A few weeks ago I had a competition on my blog and on my Facebook page, and here are the prizes that have been sent out to the lucky winners!! I used AnnAKa pattern, "Anna's Sminkepung" for these cosmetic bags, and added my own twist to the pattern, and decorated them with lace and buttons and one of my special labels of course! I hope the winners like them - Jules and Sue - look out for the postman - he's on his way!
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Do you remember a few weeks ago I made a tote bag using some brown batiks from my stash, and an AnnAKa pattern called "På Quiltelaup"? Well I had some leftover fabric from that project, and decided to make a shoulder bag, again using an AnnAKa pattern, "Gladveska". I didn't have any pellon wadding left for this project, so I used a double layer of thin cotton wadding instead. It is quilted in a zig-zag design, using a variegated brown King Tut quilted thread... ...rather than stick faithfully to the pattern, I used a variation of the Perfect Quilted Totes pattern by Elizabeth Hartman for the lining and pockets, and was really pleased with how this turned out. There are two slip pockets in the lining, and a pocket with a zipper and a key holder too. And finished off with one of my "quiltystuff" labels? And the upper edge of the bag neatened with binding? And a magnetic button fastener sewn onto the flap? Of course!... ...this bag really does have everything, as you can see from this picture of the inside of the bag, it has a slip pocket, neatly bound with a cream batik and a zipper pocket and a key holder. This side of the lining has a slip pocket, lined and trimmed with one of the batiks and finished with one of my labels. It's the little finishing touches that make this bag look so smart... ...here is the finished bag - the strap is made out of strips of fabric, and as I didn't quite have enough, I made one of them "scappy", which seems to work well. It's surprising what you can make with left-overs. Now I need to sort through my box of batiks and maybe make some more of these shoulder bags.
I was so eager to put some pictures on my blog about this tote bag, I completely forgot about the buttons that adorn the top of the bag, securing the prairie points so they don't flap about! Anyway, I bought these large grey buttons la couple of weeks ago from Fabric8 in Felixtowe - they really so finish it off nicely. I really wanted to get a green and a yellow one, to match the colours of the bag, but couldn't find the right shade, so chose these grey ones instead. And these are the nice brown buttons that I bought for the brown batik version of "På Quiltelaup". These buttons really do add the final flourish to these tote bags. Now I might have to make another one to match the buttons I've already got in my button jar!!
This year I'm trying very hard to finish one project before I start another one, and it's proving to be very difficult! Mr F would really like to see me use up lots of my stash of fabrics and threads, firstly to save money, and secondly to make a bit more space at Foreman Towers. More left-overs were lurking in my box of Lecien fabrics - I really couldn't bear to slice up the neatly folded half meters of Lecien, so compromised by using just SOME of my stash, by finishing off these lemon floral scraps... ...well here is the first one - trimmed with pink lace and a label added. Again, this little bag is based on my favourite pattern, "Anna's Sminkepung" by the Norwegian designer AnnAKa. This didn't use up ALL my Lecien lemon overs, so then I made a second one - not too bad, eh? The pattern is called "Anna's Sminkepung" and is by the Norwegian designer AnnAKa. These little bags will make perfect gifts. Unfortunately using these fabric scraps hasn't made much space at Foreman Towers, but I HAVE created a very special gift for a very special person, and it's kept me quiet which means Mr F is VERY happy hehe!!
At the weekend I had a super day on Sunday, sewing with my youngest daughter, Alice. She is currently working her gap year at our local quilt shop Quilters Haven (lucky girl!) before she heads off to uni in September. Anyway, Alice loves sewing and creating (I wonder who she takes after?!) and we spent a wonderful Sunday afternoon sewing together, as she wanted to make some more of these beautiful cosmetic bags for 2 of her work colleagues. The pattern she used is "Anna's Sminkepung, by the Norwegian designer AnnAKa. The first one was made with a selection of red and white fabrics - she did all the quilting and sewing herself - her zipper insertion deserved full marks! She chose some red crocheted lace for the trimming. The fabrics all came from Sew and So's, which Alice bought when we went there for a shopping trip a few weeks ago. The pink batik bag was trimmed with some gorgeous fuchsia pink velvet ribbon/lace that I bought from Little A Designs.
Do you remember when I made some "Sminkepung" toiletry bags using this gorgeous Lecien fabric and an AnnAKa pattern? The fabric was bought from Sew and So's in Bungay when they had a booth at the Chilford Autumn Quilt Festival simply ages ago - think it was 2011 - anyway, I think this fabric started my addiction with all things Lecien! Well as you can see, I had a few little left-overs, and thought I had enough to make one more bag..... ...the delicate lace-printed fabric is used for the lining and bindings inside the bag - I always like the inside to be finished off as neatly as possible, and the bindings are stitched into place by hand. Oh and yes, it's been adorned with one of my "Quiltystuff" labels too! And here it is - trimmed with this gorgeous lace that I bought from Little A Designs a few weeks ago. Well now I need to go shopping again to stock up my Lecien fabric box!!
My Bernina has been off on it's holipops (AKA having a very well deserved service!) and today I just NEEDED to make something and see if I noticed a difference. Searching through a box of scraps, I found a small piece of red and black lace-printed fabric in my sewing box that was left over from a larger piece that I had already quilted a couple of years ago, and even though it wasn't very big, I decided to use it rather than throw it away. Ooh my word - I didn't really how noisy my machine had been, as now the "clunking" noise I heard every time I sewed anything was missing - my Bernina is now sewing like a dream again, and it was practically purring as it stitched through layers of fabric and wadding as I made another little cosmetic bag. As you can see, this little bag is lined with a super red and black polka dot print... ..the red lace didn't look right in the end, as it was just too scarlet - so out came the thread un-picker, and I swapped the red lace for a piece of black gathered lace, which I think goes much better. Umm this little bag looks like a very sexy version of "Anna's Sminkepung". Oh la-la!!
Several of my blog followers and FB friends have often asked me about where they can buy patterns by AnnAKa - they are available from quilt shops in Scandinavia, and there are lots of links on the side bar of my blog. I buy mine from my friend Hanne who has a quilt shop in Bodø called Lappedilla, and also from Elisabeth who has a quilt shop in Sweden called Lapp-Elisa. Please contact them if you need any help with ordering patterns - they will be very happy to help you. This shows me with Ann and my friend Hanne when I went to stay in Norway for the first time in November, 2009 - I was lucky enough to be invited to stay with Hanne and to do a course with Ann - it was extremely exciting! I had such a great time there, and made friends with lots of Norwegian ladies - hei hei!! And this picture was taken when I met Ann the second time, in 2011 and I did ANOTHER course with her - I really am VERY lucky!! And of course I'm lucky to have so many Norwegian friends - especially Hanne and Eva. I've got quite a large collection of AnnAKa patterns, as you can probably imagine!
A very very long time ago, I bought this fabric from my local quilt shop, Quilters Haven - it is a range called "Fresh Flowers" by Deb Strain for Moda. I had planned to use it to make a couple of runners and place mats, and over the Easter weekend I had the perfect opportunity to finally get this project done! The pattern I chose is by AnnAKa, and is called "Kle Kjøkkenet i 60-tallsdrakt" and was in issue 4/07 of Quiltemagasinet, a Norwegian quilting magazine..... .....these blocks made up very quickly, as I did lots and lots of chain piecing. I used a light grey Mettler fine embroidery thread shade 724 for piecing. In no time at all, I'd completed enough blocks for a runner for the dining table with 6 matching place mats and another smaller runner suitable for a coffee table..... .....I used a non-fusible pellon for the wadding. This is quite thin, and is ideal for runners and bags, where you want your project to have just a bit of structure, but not be too thick. Lots of straight rows of quilting with this gorgeous variegated lime green King Tut quilting thread, shade 927 and as a final flourish the prairie points are embellished with these bright yellow buttons..... ....quilted, bound and a couple of my "quiltystuff" labels machined into place on the back of the two runners (I didn't bother to sew them on all the place mats!)..... .....drum roll please - finished!! As you can see, I've now got a pair of very smart runner! These bright colours are perfect for the Spring and Summer and would definitely cheer up any dining room and lounge! This great fabric panel was from Lapp-Elisa. It's called "Nifty Nurses" and is by Loralie designs. This is just SO appropriate for me - and some of my colleagues - looking at this panel I can find all the members of team that I work with!!..... my youngest daughter Alice bought me a bundle of red and white fat quarters fro a gift for Mothering Sunday, and thought these would be ideal to go with this panel. I selected one of the "Nifty Nurses" (do you think it looks a bit like me??!!) and added some red crocheted late that I had bought from U-handbag a few weeks ago. I choose my favourite bag pattern, "Anna's Sminkepung" by AnnAKa, and set about making a bag..... .....and here it is completed! This bag was made a bit bigger than usual, and would be really useful to use as a first-aid kit to keep in my desk at work. What do you think?..... .....and for those of you who are wondering what might be inside it?? Well there's a spare pair of stockings (incase of any ladders), and some painkillers (incase of headaches) and sticking plasters. Oh and an emergency bar of chocolate too!! |
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July 2023
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