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