Jelly rolls are great

I love Moda. Precuts make everything really quick to make. I used the jelly roll to make a book pillow from a Sew Liberated pattern and made a matching quilt from a jelly roll and a charm pack.

The quilt is made of 4 jelly strips, then 2 rows of 8 charm squares, then 4 jelly roll strips, the upight panel is 6 half strips, then 3 rows of 4 charm squares and then another 6 half strips.Then sew both panels together. it is very simple and very quick to make, you even use the jelly roll as binding strips, no cutting. I used fleece as the backing fabric as i hand quilted it (cant get the hang of machine quilting) it hides lots of mistakes as you cannot see the stitching because of the pile. Yah.

is it christmas?

a trip to the garden centre yesterday for some bulbs (yes i am running a bit late) left me wondering if i had been sleeping a lot longer and missed a few months. All that was missing was Santa Claus. The place was so over decorated with lights, decorations, gifts, the lot, that my children just stood there looking confused. They knew Halloween hadn't been, or that my son Ben didn't yet have his birthday (November) so what was going on? i think September is a bit early.

I have already been making gifts,this takes time, but i do not need to be thinking about Christmas dinner.

I recently bought this great book,(http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fa-Felt-Handmade-Holiday-Decorations/dp/1600596150) see pic, with lots of great felt projects to make for your tree. I love making things that can be done by hand in front of the TV, and this is ideal. My only complaint is that the patterns aren't full size and it has taken ages to photocopy them then cut out sections and then recopy them to size. i had paper everywhere, i can never get the hang of where to place the image to be copied so i can enlarge it without missing anything out. It is very time consuming, full size patterns would have been so much better. The projects are really nice though and i cant wait to get started, some patterns are a bit fiddly looking and i will have to draw these myself as they are far too small to transfer to felt but in all a book i highly recommend.

cushions or footstools?

These are great cushions for children to sit on, i have been making them for everyone and all from just 1 metre of fabric. This allows you to buy something really nice that you may not be sure of what to use it for. I also find they make nice footstools although my daughter is forever telling me to get off hers. I am going to make one that is a little bit taller just for my feet.

so head on over to http://3punkmom.blogspot.com/2010/05/tutorial-land-of-nod-inspired-floor.html

for instructions on how to make it. piping also makes things look more professional.