A few months ago I made a small bag to keep my essential bits and bobs in at work, using a piece of this "Nifty Nurse" panel by Loralie Designs. Yesterday I decided to make a smaller pouch for my two daughters, for a first aid kit - and teamed this panel with some red and white fabrics and some lace trimming. The front panel was quilted very simply in straight rows about 0.5" apart, using white Mettler quilting thread, and some cotton batting that I had leftover from other projects. I added some red lace trimming too...

...I added a label to the side seam, and a bright red zipper to match the lace. This was based on the pattern "Anna's Sminkepung" by the Norwegian designer AnnAKa. As you can see, this looks ideal as a first-aid kit, and I've filled it with a few essentials from the medicine cabinet - paracetamol, plasters and  throat lozenges. Alice was really pleased with this today when Mr F and me went to see her at uni, and now I need to make one for Beth. 

One of my colleagues, Tessa, is leaving our team at work, and I wanted to make her a leaving gift - so I decided to make her a "Jean's Tote Bag" using a pair of jeans that no longer fitted and were in my rag bag (and were freshly laundered!!) and a half metre of batik in these gorgeous autumnal tones which is just perfect for this time of the year!! As you can see in the picture below showing the lining, the straps have small leather tabs that are stitched to the inside of the bag at the same time...

...here are a couple of close-up pictures to show the leather handles - these are sewn onto the bag by hand after it is completed, and I've used a dark brown embroidery thread - and I used all six strands in one go, so it's really sturdy and can be used lots and lots. The binding at the top of the bag covers all the raw edges, and after machining into place, is folded over to the inside of the bag and slip-stitched into place by hand. Oh and yes, I added one of my labels to the side seam of the tote bag...

...and this shows the back of the bag - I quilted the back piece with a cross-hatch design, using a Top stitch needle size 70 and a King Tut quilting thread shade 936 that matches the colours of the batik lining perfectly...

...and finally - a picture of the front of the bag! You can see how I've cut the jeans to make full use of the pockets so they can be used too - the handles were a bit tricky to sew into place due to the thickness of the denim and the wadding (I used a double layer of Quilter's Dream cotton wadding select weight that I had leftover from other projects for this bag) and I needed plenty of huffing and puffing to get the needle through all the layers - thank goodness there were already tiny holes pre-punched in the handles and thank goodness for my thimble!! I gave this to Tessa last night at her "leaving do" (we all went for a fabulous meal at the White Hart at Otley) and she was really pleased with her gift!

Well the car is loaded up and ready to take Alice on a very exciting journey as she's off to university! Goodness only knows how Alice will fit int he car - she's so tall, she'll be travelling with her knees tucked up under her chin! Anyway, she's off to UEA to study English Literature with Creative Writing. How exciting!! My eldest daughter, Beth, went back to her uni in Birmingham last weekend (Philosophy with Ethics and Religion - goodness only knows where they get their brains from!!) and I just can't begin to imagine how quiet it is going to be at Foreman Towers without them both. Anyway, I've got a HUGE box of tissues for the journey home as I'm sure there will be lots of tears.  And I'm sure I'll be counting down the days until the Christmas holidays when they'll both be home again!!

Once the "toalettveske" (toiletry bag) was completed for Alice, I just had to make her a matching cosmetic bag too - so using the same fabrics as before, "Salt Air" by Cosmo Cricket for Moda, and "Painter's Canvas" for Michael Miller, and using the pattern "Anna's Sminkepung" by the Norwegian designer AnnAKa, I set to work. I decided to add a little bit of trimming to this one, just to make it a bit more feminine (Alice doesn't really do lace and frills and pink and girly!!)...

...and here it is completed with one of my labels too. (I forgot to sew the label into the side-seam, so hastily stitched into the corner when I was machining the binding into position!!). The zipper has been slip-stitched by hand, and the bindings have too - I try to make the inside of the bag look as neat as the outside! It will be a great set for Alice to use at uni, especially if she comes home for the odd weekend and if she goes to stay with her friends. So now I've made her a quilt for uni, and a toiletry bag and a cosmetic bag - does she need anything else??!!

My youngest daughter Alice is off to university at the weekend, and she's been asking me for ages to make her a toiletry bag to take with her. She's had some gorgeous fabric in her stash, "Salt Air" by Cosmo Cricket for Moda (yes, the pattern on the fabric is really whales tails) and she found some extra fabrics in my stash that went with this perfectly - "Painters Canvas" for Michael Miller. So, using the pattern "Toalettveske" by the Norwegian designer Elin R. Roland, I set to work. This was quilted very simply, just lots of straight rows, and in no time at all I'd make the main part of the bag, and the lining with pockets...

...the trickiest part of this bag is adding the binding to the zipper, although today I seemed to be much quicker at getting this part done - it must be all the practice I've had!! Alice chose a darker grey for the base of the bag and the binding and the ties, and a paler grey for the sides of the bag and the zipper binding...

...she chose this pale aqua fabric for the lining. This bag also has some useful pockets inside, and is fully machine washable. The loop at the end of the zipper means it can be hung up in the bathroom or shower room too, which will be very useful as her ensuite shower room will be limited for space at uni!...

...and of course, no project is complete without one of my labels added!! Alice was really pleased with this, and the next project is a matching cosmetic bag, but that's a project for tomorrow, as I'm now going to settle down for the evening with a nice glass of wine and the TV!!

Have you had a crafty weekend?? I've been busy, as I needed to make a baby quilt for a colleague's grand-daughter and decided to use this beautiful "Oasis" range of fabric by 3 Sisters from Moda. It had been on my shelf for far too long and was just perfect for an extra special project! I decided to use one of my favourite baby quilt patterns, "Charm Squares Baby Quilt" designed by Elizabeth Hartman (check out her blog, Oh Fransson!) and it is quite quick and simple to piece together...

...in no time at all I'd pieced the rows together, and was ready to add the sashing. I used a white tote-on-tone print for the sashing and the top and bottom border too - it looks really fresh! I used a cream Mettler fine embroidery thread shade 844 for the piecing and a Schmetz Microtex needle size 60. It was such a windy day when I took this photograph yesterday!!...

...then it was time to get the quilt layered and ready for quilting. I decided to use the same white fabric for the backing too - and quilted this in lots of straight rows about 0.5" apart. I used a cotton wadding (Quilters dream, select weight) and white Mettler quilting thread and a Schmetz Topstitch needle size 80. The binding strips have been cut 3.5" wide, and folded double. Then using the edge of the walking foot as a guide, the binding is machined into place 0.5" from the edge of the quilt, the folded edge rolled over and hand stitched into place on the back of the quilt, giving the quilt a nice neat finish...

...and here it is completed - this measures approx 33" x 40" and is really a great size to have as a playmat/quilt - and still be used she she's a little girl toddling around! I used this grey print which is also part of the "Oasis" range for the binding and the backing. A label is stitched securely in the corner and it's ready to meet it's new owner, a beautiful little girl called Olive Mabel. Hope her mummy and grandma like it!!

Well I've been really busy making these cosmetic bags for my friends and family and I decided that I really needed another new one for ME!! I had some leftover fabric from the "Flower Sugar" collection by Lecien, and teamed it with red lace (from Sass and Belle) and a couple of hours later I had a smart new bag. I made one very similar to this for my niece's sister-in-law, Lorna, and she was really pleased with it. I added a couple of prairie points for the tabs (just like in the original pattern - "Anna's Sminkepung by the Norwegian designer AnnAKa) and you can see from the other picture that I added one of my labels to the inside of the bag, set into the side seam. and talking of seams, all the seams in these bags are covered with binding - I used the same pretty pink gingham that I had used for the lining so it all co-ordinates. The binding is slip-stitched into place by hand, and also the zipper is finished the same way. I've seen other patterns and tutorials online to make similar bags, but I prefer finishing off the "Norwegian" way - it looks so much smarter!! Several of my friends have admired these "Flower Sugar" bags and said "oh they look just like Cath Kidston bags"!! Well honestly - who on earth needs Cath Kidston when there's the incredibly exclusive Nicola Foreman??!!

I needed a gift for a friend who likes pink. So I looked through my fabrics and there it was - a piece of pink floral/stripe from the original "Flower Sugar" collection by Lecien. Unfortunately I didn't have quite enough to use just this fabric for what I needed, so pulled out some other fabrics from my stash - a pink gingham and aqua spot (both by Makower) and some red crocheted lace by Sass and Belle. Using the pattern "Anna's Sminkepung" by the Norwegian designer AnnAKa and I was ready to go! I used a white quilting thread by Mettler for this project, and it looks lovely and fresh on the aqua binding...

...and here it is completed! I really love this combination of pink, red and aqua. The latest "Flower Sugar" collection is available now at Sew and So's at Bungay and I really NEED to get some fat quarters of that for bags - especially as these two colourways (red and aqua) feature in this new range and is available in gingham and spots and florals - yummy!!

Yesterday my friend Helen came over and we had planned to go on a little road trip. We started off in Wickham Market, and we called into Quilters Haven where I bought some fabric for a sewing project (this will go with a bundle of fabric that Lynette gave me when I went to the FoQ last month), a "hex and more"ruler (I've wanted one of these for ages) and another bottle of stay press (this is just wonderful at getting creases out of fabric - I even caught Mr F using it when he was ironing his shirts!!) then we drove over to Bungay. First stop there was Sew and So's, where they had a wonderful display of Lynette Anderson's range of Christmas fabric, "Candy Cane Angels"and a lovely display of her "Wildflower Wood" collection too....

.....I needed some fabric to team with a couple of Lecien prints that I already had, and this sage green print goes perfectly with both fabrics - this will be used for binding and lining for cosmetic bags. I was nearly tempted to get some of the new "Flower Sugar" Lecien collection  and some of the new Tilda prints too but I decided to wait until my next trip for that. Oooh and yes did you notice this lovely red bag in the background? It looked so lonely siting in the window at Sew and So's and it will be perfect for my Bernina sewing machine to live in!! I just couldn't resist it! After our little shopping spree, we went for lunch at Earsham Street Cafe, where we both had courgette and sun-blushed tomato tart with lentils and salad, followed by the MOST delicious lemon bread and butter pudding. What a super day out! Now please excuse me while I go and play with my new fabric!!

Well I've had a rather busy week! I've gone back to work following several weeks recuperating after having an operation, and I've been doing lots of hand sewing on my latest big project "Down in the Garden". My only finish for the week is a cosmetic bag that I made for my friend Linda to take on her hols (she's off cruising the Norwegian fjords - lucky woman!! Anyway, if you hop over to the "Better Off Thread" blog you can see all the other crafty goodies that have been made this week and are being showcased on "Sew Cute Tuesday".