 It's Tuesday again - and not just any old Tuesday - it's "Sew Cute Tuesday" so head over to the Better Off Thread blog and you'll see a whole host of crafty goodies to ohhh and ahhh over - and yes, I've added a link to my Gladveska bag that I made over the weekend.
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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.
 A few weeks ago I created a FB page for Nicola Foreman Quilts, just to keep up with all the trendy and techno ways of showcasing my bags and runners and quilts and stuff. Well I thought I might get a few likes from some of my friends (and so far 54 of my friends have "liked" my page!!) anyway, great excitement as I now have a total of 100 likes.....whoop whoop and as I promised a giveaway when I reached this milestone, I have planned something a little bit crafty! So hop over to my FB page, and you can read all the details for a super duper giveaway. Oh and for those of you who don't use FB, I will be doing a little giveaway here too. Just leave me a comment on this post, and one lucky person will get one of my cosmetic bags. What are you waiting for?? The winner will be announced on Saturday 4th May so you've got a whole week to comment!
 Well if you want to see all the craftiness from this weeks "Sew Cute Tuesday", you'd better head off to the Better Off Thread blog and have a look - and you won't be disappointed at what's on offer! I've submitted a picture of my sewing machine mat and matching thread catcher that I wrote about here.
Ever since I saw this sewing machine mat on the Bloom blog I've been meaning to make one! I've needed one of these mats for ages to put my sewing machine on so it doesn't mark my dining table. Up until this weekend, I've just used a folded up table cloth - well that's all changed as I spent the day yesterday making this - the pattern is called 'Beyond Measure' Part II and was featured in Homespun magazine in 2010, and is also available to purchase and then download as a PDF file from the Bloom shop. This fabric was from The Dressmaking Collection - Vintage Notions by Amy Barrickman for Red Rooster fabrics, and has been lurking in my stash for simply ages waiting for the perfect project! I think I bought the fabric from Fancy Moon, but it was rather a long time ago! I decided to stray from the pattern again, and quilted this with lots of straight rows 0.5" apart, and used a black Mettler quilting thread. All these pockets are so useful for storing all my quiltystuff essentials, like fabric markers and pins and thread snippers and a chocolate bar or two...
...the top edge of the pocket is piped (thanks to my residential course last year with Philippa Naylor I wasn't fazed at all by piping!!) As you can see, I adapted the pattern to suit this fabric, rather than using all those 2.5" squares. The twill "tape measure" was a purchase a couple of years ago when I went to the Festival of Quilts at Birmingham, and was from Antique Angel. My local quilt shop, Quilters Haven also stocks some similar twill tape, so I'll have to stock up from there, as it looks great as an embellishment on sewing projects! Oh and if you're wondering what those cute little sew-in button magnets are for, then scroll down to the thread catcher. See? This is such a cunning idea! The removable thread catcher clicks into place with a couple of magnets. Roslyn Mirrington is such a great designer, she really does think of everything! Mr F will be so pleased that I won't have all those loose threads on the floor making the place look untidy when I'm having a sewing-fest. I bought these sew-in button magnets from Sew and So's at Bungay, and they were MUCH cheaper than the ones I bought from the Spring Quilt Festival at Duxford last month...
...and it simply clicks into place. See? So no more loose threads and no more trimmed off bits and no more snipped thing-ummy-bobs on the floor. I wish I'd made one of these sets before - my machine looks like such a smarty pants on it's new mat!! Oh and yes, more piping around the top of the thread catcher - Philippa WILL be impressed! I also had a cunning plan for the back of the sewing mat - I used some non-slip matting that I cut to size and slip-stitched into place by hand so that when I'm sewing my Bernina stays put. Note to self - don't try stitching non-slip matting with a sewing machine - it wont move!! Oh and of course it has been embellished with one of my "Quiltystuff" labels too...
....although my sewing machine is a lot smaller than this mat (I have the Bernina Activa 230 PE), I decided not to scale the size down, as if ever I'm lucky enough to own a larger Bernina (bit of a hint to poor Mr F - I've got a very very special birthday coming up in a few months and he might want some suggestions for a very very special present!!), then I won't need to buy more fabric to make another mat! So if you see him, tell him how much money I'm saving him hehe!!  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!!
Time for another "oldie" - this wall hanging was made in 2008, and is a pattern called "A Patchwork Village" by the Australian designer Rosalie Quinlan - and is a mixture of both patchwork and stitchery.....  ...this was purchased as a kit from an online store called Buttonberry (sadly now closed down - Emma and Lisa sold the most fabulous Australian patterns, and it was where I got hooked on Aussie patterns and stitchery!). This shows a close-up of one of the 9 stitchery blocks. This was machine quilted by me, very very simply, using the "stitch-in-the-ditch" technique with a white Mettler quilting thread. This wall hanging has been folded away for far too long - I really need to display this on one of my walls as it is so pretty!
Another one of my projects from the past - this is a wall hanging called "Valentine Bouquet" and was designed by Hilary Gooding. This was a kit that I bought from my local quilt shop, Quilters Haven, and is uses the "Hearts and Flowers" range of fabric by Makower. The finished size is 48".....  ...this shows a close-up of the roses in full bloom and the rose buds. This was my first major attempt at machine applique - and I don't think it looks too shabby!! This wall hanging is completely machine quilted with a cream variegated quilting thread, using a mixture of cross-hatching, straight row quilting and finally free-motion quilting. I suppose I should've really shown you this one in February!  Well it's time to head over there again, to the Better Off Thread blog to have a look at what's lined up for "Sew Cute Tuesday". I've actually posted pictures of 3 projects from this week - although they are only small ones (I just love those cosmetic bags and have some great ideas for the ones I'm going to make this weekend!!)
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!!
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 About me...Hi - welcome to my quilting blog! My passions are my family, my dog, my friends and sewing, not necessarily in that order! 
 
 
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