Playing with Fabric - Summer Nights Lights Cushion

Diane (who works with me at Stitchbird) and I did a small combined project.  When we saw this fabric it just had to be done.  I did the quilting and Diane added the yo-yos (using the Clover Yo-Yo Makers, they come in a number of sizes) .

The finished project a cushion, with a gorgeous wool backing.  It is now in the shop.

A Little ABC Quilt

As I start another one of these quilts I realise I did not even blog about the first one.  This quilt feels like cheating it is so quick to make.  It was one of the quilts I put together over our ANZAC weekend sewing retreat with my quilting buddies.  Adrianne ran an impromptu session on free motion quilting for some of us and got Vicki and I well on our way (I will have to check with Vicki whether I can share one of her photos here in a later post as she is a natural with the free motion quilting).  Me, not so, but I will persevere.  If you look closely you will see where I broke a needle right in the middle of the black vulture (sods law that it would be on the black).

The finished size of the quilt is 65 x 69 cm, so perfect for a stroller, change quilt, or baby capsule.

The fabric is the Alexander Henry's ABC with Me and the border is Very Duck Egg Blue Spot, which  is almost sold out but is still available in the Mini version.  The binding was a stripe I had.  The backing is a co-ordinating Alexander Henry fabric ABC to Z.

Patchwork Please! - A book I need to buy

I often trial books, before I buy them, by taking them out of the library first.  Sometimes books can be a triumph of styling over actual substance.  I recently did this with Patchwork Please! by Ayumi Takahashi and for me this is a book that I need to purchase.  The projects and the styling are great. There are several projects that I want to do.

So far I am obsessed with the envelopes:

With this envelope I used the instructions from Zoe the Zombie Apocalypse doll, with some Miffy fabric I bought in Japan.  The on below uses some Red Cookie fabric which I have had squirrelled away.

There are a number of other projects in this book that I would like to try.

Are there any books that you can recommend?

Conquering Y Seams and Zombie Sewing

I have been psyching myself up to do the big Y seams in my Midnight at the Oasis Quilt.  Luckily friends had done their's before me, so I listened to their stories, watched all the You Tube clips, took a deep breath and plunged in.  

Because these Y- Seams are so big and I was working with a number of fabrics cut on the bias (and liable to stretch) I did 3 extra things that I would recommend.  My tips are:

• Trace the shape onto freezer paper and iron onto the back of your fabric, then cut your shape and leave the freezer paper on when you sew.
• When you cut the shape add a good extra cm on the outside edge (the ones you are not sewing now).  You can trim it up later.
• Use spray starch on the your triangle of triangles to make it stiffer and less likely to stretch.

I was pretty chuffed with the result.  It just needs to be squared up.

Also on my sewing table today:

Zoe the Zombie Apocalypse Doll and her dog waiting for some final surgery.  She is destined to hang out in the shop as a sample for the doll panel, before making her way home to our house.  If you need a Zoe and her sidekick dog you can find the panel here.

Website Work = Little Sewing

I am in the process of making some major changes to the website.  This is not my favourite part of the job, but it needs to be done.  I won't go into all the boring details, needless to say it is not always easy and it does mean that there has been less time for sewing.  But I have managed to do some little bits every now and then, all from my scrap bag.

A little pincushion.

And not that I have sewn on this, but one of my very dear customer's Mary brought this in for me to use in the shop display - her toy Vulcan sewing machine from when she was a little girl (and it works).   Mary's Mum was a dress maker and Mary used to sew too, when her Mum was sewing.    Isn't it a wee cutie?

I hope you are having more joy with your sewing.

Improv Blocks - the perfect choice for work procrastination

I should have been working but....

I thought I would play in my scrap bag.  I started out thinking I would make a needle book using my scraps but my blocks sort of grew.   I found this piecing method very addictive.  No measuring and in most cases I just sewed the scrap I had on to the block and trimmed it up afterwards.  

Now what to do with them?  Do I just keep on going making more and join them together for a quilt?  Are they bags? My scrap bag overfloweth so there is no shortage of scraps!

I loved doing them so much I know I will do more.  Any thoughts?

Inspiring...

One thing I love about working in the shop are all the wonderful customers and the inspiring things that you make.  I always love seeing what you have been up to - either by sending in a photo or bringing your beautiful creations into the store in Kilbirnie.

These last few weeks have been no exception.  

I swooned when I saw Cornelia's bag.  (I need one of these).

and was very impressed with Heidi's nursing bib that she made for a friend.  Heidi is relatively new to sewing.  (Definitely don't need one of these - but can appreciate that these are great for those who may have that need!)

Nursery Versery Take 1 and Take 2

Oh how I love a mid week holiday.  I have had the perfect day - sewing.  I think this has been my first full day sewing since we opened the shop.  I have wanted to make a quilt from the Nursery Versery range for a long time.  I staked my claim on the dining room table for the day and the top is finished.....

and because there were left over squares I decided to cut a few more and make another quilt top.

As the saying goes same same but different.  I hope you are enjoying your Waitangi Day.

Spot the oops in the bunting

This is what happens when you have no time and your in a hurry and you decide to whip up a little something else.  Now if I was a perfectionist or it was for a gift I would unpick it.  But is isn't so I won't :)

And a close up (not including the woopsie).

sshhhh... don't tell it's a pressie

a little zippered pouch for important wee things like coffee cards etc and a fabric covered notebook. 

The notebook was made using the tutorial over on Clare's blog.  

I used lite steam a seam for the notebook which was great to use, because it is slightly tacky so I could stick it on, readjust and then iron it (you will understand if you read the tutorial).  A note though - making these may become addictive!

I will be making more of these, but next time I think I will add 2 cm or even 2.5 cms as my notebook was a bit bigger and I felt it could do with a little more fold over. 

The fabric is Heather Ross's Roses from the Far Far Away 2 range.

P.S. if you need a tutorial for making zippered pouches Lisa has a good one over on her blog Big Little.

making and baking

More bears, Harry is made using the Moda wool in Aqua.

Lola is rather posh and made from a cashmere wool.

And on the plate.... Afghan biscuits and Louise cake ready for my cousin and her family who are coming for afternoon tea tomorrow...of course we had to taste test them.

Happy Friday!

it was meant to be quick

... but took a lot longer than I imagined.  I picked up a beautiful piece of silk(?) velvet in a deep royal blue/purple with an almost dimple effect from the op shop and thought it would look great as a neck warmer with some silk like scraps pieced together.  

The fabric seemed to have a will of its own and wanted to move whenever I sewed, so after a session unpicking I had to resort to tacking the two pieces together before sewing.  I would normally topstitch something like this around the edge, but I don't dare.

sewing for the kindy kids in Japan

Today was my first opportunity to do some sewing for the kindy kids (this is an appeal for handmade clothes and toys for children affected by the tsunami - you can read more here)...

Not the best photo ever but the lighting today is not very good.  Don't you like the masking tape?  I got that clever idea from Melissa at Tiny Happy.

The skirt is made from a baby needlecord and is very soft.  I used the pattern from the simple skirt tutorial from Dana over at MADE (great sewing tutorials over on her blog - I will add her blog on the sidebar as a reference point as well!)

As for the t-shirt - yes it is store bought, but the elephant has been sewn on.  I made Miss M a t-shirt like this when she was little and it was an all time favourite.  I hope Japanese girls like elephants as well.

I am not the only one who has been sewing - you can check out what Lisa has been doing over on her blog.

If you are able to help the kindy kids please leave a comment or email me.

NZ's Hottest and Youngest Home Bakers?

The Twinkies - my youngest niece and nephew turned two this weekend.  Their Mum put in a request for two aprons.

Made from Traffic

Made from Babushka Dolls and Cat (one of my new favourites).

Now these would look heaps better with models wearing them, but unfortunately they do not fit anyone in our household.

I made a similar apron for their older sister a couple of years ago, based on a pattern that I made up - but do you think I could find the pattern, so thanks Uncle Robbie for giving me all the vital measurements based on the original, over the phone.  I will have to ask Aunty Sooz whether she will take a photo of New Zealand's Hottest and Youngest Home Bakers to share with you (they are super cute!) 

Happy Birthday Sam and Maya!

the thing I hate most about sewing - is cutting

Why does cutting fabric have to come at the beginning of a sewing project?

I have to psych myself up for cutting into fabric - especially when sewing clothes for myself.  First there is always the concern as to what size am I exactly?  Then there is all that precious fabric... yikes.

Today I have been brave and cut into some of the Nani Iro fabric.  I have wanted to make a top for myself in this fabric for a long time.

This is the pattern I am using

It is New Look 6962.  I have chosen the cross over top style, longer length and am yet to decide on the sleeve length.  I am thinking about making them long for winter.  The cutting is complete and I will let you know how the sewing goes.
Happy stitching.

a present for a 3 year old friend

After much frustration over my sewing machine yesterday, I did eventually finish this...

a little shoulder bag for a very special friend. I popped her name under the flap.

The body of the bag is made out of denim that I had in my stash and the lining is Going Dotty Raspberry from Kokka and the fabric on the flap is Babushka Dolls and Cat again from Kokka.  The pattern was made up as I went.

Happy stitching.

at last some sewing

Now I am cheating a bit as these cushions were made in December, but I did not blog about them at the time.  They are made with Heather Ross's Far Far Away 2 fabrics which is in the shop.

I would post the product of today's sewing but is has not been without its trials - my sewing machine tension was off - I mean way off and no amount of turning the dial would find the right spot.....Sh*t, B.#**$. 

I changed the needle ....... still no good - BUM.  I want to sew!  Plus I am already mentally calculating the repair bill - double BUM.

And then I resorted to getting out the screw dirver and taking off the foot plate and found the dust bunnies of all dust bunnies - in fact a whole family of dust bunnies lurking in there.  Some of it was almost felt.....try again......aahhhh........all is right with the world again, I can sew.

Tomorrow I will post what I have been working on today - a gift for a three year old friend - I just need to get the right coloured thread to finish the top stitching.

I hope you have had more joy with your sewing.

homework

Miss M will most probably tell me off for showing you this, but oh well, I have got used to being told off by my kids.  This year is Miss M's first year at High School and she finished her soft materials homework over the weekend.  The brief was to make/decorate a container to keep all your supplies in for soft materials (sewing).  She knew exactly what she wanted - a sewing wallet or hussif, which I am not sure the teacher had in mind, after going through my fabric stash and also her own (yes my 13 year old daughter already has her own fabric stash.....there is no hope for her).  She chose her fabrics.  My input was technical advice (order of construction, supervision of first use of rotary cutter etc) and some quick unpicking duties when frustration levels reached an all time high towards the end of Sunday (oh how I would love to have someone on hand to do unpicking for me!)

Above is the outside of her sewing wallet or hussif.  Here is the inside (they had to include a list of materials).

and lastly her needle book...

All the materials used were from our respective stashes, so there is a reason that we need to keep such a good supply of fabrics, ribbons etc :)

special delivery

I had request from my son for a delivery bag.  J does a paper round and needed a new bag.  After much deliberation between the kokka robots and the echino bicycle fabric he went with the bicycles.  I made up the pattern as I went along using an old esprit bag that I had.

To give the bag a base I folded some of the fabric to the outside forming a triangle shape and stitched - a sort of deconstructed look.  I also let some of the selvedge show, but was a bit bummed when the word bicycles got covered by the turned up fabric.

And the verdict from the delivery bag critic

Yup it's cool Mum.

Holiday Sewing

Strike a pose...

This is Burda 9573. Midget decided she would prefer loose sleeves rather than the elasticated ones.  The sizing is very generous and I would be inclined to go down a size if I was remaking it, but Midget is happy with it so who am I to say!  Midget chose the fabric which is Heather Ross Snails Orange and Blue from the Far Far Away 1 range.   I used the selvedge to put a wee motif on the pocket.

Happy New Year and Happy Sewing