My daughter Beth is home from uni for the weekend, and she desperately needed another make-up bag.  Beth picked out these fabrics from my collection of Leciens and some lace trimming and requested that I use my usual pattern "Anna's Sminkepung" by the Norwegian designer AnnAKa. These cute bags are really quick to make, and the size can be varied to suit whatever you want to make, either a cosmetic bag, or a larger toiletry bag. As I've made quite a few of these bags, I don't tend to read the instructions anymore. I know the technique and use whatever fabrics I have already got cut, and add some co-ordinating trimmings. The best part of this pattern is that the inside of the bag is just as neat as the outside (I can't bear to see raw edges or overlocked seams) and I always add one of my little labels a s a final flourish - whether it's on the outside as a tab or on the inside sewn into the side seam. Beth was really REALLY pleased with this little bag - and it's always a pleasure to make things for the people you love! 

Just look what my very crafty sister made me for my birthday - this gorgeous cover to put on  a ring binder, so I have a special place to keep all my patterns and sewing articles! She has sewn all these tiny hexies by hand, and inside the front cover there are 2 pockets and also a personalized message too which she has hand-embroidered and the inside back cover has more pockets and a scattering of some more hexies too. It ties together with a beautiful velvet ribbon, to keep everything secure inside. Isn't it pretty? You can see more pictures about this project in progress over on her blog here and here and again here - I really AM lucky to have such a super talented sister!!

Well I've had the most AMAZING birthday! I have been thoroughly spoiled by both friends and family, and I really am a very lucky girl! My daughter took this picture of me this morning with some of my cards and flowers and presents then this afternoon my sister-in-law held a tea party for me - and Mr F surprised me with the most AMAZING cake that my friend Wendy Ellis had made. I'm a very lucky girl as I've spent the weekend with special friends and family - it really has been the best birthday ever!

Well I've had a very busy week at work and haven't had time to blog - and this weekend I'm celebrating a rather special birthday, and haven't got ANY free time for sewing or quilting as I'm busy busy busy with friends and family - I started celebrating with my colleagues at work on Friday, had afternoon tea with a friend yesterday, followed by a family meal out last night, and we're off to a tea party at my sister-in-law's this afternoon so I'll catch up with all my blogging friends after the weekend!

Well I don't normally do 2 posts in one day, especially at the weekend, but as I'd spent the afternoon busy sewing yet another bag, I thought I'd share it now! I used some lace and vintage buttons and a suspender and a rather saucy ohhh-la-la picture printed onto an EQ printable fabric sheet that I appliqued onto the front panel of another toiletry bag. Again, this is based on the pattern "Anna's Sminkepung by the Norwegian designer AnnAKa...

...these ones are a bit larger, so can be used as a toiletry bag - it would hold several small bottles of all the essentials you'd need for a weekend away or a holiday, and is washable too so it doesn't matter if anything gets spilled inside it.

What better way to spend a cold and blustery Sunday morning than tucked up indoors with a nice cup of tea and some Lecien fabrics! The lemon floral print is from the Durham Collection - Anew by Brenda Riddle for Lecien, (I bought this on Friday from Sew and So's of Bungay) and was perfect for teaming with some pink lace and a vintage photograph printed onto fabric. Two panels were quilted very simply, using a variegated yellow King Tut quilting thread and a size 80 Schmetz top-stitch needle. Then the front panel was decorated with the photograph - after trimming the excess fabric away, I scored around the edges with a Clover Hera marker to mark some fold lines, tucked the edges under and machine appliqued it into place. I added some lace which was overlapped by the binding along thee top edge, and top-stitched close to the edge with a marching pale aqua Mettler quilting thread...

...and here is the finished result. This is a bit larger than the cosmetic bags that I usually make, and will be perfect as a toiletry bag. This is based on the pattern Anna's Sminkepung and is by the Norwegian designer AnnAKa. These patterns are available from quilt shops in Scandinavia and there are links to some of these shops on the right-hand side of my blog. 

Yesterday I went to Norwich for the day, mainly to see my daughter Alice (she's at UEA and settling in really well - she is making lots of new friends and seems very happy and so that means her mum is very happy too!!) and also to see my sister (she's very crafty too so we always have lots to talk about!!). Well as I was a bit late leaving home, I just happened to be driving through Bungay just as it was opening time for Sew and So's and it really would've been a little bit rude of me not to have popped in to say hello - and while I was there I saw these beautiful Tilda prints - they were displayed so lovely that I just HAD to buy them (and I did get a fat quarter bundle for my sister too - for her birthday - you see, I'm very nice like that!!). Then it was off to Norwich to collect Alice from UEA (and yes she LOVED the cushion that I'd made for her of Jasper) and we then drove over to see my sister for a warm welcome and a cuppa, and look who I met - this very handsome fellow called Bernard, who is often seen lurking on her blog...

...obviously a day in Norwich wouldn't be complete without lunch at Biddy's Tea Rooms and one of their spectacular sausage rolls - this one is pork and apple and sage and yes I did manage to eat all of it and if my friend Sherry is reading this, no I didn't eat the chocolate and raspberry muffin in the background - Alice did though!!

Well Alice is settling in at uni, but she's missing Jasper and he's missing her too! Anyway, she asked me if I could make her a cushion with a picture of Jasper on it - and of course I was happy to help out! I chose some fabrics that I'd bought from the Festival of Quilts back in 2011 and hadn't used, as I really didn't know quite what to make with them. I really love this "doggy newspaper" fabric! This photograph of Jasper was printed onto an EQ printables fabric sheet, and after soaking and rinsing and drying flat, it was ready to use. I quickly rotary cut some pieces of fabric, and started to piece them together, using the quilt-as-you-go method...

...I added one of my labels to the front of the cushion rather than the back, and stitched it through all the layers of the quilting. Then I added the binding - I cut strips of fabric 2.5" wide, and used the double fold method. This was machined onto the front of the cushion, and was hand sewn to the back using ladder stitch - here you can see the mitred corners...

...the back of the cushion is made with some more of the "doggy newspaper" print and black/white polka dot fabric. A clever flap covers the zipper - this is a smart technique, and one that I now use for all my cushions!...

...this is the completed back of the cushion, showing the binding too - I'm really pleased with this and hope Alice will be pleased with it when I give it to her later today, as I'm off to Norwich for a shopping trip, and we're meeting up for lunch! Oh and if you want to see bigger pictures of this cushion, just click on any of the smaller ones to enlarge them!

I've been busy making gifts for birthday pressies and this is for someone who likes all sorts of things that are a little bit retro - and as this fabric has a bit of a 1950's feel to it, I thought this would be perfect for her! This is from the original "Flower Sugar" collection by Lecien, and has been in my stash for rather a long time! I teamed it with some bright red tiny check for the binding around the zipper, and lined it with a pink tiny gingham. I always use my walking foot to sew the zipper in place. The zipper is hand stitched into place on the inside of the bag with a slip-stitch to keep the inside looking neat and tidy (and I just KNOW this person will be peering inside and looking at the seams!!)...

...the font of the bag was decorated with some bright red crocheted lace from Sass and Belle, and I used a white Mettler quilting thread throughout for this project. I used strait rows 0.5" apart for the yellow dot front section, and a 1.5" cross hatch design for the floral section - this was just marked with a Clover Hera marker. The back is really pretty, and I love these little gingham Prairie Points that are added as tabs. Yes, one of my labels is inside too, sewn neatly into the side seam, just incase this person forgets who made it for her hehe!! For those of you who are new to my blog and haven't seen these bags before, the pattern is called "Anna's Sminkepung" and is by the Norwegian designer AnnAKa.

I've been on annual leave this week, and have had a rather busy week - Monday was spent helping a friend with a sewing lesson, and yesterday I had a day out shopping and lunching with a friend, so today at last I was able to get out my sewing machine and make a couple of these cosmetic bags. The pattern is "Anna's Sminkepung" by the Norwegian designer AnnAKa. This one was made with a selection of batiks and a rather nice piece of turquoise linen that I bought from Lappedilla a couple of years ago. Oh and the perfect colour quilting thread was already in my thread box - this is King Tut shade 927 and is perfect for these fabrics. I added some wide olive green ric-rac to the front of the bag...

...the zipper is neatened on the inside with a little bit of hand sewing - I like this style of bag as the inside is really as neat as the outside. I'm really pleased with these nice smart boxed corners - they give a very professional finish to this little bag.