A Quilt Finish

 

 

 

Yay! Ive finished another quilt. A very pink and girly quilt!

 

 This is made with just one jelly roll - Coquette by Chez Moi for Moda and some Kona Snow.

It came together really quickly. I didn't even spend ages arranging and re-arranging the blocks as I usually do - they just sort of fell into place first time round.
 

The backing is even more pink.... and I used the remaining strips of jelly roll to make a scrappy binding.





It is quilted with a simple straight line quilting 1/4" away from the seam lines.

When I bought the jelly roll, I didn't realise quite how pink it was. Too pink for this house and I don't yet have any "girly" relatives to give it too, so I think this would be a good quilt to donate to Siblings Together

 

As it's Wednesday, I also have a couple of Wishful Wednesday projects to share with you (the things I would like to make if I had a magical unlimited amount of time!)

First up is a knitted shawlette

Although I wasn't keen on them at first, shawlettes have grown on me over time.They are a quick way to dress up the jeans and T shirt that I'm wearing, when I'm off out and running late - a bad habit of mine!!

This is a free pattern and the equivalent yarn for UK knitters would be any aran weight yarn

 

And secondly, I have this crochet butterfly to show you.

 

I really must try and make time to have a go at these - I know they wouldn't take long. Again a free pattern (UK terminology) and you can find it here

The Le Challenge theme this month is wings - I've already planned my entry, but a few of these might just find their way into the photograph too! If I can tear myself away from the garden sunshine we have at the moment, that is...

I hope you like my pattern choices this week, and that the spring sunshine is filling you with energy and enthusiasm too.

Till next time..............Julie

 

Linking up with Fresh Sewing Day

 

The Great British Sewing Bee



Image source: radiotimes.com



Last night a new sewing show hit the airwaves in the UK - The Great British Sewing Bee.
This is a copy of the Great British Bake Off format, and is a 4 part series showing on BBC 2.
If you live in the UK and are able to watch on i-player  I can thoroughly recommend it. Whilst it may not get the sensational viewing numbers that the Bake Off did it is certainly of interest to more than just us "crafty types". I had been eagerly awaiting this show for weeks and was hooked from the outset, but my son was equally interested once the show started.
Eight amateur sewers take on three challenges each week to try to stay in the competition. They range from 82 year old Ann, who sews all her own clothes,  Mark an HGV mechanic who sews steampunk costumes to somone many blog following sewers will already know: Tilly who blogs at Tilly and the Buttons

Image source: guardian.co.uk

The judges are May Martin from the WI academy and Patrick Grant, a Saville Row award winning designer - one stern and intimidating, the other charming and generous (I'm not saying which is which - no spoilers here!). The host is Claudia Winkelman

The challenges so far are all of the dress making variety, but whilst the judges are deliberating and the contestants are amiably sipping coffee in the nearby cafe, Claudia shows us how to make a simple sewn item. This week is was a laundry bag

Image source: radiotimes.com



There are full details each week's projects on the BBC 2 website and of course there is a book to go with the series, available from Amazon

I thoroughly enjoyed the show. It made me want to get my machine out right there and then and make something. (It was probably fortunate that my machine is away having a service or I would have been up all night sewing!!)

It's Wednesday so I need to show you my Wishful Wednesday projects - the items I would love to make this week if only I had all the hours in the world.

First up is this gorgeously warm looking jacket. (I could have done with this when I was walkng along the beach at Brean Sands in the bitterly cold wind a few days ago!)

The pattern is a free download available here. It is knitted in chunky weight yarn and the pattern gives five sizes ranging from 28" - 46" bust (71 - 117cm)

My sewing project for this week was really difficult to choose (my head is still buzzing from Great British Sewing Bee!!), but in the end I settled on this top.

I'm thinking forward to summer and I'm thinking economy now. It's made by adapting a ready made man's T shirt, which could be purchased really cheaply in a supermarket. It would be a quickly made wardrobe staple. The tutorial is available here

Finally, for my crochet project this week, I've chosen this quick and easy tissue holder:

The free pattern is here
I really need to make one of these, as the tissues in my bag get torn to shreds really quickly and it is so embarassing when you offer one to someone, only to produce a shabby, grubby plastic wrapper. No wonder they hesitate!! I'm thinking I might get to sew it quicker than I'll crochet it, though!

Till next time.................. Julie







Wishful Wednesday

Bbbrrrrrr!!!!! It is literally freezing here in my part of the world in the West Midlands. We have more snow than we've had all winter, and all anyone wants to do is get warm and cosy. Wishful Wednesday is when I share with you the things I would like to make if I had all the time in the world, so I'm stating with this snug cowl. It is knit from Super bulky yarn, so it should put up a good fight against the harshest wind chill and be quick to knit at the same time. I really love the leaf design, It is a free pattern on Ravelry
Second up, is a cute little baby quilt.

I don't have any babies to make quilts for at the moment, but I hope I remember this pattern when I next need to make one. It is a free pattern on Craftsy and it has the sweetest name. It is called The Kissing Fish Baby Quilt. Yes! Now you can see all those little fish, face to face, giving each other a little kiss, can't you! (bet you thought they were just arrows before I told you!)

Third this week is a sewing pattern.

I can see myself making several of these this summer (if we ever get one!) It is such a flattering and practical shape. But the main reason I've chosen this is because when you buy this pattern you get a really useful link to a video tutorial on how to make it. My son's girlfriend is just starting dressmaking and the addition of a tutorial would help her learn and boost her confidence. This pattern is called the Esme Top and is one of four designed by Sew Liberated and available with video tutorial from Backstitch

Finally, I need some colour in this cold and wintry week so I've chosen these gorgeous crocheted flowers from the wonderful Lucy at Attic 24 They are her made using her Triple Layer Flower tutorial. Those colours cannot fail to gladden your heart and I feel warmer already, just looking at them!

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter, where ever you are..... Julie

 

 

Wishful Wednesday

Welcome to my second Wishful Wednesday post. This is where I show you what I would make if we lived in a world with a million and one hours in the week. There is a mixture of sewing, knitting and crochet and this week three of the items have free tutorials or patterns, so if you like them too, you may want to have a go!

First up is this gorgeous crochet blanket. I have promised myself that I will actually make this, as it would be a wonderful stash buster. I'm not sure I have enough bright colours in my stash, but hey, we all know how to fix that, don't we!!

It is called the Groovy-Ghan (what a brilliant name!) and the free pattern can be found on Marinke's blog "A Creative Being" here

She's used Stylecraft Special DK which is an economy yarn and is widely available. You can buy it online at Deramores

I really do hope my crochet skills are up to this as it is just so bright and colourful, I know it would fill me with happiness just wielding my crochet hook through all those scrummy balls of yarn.

 

 

Easter is only a couple of weeks away and these little chicks would be great for hiding chocolate eggs. Again the pattern is free and is on Ravelry

I have seen these knitted up and on sale for charity around Easter time for the last few years in my corner newsagents. I've always resisted the temptation to buy them, thinking that I could so easily make them myself. The fact that I'm posting them here is testament to the fact that I've never yet found the time!! Maybe this will be the year.

 

 

My next Wishful Wednesday project is a beautiful quilt . This design is called a string quilt because the pieces that you use to make the block are long and thin like a piece of string. Again, a great way to use up all the scraps. The quilt is paper pieced, meaning that you sew the pieces right onto a paper pattern and then tear the paper away at the end. I've only done paper piecing a couple of times on small projects and I'm not sure how I feel about it - it's the tearing the paper away at the end that I don't enjoy very much, but I know a lot of people really like this method, so I should make the effort to give it another go.

The tutorial for making this is over on  Film in the Fridge blog. She is one of the first bloggers I followed and never fails to inspire.
If I ever get round to making one of these I shall include plenty of white or neutral strips like this

 

so that the colours don't overewhelm each other and the prints are shown off to greatest effect. I think I shall also have to make the strips in each quarter segment of the blocks the same width, as they are in this second string quilt. (again from Film in the Fridge and  tutorial is  here  I'm too much of a control freak to go with "wonky", random width strings.

My final project for this wonderful "million and one hours week" would be from a book "Doodle Stitching Embroidery and Beyond" by Aimee Ray. I have often thought of buying her previous books which have modern embroidery designs in them, but this one includes different types of embroidery, such as crewel work.

 

 

I would so love working the embroidery around the little felt applique pieces on this Babuska doll.

If you fancy dabbling in a little embroidery too, there is a giveaway raffle you can enter to win one of these books at Wild Olive's blog

Phew! Now I've just made an imaginary throw, quilt, half a dozen Easter chicks and a babuska doll, I think it's time to grab a coffee, put my feet up and start thinking about next week's projects!
Happy crafting everyone :)

 

Wishful Wednesday

Welcome to my first Wishful Wednesday!

What is this all about I hear you asking?

Well, describing the start of a normal day for me might be the best way of explaining it.

I wake up at ridiculous-o'-clock, I reach for my iPhone and I read my emails, check my pattern sales on Etsy and Craftsy and stalk a few folks in blogland. I see what they are making, and I love it!

I go and make a cup of tea, take it back to bed, pick up the phone again and I probably go next to Pinterest to see what new crafty things have been pinned. I'm bombarded by a thousand and one good ideas - all of which spark an idea (or two or five!!) in my head. By the time I get into the shower my head is buzzing with so many things I want to knit, sew, quilt, crochet, design that I'm mentally exhausted by breakfast!! (Ha! who would have thought surfing the net could be so tiring!)
 

I couldn't possibly make all the  things going round in my head. Sometimes I want to make it just as I see it, sometimes it sparks an idea for something else, sometimes I see a fabric and I know just what I would make with it. So Wishful Wednesday is going to be a weekly post about the things I would like to make each week if I lived in an, oh! so blissful, magical land where time was infinite.

Hopefully, if you follow each Wednesday you will get to know what I love and maybe it will spark some ideas for your own crafting. There will be a good mix of all the "stitchy" crafts, so there should be something for everyone.

If you too are a Pinterest fanatic, then  this is me
 

Right then, first up, I would love to be able to make the little crochet hat and cardie above. I would make the short sleeve version. I'm not sure what weight yarn it uses, so I can't actually pick one out, but I would probably use a lighter grey than the one shown, with a deeper pink flower, in organic cotton if I could. This one really is wishful thinking because my crochet skills are still pretty basic, to say the least, but I live in hope that with practise I'll improve. The pattern can be bought from Yarn Blossom Boutique on Etsy

Secondly, I would make a quilt like this:

I couldn't find the original source to give credit to its maker, but it's on my Pinterest page, if you can do a better job of tracking it than me. It is just simple half square triangles, but it's the colours that make it so wonderful- they're fresh and not too feminine, so it would fit with a wide range of decor. Sometimes less is more.

For my knitting project this week I would love to make these gloves

 

Aren't they cute! These are sold on Etsy as a finished item from this seller. Foxes can be found everywhere at the moment (and I don't mean the real ones!) They are on fabric, scrapbook paper, knitted hats - so why not gloves, too. I think it would be quite easy to adapt a plain mitten knitting pattern to make a pair similar to these. I'll let you know if I do it!!

Finally, I think I've room for one more project in my imaginary world this week, and it would be this gorgeous children's dress

I don't have any young  children or grandchildren to make it for, and it's probably a little over the top for a charity make, but I just fell in love with those bird pockets, and so, surely, must any little girl!

The pattern is available here. It's a PDF for you to download and print at home and comes in a size range from 12 months to 9/10 years. I've made items from quite a few "print at home" PDFs clothing patterns and I think they're wonderful. They are a great excuse to hoard a large and varied stash of fabric so that when you find THE must-have pattern for you, you can buy it, print it and start making it all in the same evening!

I love the blues this dress is made in, but I can see this in a whole range of soft prints from high quality Liberty lawns to cheap and cheerful poly cottons. Maybe it will end up as one of my charity makes after all!!

I hope you enjoyed my first Wishful Wednesday. Come back next week if you did! ..........Julie

 

 

 

Granny Square Blanket

I have so, so enjoyed making this Granny Square blanket as part of my 2013 Stash Buster project for Greenfields Africa It is made entirely of organic cotton, so not only is it going to a good cause, it's good for the environment too.! I often talk about the rhythm of the stitch being just like yoga, and this was so true in this case.
I keep really tiny pieces of cotton yarn - and I mean really tiny!

I'm not totally crackers - being cotton, they are good for little bits of bold embroidery on children's clothes, pencil cases etc where you don't want anything too fine, just some eye catching stitches.

But as this is stash busting time, they were the start of the grannies.

Next came the slighlty bigger oddments, the sort of size that most people hold on to.







and finally the larger balls.

And then of course the large balls become small balls, and the small balls become tiny balls and so the blissful rhythm carries on, and we have have one calm, collected, wonderfully relaxed Julie!

I had great fun experimenting with colours - putting together shades that I wouldn't normally risk putting together, without asking a few people's opinion - red and pink, for instance.....

I played around with the finished squares, seeing which combinations made me happiest (no stressing,... just play!)

The off white that I had for the outer two rows of each granny, wasn't all of the same shade, which is probably a good job as far as Greenfields is concerned, or I would have wanted to keep this blanket for myself.

I struggled to find enough of the same weight cotton for the border, but I'm happy enough with it.

It's one useful, eco friendly blanket that I wouldn't have made if it wasn't for this challenge, and I really want to make another one before the year is up.

 

Onto other things - it was Mother's Day here in the UK, yesterday and we had a lovely family walk in the Lickey Hills

It was cold and snowing slightly, but it was really good to spend some time out of doors.

 

Finally, I want to tell you about a new feature I'm starting here on my blog, this week. I'm calling it Wishful Wednesday and basically it's a round up of what I wish I had time to make in the week, if I had all the time in the world! There will be a bit of knitting, sewing, quilting... anything that I really would like to make. There will be lots of pictures, info on where to get the patterns and what my fabric or colour choices would be. Hopefully a lot of inspiration to get everyone's creativity jump started.

 



 





Stash Challenge Nos 3, 4 & 5

This crocheted blanket is my third item in my stash buster challenge. It has been a mammoth undertaking. It is made almost entireley from oddments of sock yarn

Now why would I do that, I hear you ask. I seriously asked myself the same question many times during it's creation, especially once at the end of a whole day (yes, a whole day - when I should have been doing a mountain of other things!!) of crocheting squares together and sewing in ends. I got to the end of that day only to find that it still only measured 36" and Greenfields Africa really like thier blankets to be 39". Hence the gold border.

The only reason I made this blanket was because during the stash sort I found about 6 squares already completed from a previous mad moment when I had decided to make something (I have no idea what!) made of sock yarn granny squares.What was I thinking! And so, as someone who hates to throw anything away, I decided it was time those squares grew up and left home as a completed blanket. It is not an experience I shall repeat in a hurry.

I do have a similar few orphan squares that I found , but at least they are double knit yarn so their progression to a completed blanket should be a whole lot quicker!

Lets move onto projects 4 and 5....... These are both baby hats. Both made from some really luxurious 4 ply merino, and both a boring dark colour that needed brightening up with a few stripes.

But that after all is the purpose of my challenge - use what I have, to the best of my ability, so make useful items for Greenfields Africa, so to that end they fit the bill perfectly!

So, it's almost the end of week 5 of 2013 and I have successfully managed to complete 5 stash buster projects (and number 6 only needs sewing up and photographing!) so I'm well on schedule!

 

I must confess to being a little "knitted out" so I think there will be some sewn challenge items appearing in February, especially as I keep thinking about the little children from a photo in my previous post and their worn through jeans!