I love my new cushions....

Hello!  Wow!  Second post of the day for me!  Well I just wanted to show off the new cushions that I made on the weekend... I took some pictures this afternoon when I got home from work (after I put our new duvet cover on that just slipped into my trolley while I was at Ikea the other day... my very lovely and accepting husband did not say a word about it).

The fabric is called suedine and it has the feel of suede... It's lovely and soft.  I used it to make curtains for our bedroom, but I haven't hemmed them yet.  The red fabric is from scraps that we cut off our living room curtains when I hemmed them last week.  The natural linen (it's actually a kind of oatmeal colour) is just some scrap fabric from Ikea I had in the cupboard.  

I bought the cushion inners first, then once I knew the sizes I needed to make I drew the patterns that were in my head on scrap paper and worked out the measurements I would need for each piece (the two different cushion sizes are 40 x 60cm and 50 x 50cm).  Then I cut, ironed and sewed, and sewed, and ironed, and unpicked a little bit and sewed some more.  

I put invisible zippers in the cushions just using a normal zipper foot.  It took a bit of getting my head around, but by the third cushion I was a pro!  Have a look:

I top stitched the linen strips only,  just for detail.  Both the red and the linen fabrics are interfaced with iron on interfacing.

I love how they look and feel!  It's nice to have something in the house that is not from Ikea and bit unique!

Have a nice evening!

Arabella Chickie in Glyfada, Greece

Have baby, must feed... even when you're out.

I keep promising to post these photos of my latest attempt at getting the 'feeding cloth' right.

I was very happy to find Burnt Street upholstery materials in Seaforth.  There's a whole group of shops devoted to all things fabric.  I thought I'd died and gone to heaven! 

Anyway, I fell in love with this fabric.  It's double sided and the colours are wonderful.  My pictures don't really do them justice.  I did take New Mum Chicks advice on board and I made these cloths smaller and inserted a double row of 'bones' to make the hoop stiffer. 

Idea being you slip the strap over your neck, there's a buckle adjustment (non-slip) and I've made a knot so that the material can't slip out too far.

Baby goes under the cloth.  You can watch what baby does and baby can see you, but nobody else can see.

Baby likes the 'secure' environment. Mum keeps her dignity intact.





See, good strong boning this time around. Apparently, you can wash it in the machine.

Off to cook dinner.

April Blackbird

Entering the Park City Girl Fall Quilt Festival...

Have you heard about the online Quilt Festival that Park City Girl is hosting on her blog?  I have had a look at lots of the quilts and they are amazing!  Go see.... but you will need a spare few hours and a cup of coffee and some nibbles.

I have only made two quilts so far... not because I dont enjoy it, but because I am travelling and separated from my Bernina (sigh).  The two quilts I have made were both made in my holidays at home... one was for my first niece and the other for my first nephew.

I am going to show you my very first quilt.  It doesn't have any quilting, so it might not even classify as a quilt...  but it sure took a lot of sewing!  It is made of minky with quilters cotton for the applique work and a flannel binding.  I love minky... it is soft and cuddly.  I dont understand why it is so hard to buy in NZ.

My Mum makes some lovely quilts and she convinced me to make one for my niece.  She talked me through the process and I am pretty pleased with the end result. 

Here it is laying on the floor... sorry about the photo... it's a bit dark and a bit wonky looking... I couldnt get up high enough to photograph it nicely.  Next time I will get an assistant to hold it up for me!

It is supposed to be a cot quilt, but is actually quite big... more like a first bed size. 
This is my favourite of the appliqued animals....

And this one too...

I used the blanket stitch on my Bernina to sew around the appliqued animals in a multi-coloured thread.  I really like the multi-coloured effect.

This quilt was a kitset from The Apple Basket Patchwork Shop in NZ.  I loved sewing with the minky so much that I went right back there an bought a whole lot more to make another quilt.  It's all in my stash now waiting for me though.

Here is a closer shot of the bottom of the quilt...

And one of the top half....

Well there you go.  Hope you enjoyed seeing my quilt.  I have been told my little niece likes her quilt.

Arabella Chickie in Greece