Long time no speak.

Hello! Apologies for the lengthy absence, this house moving lark is very time consuming! My sewing room has been boxed for a few weeks now and I'm missing it desperately. Not long now..hopefully. I've got a few pretty pictures to show of other people's handiwork :) I received this awesome bag from Emily Levey in the Mouthy Stitches Swap. I absolutely love it! Emily's fabric choices and stitchery are amazing!!! There are more photos in the group pool, there is so much talent in this group, go take a peek.  This gorgeous tote will be used for carrying my hand sewing projects :)

 I've also received this gorgeous Foxy pouch from Ange at Heart of Charnwood. Ange very kindly undertook the role of Angel for my partner in the Modern Scrappy Bits Swap.  I love this paper pieced cutie.

 He was stuffed full of gorgeous scraps :) It's a shame to have to box these goodies up without playing with them but hopefully they won't be in storage for too long.

 We're hoping to be installed into our new home in the next week or two :) Keep your fingers crossed for us please.

It's going to be quiet around here for a while as we'll be without Broadband until the beginning of December. I'm hoping to get online to read blogs and keep up with what's going on but I'm not expecting to be able to comment and blog myself until we're up and running with broadband. Catch you soon x

Tote in a tree

Hello all, it's still a hive of boxes and bubble wrap in this neck of the woods so sewing has been taking a back seat. I have managed to make the tote for my partner in the Mouthy Stitches Swap though :) This was my initial fabric pull; grey linen, 2 grey klona solids,a pale brown klona and a print from Anthology.

When I decided on my design I realised the pale brown was just not going to cut it so I swapped it out for a darker brown. I drew these "trees" on bondaweb then fused them to the brown fabric, cut them out and set to work. I cut tiny little leaves from the green solids in the same way.

 I free motioned all the pieces in place then had the joyous task of burying all those threads!

Here's the finished article on an Autumnal cherry tree in the garden :) It was a super easy bag to make using this pattern. I'm hoping my partner will like it! Just got to make a key fob now and then I'm miraculously ready to send on time :)  

Hope all is good in your corner of the world. Catch you soon x

Firsts

In the course of packing  I came across a couple of things that I thought I would share with you. This is the first quilt I ever made! Excuse the dodgy photo, the weather is awful and there are boxes everywhere which are not conducive to good photos. I made this "beauty" about 7 or 8 years ago. I don't remember using a pattern so I think I must have made it up as I went along...sounds like me :) The prints are flower fairies in peach, maroon and pale blue...yep...shakes head... what was I thinking?!! On the strength of this quilt we had to redecorate Jess' pink bedroom to something more neutral. Hubby was not impressed having only decorated 6 months previously. The border fabric is also on the left hand side of the quilt it just doesn't show up as the quilt is mis-shapen. Lesson number one: quilting through all layers of quilt is essential for stability!

Here's a closer peak at the fabrics. Don't judge me for the wonky seams and p*ss poor hand-quilting :)

I topped the quilt with a panel of this fabric which I painstakingly hand-embellished in embroidery floss. 

I guess I shouldn't be so harsh on myself, it was after all my first ever quilt and Jess still loves it even if it does now live in a drawer. I think we can safely say that my taste has long since moved on. Which brings me to my next show and tell item. This is the first quilt I made from a pattern that I found on Moda Bakeshop about 3 years ago! It was this quilt that set me on my journey to Flickr and blogland. I can't begin to tell you how excited I was when I found that there was a whole new world of fresh, bright fabrics and modern takes on traditional designs! True to form I didn't choose a nice straight-forward pattern to ease myself in gently, nope straight in there with a Triple Irish Chain. I completed this section of the quilt about 3 years ago and it has been festering in a corner since then! I couldn't decide what I wanted to do with it so I just left it until inspiration struck me...

I used Hello Betty by Chloe's Closet for this quilt, as per the pattern, but pale pinks aren't really my thing. Mum loves them though so I finally had a reason to get on and finish this baby. I'm trading this quilt for a hard to find Hello Betty honey bun in the grey colourway :) I added a little pale pink perle hand-quilting to the four interior white sections just because I could.

You might just be able to make out the little swirls on the white on white background fabric. Whilst I would normally shrink away from using this kind of fabric now I actually love the way it looks in this setting. I bound with my favourite Minnick and Simpson stripe which I then edged with one of the decorative stitches on my sewing machine. 

 Here's the finished article.

A pieced back from some Pezzy Prints, left over background fabric and this cute tree print that I can't remember.

The end result is a perfect lap sized quilt, just right for snuggling under in this chilly weather. I'm hoping to deliver it to Mum this weekend when we head north to check out progress on our soon to be (fingers crossed) new house! Hope you're all staying safe and dry in this bizarre weather. Catch you soon x

Don't worry, bee happy!

It's a bit stressful round here at the moment. We've finally accepted an offer on our house......eeeek! As a welcome distraction from all the paperwork I set to work on the rather delicious Denyse Schmidt fabrics that arrived on my doormat this morning. October is Jan's month in the HipBee and she was good enough to send the fabrics to me early so I could get on with the block before I have to pack up my sewing room. I'm trying not to think too much about packing about up the sewing room and I'm reminding myself that I will have a lovely shiny new sewing room in the new house!

Anyway, back to Denyse Schmidt, I used this pattern to make this star block for Jan. I love it! I hope Jan does too :)  Denyse Schmidt rocks!

If it's quiet around here you'll know why. I'll pop in whenever I get chance between boxes :) Catch you soon x

Acceptable vom

The only acceptable vom is obviously the Scrappy kind! I'd been considering making one of these for a while but was put off by the amount of cutting involved, then Katy started off a little Scrap Vomit swap a while ago and I just couldn't resist joining in. I made up five blocks similar to the one below and sent them out to 5 other swappers knowing I'd received 4 in return :)

 Then I packaged up 4 lots of squares and sent those out to 4 different swappers and got 4 lots in return :)

This is the first block I made with the squares I received from one of the swappers. I intended to make a block with each of the packs of squares as they came in but life got in the way so I only made this one.

 I've used some of the other squares I received to make the B blocks. This is my "favourite" vomit square, that is one scary ass child!

 I completed my first row last night...

and today I made up another 2 rows :) I'm not sure whether I'll add more at this stage or just call it quits here. This is so unlike anything I have ever made before. I usually obsess over the placement of fabrics and colours. This quilt has been totally liberating in that I didn't place anything, I just grabbed and sewed and I didn't stress if my squares didn't quite line-up! I think that every once in a while it'll do me good to just let go and sew. I can be absolutely certain that I won't be precious over this quilt. It will probably end up as a very stylish dog blanket, not that we have a dog yet but one day ;) 

I've also got to put my hand up and admit that I need a good slap, I caved in and joined another swap! Mouthy Stitches opened and closed sign-ups today and I'm hoping that I got in :) I just couldn't resist this one after seeing all the fun they had last time round from the sidelines. Catch you soon :) x

Ho, hum

It's been one of those weeks so far, I feel like pushing fast forward! It's probably just as well that's impossible as I've had a million and one things to do this week. First up an angel mini quilt for the Brit Quilt Swap.  I'm feeling particularly proud of myself for parting with this block that I made as soon as my Flea Market Fancy arrived. It was intended to be part of a larger quilt but I think my angel recipient will love it so I'll just have to make myself another block at a later date.

 I backed it with this blossom print from the Farmdale range and did my signature straight line quilting. Hopefully this will put a smile on the recipient's face :)

 This month is Jude's month in the HipBee. We've been asked to make these wonky braids using scraps that Jude sent us. They are super quick and very liberating, made all the better by the munching of Rolos (thanks Jude)! Fun!

 Finally, I joined the Modern Scrappy Bits swap over on Flickr. A super easy swap, send scraps and small item made from scraps....job done. I made my first boxy pouch using this tutorial. I foresee more of these in my future!

That's Tula Pink Parisville scraps! I think I must be having a funny turn with all this beloved fabric leaving my clutches!!! I lined it with scraps of an Ikea print.

 Here it is full of scrappy goodies for my partner. Hope she likes it :)

I'm now free to sew for fun again as my swap commitments are all fulfilled. I won't be taking on any more swaps until we move house, no news on that front yet. Slap me if I tell you I've signed up for anything else!! Catch you soon x

Brit Quilt Swap Completed

If I hadn't have seen the sender of today's parcel I would have been very worried when I opened the wrapping to discover this! Prepare for lots of exclamation marks!!!

 As I did know the sender I was super excited to get inside the box!!! My Brit Quilt Swap mini arrived today and feast your eyes on the fabulousness that is the Dark Side of the Pond by Hadley! I had admired it in the Flickr group so I'm completely delighted that it now resides with me :)

 This little bit of text print will cause me many giggles every time I look at it....I'm very immature ;)

 The frog prince peeking out at me, love Tula Pink!

The fabulous hand embroidered label :) 

 Hadley included this gorgeous little hoop which is so cute! I thought it was a nod to the brown purse I sent her but Hadley reminded me that I had specifically stated that I wouldn't be impressed if I received a brown dog in a patchwork waistcoat :-D lol, what do I know...clearly dogs in patchwork waistcoats are totally awesome!

 Finally, Hadley included this gorgeous flexi-frame purse! Check out those tiny Liberty hexies! The other side of the purse is also tiny hexies, so much work!! Thank you Hadley, you got me sussed :)

 Benji is feeling much better today, although rather grumpy after his trip to the vet, so I was able to get on and finish the mini for my Brit Quilt partner :) I'm hoping my partner will excuse the rather wonky appearance of the edges of the quilt. I'm not quite sure what happened but what I thought was straight was not so I've lost the purple edge entirely on one side and part of it on the other, sorry partner!

I backed with a print from Good Fortune by Kate Spain. I'm hoping to get this posted tomorrow so not long for my partner to wait now :) 

Hope you all have a good weekend. Catch you soon x

Hmmm

So today I was hoping to show you my finished Brit Quilt Swap mini quilt but this little chap had other ideas. 

Benji 

Benji decided to bung himself up with fur so we spent the day trying to get him to eat when I should have been sewing! After a quick trip to the vets he seems to be feeling better so I'm crossing my fingers that I'll get the mini finished tomorrow. It really wouldn't be good for a swap mama to be late sending out her swap!! This is as far as I managed to get today. If my partner doesn't like purple I'm stuffed! I used this pattern to piece the sewing machine. I ad-libbed the rest of the design but I think it all works together. The "Sew wall-hanging" is cross-stitched and the borders were originally intended to be flying geese but I had total brain-fade and ended up with these envelope type things instead. I'll be doing some very basic quilting on this one as I don't want to overcrowd it. 

Brit Quilt mini ready for quilting

 In other news, I bought these gorgeous screen-printed fabrics from Brit Designer Leanne at The Little House Martin. They are absolutely gorgeous and so intricate! You  might want to haul your backsides over there and order some of your very own if you haven't already ;) Leanne threw in some buttons and scraps as a thank you, how lovely is that?! I envisage lots of lovely makes from these and they'd play really nicely with Karen's fabrics too....

The little house martin fabrics

Catch you soon x

Winner

Mr Random Number Generator has spoken!

And the winner is Di, our HipBee mama :) Congratulations Di, I've got your address so I'll stick your prizes in the post to you as soon as possible!

Thanks to everyone that entered the giveaway. I'm sure there'll be another one soon :) Hope you all have a fab bank holiday weekend. Catch you soon x

August and a giveaway

Well I can't believe August is over half way gone! In the post-Olympic period I've got very little done but here are a few things that I've been meaning to share for a while. I was lucky enough to take part in a Fat Quarterly design challenge this month using fabrics from the British Designer, Nel Whatmore. My project is on the Fat Quarterly blog today! Feel free to pop over and leave a comment over there so the Fat Quarterly guys and gals know you've been, make sure to come back though to find out about the giveaway ;)

Fireworks pillow

August is the first month that the HipBees have been sewing blocks and luckily they're for me!! I sent out packages of Summersville with co-ordinating solids and asked for house blocks in return.

HipBee packages

 I've already received quite few of house the blocks. You'll have to check out the HipBee group on flickr to see them as I won't be showing them here until I've got them all :) I also received this super cute Summersville ring pincushion from Tanya which was such a lovely surprise!!

Ring pincushion from Tanya 

Talking of surprises, I received this gorgeous package from Sarah as a 'hello' to the HipBees. A Zakka pencil case and check out the cute bee charm made by the very talented Shannon, Jude's daughter. What a great bee to be in!

Zakka Pencil case from Sarah with Bee charm by Shannon

 So now to get to the nitty gritty of the giveaway that I mentioned a while ago. This little old blog has been in existence for 2 years now! Wow, where does time go? As a thank you for all your support we're giving away this awesome mini quilt that was hand-pieced by Yvonne using Vintage Modern by Bonnie and Camille. Check out the photos in Yvonne's flickrstream for more close-up detail. It is beautiful!!

Vintage Modern hexies hand-pieced by Yvonne

I'm also going to dig into my stash for some fabric goodies too! I'm thinking a little bit of Tula Pink and Amy Butler might be up for grabs....
So there will be one lucky winner.
You get up to three chances to enter:
1.  Leave a comment letting us know your favourite craft blog of the moment. We're always on the lookout for new sources of inspiration :)
2.  If you're a follower old or new just say so in a comment.
3. Blog, tweet or shout from the rooftop about the giveaway then leave a comment to tell us you did for another shot.
That's it. The winner will be chosen by Mr Random Number Generator after the draw closes at midday(BST) on Saturday 25th August.
Catch you soon x

Donald where's your troosers

I have lots of things I ought to be blogging today but frankly I'm too busy watching the Olympics :) TeamGB are having a fantastic games and Usain Bolt (I love that man!) has just won the 200m again! Here's a pic of some little makes that I've managed to sew up in between events. Once again I've used Lotta Jansdotter's pattern to create these funky little trousers for Mackinlay.

Zoo menagerie, Farmdale and a cute spotty baby cord from Katy's destash 

Normal blogging service should return after the Olympics closing ceremony. Hope you are all keeping well and enjoying the Summer such as it is :) Catch you soon x

Catch up

Time flies when it's boiling hot!  I've been doing my best to stay cool and less grumpy during this rather disgusting heat-wave so I haven't got a lot to show you today. I have made my very first pair of trousers though! OK that's not quite as impressive as it sounds, they are for a 6 month old ;) I've never been one for making clothes, it's the pattern pieces that put me off, way too scary! This year I've decided to take the bull by the horns and try to conquer my fear of them. I've bought 3 very lovely books which make the art of clothes making look easy! For my first project I used Lotta Jansdotter's book, Simple Sewing for Baby. The Simple Pants pattern was just that, really simple, start to finish in about an hour with faffing! I used a fantastic Michael Miller print that I bought in a destash some time ago to make these funky little trousers for my little nephew :) I think he's going to love them, see those fish...he loves Nemo so these should be a real hit! I'm really looking forward to the next project now, whatever that might be :)

The posting window for the In the Frame Purse Swap opened on Wednesday so I've been stalking the post lady since then and today she came up trumps! I received a super package from Tracey of Quilt me happy. I got not 1 but 2 purses and a gorgeous lavender bag!!! The purses came in a cute bag made from a page of a magazine, so cool :) The first purse is natural linen with Liberty hexies front and back and hand stitchery;  the second is a very pale pink retro transport print with vespas and funky cars. I'm going to feel very hip and trendy using these babies! the lavender bag is tiny but perfect with the most amazing long-arm quilted flower on it, I'm in total awe of that!! Thanks again Tracey :)  

My partner has also received her parcel so I can show you what extras I sent! I was lucky enough to be partnered with my blog pal Hadley. I've already shown you the purse that I made for her but I didn't show you the sneak peek of the owl that was waiting inside in the double frame :) As soon as I got my partner allocation I was determined to make a brown purse, knowing Hadley's tempestuous relationship with brown fabrics, I'm such a bugger ;) So I made a large brown linen purse with an "antique gold" fancy frame. I raw-edge appliqued strips of brown innocent crush to the front and back and lined with a brown Kaffe Fassett target print. I wrapped the pretty grey purse in brown Kaffe millefiore spots and more of the brown target print and tied it with a brown bow. I've been chuckling to myself ever since. I'm not totally mean though as I did include some bits and bobs that I knew she would like as well.

I've had such a fun time in this swap, thanks to Helen and Nicky for organising it all. I've been very good at limiting my swap sign-ups this year and I can't tell you how enjoyable it is to be making for people that I 'know' for a change. I'll be back with more news soon including a giveaway for our 2nd blogiversary which I successfully missed a few days ago. Hope you're all enjoying the Olympics! Proud to be British right now :) Catch you soon x