29 Saturday Jan 2011
Posted in Quilts
I’m joining in the Cherry House Quilts Quilt Along starting in February. There are four colourways to choose from or you could make up your own. I’ve chosen the bright orange for my quilt. The schedule and shopping list are posted here at Cherry Hill Quilts. Mad About Patchwork has put together quilt kits for all four colourways. You can order them here. I’ll be joining some friends to make this a fun project. Watch for our progress.
27 Thursday Jan 2011
Posted in Sewing Projects, Yoga Mat Bag
Yoga mat bags are essential for carrying your yoga mat to class. Sling it over your shoulder and you’re ready to go. I just finished up a bag for my daughter. I chose the Nigella Bag from Amy Butler. It’s a free download from her site and you can find it here.
I used a piece of fabric from my stash so that kept the cost down nicely. The original bag is open at the top but my daughter wanted to have a drawstring close to keep the weather out so I modified the pattern slightly by adding a little extra fabric at the top. The sewing got a bit thick at times with the upholstery weight fabric, the heavy interfacing and all the folds in places like the bag handle but I went very slowly at times and managed to not break any needles!
Here’s my version:
For the drawstring I found some stretch cord at my local fabric store and the toggle was just $.40 at an outdoor outfitters store.
And an added bonus is the pockets that go all around the bottom half of the bag!
Namaste
19 Wednesday Jan 2011
Posted in Crayon Roll, Sewing Projects
I’ve been seeing a lot of these crayon rolls lately and just love them. I wish I’d thought of them when mine were small! I followed the wonderful tutorial by Cindy over at Skip to My Lou (her picture above). The tutorial is full of bright step-by-step pictures and clear instructions. I didn’t happen to have any ric-rac on hand but added an extra feature along the back. Here’s my first version:
These are a great gift for little ones and would also make a quick, easy and inexpensive loot bag for those birthday parties.
18 Tuesday Jan 2011
Posted in Pajama Pants, Sewing Projects
PJ’s are always fun to get. And these were well received.
I wanted to make some pj’s for my boys but I didn’t want to use one of those unisex patterns that fit both women and men. I chose this pattern because they looked the roomiest and most comfortable. Plus they have pockets and a drawstring!
Unfortunately there wasn’t enough fabric in the second piece of flannel to make up a full pair of pants so my other son just got a pair of sleeping shorts to start with. He wasn’t willing to model the shorts for you – probably just as well!
I enjoyed making them so much I decided to make up a pair for my daughter as well. The fabric is Periwinkle Paradise Garden from Amy Butler’s Love collection. She wasn’t too sure about the colour I chose but in the end she was thrilled.
Now all I need to do is make myself some!!
04 Tuesday Jan 2011
Posted in Sewing Projects, Tuffets
Life is starting to take some semblance of order now that kids have returned to school. I had been working on a number of projects over the holiday season in preparation for Christmas when my life came tumbling down less than a week before the big day. The light that Christmas brings was dimmed and so the projects were put on hold and thus there haven’t been any to show you for some time. I have slowly been putting the pieces back together and completing what I had begun.
The little gems I have to show you today are fun and fast to finish. I had hoped to complete several but I am happy with the three I have so far.
I had never heard of the term ‘tuffet’ before when referring to a pincushion. I discovered this pattern from Miss Rosie’s Quilt Co. They are a darling set of 6 different tuffets done in various patchwork blocks.
I chose a couple of different ones and the third was a creation of my own. They are a great way to use up small scraps of fabric. They measure about 4.5″x4.5″ and the 6 shown on the pattern picture were originally made from a charm pack of 40 different fabrics.
The first one I chose was the Courthouse Steps. I made this one from some bright and colourful fabrics. Although not perfect (and who needs perfection anyway!) I do love the result.
Just to show you a bit of the process I have included a few pictures for this first tuffet.
The next tuffet I made I added my own touch to. A bit of Christmas whimsy.
The tree and angel were cut from some of my Christmas fabric stash. I appliquéd it onto the base then beaded in some of the areas in the angel and some garland in the tree. I finished by quilting some little snowflakes on and around the tree.
The last tuffet I finished was taken from the original pattern again. This time I chose the Shoo-fly block. The back of this block was pieced with some co-ordinating fabric bits.
These were fun and easy and I can see a few more of these appearing on my sewing table soon.
Cotton and Linen 
