Bitty Blocks

My bitty blocks are all done and flying across the globe to their new owners!

The bottom right one is the original sample block that I made, so I'll keep that one for myself... he's a little too wonky to send out.

I've already received three blocks from other members in my group.  They're all so darn cute, I'll have to start thinking about what to make out of them (it'll be something for James of course)!

Catching up

I've managed to get quite a bit of sewing done this week... yay!

James' play quilt is coming along.  I finished cutting out all the pieces a while back and finally started sewing them together:

Its going to be HUGE!!!  No idea how I'm going to quilt it on my little machine :(

But, I love the Odyssea fabric range, those fish are so cute.


I always had the idea in my head that making a colour book would require the words "green", "pink", "red", etc. appliqued onto each page.  After seeing a colour book made using only little squares of coloured material here, I realised it was going to be a whole lot quicker than I'd imagined.  Here are my first three completed pages:

And finally, I'm really not sure what I've gone and got myself into lol... aliens apparently!!!  Little bitty aliens!!  I've joined a Flickr group where we swap 12 blocks each month.  The blocks are only 3.5" square, and different themes are chosen each month.  This month, you could choose between aliens or teacups (or both).  I chose the alien theme as I thought the blocks would be great to make something for James later.

This is a sample block I did the other night to test how to put it all together.  Other than the stitching being a little wonky, I'm happy with it.  Now to make another 12!!

Doodle Stitching

I bought James a pack of 3 plain white onesies a few weeks ago with the intention of embroidering on them... I was getting worried that he'd grow out of them before I did it, so I finally got my butt into gear and made this one.

We often look at the birds and squirrels in the trees outside, so it was a quick pick for the pattern choice on this first one.  The templates are from this Doodle Stitching book.

I'm still deliberating over what to put on the next two onesies. In the meantime, I'll make a start on the February Birdie Stitches block.

Fabric Diet Fail

It's only Week 3 of the Fabric Diet and I kinda failed... but it was a complete win really!  My sisters came up to Singapore to visit and we HAD TO include a visit to the open-air fabric markets at Chinatown.

About 6 months ago I purchased a fat quarter bundle of the Moda Odyssea fabric, and while we were at Chinatown I found the perfect backing fabric... 4.2 metres of an Odyssea home-dec weight fabric. And it was pretty cheap. And I think its actually an out of print fabric (though I may be wrong). So I had to buy it (sorry diet).

So in my spare minutes this week, I've been cutting out 8.5" x 10.5" rectangles from some of the fat quarters (not even half way yet... cutting is so depressingly slow). I'll eventually end up with 80 rectangles to make an 80" square quilt.

Its going to be a play quilt for James to go over the floor tiles we bought him for Christmas.  At the moment I throw a whole selection of smaller quilts over them, but he still manages to scratch away at the tiles!

With the heavier backing fabric, it will also be a fantastic picnic and beach quilt.

Birdie Stitches Block of the Month

I've joined in!  Each month of 2011, there will be a new stitchery design to do.

Block 1 completed:

And these are the fabrics I've chosen... one for each of the 12 blocks (although I'll probably make some changes as the year goes by):

Not exactly sure what I'll use the finished quilt for... but its a great chance to hone my stitching skills and learn a bit more about using Flickr.

Liberty Coasters

2010 was a very busy year... moving country, setting up a new company, and having a baby.  I got a little behind on things... so in an effort to catch up towards the end of the year, I finally finished my mum's Mothers' Day present (yep... shoulda been out in May).

I made these coasters out of four different Liberty prints using this tutorial.  I then added a stitch around the coasters a 1/4" from the edge once I'd turned them out the correct way.

The fronts:

 And the backs:

So pretty!  I want to make another set at some stage using the leftover fabric from the cushions I made last year.

Lots to do this year...

I was looking through all my 2010 posts and realised I still have a lot of projects to finish:

• monsters quilt
• knitted toys
• placemats
• wheels quilt
• ring stackers

And then there's another couple of projects I've started that haven't even made it to my blog yet:

• hexagon quilt
• shirred dress

And then there's the ginormous list of projects in my head that I want to do!!!!

So... I've decided to join in with the 8 week Fabric Diet and concentrate on getting my unfinished projects finished :)

Hmmm, 8 weeks is a long time...

James with his Santa sack

Pickledish Block Finished!

I finished off the pickledish block for my bedroom cushion last night.  Dave is horrified that we are having "patchwork" in our bedroom... he'll get over it I'm sure :)  It's so pretty:

Not entirely certain how to finish off the cushion cover... I would love to hand quilt the block using some embroidery thread in matching colours and then add some piping around it with a plain grey zippered back.

It was a fun block to make... if I make it again though, I would like to make the scrappy pieces all the same size and evenly spaced around the curve.  But that's probably just the accountant coming out in me!

More Christmas...

I saw this Santa sack a couple of weeks ago and decided to make one for James out of a Kate Spain: 12 Days of Christmas charm pack that I had.

The original only had squares on the front, but I sewed up 40 charm squares into an 8 x 5 rectangle and then joined it together into a sack.  I wasn't sure how to do the tie, but after deciding it would be ridiculous to spend $20 on two taxi fares just to get to Spotlight and back to buy a couple of metres of cord, I opted to make a cord out of some Amy Butler: Love fabric that I had. The Santa sack is fully lined with some spotty fabric.

It's a little smaller than the one I saw, but oh. so. much. cheaper!!

I love it... so bright and cheery!  And I love how its all tied together with a little bit of "Love"!!!

Christmas Decorations

Now that we have James, Christmases are gonna be fun all over again!  My plan is to make a few handmade decorations each year.

I saw this snowflake design in Doodle Stitching and thought it would work well for Christmas.  I had the red hexies left over from the hexie cushion that never got made... and backed it with some fabric from a Kate Spain's 12 Days of Christmas charm pack.

Feeling pretty happy that I've started Christmas and its not even December yet!

Pickledish Progress

I decided to keep my project small seeing as I don't get a lot of sewing time now.  I'm making one pickledish block into a cushion for our bedroom.

I've sewn 5 of the 8 strips so far.  The fabric is a Bliss charm pack with coal Kona solid for the background.

We have grey and white bed linen so it will add a bit of colour to the room.

Pickledish...

I came across this quiltalong today and absolutely positively have to join in... I've always loved the look of this pattern.  It's always looked too hard to make but after seeing how it's done I think I should be able to do it OK. 

But what to make??  What colour to make it??  What size to make it??  Ah, something to dream about tonight!!

Look how cute it is here with the stitching in the middle of the block:   http://comfortstitching.typepad.co.uk/comfortstitching/2010/09/pickledishand-a-possible-quilt-a-long.html

I'm gonna have to set up a flickr account now so I can add my photos and see all the other pickledish loveliness.

Ooh, too excited lol :)

September

Wow, another month has just flown by!  Baby James is 2 months old already.  And my sewing machine cover project is over 4 months old!!!!  It's almost finished... I'm just stitching on the binding.

And here's a pic of another project I'm working on.  My plan is to make placemats... not sure how many will get hand stitched together like this - they may all end up being different patterns :)

I went to a needleturn applique class a couple of Fridays ago with some girls from quilt group.  The second class is tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to that.  It's also our 5th wedding anniversary tomorrow and my birthday on Saturday... so I'm looking forward to a couple of nice dinners and a relaxing weekend!

More James

A whole month of no sewing... (except for making a green screen for my husband's office... he basically stood over me until I finished it lol).

I'm a little preoccupied...

James

The last month has flown!!  All my time is occupied by this little cutie :)

James was born 26 July.

I started another quilt cos I got sick of waiting for the baby...

OK... here's a sneak peek at the next quilt I've started... and yes, of course its a baby quilt!  The fabric is called Wheels.

The end result won't be as green... and I'm not using all that orange either.  I think you'll be surprised at the colouring once you see the finished design. 

Will finish it once I get home from the hospital... soon!!!

Ring Stacker Toy

Well, my due date has come and gone and still no baby!!!!  Lazy lazy boy :)

I've finished 5 of the 9 Monsters Quilt squares so far.  Its a slow process though because all I'm doing is sewing around and around in circles!!

Another project I've wanted to start is the Heather Bailey Ring Stacker Toys.  Aren't they cute!

I was planning on using the left over fabric from the green and brown baby quilt I've just made, but after cutting out the pattern and looking at the fabric, I realised I don't have anywhere near enough large fabric pieces left over :(

Not sure which fabric I'll use now. And I'm in no fit state to think about it either.  So therefore... the ring stackers have been put on hold until inspiration strikes me!

Maybe I'll just go and sit on the couch and watch some tv... and wait patiently for this baby!!

2 Finishes!!

It didn't take long to finish off the baby quilt, and since then I've made another WHOLE baby quilt in just a few days!!!  Gotta love working with charm packs... so quick and easy to piece together.

Here is my first finished quilt for the year (and first ever finished quilt... unless you count that crappy one I did in year 7 lol)!  I love the binding around it... learnt how to do that through the quilt group I go to (thanks Kate!).

I made the second quilt by cutting up 25 charm squares and then string-piecing them together like this:

And here is the finished quilt:

I had a few squares left over from the Tweet Tweet charm pack, so did a little strip across the back incorporating the border fabric from the front.  I did a wider binding this time, but it was a lot harder to do the corners... I prefer the thin binding.

Now - I'm working on the Monsters quilt that I started back in March.  Baby is due in 3 days... so I think it will be a "put-on-hold" project for a couple of weeks.  I'm finding it uncomfortable to sit and concentrate for too long... but if he comes late, you never know how much of it I'll get done!

Baby quilt

Over 37 weeks pregnant now so I'm finally starting to spend more time at home.  Which is great because it means more time for sewing!

I've finally made some progress on the baby quilt that I started making back in March.  I opted for a very simple quilting technique... straight lines!!!  I love the way it looks... here's a sneak peak:

And a close up of the stitching (a 1/4" each side of the seams):

I was rapt when I discovered that my machine came with an even-feed quilting foot... yay!!

I can't wait to get the quilting finished now and start on the binding.  Will definitely* get this one finished before the baby arrives :)

*not a guarantee lol