Pushing through my colour boundaries....

 I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that I have my favourite colours that I'm always drawn to when I make, buy or choose something. For anyone who knows me it is fairly obvious that I like all things blue and green, actually I lean towards the blues more but green is often in there too. So when it comes to making things to sell in my Etsy shop I have to really push myself out of my blue and green comfort zone and remind myself that not everyone is a fan of all things blue and green. 

 So this past week I intentionally chose fabrics out of my colour safe zone to make up these nice, bright and happy writing folders/compendiums. Yes I know there is a green one in there :-) but not much blue at all.

 The green one is actually green and brown with a little splash of red and okay just a minor hint of pale blue.

 And here's the inside with lots of pockets for pads and sketch books and pens with not a hint of blue :-)

 Each one has a handmade button like this one on the yellow writing folder/compendium.

 Each compendium is made up of scraps of coordinating fabrics that I then embellish with a variety of machine embroidery stitches in a variegated colour thread.

 For me the fun part of making these compendiums is adding the little details like the different stitches, the pretty ribbon down the centre of the inside and the handmade buttons. All these things do take time but I think that is the beauty of buying handmade items on places like Etsy and Felt. Each item is made with love, care and attention for those all important details that make it unique.

Each of these compendiums can be found here for purchase on my Etsy shop. And if there is a colour I have not made I am happy to make a custom item just for you ;-)

Some pretty finishes......

 My eldest daughter has been in desperate need of a new pencil case for a while now so I whipped this one up for her on the last week of the holidays. She chose the fabrics, designer fabrics I might add :-) She definitely knows what she likes and doesn't like this girl  :-)

 I found the free pattern and tutorial over here at "A spoonful of sugar" I like the triangular shape because it's just a bit different to your everyday pencil case shape plus it sits nice and flat. The pattern is a little on the small side so I made it a couple of inches longer mainly to accommodate the larger zip that I had on hand.

 I also gave it more of a scrappy look and added some pretty machine embroidery stitches too.

 

And I finished covering this lampshade last week using up some of my scraps. It was a pretty quick and easy project plus I had fun putting all those gorgeous fabrics together :-)

I love how it turned out but I'm not quite sure where it's going to go yet. I think it would be perfect for a girls room so might have to look for a lamp-stand for it to go on.

And here's a sneak peak of a couple of cushion designs I'm working on this week. I spent yesterday morning brainstorming and sketching and now I have more ideas/designs than time which is a good thing really. 

Little piles of inspiration....

I have a wee project that I started last Friday afternoon which involves the above pile of bright and colourful scraps taken from my overflowing scrap basket. When I was searching through my scraps for the right mix of fabrics for this particular project I couldn't stop myself being inspired by the eclectic mix of fabrics I was sorting through so.......  

 .......here is another yummy and pretty pile of fabrics that I put together for a future project yet to be designed. Quite a few of these fabrics have been in my stash for a while so I think it's time they were brought out and made use of  :-)

This pile of green and pink fabrics have been gathered together, sitting on my sewing attic floor for a couple of months now whilst I finish other projects and decide what it is I'm going to turn them into. I'm thinking they would be perfect for a little girls quilt.....what do you think???

Buds of spring hope.....

I noticed this week that my garden is starting to show signs of spring. I picked this bunch of snowdrops, winter cheer and the first 2 daffodils to bloom to go on our dinning table yesterday. After noticing all the buds emerging here and there I had to take a few shots to share with you here.

 This has to be my favourite to emerge so far. I love the delicate pale pink of these petals. 

Can you see the bee hiding in one of these flowers?? I didn't notice it until I uploaded the photo on to my computer. I think the best thing about flowers at this time of the year is their beautiful fragrance.

We've just had two weeks of school holidays here and during the last week we did a girls road trip down to Wellington to catch up with friends that we hadn't seen for 3 years. Fortuitously for us they were house/dog sitting for family who just happened to have a lovely home in Paraparaumu right on the beach with the above view from the lounge of Kapiti island. 

I finished up these colourful zippered pouches before we went away. They were a custom order for a lady from church who wanted them for a stall to raise funds for Parkinsons disease. As you can see they are all made from scraps and embellished with a variety of machine embroidery stitches...so much fun to make and I love each one equally. 

 

I have some more sewing to show you and lots more planned in the coming months plus I'm looking forward to learning how to upholster furniture. I have plans to eventually do something like this, this and this!! 

Crackerbox quilt finish!

I have been trying to get this quilt finished for the last week but have been lacking in focus and motivation lately. Finally this morning I put in the last hand-stitches into the back of  the binding whilst enjoying a spot in  the morning sun. Then while the sun was still hanging around I took it out into our garden for a photo shoot before the rain in the surrounding hills arrived. 

 

The pattern is called 'Crackerbox' and is quite simple to piece together as it's just made up of 1/2 square triangles (large ones) and fabric strips. I picked out some pretty floral fabrics for the top that have been hiding in my fabric stash just a bit too long :-) It feels good to finally have them in a quilt top at last. 

 

 

Some of the prints were bought back for me from Portugal when me eldest daughter was just a baby and one is a vintage fabric passed onto me from my Aunty who was a pretty good seamstress in her day.

 

For the binding I used up yet more fabrics from my stash to make up a scrappy looking binding which I think suits the scrappy look of this quilt. It is simply quilted in straight lines following the seams of the pattern.

 

And yes the back of course is made up of leftover fabrics from the front along with a "Denyse Schmidt" print purchased on sale at Spotlight. 

 

It does feel good to have this quilt finished and to now be able to start a new sewing project or two.

So many ideas swimming around my head now but which one to focus on.........

And here is my photography assistant that kept me company around the garden today. By that indignant look on her face I don't think she enjoys having the camera pointed her way though ;-)

This quilt will be added to my Etsy and Felt shops tomorrow :-)

Scrappy binding for a scrap happy quilt!

The quilting is all finished and yesterday I sewed together some scraps of leftover binding from previous projects and now it is ready for the final stage of hand sewing it down on the quilt back. I thought a scrappy binding was the perfect finishing touch to this very scrappy quilt. Hopefully it will stop raining here some time soon so I can get outside for a photo shoot although wet weather will mean I'll just get some more sewing done which makes me happy:-)

I have been....

...making and eating homemade ice-cream, gelato, sorbet and frozen yoghurt with this new toy...

 ...taking photos around my garden after all the rain we've experienced in the last couple of days...

...which has given me a break from the daily garden watering ...

.....everything is so clean and sparkling...

....and in full bloom in the mid morning sunshine...

....my spring onions are starting to bolt and flower, best I start using them up soon...

...my strawberries are getting bigger and more abundant....

.....and it won't be long before we have sweet cherry tomatoes to snack on....

...our rainbow silver-beet is doing so well that we could feed a few of the neighbours as well...

..but I had an idea yesterday that it was time to get out my juicer and make the most of our fresh produce and feel a little healthier too.

While it rained and rained I worked in my Sewing Attic on a Christmas present for a family member, gathered supplies to make something to go with a giveaway here soon, and played "The Game of life" with my eldest daughter.

Today I made a wee brooch out of some Bliss fabrics scraps to be sent away with my Bliss quilt to its new owner in Australia. Yes I sold my first quilt through my Etsy shop on Saturday and may have done a little happy dance when that purchase email came through. I hope the new owner loves it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Playing favourites...

Over the weekend I read a post on Mary's blog Molly Flanders   about her favourite all time fabrics. You know the ones that you hate to do without but know that one day they will go out of stock. Well I thought I would never be able to choose just one or two favourite fabrics because I have many and I keep adding to my list of favourites when new fabrics arrive in my stash. But then I remembered this strawberry print that I absolutely adore! I bought this print 'years' ago to make up into a twirly skirt for my now 14 year old daughter who I think was about 4 years at the time. So it's certainly no designer print that's for sure but I love it all the same. You can see I only have a scrap of it left now and also that the original skirt underneath is a little faded but it was a well worn skirt by both my girls and I can't bare to throw it away or pass it on to another family.

I have though used the scraps well by adding them to various blocks in Caitlin's quilt like this applique heart....

.....and these scrappy hearts......

and little bits in these scrappy flying geese. So even when I do run out I will still have some to remember, along with that faded twirly skirt.

So do you have a favourite fabric that you never tire of?? Please do share then go on over to Susan's blog Patchwork and Play and link up so we can all see your favourites!