The Ottoman....

A few weeks back I posted a teaser of what I was working on....sorry about the delay in revealing exactly what it was I was making! My eldest daughter, Amelia, has just turned 16, making me wonder where all those years went so quickly :-) I have wanted to make one of these Ottoman's for a long time so I pulled out an assortment of mostly aquamarine blues to go with the predominate colour in Amelia's bedroom. As you can see from the above photo it has been given the seal of approval from Caitlin's cat who decided to rub up against it just as I was taking a photo.

I've had the large white pom-pom trim for a while now just waiting for the perfect project, and I love the element of fun it adds to this piece. 

Some aqua and white polka dot piping frames the bottom perimeter perfectly. As you may be able to tell it is quite a decent size. It took 54 5" squares to complete and an enormous amount of polyester stuffing to fill it properly. Amelia's cat in the background took no notice whatsoever in my photo shoot, seemingly more interested in taking in the view from her 'throne'.

Amelia celebrated her big birthday with a sleepover with 3 of her good friends,watching movies, chilling in the spa that I got going just for the occasion and eating lots of junk food as you do when you're 16! For her birthday cake I made her a 'red velvet cake' with cream cheese icing and sprinkled with pink coloured coconut, a recipe on my 'to do' list for a while now.
I have just this past week finished making a couple of items for my shop so hopefully I can find the time to show them here tomorrow :-)

The lost art of the hand written letter..........

No I'm not going to write a post on how we rarely hand write letters any more but it is something that we see less and less of which I think is a little sad since how special do we feel when we receive even just a handwritten note. Anyway with those thoughts in mind I designed this writing/journalling folder or "compendium" I think is the correct word for it. I used up some scraps of batiks leftover from the making of my 'Boho bag'. As you can see it has 2 pockets on the front for pens and closes with a fabric loop and handmade button (a miniature version of the button on the bag). Inside it has 4 large pockets for storing paper, journals and pens, 2 single pen pockets and 2 pockets for cards. Once again I used some African 'shwe shwe' fabrics for the inside. I really like the way these prints coordinate with the blue batiks plus the fact that they've been in my stash for a while now and it feels good to finally find the perfect items to use them in.

Just like the 'Boho bag' it is embellished on the outside with a variety of machine embroidery stitches....

Admittedly I don't write many letters myself but I do like to have paper handy when inspiration strikes and I also have recently started a journal for writing down inspirational quotes etc... so I think I need to make one of these compendiums for myself. This one is now for sale here in my Etsy shop and also here in my Felt shop.

Bedside lamp makeover...

 

Another wee makeover and a pretty dramatic one actually if only I had taken taken photos before I ripped the shade apart to show you....

but here is the old fabric which is terribly faded and stained and now I can't think why I put up with its sorry state for so long. It also used to have a blue fringing along the bottom edge the same shade as the braiding.

 

I used one of the unpicked segments as a pattern and used 4 different fabrics on the main shade in similar aqua colours. Above is a Michael Miller dot and an Amy Butler print.

 

And on this side a Heather Bailey print .

 

Some pretty ric-rac trim around the top or crown of the lamp.....

 

For the bottom edge I used some leftover bias binding and added the turquoise and green beading but when I put it back on the lamp base it just didn't look right... sort of like it had a crop top on.... so I added the white pompom trim which added the extra length it seemed to need. I was going to remove the beading once I'd added the pom-pom trim but have decided to leave it and it adds a bit of sparkle and did take quite a bit of time to sew on.

Now the base was originally a very dark brown so I gave it a couple of coats of white gloss spray paint which I must say looks way better than the drab dark brown.

Now I have never spray painted anything until this project and I learnt the hard way to always read directions when trying a new technique or product. It says on the side of the can to shake for a minute before spraying and because I didn't do this to begin with I was wondering why I wasn't getting good coverage. :-D

Wet weekending.....

 For the 3rd weekend in a row we have had constant rain which has kept us inside keeping dry and warm. I don't really mind the wet weather apart from the challenge of getting any laundry dried. The above blocks are based on an old pattern called "Cracker box" and are easy and quick to put together. All the fabrics are from my stash that have been patiently waiting for probably too long for the 'perfect project' to put them in. I have them teamed with a solid white to make these pretty prints stand out. Hoping to put them together tomorrow since there is more rain forecast for the rest of the week ....

 I tried a couple of new recipes that I have pinned on to my Pinterest board "Devour" to fill our tins for the coming week. Above is a very moreish white chocolate blondie  topped with cinnamon sugar, which I don't think will last the week ;-)

And these are White chocolate and gingerbread biscuits. I used this recipe here but rolled them in sugar before baking and pressed in the white chocolate buttons while they were hot out of the oven as in this recipe. These are a new favourite in our house now.

Staying focused...

I'm having a hard time staying focused on one project at the moment. I could start any number of projects floating around in my head but can't seem to start anything in particular. It feels a bit like writers block as I keep finding other things that have to be done right away. You know boring houseworky things like ironing, washing etc... I pulled the above fabrics together ready to start a quilt for my parents but can't decide whether I've got enough different fabrics for the slightly scrappy look I'm hoping for.  I have been looking for a layer cake of one of the fabric collections but after much searching on Etsy the only one I could find was twice the original price so I shall have to re-think my design again. Luckily I like a challenge like this :-)

 Here's another collection of fabrics that I pulled together for a simple girly quilt to make for my etsy shop. It is an eclectic mix of fabrics as they are not all from any particular designers collection but just nice soft pretty colours that look good together. I have a design in my head for this quilt, just need to start really or perhaps at least sketch the design down so I don't forget it.

And then there is always designs that I have found in magazines and books that I want to try some day... just need to pick some fabrics...

Then there are these little triangles left over from this quilt which are taunting me as they lay on my sewing table. I keep fiddling with them trying to come up with a design I like.  They were sitting happily in a wee basket next to other baskets of fabric but I just got the urge to have a play with them the other day.

 Then one afternoon last week when I probably could have been sewing I got the urge to make some marshmallow, mainly because I had forgotten to buy some at the supermarket the day before. We like marshmallows melting on our hot chocolates in our house and had run out after a couple of somewhat cooler days earlier in the week where hot chocolates were called for as part of the girls after school snack. 

So making marshmallows reminded  me of this marshmallow shortcake that my Mother used to make us  when we were kids so I had to make some. 

I did however knuckled down late yesterday afternoon and well into the evening to come up with a couple of designs for pillows using these fabrics and the pretty tea towels I bought recently. I have everything cut out and ready to sew....just need to stay focused and I might have something to show you :-) 

Farmers wife - weeks 2 & 3

 

So after promising myself that I would make 5 blocks per week I fell off the wagon at week 2 but have since been beavering away to complete 10 blocks to make up for it. I actually completed an extra one so am ahead now for next week. I'm not sure what happened on week 2 but other things seemed to get in the way of any sewing that week. It is quite a task to print out the templates, mount them on cardboard, cut them out, then decide on fabric choices, cut out fabric and sew. I wish I wasn't so indecisive when it comes to fabric choices for each block but I do tend to weigh each choice up rather than just going with my gut instinct. I'm working on that personality flaw :-)

Block 6 - Big Dipper - easy fabric choice here and easy to piece too.

 

Hmmmm this is block 7 - Birds in the air - like this block design and my fabric choices but it did not go together well at all and am sort of  embarrassed to even put it up on my blog but I'm endeavouring to keep it real here by showing it. The problem I think is my seam allowance which was less than 1/4 inch by a smidgen and of course that made all the difference when piecing those tiny triangles. I think I will have to start again with fresh fabric pieces.

 

Block 8 - Bouquet - Love this block and it went together beautifully after adjusting my seam allowance.

 

Block 9 - Box - Not sure about this block design, like it, but don't love it....

 

Block 10 - Bowtie - Easy block to put together and really like this one.

 

Block 11 - Broken dishes -  Once again went together well despite all those triangles. Thank goodness I had my seam allowance sorted.

 

Block 12 - Broken Sugar bowl - love the striped print in this block.

 

Block 13 - Buckwheat - Really love how this block turned out.

 

Block 14 - Butterfly at the crossroads - Isn't this a great name for a block!

And finally Block 15 - Buzzard's Roost - Just love the shade of green in this print, actually really love that print.

So that's what I've been working on these past few days, a farmers wife marathon of sorts :-) Like most of the North Island we have been having lots of  rain this week and more to come I think which is good as it makes me want to sew. Today I have managed to fit in a run between showers and once this post is done I will be cutting out this weeks Farmers wife blocks and some fabrics I've pulled to go with those beautiful tea-towels I posted about here. 

How's you week coming along??

Good things take time....

My first 5 Farmers Wife sampler blocks! These blocks take longer to cut out than sew up I think but I did enjoy the whole process of choosing just the right colour and print combinations to the actual sewing. I was a little concerned the larger prints wouldn't be suited to the smaller pieces as each block is only 6 1/2 inches square which makes for very small triangles and squares etc but I'm quite happy with them so far. I've decided that I will do 5 blocks each week which means this will take me about 4 months to complete. Good things take time you know :-)

And this is my other slow project for this year which I started in the middle of last year with Penny's quilt along @ Sewtakeahike. I'm in no hurry to finish this project. So far I have done 414 and I think I might just go for the goal of 1000. Making yo-yo's is quite a nice quiet activity that I can take anywhere. I've even taken some to do at one of my Mothers hospital appointments where an elderly gentleman took great interest in what I was doing and what the end product was going to look like. 

I did a few on camp the other week and have been doing a few each night since, so slowly but surely I will get there and once again 'good things take time'.

Weekending....

We have been enjoying some lovely fine and hot long-awaited summer weather this weekend. Yesterday I completed a cycle event that I have been training for 6 weeks for. It's called "The Rev" and is 100kms of rolling Waikato farmland around the back of Cambridge and Matamata on nice quiet country roads including where "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings" were partly filmed. I had to remind myself to take in the beautiful views but I have to say the last 30 kms I really just wanted it to end. It is a tough route with lots of hills although what goes up must come down. I did it though in a time I was happy with and I do love the feeling of being fit enough to complete a challenge like this. The above blocks were completed on Friday and are for a project to benefit some abused girls in Romania. Deborah McClenahan is organising this very worthy project and has asked a number of Etsy sellers to make one 8"block. Once I started I couldn't stop at 1 so ended up making 3 which will hopefully make up for my lateness in getting these blocks off to her. You can read more about this project here on her blog.

1. hello liberty, 2. postcard from paris, 3. Rainbow Stripes, 4. Farmer's wife quilt (twin size), 5. 099 African Flowers Cushion, 6. Custom work, 7. spring works, 8. Felt Notebook Cover, 9. Granny Squares Scrappy Quilt, 10. ♥... L ♥ v e * S w e e t * L ♥ v e ...♥ - #29, 11. Vintage Ribbon Spool Stacks, 12. hex_pillow 

Today is all about recovery from yesterday, celebrating out 18th Wedding Anniversary in small ways, & preparing for my youngest daughters school camp. So I have......

• Been for a small run this morning with Amelia who is training for her athletics day this week.
• Making chocolate mousse for dessert and because I failed in separating the first lot of eggs I am going to make ice-cream as well to use up the extra egg yolks:-)
• Catching up on washing because of Fridays thunderstorms and being out yesterday I am all behind with our washing.
• Gathering supplies and packing for both Caitlin and I.

I hope you enjoy this coming week and that the above 'inspiration mosaic' will make up for my absence in blogland as I have volunteered to be a parent helper on Caitlin's camp this week. We are going to the Blue Mountain Adventure Centre in Raurimu near Tongariro National Park. I have been before with Amelia's class and am looking forward to some time away even though it will be with 25 noisy 11-12 year olds.

My String Quilt quilted and bound!

My first finished quilt of 2012, although the quilt top has been in my WIP pile since March 2010! This is also the last project I have to finish off  which is a great way to start off this year don't you think! I'm not sure why it took me so long to get around to quilting this quilt. I guess because it is for us it was not urgent and I had other projects that actually had deadlines to complete by. Also I think because I love this quilt so much I was a little bit intimidated by how to quilt it without ruining the design. The free-motion quilting is far from perfect in some of the squares where I first started off but I quickly got better and figured out the best way of dealing with the bulk of the quilt as I was sewing. 

I think I love the back as much as the front which is just made up of fabrics from  my stash that needed to be used up. I used a variegated thread in the bobbin for the quilting which mixes in with all those colours so it neither stands out too much or gets lost either.

Here's a close-up shot of the decorative machine stitch I used. I really like the effect that this rainbow thread makes as you sew. If you're interested the decorative threads I have used they are mostly all by the Guutermann brand which are readily available in most places I think.

And here's one of my favourite shots of it taken on our back steps leading to our garden. Thankfully yesterday it stopped raining so I could take it outside for its photo-shoot. You can see more photos here on my flickr page. This is a true scrap quilt as it started off with a scrap swap with some ladies in the Old Red Barn flickr group. I added scraps from my own stash, used up scraps for the back and also ends of binding leftover from previous quilts and projects. It certainly feels good to have made a quilt entirely from scraps and of course it makes an interesting quilt to make and look at. I can pick out fabrics that were leftover from dresses I made my girls when they were younger and fabrics that are from a different era that were given to me from an Auntie, and even a couple of fabrics from the very first quilt I made. I have to say my stash is nicely getting depleted of fabrics I have had for a little too long.

Now I'm off to start a brand new project :-)

A Sneaky peek...

After much procrastination yesterday I decided on some wavy line quilting on my string quilt but then I sat down at my machine and inspiration did indeed strike and I decided on this geometric decorative stitch on my machine. It takes a bit longer than a normal straight stitch and A LOT more thread so thank goodness I like it, a lot :-) I'm thinking it might take me over this coming long weekend to finish it.

Summer sewing for me...

 

Although I have been a little absent from my blog I have been doing some sewing this past month, only a little though :-) The above dress is what I whipped up on Christmas eve at the very last minute. I have a tradition with myself to make a new dress to wear each Christmas. This year though I was so busy sewing Christmas gifts etc... that I did not think I had the time to make myself something new to wear and it wasn't until the afternoon of Christmas eve that I decided to bite the bullet and try and get a dress completed to wear that next day, after all I had the pattern, fabric and thread ready to go so I had no excuse. After cutting  out all the pattern pieces I proceeded to sew like a mad woman and by 6pm I had it all put together enough to have a try on to ensure a good fit. Unfortunately it was way too big so I ran over to my neighbor who just happens to be a dressmaker (the kind who doesn't need a pattern and can make something from a photo). She kindly re-pinned all my seams and a couple of hours later it was all finished apart from the hem which I did the following morning. I'm so glad I made the effort to make this dress as it fits like a glove and I love wearing it.

 

I also made up another top like the one I made here before Christmas except this one has the elasticised gathered sleeves. It goes perfectly with a pink skirt I already have and the fabric just happens to be the same as my Christmas dress except in a different colourway.

And this is what I have been working on today. Finally pin basting my string quilt ready to start machine quilting it tomorrow. I am not totally sure how I'm going to quilt it but hopefully inspiration will strike once I sit down at my machine. Although as I'm typing up this post it has occured to me that some hand quilting in perle cotton would look quite pretty in those white frames. What do you think? Suggestions most welcome!

Sew mama sew giveaway time!!

Yes it's that time again, the SewMamaSew giveaway day! Not only can you be in to win great prizes but it is a great way to find new and inspiring blogs. If you are a new visitor here, welcome!

 For my giveaway this time around I have a pretty little charm pack of  "Ruby" , the latest fabric collection by Bonnie and Camille for Moda. This collection is oh so gorgeous and I really need to get some myself now that I have seen it in person to touch and see the lovely colour palette they have used.

Along with the handmade gift making that is going on in my sewing attic lately I have whipped up a sweet little birdie pincushion and a matching needlebook. The Birdie pincushion was made using this free tutorial here and is really so easy and satisfying to make. I think I will be making more of these in the near future. The needle book cover is made up of tiny little 1" squares of shabby chic fabrics with some coordinating wool felt pages inside taken from my precious stash of Heather Bailey felts.

In order to be in to win this wee collection of pretty sewing supplies just leave me a comment sharing one or more of your handmade gifts for this holiday season or perhaps a link to your favourite tutorial.

This giveaway will be left open till 16th December when a winner will be drawn randomly.

Overseas comments are most welcome and also please make sure I can contact you via email :-)