comfortstitching

pre-cuts preview!!

I don't know why it has taken me this long to post pictures of the pre-cuts I received a couple of weeks ago (actually my sister visiting and me and the girls being ill probably had a lot to do with it).  I thought you might like to take a look at what to expect in terms of jelly rolls, charm packs and layer cakes......

For me the pre-cuts are a big part of the excitement of designing for Moda.  For starters they just look so enticing don't they?  I could easily buy these just to decorate the house, not to mention drool over whilst thinking of alllllll the possibilities.  Then there is the ease of them, for who wants to spend hours in the company of their rotary cutter chopping up perfectly sized squares and strips?  I am definitely in the category of quilters who would prefer not to spend too much time slicing and dicing (partly because I am not in the habit of being great at it - how about you?).

Of course we don't just want to look at these all wrapped up.  Sometimes they need to be opened too!

Some of the 42 squares from an opened charm pack.

Some of the 42 strips from an opened up roll of jelliness. 

FQ stack!!!!  = options, promises, opportunities.......decisions!!!

Some of the fabrics are actually being sewn with and not just stared at ;)

One of the fabrics I am most happy with in this group is the square dot.  I've discovered it works brilliantly as a solid with a difference and makes everything look so playful.  I also love how it looks like snow!!!! on the blue background - square snow but still snow!!!

Halloween this weekend!!!!  Trick or treat???  Definitely all treats around here!!!

Quilt market starts tomorrow too!!  Sadly I won't be there but I am feeling very nervous with trepidation and will be keeping my little fingers very well crossed indeed that my pips do themselves proud!!

tiny scrappy

Still feeling horribly under par but hugely inspired by the amazing parcel I received yesterday I have been putting my all into making something for my partner in the scrappy hoops swap on flickr.  As the scale of the finished item is going to be on the small side ( I think I will go for something that fits into a 7 or 10"ish wide embroidery hoop) I have kept the piecing deliciously small in scale and been playing around with the little details in the prints (sherbet pips of course!).

This is just the start but If you are my partner I hope you are enjoying the way things are looking.......

a monday so yummy I could eat it

I have had a huge bout of tiredness kicking me down over the last few days, not helped in the slightest by the persistence of a particularly stinky cold bug.  So the arrival of the above parcel could not have been more perfectly timed to put a bit of life back into me.

This bundle of loveliness was made and sent to me by the amazing Isabel from Rosaechocolat - my partner in the savvy seasons swap on flickr and I could not be more thrilled with the beautiful pieces she made - a table runner, mug rug, coasters, fabric, chocolate, candles and soap!!!!!

Thank you so much Isabel!!! for the amount of work you put into all of these beauties, I can only imagine how much time it all took.

Does feel like Christmas has arrived early around here.

Just realised I left the cute little house ornament out of the above pics as my daughter was happily admiring it!!  Which also gives me a chance to show the crocheted reverse of the coasters - I am in awe.

Don't know what I have done to deserve all this, what a great way to start off the week!

when your daughter is better at stitching than you are

A while ago I decided to draught up a pattern to offer to all for free, from this blog from me to you, in a happy Halloween kind of a way.  My eldest daughter decided she would also like to stitch up her own version from the pattern in the hope that it would be good enough for me to show on the blog alongside mine.  You can see the embroidery she did above and I think it outshines mine in every way.  She completed her spider all on her own, the choice of stitches is all her own and I have to say I felt a huge wave of pride when she showed me her finished little character because it has so much character.  Not bad for a ten year old.

Just in case you might be at all interested, here is my version,

up close and not at all scary.

Far away and not at all scary.

There is something about mine which is far too neat and calculated and so I may just have to draw the patterns up in future and have miss a stitch them up (which she is already trying to persuade me to do).

As a little side note, little miss c (age 7) 's class did a bit of practise stitching in class yesterday in preparation for making puppets this week.  Despite being the last in class to get her fabric and thread, she was the first to finish her stitching and her teacher was so impressed she got her to pick something from the 'special tray'.  (I can't find the little scrap right now but I'll try and add a pic for you later).

Sorry about the slight mumm-sy kind of smug tone of today's post but these things just do put a huge smile on my face.

If you are interested in stitching up the pattern yourself, you can get the pattern here,

(edited to add : I've changed the links from yesterday's post as some had trouble accessing them.  If you have any trouble getting these links to work, please leave me a comment below with your email address and I will send it to you).

Download Spooky spiders - if you are tracing the pattern onto your fabric.

Download Spooky spiders reversed - if you are using a heat transfer pencil (there are directions here).

We stitched our versions in backstitch and filled our spidey bodies in satin stitch.

Have fun and don't forget to show me!!!

The story of 'Scoot' - part one

This is a story in many parts that could in time become a mini series.  You may be surprised to know that the seed of the idea that became 'Scoot' began in the knitting of this scarf about this time last year.  I am not a big knitter and this was the first 'big' thing I ever knitted (I know it's not big in knitting terms but it was a biggie for moi).  I didn't follow a pattern but knew I wanted a stripy scarf.  I purposely chose to do stripes of random widths so that they are very roughly by eye, similar but not pedantically even.  I like how it turned out, as far as I'm concerned ALL scarves should be stripy.

(The pink and white are Rowan DK wools, the gold (yes gold) is a Rowan silk yarn and the apricot is a random one I bought on a whim from Loop.  The mittens were knitted from a pattern in this book).

So this scarf was knitted for little miss c, which means this year,

I've had to start on another scarf, for lady miss a, this time inspired (I love it when things go full circle) by the scarf and colours from 'Scoot'.

Don't know if I will go with the tassels too yet?  Are they difficult to do???

I think after this one, I will definitely be knitting a replica of one of the scarves from the 'Scarf stripe' print all for me!!!!

Part 2 of the Scoot story will be be brought to you stitch by stitch, very very soon.

pickledish quilt a long part four - making the blocks

Hello again!

I hope you are enjoying this little quilt a long of mine!!

I last left you piecing up your ovals and I hope your are getting into a good rhythm with the curved piecing.

Today we are going to continue to finish up a quilt block.  Wahoooo.

You will need :-

4 pieced ovals - as above

4 corner triangles - as above

and 1 curved edge centre piece 

 

Let's begin -

Start by taking one of your pieced ovals and one corner triangle.  As before, fold each piece in half width ways and make a central crease by finger pressing the middle.  Position your two pieces as in the photograph above.

Now flip the corner triangle piece onto the oval, lining up those centre creases (you know the drill by now).  Pin in the centre.

This time the left and right hand edges of the triangle are not going to be lined up with the left and right hand corners of the pieced oval.  They only need to go just past the last pieced wedges of the original arch and overlap onto the corner squares by roughly a quarter of an inch (see pic above).  After pinning the right and left hand edges of the white triangle, pin in between these pins as we have done for all the curved seams.  Stitch the seam as we have done previously.

This time, press the seam at the back towards the white triangle.  Flip over and press on the right side.

One cornered oval made.  Repeat these steps to make all four cornered ovals.

Now all that remains to be done is to stitch the four cornered ovals to the centre piece and you're done!

Start by creasing the centre piece in half widthways and lengthways.  Crease corner piece in half widthways.

Notice in the photo above, how, exactly as when we pieced the corner piece to the oval, we only need to attach the curved edge of the centre piece to the end of the wedge pieces of the original arch and not right to the ends of the square points.

I hope I haven't lost you with this point.

Flip the oval onto the centre piece, line up those centre creases and pin.  Take the left hand edge of the centre piece and meet it up with the left hand edge of the original arch (see pic above).  Pin in place and repeat with right hand edge.

When done, this is how your piece will look from the back.  Notice how the left and right hand edges of the centre piece just overlap onto the corner oval squares by about a quarter of an inch.

This is how the piece looks from the front.  It is starting to take on a pretty weird old shape at this stage so don't be scared.  Stitch the seam as we have pieced all our curved seams.

Press seam outward towards the centre piece.

Flip over and press over the seam you just joined.

Take your second cornered oval, crease in half widthways and pin the centres together.  This time the left hand edge WILL meet the left hand corner edge of the fabric below (the corner square of oval one will be directly under the corner square of oval two).  On the right hand side however, as before the right hand edge of the wedge part of the oval will meet the right hand edge of the centre piece below.

View from the back.

Stitch in place and press as before.  Your block will now be looking like this.

Attach the third corned oval in the same way as you attached the second oval.

For the last oval, the left and right hand edges of both fabric layers will meet, so pin, stitch and press as before.

And finalllllllly........................

You should now have in your hands your very first pickledish quilt block!!!!!!

Take a moment to drink in the glory and just stare at it - YOU made that!!

playing with the pips

I have had a little time to spare in the past couple of weeks, so of course I had to spend it hanging out with my new babies 'The pips'.  

When I designed this collection, I had to imagine the way it would all work, co-ordinate or gel (for want of better vocabulary), in my head.  But in truth, I didn't really know how it would all look once cut up and sewn.  I was really just crossing my fingers and hoping that they would all be friends, balance out each others weaknesses (the way good friends do) and we could all live happily ever after in my little patchwork heaven.

So finally, the moment of truth has arrived....................

What do you think?????

spooky in squares

Every year I promise myself that I will get organised and stitch up plenty of halloween decor to dot about the house in October and every year I fail miserably.

But finally I have managed to stitch up .........................one pillow.  

It's a start....

Part of the problem has to be that I don't particularly go for purple and orange fabrics and my inner personal colour stylist screams 'NO' when I even attempt to put them together, that must be the only reason for failing miserably year on year.

But finally I have come to realize I can jump past this issue and look for a mix of spooky-esque fabrics instead of actual spooky ones.  Hence the curious mix of anything slightly reminiscent of frog spawn, scary (ish) aliens and octopi and ....erm.................racoons...

All set together patchwork style (inspired by this quilt) to frame a not very frightening looking witch.

Scared yet?????????  

Other than that, all I managed to do last week was swoon at my little selection of Moda Bella solids...................................the perfect shades to match my Sherbet pips prints.  

Now if only I had a little time to actually sew...............................(know the feeling????????) 

 

pickledish quilt a long part three - piecing the ovals

 A (((((((((((HUGE))))))))))) thank you to each and every one of you who stopped by my blog and flickr last week with your thoughts on my new fabric line.  You all put the biggest smile on my face and I don't think I will stop beaming for a very long time...............

I thought today might be a good time for another quilt a long instalment, some of you seem to be getting way ahead of me with those arches!!

For today's quilt a long post - we are going to begin to piece up the blocks.  If you need to recap on previous posts, you can access them quickly with the links here.

I am only adding this post at this stage really for the benefit of those making a mini quilt or trial version of the quilt.  Some of you may also want to piece up blocks as you go.  In addition, I think it would be handy to have a bit of an overview of how this quilt will be put together.  However, please pace yourself and do not attempt to rush this quilt, take the time to enjoy all of the stages of the process.  As for myself, I am intending to piece all my arches at leisure.  When all my arches are done, I will begin to piece the blocks and slowly make my way towards finishing my quilt.

Making the pieced ovals

To make all the solid fabric shapes below for one block, you will need approximately a 12 x 44" piece of fabric. 

To make each quilt block, you will need :-

4 ovals cut from solid fabric using template C*

4 corner triangles cut from solid fabric using pattern part D 

1 centre curved edged square cut from solid fabric using pattern part E 

8 squares cut from patterned fabric yardage or scraps using template B (or use a ruler and rotary cutter to cut pieces 3 1/8" square in size)*

8 paper pieced arches, as made here*

*Note - these are the only pieces you will need to make the pieced ovals, which is all I am covering in this post.  The other solid pieces will be used when we finish up the block in the next instalment.

You will also need quite a few pins!

Begin by carefully tearing the paper from the back of the pieced arches.  As we reduced the stitch length when sewing the first seam through fabrics and paper it should tear away pretty easily.

Take one of your arches and stitch one of the square pieces to each end.  Press.

Now, select another arch and one solid oval, so you have three pieces in total.  Take each piece in turn, fold in half width ways and finger press to make a central vertical crease.  (can you see how each of the three pieces above is creased?).

This is where all the curved piecing fun begins!

Like I said before, do not fear this stage!  Once you learn how, you will love curved piecing as it makes you feel so clever and those pieced ovals are so dainty and fine looking you could stare at them all day!

Begin by flipping your oval onto the short arch, so right sides are facing and both creases are lined up on top of each other.  Make sure the very top of the curve of the oval and the very bottom of the curve of the arch are exactly level with one another.  Pin in place.

Take the left hand point of the oval and line it up with the top left hand corner of the arch.  Pin in place.

Take the right hand point of the oval and line it up with the top right hand corner of the arch.  Pin in place.

This bit is going to sound tricksy when you put it in words but in practise it will make much more sense.  You need to add at least one pin between each of the three you have already.  Keep the curved edges flush with each other.  You will find that the slight bias in the weave of the fabric will allow you to ease the fabrics into position.

If you are having trouble with lining up the two edges, make sure you are pinning the oval to the small inside curve of the arch and not the longer outside arch.

This is what your pinned fabrics should look like from the back.  

And this is how they will appear from the top.

Remove the first pin on the left hand edge with one hand whilst keeping the left hand corners of the two fabrics in place with your other hand and carefully position the fabrics in place under your presser foot.  Using a quarter inch seam allowance, stitch the fabrics together.  Keep moving the fabrics so that the seam allowance is kept constant at a quarter inch.  Make sure your bottom fabric doesn't slip to give a seam allowance less than this.  Go slowly and calmly.  I find I keep pressing the edges of the fabrics that are just in front of the presser foot down with my finger tips to make sure they are lying nice and flat without any creases as they go under the presser foot.

Please be careful - You do not want to sew your fingers, so keep slow and steady.

As you approach the next pin along, stop stitching, remove the pin, make sure the edges of the fabric just in front of the presser foot are flush and as flat as possible and then begin stitching again.

Your first few attempts at curved piecing may be slow going but you will soon get into a rhythm with it, so take your time and enjoy it.

Once the two pieces are stitched together, press the seam outwards towards the pieced arch.

Flip the arch over and press along the seam join you just stitched.  It should be lying reasonably flat.

Make sure the central creases are still visible on both the oval and the top (longer) arch.

Flip the top arch onto the opposite end of the oval to which you just sewed.  Line up those central crease marks and make sure both the arch and the oval are level at the centre point (just above the crease).  Pin in place at the centre.

You now need to pin the top arch to the pieced arch and bottom oval in exactly the same way we pinned above.  Line up the left hand corner of the top arch (the stripy fabric, above) with the left hand corner of the bottom arch, pin.  Align the right hand corners and pin again.  Add more pins to make sure the edges of the two curves are brought level to each other.

You will notice that you will have just the right amount of flexibility in your fabrics to line up those edges.  I always think that it's never going to line up but it always does!!!

Just as you did with the first seam, remove the first pin and making sure the left hand corners are kept together, start stitching as you did before.

Remember to keep the edges flush and as flat as possible just before they under the presser foot.

Keep removing those pins as you go.

Press the seam you just sewed outwards to the pieced arch again.

Flip over and press the join of the fabrics you just stitched together.

Congrats!!!!  You have just stitched together your first oval!

You will find as you continue with your ovals you will speed up and gain more confidence, so do not worry about how long the first oval takes you to stitch.

You will need to piece together four ovals as above to make each quilt block.  I will go through the stages of finishing the block in the next quilt a long post as I think this much tuition is enough for today.

I hope you are enjoying yourselves!!  and finding that my words and pictures are making some kind of sense....................please say they are...

Remember to keep adding those progress shots to my flickr group :)

sherbet pips!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here it is!!!

A little preview of what you can expect from my new line for Moda - 'Sherbet Pips'

You will notice a few familiar faces and something you've never seen from me before - co-ordinates!!  Let's take a look.....

So there we have it.  A bit of a peek and then some.  

All in all, there are nearly 30 prints in this collection.  As my girl on a tree swing and scoot prints were so popular earlier this year, I decided that they had to be the starting point for these fabrics.  However I wanted them to be completely new versions of the designs, so, I spent a week learning how to use adobe illustrator with the aid of a few online video's.  At the end of that week I got the go ahead from Moda to design the group and basically I designed them whilst putting what I'd learned the week before into practise.  Frustrating as it was to get to grips with illustrator, I completely enjoyed the whole design part, I used a lot less of the black outline than I did in the earlier versions and added a boy into the scoot print too.  As the lead prints are so playful in nature, I wanted to continue this theme into the co-ordinates.  So I made square dots instead of the usual round ones, I made them skip and jump around instead of being ordered and all lined up neatly.  I also wanted to do a stripe with a twist and came up with the idea of using the stripy scarf from scoot arranged in stripes across the fabric, I LOVE the way that turned out!  

Moda have done the best job of turning my designs into yummy fabric, every little detail has been done to perfection, the colours are spot on.  I really cannot thank them enough for sharing my vision and completely getting what I was after.

The collection will be premiering at Quilt Market in Houston at the end of the month.  Fabric will be shipping to stores in April next year (bit of a wait, I know). 

In the meantime, I would love to know what you think?  Is it what you expected?  Do you think you will be able to create a little space in your stash for some?  What can you see yourself making with them?????