A first birthday

Oops, nearly forgot to show you the cake! I made one of these which I'd seen around blog land and had to try (icing was supposed to be purple, but looked a bit grey). It tasted, and I got a heap of compliments for the part guests which was lovely! I do love a challenge...

(2nd pic a bit blurry, but shows more colours)

 We ended up having both kid's birthday parties on the same day- Henry's first birthday from 11am to 2ish, and the my girls from 5pm onwards. 4 friends slept over, what an experience THAT was!

But the little man's day was lovely, great weather, and a very happy chappy with his balloons!

 His party outfit was a bit of handmade by me stuff, which was cute. I love making him stuff, as he actually has to wear it (unlike a tween girl). Here he is munching on some BBQ corn, it was an amazing feats of slow cooked meats and salads, and vegies. YUM!

And he loved all the fuss, of course (who wouldn't?)

I made some bunting for the party, which is now in his room. I found all these fabrics precut into squares in the stash (the stash in the garage, that is). I think I planned to sell it at one stage- good for Henry I didn't!

 Bright and cheery!

His present arrived about a week later (and I still haven't made the hat- oops!) It's a Kinder Boy, whom I named Neville. A great pattern, and not toooo fiddly for my fat old fingers! It was a lot of fun picking the fabrics (OK, that may have taken me one whole evening). I used the Doctors Flannel as recommended in the pattern, which is totally worth the hunt for. Easy to work with, soft and you can tell it's durable (it's 100% wool but the non itchy kind).

 I gave him cowboy undies!

  and some spinal surgery. He's a red head, as it was the only wool felt I had in the stash, and I didn't want it to go all pilly like acrylic felt.

Very cute!

 

He was gifted with this perfect basket I found at the oppy

and a mattress and blankie, too.

  

His favourite bit was the tearing of the paper- hesitant here at his birthday, but 2 weeks later at Xmas there was no hesitation!

An action shot from my sister the next day, I just wanted to check it was in use haha

and our Boxing Day proved just as much fun, the excitement he had about his own 

maraca and bells was contagious!

Just beautiful!

Finally gifted!

I made a quilt for a friend- well, her mum and I are friends, and Little Miss and her are friends- a mum and daughter (like us) that we met in a group, and went on a few camping trips with. Sue made a big move at the end of last year, a new suburb and school, and further to travel to work. So I wanted to make Sue (the mum) a quilt for the new house, and as I was gifted some gorgeous fabric at Xmas time, I thought I'd use some of the stash for some gift quilts. However, knowing what 10yr old girls are like (probably like my 9yr old) I thought I'd keep the child (Sam) happy first with her own quilt (so mum has a chance of keeping hers- smart, hey?)

Inspiration was from one of my fave blogs here, and then I found a tutorial. I have wanted to try some new-to-me blocks, oldies but goodies, and give them a modern twist! The quilting was also a Crazy Mom technique...

Of, course I forgot to take some close ups or outside shots, but these will do....

  

I have to give my girl a bit of credit, for helping with some fabric choices, and layout and balance! (She has a eye already...)

And they had some typical tweenie silliness...

(Hmmm, that trick doesn't work with iPhone)

Perfect for cubbies!

 I really hope she likes it!

Blogtoberfest Day 15

OK, I'm back with more pics! Aren't you glad I split them up? This one's fabric porn at it's best!

These gorgeous little goodie bags were made up by one the group, Cathy, who also ran a great trivia quiz (We didn't win that one )

 

Inside were these goodies (different fabric for each person, I thought I got pretty lucky!)

The purple tape measure is like no other- it's 3m long! Perfect for quilters, hey?

 

 Also throughout the day were the 'lucky door prize', everyone got a raffle ticket and there were random draws throughout the day. And the best bit, so there were no tanty's at the party, were that 'each kid got a prize' haha. I got a 1/2 mt of fabric of my choice- I'd say this was pretty choice! (sorry for that bad pun!)

Another quilter, Kellie, gave me her leftover block- she did a gorgeous quilt with this style blocks, and lovely bright colours. Right up my alley! I'm thinking I'll add some plain borders and have a spunky new cushion for my bed!

Sigh, and there's more! There's was a discount on the day, from the shop downstairs, which is of course torture when you're sitting above it for 12hrs- I thought I was quite restrained actually! Oh, and the roll of thread I'm quilting the custom quilt with, I needed a lighter grey.

Oh, and the last project I spent a bit of time on is a custom order for some scrappy coasters!

Here's a little fact too- the MMQG is free to join, and a small charge to attend the Sit n Sew's.(usually $10). A few members argued that the $49 for this whole day and the above goodies was too much, but I was pretty bloody happy! And thanks to Aunty Jess for babysitting to let me enjoy time with my mates!

Finished cushions

I've been teasing during 'My Creative Space' and on Instagram with pics of these cushions, and can finally reveal the finished items!

I bought this pattern over here and found it fantastic, so many pics and clear instructions. Only mistake I made was I didn't read them close enough, der!

Fabric is by Aneela Hoey, called Walk In The Woods.

Little Miss and I love her designs, and most of the cushions on her bed are made from her fabrics!

(actually searching for them on my blog made me realise I should label them all under "Aneela Hoey" rather than the fabric lines, and I'm sure I'll be getting her newer ranges too at some point!)

 

  

So here is Little Miss's cushion- complete with the Big Big BIG Book of Tashi ( "so they can see how big the pocket is, Mum")

 and I somehow managed to line the fabric up at the front of the pocket- a complete fluke!

I also made one for my friends little girl, who's birthday I just missed! Hopefully this will make up for me missing it!

I machine stitched the quilting around this one.

the blue/purple back is Little Miss's; scallopy quilting seen on a few other blogs lately, so thought I'd give it a whirl!

 And some spesh Far Far Away on the birthday gift.

  and the mistake? I used the Walk In The Woods fabric for the back and front of the petals, not realising they were being sewn down! I didn't want to hide the gorgeous fabric (or unpick them all, eek!) so I left them loose, just stitching up the seams of the Dresdens.

Oh, it also fits Teddy! ( A very tired, post birthday party face on the kid!)

So thanks for the pattern and fabric, from 2 very clever ladies! I learnt a lot making it!

PS a tip- don't try and making the binding smaller, go with the pattern directions! I tried to use my 2inch premade stuff, and as it's going around about 9 layers at some pints, the extra 1/2 inch is essential!

Oh, and I'm heading over to the flickr group to add my pics- there are amazing finished ones there, and boys versions too!

A while ago....

So a few weeks ago I got hold of this lovely stretch fabric from Karen. Remember the Tova that didn't fit? Yep, we swapped!

It actually looks black, but is a dark navy. 

I thought I'd try it with this pattern. I think I like it.

It is quite a thick knit, so I think a lighter knit would drape a little better. But this is super warm!

I finished it in the morning and wore it out that afternoon. Karen was there and snapped a pic! 

I also made a few bags. I have left a job (and started at a new one, don't worry) and wanted to give a few of my fave colleagues a little something. Boy, it's hard finding something to make 6 of (I ended up keeping one teehee) that are quick and easy!

I went with this tutorial- and used up quite a few scraps!

The most fun was choosing the colour combos

and the linings! They look great, and were very well received! For anyone wanting to try it, do it- clear instructions, and only used fabric and batting. It stated fusible batting, but I joined my scraps together of cotton batting from quilts, spray basted them on, and then quilted around the patchwork squares to keep them in place. Once it was all sewn up the batting is in position!