Handcrafted

At Quilt Market in Pittsburgh one of the fabric lines that immediately stood out was Handcrafted by Alison Glass for Andover. I found myself back at her booth a couple of times to have a look. The colours are really beautiful and the fabrics are lovely to touch.

 As soon as these bundles arrived the other day I pulled out some wool felt I dyed up a while ago and they are a perfect match.

 I whipped up some elephants (pattern here).

 Olive has taken this one and won't give it back.

 A little pouch for a teacher present made with some scraps.

Have I mentioned the amazing, saturated colours? I am definitely going to be needing some more for summer dresses.

Summer Waves

My waves quilt from Issue 2 of Quilt Now arrived home the other day just in time for summer.

 

This quilt was a little bit of a change for me, I don't usually use all solids, but I loved making this and I would like to make more quilts with just solids. All of them are Moda Bella Solids, which feel beautiful and are lovely to sew.

 I pebble quilted each section with matching Aurifil thread. I did briefly regret this after hours and hours of quilting, but I love the result, it was definitely worth it.

Cappuccino Tunic

I've had the now OOP Simplicity 2245 in my stash for a while, but was never in love with the neckline, so was excited when it was changed and released as the Cappuccino Dress.

It is quite a relaxed fit and I didn't have much time last weekend so I didn't bother with a muslin and cut straight into some Nani Iro double gauze I've had in the stash for a while.

I had read some reviews where people had a few issues with the instructions, but I didn't have a problem with the tunic instructions (they are  bit different for the dress as it has pockets). It is a really comfortable top and will be great for warm days. If you are making it I definitely recommend a fabric with lots of drape. When I make it again I will tweak a few things to make it fit a bit better and give it a little more shape.. The only problem I have with it is the colour. I have one rule for clothes - beige is not a colour - and it's a rule that should not be broken. It will get worn though and I think I might try the dress next.

 

Relaxing Sewing

 



I opened the big box of scraps last night and did a little sewing.

Perfect for non thinking and relaxing sewing at the end of the day.

  Just the right size for little pouches.

Simplicity 1463



I loathe shopping for jeans so much that I've been wearing the same badly fitting pair for 3 years and they are well worn and quite frayed in places now. So I braved the shops when I was in Perth last week. Olive was being quite cross as usual and I think they wanted me out of there very fast so they were very helpful and now I have a pair of jeans that fit. So then I needed something to wear with them. I managed to fit in a visit to Knitwit and find a couple of bargain pieces to make Simplicity 1463.

 I cut out the large and made no changes. It looks exactly like the pattern cover.

 It's a really easy pattern, takes barely any time to make one and it is very comfortable. Perfect for this change of season weather. The fabrics I used were quite light, I don't think you would want to use a heavy or thick fabric with this pattern as it is quite boxy.

This might be one of those patterns that gets made over and over.

Bloc Loc Rulers

I finally gave in a few weeks ago and ordered some Bloc Loc rulers. I have seen them on blogs, but not in real life and have only heard good things about them, but could they be as great as everyone says they are?

They are easy to use and work perfectly if you press your seams to the side or if you press them open.

 I have so many ideas for patterns that use half square triangles, but have never loved making them.

 I think these rulers might change that. At the very least it will make it easier and give me perfect half rectangle triangles.

So yes, these are just as great as everyone says they are!

Hexagons, Diamonds, Triangles, and More

I am slowly working on my English Paper Piecing and really enjoying it. 

With the help of Hexagons, Diamonds, Triangles, and More I have even started thinking about future projects. This book is not about English Paper piecing (there is actually fantastic instructions for machine piecing and sewing y-seams) but there is great inspiration for paper piecing.

 There is a lot of information and ideas packed into this book as you can see from the contents page.

How you can break the shapes down into smaller shapes is clearly shown

There is instructions for a couple of little projects.

 And a great gallery full of inspiration.

 I think this is one of those books that I will turn to again and again for ideas.

Full Disclosure: I received a copy of the book from Martingale free of charge. All opinions are my own.

Tiger Dress

I have been trying to use fabric from my stash the last 6 months, but I could not resist this Cotton & Steel tiger fabric for Olive.

 I used the Madeline Dress pattern from Wink Designs. I love this collar.

 I used some buttons from the never ending bag of buttons I bought at Spotlight a few years ago.

This fabric and pattern is the purr-fect combination!



Summer Sewing

A little more summer sewing for the girls. It has been winter again for the last few days, but the weather forecast is promising some warmer weather for the school holidays. We are all crossing our fingers!

 From Ottobre 4/2011. I have used this pattern before and I love it. I never get tired of shirring.

I made some overalls using the same pattern. I bought this fabric from Birch in New York. It is lovely to touch.

 A Geranium dress for Eva. I'd shown her this pattern before and she showed no interest until I made one for Olive then she insisted I make one immediately. It's a perfect pattern for this fabric which is Dream On by Urban Chicks for Moda a few years ago.

Cathrineholm inspired Pot Holder

While cleaning up my cutting table yesterday I found the templates I'd printed for the Hello Cathrine! pot holder from Fat Quarterly Issue 8.



 This was a nice quick project which looks fantastic

 I used some of my treasured Micheal Miller 'Put A Lid On It' fabric for the backing.

Think I might need to make some more in the other Cathrineholm lotus colours.

Children's Summer Basics

A clean out of the girls' cupboards revealed they were lacking in basics. Shorts, shirts and pyjamas. Nothing fancy, just stuff to wear around on weekends. So I thought I would do a little round up of patterns I know that work every time and most of them I can whip up very quickly.

Oliver & S Puppet Show Shorts. I have used this pattern so many times, it has definitely paid for itself.

 Christine Pants from I Think Sew - these make great pyjama bottoms. I don't bother with the elastic around the legs as it just annoys the girls. These work well in woven and knit fabrics.

 Made Shorts. A really great basic pattern with tutorials on adding trim and pockets too.

 Simplicity 2689. A great pattern for light fabrics such as voile.

 Banyan Tee and Tee for Two Dress by Figgy. Probably my favourite knit top patterns for children.

Now some of the basic not so interesting sewing is done for them I can make a few more interesting things!

A Paper Pieced Garden Mini Quilt

One more block from A Paper Pieced Garden.

 And all four of them as a mini quilt. I'm just waiting for some quilting inspiration. I might even consider hand quilting it as it's so small.
I have really enjoyed making these. Paper Piecing does not come naturally to me. There is much unpicking and I seem to waste a lot of fabric, but you can make such great shapes and it is so much fun to finish each block and see what you have made.

Go To Quilting Ideas

I've had one of those slightly frustrating mornings. I thought I had a clear idea of the way I wanted to quilt a quilt, but this did not go to plan. My straight lines weren't straight. So I unpicked. I thought I would try some free motions quilting, but that did not look right. That was unpicked. So third time lucky with simple swirly loops. If I'm unsure about what to do with a quilt this is my go to way of quilting. It seems to look good on most quilts. 

It was the perfect way to quilt  my Butterflies book from Strip Savvy as it echoed how butterflies move. I was so excited this week to see Gail Pan's version of this quilt using her new fabric design.

 

 My other go to way of quilting is the slightly wonky straight line.
I used this a couple of times in my book. It was perfect for my Scrappy Crosses.

I also used it to quilt Reflections. I think this is the biggest quilt in my book and I quilt everything on my Bernina 440 which isn't huge, so straight lines is a good way to quilt as you can roll in the sides and do a line at a time.

 It was so nice outside taking photos this morning - there is sun in my favourite corner of the verandah and it feels and smells a little like Spring. I love this time of the year!