The Dining Room Drawers

Cupcakes and The Cupcake Courier

2012-02-11T13:34:00.001Z

I had a fun (and very messy) day yesterday making cupcakes, for refreshments for my book club meeting last night.

Here are a few that were left over this morning!

I should also mention that I got the polka dot and stitched textures on my cupcake tops by rolling icing onto embossing folders (- designed for using with cardboard in die cutting machines, for card making). These only cost about £3.50 each, rather than buying expensive textured rolling pins. I buy embossing folders from here.

Also in the post today I took delivery of a 'Cupcake Courier'. It's fantastic!! A great alternative to carrying loads of old 'Celebrations' tubs with only a few cupcakes in each. This holds 36, and my younger boys and I had a good time swinging the case around to test how much of a bashing the cupcakes can take without being damaged. (The answer is quite a lot... you have to virtually turn the whole thing upside down to do any damage.) I got it from here.

I was also pleased with the depth between each layer - you can have the icing quite tall and it will still fit in. (Approx. 6cm in total from the bottom of the cupcake.)

And a nice big chunky, airtight lid.

Cards

2012-02-11T13:16:00.001Z

I needed to make a lot of cards this week - to send to the girls in the Youth programme which I help run. Here are a few I made, based on a design I saw on Pinterest, by Joy Taylor.

String Quilt Cushion Cover (Tutorial)

2012-02-04T21:39:00.002Z

I haven't been well this week, and have spent far too long looking at lovely stuff on Pinterest, but today I was itching to make something.

I had seen a tutorial for making string quilt blocks which used paper piecing, but I wanted to have a go with a fabric base in order to make four blocks for a cushion. Here's what I did:

I want my final blocks to measure 8'' when made up, so cut 4 squares of plain white fabric, to 9'' (in theory I only need 8.5'', but I want to allow for a bit of extra trimming space.)

In water soluble pen I drew across the diagonal, then drew 2 lines 1/2'' either side, then 2 more lines 1/4'' out from those.

I want to end up with a 1'' white stripe down the centre of each block.

I cut my first fabric strip for attaching. I want my stripes to remain parallel to the central stripe, so am cutting each one with parallel edges.

I lined up my first strip, face down, neatly to the very top blue line I drew. This is pinned in place, then sewn with a 1/4'' allowance (which means my first strip is now attached along the blue line that was 1/2'' from the centre line.)

Lift up the attached fabric and iron.

Lay your next strip, face down, matching one edge to the top of the previous strip.

This is again sewn, and ironed upwards.

Carry on in the same way, till that half of the block is completely covered with strips of fabric, then start on the other half in the same way.

The first strip on the next half is again aligned with the top blue line that was drawn on. In this way I created the 1'' white centre stripe that I wanted.

Keep going, lining up edges, pinning and sewing!

When the block is covered, flip it over and trim it. I measured up the diagonal line on my ruler with the centre of my white stripe, then trimmed the whole thing to 8.5''

I love how the back of it is so neat! So unlike my normal quilt top backs!

Four blocks later...

I sewed them together with 1/4'' seam allowances, and considered using it just like this for the cushion top, but decided to quilt it, with thin wadding and muslin on the back.

I love it when it goes all bumpy!

I then trimmed the edges again.

For the cushion back, I overlapped two pieces of heavier fabric (with raw edges turned over a couple of times, ironed then sewn) right side up, to make an envelope opening.

This was all pinned in place, then I sewed 1/4'' in from the edges all the way around.

My final job is to add binding, in the same way as I would to a quilt.

(I did actually sew on some bright red binding, but it made it look like a Christmas cushion, so I cut it all off again!

I'll be binding it in white I think, shortly...)

Re-organisation

2012-02-02T17:01:00.005Z

We have been having a bit of a change around in our house recently, and I now have a dedicated sewing space! When I started quilting, I worked at a plastic fold-out table, which I handed over to my husband last year when he started teaching an early morning Skype class for teenagers from church.

We got rid of our old computer at the weekend (Laptops only now!), so Scott can now have that space for preparing his lessons, and I have pinched my oldest son's desk!

It's been nice getting a bit more sorted out.

My cottons before...

...and after!

I bought this thread storage rack on ebay yesterday, and it arrived today...

Cannot resist rainbow organisation.

This used to be my desk when I was a teenager - it's an old teachers' desk, complete with little sliding door for an inkwell (ideal for the wire for the treddle!) It brings back memories to be using it myself again!

My favourite books are now in reach.

And I truly am working out of my dining room drawers!

Purple Cupcakes

2012-02-01T10:28:00.000Z

Tried out the new Hydrangea cutter and silicone mould which I got for Christmas, for the first time...

Up-cycled Skirt

2012-01-23T20:21:00.002Z

I wanted a new casual winter skirt, without spending much money though, so I bought a long flarey cord skirt from the local charity shop (it worked out at less than £1), and chopped the bottom off. (I measured to the same length at several point around the skirt, marked it with pins, and cut round by eye, joining up the pins, then hemmed it.)

With the spare fabric, I made some roses. (Cut long strips, folded them in half, sewed along the bottom in my largest stitch width, then gathered them up, and stitched them into place.)

My new skirt.

Cake!

2012-01-23T20:11:00.001Z

Some ring cakes I made for a New Year's Eve party (Not very classy presentation - the lids of Celebrations chocolate boxes... very handy for transportation!)

I didn't know how to make toffee icing, so I made up some plain icing with icing sugar and water, then mixed in some Condensed milk toffee sauce. Not bad.

Crafts in the Christmas Holidays

2012-01-02T22:29:00.002Z

We've had a nice, pretty relaxed Christmas time, and once the kids broke up from school, we spent quite a bit of time just making and drawing etc.

A felt thing I sewed for an old school friend.

I adapted the design from this book by Clare Kingslake.

Very simple Christmas card design, using wooden Christmas tree ornaments, which I bought when they were on sale after last Christmas. I like the new reindeer embossing folder I bought from Cutting edge crafts (Link to right hand side.)

A Christmas card for a quilting friend! (The layered cardboard pieces were from Cricut's Country Life cartridge.)

Jack, our 2nd eldest, started making this creature ages and ages ago, and Lucy decided to finally finish it off for him. I like that it has glow-in-the-dark Hama beads for its mouth!

An applique picture for another friend, similar to one I've done before.

I was itching to do a bit of quilting, so made this Christmas cushion one evening.

I sewing machined a snowflake pattern along the back, and hand-sewed on beads.

And last but not least, the first baking I have ever seen my husband do! He took part in a pay-it-forward handmade gift thing on Facebook, and decided to make gingerbread London Temples for two of our friends... Can't say they're not creative!!

(Incidentally, for anyone not familiar with the London Temple, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, here's a pic I took recently. See! Almost identical! - down to the green copper spire, golden angel on top, and pond to the side...)

A few bits

2011-12-13T22:00:00.001Z

Some cakes I made when my new little niece, Roberta was born. (The idea for these also came from the 'Planet Cake' book mentioned in the post below.)

When we went to the library last week, I took my camera with me to get a photo of this picture which Harry (age 5) did, and which was put up as part of a display of children's book covers. I love it!

Harry was also in his school play last week - Babushka - and I thought it would be nice to make a little felty Babushka for his teacher. (This is from a design by Paper and String - link to the right hand side.)

Recent Baking

2011-12-05T20:16:00.001Z

The cake I made for the school fair 'Guess the Sweets on the Cake' competition. (178, if you were wondering...)

Cupcakes for Harry and his friend's joint Pirate Birthday Party. The pirate faces were made from ready-to-roll icing (coloured with food pastes), and laid on top of a layer of ganache. I copied this design from the 'Planet Cake' book, by Paris Cutler.

I love these mini chocolate bar moulds I found on ebay!

Finally finished my Happy Houses quilt!

2011-11-29T21:42:00.001Z

I finally got on and finished the quilting on what I call my Happy Houses quilt (started over a year ago). I did stitch-in-the-ditch quilting, and ended up with quite a padded look. It's not a true quilt, as there is no middle layer - just a top sewn onto a thick fleece blanket. We love it though - it is so soft!

Christmas things

2011-11-29T21:32:00.001Z

I still love my good old Sizzix Gingerbread Man cutter!

Sparkly Pink Cupcakes

2011-10-04T14:02:00.000+01:00

And finally in my little craft-catch-up, here are some cupcakes I made for the Macmillan Charity Coffee Morning, last week.

Sock Monkies!

2011-10-04T13:52:00.001+01:00

I recently got the urge to make a sock monkey! My daughter, Lucy and I had bought a load of cheap socks a while ago, for that purpose, and then my brother showed me one he had made, and it spurred me on!

There are a few variations on how to make them - all fairly similar, using a pair of any kind of socks. There are tonnes of tutorials on YouTube.

I think she is rather hip!

Then last week, Harry was off school recovering from a sick bug, and he wanted to make one too...
Meet Malcolm the (slightly lumpily stuffed) Monkey:

(Harry loves him.)

Quilt Show

2011-10-04T13:38:00.001+01:00

A couple of weekends ago, I went to a local quilt show I had found out about from a friend's mother-in-law. I took my 5 year old with me, so I thought it would just be a flying visit, but on the door they asked Harry and I to pick our favourite quilt, and enter it in a secret ballot box. Harry then took great delight in going round each and every quilt to choose his favourite (He had about 13 favourites...)

This mini quilt most appealed to me.

The show was held in an old church.

Here's the quilt which Harry finally chose as his most favourite!

Oven Gloves

2011-10-04T13:23:00.003+01:00

Earlier in the year I went to a Cath Kidston outlet shop, and bought some fabric which matches my kitchen nicely - I started making these oven gloves ages ago, and got round to finishing them off last month. I found doing the bias binding a bit tricky, but it's OK if no-one looks at them too closely!

Time to catch up! End of School Gifts

2011-10-04T12:47:00.007+01:00

I have dismally neglected my blog - I know, but to be honest, I've been rather pre-occupied this year, and haven't actually done much crafting. (Not that that's stopped me acquiring craft books, mind you...) I'll catch up with what I have done anyway.

At the end of the school year in July, we decided to make all the teachers and teaching assistants some pencil cookies, which idea I got from one of my new books:They turned out quite cute, but I was there on the second to last day of term wondering why on earth I hadn't picked something simpler, instead of having to ice 80-odd pencils!

Kids' Cupcakes

2011-05-18T11:15:00.008+01:00

The boys and I had fun after school yesterday decorating cupcakes...

Some more of my cupcakes

2011-05-16T17:33:00.002+01:00

I was doing a class with some of the 12 and 13 year old girls from my church, and we did cupcake decorating. These were my example ones.

My picnic blanket quilt

2011-05-06T19:39:00.007+01:00

I wanted a little picnic blanket to use this summer, without too much white in it... disguise the dirt, chocolate cake, and orange juice etc...
I saw {this tutorial on YouTube} which shows how to make blocks of diagonal stripes, cut from a tube. It is so easy and quick, and there are loads of possibilities for the final design. This is my version this time round.

A new hobby!

2011-04-30T21:27:00.013+01:00

I've had a bit of a craft clear-out, and sold some stuff on ebay, but now seem to be consumed with a mad urge to get into decorating cupcakes. I bought a few bits and bobs, and spent yesterday having a good play around... what fun!! (If the pink pattern looks familiar to any cardmakers out there, it's probably because I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder to roll my icing over!)A card I made for a friend this week, based on a lovely one I saw on Lucy's Cards blog (Link is over on the right-hand side)A very quick card made this morning for my son's friend, using the wonderful Boys Will Be Boys Cricut Cartridge. I bought it not long ago, and am impressed with the simplicity of the designs, which are very easy to cut and layer up. It also came with this font, which I wasn't expecting.
One of the kids snapped this picture, this week... Harry junk modelling at one end of the table, and the starts of my new quilt. I'll post some pictures of it next week - I'm really chuffed with how you make the blocks - it is a very fast one!And finally... something which makes me smile every time I see it... I'd sent my old university friend a knitting book for her birthday, and this thank you note came in the post, with her first creation from the book attached to the front - my new little 'comb-over-man keyring'!! I love it!

Mini Quilt

2011-04-11T22:39:00.005+01:00

A mini quilt I made recently for a friend.

I just discovered the blanket stitch on my sewing machine (which I did round the hearts), and I love it! I really should try out some more of the different stitches on my machine.

'Club Penguin' Cushion

2011-03-19T15:53:00.004Z

Tom, our 8 year old is now the proud new owner of a Club Penguin cushion, which he designed, and I made this afternoon. He drew the design, based on one of the characters from his favourite computer game site, and I copied it exactly, appliqueing on the parts.

The back of the cushion is just some old curtain fabric, made into a simple overlap opening.

Finished 'Happy Houses' quilt top

2011-03-19T13:03:00.006Z

This morning I'm doing fairly well - finished painting all the woodwork in my bedroom, and finished the quilt top of my Happy Houses quilt - all those little 2'' squares finally in one piece!
They didn't fit together 100% at the corners (a couple of the rows are narrower), but considering I did no measuring at all (except for the 2'' squares in the first place), I am really pleased with how the whole thing has gone together.
If you click on the pictures, you might be able to see the hand sewing round each of the doors and windows, and little buttons for door handles and apples... I had fun! I've got some of the same red fabric for binding the quilt with, but have no idea how I'm going to actually quilt it yet. Any ideas welcome!

A couple of cards

2011-03-11T12:00:00.007Z

I made this card for my husband's birthday yesterday - the kids helped me choose the words to stamp on for each letter of his name!
Letters is also the theme for the week at Wednesday Stampers Challenge.

And a very quick one made this morning for my son's 5 year old friend.

A few bits...

2011-03-08T16:17:00.008Z

I finished off the 4 strips of border for my Happy Houses quilt today. They looked lovely in the sunshine.I had a go at a new technique in my quilting class at church a couple of weeks ago, using a bias tape maker, and some narrow iron-on double sided sticky stuff. I ironed the tape onto a sheet of silicone paper, which overlay another sheet of paper with the pattern drawn on. When the whole pattern was ironed into shape, I transfered it onto the backing fabric, and hand-sewed round all the edges. This will be another square for my 'new techniques sample quilt'.How do you know when quilting has become a bit of an obsession? When you ask at the local Leisure Centre if you can cut a couple of pages out of one of their magazines...

(I was helping take my son's class swimming, at the time, and spotted these. The receptionist kindly lent me her scissors!)

And finally, I cleared out a cupboard at the weekend, and found my first ever attempt at quilting (it's hand quilted) - it's from years and years ago. The urge must have always been in my blood... lurking!

A border for my Happy Houses quilt

2011-02-18T22:01:00.003Z

I've started making a wide border for my Happy House blocks (which are now all put together - and what a job that was!) The border consists of 2'' squares of all the fabrics used in the main quilt. I had a go at strip piecing for the first time - sewing long strips of 3 fabrics together, then cutting them down to 2.5'' wide, ready to join together into a border.

It does look very 'busy' here, but I think a solid red border in between the main houses piece and the patchwork border will help. Not sure yet what the binding will be.

I am impatient to see it finished! It will probably take a while, as I want to do some hand quilting around the house blocks in red, and add some applique flowers.

Fun, Fun, Fun Applique!

2011-02-09T15:02:00.004Z

I ordered this book from Amazon, and love the simplicity of the applique in it! I copied the house design almost exactly, and it only took an hour or two the other night. (I still need to add some wadding to the back and quilt round the shapes in white stitches.) I love it though, and imagine I will be making more similar pictures in the future!

New Fabric (Eeeeek!!!)

2011-02-09T14:35:00.012Z

A sunny day at home, with 3 out of 4 kids off school ill... and I have finally got round to photographing my new fabric! I made a good amount of money from selling some old craft stuff on eBay, and that combined with being my Christmas present from all my family meant I got to have the most wonderful fabric splurge!!

I bought everything from America, on Etsy.com

A Moda Layer Cake:

An assortment of fabrics I just fancied...
Some Japanese linen, and Cosmo Cricket,Ikea fabrics - the green spotty one I thought would be good for backing a quilt - a whole bed set for £1.99!, and my sister bought the heart quilt cover in a charity shop for me!Riley Blake Christmas fabric (I might get round to something before next Christmas)Lots of fabrics from the new Tanya Whelan range,Heather Bailey (I like this selection - fresher looking than her pink range, and without the spotty fabric in the range which I'm not as keen on.) Some more subdued Denyse Schmidt Hope Valley range,And lots of gorgeous classic Amy Butler... Now I just need some time to MAKE!!!!!

Christmas Day Sewing

2011-02-09T14:31:00.002Z

My lovely parents-in-law bought me this book ('Sew Sunny Homestyle') for Christmas. I couldn't resist making this little sea horse on Christmas day...

Beautiful Books!!

2011-02-09T14:26:00.003Z

Before Christmas I had a clear-out of some of my scrapbooking/rubber stamping stuff, and sold it on eBay. I figured I would rather have some new delicious sewing and quilting books, than a load of stuff sitting there that I hardly ever use any more. Amazon is by far and away the best place to buy books! I see books I like in local shops, then get them for at least half the price on Amazon.

Spring Birthday cards

2011-02-09T14:23:00.001Z

Had a little card session the other night... getting ready for lots of birthdays coming up!

Happy Houses Quilt progress

2011-01-18T20:10:00.002Z

I had done a few blocks for this quilt ages ago, and have gradually been adding to them. I'm fed of making them now, so am going to join all these up with green sashing (pretty much as they are laid out here) and then put a big border of brightly coloured little patchwork squares around the outside (I think.) I love that fact I have measured not one thing on the quilt so far!

Quilting for a year

2011-01-08T13:44:00.013Z

One of my New Year's Resolutions for 2010 was to take up quilting. I did it! I don't know how to do one of those nice pictures made up of lots of little ones, like I've seen on other people's blogs (if anyone knows, please tell me!), but here are my quilts of 2010...
I will have to post some pictures too of all the lovely new books and fabric I got just recently... no chance I'll be giving up quilting any time soon!

Aviary Quilt Finished

2011-01-08T12:38:00.007Z

I finally got round to finishing the Aviary fabric quilt, which I pieced together last summer in France.
I added on a border in Kona Snow, and then did simple quilting in the ditch for the main piece. I don't think I like quilting on the bias, because the quilt seems to come out a bit 'puffier' than when I am quilting normally.
I couldn't really decide what quilting to do in the border, but came up with this scallop & lines pattern. The resulting quilt is quite old fashioned looking I think, and I'm not sure if I 100% love it yet. I rounded off the corners too (using another dish!), and cut my binding fabric on the bias, so it would stretch nicely round.
It's the largest quilt I've done - an English double bed sized.Ready for trimming, and binding.

Advent Calendar

2011-01-02T21:21:00.002Z

An advent calendar which I made for my sister-in-law. (I made it the same way as a normal quilt, just with pockets sewn on, and some thin dowel threaded into the top edge of binding.)

Smells nice around here!

2010-12-07T22:01:00.003Z

Some small gifts I made yesterday, to give to some friends. I have a food dehydrator, and I LOVE it when the oranges slices are done!

A Snow Card

2010-12-04T21:38:00.003Z

In keeping with the snowy week we've just had, here is a snowy card - on dark blue sparkly cardstock, to go along with the 'Blue' challenge at Cute Card Thursday.

Bits and Bobs

2010-12-04T13:38:00.003Z

I've been pretty busy lately, and not had much chance to quilt or make cards.
I painted this MDF board though, and stuck on little paper houses, with button door handles, for a stall at the school fair - people paid to choose a house and one of the houses represented a prize. I was also asked to make a cake for the 'Guess the number of sweets on the cake' stand. it turned out to be a hefty old cake... 12 eggs, 24oz flour etc... and in case anyone is wondering - I put 381 sweets on it!

Also, on Tuesday morning I got to see our charity quilts all together for the first time. Here they are with some of my quiting friends from church.

More Bunting & A New Machine!

2010-11-20T11:17:00.005Z

My brother and sis-in-law bought a new house a while ago, and my niece's room has a bright red carpet, which they won't be changing for a while, so I made some bunting to match it, and tie in some softer shades at the same time. I sent it as a present in a muslin bag which I embellished.

I did my little craft stall last week too (forgot to take any pictures...) I didn't get round to making lots of things for it, but made well over £100, and had a few other orders. I was quite happy with that, and enjoyed myself!

Also last week, my old sewing machine sewed it's last stitch, and I bought a Husqvarna 850. Haven't had much time to make anything with it yet, but I can already tell it is sewing in a whole new league!

Birthday Card

2010-11-01T12:56:00.002Z

I used the sketch from Card Patterns for this card, and a QuicKutz rainbow die, that I bought on eBay from America last week.

Charity Quilts Finished

2010-10-28T15:46:00.007+01:00

I finished off the second of the charity quilts today... I wasn't sure what to do for the quilting, and ended up with a flower at each junction, and (not very) straight lines joining them all up.

My two little models, Tom and Harry.

Both the quilts together.

I have not loved making these quilts, but I do hope that they will bring some cheer to the elderly Alzheimers patients, to who's home we at church are donating them, plus several other quilts.

Fab 5, and some other bits...

2010-10-25T17:59:00.009+01:00

Just had a nice surprise, and seen that I am in the Fab 5 over at 2 Sketches 4 You! (a card making challenge blog.) It was for my pink & blue Christmas card.

I have been having fun making little odds and ends for the stall I've been asked to do, in November.
A little bag with an applique house. (I was trying out a new way of appliqueing - where you make a kind of pillow with the shapes and a backing lining, then slit the lining and turn it right-way-out, before hand sewing the shape into place.) I've also been making Wheat Pillows (that you heat up in a microwave and use like a hot water bottle.) I sew some whole wheat into a lining, then make a cover with a velcro fastening.

I'm waiting for some lavender to arrive (from eBay) before I make any more, so I can do wheat and lavender bags. I'll have to experiment a bit with the quantities.

While I was sewing today, Harry asked me to make him a boat. Not the neatest-ly sewn thing in the world, but to his design, and he is very happy with it. I've made plenty more things - will have to take more pics sometime.

Happy Birthday Trev

2010-10-21T20:12:00.002+01:00

Another yucky boy's card... (I'm not saying my brother-in-law Trev is yucky - I just don't like doing male cards!)
This card uses the sketch from CPS.

Christmas Card

2010-10-21T11:32:00.003+01:00

I really enjoyed making this card for the 2 Sketches 4 You challenge... lots of inking, and stitches, and glitter...

Autumn Birthday Card

2010-10-21T11:22:00.005+01:00

A card for my Father-in-law... a double challenge for me - 1) using Autumn colours, for the Shabby Tea Room blog challenge, and 2) doing a male card!
I got a chance to use my new Sizzix/Tim Holtz leaf die cutter though, and I quite like how it turned out. (Glitter chipboard is always a good thing!)

Birthday cards

2010-10-17T21:02:00.007+01:00

Harry went to a double party yesterday, and so I made these simple cards for him to take.
The challenge at Papertake Weekly is '3 of a kind' - to use 3 of something on your card. I just used 3 elements - the Cuttlebug 'Seeing Spots' embossed background, Cricut dinosaurs from the Paper Doll Dress up cartridge, and the names cut from the Cricut Base Camp cartridge.

Thank You Rafael's Mum!

2010-10-17T20:52:00.002+01:00

I had a lovely surprise in the post this week. Rafael's Mum (Marguerite) blogged a little while ago about a quilt being made for a terminally ill friend of a friend, and some of us made blocks for the quilt. Anyway, she kindly picked out of a hat one of us to receive some material from her, and that was me! Here are some of the blocks that were made, including my two. The fabrics I was given are gorgeous!! Many thanks again, Marguerite!

A couple of scrappy quilts

2010-10-10T16:12:00.009+01:00

The first is one of the charity quilts which I finished last night (kindly modelled for me by Harry), and the second is my little hand-sewn hexigan quilt, which is very slowly growing...

I'm not happy with the colour mix in this one yet - I don't have enough of the right colour fabrics - need to get hold of some more true yellows/royal blues, at least.

Quilting in the sun

2010-10-07T20:15:00.004+01:00

I had an unexpected morning at home today. I was meant to be at an organisational meeting for our church women's group, of which I am on the presidency, but two of my kids were off school ill. They were pretty happy reading, so I got on with pinning and quilting one of the charity quilts I am working on. I thought the colours just looked so nice in the sunshine.
(Can you tell that I am not a 'roll the quilt up all nice and neatly whilst quilting-type-person'?? I do try, but it always ends up in a massive mess.)

A card at long last...

2010-10-01T13:01:00.006+01:00

Time to make a card before I forget how!! I did stare at the blank card for quite some time at first... (Been too busy quilting to paper craft!)
The challenge at DCM is to theme the card on Opal, so my card is mainly milky coloured, with green.

Charity Quilt Tops

2010-09-29T12:10:00.004+01:00

Well we had our charity quilt day at church yesterday. There were some wonderful ones made, and the two I was responsible for turned out better than I was fearing. For total scraps, not too bad!

Happy Houses

2010-09-23T14:02:00.014+01:00

I've been asked to do a stall at a Christmas fayre - I have a vague vision of some handmade cards, and sewn things, and the other day I actually made a start... one padded heart. Hopefully I will get round to making some more things soon.

Two nights ago though, I started a new quilt. I had designed a house square for the first quilt I made, and I think it was my favourite square, so I decided to just make loads of houses and take it from there. I'll probably add lots of colourful pieced borders, bright hand quilting, buttons, appliqued trees, flowers & birds etc...
I had a wonderful evening - happily pulling out tonnes of bits of fabric and sewing willy nilly - no measuring or careful cutting whatsoever - fun!!

I just roughly cut the house elements,

Sew into sections,
Straighten edges,
Sew together and square off.
More of my Happy Houses... Harry picking out his favourite house so far.

Felt-tip roll Tutorial

2010-09-20T11:27:00.021+01:00

Well - 'tutorial' sounds a bit grand... I was itching to just make something quick, and saw a picture in my book (this one) of a pencil/felt-tip roll, but I wanted a simpler version (and to be honest, I was lost 10 seconds into reading the instructions - I do better with pictures), so came up with this:

Cut 2 pieces of fabic & 1 piece of iron-on interfacing all to the same size. (Mine were about 25'' x 13'' - I just laid out my felt-tips and roughly guessed how big I wanted it.)
Iron interfacing onto the back of one of the fabric pieces, and put the fabric pieces right-sides together, then pin.

Sew round edges, leaving an opening at a short end. Turn right side out.

Iron the seams out flat, before pulling the whole thing into shape and ironing properly. (This just makes neater edges, and stops the seams from pulling inwards, when you iron the whole thing.)

Fold up the front, and iron. Decide how much of the pencil/felt-tip you want to have sticking out. Put 2 lengths of ribbon in the opening, for tie closes (or you might want matching fabric ties, or just one bit of fabric coming out with velcro on. I was just going for quick, here!)

Open out, pin ribbon in place, and sew all the way round the whole thing.

(This really is no work of art... I'm using up fabric I don't like much, and not sewing especially carefully! I don't think my 4 year old will mind too much. I may make some more attractive ones later on as gifts though!)

Work out roughly were you want the pockets to be, and mark them with pins. (Just try putting in your pencils etc. to see how wide. My pockets were 1.5'' wide, but that's for Berol felt-tips which are quite fat.)

Then sew up and down the rows, making pockets. Just sew across when you get to the top or the bottom of each row, so that all the pockets are made continuously.

Sew a straight line along the bottom of the pockets - sewing over the stitches already there from when you made the pockets. This will ensure all your pencils/felt-tips will sit at the same height as each other.

All done! I think my youngest will be quite happy with it when he gets in from school!

The one in the book is very pretty, and involves sewing a rainbow of fabrics into strips, for each pocket, and has a bit different construction.
I am happy though, because I got my 'making something' itch scratched!

I would love to see any that anyone else makes!

Blocks Wanted!

2010-09-19T17:16:00.003+01:00

I've just made up a couple of Ohio star blocks, after reading on Marguerite's blog about her friend Lizzie who is making up a quilt for a friend of hers who is terminally ill. The post is {here} for anyone who would like to make a block, or has any spare blocks floating around which they would like to donate to the quilt. I think it's a lovely idea.

New Fabric!

2010-09-17T19:39:00.007+01:00

The fabrics which I bought from Kerri at Sew Dearly Loved arrived today... hurrah!!
They are a slightly odd assortment - I have no plans whatsoever for them - just liked them!(And some more spots of course)
I've spent yesterday and today cutting out pieces for 2 quilts which I am overseeing the making of at a church activity. They are lap quilts for an old people's home, which we have been visiting. I am supposed to be using scraps & fabrics that have been donated, but am having a hard time making them look nice - I keep adding more of my own fabrics. Still not sure I will like them that much. I may or may not post pictures of them later!

Happy Birthday Nan!

2010-09-08T16:42:00.003+01:00

It's Scott's Nan's birthday soon, and I made her this card. An unusual colour comination for me - don't think I've used it before.
The challange at Cute Card Thursday is to use fabric, so I used a wide fabric-finish (not shiny-finish) ribbon.

My Aviary Quilt making progress

2010-09-08T14:41:00.005+01:00

I finished piecing my Aviary quilt this morning (can you tell that I have finally got round to having a play with photoshop too?!) This is what I started in France before my sewing machine needle broke. I loved the Aviary range of fabric when I first saw it, but could only get hold of a couple of packs of pre-cut triangles in this country, so I decided just to do this simple design. It is alternated with Kona Snow fabric. I'm quite pleased that all the points and corners matched up quite well. I did some careful pinning before sewing seams, and it all went together very easily. I am wondering now if I should put a border of Kona Snow round the outsides, before finishing it. I'm also not sure how I should quilt it. Any ideas? I have got hold of some of the pink fabric to make the binding with.

I also realised that I have never posted a picture of Lucy's quilt in full...

My one and only baby quilt

2010-09-08T10:28:00.002+01:00

I just saw a picture of the baby quilt which I made earlier in the year... with it's owner, my niece Amy!

Quilting Ideas

2010-09-07T15:54:00.005+01:00

I have just been updating my other blog, and looking at the pictures reminded me that while in France we visited Suscinio Chateau... Inside, one of the floors really caught my eye - I thought it would make a great pattern for a quilt! The floor is 13th or 14th century. Wonderful how well it has lasted.
Maybe something I shall be working on in the future, anyway.

2010-09-06T20:16:00.002+01:00

Well we came (reluctantly) back from France a week ago, but have visited Nottingham and Yorkshire since then, so I have not had much time for crafting... I did have time for some internet fabric shopping though!!
Amongst quite a few other fabrics, I bought this selection - quite funny considering orange and purple are my least favourite colours!

Sewing in France

2010-08-23T09:57:00.004+01:00

My daughter and I are in McDonalds in France - with internet access! Just a quick post... thought I would show you my little sewing corner in our living room over here.Something I have wanted to make for ages - bunting. Finally made some out here, and love how it turned out!

Lots of half-square triangles for my Aviary fabrics quilt. I got most of the quilt top sewn together, but then disaster... my sewing machine needle snapped! I don't have another with me and there are hardly any shops round here, never mind sewing shops!! So just been working on my hand sewn hexie quilt when I get jittery fingers now...

Off to Paris this week, then England at the weekend. This really feels like home here, and I'm not sure I want to get back! (Though I am craving that new needle...)

Bye for a bit!

2010-07-22T10:12:00.002+01:00

I should just mention that I will be away in France now for 5 weeks - no internet access (or TV or phone for that matter!), so I won't be posting anything for a while. I'm going to take my sewing machine with me though!
A bientot!

Teachers' Presents

2010-07-22T10:07:00.002+01:00

I wanted something we could make for the children's teachers and playgroup leaders, and that wouldn't be too expensive as we were doing 12, so bought these hardbacked note books, and decorated the fronts.

2010-07-11T23:33:00.002+01:00

Not much quilting lately... just some mini hexies. I did go to a quilting group at a nearby village, though, for the first time this week. Lowered the average age somewhat, and had a good laugh with my new-found friends!

Grandma's Birthday

2010-07-06T16:58:00.004+01:00

A card to my Grandma, to celebrate her 91st birthday!

And the challenge over at Caardvarks is to create a birthday card. For this one I used K&Co papers, and the Stampin' Up/Sizzix alphabet to cut a layer of chipboard and paper for each letter, to add some dimension.

A couple of cards

2010-07-03T20:37:00.003+01:00

I needed a few cards this week...A lady from church recently gave me a really nice professional pen set that had belonged to her late husband, so I drew this with them and watercoloured pencilled it in, for her.

Bits & Bobs

2010-06-29T20:38:00.012+01:00

I've been so busy taking up quilting that I've not made many cards for months. I saw a couple of things online that I fancied though, and bought my first stash this year... some of Hero Art's new stamps, and a couple of smaller 99p ones by Imaginisce. Also some of the new De Lovely papers by Cosmo Cricket, mini wooden alphabet stamp set, and a Hero Arts brochure. Fun!How could I resist this set?!

Desperately need cards, so went into mass production...

For my card, I watercolour painted some images stamped with Staz On ink, did some machine stitching (to go along with the challenge at Papertake Weekly), and used up some old Ikea notelets as my card blanks. (The challenge at Cute Card Thursday is to reuse, renew or recycle!)

And finally a bit of quilting. I did three more foundation pieced squares and put them together. I debated about how to lay them out, but went for a symmetrical pattern.

Foundation Piecing

2010-06-22T20:50:00.002+01:00

I went to my quilting group today, and my friend Liz gave me a quick lesson on Foundation Piecing (sewing fabric onto a foundation of paper). I learnt loads and feel like it has now been de-mystified, and as soon as I got the kids into bed tonight I had a go at it. Three more like this will make up a 12x12'' block ready for a new sampler quilt I want to do! Lots of techniques I still want to have a go at.

Amy's Quilt Finished

2010-06-21T15:46:00.009+01:00

I got my niece Amy's quilt finished last night. This quilt was my experiment with sewing on patches of fabric and leaving raw edges, then washing and drying it to leave soft frayed edges. I quite liked how it turned out, though I'm not sure I will do another one. I was surprised how much work this quilt seemed to take considering its size. I did do quite a lot of hand stitching on it though.And finally a picture of Mummy & Baby quilts! (My sister liked the colours used in my Wonky Squares quilt, so I based the little one on it. I thought the material lasted really well - I only bought a fat quarter of each of the patterned fabrics in total.)

Father's Day

2010-06-18T16:40:00.007+01:00

The challenge at Wednesday Stamper is to show something or someome we Love. Can't think of anyone we love much more than our Fathers! And the challenge over at Caardvarks is to use embossing.

For this card I layered shiny metallic card with embossed card (using my new Cuttlebug 'Seeing Spots' embossing folder), and then attached two layers of acetate with brads. I sandwiched some rub-ons, and stamping in the middle of the acetate. (I hadn't planned on sandwiching them, but the rub-ons are so old, they didn't stick very well!)

Amy's Quilt

2010-06-16T17:06:00.006+01:00

I got the top finished for my niece Amy's quilt today. I appliqued on her name and a kite (a hobby of her Dad's - he even managed to knock out one of my son's teeth with a kite once!), and chain stitched the string. Bit screwed up looking here - didn't get round to ironing it yet!(You can see the kite pattern a bit better on this one)Also today, the post lady brought me a new Sizzix die cutter - I have fancied doing a hand-sewn hexagon quilt since I saw a fantastic one at the quilt show last Saturday. The hexagons are quite small - 2'', so it will take me forever! (I let Harry choose the fabrics for the first 3 hexagons!)

I also got another block done for my 'Traditional Quilt'.

Starting a new quilt

2010-06-12T22:32:00.006+01:00

Back from France now, and as well as working on my niece's quilt, I have started a new one. I saw a quite traditional design quilt in a magazine I bought in America (it's the one on the cover), and decided to give it a go, but with more modern fabrics. I've never followed a pattern before, but it's been OK. This may take me quite a long time though - there are so many little pieces of fabric per block - the smallest being 1''x 1''. I'll just do a square a week or so, on the side. The pattern calls for 30 8x8'' blocks. I decided that I'll add fabric covered buttons to the centre of each block when I've finished.Also today I went to my first ever quilting show - a display by a nearby village's quilting group. Some of the workmanship was wonderful! This quilt below was all painstakingly hand appliqued.

I put my name down on the waiting list to join the group.

Don't look, Katy!

2010-05-17T20:56:00.005+01:00

My sister Katy liked the colours of the Wonky Squares quilt I made, so I've used the same fabrics to start a quilt (or wall hanging) for my niece Amy, who will be one year old soon.

I wanted to try out the technique where you sew on patches, leaving raw edges, then wash & dry it to soften up the edges. I just cut out patches at random, and layed them all out, then pinned them on ready to sew. I hope it works!

I got the idea from the 'Scruffily Quilt' shown here.

The Ugly Quilt is Finished

2010-05-13T21:46:00.004+01:00

I finished off the binding on the Ugly Quilt when the kids got back from school this afternoon. I backed it with a kind of fleecy/almost faux-fur stuff, and it was a nightmare to sew with - it stretched, and made all the quilting sort of puffy. The up-side is that it is gorgeously, wonderfully soft, and Tom loves it and is adopting it. Here are Tom and Harry (watching something very engrossing!), snuggled up in it.
It's safe to say that I won't be making another true scraps quilt - sewing with chenille, suede, satins and fabrics that fray ridiculously, wasn't that much fun! (I also appliqued two hearts on, to hide two bits I managed to melt!) At least now I feel more justified in buying new fabrics!

Desperately in need of cards!!

2010-05-12T13:31:00.016+01:00

I have none whatsoever in stock, so I set aside a couple of hours this morning... The Daring Card Makers' challenge is to use green, so I did, on a baby card for a friend. Used a few things from The Making Memories Chloe's Closet line.

This card for Scott's Uncle, goes with the Male theme that is the challenge over at Cute Card Thursday. No ribbons, flowers or pink! (Saying that though, it's my least favourite card.)

Made with the sketch from Mojo Monday - love the papers from K&Co Cut n Stick. Ribbons mainly Making Memories. Rub-on from Melissa Frances.

Baby card made using the sketch at 2 Sketches 4 You, with Colorbok chipboard stickers (not the 'Baby' one though - can't remember that one) You can't tell in the picture really, that the green cardstocks are all different - linen textured, glitter and metallic, all by DCWV Latte Cardstock Stack.

Used the Card Patterns sketch for this one. Mainly made with the Making Memories Noteworthy Delaney line.

Oh, nearly forgot...

2010-05-09T21:08:00.005+01:00

...I wanted to add these pictures too - we went to Yorkshire last weekend for a hike, and after we had finished, we were hanging round waiting for some others of our group to finish. It was pretty cold, so my kids got their quilts out the car.

I love to see them being used!!(That's not my kid by the way, that's my husband, and I'm not sure where he was wandering off to in this pic?!)

2010-05-09T20:45:00.006+01:00

I am finally getting sorted out after returning from America - the first week I had horrible jetlag and then last week I totally did my back in and couldn't do anything much.
Yesterday I finished off the ugly quilt and pinned it, so it is ready for quilting now, and I sorted out the material I bought back from the States.
And here are two new books that I got for my birthday last week... lovely, lovely, lovely!! I have to say I was a bit disappointed that I didn't find more beautiful fabrics while I was on holiday. I think I should have done my research better and gone to the right shops. I did visit one really nice one with all my favourite lines of material, but it was pretty pricey, and no cheaper than buying things online and having them imported.
I did find a sale of Kona Solids though, so bought a few.

Some fabrics more suited to my boys, than those I am usually attracted to.

More sale items.

And a few other fabrics that I have no plans for as yet, but just liked, including a fabulous little town print, all in black, white and red (2nd from bottom) which Eve, the woman who kindly housed us while we were volcano stranded in NY, gave to me.

We're back! And the Ugly Quilt is ugly.

2010-04-29T11:01:00.006+01:00

Well nearly a month on (8 days later than planned due to the volcano), and we are back in England! Reunited with the kids!
Scott and the kids had to go to work and school the day after we flew back, so I got the house straight, and carried on with my Ugly Quilt...
I felt very noble cutting out all the squares, and finally using up all those bits of fabric that have been under the bed for so long. Here are some of the squares (mainly old curtains, Scott's shirts, upholstery fabric etc.). Sadly though, most of them ended up in the bin, because when I laid them all out, they looked really ugly, and the miraculous transformation I had hoped for did not occur!I narrowed down the colour palette, and started sewing squares together yesterday.
I was thinking I would back it with a fleece blanket that is lurking in the back of the airing cupboard, and add green quilting (using up some old green POLYESTER thread... how bad is that?! My quilting teacher would NOT be happy - she of the '100% cotton' variety!), and then green binding (it's the only fabric I have enough left of.) Truly a scrap quilt.
I thought it would be good to use in our new (2nd hand) playhouse that we just bought off some friends, which is in the garden, lying in about as many pieces as this quilt. (Trying to reconstruct it is a fun job for another day!) Our middle son, Tom saw the quilt after school, and wants it for himself now though.
It's not quite as bad as it could have been, but still pretty ugly!

2010-04-17T22:00:00.002+01:00

Our holiday in America is now longer than planned thanks to a certain Volcano (which I have no hope of spelling correctly here). Our flight home was cancelled, and we are booked on one in another week and a half, if the ash has cleared!
We're staying with some of my Sister-in-law's family in up state New York at the moment, though my husband is eager to hire a car and carry on with the holiday!
I did visit a knitting shop this morning though, and bought a very lovely book...oh no.....another hobby coming on!!!!!!

Love it!!

2010-04-08T05:27:00.002+01:00

Our holiday is going wonderfully, brilliantly well! We have squashed in a ridiculously lot of stuff so far! (Salt Lake City for our church conference, Arches, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Las Vegas, and now I'm in an apartment right on Venice Beach, L.A!)

Anyway, as this is a craft blog, I wanted to show you my latest quilting buddy who I met today...

He was sitting in a quilt shop in the ghost town Calico, CA, when I came in, and we got talking and found out we have both just started quilting... ie. we speak the same language!! He showed me his first ever quilt that he is working on (in a pile just to the left of him, in the picture) It's actually his wife's shop, and he showed me her long arm quilting machine etc. Fun!!

Now I can tell my boys that quilting is cool - even cowboys do it! Calico Ghost Town:

(P.S. Yes, I have found time to visit Jo-Anns and Michaels!)

2010-03-31T10:08:00.002+01:00

Tomorrow I'm off to America for a couple of weeks, with my husband (obviously to buy crafting & quilting supplies...), so no pictures here for a little while! Bye bye!

Ugly Quilt

2010-03-24T21:08:00.002Z

I decided that it is all very well buying gorgeous new fabrics, but what about the stuff I have hoarded under my bed for years?
I am going to make a quilt with them. I don't even know why I have saved them, but they will not be wasted! Even if they are definitely NOT 100% cotton, NOT similar thicknesses, NOT new, and NOT pretty.
It's going to be my 'Ugly Quilt' - great for muddy picnics and soggy beaches.
I've sorted fabric by colours and want 6'' squares in a kind of rough rainbow, from top to bottom. The squares combinations I've sewn so far are still looking pretty ugly, but I am hoping for a wonderful caterpillar-butterfly transformation near the end! Wish me luck! Little scraps kept being asked for while I was sorting... I discovered their purpose: beds for my 4 year old's 'ratties' & other friends...

Quilt No.2 Finished!

2010-03-20T12:01:00.003Z

I got my wonky squares quilt finished off this morning! I'm pretty happy with it - and it seemed to get done incredibly fast compared to my first quilt. My lovely daughter (who is not a giant, just standing on a chair) helping me: (Dull wet day here, so very gloomy pics.)I'm glad my sums worked and that I divided up the pieces for the coloured strip on the back, right!
This was only a cheap quilt really - I used a white sheet for most of the fabric. It has a slightly different feel to the nice Kona solids for example, kind of less 'absorbent' feeling. It's OK though.

You can see my (far from perfect) quilting better here. I just did it by eye, and it turned out pretty much how I imagined it. I am not keen on the quilting bit though - probably because it is hard to do perfectly. (I unpicked a few lines where the fabric had little folds, and some of the lines do not flow smoothly). I don't know if I will get better with experience, or if my small & old machine is not ideal - probably a combination of both. Maybe I should try a quilt that just uses straight lines next!I used the Amy Butler for the binding (3'' wide) because that was the only fabric from the quilt that I had enough of... the rest I had only bought in fat quarts. And now this quilt has a new owner - my 4 year old went crazy for it, and he's already got it laid out on his bed. I didn't think he would like it because of all the pink - I had a nice cars one planned for him - but orange is his favourite colour and he loves the quilt, so it's his.

Wonky Squares Quilt put together

2010-03-19T08:35:00.005Z

I got my squares for my wonky quilt finished on Wednesday night, then yesterday put them together. The quilting bug has got me bad - I was so excited seeing it all come together!Oh how much I enjoyed last night! - kids in bed, me with some great music on the big old headphones, and pinning up my quilt... I love how this quilt is turning out - it's totally impractical, with so much white and 4 muck-magnet kids, and the colours match nothing whatsoever in the house, but the colours and fabrics just make me smile!

Water Bottle Holder

2010-03-16T19:37:00.005Z

Spring is in the air today - it was actually warm, and Harry got thirsty from running home after school. I said I'd make him a water bottle carrier, to take with him in future.

I'd seen the idea here for one, some time ago.

I didn't make mine the same way though - instead just made the body of the holder out of one rectangle of fabric, sewed it into a tube, sewed across the bottom, and then sewed across two of the bottom corners to make a square bottom.

Not exactly sure about the fabric combination here, but Harry chose, and he's 4, so I suppose it could have been worse!

We also got a new vacuum cleaner today (after the old one blew up last week), and Harry spent quite some time this afternoon trying it out - with his trusty water bottle at his side of course!! He is very proud of it!

Quilted Pillow & Birthday Card

2010-03-15T12:53:00.004Z

I put the back of Jack's pillow together yesterday - fitted a zip etc, and then attached the quilted front and put on the binding. We couldn't decide which fabric to use for the binding, so used lots of different ones. It measures about 30 inches across.

Also made a card for a friend - it's very similar to a past one I've made, but I really like the glitter and weird colour combination!

I used StazOn ink to stamp a Melissa Frances sentiment onto acetate, and attached it with a foam pad cut into tiny bits, then hidden with gems. I used acrylic paint on the edges, with Doodlebug glitter and Stickles glitter glue. The stamps are from Gel-a-tins Spring Garden.

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-03-13T13:23:00.008Z

I had set aside yesterday morning to make Mother's day cards for my Mum and Scott's Mum, but most of it got spent at the doctor's with my youngest, so two very quick cards here! I used the layout from Papertake Weekly, and the idea of using Daffodils from DCM, for Scott's Mum's card.

For my Mum's, I used the idea from Wednesday Stamper to do some hand doodling.

Mini Quilt for Charlie

2010-03-10T14:14:00.004Z

I made this mini quilt last night for my friends' fantastic little boy, Charlie. He has Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, and is due for his third open heart surgery later this month.
I wanted to send him something bright and cheerful to wish him well.

My first quilt finished & New fabrics

2010-03-09T13:47:00.015Z

A few photos... I have finished my very first quilt, that I started as a New Year's resolution this January. I just love how weighty and kind of crinkly it is!Harry, my youngest, modelling.

(Somewhat reluctantly...)

I stitched some writing for the back.

Ermm... In the short time I have been quilting I seem to have developed a fabric addiction...

These all arrived in the last week or so. I like too many different styles of fabric, and have SO many ideas buzzing round my head - my skill levels and free time just need to catch up now!

I love these ones best

I didn't realise I had chosen so many spots!

And a few more random ones...

Now it's just a question of where to start next. I also need to make some cards... we celebrated seven family birthdays this past weekend, and I only gave 2 handmade ones - the rest were actually bought! I hadn't bought a card for literally years. Oh well, blame quilting.

Best Wishes Card

2010-03-04T16:59:00.004Z

I wanted a traditional looking card for some friends of ours who are moving away, and used the sketch at 2 Sketches 4 You for the layout.

Materials were all scrap stuff I've had for ages, except for the red and cream fabric button which I just covered myself. I found some really nice and not too expensive metal buttons with the gadget for covering them on ebay.

Painfully slow quilting!

2010-03-01T22:04:00.002Z

Piecing is fun, but the quilting bit is harder! I have been doing some wiggly quilting, with roses at each sash junction on the big quilt, and some in-the-ditch and big hand stitching on the squares. More wiggly quilting on the pillow. It is slow progress, and my fingers hurt from unpicking!

My Dad's Card

2010-02-27T21:32:00.006Z

My Dad will be 60 on Monday!! He's too young to be 60! and he is actually the best Dad in the world.

I dug out some glittery stickers for his card - as per the challenge at Caardvarks. Still struggle with male cards though - not that he will mind in the least I don't think! I made it so the card opens out and stands up, and it is pretty big.

A bit more quilting progress

2010-02-25T17:26:00.008Z

I went to my second quilting class on Tuesday - (not much sewing got done due to a power cut the whole time we were there!) but I was shown how to layer up the quilt parts and pin them, so today I did that with Lucy's quilt. I got the back made yesterday - with 2'' squares left over from the fabric I used on the front, making a border.I used duck tape to stick down the back, used Quilters Dream Poly Deluxe in the middle, and then got the top pinned on and looking nice and flat, though it was a bit tricky as I had to match it up with the pattern on the quilt back (I did it by sticking a pin through the top and making sure it came out in the right place on the backing.)

Hint: Have some 'Sticky Stuff Remover' for your floor, after you've taken off the duck tape!Also, I was happy to get two new feet for my sewing machine in the post today. I'd been worried I wouldn't be able to get them for my machine because it's a good 10 years old and not very fancy. I spoke to Toyota directly, and they were able to supply me with a walking foot, and darning foot, and at really good prices. So I had a go at the squiggly pattern I like, and sewing in the ditch - my first ever actual quilting!! It seemed to work out OK...

Kids' Crafts

2010-02-22T21:25:00.004Z

My youngest son had his friend over today (who's Mum was poorly) - they spent a happy time stamping a Get Well card for her & making pictures. I was getting on with some quilting in the meantime, and Harry's friend was fascinated by the sewing machine. He wanted to do some sewing on it, and we compromised with the boys pushing the treddle under the table, while I steered the material (to make cushions) and yelled "STOP!" to them at the end of each row of sewing... They were MAJORLY proud of them, and even took their cushions with them on the school run to pick up their big brothers!

Another New Home Card

2010-02-22T14:29:00.006Z

A friend asked if I would make a New Home card for her to send, so I made this one using the sketch at Mojo Monday. I also had a look through my sticker box, as the challenge at Caardvarks is to use stickers - a good challenge, as I usually forget I have them...

Pink scalloped card: Bazzill
Papers & Owl Sticker: K&Co Berry Sweet
Nestabilities Label 1 Die Cuts
Tag: Sizzix Die Cut
Letter Stickers: Making Memories

More Wonky Squares

2010-02-20T19:52:00.004Z

A few more of my wonky squares (the younger kids were worried at first: 'Mum - they're not straight!') I'm thinking of alternating 18 of these squares with 17 differently patterned ones - we'll see.

Needle case, Embroidery and Quilt top

2010-02-19T17:22:00.006Z

We have had to wait in all day for a delivery today, so there has been plenty of time for some crafting, as well as jobs!
A nice little 10 minute project that I have been meaning to do for a while - a needle case. (Our few needles have been stuck in a tatty piece of red cardboard for the past 14 years - my husband's Mum sent my husband off to uni with it, as part of a little sewing kit for him!)
I made a little pocket, put stiff acetate pieces in it to stiffen the covers, and sewed it shut, then added some felt. I like it!
I finished off the embroidery for Jack's pillow case back, the other day. I need to make my handwriting more regular next time I do this, because it's not quite as neat as I would like. Jack loves it though! I found some Amy Butler fabrics on Ebay the other day at quite a reasonable price, and they arrived today.Also today, the Kona Snow fabric that I have been waiting for arrived in the post, so I got to finish off the sashing on my quilt - I have finished my very first quilt top!!

Good girl

2010-02-17T12:52:00.002Z

I was a good girl yesterday, and finally got round to washing (in phosphate free 'Ecover') all my new fabrics, and I soaked the pre-cut squares in cold water, and dried them on tea-towels over the radiators. Here they are all nicely ironed (and my laptop on which I was buying more fabric on Ebay!)

A new quilt & some embroidery

2010-02-17T10:32:00.015Z

I wanted to make a bright wonky squares quilt (don't know if there is a more technical name?) These are the squares I've done so far last night and this morning. They look a bit wrinkly here for some reason - they are OK in real life.
I'm a bit nervous about turning up at my second ever quilting class (next week), and telling them I have started 3 quilts and a pillow already... but a square a month would just be too horribly, painfully slow!! I couldn't find any instructions for a wonky style squares quilt, so I just did this:

I started off with a central piece, then added on strips round the edge. (I cut uneven width strips from my fabric for the wonky effect.)I didn't measure anything, just made sure I added onto a perfectly straight edge each time:Making sure the outer edges are straight, and adding some more wonkiness:

Adding more wonky pieces, making a rough square each time:

I placed the square in progress over a completed square, just to check it is roughly the right size:I added the last frame, and then cut it down to a perfect square.

My 'temporary' quilting corner of the dining room... (dismal day outside)

I want to 'write' something on each quilt/pillow I make - here is the little rhyme I made up for my son Jack's pillow. I want to sew it into a strip made up of all the fabrics I used on the pillow front, and embed it across the back of the pillow case. (I found this 'Prym Aqua-Trickmarker' pen in Dunelm yesterday - like felt-tip, but disappears with water.)(I can't tell you how much I am enjoying this!)