Blog Archives

A Good Friend

18/12/2012

This is the latest Red Brolly design that I have stitched, and have decided to turn this into a cushion cover for a very special friend - actually she's a very NAUGHTY friend too, but if I say anything more it will spoil the surprise.....

.....I really wanted a red and white spotty fabric for the borders, but when I saw this fabric in my local quilt shop I knew it was just perfect for this project! This fabric is called "Vintage Modern" and is by Bonnie and Camille for Moda. I love this range of fabrics, and this really compliments the red stitchery design beautifully. I then layered a piece of calico with some cotton wadding and the cushion top, and quilted it very simply using "stitch-in-the-ditch" using a cream Mettler quilting thread.....

....and what a surprise when I looked in my box of zippers - a dark turquoise zipper that works perfectly with this fabric! I used the zipper foot to put this zipper in, and didn't need to pin it in place. I used a grey Mettler quilting thread to sew in the zipper as it blends in with the background colour of the fabric.....

.....as you can see, I've added a label to the backing fabric - and used a spotty turquoise print from the "Vintage Modern" range for the double-fold binding. I think it looks fab!!.....

.....and here is the front of the cushion. I really love it - it is going to be very hard to give this away!! I hope my friend likes it as much as I do!!

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Ohh-La-La!!

17/12/2012

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It's that time of year again, and I needed to make a "Secret Santa" gift for a work colleague. As soon as I pulled her name out, I knew exactly what I wanted to make for her!! I had great fun making this bag! I machine appliqued a vintage photograph of a VERY saucy lady on the front of the bag, and trimmed it with some cream cotton lace along the bound edge so it overlapped the applique. Then I added the zipper.....

.....I've stitched an assortment of cream and white fabrics together for this bag - and quilted the back of the bag in a cross-hatch design, and the front of the bag in straight rows.....

.....I decided to attach my label underneath the zipper, at the same time as I added the binding to the raw edge. I think I might do this for all my smaller bags, as it looks really neat, and they won't get caught in the zipper either.....

.....and here it is - the finished cosmetic bag, complete with saucy photograph on the front!! I think my friend will really like this - and no I'm not telling you who it is for yet, just incase she sees this on here before Wednesday, which is when all the "Secret Santa" gifts are handed out!!!
(If you click on the pictures they will enlarge and you can see them in much more detail).

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Sommerstitchery

16/12/2012

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Do you remember that I stitched this during the July 2012 FNSI? The pattern is by AnnaKa, called "Sommerstitchery" and was in the Norwegian quilting magazine "Quiltmagasinet" issue 02/2012. I had already pieced the top of the runner in the summer, and I really needed to get this project finished, as it is a gift for Christmas.....

.....the applique is set into the runner using the reverse applique method, and then I layered the top with pellon non-fusible wadding and a piece of Lynette Anderson's Secret Garden fabric for the backing. I marked the diagonal quilting design with a Clover Hera marker.....

.....and quilted the runner using a brown Mettler quilting thread shade 712. I used the same thread for the top and in the bobbin too. As you can see in the picture, I always use a walking foot for quilting.....

.....well here is the completed runner. Now it is finished it looks really beautiful. As usual I have stitched one of my labels to the back, and used a lilac fabric from the same collection for the binding.I have enjoyed sewing with these fabrics so much - the fabric range is "Secret Garden" by the wonderful Lynette Anderson, for Lecien.....

.....you may remember last year Lynette sent me some of her beautiful fabrics to play with! Was I giddy? Yes. Did I have fun playing with them? Oh yes yes yes! I have made SO many projects with this fabric - thank you very very much Lynette !! And remember I said this is a gift for Christmas? Well sorry - can't spill the beans who will receive it incase the person this is for is reading my blog!!

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Secret Santa Swap

15/12/2012

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Do you remember the table runner I made for my secret swapee? Well all was going swimmingly - the runner was parceled up, and off it went halfway around the world, to be delivered to New Zealand. However, a couple of weeks later, the parcel was returned to me, damaged, and "unable to deliver". Fortunately the runner inside the parcel had survived, so I quickly made another gift to put in with the runner, added some other bits and bobs and it has been re-packaged and sent on it's way again. I was so glad when the recipent, Michelle, said it finally arrived in one piece!....

.....anyway, this is the runner that I received from my partner Anne Glencer, from America - this very festive runner, with appliqued "ornaments" appliqued on it. I'm sure this will be put to good use during the festive season.

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It's Beginning To Feel A Little Bit Christmassy...

15/12/2012

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ANOTHER Peak Hour Baby Quilt

6/12/2012

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Do you remember I made a fab and funky whole cloth baby quilt with the "Peak Hour" range of fabric? Well I'd still got the print with the all-over vehicles design, and thought it would be perfect as backing for another baby quilt. "Charm Squares Baby Quilt" by Elizabeth Hartman was my pattern of choice (this is a free download from her blog Oh, Fransson!) so I set to with a pack of charm squares, some white fabric from my stash and in no time at all I'd pieced together the quilt top. This is quilted very simply with lots of straight rows of quilting.....

.....I used white Mettler quilting thread both on the top and in the bobbin, and quilted these rows ½" apart. The wadding is Quilters Dream, select weight. Once the quilting was completed, one of my labels is sewn to the back, and the orange stripey binding finishes it off perfectly. The backing and binding fabric was from Emma's Fabric Studio and the charm pack was from Prints to Polka Dots. Voila!! Another baby quilt all ready to be delivered!!

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Sunny Happy Skies

5/12/2012

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Whenever I need to make a baby quilt, one of my favourite patterns is "Charm Squares Baby Quilt" by Elizabeth Hartman, and you can download this pattern from her blog, Oh, Fransson . This is a really simple but lovely pattern for a baby quilt and I have made several of these and love every one of them!! This one is for a baby girl, and I chose the "Sunny Happy Skies" range of fabric by Riley Blake, that I bought from an online fabric shop, Prints to Polka Dots.....

.....I didn't have enough wadding in one whole piece, so I cleverly pieced together some off cuts, and used this fusible tape to bond the edges together - this is so much quicker than zig-zagging the wadding together by machine, and keeps the wadding nice and smooth. The quilt top was then spray basted into place (I always use 505 spray - this method of basting a quilt is so much quicker than using pins - and much less painful too!!..........

.....this is quilted very simply, with lots of straight rows of quilting, ½" apart. I didn't even use the Clover Hera Marker for this quilt - I used "stitch-in-the-ditch" to anchor the quilt into place, then used the edge of my walking foot as a guide. I had set the stitch length to 3mm and I'd already wound several bobbins of white Mettler quilting thread before I started!! Once the quilting is finished, the edges are trimmed straight, and I've sewed one of my labels onto the back.....

.....I used a double fold binding, and sewed this on ¼" from the edge of the quilt. The corners are mitred as I go, and finally the biding is then folded over to the back and slip stitched into place by hand.....

.....and here it is finished - the perfect baby quilt for a perfect baby girl! This really does make a super gift for a new baby - and as several of my friends are expecting babies, I need to have a little supply of them ready to send off as gifts. Now which one of them will have a little girl?

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Peak Hour Baby Quilt

3/12/2012

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One of my friends has recently had a baby boy, and I knew exactly what fabric I wanted to use - Peak Hour by Kellie Wulfsohn, for Riley Blake designs. I ordered this fabric from Emma's Fabric Studio and was really impressed with the prompt delivery. This will be used to make a "whole-cloth quilt" with this fabulous bright stripe for a funky binding.....

.....I marked a 3" diagonal grid using a Clover hera marker, and stitched along the indentations with a selection of contrasting colours for the quilting - orange, turquoise green and white. For this quilt, I used the same colour for both the top thread and the bobbin thread.....

.....these trucks and cars will be perfect for Lesley's baby boy. This shows the quilting on one side of this reversible quilt. I'm sure the baby won't mind a few wobbles in my quilting lines.....

.....and this shows the quilting on the other side. I love this fun "newspaper" fabric. The dense quilting gives lots of added texture to this quilt....

.....one of my labels is sewn into place, and the stripey binding looks fab! What do think? I'm sure baby Samuel James will enjoy being snuggled up in this quilt for many months to come!

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Hope, Love and Friendship - Update!

2/12/2012

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Do you remember I started this stitchery design a coupe of weeks ago for the November FNSI? Well here's a quick update - I've been stitching during the evenings, and here is my progress - not many more evenings to go now and it will be finished!

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We Made A Wish Scraps!!

1/12/2012

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Do you remember this baby quilt? Well the flying geese blocks were made with 2 squares and a rectangle, and when they were trimmed, there were lots of little triangular scraps leftover that I kept - and stitched together to make lots of squares - that I stitched together to make another small baby quilt!! A crisp white border was added, with some stitchery to embellish it and finally some soft green gingham binding. NEVER throw any fabric away - you never know what quilts may be lurking in your scrap box!!

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Forward>>

A Good Friend

Ohh-La-La!!

Sommerstitchery

Secret Santa Swap

It's Beginning To Feel A Little Bit Christmassy...

ANOTHER Peak Hour Baby Quilt

Sunny Happy Skies

Peak Hour Baby Quilt

Hope, Love and Friendship - Update!

We Made A Wish Scraps!!

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