Clip curves on outer and lining seam. If you are nervous about cutting into your seam, place a pin just in front of the stitches to stop your scissors snipping your stitches. Press open the last 2 inches of the seam at the bottom edge of the cozy on the outer and on the lining (see picture below). Turn outer cozy the right way out and lining so the wrong side is out.

Place the lining inside the cozy outer, wrong sides together. Pin at the pressed open side seams. Stitch all round the bottom edge within the quarter inch seam allowance, about eight inch from the bottom.

5. Adding the Binding

Follow my Single Binding Tutorial to add binding around the bottom edge and to complete your cozy!

The teapot beside my cozy was my original inspiration for the teapot block!

If you make the block or the cozy I would love it if you could add it to the Fat quarterly Flickr group and the Made it With verykerryberry group, and if you have any paper piecing questions please ask, I will answer in the comments thread below so others can read too!

Time for a brew, earl grey for me and maybe a read of Fat Quarterly. Issue 8 goes on general sale 31st January and subscribers get their issue codes from today. A lot of paper piecing friends have their project in this issue, some I have seen and some I haven't can't wait!

Swapsies

2012-01-25T16:36:00.003Z

I meet so many lovely people in the online sewing world and every now and again I meet someone I really click with and I can imagine having a cup of tea with whilst swapping ideas and talking fabrics. Amy is one of those people and we conspired a little swap to follow the rush of Christmas- we have both received our packages so now its show and tell. Look what I have to show- the cutest little Dresden bag and matching coin purse adapted from Amy's free pattern.

This is a bag with a purpose. When I teach music in school, I have a little bag with remote control, throat sweets and other vital bits and pieces. My current bag is a sad and sorry denim patch pocket, well worn so Amy made a replacement. It needed a strap large enough to cross my body- we move around a lot in music! You can see me in my work clothes below- the bag is perfect and its little coin pouch partner fits inside! Both have just the right amount of grey to fit in with my sober serious Mrs Green attire ( gotta have some sort of authority) and the pops of colour make me smile and my eyes glint each time I look at it!

The tiny pouch is the cutest thing with its mini dresden petals! I can only imagine how fiddly this was for Amy to make.

And Amy included some of her screen printed My Happy Place print (available in her shop) Such a crisp and neat print on the softest linen.

And a cathedral windows card- this shape really makes me think of Amy!

And I think it was the cathedral windows that lead to me using the petal design on a frame purse in my makes for her. The flower pattern was from Suzuko Koseki's book Natural Patchwork

It is a tricksy pattern to do with all those curves and I did it the worng way roung and the texts weren't reading how I wanted them to read so the quick unpic came out- but all worked out! We both added a personal touch with initials! Fabrics are Japanese linen, Yuwa print and vintage flowery fabric scraps.

The lining is a Suzko Koseki print. I drafted the purse pattern myself using Lisa's helpful hints at U- handbag and the frame is from Cotton and Cloud.

I found an interesting fabric panel just before I started this swap that I thought would suit Amy. It is a fine cotton with a lovely text print- I have no idea what it was for, emboridery maybe, but the print stayed on after I washed it. It was a large rectangle, big enough to make a decent size lined drawstring bag. The ties are vintage bias binding.

It is hard to photograph white on white, but you get the idea

A very nice swap and a great friendship, makes the world seem a little smaller x

Man Mini

2012-01-23T16:34:00.002Z

A little while ago, maybe a year or so, a friend bought an old Ladybird book, Making a Transistor Radio. Inside were the usual evocative illustrations including a great colour block image of radio resistors, an idea hatched but it has taken till now and a big birthday for my friend James for me to realise it.

The design is straight from the book, I love radio but have no idea what it means beyond a colour coding system. That doesn't matter, James knows what it means and I like the way it looks. A mini quilt, mug rug, man mat- whatever, it is on the wall in their family kitchen with some other makes from me in a mini gallery.

The colours are from a Kona rainbow charm pack, the gold and salmon 'Tolerance Colours" are from vintage scraps. I have no % symbol in my stamps so I improvised, need often makes for inventive moments. Versacraft ink as usual for the stamping.

The back is a funny Japanese text print all about String theory and other rather weird references. The whole thing is only 9" x 7". Fun to make and well received. The same book had this , what a great little source of inspiration.

Resolved to Sew...

2012-01-22T17:45:00.003Z

You must have seen the mega giveaway at Ali's blog, the similarly named but unrelated Veryberryhandmade. There is a Blogger's Draw with a huge pile of UK fabric shop prizes, all you need to do is share your 2012 sewing resolutions so here goes my entry...

I have plans rather than resolutions and the first is to put my new machine to good use and make more quilts. I have already done the little Round the World- A Walk down the Road quilt, started my Swoon- a slow burn long term commitment project and also started a quickie simple quilt for my sister- her birthday is end of February

It is an easy design from Jane Brockett's Gentle Art of Quilt Making, squares, rectangles and all about the fabrics. These are very Gemma!

Also planned- lots of clothes. At least 1-2 dresses- we have a wedding to go to in April so one or both of those voiles has got to become something and there are a couple of skirts in those bolder prints below. I decided to make all skirts rather than buy, that way I get the details I really want, like pockets.

There are more clothes planned, no idea when I am going to get the chance but one day , this year, hopefully.

Also have a few paper piecing projects in the pipeline, some very close to reveal-the photo is the tiniest peek, and the Fat Quarterly retreat to go to and teach at- it is going to be a great year although having seen the other teachers I am more than a little nervous.

And if I won...that would be lucky, I think I would choose as my favourite and my best the Fancy Moon voucher, they have some great fabrics and the delectable Merchant and Mills accessories. You can still enter the draw up to Thursday 26th Jan, gotta be worth a try. It's been a while since I put any music links on, so a current obsession, James Blake's cover of an old and beautiful Joni Mitchell song x

I Swoon, you Swoon, they Swoon, we all Swoon

2012-01-20T13:34:00.001Z

At last I found a little window of time to make my first Swoon block. All the support and inspiration you could even need is in Katy's Swoon Quilt A Long group on Flickr. This project would never have started without it.

I have to be very disciplined to sew a big block like this successfully. A series of assembly lines is needed, stacks of half square triangles waiting to be sewn. I used a Frixion pen for all my lines and a walking foot for sewing the slippy sliding Little Folks voile

Pins are definitely needed with the voile. Along the way I must have 'lost' a square here and a piece there a 100 times.

I enjoyed this a lot more than I ever imagined I would. The block design is simple but very effective and is just what I was looking for with the Little Folks- I know many of you suggested Swoon when I asked what I should make with these fabrics.

Cutting does take ages but I am working only one block at a time so it is easily manageable. It is a whopper, a mini quilt in itself, 24.5" x 24.5. I am going for the full 9 blocks but slowly, slowly.

Pressing the seams open is worth the extra effort and made joining a lot easier. The thiness of the voiles really helps and they have a lot of give, handy when I am trying to match up points.

I am actually bursting to make another but I I have promised my sister a quilt for her birthday, end of February so more Swooning will have to wait.

Guesting

2012-01-17T13:07:00.002Z

Today I am a guest at Sew we Quilt, sharing my thoughts on tools. I would appreciate anyone dropping by and having a read!
I went for the little inexpensive gadgets that make my life a little easier and a few unsung heroes

Making this traditional basket block was a good tester for all of them- the bias strip handle hand sewn on especially! This block is a Kumiko Fujita design from a magazine she contributes to but the Farmer's Wife sampler quilt has the same basket on point.

The background is Denyse Schmidt, the basket is Japanese linen print and a little Suzuko Koseki print and the headscarf girl in the corner is a Kei fabric. The gingham is vintage.

It is a chilly week, considering the headscarf as an option to keep me warm :)

Around the World- a short journey

2012-01-15T18:10:00.003Z

I have just finished a very little Around the World quilt, perhaps it should be called Down the Road to suit its scale, about 30 inches square.

225 squares, each 2.5 inches. Mix of Denyse Schmidt prints from Chase's giveaway, plus other DS prints and a bit of vintage. I love the mix.

I quilted diagonally eyeballing the corners and 50/2 Aurifil for piecing and quilting.

The walking foot on my new Janome has been fantastic. I had a walking foot before but this one is better and the power of the machine made quilting a much better experience than it used to be and has boosted my confidence for trying a bigger quilt. I used 80/20 warm bond batting which I bought in error but has actually worked out rather well. It doesn't feel quite as nice as the 100% cotton warm and natural but it does adhere to the fabric easily especially with basting spray and it easy to quilt. I have been using it for cushions and it would be perfect for a baby quilt as it is a little lighter than the standard batting.

There are some fun vintage novelty prints in there with sea horses, drums and rabbits being pulled from hats. I machined the binding following Rita's method closely. I have done this before and struggled but a bit more experience must have helped as I did it all the way round without any resewing. I did go very slowly and each side is worked separately. You can see below stitching in the ditch on the right side to catch the binding in on the back. Quilting gloves; I use Machingers, help a lot

as does a lot of pins on the back.

The binding is another Denyse Schmidt print

An Urban Chik print on the back from the 1974 range, this is a 'second' so the print is rather light but I liked it for the back with the squares echoing the front.

And tonight it will rest on my knee with a small dog sitting on top- that is what I made it for-and I will watch the final episode of Sherlock, cosy style

Yuwa in the UK

2012-01-15T17:13:00.000Z

I had a very exciting last night looking at The Eternal Maker, Suzuko Koseki, Kumiko Fujita, Yo and other Japanese designer prints on sale in a UK shop. Search under the themes section, in Japanese Imports and there are other designers including Yoshiko Jinzenji and Keiko Goke.

Anna at Eternal Maker says more Yuwa is coming soon!

I should add, I first got a hint of these on Ali's blog, which reminds me that her Resolved to Sew Giveaway starts tomorrow, you can see a few hints at what is to come but more will be revealed tomorrow!

Progress

2012-01-11T18:11:00.000Z

Little squares- 2.5 inches

Pieced together in rows of 15...

Pressing all the seams open and placing a pin either side of the meeting point where the rows join takes time but gives me the best result.

Working a little on my swap for Amy, don't want to show too much.

And Lula has finished her champagne truffle for Dessert of the Month Club. This is the perfect project for her, it comes in bite size pieces, the designs are cute but achievable and there are always new designs to look forward too. I love seeing her so pleased at what she has made!

New Year, new projects

2012-01-08T14:24:00.002Z

In 318 Patchwork Bee, Tamiko asked for Gardening blocks, a nice theme for this dark time of year, it made me think of spring this made. This block is from the out of print book, 318 Patchwork by Kumiko Fujita.

The background print was such a good match from my vintage stash, I had to use it! The greys are Sweetwater, the wood print is Joel Dewberry's Aviary range and the green is a Kumiko print that I've had a while.

Maybe the gardening theme influenced me into making this little fabric pull for a private swap between Amy and myself. The top and bottom prints are soft, washed Japanese linens and the middle two are Japanese cottons. I am not bound to this stack although they do look rather inviting with their soft colours, I'll see what Amy's reaction is like, I am quite prepared to pull something else. I have an interesting piecing idea for whatever I end up using, sneaky peeks coming soon...

I twisted Lula's arm just a little to spend approx £7/$10 for membership to The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's Dessert of the Month club. That single payment delivers 12 cross stitch PDFs to your email account and features Kawaii cute desserts that make a sampler like this lovely January truffle by Smoochee

The low price is a limited offer, ending 10th January. I dusted off my old DMC threads, tea dyed some 14 count aida canvas and stitched a grid to get her going.

And I couldn't resist Katy's Swoon quilt a long on Flickr. I don't need more projects, no siree but my long awaiting voile collection has finally found a pattern big enough to show its print and not needing to much cutting and stitching. The Camille Roskelley's pattern is available as a PDF, and is a clever and economical use of fabric. Playing with dark and light fabrics makes this pattern twist and turn.

What really appealed is that the block looks straightforward, I can just cut the fabric needed for one block at a time and the pattern is perfect for quilt as you go as there is sashing between blocks. I will be going slow, but there are only 9 blocks and it makes a whopping 8o inch square quilt. I'll share my quilt as you go methods here if any of you want to do the same. Meanwhile I am cutting my voiles and Kona snow ready for the first block.

Lady Luck

2012-01-06T15:58:00.000Z

I struck lucky in December, I won a couple of giveaways. Firstly, I won Mia's seasonal giveaway with the first entry that wasn't really an entry! Mia was giving away a custom pair of hand felted and decorated mittens. Wool next to the skin makes me itch so I couldn't have mittens, I always admire Mia's creations especially her wall hangings so she offered to make me one of these instead.

I have known Mia a while now, she is the most lovely and generous person with a wonderful creative talent. Her felted creations have such happiness and humour. One of the reasons I wanted a wall hanging was so we could all see it, and now we do; every time we go up the stairs, the silly fox and the little birdies look down on us. I love the lily of the valley in the right corner.

The fox reminds me of Lottie, our very silly dog with her eternal optimism

I love the different colours intermingled in the branches and the lining matches perfectly. Mia has an Etsy shop and will do custom orders too, I had the most wonderful bag last Christmas!

And then in the Sew Mama Sew December giveaways, I won a Denyse Schmidt Daisy Mae charm pack and scraps from Chase. I knew Chase's Etsy shop because she sells Yuwa prints including Suzuko Koseki and other delights. I didn't know she had a blog, I only found that in the Giveaway and followed her straightaway. She takes beautiful photographs of fabric, quilting and the things that surround her and her writing is from the heart. She included a drawstring bag and with the scraps you can see the sort of fabrics she sells. I didn't have any of the fabrics she included so I was mightily pleased with everything! I have already cut the charm squares, it is the first time I have seen all these prints and boy are they good. I am compelled to make a mini quilt inspired by this. There are other things to be sewn but hopefully I can fit them all in this weekend.

Thankyou Mia and Chase, lovely gifts from lovely people xx

Comfort and Joy

2012-01-02T12:46:00.002Z

I start the year with trying to get as many Bee blocks done as possible. Tomorrow, back to the day job. I ma lucky, I love my job and realistically I am unlikely to earn my living through stitching bits of fabric together, but it is with a little reluctance. I was invited to join the Cocorico bee (very similar to Ringo Pie) and I needed to get Melinda's block done first. Her theme was Vintage/Cute Christmas, I wanted to get it finished before Christmas completely disappeared.

I had to drag this block kicking and screaming from deep inside my creative internals. I had a vague idea, the jar shape was already in my head but it wasn't till I free pieced the string tied around the rim of the glass that I felt it was working. Only then did it make me smile and I could see it all working.

My usual letter stamps and red Versacraft on linen.

The tag shape came about from a lovely set of 'Kodomo Margaret' Japanese stationery stamps that Damian bought me for Christmas. I stamped onto Kona stone and used needle turn applique to stitch it on with a little perle thread to link it to the jar.

And then I went on a little stamping marathon, address stickers

cards, the Eiffel towel postal stamp was a little gift from Ayumi x

labels- love them!

These stamps are not the easiest thing to find, but this shop sells the brand.

Blogger's Choice

2011-12-30T16:47:00.002Z

This took ages but it was fun. A blogger's bundle opportunity courtesy of The Fat Quarter Shop and Laura at Quokka Quilts- click to find out more.

On Christmas day as my mum and sister unwrapped their pillows from me, my brother was a little put out that there was none for him (he did have a very nice and requested present). He had a pillow last year but he was rather taken by the Walk in the Woods pillow. As a consolation I told him he could have something else. He suggested something inspired by the film 'The Life Aquatic'. I haven't seen this but the trailer alone set my mind whirring. This bundle is selected for this project, a hypothetical quilt for Jamie. I love the combination, hours spent searching through colours and themes and my mouse hand is jiggered. Would love to make it.

Go enter! It is a very interesting creative exercise.

The Camera Never Lies

2011-12-30T08:48:00.000Z

I am normally up to date with my bee blocks but Amy's Ocotober Ringo Pie block slipped by the wayside. Her theme was 'The Camera Shop'. I have been saving images for a while, I was all ready to do a vintage Super Color Polaroid Land camera with a solid green polaroid coming out of it. I drafted it, bought rainbow ribbon and kept trying to put time aside to work it through. It never really appeared in my head, I had the concept but I couldn't visualise it and no fabric was talking to me. Last week, a new idea crept in, fully formed, fabrics, details- I could see them all.

A vintage film canister, Kodak inspired. I am lucky. I have a great memory for colour. The biggest swatch board is in my head. Unfortunately, once I think of a fabric or a colour, I then have to find it, search round the zillions of different places where I store fabric. Most of my stash is small pieces, half yards, fat quarters, scraps. With this block, I pulled the fabric in minutes and unusually the vintage fabric is the background.

This could only be Amy's block. She is an intensely creative person, her work has great colour and imagination. Her personality comes through it as I think it does for us all. You may not have met your blogging friends in person but you have seen their inner imagination and personality through their work.

Fabrics- Vintage floral print, vintage green solid, Kona school bus with versacraft ink stamp, Sweetwater Authentic Newsprint, Suzuko Koseki text/number fabrics, Kona Brown, tiny squares of Denyse Schmidt's Katie Jumps Rope.

Forwards

2011-12-29T10:03:00.001Z

Christmas was lovely. Yesterday was very long, 450 miles on the train up and down the country to my Grandad's funeral. A long and sad day but a funeral shouldn't really be anything else. I don't like to dwell, I won't be posting all my makes of the year or anything like that. I like to see these elsewhere but generally when I have made something I like to move on to the next project, get the creative buzz from figuring out how I am going to make the new idea. This is handy, it makes it easy to pass on bee blocks, swaps and presents, I don't like to look back only forwards.

This pillow was for my sister. Aneela's wonderful Walk in the Woods fabrics and a few others!

These fabrics are on sale in the Spring. But just in case you still pine for a little Christmas, look at her festive fabrics for next year.

Concealed zip, I don't do my pillows any other way now.

The back is simple parallel quilting and the main print is a Cosmo Cricket fabric given to me by Anna ages ago. It matched perfectly.

There are some texty treats scattered around to make my sister laugh and my nephew too. We have a puerile sense of humour but it can't be helped.

Now, Bee blocks to finish...off I trot

Wishing you a happy....

2011-12-23T16:01:00.003Z

Nearly here, this is my favourite time. I find big days of nay sort, birthdays, wedding, Christmas a bit overwhelming, but this part, the preamble, the just before is my favourite part of Christmas. I finally finished making my presents and now I am finishing Bee Blocks and stitching new year projects.

Wherever you are, whoever and whatever you are with and whatever you celebrate- something or nothing at all, I wish you all well, thankyou for calling in here, it means a great deal x

Baking

2011-12-21T09:01:00.000Z

Last month my final kitchen units were fitted. The new cooker came early December. It has taken a long time to get everything in place, so many delays from supplier, need to change, paint the walls- but it is ready for Christmas baking. Lula lead the way...

Friendship Pillow Tutorial

2011-12-20T09:02:00.001Z

My last tutorial of 2011 is for a Friendship block pillow. I have used scraps so there are no specific fabric quantities, this tutorial explains how to make the block, there are some links for completing your pillow and the rest is up to you!

The foundation paper pieced blocks can be downloaded here and you can print this whole tutorial with/without pictures using the gadget at the bottom of this post.

Each square will be finished size of 2.5" and you need 4 squares to make a complete block. I made 9 blocks, these join to make a total finished area of 15" x15". I added sashing to the size I wanted the pillow.

First you will need to do some preparation...

1. Printing

You will need 36 paper foundation squares in total. Cut each square out leaving a 1/4" border all round. I use thin cheap 70gsm printing paper.

2. Cutting Fabric

Cut 36 squares 3 1/2" square. This will give you the exact size triangle you need for the larger triangle on the paper pattern, it you would like to err on the side of caution make your squares bigger

3 3/4". Cut each fabric square in half diagonally, you should have 36 pairs of half square triangles

Cut 36 strips 1 3/8 x 4 1/2". I used the same fabric throughout for this, a text print fromt he Hometown collection by Sweetwater. Your fabric will need to contrast with the squares.

3. Sewing the Block

Now you are ready to sew, take one paper square and one fabric strip, place the square evenly on top of the wrong side of the fabric and pin. The fabric should go 1/4 over each of the diagonal lines.

This is the same square but seen from the other side. I made sure my text fabric always faced towards the smaller triangle throughout.

Now take a pair of triangles. Take one triangle, place it right sides together over the fabric strip so that the right angle is against the smaller triangle and the diagonal edge lines up with the fabric strip.

This is the same picture but from the other side- the side you will stitch. you can see the triangle should hang out of the edges of the square just a little. Pin on the longer diagonal line.

On your machine you will need a larger needle than normal- I use a 90 and a very small stitch,1.5. I also use a clear foot for paper piecing. Starting at the beginning of theseam allowance, sew along the diagonal from corner to corner. You can stitch end to end of the paper. Don't back stitch, the stitches are so small they do no need securing.

Turn over, flip the fabric triangle back and press. It should cover the paper either exactly or with a little room to spare.

Take the other triangle, line up as before against the fabric strip, right sides together, turn over and pin the smaller diagonal line.

Stitch from seam allowance, along the line and along the rest of the seam allowance to the end in one continuous line. Turn over, flip the fabric triangle out and press. There will be a more excess here as this triangle is smaller.

Trim the block using the paper to guide you. It should be 3" square.

Repeat on 35 more squares- I never said this would be quick, but it can be systematised! I made anassembly line for this. All the strips were pinned on to all the squares. Then I added all the large triangles, then all the small triangles in a chain piecing style.

The finished squares fit together in groups of 4. I kept the papers in up to this point, once I had joined them into 4 I tore the paper out..

The blocks are sewn together in rows of 3

Then the rows are sewn together. I pressed all the seams open to reduce bulk. A back view always helps you see how everything fits together.

This should measure 15 1/2 " untrimmed, mine was a little smaller! But hey, you can then make it the square the size you want by adding sashing. Next you need to add batting and quilt in your desired style. I echo quilted around the different diamond shapes.

You will need a back for the cushion and to add batting and quilting to that, or use a heavier weight fabric and no batting. I cut my front and back to be 18 1/2" square after quilting and use a concealed zipper closure. I use a 1/2" seam allowance, neaten the seam edges and trim down the corners. The end cushion will be 17 1/2" and will make for a plump feel with a 18" feather inner. Amy has a lovely pillow tutorial here using the same closure and if you prefer you can do an envelope back or a lapped zip- I find a concealed zip easier, neater and it uses less fabric! I found a great tutorial for a concealed zip here.

It does give a lovely neat finish! A concealed zipper foot is a good investment, maybe not as good as gold but pretty useful x

Published

2011-12-19T16:05:00.001Z

Part of the The Sewing Directry Christmas Creativity competition that I won a few weeks ago was for my pattern to be published in Cloth. My edition arrived today. I have not been published before, you can imagine my excitement.

That is my name down there!

Cloth magazine is a little tricky to find. It tends to be sold in independent crafty shops- no shops near me sells it- but you can buy it online here. I rather like the cloak on the front and I am guessing Lula will too. Quite a thing to see my pattern all printed out in a tangible magazine, I am a little bit blown away! If you want to make the Scandinavian Tree Cushion/pillow instructions are also here

Kindness

2011-12-19T09:37:00.002Z

The kindness and support of my blog friends never ceases to amaze me, such a supportive community. Thankyou for all your kind and thoughtful comments. It is really hard to think of what to say when someone has died but you were all so open and generous with your words and thoughts.

I have had a really quiet weekend. Damian and Lula were away visiting his family on a speedy Christmas visit and though I miss them and look forward to hugging both of them later today, when I have stuff to deal with I need a lot of time on my own so it worked out well and I feel better for my weekend of dog and cats cuddling on top of me and a quilt, Skype, blog reading, visits, tea and sewing Like many of you I have been sewing furiously and making slow progress.

I should get there by midnight 24th December. I can show this gift as it has been given, a little purse for Maria my pilates/zumba instructor.I used a Keyka Lou pattern, Pocket Clutch. I have used a few of her patterns before and they are so clear to follow and quick to make. This is my favourite shape, I like the tab closure (magnet underneath) and the storage inside. Michelle is retiring some of her patterns and selling them at $3 (approx £2) for limited time only- such a bargain- check out her shop.

Maria is Spanish and is still learning English so I thought it would be fun to use text fabrics based on travel and home. She is a great teacher, fun and giving. I go to three of her classes each week, Zumba is Friday early evening and she always leaves me with a happy feeling to start the weekend.

I am making one of these for Lula next (Shhh! Don't tell her) in black prints, and eventually I might make one for me. I used the Vilene VH640 fusible fleece again- possibly the most useful product in the world! Julia at Gone to Earth sent me a length and it has been perfect for little purses and pouches. I prefer this thicker loft over the 630, it handles like a dream and adheres even with my little travel iron. The key is a damp cloth, I use a baby muslin.

The red fabric is from Sweetwater's Hometown collection, the travel linen/cotton print was from The Hey Day shop. Katie has a little left in the shop. The black/cream dots came courtesy of Lynne who sent me a surprise bundle of scraps in with some fabric I needed, what a sweetie x

I am just preparing a little tutorial and a print out for you all ; a pillow based on a traditional friendship block using foundation piecing.

I would like to say it is a fast make for your gift list but in reality, even with short cuts it took me ages, it is for my mum so that makes it OK! I am just waiting for a zip to arrive and then I'll post the 'how to make stuff'. If you haven't done foundation piecing before it is a good little block to start with x

2011-12-16T21:38:00.000Z

Finished work and a very busy and sad week. My Grandad died yesterday. Not totally unexpected, he was very old, he was in poor health, in a nursing home and he wasn't happy but it is sad nonetheless and hard for my Granny. She has lost two sisters and a husband in two years. I never expected to have grandparents as a grownup woman in my forties, and when one of them dies a little bit of your life goes with them, that childhood bit when grandparents are the best thing ever moves further away. So a funeral in the gap between Christmas and New Year.

This is my favourite pic of him, from the summer of '81, he would only be in his early 60s.

Taken on my Kodak Instamatic, one of the few pics I have off that reel that isn't blurry and out of focus. He often sat in this squat position when he was working. The green structure was his budgie shed. Other memories include various bizarre DIY fixes around the house involving tape and string in strange places, him telling us not to eat out granny's sweets, calling granny 'Sal'- her name is Mabel, and reading out bits of The Mirror of The News of the World and then going off on an anti Thatcher rant. When our family used to visit and we all sat in their tiny living room, he would always sit on the hardest chair, away from the TV so everyone else got a better seat. More than anything he was a stubborn old bugger.

Comfort Woolies

2011-12-14T08:52:00.004Z

I forget every time how busy the last week of term is. All my over ambitious plans go to the wall. When I was little my grandpa used to say my eyes were bigger than my belly, especially at Christmas when a big plate of food could not be finished, well it seems it is the same with my sewing. A nice surprise yesterday lunchtime to come home and find this in my google reader

My Winter Woolies pattern had been given the Aneela treatment! Would you believe this is her first go at a paper piecing pattern? You can read about her fabric choices here. Such lovely soft colours and her embroidery details are, of course, just right. Love love love it

Infinity and beyond

2011-12-12T16:04:00.002Z

Sometimes, lots of times, making something is a compulsion. Last night I decided I had to make an infinity scarf at 6.30pm. By 7.30 pm it was pretty much done- finished during an X factor ad break. Hmm, cosy, Anna Maria Horner voile and flannel.

I bought the flannel here, $5 a yard- such a bargain and have Katy to thank for nudging me in this direction. I bought 4 different prints, this was the only AMH print- I wish I had ordered more! It is the most snuggly cosy fabric, full PJs in this would be heaven. I have a stack of voile FQs and some scrappy pieces so I set to work following this tute which makes a scarf out of around 2 quarter yard strips. You can make a wider and longer version using Anna Maria Horner's tute here . I haven't done a tutorial, what follows are a few tips from making it.

I cut my fabrics to make 2 lengths-one flannel, one voile and I pieced bits together to make the length up- each was 9.25"x54". You then need to pin the two lengths, right side together- I used vertical pinning to keep the slippy voile in place. I aworked my way down one edge for 12" and then flipped it over and pinned down the other side for 12" and so on- this keeps the edges even and the fabrics nice and flat and allows you to sew both sides from end to end in the same direction.

To join the tube, on one end you can see 0.5" pressed under and the raw other end pinned on top inside, pin heads are on the outer part- don't want to stitch them in!

I then put the outside on top and pinned again, basted and then stitched straight down, you can see the stitching in the first pic. Anna Maria uses a hand sew method to keep the tube open.

Place on and twist. I hate posing for a head type shot, memories of bad school photos I guess.

Silly picture...

Sensible picture...

A quick gift should you need something else to make! I am going his and hers on this project- Damian is getting a square scarf (he keeps one over his nose at night, don't ask!) I laid out all the flannel I had bought and he chose the Buttoned Up.

Gotta love Anna Maria Horner, she is a genius with fabric and different substrates- I love that word! She is the queen of substrates.

Now give me that scarf back, my neck needs the warmth!

WInner for Nova's pattern

2011-12-09T07:14:00.001Z

And the winner for Nova's Petal Pocket cushion pattern is...

Hadley! Sending you an email right now.

Thankyou to all those who entered, Nova's pattern is available here.

Catch up

2011-12-07T11:53:00.001Z

A few quick things to do! Will from Abakhans asked me to do a little post for their website nes sections so I chose a quick round up of tutorials and makes suitable for Christmas and gift giving- take a look here, you may see a few contributors you recognise. Maybe you fancy a bit of paper piecing with your gifts? Candy Cane pattern on sale here

Winter woolies pattern on sale here- this is the easiest of the two!

A thankyou to Nova who sent me the most lovely pinnie for testing her pattern. She really didn't need to but I am very glad she did. All the textural detail makes it very Nova and very nice. You can still win her pattern, click here and enter before Friday 9th Dec

And a thankyou to Tanya who blogs at Craft Couture. She makes some very cute things over there and nominated me for a Versatile blogger award. So my way of passing this on is to take you to some websites you may not have seen x

http://sadpatterns.wordpress.com/

http://www.retrotogo.com/

http://thevintagetraveler.wordpress.com/

http://www.redbubble.com/people/wildyles/works/8171217-santa-venn-diagram

Petal Pillow with a Pocket Pattern Giveaway

2011-12-05T12:47:00.001Z

Thankyou for the well wishes, it is working, nearly better. Meanwhile a giveaway... Nova asked me to pattern test her first commercial pattern and knowing her style I said yes straightaway! A great concept, Dresden style pillow/cushion with a pocket.

My version is for my granny. I am on pretty safe territory when I say she won't be online so I can show her Christmas present without a spoiler alert. A back view, shame I got the Alexander Henry Orchard print apples were upside down but the zip was well and truly in by the time I realised. The pattern gives instructions for an easier envelope back.

All the fabrics are chosen with her in mind. She loves gardening and flowers and birds and still tends her garden. Lecien Grandmother's flower garden print with the green background and the pink version for the pocket. The petals are a mix from my stash, new and vintage. The Annie's seed catalogue print was especially good, Green is our family name, so that petal couldn't be more appropriate.

This is my Leila style pose- Hi Leila!

I added some hand stitches to random petals and echo quilted around the edge of the petals. It is such a pretty result, I would be very happy with this myself but I know that Mabel will really enjoy this. I doubt the is going to be putting quilting booklets in the pockets- I was thinking Mills and Boon, tissues and a pop sock. It is a lovely pattern with clear instructions, plenty of tips, photos and lots of detail for making two versions- pointy petals and round petals. I made my pillow a little smaller than the 20 inches suggested as I had a 18 inch pillow ready and it all worked beautifully. There is room for playing around a little- I made my pocket a bit smaller too so I could show off more of the petals. Nova is selling the pattern here but, one lucky reader here gets to win a freebie.

To enter the giveaway, please tell me what would you put in the pocket,

Extra entry if you follow me

Extra entry if you follow Nova

I need your email either in your profile or in your entry- this style is good

kerrykit at yahoo dot co dot uk

or check if you are a no reply blogger with no visible email here

I won't be replying to these as technically it is a competition and I guess I shouldn't. I will draw a winner Friday morning so entries in by 6am GMT Friday 9th Dec, random number choses the winner.

Good luck x

Edited to add- a winner has been drawn, comments are now closed

To build a house you need good tools

2011-12-04T15:28:00.001Z

This little house block is from the Kumiko Fujita Bonjour quilt- you can see her videos for it here. The images come from a Japanese magazine, Patchwork Tsushin (sorry not easily available though I have seen copies on ebay) but you can get the idea from the youtube clip.

I wanted to try the hand piecing that Kumiko shows in one of the blocks. I bought a few tools to test- a clover finger presser and clover black gold needles. Do you notice the big reel of Aurifil? Sometimes you need to splash out on the apparently humdrum- good thread is worth the spend- ask any sewing engineer and Alice at Eternal Maker is stocking a huge range of colours in the mako 50wt. I bought 2310 neutral cream and 2615 grey- each have 1300 metres on so they will keep me going. I might have talked my local machine and sewing shop into stocking it. As they service and mend machines they are interested in its non lint making properties. Mr Aurifil has sent them some testers, I hope they buy it in.

Do those things make a difference- boy yes! The needles are very fine and sharp, they are going to make the next binding I finish a lot easier. The finger presser is fantastic, there are many times when I piece when a little marker of where the seam is would just help and this gives the perfect line without burning my fingers handling a tiny piece of fabric and an iron. It also means you can hand piece without an iron so piecing work could be portable, nice to know for the future. The reverse shows the inset seam where the background joins the roof, all hand sewn. I am not up to Kumiko's standard but it was an interesting exercise.

It does take ages though so I machined the rest of the house

This is a slow burn project which I return to once a month or so and it is always a pleasure. I have a loose red, white and blue theme going on but otherwise I just go where the fabric mood takes me.

It has been a messy weekend- we have no cooker due to problems connecting a new one (my new kitchen is nearly all done), so toast based meals and a camping gas ring have featured heavily this weekend. I have a heavy cold, being self employed I am grateful for this coming at the weekend but it does make me feel crappy and Damian is going under too so we have been taking it in turns to go back to bed. Better now then in the Christmas holiday but achey heads, bodies and sore noses are never good. Cooker comes Tuesday so I hope to show you my revitalised kitchen- you know how I love kitchens. Back tommorow witha little giveaway courtesy of Nova

Ginger

2011-12-01T07:14:00.001Z

My wardrobe is looking a little sad, things that don't fit, I don't like or just tend to hide me when I wear them so I have been making skirts. The Cynthia Rowley skirt is great to wear- it's all about the pockets and the fullness. Next I fancied a Colette pattern.

I have been intrigued by Colette. I love the details and the styling. The new book has been requested for Christmas. The patterns are more expensive than a Simplcity or McCalls- although they aren't cheap in the UK. But you do get a bit more for your buck. The pattern instructions are in booklet form with stitches down the spine- nice touch- and the pattern pieces at the back.

The pages are thick with very clear diagrams and online links for tricky bits- very good invisible zip tutorial here. The pages are a pleasure to touch- unlike the usual oversized folded crappy instruction leaflet. The pattern pieces are still on the tissue stuff that everyone hates but I traced them onto thicker paper so I can reuse them. Ultimately this pattern excels on fit.

It looks like a simple A line but there are a few shaping details that made it hug all round. The back and front seams are not straight, they tilt inwards at all the right places to give a snug, smooth fit.

I used some light stretch denim, cheapo stuff from local fabric shop and a bit of Liberty bias binding for the flat waist binding trim- instructions for adding this are on the Colette site.

I adapted the waist band shaping to a smoother curve than the pattern. I like the way it looks but when I am sitting I realise my trunk is not that long and it cuts into my diaphragm- next time a shorter waistband. I lengthened the skirt considerably too- I am very cautious on length. Looking at that pic, it would look better shorter and perhaps if I'd spent a bit more time ironing it too. You can't see the hem- blind hem on my new machine, worked like a dream. That is the first time I have had a machine where the blind hem was successful!

I won't pretend the sipper was plain sailing. I put it perfectly first time on one side and then the wrong way round on the other side. It needed another go and then there is a tendency to stick around the facing and binding area. A bit of gentle stretching (read pulling and close to tears) some silicon on the zipper and some hand stitching to get the facing out of the way on the inside- now it works. It is a beautiful pattern for a beginner. I made a test waist band before I embarked on the whole thing to check the sizing. I always get in a state about sizing... even after making my test band I can't trust myself or the tape measure, first too big, then too small. This is a fit with no room for cake, even with

the stretch.

I would've liked pockets but this fabric isn't up to it. It is probably a work skirt rather than an everyday sling it on and let the dog and kitties sleep on me, but a very pleasurable project non the less.

And now I return to Christmas sewing...

A Walk in the Woods- Mini Tote Tutorial

2011-11-26T16:22:00.001Z

Aneela, Moda fabric designer extraordinaire kindly sent me and some other UK bloggers generously filled parcels full of scraps from her forth coming line A Walk in the Woods, released Spring 2012, what a treat! I knew the first thing I was going to make, and here it is.

This is an easy adaptation of my mini tote tutorial. I made this one for my niece's Christmas present, you know how young children love bags for carrying their treasures and the fabric is perfect for fussy cuts. A multi-functional gift ready for a game of eye spy as well as filling with goodies. This bag is 7" square finished size not including the handles. Wanna make one? read on.

You will need:

For the front and back- 18 fussycut 2"x2" Squares

Sashing strips for the front blocks-2 strips measuring 1 3/4" x 5" and 2 strips measuring 1 3/4"x 7.5"from a light solid, I used Essex linen

For the Straps- Cut 2 strips 3"x 8" from same co-ordinating fabric

Lining-Cut 2 squares 7 1/2"x7 1/2", contrasting fabric

Fusible Fleece- 2 squares 7 1/2"x7 1/2"

I used Vilene 630 fleece interlining (supplied by Julia at Gone to Earth). You could also use cotton batting or interfacing.

Letter stamps and Versa craft ink pad

Embroidery thread for the running stitch detail- I used Sashiko thread

Sewing supplies-thread, rotary cutter etc

seams are 1/4" throughout.

Step 1: Making the Front and Back

Stitch your squares together in rows of 3. On the top and bottom row press the seams to the left and on the centre row press seams to the right.

Join your 3 rows of squares matching up the points at the seams.

I stamp my sashing before I stitch it on. I use Hero Arts Clear design rubber stamps and Versacraft ink. This is heat set with an iron. I let the stamps dry for a few minutes, cover with a bit of scrap cotton and press for 15 seconds with a medium hot iron. I then take the scrap cotton away and repeat 2 times and press on the reverse as well. Then, add your sashing.

The rest of the bag follows the tutorial here from Step 2. The only addition you will need to make is to add the running stitch detail. I add this at the beginning of step 3, after I have added the fusible fleece but before I add the handles.

Hadley did a lovely version of Ayumi's wristlet pattern with the same fabric and more fussy cut squares see here.

Thankyou Aneela, I think everyone was thrilled with their fabric parcel x

save the date!

2011-11-24T14:57:00.001Z

save the date!, originally uploaded by ImAGingerMonkey.

Be there or regret it!

Once upon a time...

2011-11-23T07:44:00.001Z

...there was a little house block, built for Leila as part of her Home Sweet Home month in 318 Patchwork Bee. A house of sewing and Dutch decor, but it didn't look quite right. There was a tear in the side of the grass path- I blame the rotary cutter-and it just didn't make me smile as much as it should.

So I set to work with a seam ripper and some vintage feedsack, kindy sent by Charise and did a little DIY. As usual this doesn't always go according to plan. The plus side was the little lady waving goodbye from the door way, the minus was a little damage to a tiny bit of fabric patched up with a door plate number. The grass was relaid...

And now I am smiling. Marginally too small- only by 1/4 inch, sorry Leila, I am sure it'll stretch with a bit of steam! The measuring fabric and the washing instructions are Kumiko Fujita, the roof is Alexander Henry Heath, the Sky is Lecien from Mrs March collection and the chimneys are Suzuko Koseki. The other prints are vintage and the house is Kona stone.

Wishing an early happy thanksgiving to all of you stateside peeps. We all have much to be thankful for, it is just hard to remember to take a little time out to think of it but when you do, it is worth it (that's my lecture finished for today)oh and special thanks to Aneela and scrappy loveliness of this yet to be released fabric line she sent me and many other UK bloggers- now there is a generous spirit!

A Little Dumpling

2011-11-21T19:40:00.001Z

I had a lovely surprise this week. Charise sent me her bee block for my month in Patchwork 318 Bee which uses designs from Kumiko Fujita's wonderful OOP book. My theme is Afternoon Tea, and my plan is a table runner for my kitchen. Now her block was a beauty- witness below

I love the mix of vintage and new fabrics and the texty tea time words, and if this wasn't enough she popped this in too

I feel totally spoiled! I had already admired the dumpling here, I didn't realise it was coming to me. The shape is a free tutorial from Keykalou. It is the perfect size for my thread snips, might even stop me losing them all the time.

The fabrics she included with it are special too- a new Suzuko Koseki print (and my favourite of her new ones) and a sublime piece of vintage kitchen fabric- you will see more of it shortly as I am including it in some quilt blocks.

Hugs to Charise xxx A very generous and talented lady xxx

Want to see how good she is? Click here and check out her incredible Swiss ski chalet.

See what I mean!

Candy Cane Love Pot Holder

2011-11-19T08:17:00.001Z

Thankyou for so many supportive comments for my new Candy Cane Love pattern and for the sales too! I thought I would show you a bit more of the pot holder which uses the square Candy cane block.

The finished block in the pattern is 6" square, the perfect size for the pot holder pattern on Oh Fransson quilted pot holder Tutorial. This is an excellent pattern and has a great pocket feature on the reverse.

I used Florence, my new machine, to practice a bit of free motion quilting. Lynne has been trying FMQ and asked for advice here and the comments include a lot of useful tips. I have done a little free motion before- it makes my arms ache so I only do small areas. I keep the feed dogs up, use a darning foot, machinger gloves, adjust the tension wheel to 7 and have a thinner bobbin thread e.g. YLI soft touch or Aurifil 50. I think it varies hugely according to sewer and machine. The most useful thing for me was practicing drawing out the patterns over and over again on scrap paper. Getting the doodling loose and free prepares my brain for the same patterns with the needle.

I can get a reasonable front and back tension balance and fairly even stitches.

My patterns always end up a bit smaller than I anticipated. I think if I did more free motion quilting it would loosen up a bit.

Or maybe if I drank more...and then quilted.

I hope to put another post up soon showing how I use the pattern alignment marks to match up the different sections. Can you just about make up the free motion writing around the edge? t'is the season to be jolly

Would you like a little music? Last weekend I watched a great documentary looking at 20 years of Pearl Jam on BBC4. I was a massive fan in the early 90s, it made me feel a little old as it captured a time that I didn't realise was so far behind me. Saying that I am much happier person now than I was then, so I leave you with a bit of Eddie Vedder

Happy weekend x

Candy Cane Mini Tote Bag Tutorial

2011-11-16T19:34:00.001Z

My new Candy Cane Love pattern pdf includes two canes in mirror image which join together to make a candy cane heart. The block is perfect for a mini tote bag.

A little bag perfect for putting filling with treats or a present in itself! The finished tote bag is 7.5" Square. There is a gadget at the bottom of the post for printing this pattern with and without the photos.

To make a Mini Tote you will need:

For the front- 7"x7" Square Candy Cane heart block (pattern available to buy here). You could use any quilt block 7" square.

Sashing strips for the front blocks-2 strips 1" x 7" and 2 strips 1"x 8"from a co-ordinating fabric

For the back-8"x8"Square from the same co-ordinating fabric as the strips

For the Straps- Cut 2 strips 3"x 8" from same co-ordinating fabric

Lining-Cut 2 squares 8"x8", contrasting fabric

Fusible Fleece- 2 squares 8"x8". I used Vilene 630 fleece interlining (supplied by Julia at Gone to Earth). You could also use cotton batting or interfacing.

Sewing supplies-thread, rotary cutter etc.

Step 1- Sashing the front

Stitch sashing strips to the top and bottom of the 7" square block. Press seams away from the block. Repeat adding sashing strips to the left and right sides. Block should now be 8 x 8".

Step 2- Making the Handles

Take the 3" x 8" handle strips and fold length ways so the long edges meet and press. Open out and bring both long outer edges in towards the centre fold. Leave a small gap, less than 1/8 inch between them, press again creating fold on the outer long edges. Bring the folds together and stitch as close as you can to the outer edge. Repeat for the other handle.

Step 3- Adding the Handles

Fuse fleece/interfacing to the wrong side of the front and back bag pieces. If you are using batting you could use basting spray or tack/baste your batting to the front and back pieces. Mark the centre of the top front and back bag pieces (right side facing) with a pin. Place handles an inch either side of the pin so that each handle loop is lying downwards on the bag. Stitch along the top edge to secure the handles 1/8 inch from the outer edge.

Step 4- Making Bag Outer and Lining

Take the front and back bag pieces with handles attached, with right sides together, stitch 1/4" seam along side, bottom and side edge. Use very small stitches around the bottom corners and trim the corners. Turn through to the right side. Press side seams open at the top of the bag-this is to make seam matching easier when you stitch the bag outer and lining together. Place the lining squares right sides together and stitch from the top edge, down the side and a little way accross the bottom, securing the seam at this point. Leave a 4" gap at the bottom to turn the bag through in the next stage. Repeat on the other side seam. Trim corners. Press seams open at the top of the lining side seams. Leave the lining with the wrong side outwards.

Step 5- Joining Outer bag and Lining

Place the outer bag inside the lining so the right sides are facing each other. Use the open side seams to match up the outer and lining as in the picture, use pins to hold in place. The handles should be lying downwards.

Stitch all around the top edges sewing through the lining and bag outer with a 1/4" seam. Turn the bag through the 4"opening in the lining. Press. Close the opening with ladder stitch or by machine. Top stitch around the top edge of the tote bag. Fill with goodies and get ready to give- you weren't keeping it for yourself were you?

Candy Cane Love

2011-11-16T19:22:00.001Z

Today I nervously put my next foundation paper piecing pattern on sale now at Etsy- Candy Cane Love. This is unashamedly Christmassy. I love red and white, especially at Christmas and the candy cane stood out for me as the pattern I wanted to make for Christmas sewing.

This pattern is intermediate level- it is a little harder than Winter Woolies which is a beginner level pattern. There are some very small pieces to make the cane curve and enlarging the blocks would make them easier to work with if you find little bits a challenge. You get a 15 page PDF document to download, pattern pieces and instructions to make 3 candy cane blocks as well as pattern maps to show how all the pieces fit together, photos, pictures and general paper piecing guidelines and helpful hints. There are two rectangle mirror image canes that can be sewn together to make the candy cane heart in the mini tote bag. You could also use these separately- I think they would work well in a line of three, maybe on a table runner. I used my tomato reds to make the canes for the candy cane heart and stamped with versacraft ink in the centre. I have posted a free tutorial to make the mini tote bag here!

In addition to the two rectangle cane blocks, there is a square cane block. I used cherry reds for this cane-there is a lot of red in my stash! Amy has been invaluable in her pattern testing for me for the second time- I owe her big time! She used one of the rectangle cane blocks for her beautiful Christmas linen stocking here! The sweetie fabric is the most perfect match.

Now I can draw in photoshop, I made some improvements to my pattern formats. All the pattern pieces for each cane are on a single page so that you can enlarge them all in one go to make bigger blocks. The blocks I made up are 6"(square block) and 6.5" (rectangle) tall- finished size. Photocopying by 200% would produce quilt size blocks of 12" and 13" and there is room around the canes to trim the blocks if required. I also put in alignment marks to match the sections up- I found this really helpful. I have put in a cropped pic below so you can see how the marks work. You can see how the pattern pieces have a little colour too so to help you know which bit is which! They are pastel shades on the pattern pieces and will print equally well in black and white- that is how I use them, or colour without using all your printing ink up!

This is the square block in a potholder, perfect for all the Christmas cooking. I 'll post more about this one tomorrow.

I hope you like it!

Skirt Hem Pleat Tutorial

2011-11-15T13:50:00.001Z

I just added a very nice pleat hem to my new skirt, see here. It was the first time I had used this finish and I liked it a lot so I thought I would share the process. The idea is not mine, it was part of the Simplicity 2215 pattern but their directions were a little sparse as is often the case with commercial patterns so I have expanded on them and added photos to help. This detail works best on a full skirt with gathers or pleats.

To make the hem bands:

Measure round the hem of the skirt that you are adding this detail to. Divide the measurement in half and add 1 1/4 inches to the measurement. This will be the length. The width will be 3 3/4"

From the extra hem fabric, cut two strips across the width of the fabric- selvedge to selvedge using your measurements above. Take the two hem bands and using a 5/8" seam join together at the short ends to make a long continuous band. Press the seams open, you can neaten the seam edges if required.

Press the hem 1 3/4" from the bottom. You need a good crease here.

To add the bands to the skirt:

Open out the hem. Take the two additional hem bands and join together at the short ends to make a long continuous band. Press the seams open, you can neaten the seam edges if required. Place the band onto the bottom of the hem right sides together. If you are using the directional fabric the band fabric print will be upside down pointing to the bottom of the hem. Stitch a 1/4" seam.

Open out the additional hem band- see how the directional prints are both facing the same way? Turn the skirt inside out. Press the 1/4 seam upwards away from the hem.

Take the bottom of the hem and fold towards the skit along the original 1 3/4 crease line. Press along the crease line again but this time you will also be pressing the seam you just sewed which will now be pointing downwards towards the hem.

Take the raw edge of the hem band and using the seam as the fold line, bring the hem downwards- in this photo it will move to the right. The 1/4 seam is tucked in behind the fold which you can see to the bottom of the picture where I have left a bit poking out!

At this point I baste/tack through the layers along the fold line just to make sure it all holds in place. Using a longer stitch length e.g.3, stitch as close as you can to the fold. I stitch on the wrong side to ensure I stitch through the fold.

Remove basting/tacking stitches and press. You can see the wrong side below.

And here is the right side. I left a raw edge for the bottom hem to and fringed the fabric but you could also stitch a narrow 1/4 hem here to finish off. The fraying was done with a pin picking out the cross threadsI also stitched an additional line of stitching to control how far it went

I also stitched an additional line of stitching approx 1/8" above the fringing to control how far it went.

Whole Lotta Love for My New Skirt

2011-11-15T13:15:00.001Z

Finished, skirt Simplicity 2215 in Lotta Jansdotter 'Echo' Dusted Plum Florine and I am very happy with it. I made the waist band wider but other wise unchanged from my test run version.

Nice details include irregular pleats- the sizes and directions vary, capacious pockets,

plus a contrast lining of mustard yellow- the egg dot print from Hoodies Morning Call range for Blank Quilting- I would love some more of this, if you know where I can find it please let me know!

I made the finished waistband an inch taller

and a pleated and frayed fringe edge on the hem. It makes me feel like a lady, I have already ordered another print in navy so maybe I repeat this one, or maybe pastures new. If you like the hem I have written a tutorial telling you how to do it here.

Busy week this week, Candy Cane paper pieced pattern will go on sale Thursday and there is a lot going on at home too, award evening thing with Lula, Ikea delivery, more kitchen fitting and I had 10 head injections yesterday- some weeks seem to pack a month's activity into 7 days.

(**edited to add**)

I have these injections every 6 months to help prevent migraine- I am fine, i don't mind needles at all, it is just a lot in one go and it makes head/neck sore for a while, it is worth it.

And if you fancy the skirt pattern, it is relatively easy but there is a side concealed zipper which combines with the pocket- hmm, quite tricky that bit, otherwise OK. If you haven't made a skirt before, I fully recommend Anna's recent sew-a-long for a similar style which is a great first skirt project.

Tea and Towels

2011-11-13T09:13:00.001Z

I recently had the offer of a couple of tea towels to review from Al at all-tea-towels.co.uk/. Now I like tea and I like towels- fight! Sorry a Harry Hill reference which may be unintelligible outside the UK. I love this beautifully bold, red screen print on organic unbleached cotton.

I particularly like the A. There is a t print similar towel here that I was very taken with.

This tea towel is a reproduction of a furnishing fabric designed by J Felman and produced by David Whitehead ltd- a textiles giant of the 1950s and beyond.

As well as the luscious atomic style print there are some nice details on this towel, I like the border and the hanging grommet is a very useful feature...

Couldn't resist trying a bit of styling with vintage pyrex.

You can find both of these designs and other cotton/linen tea towels here and Al has offered you a 10% discount with a discount code of 10

Who doesn't love a bargain?

Showcase-one more

2011-11-10T14:06:00.001Z

Let's hit the slopes! November Cocorico Bee block for Krista, originally uploaded by {Leila} Where Orchids Grow.

Oh wow, I just have to add this as a great example of how you can take a pattern like Winter Woolies, run with it, add your own ideas and create something unique and totally new! Let's hear it for Leila and this amazing Ski theme bee block she did for Krista!

Showcase mini

2011-11-10T07:43:00.001Z

I have another showcase for you, just mini, and a little bit Christmassy too! First, Kris made this mug from my Freezer Paper Piece Mug Rug tutorial. Now, Kris doesn't know why it loaded sideways on Flickr, but just turn your head a little to the right- and you can see her mug and saucer- she choose lovely reds for this.

And Connie has made my Scandinavian Christmas tree pattern! This is the first one I have seen so I was very excited to see this on Flickr.

Connie has put a great mix of scraps in, the shapes and fabrics remind me of Christmas presents all stacked up! I think a lot of you know that teaching is my day job, I think it must be in my blood- my parents and aunt were all teachers. The patterns and tutorials are all part of my teaching side, I just love to see your work, gold stars all round!

Showcase

2011-11-09T16:16:00.001Z

When I design a pattern or post a tutorial, the most rewarding part is seeing others make it- firstly I then know it really does work and the instructions are clear, and then what I really love is to see how you put your own stamp on it, the fabrics, what you will use it for etc. So here is a little showcase of your work...

Carly won Winter Woolies on Cindy's blog. I love the glow of the red against the cool calm nordic background. This is Carly's first time paper piecing- can you believe it?

Simone made the lovely icy coloured hanging with the snowy border-love the different prints, very nordic!

Then she used the mitten block and made the cutest winter pin cushion. I love this idea- I fancy a set of seasonal pincushions! The other pin cushions are made from my tutorial here.

Hadley had a moment of madness and managed to reverse her pattern- we are still not sure how, but it worked out just fine. Beautiful cross hatch fabric and pom pom detail Hadley!

Cindy who hosted the giveaway had the most perfect fabric for this pattern-just like it has been knitted on those giant chunky knitting needles!

I would just like to point you in the direction of the tutorial Cindy did about using freezer paper to make paper piecing a whole lot easier here. I tried her method whilst testing my new paper piecing design and it is brilliant! It is a quick way of cutting your fabrics ready to foundation paper pieces and results in less fabric wastage and easier fussy cutting- you know how I love a bit of fussy cutting. If you are using very small pieces in paper piecing, this method makes handling them a lot easier. Go look at it-right here- if you have never paper pieced before, this is going to help!

Skirt- test run

2011-11-07T19:51:00.000Z

You must've seen these in the blogisphere- I've seen them everywhere, Lotta Jansdotter's new fabric line for Windham Echo. As soon as they came in at M is for Make, I knew I wanted some for a skirt and couldn't resist the fat 16th bundle, 12 little pieces from the whole line.

This is the skirt, Cynthia Rowley for Simplicity 2215. I plan to make the dress too, but the skirt will do for now. Before I cut into the good stuff, I am being very well behaved and making a toile, a test run to check size and shape. I tend to pick patterns based on how I would like to look, not on what always suits me- there is a high degree of wishing I was the sort of women who dressed like this or that, rather than what I really wear.

If you are unsure about doing a pattern, I thoroughly recommend a look at Pattern Review. I look at this site before I buy any pattern because you can always find someone else who has made it and read the highs and the lows. It helps with sizing and also highlights potentially tricky areas- on this skirt there are pockets and a concealed zip both in the same side seam. It helps to know such things in advance! I made this on my new machine- named Florence as in Florence and the Machine. The name followed a very funny conversation with Melinda who names not only her sewing machines, but her kitchen appliances too- I'll say no more, maybe she will elaborate but she cracked me up!

I was very unsure when I was making this. I don't usually wear my skirts so high. I tend to wear very long low waisted skirts but I am a bit tired of hiding everything all the time so I fancied a change. I also hate very close fitting clothes so I am making this with a bit of ease as it is quite a fitted shape

Apologies for the blurry photos, it was poor light and I was wobbling around. I am happy with the test skirt, especially the pockets.

I am quite slim but also curvy and fullness around the waist can make me look rather plump but I think the shape works in this case. It is hard to look at yourself objectively but this looks better than I thought it was and I threw it together very quickly. You can just see the gap underneath my pocketed hand- hiding a big expanse of hip where the zipper would go- very attractive!

The hem is a lovely detail and when I make this on the real skirt I will show the process as it is not hard and adds a bit of weight and texture. The very bottom of the hem is a raw edge and the lower crossweave threads will be removed to make a fringe.

Fancy making a skirt but want the help of others along the way? Check out Anna's Sew-a-long. Fancy finding out more about dress making and using beautiful and feminine patterns, visit Florence's blog and read her review of the new Colette Sewing Handbook. Tomorrow she interviews Sarai Mitnick, the founder of Colette. Happy reading and happy sewing x

Scandinavian Christmas Tree- Free Pattern Download!

2011-11-04T15:01:00.002Z

It has been a hectic few days, my Scandinavian Christmas Tree cushion pattern is now available to download for free at The Sewing Directory.

I wanted to take a pic of the cushion with my new machine which came yesterday! However, it is pouring with rain, grey a gloomy, too dark for photos so here are a few from last night.side by side view taken last night: new giant Memory craft Quilter's Companion 5900 next to my little Jem.

side by side view: new giant Memory craft Quilter's Companion 5900 next to my little Jem

I was very fortunate to win a Janome as all the feet will work on the new machine- it comes with many more too. It ways a tonne! I have already been sewing, working on Christmas paper piecing patterns- sews like a dream and it really is like they say- "whisper quiet!" I cannot say a big enough thankyou to Fiona at Sewing Directory for organising and holding the competition, to the judges at David and Charles, Janome and Cloth for choosing my design, and of course to Janome for providing the most perfect prize. This is the machine I always wanted but couldn't afford to buy! There is of course the other fantastic prize: being published by Cloth for the winter issue, out early December!

And this is what I tested on my new uber machine, a preview of my new paper piecing pattern, Candy Cane available soon!

Mamma mia

2011-11-01T15:33:00.002Z

Today I was going to tell you about my next project with some lovely new fabric that makes my heart go pitter pat and try and get some work done on the next paper piecing pattern, but usual service has been interrupted by very happy news. I found out today whilst reading twitter feed on my mobile (@verykb if you wanna tweet) that I got first prize (squeals!)in a Christmas competition held by The Sewing Directory There are some very nice things written about my 'Scandinavian Christmas Tree Cushion' by the judges, I am trying not to let my head get too big! I really tried to design something that was achievable for beginner sewers and still satisfying for the more experienced crafter.

So what did I win? Oh mamma mia, I am so pleased! I won this sewing machine which was top of my sewing machine wish list although I never thought I would actually have one. Further more, and in some ways even more exciting, the project is being published in the Winter issue of Cloth magazine- my first publication! Blown away, stunned and very happy!

Fright Night

2011-10-31T17:02:00.000Z

Thoughtful zombie

Scary zombie

Happy Zombie

This was my zombie Zumba costume. It was a Thriller inspired Zumba special- great fun. I used this great youtube video for my make up. Lula has gone for a Japanese influenced Bad Alice costume, the angle here makes her appear enormously tall and Lottie, a tiny miniature dog beast

Happy Halloween what ever you choose to do. I am hoping the trick or treaters will forget our road and Damian and I will work our way through the Cadbury's treat bars!

Fusibles

2011-10-29T20:44:00.002+01:00

I am not fan of interfacing- in particular, the iron-in non woven kind. Even following the instructions closely I find it wrinkles, and worse, melts. It makes the bag or the clothing feel a bit stiffer but not in the way I want it too and I often end up with some sort of iron glue incident. With clothing, I now tend to buy woven interfacing, I think it gives a more professional finish- or even an extra layer of fabric instead. With bags, wallets, purses etc I have tended to use cotton batting/wadding, I could never find the fusible fleece that a lot of USA patterns mention. Hearing of my difficulties, Julia from Gone to Earth, sent me a couple of generous samples of Vilene fusible fleece, what can I say, it is love at first use. This is what I made with it.

A little camera wristlet. The pattern is from Keyka Lou. If you want a purse to try and you haven't made purses or wallets before, this is the ideal first project- no zips, easy velcro fastening and like all her patterns, the most excellent instructions. I bought the pattern a while ago, along with this pocket clutch which I shall be making soon and I cannot recommend them more highly. Both patterns call for interfacing and batting/wadding but with the Vilene fusible fleece I can skip those and use one layer of fleece- I chose the heavier H640 loft as a camera needs a good layer of padding. When I cut my pattern pieces, I layered up the feature fabric,the lining and the fleece and cut though all three- much faster!

You can see the thickness of the fleece in this pic, three pieces of fabric all backed with fleece. Julia kindly sent the Vilene instructions for ironing the fleece to fabric. I think a very important step is letting it cool for 30 mins- I have not done that in the past. It adhered perfectly, no lumps and bumps on the fabric side at all. This fleece has a lovely feel- not what I expected, I must expect. I am a fibre snob and tend to think natural is best but this stuff is the exception.

The biggest difference I found compared to working with batting was the ease of trimming seam allowances. Reducing bulk in the seam allowance is vital to get a professional finish on your purse or wallet. With this fleece, I could trim it easily at an angle and feather it away, as a result the edges are a lot less lumpy, top stitching is much easier and the end product looks better.

I will be trying more with the fleece, the lighter weight one too which I think will be perfect for bags. If you have had a bad experience making bags with iron on interfacing- this could be your life saver! You know me, I like to test things thoroughly and I won't big it up unless it genuinely impresses me, this definitely gets my thumbs up! I have found through hard experience that with interfacing, you get what you pay for. Saving a few pennies buying the cheap stuff is such a waste when it frazzles under the iron or wrinkles with the top fabric. I know, I've been there and shed tears!

This is such a handy little case, I may well make another to carry my phone, keys and card when going to the gym, it is the perfect shape. Quick to sew too- instant gratification- well nearly. Fabric roll call- Outer fabric-Melody Miller View Finder print, lining- Chloe's Closet, Hello Betty, Strap-Alexander Henry, Heath in tomato.

By the way, can I just say- Flippin' heck Tucker! (British nostalgic TV lingo- apologies, I can't help myself), over 600 followers, how did that happen? A big thankyou and a howdy to you all x

Holiday Education

2011-10-27T11:25:00.002+01:00

I think I am slightly warped when it comes to the concept of holidays. It is half term week so along with a bit of catching up with friends, socialising and family time I set myself a list of challenges to achieve. This is my standard holiday behaviour. I work so hard to do so many things I often end up more tired than when I started. First on the list is to master photoshop. I have Photoshop elements 8 which is a mini cheapo version of the real thing. It is pretty limited but enough for what I need. I worked out how to marquee elements of a photo- cutting out the bit you want and sticking it on a white background. This was an early attempt on an old spool holder.

I also wanted to be able to draw paper pieced patterns more easily. Eight hours one to one tuition with my brother and I have done it. More to follow on new Christmas themed patterns soon... Meanwhile, challenge 2, make something on my new overlocker. Even when testing an idea I like to make something I can use so just to get myself into the swing of the stitches I whizzed round a couple of layers of white muslin to make face cloths- the sort you use for a hot cloth cleanser.

My guide for the overlocker has been the excellent Sew U Home Stretch, part of the Built by Wendy series. I cannot recommend this book more highly. I had soem jersey remant fabric in what you will surely agree is a most attractive design- £1 from car boot sale. Useful as a tester. This one armed lovely is my Frankenstein piece, testing size, fit, stitches etc. It is an adaptation of the Rock the Boat neck project.

Impatient as ever, I skipped actually making this as a real top, partly because I can't find where I put the pattern pieces I so carefully drafted, and moved on to a dress. I have an occasion to wear something formal coming up in November so it was the perfect incentive to get this done. I adapted the Pretty Baby Doll Dress- made the neckline a little higher due to the scant and bony xylophone nature of my décolletage, and made the skirt section less full. Instead of even gathers across the front, I pushed them to the centre section- I have a top like this so I know it works for me- less fullness at the hips for a straighter silhouette.

The lace was a later addition, it looked very plain when it was finished and deep vintage lace added a bit of extra interest. I was more than a little out of my comfort zone using an overlocker/serger. I have done a bit before at college 12 years ago on a fashion HNC but never whole items of clothing or with jersey. This is black cotton jersey from Ditto fabrics, fantastic quality and great service.

Damian took these pictures, you can get a hint of the assistant photographer by looking at my facial expressions.

Now on to more challenges- I am trying out fusible fleece from Julia at Gone to Earth, back with more soon. Two girls, baking, whoopie pies and cheese scones are calling me.

Pillow talk

2011-10-24T09:09:00.000+01:00

Are you ready for a little pillow talk... I hope you can tell I am using my most alluring voice for this! Yeah right! This is really a post about friendship. Many of you have seen this pillow before and I always feel a little guilty about reposting an item but I wanted to take part on Brigitte's feature so here goes.

This pillow was a house warming present for Ayumi on her big move back to Japan. So why this design? Having got caught up in the traditional blocks of The Farmer's Wife quilt-a-long, I found many of my favourites were friendship blocks and I started looking for more- 5,500 Quilt Block Designs was a great source! The pillow features 9 different friendship block designs. My favourite is in the centre, the corners all feature an X type design and I balanced out the other blocks in a + pattern. The brightness and the business of the fabrics make the blocks merge but I have cropped a few so you can see individual blocks

Each block has a mini theme going on. This block has a sweet food theme.

The top one with the tea pot is about home, comfort and tea!

The bottom block is all about text and a love of typography.

Ayumi loves pink and I like pink/green together so I set out to see if I could make the whole thing work in a limited palette. There is a mix of modern and vintage fabric something we both like and the design had a simple lattice quilting- there was enough going on with the fabrics

Pillows make great presents so if you want to be inspired in time for Christmas, head over to Brigitte's blog and have a look at the other designs for this month and previous months- there is a lot of inspiration to be had and just about time to enter your own- I day 13 hours when I last looked!

Tea towel love

2011-10-22T09:15:00.001+01:00

Seeing my Winter Woolies pattern pop up on Flickr is the greatest feeling! Penny dropped me a line to say she was creating something and then look what I found only a short time later...

How cool is that! I am even more honoured because it is going in front of the espresso machine- a vital part of the kitchen, and I am pretty sure she even has a name. Love it Penny! Wanna see the new book she is a part of- pop to her blog and take a peek, it looks very cute indeed.

Kate Winslet speech

2011-10-19T16:44:00.000+01:00

I apologise if this all gets a bit Kate Winslet but I cannot tell you exciting it feels when people trust your work enough to buy a pattern- I am totally overwhelmed. I thought I might sell a couple- I underestimated completely and had to keep rushing back to my etsy shop to top up the numbers! Your kind and generous comments have made me smile and blush so much! Even the Flickr photo was on explore today- icing on the cake! So time to give a little credit to some very lovely friends. Firstly Amy, who has more energy and better time management than anyone I know, has been a wonderful pattern tester. She was emailing me pictures before I had even finished my own and came up with this frosty, wintery table topper in an unbelievably short time.

in fact she has only just finished this beauty before she started my pattern. This block really took my breath away, stunning! If you haven't already, take a visit to her blog and you will soon see how muliti talented she is with her patterns, screen printing and crafty makes. She has an incredibly generous spirit and has been so helpful in my tense final stages of getting this up and running, thankyou Amy. And she is also hosting a little giveaway for my pattern here if you want a freebie ( if you have already bought it, you can still enter and get a freebie on my next one).

And holding my hand across in Japan has been Ayumi who made these in double quick time- an enlarged version of each mitten block to make for his and hers mini tea cozy- I love that idea and it is an extra test of the pattern! Ayumi is a pillar of support to me, a great friend and always gives positive and helpful advice. Sometimes people visit here who haven't looked at her Pink Penguin blog before- if that's you, oh wow you are in for such a treat. Thankyou Ayumi! She is also giving away my pattern here and the same applies as with Amy's giveaway.

If you are stuck for Christmas presents Ayumi's latest tutorial is here and you can make this cute and very useful organiser basket

And then there was Hadley who turned my cheeks red with her blog post (and ended it with my favourite musician and comedy genius). Hadley made this clever little mug rug use the + x block in the best way

And last but you know definitely never least, Lynne wrote some incredibly nice things and is hosting another giveaway- 3 peeps win a pattern from me. It is hard not to find something amazing in her photostream, take a look at this, her latest work

Such a supportive community could leave me speechless apart from the very long speech I have just written...thankyou x

Winter Woolies Pattern

2011-10-18T16:52:00.002+01:00

Thank you for such supportive emails yesterday. Putting myself out into the commercial world even with one little paper piecing pattern is a stressful experience but now it is done I am so happy- you can find it on etsy here. It is just turning chilly in the UK- I have put away all my summer footwear and got out my many boots, so timing couldn't be better! I made a wall hanging with my block, it is now just by our front door as a subliminal prompt to my husband and daughter to maybe even put a coat on?

I have put a new page here with paper piecing links, so if you want to know the basics before you embark on a pattern like this there is some great help out there. The best tip I can offer is one I read at The Sometimes Crafter, use an old needle without thread and machine stitch through the paper pattern on all the lines. The perforations make the paper easier to fold its removal so much easier. You do not need special paper just something lightweight. I bought a pack of 70 gsm from the classiest stationery shop- Poundland. Another tip is to print a second copy of the pattern pieces on to card- use these as a rough guide to the fabric shapes you will need. With foundation piecing you always need bigger fabric pieces than you think!

If you are lovely enough to purchase, you know I am here for help! If it is sold, I will renew as soon as I can so be patient, it will be back up there! More patterns are coming, I just need a little photoshop tutorial from my much in demand brother - I have booked him and if he wants a birthday present he knows he has to come, big sister has spoken. Christmas themes are next- presents and candy canes I hope...

Preview

2011-10-17T20:42:00.004+01:00

Unfinished, the fancy bits have not yet been added but this is a sneaky peek of my first foundation paper pieced pattern going on sale tomorrow...

back with more details soon...

Promise

2011-10-13T14:46:00.000+01:00

Thankyou for all the get well wishes. I am back at work and feeling much better than last week. I have an energetic job so when I get home I can't get much sewing done until I feel a bit more up to speed. I did fancy a quick fix instant gratification make. I bought this months Mollie Makes magazine, mainly for the tiny coin purse frame kit on the front. At £4.99 an issue, it is at the pricier end of the magazine market. I blindly cut my fabrics out following the instructions and cutting round the templates , I then realised there would be no lining, the seams would be visible on the inside and the whole thing would be too flimsy for coins. So I abandoned the sparse and slightly inadequate instructions and made it using previous purse making knowledge- see U-handbag for great purse tutorials.

Suzuko Koseki fabric and a little stamping with versacraft ink.

The lining is Kei dots. The coins give you an idea of scale, this is a tiny purse.

I am not a great craft magazine buyer. UK magazines are often aimed at beginner sewers and have great aspirational lifestyle pictures but projects with often rather limited usage or not the best instructions. If I had been new to sewing and had made the purse how they suggested I would have been rather sad about the result. The crafting tradition and maybe a larger market to see to in USA and Japan leads to more adventurous magazines with a variety of projects for a greater range of abilities. Don't get me wrong, Mollie makes is very pretty but there is the edge of whimsy that pushes me over the edge- I am a little irritable at the moment and "things that have been made with love last longer" as a caption was going too far for me.

I have had a week of frustrating tech which has compounded my grumpiness. My phone is a Blackberry- I just got it fixed and then the Blackberry crash has made it inoperable for most of this week. I also working on my first paper pieced pattern for sale on Etsy and drawing the pieces has been fiendishly hard in Word! I have now sussed it, publication is imminent and I promise Damian that I will be a loveable person to live with once more and not a raging, irritable old bag x

Whine and a moan

2011-10-09T15:28:00.001+01:00

It is time for a little whine and a moan. I lost my voice last Tuesday- mid class it went from singing and talking to whispering in 10 minutes. The strangest experience, I have lost my voice before but not without warning. It was the last class of the morning and I thought I would rest up and it would return. Hmm, Sunday, running a temperature, a mountain of tissues and wondering about how next week will be. Two very welcome parcels this week though. I did a fabric swap with Charise- what lovelies she sent, vintage in there as well as modern. I can only fantasise about her great her fabric stash is.

I have got to know Charise via Flickr and admiring her creations...take a minute to look at this. See what I mean! Thankyou Charise!

I was also lucky enough to win a giveaway at Wynn's ZakkaArt blog. She has recently posted a tutorial for a lovely patchwork bag- see the links here. A beautiful stack of 4 fat quarters in pretty colours, gorgeous and soft. Thankyou Wynn!

So I am sniffing, snuffling and croaking away. Other crappy things this week: my phone broke- life without my Blackberry is sadly a bit hard, there is a magic man nearby who is fixing it for a small fee, hoepfully back by Thursday. The mouse on my computer bust, and my laser printer packed up too. My head has not been up to speed either- I tried to dial my own phone number today, and numerous pans have been burnt, water left on etc. A costly week.

Normal service will be resumed soon. I was meant to be seeing Ben Howard play tonight, too poorly to go, I've sold my tickets and made someone else and her daughter very happy, so I'll leave you with this and stop the whinge. I'll be better soon and I will try and feel 'gracious' too.

Mug Rug Winner!

2011-10-07T08:23:00.001+01:00

The winner is...

and that was Quirky Granola girl aka Melinda! I have already been in touch with Melinda so the Mug Rug will be winging its way to her very soon. A big thank you for all the entries and the incredibly helpful ideas for paper piecing designs- I am working on Christmas paper piecing right now!

Christmas- not yet

2011-10-04T08:43:00.001+01:00

Just finished, ready for Christmas in Hawaii, my Christmas Ringo Pie bee block-an advent tree for Amber. I found this wooden tree on Flickr and that was my starting point.

The bordered squares are 1.5 inches. I stamped the words- a line from White Christmas using Versacraft ink as it sets permanently onto the fabric.

The background fabric and stamped squares are Kona Snow. I have very little Christmas fabric so I dived into the red and green in my vintage and new fabrics so it is an eclectic mix.

You can see the other Christmas blocks which have rolled in so far here as well as the first blocks from Amy's camera theme too here and here.

It might be a while till Christmas but it is the start of stitching time- I am hoping to get some paper pieced patterns ready for sale in the next 2 weeks with Christmas designs ready for stockings, cushions etc. Keeps me busy x

Birthday stuff ♥

2011-10-03T14:58:00.001+01:00

Just in case you haven't entered yet, my birthday mug rug giveaway here

I thought I would share the crafty bits of my birthday with you. Damian excelled himself- he made this card, the funny thing is I found a sewing machine image on my computer this week that I didn't remember using but wasn't sure, it was the source material for this!

You can't see but there is a heart cut in a third section, he is such a honey x

He also got me these, Kei Kerchief ladies- so hard to find, I had to pounce on them on Etsy, and the linen blend paper fabrics, also Etsy. My big gift was an overlocker which I have to spend some time with. I have watched and eye popping DVD that accompanies it with the most annoying music but I can't wait to make jersey clothing for me and Lula.

Ayumi made me this incredible mini quilt and matching pincushion, I can't tell you how much I love it. Every fabric is calling out to me!

And this beautiful stationery set was from my lovely friend Kathy, beautiful hand printed cards- the salutations one cracks me up!

I am a lucky, lucky person.

September

2011-10-01T16:21:00.002+01:00

Thankyou for the birthday wishes! Giveaway is here and I am finding the comments incredibly helpful.

September makes...

1. Courthouse Steps Pillow/cushion- started, 2. Cracker Scraps Block for Angela, 3. Mug Rug- how to paper piece tutorial, 4. Girl Bonjour block, 5. Back to school, 6. B for Bonjour!, 7. Quilts on a line for Corey, 8. Sewing Machine Block for Amisha, 9. Ringo Pie preview for Amber

Not so much this month, back to work, Lula starting high school and all the support that entails, a bit of a sore arms flare up situation- better now, it has been a month of blocks and it finished with me working on Amber's Christmas block for Ringo Pie so a little preview for her at the bottom of the mosaic. There are a couple of Kumiko Fujita blocks from a Japanese magazine that I hadn't got round to posting about, part of a mystery quilt-a-long in the magazine Patchwork Tsushin. There is a wonderful piecing video showing Kumiko at work.

Check out the lovely makes of the others taking part at Lynne's Fresh Sewing first of the month meetup. The weather is beautiful Autumn sun and temperatures that we should have had in August, and I am thinking Christmas sewing whilst wearing a summer voile tunic...

Giveaway! Mug rug for you...

2011-09-30T08:18:00.000+01:00

Shhh, it is my birthday, 41 today. I am not a big one for celebrations ( I have had some lovely pressies, I'll share later) and even a birthday girl has to go to work, so for now it is giveaway time.

I plan to be producing more paper pieced patterns in the future and selling them as downloads so to win this mug rug I would like you to give me just a little help- leave a comment telling me what image you would like to see paper pieced. This will help give me some ideas on where to start!

The giveaway is international.

I need to be able to contact the winner so check that your email is in your profile or your comment. Followers get an extra entry- just leave a second comment saying you follow.

Giveaway closes Friday 7th October 6.00am GMT

I won't be replying to these comments but I will be reading closely to see what you suggest.

You can make your own mug rug here.

**Good Luck**

Tutorial Part 3: Finishing the Mug Rug

2011-09-29T08:44:00.002+01:00

A bit of finishing off and your mug rug will be complete. You have already completed sections for the mug and spoon.

from your back ground fabric cut 1 strip 4.5 x 1.25 inches and another 4.5 x 1.5 inches. Stitch the first of these on the left edge of the mug and the 1.5 strip to the right edge. Now cut 1 strip 2 x 6.75 inches and another 1.5 x 6.75 inches The first strip goes onto the top of the mug and the second strip is added to the bottom underneath the saucer.

We will do the same for the spoon. Cut 1 strip 1.5 x 1.5 inches- this is for the top of your spoon. Cut another 1.5 x 1.25 inches, this is for the bottom of your spoon. The final strip to cut measures 1.75 x 6.75 inches. Stitch to the left edge of the spoon. Now, you can stitch the spoon and mug blocks together. Press the whole thing and trim to 6.5 x 8.5 inches. The assembly is like a mini quilt. You will need you backing fabric, I chose a vintage blue and cream print- cut to the same size as the mug rug front.Cut your wadding/batting to the same size, I used Insul bright. Make your quilt sandwich- backing, batting (reflective layer facing upwards for Insul bright) and top layer- I used a bit of 505 spray to hold everything together.

Add your quilting. I echo stitched around the mug saucer and spoon using a walking foot to keep the layers steady and a long stitch. Zig zag around the edges of the mug rug. Add your binding (you will need 1.25 x 40 inches, straight cut - see my single binding tutorial here for this and here for mitred corners. Here's a back view of the finished rug...

And with mug...

You can find all the tutorials for this project on the first post and tomorrow call back in, I will be giving this mug rug away!

Tutorial Part 2 Mug Rug: Foundation piecing

2011-09-27T16:32:00.001+01:00

I am using a different technique for piecing the spoon- foundation paper piecing. This is where you stitch your seams through a thin paper foundation. Its plus points are that it is very accurate, and requires less preparation than the freezer paper method. Its downsides are that you are working in reverse/mirror image (you'll see what I mean later), you cannot control how you iron your seams, it is harder to get the grain of your fabric right or to fussy cut, it is more wasteful of fabric and it is less flexible when designing patterns. I like the accuracy but I hate sewing through paper and I don't enjoy picking the bits of paper off at the end. No freezer paper is needed for this technique. We will be foundation piecing the spoon in two sections.

Start by printing out this PDF pattern onto thin paper. Roughly cut the two sections out but keep the seam allowances intact. It can help to print two copies and cut one of these up to act as a pattern piece guide but remember to allow for the seam allowance too if you do this.

We are starting with section B: the head of the school. You will need a piece of grey fabric that covers the whole of the spoon area including the seam allowance and a little beyond. If you put the fabric behind the paper and hold it up to the light you will be able to see if your fabric is big enough. Scroll further down for a photo of this. Secure with a pin. If your fabric has right side and wrong side, the right side faces down and the paper is pinned onto the wrong side. Next, you need to cut triangles big enough for pieces 15,16,17,18 plus seam allowances. You can see the size of mine- they are on an inch grid. You always need to go a bit bigger with this method as you will trim the seams down as you stitch.

Take a triangle and place it under the paper, right sides together with the spoon fabric. The corner of the triangle lies inwards toward the centre of the spoon. It takes a while to get the hand of this, remember the fabric will open out after your stitch. Place a pin along the seam line- this is where your stitches will go.

Check that the fabric is big enough, the pin will hold it in place, just flip the triangle outwards, it should extend to the seam allowance at least.

This is how it looks on the reverse- this is going to be the right side so you are working in reverse and in mirror image!

Flip everything back so the paper is on top and the triangle is flat underneath with the right angle corner facing inwards. You are ready to stitch. You need small stitches- 1.5mm, a larger needle helps to perforate the paper and you could use a thicker thread rather than a piecing weight- mine held up fine though. For a lot of foundation piecing patterns you need to start and stop exactly with the seam line and secure but that is not necessary with this simple shape. You can start in the seam allowance and will not need to secure your stitches if you choose this.

You will need to flip over and press your seam, trim the seam allowance to quarter inch with scissors (scroll further down for a picture of this) and press the triangle outwards. Then repeat with triangles 16, 17, 18. It should look like this.

Trim the outside edges to line up with the dotted line of the seam allowance. The spoon head section is complete but do not remove the paper yet!

We are working on the handle (section C) next. Just like before, find a piece of grey fabric that covers the whole of the handle area (19) including the seam allowance and a little beyond. If you put the fabric behind the paper and hold it up to the light you will be able to see if your fabric is big enough. Secure with a pin along the centre of piece 19.

We are working on the long side pieces 20 and 21 next, so cut out two pieces of background fabric large enough to cover each area plus seam allowances all round. Starting with piece 20, hold right sides together so that the fabric extends at least quarter inch over the seam line and the lies behind piece 19. Pin through the paper and along the seam line , flip over and check the fabric opens out to cover piece 20 plus the seam allowance. Stitch along the line, you can start in the seam allowance at the top and stitch into the triangle 23, if you stitch a long way it is going to be hard to trim the seam so a quarter inch will do.

Flip over, press, trim the seam, open out and press again, In this photo I have added pieces 20 and 21 and I have started to trim one of the seams.

Cut and add pieces 22 and 23 just like you did with the corner triangles of the head of the spoon. It should look like this untrimmed,

and like this one you have trimmed up to the seam allowances.

You now need to join the head and handle together, place the paper sides together, stitch right along the lines at the top of the handle and the bottom of the spoon head

Open out, and carefully peel off the paper and give the spoon a good press.

Your pieced sections are finished.

Ready to put the whole thing together? I'll be back soon...

Ready to win this mug rug? Giveaway soon...

Tutorial Part 1: How to Freezer Paper Piece A Mug Rug

2011-09-26T20:33:00.001+01:00

This is the mug rug that we are going to make. It features a Cornishware mug and I have used red/white/blue fabrics as I am linking in with Laura's Mug Rug World Tour so has a little of Southwest Britain in its theme! (PS I will be giving it away too, but more of that another day)

In this tutorial we are going to piece the mug and saucer section using freezer paper piecing. I think of it as a jigsaw technique, we will be joining lots of little pieces of fabric together into sections and then joining these sections together to make the mug rug front. It is a versatile technique which gives you a lot of control but with all the small bits of fabric, it is fiddly. The preparation of the pattern pieces takes a while but is worth it as it will make life easier when you sew.

You will need to print the Mug PDF- (section A), which is here.

You will also need:

Scraps of blue, cream, red, and grey cotton fabric-10 inch square pieces would be ample.

Background fabric- plain or a busy print- e.g ditsy floral, little dots- not a large print or stripes. A fat eighth will be plenty!

Backing fabric 7x9 inches

Batting/Wadding/Insulbright-7x9 inches.

Binding fabric- binding will be 1.25 inches x 40 inches.

Piecing thread.

Quilting Thread

Usual sewing notions, scissors, rotary cutter, pins etc.

Freezer paper

Fine line waterproof fade proof pigment marker

Your PDF print out is your reference map as you piece the mug. You also need to trace this on to the papery side of the freezer paper. I have traced on to the waxy side before but that is a technique for another day. I wanted to start with something straight forward and intuitive. I use washi or masking tape to fix the freezer paper over the pattern, a quilting ruler and a fine line waterproof fade proof pigment marker 0.1 or 0.2 mm. The numbers are the order in which you will cut and sew each piece so transfer them on to the freezer paper and it also helps to put an arrow on each piece. I can see I forgot mine on piece 1 I added it in later! This helps you to use the right grain of the fabric later on and to orientate your piecing. You now need to add little tic lines where any sections join. These only need to be small but they are essential- they help you match up your seams and points. It should look like this

Now you can have a break and get your rotary cutter out.

Cut 2 blue strips 1.5 x 3.75 inches

Cut 1 blue strip 1.25 x 3.75 inches

Cut 2 cream strips 1.125 (one inch and one eighth) x 3.75 inches.

Join them together so that the widest blue strips are top and bottom and the narrower blue strip is in the middle. Use a quarter inch seam and I am using a fine piecing thread throughout the mug piecing.

Press your seams away from the cream stripes.

From your freezer paper pattern cut out the mug section- piece 1 and pieces 2-10. Never cut all the paper pieces out in one go- you will only lose them! Have a plastic pocket or a CD plastic sleeve ready to put the pieces in that you will use later. Keep only piece 1 out.

Place the waxy side of the pattern piece 1 onto the right side of your blue/cream stripes, spacing the stripes evenly and with the arrow following the grain of the fabric. With a hot iron, press and fix the freezer paper to the fabric. A small iron helps as some of the pattern pieces will be very small and can get lost with a large iron. If your iron is not hot enough the paper will fall off, too hot and it will singe little! Freezer paper can take a fair amount of heat.

Use your rotary cutter and quilting rule to add a generous quarter inch seam allowance all around the pattern piece. Not sure what a generous seam allowance looks like? See below where the ruler lies before I rotary trim the fabric; see how the quarter inch line is just over the pattern piece rather than on it. Cutting a generous seam like this allows for the space your machine seam stitches will take up and will give you more accurate piecing.

Put to one side somewhere safe. Now take freezer paper pieces 2-7. You will need to iron pieces 2,6, 7 onto your background fabric and pieces 3,4,5 onto your cream fabric. Space your pieces out on the fabrics; adding seam allowances, especially diagonals can take up more fabric than your would think. You can rough cut your pieces out with scissors if you like but remember they will need to be trimmed down with the extra quarter inch all round so be generous if you haven't done this before. It helps to lay your pieces out matching your reference diagram. The pieces join in number sequence order so start with pieces 2 and 3.

Hold right sides together, peep underneath to check your tic marks match, place a pin along the seam just to steady it whilst it goes under the machine foot. You will be stitching with a small stitch-1.5 or 1.8mm so you will not need to secure each end- just sew straight across, quarter inch. The generous seam allowance should mean that you stitches are next to the freezer paper pieces rather than through them. You can slide the pin out as you are sewing. Press the seam and then open the fabric out and press to one side. Which direction the seams lie is up to you. Different effects are created with the seams going one way or the other- pressing seams away will make the adjoinng piece recede and pressing towards will make it pop out with a relief type effect. Sometimes the bulk of the fabric means a seam can only lie comfortably in one direction. There are no hard and fast rules here, apart from press after each you add each piece!

Leave the freezer paper pieces stuck on the fabric; you will need to keep matching the tic marks and it will keep your work in shape and more accurate. Now add piece 4 to the bottom of piece 2. You have a mini section that you can now add piece 5 to and then piece 6. Add piece 7 along the top of the completed section so far.

piece 8 joins at the diagonal seam at the bottom.

Next you will join the tiny piece 9 to the bottom left hand corner of the mug. Here is a close up of how to match the tics up.

I pinned at an angle for this seam as it was so tiny!

Now add piece 10 to the left hand edge of the mug.

You can see how mine looks on the reverse and how I have chosen to press my seams.

From the remainder of your freezer paper pattern cut out pieces 11, 12 and 13. Iron piece 11 on to the red fabric for the saucer. Iron pieces 12 and 13 onto your background fabric. Trim adding the quarter inch seam allowance as before. Join pieces 12 and 13 to the left and right of piece 11. You can now sew the saucer piece to the mug. Yay! Time to celebrate, section A, the mug, is finished. I didn't say it would be easy but I hope it is logical and that you are happy with the result so far.

The spoon is next and we will be using a different technique, foundation paper piecing. Click here to go to part 2 spoon instructions. And here for part 3- finishing off instructions

If you have a question, please ask in a comment and I will answer there so others can read it.

I hope it has been a helpful tutorial. This method of freezer paper piecing is my favourite way of creating picture type blocks so I'd like others to try it too! Should you make this mug block or mug rug I would love it if you added it to my Flickr group!

Freezer paper piecing: Essentials

2011-09-24T14:11:00.002+01:00

In the words of Tim Minchin- Are you ready for this?

Slightly out of context reference, but these are my essentials for paper piecing. Tutorial and pattern to follow. Its a mug rug- that's all I can say for now as it exists only in my head but meanwhile lets go through this one by one...

Rotary cutters. You can't do this with scissors, rotary cutter precision is necessary. The larger 45mm is great for general usage and you can get by with that alone but the 28mm will make life a whole lot easier on the little bits and is less effort on the hands and arms.

If you've got a rotary cutter then you are bound to have quilt rulers. Not all quilt rulers are created equal and I have learnt my preference over time. Both of these are by Creative Grids. A little square is great for small bits, I have a 5.5 inches one that gets lots of use but it doesn't have the lovely quarter inch dotted border lines that you can see on the larger ruler on the left. These are the biggest aid to adding your seam allowances.

Freezer paper, essential and available in the UK too, although not at supermarkets. If you haven't used this stuff, it has a papery side and a plastic/way side. You can iron it onto fabric and then peel it off and reuse it with and it leaves no residue. Great for applique and templates and a roll lasts forever. Cottonpatch stock it and on ebay you can buy smaller pieces or splash out on a whole roll and make a commitment. If it doesn't work out you have lots of paper to wrap your sandwiches in.

You need a knife for cutting your freezer paper templates and a rotary cutter will not be fine enough. I use an Olfa scalpel and you can buy cheap disposable scalpels in art suppliers. I also use a propelling pencil, HB leads and a very fine permanent liner- 0.1mm.

Otherwise the usual kit applies. It is helpful to have a small iron- I use a travel iron, and thin piecing thread is another bonus- Aurifil 50/2 is perfect or YLI soft touch, both are fine piecing threads.

Back soon, must draw the design or there will be nothing to piece.

catch ups

2011-09-24T13:47:00.001+01:00

Catch ups and thankyous. Firstly a lovely texty fabric swap with Cindy of Live a Colorful Life. A great little stack of wordy black white and cream prints. Thankyou Cindy!

I won an Amy Butler giveaway at Sewmama sew recently and the good people at Amy Butler sent me a big stack of half yard cuts and a pile of patterns. The top three are organic quilting cottons with a lovely smooth texture- my favourite is top far right. The bottom three are a new Voile fabric, similar to Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks voiles, really silky. They would make great dress fabric. These three (bottom of photo) are going into the pile of Little Folks voiles that will magic themselves into a quilt one day.

And finally, a block- a great big block- around 19-20 inches square, I haven't measured exactly for Angela in a new bee, Stash Trad. This is a bee where we use our own fabrics and create traditional style blocks, still a relatively new thing for me. This is her own design too, Cracker Scraps and lovely and straightforward to do, plus at this size you could swiftly assemble a very large quilt.

I am still catching up with my Ringo Pie blocks, a Christmas one is a-coming for Amber...

Destash- Sew Hip Magazines

2011-09-21T17:54:00.004+01:00

Destashing my Sew Hip magazines so I thought I'd put them up here first to see if anyone is interested?

*Updated 24th Sept as some have already sold*

£1.50 per issue- postage £1.20 one issue £1.80 two issues UK, £2.70 one issue Europe, £4.50 one issue world/USA/Japan etc. Email me if you are interested- there is a link under the about me on the right of the page. If you want to know the postage costs of multiple issues just let me know. All are in good condition but I have read them and thumbed through. All have their pattern insert too.

I have done a brief description of the highlights.

Issue 12-Christmas makes, wreath, ballet slippers, oven gloves, French General fabric showcase + more.

Issue 14- Men's trousers, strapless dress, kids projects, cake softies + more.

Add caption

Issue 13- Amy Butler interview, baby quilt, zipper pouch by Florence (Flossie and the teacakes)+ more.

Issue 15- Baby quilt, Poppy Treffry interview, apron pattern + more.

Issue 17 - quilt by Nettie- A Quilt is Nice!, cupcake bunting + more.

Issue 18 Aneela Hoey (Sherbert Pips/Little Apples) embroidered little quilt, frame purse, dress pattern, nappy satchel + more.

You will need a paypal account to pay! I will send you a Paypal invoice once you have emailed me. Any questions, you know you can ask me!

New Sewing Machine

2011-09-19T17:09:00.002+01:00

That would be a new sewing machine in fabric form.

A 6.5 inch quilt block from Kumiko Fujita's 318 Patchwork for Amisha,

It is her month in the 318 Patchwork Bee and she chose all things sewing themed. I modeled this block on my little Singer featherweight.

I know it may seem strange as I know paper piecing stresses a lot of people out there, but I find it rather therapeutic, relaxing even.

Once some obligations pass and I have a bit of extra time I will do some paper piecing tutorials- a foundation one (not my favourite method) and a freezer paper one- now you're talking...

Five Favourites

2011-09-18T16:01:00.001+01:00

I saw this linky party at Suz's blog Patchworknplay and Mary's blog Mollyflanders-all you need to do is select some of your favourite fabrics. I could not resist digging in my boxes to pull out my favourites- these are the ones that make me a little sentimental, I don't ever want them to end. I do the same with gloves, t shirts, pjamas, I really need to get a grip and move on...

These are in no particular order, but first is this floral print by Sevenberry.

I first saw this when Amy used to sell delicious stacks of handpicked selections of fabrics. I bought an FQ then, then I found some more elsewhere earlier this year, and I haven't seen it since. A great aqua and incredibly usable.

The next two are an old print by Kumiko Fujita. Ayumi put a scrap of this in a parcel a while ago for me and I used it to make a bit of a breakthrough block for me- Vintage spools. I found the aqua on Etsy- it was a random listing and I have just swapped with Tamiko for the peachy FQ.

This red cooking print is by Suzuko Koseki. You can still find it on Etsy. I first saw this in her book, Machine Made Patchworks- now translated as Patchwork Style. I bought the book a couple of years ago and it was an epiphany for me of patchworking style and fabrics. I didn't even know Suzuko Koseki was the author or that she had designed the fabrics, I was just transfixed by the texty kitchen imagery.

I had to include some vintage in my favourite five. I am not sure where this little dotty scrap came from, but it is a precious little scrap. It is so vibrant and buzzy, all those little lines make it come to life for me, a tiny piece but well used.

Aprons are a great source of vintage fabric, I picked this one up a while ago from the car boot sale and I have used it on a number of little projects. Like the other vintage scrap it has a dynamic feel- all the quite circles and squares dancing around and the colour combination is a favourite.

Check out the others at the linky party, it is interesting to see what others pick and why. I could have kept choosing forever, I feel like I left some out, they wait for another time...

Washing Line

2011-09-16T17:50:00.002+01:00

August was Corey's month in Ringo Pie so I am playing catch up. Her theme was Quilts on a Line, and I struggled for a long time to come up with anything that really gripped me. When I buy vintage and thrifted fabrics from the carboot, there is nothing I like more than the line of freshly washed fabrics and tea towels flapping in the breeze later the same morning,

that is what I wanted to capture.
Pinterest is useful for finding and storing ideas as I get my head around a project and you can see my board for Corey here. I sketched my idea onto grid paper, traced on to freezer paper and set to work.

Soem of the work was done for me by the fabric- the crazy hexagon cheater print (which you can also see it in the top pic) was perfect. I imagine this as a throw that might go on a sofa. A quilt comes next, made of strips of Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks Voiles, perfect for mini items as the fabric is lightweight and doesn't bulk the seams up. The tricky bit was where the hexagon quilt flaps over, don't even ask about that bit- it was a long night gettting that to work. The next quilt is a vintage bed quilt, I thought I wuld show how I worked this one out. I started with 1.5 inch squares framed with half square triangles cut from 2 inch squares. I made up enough mini blocks to cover the length of the freezer paper template plus a half block.

I then arranged the squares to follow the lines of the template...

I had to allow for the quarter inch seam allowance at the top and I pinned on o the ironing board as I worked my way down joining the seams at angles with pins. Once these were sewn together, I placed the mini quilt on the template and cut the edges with scissors to follow the lines of the finished shape.

I used wide strips of ditzy flowery fabrics for the mini quilt borders- they needed to be wide to be trimmed down to the wavy shape. By laying the mini quilt on the fabric- both right side facing and rotary cutting following the wavy edge of the mini quilt, it creates an border that will fit on perfectly. I then trim the whole shape so is the shape of the freezer paper plus seam allowance.

The washing line is some perle cotton attached by couching stitch.

This is the back, just long stitches of the fine thread which can't be seen on the right side.

The final fabric is meant to be a tablecloth with its kitchen themed print. I added some clothes pegs and a bird for a little extra hand stitching detail, Corey is the queen of embroidered blocks after all. Click on the pic to see more details.

I do wish I had shaped the Little Folks Quilt more at the bottom but too late now. I am pleased at the flappiness of the line, they do feel like they are blowing in the breeze. Next I need to think about Christmas for Amber's block...

Doggles

2011-09-13T16:35:00.000+01:00

This is Lottie, our dog

this is Eddie, Lottie's brother and my friends Kathy and James' dog. We were near neighbours on the same road and they now live 5 mins walk away instead of 5 seconds.

Kathy and I are very close and the dogs meet up several times a week, play together, sleep over- you get the picture. Its a bit like children who are always in and out of each other's houses, they become a memeber of the other family, maybe start to call their friend's mum auntie and the children are loved in both houses. Well that's how it is with our dogs. We love them both which ever we 'own' They are 4 years old and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. This is a breed which is at risk of many genetic health problems. We bought from a good breeder and did our research but some stuff you can't control. Yesterday Eddie had a seizure and it is likely that he has epilepsy. It is a rare condition for a cavalier.

Early days at the moment, these pics were taken today, you can see they are both fine. They are hilarious to walk together, you can see they are both fine and it is a great destresser for me just being with them- I had a busy morning at work. It was a punch in the stomach hearing the news from Kath, so we are all keeping an eye on him and it has shaken us all up. Black humour prevails, yesterday we were also thinking about Flight of the Concords, Brett is trying to impress a girl with an epileptic dog so he and Jermaine organise a fundraiser and sing this song.

Fingers crossed that Eddie is OK and episodes will be rare. I love both doggles to pieces- not a typo just a word I use.

Back with sewing stuff soon x