comfortstitching

oh goody! a giveaway!!!

So here it is at last, as promised, my scrap fabric giveaway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These pictures show the actual scraps I am sending out.

There is a mixture of prints including some from - Lightening bugs, Mendocino, Flea market fancy, munki munki, hope valley, punctuation, katie jump rope, some cute japanese prints, dream on.........................and more!

 

To enter,

1)  Leave me a comment letting me know what you would like to see if your favourite fabric designer came out with a new range of prints???!

Some idea's to get you thinking - red riding hood, dots, goldilocks, boats, Halloween, stripes, apples, pears, oranges, better brown prints!  more aqua prints?  goldfish prints? elephants??!!!  Ice skating santa's?  tight rope walking monkey's???!!!  Crocodiles eating a selection of sandwiches?

Use your imagination and let me know what your dream new fabric would be????????

2)  If your profile appears in my google friend gadget to the right in my side bar, you can leave a second comment for another chance to win.

3)  Blog about this giveaway.  Then come back and leave a third comment including a link to your giveaway post for a third chance to win.

4)  If you have let me know about your new dream fabric AND have your profile in my google gadget AND have blogged about this giveaway AND also happen to be a member of my Flickr group (or join today!!)  You are welcome to leave a 4th comment.

So that's upto FOUR chances to win!!!!!!!!!

This giveaway will stay open until 2pm GMT on Monday 6th of September.

If no e-mail is provided when commenting, I will give the winner until 12pm GMT on Wednesday the 8th of September to get in touch or the winner will be re-drawn.

Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comments now closed

a favourite mistake

As promised last week, my biggest ever sewing mistake.

It may surprise some of you that the quilt involved was my 'Spiderweb in watercolour' but can you spot the mistake?

Picture the scene.

I have spent many weeks carefully assembling 64 spiderweb blocks (256 triangles), stitched them all together to make the quilt top, pieced the backing, laid it all out on the floor and basted the whole gigantic thing.

NOw, let me show you the damage,

 See it there?  A little closer maybe?

OUCH!

and more ouch.....  

Something you may not know - I baste all my quilts on my carpeted living room floor.  This is completely not ideal but I have no other options due to lack of un-carpeted floor space.

 Sometimes when I pin the layers of my quilt, the pin also goes through some of the carpet too.  When I  lift my basted quilt up of the floor, I have always found it ok to give these parts of my quilt a gentle tug and the pin will loosen itself from the carpet with no undue harm.

BUT that didn't happen in this case.

THIS time - The two pins that were also pinned slightly through the carpet each ripped a small tear in my just basted quilt.............................

Cue an eyes welling up with tears/where's the bin moment.

I don't know how I even managed to stay calm or keep it together but for some reason I came up with the idea of using the darning stitch on my machine to perform a little emergency surgery and though it is nowhere near neat - I don't think the darning stitch is made to stitch up rips in quilts - after a lot of use and going through the machine a few times too, it all still looks really rosy with no signs of further damage.

The busy-ness of all those pieced fabrics and the stipple quilting make it extremely difficult to find these two damaged bits anyhow - I had to search the quilt for near on 10 minutes to find them both.

So any other almost horror stories with happy quilty endings out there???  

I enjoyed reading the comments from those of you who already posted those woes last week !!!!!!!!!!!( I will definitely re-read those comments when I have another act of misfortune in the future:)).

Lastly - Haven't you all done well!!!!!! this is hopefully the last post before you all get what you want and I host a giveaway (as long as those comments remind me how much you want it, remember the not less than 45 comments rule).

(A gentle reminder - anyone whose profile appears in the google friend gadget on the right will have a chance to leave a second entry - just a little hint!)

Be-witched winners!

The winners of my 'Be-witched' embroidery pattern prize are

Number 37 - Des !!!!!!!!

and 

Number 4 - Colette !!!!!!!

Congrats to you both!!  I will be sending you a pdf wrapped email shortly.

Thank you to everyone for playing along (and giving me lots of spooky halloween idea's too).

a little heads up........

Fancy winning yourself an accuquilt go cutter????  Then head to Heather's blog and fill your giveaway boots!!

Be-witched!!! (plus a mini giveaway)

 
On Friday, I got an uncontrollable urge to stitch up a cute little witch on a broomstick....

I don't know why this happens but from time to time, an image will appear in my head and continually whisper ".....stitch me.....".  Eventually the whispering increases to a shout and I give in.

I get out my sketch book (this is actually the lined paper book you see in the bottom right hand corner) and sketch, draw and doodle a few practise imagess.  

Then I go for it on a nice clean sheet of A4 paper and draw the whispering/shouting picture I see in my brain and finally the whispering/shouty stuff stops, phew!

Then comes the nice, calm exciting bit where I transfer the image to fabric, hoop up and pretend to be an edwardian lady, gently stitching my way serenely through the day (except edwardian ladies most likely didn't stitch girly whispering/shouting/ girly witches.......or did they?)

A few details.

I couldn't bear to give my little witch a green face or a wart or a cackle, instead she sleeps on her broom with hair gently flying in the breeze...

With dangly legs....

and a cute little mouse for company.  I thought I would ring the changes instead of the more usual kitty as that is what imagination is for! 

The pattern is now available in my shop...............but

Now the fun bit!!!!!!

Would you like to stitch up your very own sleepy cute witch and her mouse flying off on her broom????

For free???

To thank you all for managing to keep those comments nice and high for the hopefully happening scrap giveaway next week (as long as this weeks comments stay over the magic 45 number).  I am going to be giving away TWO copies of the 'Be-witched' PDF embroidery pattern!!!!!

To enter - 

Leave a comment below, letting me know your favourite halloween ritual (mine is making Slime soup for my kids to eat (it's actually pea soup with 'hidden mozzarella' but don't tell them that!!)).

For a second comment, add yourself to my 'follow' feature which should be pretty much to the right of this post in my side bar (adding yourself to this should allow you to follow this blog in your google reader/dashboard) if it doesn't you can click the +google button to do this instead. 

For a third comment, add me to the blog roll in your blog's side bar.

EASY.  For an extra heaped spoonful of fun the very first person who enters this giveaway will automatically win a copy of the pattern!!  (IMPORTANT - Please note, when you post a comment, even though yours will display straight away on your computer.  Other people's comments won't display for about 5-10 minutes, so if you think you are the first commenter please check back to be sure).  This will be an additional prize to the two up for grabs.

Lasly - I would just like to remind you that this pattern will be sent by PDF to your e-mail address.  Please make sure you enter your e-mail address when commenting or include it in your comment).

Giveaway ends 4pm(GMT) on Wednesday 25th of August.  Winners will be announced shortly afterwards.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED

a quick post.......

To let you know.....

 

.that Megan from Lucy and Norman is having a fabric giveaway over on her blog to celebrate her one year blogaversary.  

What are you waiting for, go join in the fun?!! 

dream on pillows................to..dream on!

Last post I talked about how I felt about my bow tie quilt top.  As requested by a number of you, here is the comparison with the cushions.  Do you see what I mean about how the colours are even prettier sitting right next to each other?

I just love looking at these prints all together, just sherber-ty enough without being too sugary.

Even though I am growing to liking the bow tie more and more, I decided it was too similar to the urban day dreams quilt I made.  Instead of making it into a quilt, I stitched it up into a duvet cover (for now at least, I can always change that mind of mine later).

And this is how it all looks on my bed.

I love the way the bed looks all dressed up in this fabric line!!  The urban day dreams quilt lies along the bottom of the bed, within easy reach.............. for those nights are getting colder!

Now, you would think from the above picture that everything looks pretty much perfect and that I must be having very sweet dreams on these super sweet fabrics????

Wrong!!!!!  the last few nights, I have had the worst few nights of sleep for a long time.  We are talking pretty much insomnia here.  Despite being called dream on, it seems these fabrics are not very good for dreaming on!!!!!!  Hopefully they will prove me wrong soon.

Now onto the bit about the maybe giveaway.  It seems you all really do love your scraps, which is good as from the requests I think I have what you are looking for (the pic above shows a little selection of what we are talking about here).  So as with the previous post, I need you to keep those comments up and over 45 for all posts up to the end of next week so that this giveaway can commence.  Don't be afraid to keep those requests (be a specific as you like) coming in.  All the details are at the bottom of the previous post - here.

Next week, just for fun, I'm going to be revealing my biggest ever quiling faux pas (so far anyway!)  I have shown you the quilt involved a couple of times but not it's guilty secret!!!!!!  In light of this forthcoming post, I would LOVE to know your biggest stitchy mistakes???!!  Come on!!!! I can't be the only one?????  Let me know and make my day ladies  ;)

dream on bow tie quilt and thinking about a giveaway!

 
As requested, my new dream on quilt top!

Inspired by these quilt blocks.

tutorial here. 

A bit of honesty.  I think it's pretty hard to go wrong with these fabrics, they are like infectious confectionery  for the fabric lover!  BUT wrong is how I feel I did go because I feel like I have ended up with a quilt top very similar in feel to my urban day dreams one.  I think this is a great quilt pattern to go for with fabrics in stronger colours which need all that white to lighten the feel but these fabrics actually look better without.  I know this now because I've started to make some cushion covers with the scraps and am quite honestly weeping with the missed opportunity :(  Because they look just stunning :(((((((

The bit that really causes the sting is that this top took two TWO layer cakes!!!!!!  For a 80" square top!! (Even though it did yield enough scraps for the pillows but still TWO!!).

Now before this post turns into an episode of moaning stitching let me move on.

In the comments of the previous post, quite a few of you asked about where I was getting my Bliss yardage from.  This is a pretty tricky sticky kind of a question for me but I didn't feel I wanted to ignore it all together.  The answer is that I have come by the yardage as part of an ongoing project which I am not allowed to reveal to you yet!!!!!

Please believe me - IT is very very v----ery exciting.  Pee your pants kind of exciting.

But I am not allowed to talk about it yet, believe me I have to put on a specially made zipper mouth every time I write a blog post in case I spill those exciting beans :X

All I can say is watch THIS space.  Soon, very soon!!

Lastly to make up for that untellable answer.  Some news of a maybe giveaway.  I haven't had one for a while and was having a little think about what I could give.  I seem to be pretty overflowing with scraps these days and many of them are pretty tasty.  So I was thinking about maybe a nice scrap giveaway full of lots of the lovelies you really would want (heather ross, denyse schmidt, htf, oop) and none of all the yukky stuff.

What do you think.  Trouble is, I want to know HOW much you all want this giveaway to happen?????  So I am going to ask YOU, all of you to let me know!!!!  And that means I'm going to ask for you all collectively to make sure that there are no less than 45 comments under each post for the next two weeks!!!!!!  If that not very difficult task is achieved, I will get on and host the giveaway!

Think you can do that??? pull together and work as a team?  If you have honestly never commented before I am especially talking to you!!!!!   I think for a blog with 200+ followers that is not too difficult to achieve.  

You are welcome to suggest which fabrics you would love to see in this scrap prize.  If you end up being the winner, I will personally make sure that you get the fabrics you ask for if I have them!!!!!!!!!!! HOwsaboutthatttt!!!!  Say fairer than that?

What are you waiting for????  Get those lists drawn up and lemmmeknow!!!

Tutorial - Ironing board cover

 

This isn't the most exciting tutorial I've ever written but it's definitely a very useful one.  I don't know about you but ordinary everyday ironing is never of great attraction to me, ironing quilt tops and blocks on the other hand I am endlessly fascinated with.  So the trick with going about this makeover is to choose your fabric carefully almost as if you were picking it for a new summer dress or your latest quilt.  Once your board is fashionably clothed in something pretty, ironing will instantly become a far more exiting prospect and dare I say it, even something you might grow to look forward to!

On with the tute.

You will need :-

1 1/2 - 2 yards of some of your most favourite fabric - I am using a print from Bliss (again!)

Approximately 150" of double fold binding (you can use this tutorial)

Approximately 150" of string/twine (or elastic if you prefer)

Your old ironing board cover to use as a template or some sheets of newsprint.

Optional : A piece of batting the length of your ironing board

Remove your old ironing board cover and flatten it out to use as a stencil.  

If the cover is elasticated you can use either the foam pad that lies underneath it or the actual ironing board, flat side down to draw on some taped together newsprint.  Draw a second line all the way around 1 3/4" away from the first.  Cut out your newsprint stencil on the second line.

Lay your chosen fabric, wrong side up onto a flat surface.  Lay your stencil onto it and pin the edges of the stencil to your fabric all the way around, making sure you keep everything nice and flat as you do so.

Cut out your fabric along the edges of your stencil, see pic above.

Unpin the stencil from your fabric.

Take your binding and turn over one of the short edges by about a half an inch, press with an iron.

Beginning at the middle of the flat short edge of your cut out fabric, start pinning the double fold binding aligning the raw edges of both your fabric and the binding (ie. so folded long edge of binding is pointing downwards towards the centre of your fabric.

Pin all the way around.  When you reach the start point again, overlap the binding by about an inch and cut off the remaining binding.

Turn over the second short binding edge by about half an inch and pin in place so that the two short edges meet neatly as above.

Stitch binding to fabric all around the outside edge using a 1/4" seam allowance.

Turn fabric over so that the wrong side is facing upwards.  

With your sewing machine at the ready,take your string (or elastic) and begin laying it along the centre of your binding (leave an excess or tail of a few inches before you start, as above).

Turning down the folded edge of the binding to just cover the raw opposite edge of it, edge stitch the folded edge of the binding.  Keep tucking in the string /elastic within the binding "channel" you are making.  Continue all the way around.

Leaving a tail of around 2-3 inches, cut off the remaining string/elastic. 

Optional : To give your cover some additional padding, use either the foam pad that comes with the ironing board or a stencil made from laying the board flat side down on some taped together newsprint and drawing around it to make a stencil (if you made the stencil already for making the cover, cut along the inner or first line you drew ie. without the extra 1 3/4" all the way around).  Use this stencil to cut out a layer of padding from your batting.  Lay this padding onto your frame and cover with the foam padding that came with your ironing board (if the ironing board cover you are replacing came with the foam pad attached to it, you can cut two layers of padding from your batting instead).

If using string - Pull the two string ends to gather the cover's edges, lay onto your ironing board frame, over the foam/padding and pull until it fits nice and tight.  Tie string edges into a neat bow.

If using elastic - Pull elastic ends to gather the cover's edges, lay onto ironing board and pull until it fits nice and snug.  Carefully pin where the elastic needs to overlap in the middle of your binding "channel" and stitch this overlap in place securely.  Trim off any excess elastic and slip stitch the binding opening to close it.

 

Tutorial makes one pretty ironing cover that can be taken off and machine washed and dried easily.  Please add pics of your ironing board make overs to my flickr group, here.
 

Again if you would like to choose the content of the next post!  The choices are :-

• The new quilt top (made from dream on!)
• an update on whatever it is I am making with the little red appliqué
• a "surprise" post

Enter your thoughts below!!!

Little red appliqué sneaky peek!

As requested by my readers yesterday by an overall majority, I bring you......

...little red riding hood in a raw edge appliqué make over style! 

This little sweetie is being put together as the beginnings of a ???????????? for the Urban home goods swap on Flickr for my partner who goes by the name of ??????????? ( I can't tell you because it's a secret swap and there's every chance my partner might be one of you).

As usual my raw edge appliqué style is super messy and pretty calamitous but doing this kind of appliqué for me is akin to riding a rollercoaster with my sewing machine on my lap trying to keep my stitching neat all the while.  I can't say I enjoy it much when I'm doing it but I love the look of good raw edge applique done by other people so I will keep trying (and giving my efforts away - why am I always giving away all evidence of my raw edge efforts?) until I get to be that good.  It's a long road readers but it has to be travelled.

The starting point for this little miss was this little doodle in my not so tiny sketch book tentatively titled urban home goods swap lest I muddle it up with all my other swaps and doodles.  Obviously regular readers will remember a very similar little red I embroidered (and gave away!) here.

That little doodle become this slightly larger doodle and the slightly larger doodle became a series of templates (which I forgot to turn into mirror images hence the reason miss R is facing the opposite way in the final piece).

In case you are wondering, I completely chickened out and hand sewed the features on her face because I like to live dangerously just not THAT dangerously!

I hope you enjoyed my little tour through my creativity this afternoon/evening/morning!  There will be more!!

In the meantime, let me know, would you like,

• An ironing board makeover (includes tutorial!) or
• A new quilt top  

next????????

The choice is yours readers!  Do let me know!