Strip Savvy

Look what was in the mail yesterday!! An early copy of Strip Savvy! Not sure I have words to explain how excited I am to finally see it in print. It is out on January 14th, but you can preorder it on amazon or ask your quilt shop to order it in.

Summer Dresses

I'm taking a break from the Christmas sewing to make myself a few dresses. Burda 7828 looks like it will be a great easy stretchy dress pattern. I have made a muslin of the bodice of Kwik Sew 3521. It needs a little work, but I am hoping when I get it right it can be the base of many summer dresses, then I can add different skirts and necklines. I think the skirt from Simplicity 2588 might be a good start for a summer dress.

If you are after bags or pouches I dropped these off to Loft in Bridgetown the other day.

Clay Beads

Those hours I've spent on Pinterest have finally paid off. I made something I pinned!

This easy necklace idea came from What No Mints. I used Sculpey I bought from Spotlight, I find it softer and easier to roll than Fimo. I made 8 beads from a packet and used a skewer to make the holes.

You can make quite a few necklaces from a few packets so there is enough for teachers, Christmas presents and a couple for me!

Scraps

I can't seem to throw out even the smallest scraps of those beautiful linen blends. Lucky they are perfect for QAYG blocks.

I Love You So.



'Where the Wild Things Are' has always been a favourite book in our house and last week we finally got around to watching the movie. I turned all the letters I have made in the last week into a one of my favourite quotes from it (with a slight variation - the We'll became I'll).

I used the letter pattern from Oh Fransson and all of the fabrics, apart from the borders, came from the scrap box. When it is quilted it will be added the growing mini quilt gallery in the passage way.

 

Letters

I can't seem to stop making letters.

Pattern - Refrigerator Magnet Blocks by Elizabeth Hartman of Oh Fransson.

Amelia Dress

 I made this a couple of weeks ago, but I only just managed to get some photos this morning. It is the Amelia Dress by Green Bee. I had been putting off making this as it looks like the perfect everyday summer dress and I did not want to make it and discover it wasn't.
I was not disappointed, with a couple of tweaks this could be the perfect everyday dress. I made a muslin first and made a few changes - I took it in a little and changed the darts (they could still do with a little fixing). It is not loose and it is not tight and hangs beautifully. I think this might be due to the lawn (from Spotlight) I used and the bias cut. I love the bias cut, but I am not a big fan of putting zips into anything bias cut. I didn't take any pictures of the back, but it is not good, very, very wavy. If you have any tips I'd love to hear them!! I'm wondering if I should just change the zip to a side zip, at least my arms might hide it. I need to do something about the facing too, it keeps flipping out which annoys me, it probably just needs tacking down in a few spots.
I have been wearing it all day and it is amazingly comfortable. It is quite warm too and it is really nice to wear in this weather. I think it would be great with a little cardi over the top too and boots when it is cooler so I can see it being a very versatile pattern. I just need to deal with the zip.

 

 

 

Knitting Update

Trips to Perth, Albany, seeing The Nutcracker, sickness and Sports Carnivals has left little room for crafting this week. I have managed a little knitting though. It always takes me forever to finish the first sock in a pair, I just need to finish the toe and cast on the second one and I then I know I am over half way. The second one always seems to be finished much faster. 

 I cast on a summer cardi - a Liesl. I'm not sure about it yet, but I'll keep knitting and see how it goes.

Sewing Tales to Stitch and Love

I was so excited when Kerry Goulder contacted me to be part of the blog hop for her new book Sewing Tales to Stitch and Love. It is a gorgeous book full of great patterns. I love the turtle and the mushrooms (such great shapes) and there are some really different patterns in there like a rowboat and an igloo.

As soon as I saw the Moses Basket I knew Olive would love it. She is just getting into putting things into and out of containers and dragging things around the house.

 

 

All of the pattern pieces are in the back of the book and they all need enlarging 200%. It wasn't a problem for the Moses Basket as there is just one piece so it was easy to do for me at home. The exact measurements are given for all the other pieces needed. I made the medium size and it went together very easily and the instructions were clear.

I like that batting was used between all the pieces; the base, sides and handles. It gives it shape and sturdiness and it is a great use of all the left over pieces of batting I have from quilt making.

 Olive's little bear has been in and out of the basket and dragged around the house all week.

 

There are also patterns for a pillow and a little quilt to go in the basket. I think a set of a basket, pillow and quilt would the loveliest little present for a child on their birthday or at Christmas.

 

I love how there are projects in the book that would appeal to girls and boys and projects that would appeal to children of many ages. There are even a few things my big girls are interested in making and I think they could do it with a little help.

Not only did Kerry send the book, but it came in a box full of tools and notions I could use to sew a pattern in the book. A big thanks to Fiskars, Dritz, Fairfield, Bosal and Free Spirit. Kerry is giving you a chance to win one of these boxes just go to her blog and enter!

I was particularly excited to see the little Fiskars scissors in the box. I had a pair of these many years ago and loved them, but managed to lose them somehow.



Also in the box were four fat quarters of the gorgeous new Heather Bailey fabric Lottie Da from Freespirit. I couldn't resist making a pair of Oliver&S Puppet Show shorts for Olive. I love this orange and pink combination!

You can see more projects made from patterns in the book and all the book reviews at these blogs and you to see more on Instagram search for #sewingtalesbookbloghop.

 

MONDAY: Nov 4th

Mollie Johanson - Wild Olive                                         

Jessica Fediw - Happy Together                            

Abby Glassenberg - While She Naps                         

Jennet Jones-Rau - Feathered Nest Studio    

        
TUESDAY: Nov 5th                                             

Sabra Gubler - Sew a Straight Line                     

Amber Carillo - One Shabby Chick      

Caroline Hulse - Sew Caroline                        

Amy Friend - During Quiet Time               

WEDNESDAY: Nov 6th        

Miranda Anderson - One Little Minute                        

Andrea Taddicken - Knitty Bitties Sews                      

Kristi McDonough - Schnitzel & Boo    

Terri Harlan - Sew Fantastic   

THURSDAY: Nov 7th                               

Shari Butler - Doo Hikey Designs   

Jodie Carleton - RicRac                         

Jen Goode - 100 Directions                  

Justine Henshaw - Sew Justine Sew    

 

FRIDAY: Nov 8th       

Emily Levey - Strawberry Patch Ramblings                                                                                                

Nicke Cutler - Kiss Kiss Quilt                                 

Cathe Holden - Just Something I Made                   

Kate Henderson - Two Little Banshees       

Summer Cot Quilt



A Summer Cot Quilt for Olive. I pieced and backed this quilt at the end of last summer in a couple of hours. There is no batting in the middle I wanted something very light weight for when the nights are warm. It has sat around all winter waiting for me to stitch it. I finally started last week when the weather warmed up.

The hand stitching is inspired by the beautiful stitching on Kantha quilts. I used 2 strands of embroidery cotton as it comes in such bright colours and I can buy it in town. I love the texture the stitching makes. I was thinking about stitching the whole quilt, but I love the little bits of colours and the texture and I think it will be even better after it is washed.

Win Some, Lose Some

I have had this pattern in my stash for a little bit and I finally got around to making it. It is a mail order pattern #4606. All of the mail order patterns I have seen have great instructions and go together really well, this was no exception. If you are 6ft tall and whippet thin, this would be the perfect pattern for you. Alas, I am neither and on my me it looked like I was an odd box shape. I have a few more vintage patterns ready to try, hopefully more suited to my body shape so I'm crossing fingers I have something wearable soon.

 

I pieced a few favourite bits of fabric together at the start of the year and am finally hand sewing. I was completely unsure about this, but the more I stitch the more I am loving it.

Burda 9516

After trying McCalls 6733 last week I thought I would try Burda 9516 and see if it was closer to the perfect jumpsuit pattern. I used the ties from McCalls and changed the elastic a little. The pattern asks you to sew casings and thread elastic through. I decided to shirr the elastic instead. Five rows at the top and three around the waist. You can't tell in the photo, but I wound the elastic a little too tight around the bobbin, next time I will remember to do it a little looser. The bottom of the jumpsuit is a great fit, but I think the top needs to be a little bit wider and then I think we might have the perfect summer jumpsuit.

I'm sure I only just bought this a few months ago, but I just went to look this pattern up on the Simplicity site and it appears to be out of print. I haven't checked ebay, but if you are after a good summer pattern I'd go and hunt for this one.

Fun with Fabric

I have been a fan of Jane Foster's blog and work for a while. I have made a few of the Clothkit dresses with her work on over the years. So I was pretty excited to see this book she wrote and ordered it as soon as it came out.

 

It is full of colour and great retro fabrics she finds and uses. There are also sections on screen printing and digitally printing fabrics. I love this patchwork of screen printed panels.

I have been meaning to try stamp carving all year and when I saw this digitally printed fabric I thought it might be a good base for a stamp.

I made a simple flower and then a tulip top and a stem and leaves like on the cover of the book.

I still need to get some paint or ink for fabric so to test them out I made some cards.

 My girls loved all the shapes and colours in this book and marked many pages of things they thought we should try. I just wish I could find great retro fabrics in my local op shops.