Happy Halloween

A bit late but i have had trouble accessing my account for the last few weeks. Everything seems to be working now so hopefully i will be back on track. Maybe for next year?

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.

i am back

oh its been a while but now that summer is nearly over and the kids are back at school i hope to get more time for blogging and crafting. my aim will be to post an item at least once a week (i think i have said this before) but i do hope to keep to this promise, its also good for myself to keep a record of what i do or i just forget. Thank you to pamela kirk of kirkskorner, http://kirkskornerathome.blogspot.com for being my one and only follower and showing me that i am not just talking to myself. Also for her baby bib pattern, its just what i was looking for as a baby gift, i couldnt find a pattern i liked but i really like the long flap on this one, i plan to make it tomorrow so i will post some pictures in the next few days.
over the last few months i have been on a sewing frenzy making a baby quilt, a quilt for my sisters christmas which i will have to take pictures of as i made it from a jelly roll and a charm pack and i cant believe how quick it was to put together, i also discovered that if you use fleece fabric as your backing fabric it hides a lot of mistakes. i even impressed myself to how proffessional this one looked. i also made a quilt from heather bailey fabric from a pattern in sew hip magazine, it is very bright, and i also made slippers but they turned out to be too small for my big feet. oh well just something else i can give as a gift. my husband says i would have been cheaper buying a pair of slippers but wheres the fun in that! i also dont even like slippers i am always in my bare feet, even outside, it was a cute pattern though. i have also been making reading pillows from a sew liberated pattern, again i love the pattern but i am not sure if people will use it, they are getting them as christmas presents anyway, maybe even everyone i know as i just love this pattern. i have also made a few hopscotch mats and i have also been making the kids floor cushion from living with punks blog http://3punkmom.blogspot.com , they look really good made up although it took me ages trying to find a circle large enough. well thats enough for now, will be back soon with some pictures and hopefully some crafts to do.

English paper piecing

English paper piecing, how addictive.

I have been cutting and sewing hexagons non stop, it is so easy and so pretty, i have been using up all my scraps to make them in different sizes. I had so many i thought i better do something with them so i made these place mats with some large ones and coasters with some really quite tiny ones. The place mats are 15inches by 10 inches as i used a moda layer cake square and half a square sewn together. At least with precuts you know it is going to be pretty straight. The coasters are 5inch square, a layer cake square cut into 4, how handy instant coasters, well nearly.

i have also been making the patchwork pieced hexagon bag from cath kidston's sew book, the hexagons where larger and i needed 60 of them, this was a bit less enjoyable trying to sew them all together but its done, yeah. I don't think i will be making a full quilt but i will happily be decorating everything with the funny pieced flower.

Happy Easter?

Its the beginning of the Easter holidays but what is this to wake up to. A few days after British summer time began we have SNOW. no rolling eggs this year, no daffodils in bloom, no lambs, no bunnies, and definitely no sunshine. A cold Easter is not what i wanted, the garden is in desperate need of some TLC , the grass really needs cut and i am way behind in sowing seeds.

It is just too cold but the plus point is all the extra time indoors to craft.