dresden plate pillow

amongst some of lovely books i was given this christmas was the Cath Kidston 'patch' one, it's quite a sweet book, with some patterns & ideas i'm sure i will make in the future, but it also comes with some small fabric squares to get you started on a project, so whilst leaving the snow play to the little kids & their big kid {oops i mean dad} i set about to re-cover a small pillow, i really enjoyed this porject, it was just the right mix of hand & machine sewing, & small enough to get finished quickly, i used some fabric i already had from yonks ago {i think it came from Ikea?} to make the pillow slip, then just sewed the dresden flower plate to it, the pillow is the perfect size for little O, it would however also be the perfect size for my desk chair, luckily enough i have another pillow the same size in need of a new cover - i'd better get started then!

teachers presents

my little O has broken up from pre-school & will be making the big leap to school in September, my emotions are a little all over the place about this, but for now i'm just looking forward to sharing the next seven weeks with her, i wanted to make a farewell gift for all her pre-school teachers {not including myself that's seven in all!} so it really needed to be a quick easy gift, 

these lined drawstring bags were just ideal, little O helped me to choose which fabrics were to be for which teacher {all from fabrics i've got stashed away - so not too sure what some of them are} she also insisted we had to put something in the bags, her idea being chocolates, they were fun to make & i think {fingers crossed} they were appreciated by all, i used the great tutorial from here

dresden flower placemat

another quick project to use up the fabric scraps, although i think i had enlarged the pattern more than was called for, as the placemat came out rather large, in fact if i'd added some wadding it would have made a rather lovely chair cushion! ho-hum, it will look pretty under a vase of flowers or as a table centre piece, i followed the pattern from the book 'quilting in no time' by Emma Hardy {which i had picked up at a great price from the book people through our pre-school} i love these quick 'pick me up' projects & they are a great way to use up some of the many fabric scraps i've collected

makings

i've been a bit sporadic on the making front recently, i'm still slogging away with the big cardi for the hubs but have been cheering myself up with a few quick little makes in between,

along with some fabric scraps & a few odd vintage buttons, this little bundle was turned into some jubilee bunting for our tent, it did get a little soggy but it cheered me up, the ribbons were from here

 i have also recently crocheted a few coasters for a friend i work with, these were so nice & quick to make, i used some rowan bamboo tape i'd brought yonks ago, which worked really well for this project, the pattern i'd found via here

we've been snugged up at home today as the school have an inset day, but making cookies & getting cosy to watch a film have kept the small folk happy & i've been able to start a little baby knitting for a nephew due any day now 

KCWC SPRING 2012 - PART THREE

okay my last project for the KCWC was this little wrap dress, a rather impromptu project, i'd planned to make this a while ago & had the pattern cut out & stuck together an age ago, again i grabbed fabric from my stash, the cream needle cord had been left over from the swing coat i'd made a while back & the dotty cotton was from fabric land in brighton {again brought a while ago} the pattern was from Heidi & Finn, & was easy & straight froward to follow, it all came together quickly & there weren't any really tricky bits, i made the 3/4T size, which has room to grow on little O {at just over three & a half} i tweaked it a little, made the sleeves much shorter {but wish i'd made them a little shorter still!} added a sweet little pocket & didn't bother with the contrasting strips at the bottom of the dress {if i  had i think it would have made the dress too long for her} my version is also not reversible

i had planned to make more last week but am really quite pleased with what i achieved & am already planning the next sewing project{s}   

KCWC SPRING 2012 - PART TWO

i have felt rather silly sewing summer clothes when it's more like winter outside - i have seriously had it with this weather, really enough is enough! that said i'm feeling rather pleased with myself, i made little O the sweetest little blouse, for when the weather does decide to brighten up

the pattern is from the 'les-couleurs-francaises' japanese pattern book i got from 'm is for make' quite a while ago & i used some red dobby cotton i'd had stashed away, this fabric was great to work with & worked really well with this pattern, having followed a few japanese patterns in the past, i found this surprisingly straight forward to follow, it all came together beautifully 

she likes this one too! - although she informed me that it's too cold for 'out sleeves' & she's quite right too! only one day left of KCWC & i hope to post one more project before the day is out

KCWC SPRING 2012

what a week- too much work, too much poorlyness {child & dog} definitely too much rain & not nearly enough sewing for the spring kcwc over at elsie marley's, there has been a little sewing though, i had tried to be organised & last week had pre-washed & ironed some of the fabrics i wanted to use, i had also drawn out some of the patterns & had cut them out ready to go, first up i've made a little pair of shorts, from the 'mademoiselle' pattern book i've had for a while, i went with the 100cm size & used a thin cotton drill with a fine 'minty & white' stripe {which had been picked up very cheaply from fabric land when we last visited brighton} 

this was my fabric choice, not little O's, but i have promised her a pair in the pink floral fabric she chose! although i do think she'll wear these & providing the weather warms up a little, they will be great for our summer camping trips

i actually didn't think i'd like these as i was putting them together, but once finished they are actually quite sweet - girly but perfect for mucking about in, which is exactly what she did whilst i was trying to get a photo of them on her! the pattern was easy to follow & although the book has a few less step by step pictures than the japanese pattern books, it was far easier to translate {even with my school book french!}

hop little bunny

another project from the zakka sewing book, although not quite as quick as the last one - a super cute bunny pencil case, it was rather handy i had some neutral cotton/linen mix fabric & some black cotton gingham left over from other projects, as i think this combination works really well together

zakka sewing

i was brought this book as a christmas present a few years ago & have often looked through it, picking out the things i'd like to make, i've had the sewing urge this week but just haven't found enough time to even think about what quick little project i'd like to tackle, well this afternoon i just couldn't ignore it anymore, i just had to sew, so sew i did, the little ones were watching 'fantastic mr fox' {we had been to the swimming pool & park earlier in the day - so they had earned some tv time} i just grabbed these fabrics without much searching, i love the Kokka print & have been hanging on to a small piece for ages, then just teamed it up with some dark purple cotton {it's quite thick - no idea of where or when i came by it} the basket came together so quickly, i think i even surprised myself

i think it turned out ever so sweet, as usual it's already been claimed by the little one - well it is rather the perfect size for her play food! think i might just have to make a few more!

scrappy happy pot-holder

still here! just plodding along with the daily routine which is a real time zapper right now, last week i got a real urge to sew something quick & easy, as we were visiting my sister at the weekend i whipped up a quick gift for her, a sweet scrappy pot-holder, it satisfied the sewing urge rather nicely

another quilt

this is the quilt i finished off last week, if there hadn't been a delay in the {right size!} wadding arriving i would have probably finished it off last year, well when the right size did arrive i got stuck right in & finished it off within about 24 hours! {it's really rather a small sized quilt}

i tried out making the binding following a tutorial i'd found on pintrest, it really did work, although i did find it a little tricky at first, i'm sure after a few attempts you'd get the hang of it, the vintage sheets i used to make the quilt top were from 'little tea wagon' & had already been cut into squares for me, as was the fq of vintage flannel used to make the binding, then the dotty flannel on the back & the wadding both came from 'prints to polka dots' - which always seem to have lovely fabric at great prices {i am so in love with flannel, i'd really love to get my hands on some more Anna Maria Horner flannels - please message me if you know of any good uk sources}

i did some simple lines of quilting & machined the binding on & then added one of the sweet labels Laura had sent me, which i think finished it off perfectly!

resolved to sew 2012

there is a very lovely 'giveaway' going on over at very berry handmade right now, it got me thinking about what my sewing resolutions are for this year, i've just finished another {small} quilt today, i'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination but i'm getting quicker at making a quilt, although i can often leave a long space between the different parts of making a quilt, i'm also better at ripping something out if i've gone wrong along the way, i really love making a quilt, from choosing the fabric, pattern, seeing it all come together, the time, effort & love you put into it, it all makes a homemade quilt something very special indeed, i do plan to make a couple more baby sized quilts this year, for friends & family due little babies, but that will probably be it, because what i want to really get better at & make more of this year is clothes, mostly for little O & myself, but maybe the odd thing for G too, making clothes was what got me started on the sewing machine in the first place, as a teenager making things for myself {really without a clue about what i was doing! although i do have fond memories of one particular skirt} i look forward to sharing my achievements here with you - wish me luck!

special thanks to laura for the sweet parcel of goodies you sent through, they will be put to good use!

squeak squeak

i have to say what a lovely weekend it's been, the weathers been cold but bright, perfect january weather as far as i'm concerned, the wood burners been getting lots of use, my new socks are so nearly finished, i made the best home made curry ever in the new slow cooker this afternoon, so am now plotting what i can make in it next, 

this very little mousey was a very quick little make {which has now been claimed by little O} he is from the 'christmas crafting in no time' book, G chose this as my christmas present from him {all by himself} such a sweetie! it's a lovely book, there are plenty of projects i'd like to make for next christmas

day 23

finding peace - escaping the madness with the soothing repetition of hand sewing the binding on my pin-wheel quilt {& enjoying keeping cosy underneath it whilst doing so}

Storyboek baby quilt

a while back i won a giveaway over at 'm is for make', some of the sweet storyboek fabric from birch fabrics, i set it aside not quite sure what to use it for at the time, then when a friend very recently had a little baby boy i knew i wanted to make him something using these fabrics, they are just perfect for a mini baby quilt, 

i set about making this quilt in my usual way, having a vague idea of how i wanted it to turn out, then letting it evolve along the way, i added some blue striped fabric i had in my stash & used some blue checked fabric for the backing, i very luckily had some wadding in just the right size, the so they whole thing came together quite quickly, the binding was made from some natural linen left over from a past project {i also discovered that i really need to get myself a bias making tool - something else to add to the christmas list!}

mini make

i'm juggling a few projects right now, knitting & sewing, & there are a whole heap of ideas i want to get started on if i can find the time & motivation, the weekend was far to busy to get much done, friends visiting, girls night out, then an emergency trip to the vets for a cut on Barney's leg {which resulted in stitches, a sulking dog & a very light purse}

i did finish this last week though, a quick little commission for a car crazy toddler, i hear it went down very well with the recipient!

  

the dots are Amy Butler, teamed with some brown gingham & i really can't remember what the car print is called but think it's from 'prints charming', i know it came from fabric rehab quite a while ago, 

doubt i'm going to get much done with this sorrowful dog following me round, but at least he'll get some peace as the kids go back to school today!