Blog Archives

My favourite pattern.....

30/5/2011

You know when you have a favourite recipe, the one where you can just bake it without even having to look in your recipe book? Well this little bag is just like that - it is based on the pattern "Anna's Sminkepunger" by AnnAKa - I have made this so many times that I didn't need to use the pattern. I changed it a little bit, doing my own thing, and I'm really pleased with how it's tuned out.
I made a circular bag with some of these fabrics a couple of weeks ago for my friend Claire for her birthday. This fabric is by Sandy Gervais. I'm not sure what this collection was called, but a bundle of four fat eigths tied up with a ribbon had been sitting in my stash for far too long, and I decided I should take the plunge and stop looking at it and actually USE it!!

Flower Fairy quilt.....

30/5/2011

This gorgeous Flower Fairy fabric makes a wonderful whole-cloth quilt. I started this ages ago, as a practise piece, and decided to get it finished. It's got Heirloom fusible wadding between the two layers of fabric, and I used Mettler quilting thread in white. There are rows and rows of straight quilting, and it's topped off with an extra-deep binding, in pink gingham (part of the Darla range, by Tanya Whelan) that's been in my stash for ages - and sewn on with a blind hemming stitch. Now, what little girl would like this to snuggle up with?

It's a dog's life.....

29/5/2011

1 Comment

We went off to see the puppies again today. We hadn't seen them for a couple of weeks and we were in for a big surprise - oh my goodness how they've grown!!
As you can see, Jasper is looking very contented with his soon-to-be-new-master, Mr F.
(Actually, it has to be said, Mr F is looking very contented with Jasper).....

.....he also looked very contented sitting on Alice's lap.....

.....and he was more than contented running around and playing in the garden.....

.....he was absolutly exhausted after he'd been running around the garden with his brothers and sisters, so we left him to dream about chasing his tail - and chasing cats - and chasing pigeons - we are so excited about bringing him home with us VERY soon :)

1 Comment

Just Wing It.....

29/5/2011

I saw this charm pack in Quilters Haven and just HAD to buy it - it will be perfect for the "Charm Squares Baby Quilt" (free tutorial on Sew Mama Sew - the free pattern is by Oh,Fransson! who is VERY talented) - this is "Just Wing It" by Momo for Moda.....

.....these baby quilts can be made in no time at all - although it is a simple design, I think it looks stunning.....

.....just got to get some fabric for the backing and I can get this one quilted - now, anyone know a baby in need of a quilt??

A quilt for Erin.....

28/5/2011

0 Comments

My niece had her baby last Saturday morning - a little girl called Erin, and this quilt is especially for her. I bought this fabric from Chilford Quilt Show last year, (it was from Sunflowers fabrics) and have been saving it for a very special baby - and now she has arrived ;)

I love this fabric collection, with a mix of spots and ditsy florals and stripes - and I love these colours - the pinks and reds look great.....

.....da-da - a special quilt for a very special baby!! I do hope she likes it! I chose a red and white gingham for the backing fabric and finished it off with a red and white spotty fabric for the binding.....

.....if you want to make this baby quilt, you can download the free pattern by Oh,Fransson! on the Sew Mama Sew website :)

0 Comments

Charm Squares baby quilts.....

28/5/2011

A few months ago, while blog-hopping, I found this tutorial on Oh Fransson!'s blog, and ever since then I've wanted to make one of these quilts. I didn't have a charm pack suitable, (I know - I couldn't believe it either!!) so used an assortment of lemon fabrics from my stash, and I think it's working well. These blocks sewed together really quickly, and the white sashing keeps the lemon fabric looking fresh.....

.....this is my favourite wadding for quilts - and it's just perfect for baby quilts. I always use 100% cotton fabric for the quilt top and backing, and always use cotton wadding too.....

.....I started off using my Hera marker to mark the lines for all the straight-line quilting, but soon got fed up with that, so used the edge of the walking foot as a guide and just went for it - not too bad, even if I say so myself!!.....

.....and here it is finally completed - I chose a darker yellow for the binding, and a crisp white tone-on-tone for the backing.....

.....this was supposed to be a pressie for my niece, but she's just had a baby girl, and I can't possibly give her this yellow one - it's just got to be PINK!! so now I think I'm going to make another one and I've got just the perfect fabric for that ;)

Happy Birthday Beth

22/5/2011

My eldest daughter, Beth, is 19 years old today - it seems like only yesterday that little girl came into our lives - where does the time go??
This is Beth with Mr F when she was about a year old.....

..... this was delicious - no, I didn't bake it myself - why bother when Marks and Spencers do such a good job??.....

.....but I did make this for her - ANOTHER make-up bag, filled with all sorts of goodies for her nails - this was made with some left-over scraps from a very special quilt, which I'll blog abaout as soon as it's finished and posted off to it's new owner ;)

Ladies Night

21/5/2011

0 Comments

I had a great time last night with the girls from work - one of the admin assistants, Kay, was modelling at a Ladies night, and some of us went along to show our support :) It was all to raise money for charity, in aid of Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, and the fashion show was showcasing clothes by Persnickety (they sell good quility second hand ladies clothes). As you can see, we all had a great time.....

.....unfortunatly I didn't get a chance to sample the other delights of the evening - reflexology, massage, beauty treatments - however I did get to do a bit of retail therapy - there were lots of stalls there and I bought a fab new bag from "Puzzles" - green of course!!.....

.....and Persnickety were selling clothes too, so I couldn't resist snapping up this little bargain - a fab dress by "Laura Ashley" - it was just like new and a snip at £18 - oh I do like a bargain!! I shall definately have to have to make a trip there the next time I'm in Ipswich :)

0 Comments

This is definately THE ONE.....

15/5/2011

5 Comments

We've been to see the puppies again - and we couldn't believe how much they had grown! They are now 5 weeks old.
This is DEFINATELY the one for us!! Mr F picked this one a couple of weeks ago, and now he's got a name - Jasper - he really is a cute little chap (the puppy that is, not Mr F).....

.....Jasper is very inquisitive, and just had to investigate Mr F's shoelaces.....

.....then he had a playful chew on my bag - oh dear - better get our home puppy-proofed super quick!!

5 Comments

A day with The Birdcage Belles.....

15/5/2011

1 Comment

Yesterday the car was packed bright and early with lots of quilting and sewing paraphernalia, as I was spending the day teaching at The Pretty Birdcage, with some of my sewing groupies!! I am never failed to be amazed at the wonderful friends that I meet through my hobby.....

.....even Lesley was able to take a well-deserved break from her wedding preparations to come along!!
I kept everyone busy, making an assortment of make-up bags - I hope my groupies send me photos of their finished projects.....

....and we all enjoyed a lovely lunch to keep our energy levels up - it really was yummy. I'm over there again on Saturday 4th June to teach Applique and Hand Stitchery, then on Saturday 18th June to teach a class using my favourites - Jelly Rolls!!....

.....and finally, a picture of Mr and Mrs Birdcage themselves - my friend Carolyn and her lovely husband ;) Happy Birthday for yesterday Graham!!

1 Comment

<<Previous

My favourite pattern.....

Flower Fairy quilt.....

It's a dog's life.....

Just Wing It.....

A quilt for Erin.....

Charm Squares baby quilts.....

Happy Birthday Beth

Ladies Night

This is definately THE ONE.....

A day with The Birdcage Belles.....

About me...

Archives

Blogs I follow

UK shops

Australian links

Scandinavian links