Marine scrappy

What do you make a dear friend, a guy buying his first house and a beach house at that? A quilt of course with a masculine vibe.

Mr Marine has oft admired a scrappy light n dark I throw over my couch so I grabbed the pattern from mum and knocked one out for him featuring mostly navy and green fabrics suiting his interests and travels - marine biology, fishing, Canada, Africa, Thailand. A big thank you to the quilters store for digging out their fishing range! The quilting is meandering but sort of looks like coral, appropriately!

Here's the work in progress. It's a simple enough block and the optical effect comes from the way you turn them. But of a nightmare until you get your groove.

Whoops! Looked right up close!

Damned machine naturally jammed with 1/5 to go!

And the finished product

With its slightly crazy recipient 

Roll her Coaster

So I'm back at my day job and we have a new policy of no waste at your desk. I've been in this situation with previous employers and it's a great environmental scheme. You do tend to recycle more paper when it's hard to throw it out but it does mean nowhere to dispose of teabags conveniently.

As a tea officionado, I like tea strong, or as my mother says, "string enough to stand a fork in it". As such I tend to leave my teabag in for awhile which inevitably drip as the string soaks up the liquid and down the side. The result... tea rings!

So needing a bit of crafty respite from my work week, I whipped up a couple of coasters to solve the problem.

I knocked a scrappy one out using the remnants of half square triangles from a precious project (see Chevron Quilt).

Then tried something new! A big shout out to Totallystichin.net for the tute and From the Blue Chair for help with hexies! http://www.fromthebluechair.com/2012/08/tutorial-cutting-accurate-hexagons.html?m=1

Here's my practice one using scraps... 

It was actually so easy that I wish I'd gone straight to the designer fabrics!

This old thing?

So I've become obsessed with watching Dawn O'Porter's This Old Thing on ABC2. Inspired, I realised I have a lovely FCUK dress I wish was longer.

Since I've been doing more sewing in the years since my first dress making attempts (fails) I felt confident I could take a bash at it.

The hem had an extra piece behind it to line it. This was 3.5in wide, perfect for lengthening in the same pretty print fabric!!

Then I hit my stash and found some navy silk from a previous project! This became my new lining of the hem and became a nice little peak of feature when I'm sitting.

I also fixed the sash loops and a small gap in the side seam where the stitches came loose.

Check it out! Much more ladylike.

Made by Grandjen

So I'm back at my day job so haven't had much time to do any sewing. But I just had to share this project of my mothers with you! It's an activity book handmade by her for little Dash's first birthday. She made me one when I was a baby, but I think she outdid herself this time as the concepts are pretty much her own!

Blue suede teddy!

As you can see, dash already adores it!

Some of the facing pages are as good as the activities!

 I cannot decide which is my favourite page!? What's yours?

Little Leia

My girls went to a Star Wars party so what's a Mumma to do?

Applique Leia on a singlet of course!

Stack n whack to come

Sneak peak at major project coming up!! Thank Heaven for #eastcoastfabrics sale. And hubby for entertaining both munchkins!! My first hexagon #stacknwhack

My PHD in 2016

That's Project Half Done for you neophytes!

I suddenly realised late last year that of the scores of projects I've done, I've never actually made a full size quilt for myself. Not anymore!! New Years Resolution #1: A quilt just for me. I'm still mid project but I'm already in love 😊

Thank Heaven for my 1/4in foot. Best investment! 

More details of the project once it's finished but here's the basics:

- Amy Butler fabrics, mostly Soul Blossoms

(started w a scrap bag from Southern Fabric...

... Mostly 20cm cuts)

I've loved this range for soooo long. I think it was even my very first pin on Pinterest!

- pattern inspiration from Brooklyn Quilt Co

- the backing plan is to have scrappy feathers using the same fabrics as the front.

Stay tuned!!

A scrappy pillow

So most years I make some kind of culinary delight for teachers, neighbours etc Teachers still got them this year however we have the greatest neighbours at our new place and their decor matched some fabric I had from a previous project so I got it in my head to do something different.

I cut 2.5in squares from my layer cakes.

Here Tis - a cushion

Instead of the standard button closure on the envelope fold, I opted for a little yellow felted ball. Super cute result!

The backing fabric is a 1000 count sheet.  Made the cushion feel really special.

And here Tis in situ

Though I confess it started out looking like this...

...but it didn't suit the plus pattern. Just goes to show you should plan and test your patterns with the fabric you intend to use. Amazing the improvement the right pattern achieves!

A few more shots for good measure (pun intended!)

I got the insert at Pillow Talk which was cheaper (and much more convenient) than the usual Spotlight job!

Interestingly, the two people I've made things for out of the Bluebird Park fabric both have Bally prints which match the fabric perfectly. Total coincidence!!

The Peachy Chevy Quilt

2015 has been a very trying year for a friend of mine.  She’s borne everything thrown at her with such grace that I wanted to make her something to keep her spirits up.  Introducing the Peachy Chevy Quilt.

 

I’ve had this Rock’n’Romance fat quarter bundle for ages (Heartbreaker palette) from Moona Fabrics on Etsy and it seemed the the perfect pairing with Cluck Cluck Sew's Pow Wow pattern. The flirty feminine fabric seemed to soften the sharp corners of the chevrons.  The chevrons are meant to guide her through the next phase of her journey – sounds a bit like marketing (I can’t really turn off that part of my brain, even on mat leave!) but it’s true.

It was a very simple pattern but looks so effective!  I also really prefer making Throw size quilts as they’re big enough for adults to enjoy but not so big they’re a nightmare to quilt.

Instead of using plain cream cotton for the sashing I wanted something that would really sing and I found that at East Coast in the Art Gallery section.  It's Frilly Flutter Creme from the Winged collection. It’s just the right mix of cream stalky pattern through soft taupe.  I also took the time to cut and then position the sashing so the stalks would always point up.  I'm very glad as it gives a more professional look to the quilt.  (I used the leftover sashing fabric for my log cabin cushion) 

I also found some of the Heartbreaker fabrics at East Coast and picked one for the binding.  While I usually prefer the look of a dark or patched binding (it forms a nice frame), the peachy worked better here.  

As it happens, my friend tells me that peach/coral is her favourite colour and, now that I think about it, she does wear a lot of that colour!  Perhaps my subconscious picked up on the clues ;)

This was also my first attempt at free motion quilting and I’m absolutely THRILLED with the stippling result.  It took some practice but, with the help of YouTube and Pinterest, I managed to work out how to do my swirls without going back over myself.  A big thank you to Mum for lending me her open toe quilting foot!

I love all the beautiful rural fences near Mum’s place so I took a drive out there to stage my photos this time. I am a bit obsessed with old fences and trees.  They’re my favourite things to photograph other than my kids LOL

It even looks great all balled up (which, let’s face it, is how most kids leave a quilt!)

So did you guess?  Yes, this quilt was the sneak peak but the way it was folded makes it appear to be a cushion!

I’m loving this new way of folding my quilts – the tuck fold.  You can see both the front and backing designs this way.  Very cool!  Check it out here

http://627handworks.com/2013/08/how-to-tucked-quilt-fold/

Here it is in situ