Well it's been all go here at Foreman Towers - I've been sewing like a woman possessed, and there is now only one day left until the Christmas Shopping Day event at Orford. This is the first time that I've had a stall at anything like this, so I'm a little bit excited and a little bit nervous and a lot nervous!! Will people like my work? Will anybody buy anything?? Well here are a few more toiletry bags ready for my stall... ...I've used my favourite pattern, "Anna's Sminkepung" by the Norwegian designer AnnAKa, and a selection of fabrics from my stash. Mostly these are Lecien fabrics, but the cute fabric with the owls on is by Timeless Treasures. I'll share all the excitement of the day along with lots of pictures later in the week. Now to get back to that sewing machine for a few last minutes quilty bits and bobs ;)
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A few weeks ago, I bought a selection of half metres of fabric from the "Flower Sugar III" collection, from Sew and So's at Bungay. I've been really busy stitching several cosmetic/toiletry bags using the pattern "Anna's Sminkepung" by the Norwegian designer AnnAKa and some ric-rac and lace trimmings. These bags are quilted very simply in a cross-hatch design, using white Mettler quilting thread... ...these bags look just as pretty on the inside as they do on the outside, and all the seams are neatly bound and hand finished. I love these scarlet bags with the turquoise polka dot binding... ...once I'd made a couple with mostly red fabric, I changed to using the turquoise fabrics with red polka dot binding. A selection of white lace and ric rac adds a finishing touch to these bags, and I've added my labels into the side seam, just below the zipper for these ones... ...these really are very quick to make, and I can practically make these in my sleep. These will be on my stall at the Orford Christmas Shopping Day, along with lots of other quilty goodies that I've been busy making over the last few weeks. Hope to see you there!
I needed a thank you gift for my friend Wendy, (she'd given me a huge bag of cushion inners, which will be REALLY useful!) and what better gift than a toiletry bag - the pattern as usual is "Anna's Sminkepung" by the Norwegian designer AnnAKa and the fabric is from the Pastel Floral collection by Lecien. I added some delicate pink lace, and a pale pink zipper. This was quilted very simply in a cross hatch design, and I used a pink variegated thread by King Tut. I made one with the same fabrics a few weeks ago with an appliquéd vintage-style picture and that was pretty too, but I rather like this one as it shows off the beautiful roses on the fabric.
Well I was really supposed to be making some peg bags with some gorgeous laundry-themed fabric that I bought from the Autumn Quilt Festival at Duxford last week, but I was rather distracted by this gorgeous pale grey Lecien fabric, which looked just perfect teamed with some velvet ribbon and lace trimming - and so I abandoned the peg-bag plan (I'll make those next weekend!) and made a pair of cosmetic bags, using a Norwegian pattern "Anna's Sminkepung" by the designer AnnAKa. The velvet and lace trimming is always a little bit tricky to sew into place, and I usually add a few drops of Roxanne Basting Glue to hold it in place while I secure it with a blind hemming stitch. I'm having one of those weeks where nothing seems to go to plan, and of course I couldn't find the glue so had to resort to using pins instead which are much more prickly... ...the top edge of the velvet ribbon is what I stitch along - this is done REALLY slowly so I don't wobble and veer off the edge! Well the pinning-method worked just fine, and there was enough fabric for two of these cosmetic bags - I don't normally make these bags the same, as I like to keep each one looking different, but this was such pretty fabric I thought I'd make an exception!... ...as you can see, one of these bags is quite "square" in proportions, the other is more "rectangular". This Lecien fabric has been in my stash for a couple of years, and was from Sew and So's in Bungay - their range of Lecien fabrics is simply GORGEOUS!! These will be for sale at the Christmas Shopping Day at Orford - if you're coming along, you'll see all sorts of my quiltystuff on display!
Well I really don't like fabric going to waste, and as I had a very small piece of Lecien "Flower Sugar I" left over from previous projects, I decided to mix it with some "Flower Sugar III" - and I think it works! I love the bright red spot that I've used for the binding and instead of the usual prarie points, I added one of my labels on one side of the zipper and a loop on the other so this cute little bag can hang from a hook in your bedroom or your bathroom. The pattern is "Anna's Sminkepung" by the Norwegian designer AnnAKa, and the "Flower Sugar III" was purchased from Sew and So's of Bungay. I'm going to make several ore of these bags this week in a mixture of scarlet and turquoise -with a variety of trimmings and I'm going to try out a new Norwegian pattern too!!
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!
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.
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.
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!!
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About me...Hi - welcome to my quilting blog! My passions are my family, my dog, my friends and sewing, not necessarily in that order! Archives
July 2023
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