comfortstitching

This

This is what I've been keeping busy with so far this July.  These might look like eeny teeny hexagons, stitched together and then appliqued on to a coaster. But they have served as therapy and distraction for me. Because someone decided to hack into my computer and then went on a spending spree on me.  Dealing with the aftermath has been exhausting to say the least.  And when I have felt so drained I couldn't even talk another word, never have I been so glad to own a needle and thread and itty bitty pieces of fabric.

Let's hope the rest of the summer is far less exciting.

 

framing it

I've wanted to make one of these frame coin purses for a couple of years.  I looked online for a tutorial and thought it looked too tricky for me but I kept on seeing other people making them.  So I convinced myself it couldn't be that hard.

Armed with fabric and glue and a little time on my hands I set to work and made two complete duds before I finally got to anything that remotely looked right.  The hard part is that you have to draft your own pattern to fit the frame you have.  The above trapezoid shape is the pattern draft that finally worked for me to create my purse. 

I used my Meadow fabric in Foxglove for the outer and some Ditsy in Geranium for the lining 

I think I might need to make a few more now, I'm pretty sure they could become addictive :)

Patient

Today I'm trying something new - blogging from my iPad. So if this post comes out a little odd that is why.
For the last couple of days I've had a little company at home in the form of my youngest daughter. She fell while running in the playground and has a nasty looking scrape down her side. It's been all doctors appointments, bandages and medical creams around here.
In between all of that fun stuff, I've been sitting next to her on the sofa, slowly hand stitching away on this hexagon panel. It's been a nice diversion from the fast machine kind of stitching. I love the look of those wonky little hand stitches. If only I wasn't quite so slow, I might even think of doing it more often. We'll see if I speed up.

shells

Yesterday I got on with pin basting my Skip quilt.

I haven't free motion quilted a quilt for a long time now.  I keep meaning to try some different quilting designs and even bought Angela Walters'  Free Motion Quilting book last year to give me some idea's.  But every time I get to the quilting stage I chicken out of trying something new and go for easy styles that I go to time and time again.  And there's nothing wrong with that except I really really want to try branch out and get quilting more creatively. So that is how I came to quilting this one in Clamshells, using an idea from Angela's book.  

And despite feeling a little anxious I am really REALLY enjoying it.

I love how doodle-y they look, they fit perfectly with the playful nature of this quilt.  I am already three quarters done and can't wait to show you the finished quilt!

slicing

This is what I am up to today.  I've finally sliced up a little time out for myself and have been busy cutting and chopping up fabric.  Bliss.

I'm doing something I've been itching to get on with for a while.  Making a quilt (or two or three) using a mix of fabrics from all of my lines.

It's fun to see the fabrics all mingling and hanging out together, it will be interesting to see them in new combinations.

These two pictures are what I have been up to the last couple of days - making kitty blocks!  I thought up this idea a while back to make out of hello petal but since fabric is a long way off from arriving, I thought I'd make one up from my current fabrics for now.

I'm loving how the blocks are looking together, so much fun to make too!  More details coming soon.

trip is over

My scrappy trips around the world quilt is finally finished.  I am totally smitten with it, I loved making it and I'm going to love dragging it around with me from room to room like some kind of magical magnificent lucky charm because that is what it is - my technicolour dream quilt.

All those pretty little squares make my heart race and normally this kind of quilt would be too tedious for me to consider but the tutorial I used make it, made it fun to put together.  I highly recommend it.  

Finished stats: 72" x 72" (36 of the 12" square blocks)

Fabrics include lots of my Posy line for Moda as well as some Sew Stitchy and some Sherbet Pips.  Lots of Denyse Schmidt and a bit of Lizzy House as well as some Mono Pez by American Jane.  The deer print is an old line by Lecien.

Backing is Meadow in lilac from Posy, binding is Stripe in hollyhock from Posy.  I quilted it in a herringbone/chevron pattern.

One last thing - About quilt hanging for photography.  I always find the photography part quite challenging, the weather in the UK is tempremental to say the least.  I thought I might have found the ideal solution in this Deka hanging wire I bought from Ikea (see pics above).  It's not proving as robust as I thought, it really is made for hanging light curtains so the product itself is not to blame.  We tried a number of wall fixings including anchor screws and butterfly/toggle fixings (we have plasterboard walls).  And while it is still hanging in place, I don't think it will last which is a shame because it made photographing this quilt a breeze.  I'd love to know what hanging devices any of you who photograph large quilts use for indoor photography?  I'm thinking I may have to resort to an actual curtain pole, I'd love to know if any of you use one already? or if you have any thoughts on this?

step inside

As promised last week, I'm back to show you around a little of my new home.  Unsuprisingly it was my sewing room most of you wanted to start with so here we are.  As expected there is a ton of fabric.  In fact there is a whole wall of fabric ;) 

It's nice to finally be able to have it all out displayed on shelves instead of shovelled into many drawers.  The shelves are Billy Bookcases from Ikea and they are ideal for storage because only the middle shelf is permanantly fixed, the rest are easily adjusted, which is good if like me you are always chopping and changing your mind.  Annie at The Village Haberdashery very kindly saved up the bolts for me and it only took me about a week of ironing and pinning to get things done.

In complete contrast to the colour explosion belonging to the wall of fabric, the opposite side of the room is stark in it's whiteness.  I intended to add some colour in the form of accessories but I kind of enjoy the plainess over here.

(Cupboards and desk are Expedit, drawers are Alex, from Ikea)

Next to Alex is my sewing table (at least it will be soon, I haven't sewn a stitch in over two months).  The table is Liatorp (again from Ikea) and I have it at the full extended width.  I am revelling in it's hugeness, which will be a welcome relief after years of coffee table quilting.  The chair is Ingolf.

See what I mean about the whiteness (even matches my radiator).

Which takes us over to the big window (still no curtains after two months, although we have got around to ordering them at long last).

Over the other side of the big window, more shelves, more fabric and more colour.

And another little window.

And more fabric

And back to the wall of fabric.

And that's it.  Kind of turned out exactly as I'd planned in my head all those months ago.  I'm sure it's pretty much what you expected too?

Posy fabric

Stuck at home in the snow earlier this week I took the opportunity of taking some pictures of the Posy fabric I was cutting up for a new quilt project.  These designs are perfect if you are over the coldness of the weather right now and looking forward to spring arriving (it cannot get here fast enough in my eyes).  So if you fancy a fabric stroll through spring, this post is for you.

I'm so happy with the way this line turned out and I can't wait to see what you all do with it.  If you need some idea's, here are a few projects I've made with it -

Ice cream top

Hopscotch skirt

Book report dress

Playful quilt

Baby quilt

Sidekick tote

I also used a good amount of Posy mixed up with other fabrics from my stash for my Scrappy Trips quilt.

Yardage of Posy has just started arriving in stores.

This will be my last post for a while, things have been a little busy here behind the scenes lately - We are hoping to move house in just a few short weeks and so I'll be taking a little break from writing the blog until all that stressful stuff is done.  Until then, I hope you have a fun spring and I look forward to catching up with you very soon :)

book report dress

As my girls get older, I find that it is dresses that they are getting the fussiest about.  Lots of styles that work on younger girls don't seem to suit the tomboy tendencies of girls just a few years older.  Right now, I can forget about looking at all those pretty dress patterns with lots of gathers around the waist area and likewise for anything with frills or bows. Those are met with lots of eye rolling and even more heavy sighing in that silent 'you just understand me' tone.  In short anything too girly is a no go area.

Which is why I am glad for styles like this - The Book Report Dress.  A straight style with a couple of pleats here and there, cute button detail and hidden pockets.  It has just the right amount of pretty but it feels grown up and wearable.  My littlest (age 9) gave it an instant thumbs up.  She even helped me sew the pockets (she pressed the pedal whilst I moved the fabric).

This is the first time I purchased one of Liesl's PDF patterns rather than the paper version.  I think I am now converted.  Not only do you get your pattern instantly but you also have the advantage of reprinting the pattern as many times as you like which is an advantage if you want to make the dress for two different aged girls or want to re visit the pattern in a year or two when someone has grown out of their current size.

Something else I like about this style is it good for the changeable weather of spring or autumn.  It looks perfect with shoes and bare legs or with tights or leggings and boots or lace ups.

I made my dress in the 'Ditsy' print in Hollyhock from 'Posy'.  My daughter picked the fabric herself (because I wouldn't want to make a mistake in that department either).

stop start hexagons

This  is a little project that I have going on right now.  I started a few months ago and I only work on it in dribs and drabs, whenever I have a little time.  It's coming along nicely and now measures around 20" square.

I recently pulled out all the paper shapes in preparation for turning it into a cushion but now I am not so sure on that idea.  I kind of fancy doing a off-centred hexagon block in the middle of a quilt sashed in a pale coloured solid but I can't make my mind up if that is the best plan.  

We shall see...