Animal Quilt

I made this quilt for my friend's baby. I used 5 animal print fabrics, and then bold primary and secondary colours as a frame, and sashed in white cotton.

I like the back as much as the front!

Delicious

These kicked started a great weekend for us.

(lemon & blueberry buckle)

How could I resist cooking a buckle? I'd never heard of that, but it just screamed out "make me", then I had to aso try the stone filled fruit teacake, which is sublime.

(stone filled teacake)

It's not a teacake as we know them, here is the UK, more a halfway house between a pie and a cake! More pie if anything! But what a great pie, filled with plums, it was sublime. A new favourite. (thank you Chicken)! Recipes found here under cookbook club, "Rustic Fruit Desserts".

The secret of KFC!

This is so funny!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2009/jul/22/kfc-secret-recipe

I wouldn't usually put something like this on here, plus I don't eat KFC (I'm vegetarian) but it made me laugh out loud!

And as it's the first day of the school holidays, for us, today, this article gave me lots of pointers on what to do!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jul/21/children-summer-holidays

Don't choke on your tea, like I nearly did! Back to more making and doing soon!

Shine A Light

I've been window shopping, well net browsing, and have found yet more gorgeous things for your eyes to gaze at! They can all be found at Radiance, a lighting shop in Hebden Bridge, but you can buy online as well!

These tea lights are my FAVOURITE thing (I'm hoping someone I know is reading this and feeling generous!) I love the heart, so sweet. They and the hanging vases are by a ceramist called Wendy Jung. Very talented lady.

These light pulls are by Lorraine Ditchburn, I don't need any, as I only have push switches! But what a nice touch, if you do!


This is for the floral lover! It looks so delicate, it's by Colin Chetwood.




These two lovely lamps are made by the Radiance owner, Hannah Nunn, what a talented lady. I do like the houses. Very nice, indeed!

This shade is by Helen Rawlinson. It appeals to the mother in me!

This table lamp is by Mibo , some great designs.
And this amazing ceramic butterfly shade, surely a piece of art, as much as a practical object is made by Mixko.

And last, but not least a lovely hare by Helen Minns.

Well, if I had more cash, I would quite easily be online shopping at Radiance tonight! So inspirational. No more lampshades from Ikea and Habitat! It's all really beautiful.

Weekend Sewing - My Way Part 2

Following on from my original post, I have made a few more things from Heather Ross's Weekend Sewing book.

Although I have had plenty of joy with the smocked child's sundress (I've made 3 or 4 of them!) the other patterns have not been quite as straightforward.

However, the reason I'm willing to persevere, is I love the designs, the new challenges and bringing my sewing capability on.

So onto the sewing:

Yard Sale Skirt
This skirt asks for 5 panels, I used 7, to make sure I felt secure with the wrap around. The other thing is, if you have a directional print, you will need an extra 1.5 metres. I actually added a lining, as my fabric was embroidery anglaise (had holes in it!) so I wanted to protect my modesty!
It sewed up fine. I made mine to come to just above my knees. It's a nice everyday skirt!

Everything Tote
This bag is BIG, so great for all your shopping. You will need 1 metre of fabric for the outside, and 1 metre of fabric for the lining. (Not the 1/2 yard/ metre mentioned in the book)
This pattern is cut on the fold, so if your pattern is directional, like mine was, you will need to cut it out in 2 separate pieces, making sure your fabric is the correct way round. Add on 1/2 inch for the seam allowance, as you will need to sew the bottom of the bag together. (Erin describes this well)
The next sticking point is the binding. Heather says make bias binding, but if you attach it the way she describes, it is way too narrow. I preferred the way it was in the photo in the book, so I merely folded the binding in half, and then wrapped it over the raw edge and edge stitched it.
After that I followed the directions, and I have one very large market bag! I am pleased with this bag, looks fit for purpose! This took me a long afternoon!

Kai's Shirt
Kai's shirt was going well until I got to the collar. I was making the Size 3 shirt, and the collar was a few inches longer than the neckline I had to attach it to! The only way I could see it working was to trim it down, carefully and resew the seams. I'm not the only person to have had this problem, so it would be nice if Heather could redo the collar, and create a PDF pattern sheet.

I then mucked up the button holes, too far over, but it was my first time ever doing them, so a lot of seam ripping latter, I managed to finish the shirt. I made it over 2 days!

Kimono Dress
I have decided to take apart the kimono dress, at some point, and bring it in a bit at the top. It's just too big. You can bring it in to a degree with the Obi Belt, but not quite enough!

Still you live and learn!

Virtual Quilting Bee

I'm sure if you read sewing blogs, you may have seen some bloggers that participate in virtual quilting bees. This is where you have 12 members, and each month one member sends out their fabric choices to the 11 others, they in turn make a block (measuring a designated size) and post it back. The beauty of this, is that everyone will have a different take on how they like to do things, and so on. The Member whose month it is usually shares some inspiration for her quilt, to give guidance.

So far all these bees have been in America, Block Party, Cottage Quilting Bee, Virtual Quilting Bee, and probably many more.

So it has occured to me (now I have made 2 quilts!) that I should I set up one here, in the UK (possibly Europe if postage is the same). If you are interested in doing some sewing, over the course of a year, then let me know. Even if you have never made a quilt before, this could be a good way in. Use up your fabric scraps, and make some new friends!

I look forward to hearing from you!

UPDATE

A few people have contacted me (big smile) and want some clarification of the rules, so here they are:

1. 12 members

2. Each month this happens: One member (A) supplies the other 11 members (B, C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L) with fabric that they need to make 1 block .

3. Those 11 people (B-L) then post their block back to A. (who now has 11 lovely blocks, and needs to make their own!)

4. The following month, the next person in line has their turn. They send out the fabric to 11 people, those people make a block, and post it back to the person who sent them the fabric.

5. Each person should specify the style of block and size, ie log cabin, a picture of a house, texture etc and provide visual examples via a weblink through email or flickr or a blog.

6. We can document our blocks via flickr group or a new blog that only us (12 members) have access to.

7. Hopefully we will all make a quilt and can post our finished piece on our group site as well as our own blogs!

8. If this is as clear as mud, then please ask me specific questions!

However, please do join up!

Beautiful Things

This post is not about me, but about things I've found, and would like!

This is a print of a papercut map of London, I think it is fabulous. As a born and bred Londoner I would love this. A nice reminder of how cool the capital is.

Even though I have made fabric bunting, the more decoration, the better, for parties and birthdays. How lovely are these papercut banners?

Lately I've been thinking of how to redo the boy's bedroom, as I hate it. I would like to smarten it up, make it more inspiring. Give it more interest. These posters are wonderful.

Love the family tree, I think this could be a lovely present for the boys, as they are far away from their family.
And lovely tape to wrap presents up with.

What I love is the handmade nature of all the designs, and the attention to detail. They look fantastic.

All these fabulous items are from Famille Summerbelle you can order online from them, or buy from other stockists.