Blog Archives

Off to Yorkshire - with Philippa Naylor

26/5/2012

Oh it is with great excitement that I have a VERY VERY important announcement to make. I am off to Yorkshire for a few days on a quilting holiday with Philippa Naylor!! She has taught classes before at my local quilt shop, Quilters Haven, but due to work commitments I was never able to attend - so this is going to be just fantastic, as I will be with her for FOUR WHOLE DAYS - and I'll also get to visit her at home and look around her studio - yes, I am just a little bit giddy thinking about it all!! The picture shown here is taken from her fabulous book, "Quilting in the Limelight" - her work is just AMAZING! It will be a great way to learn lots of new techniques - I am going with my friend Helen and some of her like-minded crafty friends. We'll be staying at Highfield Farm, where we'll be doing lots of sewing and eating and sewing and yakking. Here are some tasters of Philippa's stunning award winning quilts....

.....this shows detail from "Star Sign".....

.....and this beauty is "Diamond Dust".....

.....and finally this shows detail from "Spider Plant". As you can see Philippa's quilts are so vibrant and exciting - I hope I can produce something as fabulous as this! So, my case is packed full to bursting (mostly with fabrics and threads rather than clothes hehe!!) and I'll share lots of piccies with you all when I get back!

1 Comment

Arrow Sewing Tables

24/5/2012

1 Comment

Last year when I went to the Festival of Quilts, I was admiring some Horn sewing cabinets, and decided that I really NEEDED one of them to keep my sewing machine in, but I really really wanted something a bit more contemporary. JUST LOOK at what I found on the internet - these gorgeous Arrow Sewing Cabinets - if Mr F needs any suggestions on what I would like for my birthday next year (it will be a special birthday, so I'll need a VERY special present hehe!!) this might give him some ideas. This design is called "Florrie" and I just love the colour - this fun vibrant pistachio green would look great in my sewing studio - well, of course I don't actually HAVE a sewing studio yet - but a girl can dream, can't she?.....

.....and if you think the green laminate is just a little bit TOO bright, here is the "Florrie" is also available in classic white wicker-effect laminate. The Florie features a 2-position adjustable mechanism that will move your sewing machine into both flatbed and freearm positions.....

....."Olivia" is cute and vintage and gingerbread-house-gorgeous, and is also available in pistachio green and white. There is plenty of storage for your small notions with 2 drawers and 2 deep cubbies for storage of your sewing machine, serger or baskets of fabric. I'm just dreaming about how lovely my Bernina would look sitting on top of one of these sewing tables!! And the best thing of all? I've found a UK stockist!!.....

.....and of course with a sewing table like this, you need the perfect sewing chair. I just love this bright heavy-duty Alexander Henry fabric - and there's even some secret storage space underneath the lid! Oh well I'm off to bed to dream of sewing rooms and cabinets and threads and fabrics!!

1 Comment

Sun and Sea Jewellery

23/5/2012

1 Comment

Well I've been shopping again at my favourite Etsy store, Amanda Davie, and just look what I've found - this gorgeous "Sun and Sea" bracelet. Amanada writes on her Etsy site that this beautiful piece is inspired by water, and the start of summer. Sand and Sea is a hand knotted bracelet, and Amanda has added a beautiful collection of gemstones, charms and natural elements. Waxed linen cording pairs wonderfully with the natural quartz, shell, glass, and moonstone of this totally dreamy bracelet. This will be perfect for a summer beach holiday, and I just happen to have the perfect jaunt abroad already booked, when my niece is getting married on the beach in Cyprus later in the year. Now I just needed some earrings to go with this stunning bracelet....

.....and look what I found! Beautiful frosted glass has been stacked and wire wrapped to form the base of these unique "Sand and Sea" earrings. Amanda has hung hand drilled Lake Michigan beach stones from the bottom of the earrings. Beautiful and casual, perfect for summer attire! These are just divine and I shall be so excited when these arrive in the post!

1 Comment

Beth's Toalettveske

22/5/2012

It's Beth's birthday today, and although I have already bought her a camera for her main present, I wanted to make her a little something else too. As she's off to Edinburgh for a few days with her lovely boyfriend, and needed something to keep all her beauty stuff in, I decided to make her a toilettry bag. I used a Norwegian pattern called "Toalettveske" by Elin R. Roland that I have used a few times before. It's a rather complicated pattern, but I have really enjoyed making it. The fabric in the corner looks shiney because it has a layer of plastic laid over it after it has been quilted - this will become the bottom of the bag, and the plastic prevents the bottom from getting wet and soggy - the other panels are added using a "quilt-as-you-go" method, and have been trimmed with lace that's not-quite-so-vintage as it was leftover from when I made Beth's Christening gown when she was just a few weeks old.....

.....I decided to make the bag in tones of cream and white, and used lots of scraps from my stash box for this project. I also printed off a picture onto fabric that I have appliqued to the back of the toilettry bag....

.....I decided to alter the original pattern, and added a pocket inside with an elasticated edge. This looks great, and I'm sure it will be really useful for all Beth's bits and bobs and general stuff. The fabric that I used for the pocket and the lining is a beautiful cream paisley print that was leftover from an earlier project (in fact it was extra wide backing that I had bought from Janette to back one of my quilts with) - it seemed just perfect for this pretty toilettry bag....

.....and here I am stitching the binding along the sides - I thought this was going to be quite tricky as I was sewing through so many layers, but my Bernina didn't seem to have a problem at all!.....

.....the trickiest part of this bag is putting in the zipper and this one really did try my patience!! As you can see, I had a very busy weekend trying to get this finished. Anyway, eventually the zipper was in place and I'm really pleased with it. It has some ties at the side, and of course I had to add one of my labels - just incase Beth wonders where it came from - the Yummy Mummy shop of course hehe!!.....

..... and the toilettry bag is just the right height for Beth's favourite "Soap and Glory" toiletries that I have hidden inside for her.....

.....also I couldn't resist making her a matching make-up bag to go with the toilettry bag - and trimmed it with the last of the Christening gown lace. I had been hanging on to this for years, so I did have a slight pang of emotion when I was sewing with it, but it's no good hoarding onto beautiful things - they need to be seen and to be used.....

.....I am so pleased with this set of bags - this will be perfect for her trip to Edinburgh. Happy Birthday Beth - hope you like your pressie!!

Fran's Hens

20/5/2012

1 Comment

Yesterday was very productive - I was making a gift for my very special friend Fran. I started by making 2 log cabin blocks, finished size 10" square. I used left-over strips from a Moda Honey bun for this project (Fig Tree Quilts - "Patisserie" - yummy fabrics and colours) and layered the squares into a couple of quilt sandwiches with some cream backing fabric and some 80/20 cotton/polyester wadding. Can you guess what I was making?....

.....the layers were spray basted together and quilted very simply "in-the-ditch" using a Gutterman varigated sulky thread in shades of peach and olive green to match the colours of the log cabin squares.....

.....and then it was time for a very delicate "stuffing" operation that required a very steady hand - and here, stitched neatly on the "bottom" is one of my new labels that I recently ordered - I'm really pleased with these, as they add a final flourish to all my quilted projects, and love these ones with the "grown-up handwriting"!.....

.....here is another clue to what "eggstreme" craftiness was going on - these were the left-overs from the completed project - a couple of empty bags of rice and a few "feathery" fabric scraps. Have you worked it out yet?.....

.....did you guess what it was? It's a patchwork hen - looking rather magnificent if I say so myself! I bought a kit from Quilters Haven a few years ago to make one of these - my own patchwork hen sits on a shelf in my kitchen - and I still had the pattern. (The pattern was inspired by "Frittgaede Lappeideer" by Lise Bergene and Annie Eikenes). The rice? It was used to stuff the chicken - so it's nice and weighty, with a good firm bottom. And the reason for making this hen for Fran? Well you'll see in the picture below....

.....here are Fran's real hens - a bevvy of beauties - who we were admiring last night when Mr F and myself spent the evening with Fran and her lovely partner, Paul. Instead of taking Fran some flowers, I gave her a hen instead! And was chicken on the menu last night? Definately NOT!!! We had a great time last night - good food, good wine and brilliant company. Thanks for a splendid time Fran.

1 Comment

Life Is About Creating Yourself

15/5/2012

0 Comments

Yes, I know, I've been shopping again - and I really couldn't help it!! This stunning "Life Is About Creating Yourself" stamped bracelet by Amanda Davie arrived in the post yesterday and I am so thrilled with it! It is a mixture of lovely Czech glass beads, and antique brass accent charms and has a beautiful stamped message on it and I absolutely love it! This piece also bears Amanda's signature tag. Now all I need is to be taken out somewhere nice so I can wear it!

0 Comments

Shopping for Fabric

6/5/2012

On Saturday I was meeting my friend Val, and after I'd had a look at her longarm quilting machine in action (her husband was busy operating the machine) we drove over to Felixstowe as we both NEEDED to have a browse at some fabrics. After a very VERY long chat over coffee, we headed off to Fabric8 and we were really spoilt for choice. I have been asked to teach a bag-making class for a quilting group in Essex next month, and so was looking for fabrics to make a couple of samples with. Firstly I spotted some red and white spotty fabric that would be ideal for a splash of colour for a bag lining - so that HAD to come home with me. Then I saw some Union Jack fabric - (this will look great teamed with some denim for a tote bag) - and finally I found a vintage chocolate bar print - perfect! Whilst the fabric was being cut, I spied a nice firm weave fabric (looks like linen but is really stiff) that would go perfectly with some brown batics from my stash (may also get to make a new runner with this fabric!) so that was the end of my shopping spree - or so I thought.....

..... I had really wanted something a bit more unusual to add to my stash, and Val had seen this fabulous fabric in the shop window - it is a wonderful screen printed extra wide canvas with a very patriotic design of union jacks, heraldry symbols and stars - with a very large pattern repeat. As it WAS rather expensive, we decided to economize and have half a piece each, which really will be more than enough to make some great shopping bags. We headed back to Val's after the shopping spree to have another cuppa! (and to admire the quilt that had been on the machine - her husband had finished it while we'd been shopping and it looked great!) - we'd been so busy nattering I really don't know where the day went! Right - off to start sewing samples! As Mr F is at the races today, I've got the whole day to myself to make as much creative mess as I like!

Off to Yorkshire - with Philippa Naylor

Arrow Sewing Tables

Sun and Sea Jewellery

Beth's Toalettveske

Fran's Hens

Life Is About Creating Yourself

Shopping for Fabric

About me...

Archives

Blogs I follow

UK shops

Australian links

Scandinavian links