Sew Cute Tuesday - Back To My Regular Schedule

As I gently re-enter my regular routine, I've returned to gift sewing.  You see, I worked my proverbial butt off over January, doing what we call "sleepover shifts" during the school holidays, so I could be home with the kids.  Once the kids headed back to school, I had a glorious ten days off work to get this house, and my sewing, back in to order!  So today, I'm sharing a few goodies I managed to get sorted.....

A few weeks ago, I got myself one of these fabulous Moda Modern Building Blocks sets.  I've seen some amazing quilts being made on Instagram (check out the hashtags #modabuildingblocks & #modamodernbuildingblocks) and was looking forward to making my own version.

When it came to making January's Handmade Birthday Club gift for Leonie, I pulled out my handy-dandy-block-set and found myself stopping at block number 7!  It's an 18" block, so the perfect size for a quilted cushion cover....

One of Leonie's many favourite fabric designers is Tula Pink.  So I rummaged through my stash and found some Acacia to pair with the most divine Deer print from her Moonshine range.  I was incredibly happy with the way the colours played together, and love the way one block can look many different ways....

I used the gorgeous Dove Aurifil in 40wt for the quilting, and did a 1/4" version of matchstick quilting.  The textural finish is awesome.  Leonie received her gift yesterday and thankfully loved it!

Once I'd ticked that pressie off my to-do list, I moved on to something for me!  I have been in need of a new purse for a little while, but was baulking at spending a small fortune on something that wasn't perfect.  So I reached out to some of my crafting friends, and asked for a pattern recommendation.  It was a resounding response - the Necessary Clutch Wallet!  I would be lying if I told you I wasn't scared to death about tackling this pattern, but it was worth the fear.....

Because at the end of a day and a half of cutting, reading pattern, ironing, reading the pattern again and again and again, and sewing - I had these two divine purses!  Now, if you've been around these digs for a while, you will know I DON'T DO FIDDLY.  Until now.  Yes, they were a tad bit fiddly.  And yes, I had to be incredibly patient.  Especially with the installation of the clasp hardware.  But I got there in the end.

As you can see - there is plenty of space for cards, money, receipts etc - and there's a great amount of space in the centre section there, you could pop a phone or some lippy in too!  So my beautiful purse now lives in its co-ordinating handbag.  And the second one was grabbed up a friend who asked if she could purchase it. Win, win!

This little make up purse is for a family member as requested.  I'm being very brave of late, and am cracking open my Tokyo fabric purchases frequently.  This Enchino print is just so darn cute with its geometrics and the zebra!

Another family member's request - this time from my youngest son..... When in class last week, he announced to his teacher he needed a pencil case, said teacher asked him why didn't he ask his Mum?  (Said teacher received a pencil case from me for Christmas!)

I whipped this pencil case up on Sunday, after a couple of days of him asking if I'd made it.  This is literally only the second time in history Cadyn has asked me to make him something!  His quilt was made a couple of years ago, so I thought I best strike whilst the iron was hot!  He very proudly took it to school on Monday and has his pencils stashed safely.

And that, my friends, is my past week of sewing....  What have you been up to this past week?

I'm linking up - You can too!

Sew Box Subscriptions - A Review

Last month, the brains behind Sew Box Subscriptions - Leesa - emailed me to ask if I would like to receive a preview box, in exchange for a review, for her new business?  "Sure" I said, not really knowing what it was all about!  I then did a little investigating so that I had some idea of what I'd got myself in for!

Fast forward to this week, and this lovely looking box was delivered to my door.....

 

Isn't she pretty?  I delicately took my time ripped open the box to reveal what was inside.....

Ta-daaaaa!  Wowzers!  It was at about this time my eyes started to flicker, from one thing to the next, trying to decide what to pick up first!  

 

Inside was a range of items that all sewists would appreciate.  From thread to fabric, buttons to PDF patterns, there is something for everyone.  Some of the items I had never actually seen before....

Like the magnetic pin holder thingy over there on the right.......

So, on to the review.  The Sew Box Subscription gives you a range of products to fawn over, giving you a taste of what a number of businesses can offer.  For $44 per month, including delivery, you will receive a box full of different products each month.  From what I can gather, Leesa has brought together some wonderful Australian businesses to provide you with items they stock and sell, in order for you to try them out and hopefully become a customer in the future.

I was really impressed with what I received in my box.  There is nothing in there that I won't use and I'm looking forward to looking through the PDF patterns available for free download from a couple of the participating businesses.

If you would like to subscribe to Sew Box Subscriptions, pop over to their website HERE and it will direct you to where you wish to go!

My Super Tote!

In keeping with the 2014 theme of "throw lots of balls up in the air and juggle them", I started yet another project the other day, and finished it at late-o'clock last night!  It's my Super Tote!  Now, to be honest, I'd worked myself up a bit about the Super Tote.  I had put it in the "this is going to be difficult" basket and was a little bit scared.  But I'm here to tell you - it's actually relatively easy!  Once you get past all. the. cutting. out.

As you can see, I used my beautiful Cotton + Steel canvas for the outer sections.  I adore the tones in it, the green is actually a really subtle shade.  I kept changing my mind about what to use for the main sections - I had some shot cotton that was in the running, but in the end I went with denim.  I found a few metres of it in the bottom of my shelves, and when I got it out and looked at how dark it was, I remembered a tip from one of the girls at the Sit n Sew day I went to!  Emma from For My Little Monster uses her denim INSIDE OUT!!!!  Bingo!  This front section is also a big old pocket - with another magnetic snap!

Once I sorted those main parts out, I had to work out which prints to use for the million other sections!  This bag pattern is proof that you don't necessarily need to order fat quarter bundles or larger of fabric collections.  You see, I have a fat eighth bundle of Cotton + Steel (in two of the ranges), and from a fat eighth you can get the recessed zipper pieces and the inner pocket pieces!  Yeh!  So I chose my favourite colour for the recessed zipper - coral.  LOVE this print.  The zipper was super easy to do - except for the part where I chose to use a chunky metal zipper.  Please note - metal zipper + hot iron = ouch.  Angie from GnomeAngel had told me of this before, and I was being reallllly careful, but no.  Ouch.  Anyway, I got it done!

The lining of the bag is the Butterfly print I used for my 241 Tote.

And the gorgeous little pockets on either sides are yummy turquoise prints.  I'm not sure if you have picked the little mistake I have made with the gusset?  Hmmmmmm.......... well, when I was pulling the bag all the way back out the right way, I realised I had sewn the gusset lining in with the dark side of the denim!  Whoops!  Moving right along.......  Constructing the bag was relatively straight forward.  If you've made any sort of lined bag before, you will be able to work it out - promise.  If you haven't made a bag before, you may want to read the instructions through a few times and really wrap your head around them.  When I was attaching the lining to the recessed zipper sections, it took me a few minutes to realise why it's called "recessed"...... derrrr.....because it sits lower in to the bag!

And the handles.  Sigh.  I would be devastated to know if people are actually NOT using the selvedges from these fabric ranges!  They are really something special, with gorgeous little quotes on them  "Leap and the net will appear".  Love!

So, a review of sorts.  I freakin love this pattern!  For the interfacing I used a reasonably heavy weight iron on wadding from Spotlight.  It is not a stiff interfacing - because I don't like my bags to be stiff.  But having said that, I think next time I make one, I will put a slightly stiffer interfacing on the gusset, to give the sides and bottom of the bag a little extra oomph.  Stitching the final topstitching around the top of the bag was a little bit of an effort.  The thickness, especially at the sides of the bag, was reasonably tricky to get through the machine.

I used my walking foot through the entire process (except for the zipper installation).  This made sewing through the layers a little easier.  I used a regular machine needle, because I didn't have a denim one, but I'm thinking next time I shall invest in a denim needle :)  I also used Aurifil 50 weight thread in #2000 - a beautiful golden colour.  I'm thinking a 40 weight thread would be good in future.

All in all - the big thumbs up from me!  I can see many, many more of these in my future.  You can buy the Super Tote pattern by Noodlehead HERE.

I'm linking up - You can too!

PS. This is sort of kind of me sewing along with Sewvivor.  You HAVE to head over to see all the fabulous entries this week for the bag challenge HERE.  And if you're feeling patriotic - remember to vote for our two Aussie girls - Angie and Crystal!

W.I.P. Wednesday - Warp & Weft Woes

Despite having a tantrum throwing sewing machine this past week and a bit, I have actually managed to get quite a bit done.  I am also happy to say that I think I may have figured out the cause of before mentioned tantrums from said machine - Inferior fabric.  Yes, I did just say that.  I am not a fabric snob - never have been, never will be.  BUT.  The project I was working on when my machine decided to lose its bananas just happens to be my secret squirrel Kate Spain Charm-along project.  In which I am using my good old trusty white Homespun from Spotlight as the mixer.  This did not occur to me to have anything to do with the problem until I got my machine back from Mr Fixit (who I might add said the timing was slightly out, but other than that, just had a regular service), it sewed like a dream.  I put my entire Sea Breeze mini quilt together without missing a beat (and using a grey homespun).  Then when I started back on my KS project - SNAP!!!!  What the???

 I ended up walking away from my machine, feeling dejected and depressed.  I organised to return to Mr Fixit and sit with him whilst he worked out what the problem was.  But then something strange happened.......

I was at school drop off yesterday morning, and one of my friends - a fellow school Mum - sidled up to me and asked if I had much on at present?  I grinned and asked why?  "Well, any chance you can make a quilt for me by the 27th??"  Of course I said SURE!  I figured it would get my mind off my broken machine and I'd use Mum's.

Anyway, I returned home from school and pulled out my blue stash........

Then chose a bunch of yumminess, and started to sew - on my "broken" machine.....

Approximately four hours later, I had a completed quilt top - and NO SNAPPING THREADS!?!!?!?!!  I was excited, relieved and soooo happy!  But wait?  How come no snappity snap??  I pulled out the KS project, and gave it another whirl.  You guessed it - SNAP!

So my friends, this is how I have come to the conclusion I have a dodgy batch of fabric.  To say I am disappointed would be a huge understatement!  I have managed to put together a very small quilt top, but just can't bear the thought of working with that damn white fabric any more......

In other news........

I pulled out all the London blocks I have received from my fellow Wombat Stew girls!  I have only made the Union Jack, but printed out a few other blocks to put together.  Aren't they fabulous?!?!!?!  From top left, clockwise:  Jane, Kristy, Lara, Marieka, Alyce and Gina.  Such talented girls!  This is going to be one super quilt!

And that pretty tub of blue up above?  Well, that is a result of the following work in progress....

I've started to clean up my stash.  And organise it.  I can tell you now - being able to grab that one tub of blue fabric off the shelf yesterday made life a whole lot easier!  I need to get to the shops to grab some more tubs!

And this is getting there.  All my precuts and fabric collections.....Slowly, slowly.

So - what are you working on this week?  I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced and Little White Dove   - You can too!

Making It Work - A Lesson In Patience

I've been channelling Tim Gunn this past few days (Project Runway for those of you scratching your head), and have babbled "make it work" on more than a few occasions.  You see, my darling Bernina came very close to being thrown through my wall on Friday, after repeatedly snapping threads and just being an all round biatch of a machine.  After the 542nd thread snap, I snapped.  And turned to my IG friends, asking for advice......  Which lead to Gemma texting me instructions to do this......

 

After holding my breath for a while, I managed to gently dust the machinery and dislodge a little thread in the uptake thingamajig, then put it back together again.......  It worked for a whole five minutes then 

SNAP!!!!

I called the dealer I bought her from (in Tasmania) and walked through some trouble shooting, and she gave me the bad news that I'd need to take her somewhere to be looked at.  Thinking tension discs or a burr on the bobbin case.  Sigh......

Anyway, I picked up my bottom lip and rang my Mum.  Drove around there and picked up this......

 

Good old faithful!  I used this for quite some time before buying my own Bernina, and it's an absolute work horse.  HOWEVER....  it has no quilting extension table thingy, nor a walking foot, nor a zipper foot.  Hence, I have had to make it work.

 

My to do list this week is literally packed.  And I was so depressed about my missing baby, I couldn't bring myself to sew.  Kicked myself up the bum this morning and got out my big extension table and just sort of sat it there.  Worked out how to drop the feed dogs and whacked on the fmq foot and just gave it a crack.

 

And ta-daaaaa!  Look, it's far from perfect, but given there's no needle down function, the fmq foot is not actually genuinely made for this machine and the dodgy way I had the extension table set up - it's pretty damn good!  I had this cushion cover top finished a few days ago - it's a birthday gift for one of my youngest daughter's friends.  M is for Mitchell!  I pulled out a bag of scraps leftover from my SON's QUILT, which I knew eventually would come in handy!  The letter M is from Quietplay's alphabet patterns, and is super easy.

 

I literally started in the middle of the cushion and worked my way outwards.  There's some wonk in those "organic" straight lines!  But I am actually very impressed with the consistent stitch length - that's one tick!  I used my go to thread - Aurifil #2024.

Once I got the the white space, I tried a little pattern I've seen around, and just love it!  I can see myself using it on a bigger scale on quilts.

I'm not even showing you the back!  Let's just say that inserting a zipper without a zipper foot is not my forte!  But hey - six year old boys are not likely to criticise?  I hope?

All in all, it has been a very interesting experience.  I have learnt patience in my quilting.  After I'd finished this cushion, I kept going and finished off two other cushion cover tops for Collaborate For A Cause.  And the quilting is actually incredibly neat and as I said before, the stitch length is perfect.  So there's a lot to be said for quilting with anxiety!  I am however looking forward to a phone call from the service guy telling me I can pick up my baby!

I'm linking up - You can too!

Day 6 - Cushion for Christmas & T.G.I.F.F.

The lovely Fiona @ Finding Fifth is hosting today's stop on the Cushion for Christmas Blog Hop - she's got some gorgeous Christmas star cushions to share!

In other news……Melbourne's "Summer" is proving to be ridiculously ridiculous!  I have been suffering terribly with hay fever and driving myself and everyone else crazy with my sneezing, sniffing, rubbing of eyes and itching of throat and ears.  I've drugged myself up to my eyeballs, and am only starting to get a little relief today.  Although I still sound like a man……

I've sniffed my way through sewing these beauties…..

I made this Ghastlies Wide Opened pouch from Noodlehead's tutorial - but didn't put interfacing in and made it a bit bigger to allow for the print.  This is a Christmas gift for someone special….

Obviously I love making pouches, because yesterday I decided I needed to make another five!  But I'm lazy, and the making of the flat bottom does my head in, so they're a regular rectangular pouch.  Having said that - the wide open zipper makes them that little bit more special!  I've already sold three of them, the other two are still up for grabs on my FB page.

I whipped up this gorgeous set as an order for the lovely Fiona - Just need to sew on buttons and trim!

These cute cuffed shorts for my Chloe!

And another order for Fiona.  This was the last big piece of Little Red in the blue colour way…..sad times.

When I told Fiona I was cutting out her orders on Tuesday, she said I was quick……  But I'll share a bit of a secret with you - when I have orders for something, I never just make the orders.  I will cut out a few extra, so instead of making one item, I'll make a few.  It's great time management!

Anyway, that's it for today.  I'm now off to drop Chloe at her last prep transition for the year.  Then next year, she will be a fully fledged prep school girl!

I'm linking up with T.G.I.F.F. over at Quokka Quilts - You can too!

Sew Cute Tuesday - Quick & Easy Projects!

Some of you may remember I received a huge addition to my stash earlier this year?  Take a look HERE to refresh your memories!

Well, this past week has seen me cut in to some of the more treasured prints from my Japanese haul.  These are just a couple of them…...

I made this gorgeous zippered pouch using THIS fabulous tutorial by Noodlehead.  I tried making one last year and failed miserably, so was VERY chuffed with myself this time round.  The fabric is a Joli Pomme print, and is just about my favourite in terms of quirkiness!  I mean, rabbits and owls holding umbrellas with life like apples??  LOVE!  The photos don't do it as much justice as it should have, but I was stuck with my iPhone when photo time came.

I used some treasured Kate Spain for the lining and think it works beautifully.  I love how wide these pouches open.

This was gifted to a work friend on Monday, but I have also managed to make another for a little Christmas stocking filler showcase coming up.  Cute yes?

And then today, I was trying to think of a gift to make for another friend's birthday, and the idea hit!  So I went ahead and made something I'd always thought I'd make "one day" - a teabag wallet!

More Joli Pomme and some Kayo Horaguchi.

And some very contrasting black and white prints for the inside.  I used THIS tutorial and let me tell you - super quick and easy!  Whipped them both up under an hour.  I can see more of these in my future…..

These two little projects are also the beginning of my gift sewing for Christmas.  SEVEN. WEEKS. AWAY. PEOPLE.  I'm trying very hard to avoid making a list of what I need to get done before then, and so far it's working!  Tomorrow I shall be back to show you a very spur of the moment quilt top I put together last week……  Another gift I can almost tick off my list that doesn't exist!  Yay me!

How's everyone else doing with their Christmas lists?

I'm linking up with Sew Cute Tuesday - You can too!

An Isosceles Puzzle - Tips for Making a Triangle Quilt

 When I was asked to make my Isosceles on Point quilt, I was very helpfully pointed towards THIS tutorial/pattern.  This was the inspiration Larissa had found - which was very helpful indeed!  It was great to get an idea of what I was in for, however, it was  quite basic, and didn't really answer all the questions I had in this new triangle world I found myself in.  And it seems that I'm not alone.  A lot of you asked for tips and told me how scared you were of tackling triangles, so I took a bunch of photos throughout the process, and will hopefully make some resemblance of sense!

In terms of fabric yardage required, I can only tell you how much I used for a king single size.  I bought 1.25metres of each fabric, and when it was finished, I think I had about 20cm of each leftover.  The backing fabric was I think 5 yards.

The template that came in the above tutorial has a flat tip on the triangle.  Now this may make sense to some of you - but it had me stumped, and I could not for the life of me figure it out - no matter how much I googled and asked Yahoo!  So after sewing two rows of flat tipped triangles together, and noting that they were a big fat fail, I altered the shape myself.  It ended up being 5 3/4" across the bottom and 8" high.  If you print out the template from above link, you can trim it to the point!  To cut the triangles out, I cut rows of fabric 7.5" high by the width of the fabric.  Then use the template to top and tail your triangles.  I actually placed 6 layers of fabric on top of each other and cut through them all in one go - because I'm super impatient!

For the end half triangles, I cut half triangles as instructed.  BUT, if I were to do it again, I would just start and finish each row with a full triangle, and then once the quilt top was completely put together, trim it straight down each side.

Le Template trimmed.

Once I had a pile high of triangles, I then needed to figure out fabric placement.  I am still yet to have a design wall, so I was very lucky indeed to have a very organised customer/relative who had done all the hard work.  Ok, well, the first bit of hard work…..

Larissa drew up a grid of triangles, and proceeded to get her crayon on.  This was extremely helpful when it came to fabric placement.  And as you can see, I had to add an extra piece of paper and draw some more triangles.  Clearly I am not an artist in the drawing sense!  But it worked.  I used 7 different colours/hues in this quilt, but you really can use as many or as little as you wish.

Once you've got your fabric placement sorted, you need to panic get prepared to sew them together!  Make sure you have some time and patience.

Begin by taking your first 2 triangles.  Place them RST (right sides together) as shown in the photo below….

(I realise this is not the first two triangles together, but have no photo of  that!)  You want the tip of your triangle to be peeping out at the other end.

You want your little overhang to measure 1/4".  Because where that 1/4" point is, is where you start sewing your 1/4" seam.

With your 1/4" foot on your machine (or if you don't have one,  make sure you have a mark on your machine to follow) put the point of your triangle in.

This photo shows that each time you put your triangles in to sew, the needle should line up with where your overhang begins.

Sew all the way down the triangle, when you get about half way, put your needle down and get the other pointy end of your triangle and align it all together, making sure you again have a 1/4" of triangle peeking out at the end, like in the above photo.  Your stitching should end just like that.  I found it easiest to hold the little overhanging bit at the end so it didn't slip away!

This is what your triangles should look like at the end of each one.  You should have an "intersection" which forms a neat little triangle seam, with overhanging bits.

And once you've continued on adding triangles to your row, press all the seams to one side.  You will have rows of neat little triangles!

When you've got your required amount of rows completed, it's time to sew them together!  This is where some of the things I've noted earlier will come in to play……

Take two rows to be sewn together, and place them RST.  Remember which edge you will be sewing together - otherwise you will find that your fabric placement will be wrong - don't ask me how I know that……..

Get your first "intersection/point" of each row, and line them up.  The most accurate way I found, was to try and line up the points on the inside as pictured.

Once you have the points lined up, pop a pin in right at that point.  When you get to sewing it together, you will know to stop about an inch before that pin to make sure it all still lines up.

Don't worry if your points meeting up means that your top seams are out of whack.  The seams don't matter even half as much as the points!  Pin at EVERY. SINGLE. POINT/INTERSECTION.

When it comes to the actual sewing of the rows together,  where your points meet "should" be around 1/4".  However, do a little measure before you sew, then you can adjust your seam allowance accordingly.  I had to move my needle over one notch to the left, as my points were just over 1/4".

Now you just literally sew!  As you approach your intersections which have been pinned, make sure they are still lining up and that you don't have any "give" in your two triangles.  If you have to ease the fabrics together a little to ensure your points will still meet, then do it!

It was VERY hard to get a photo as I sewed across the intersection!  But you basically want your needle to run JUST across where the point of your intersection is - see photo below.

This is a great example of getting the row of stitching right across the tip/point of the triangle intersection!

And this one too!

When you manage to get the stitching really right, as in the previous two photos - this is what your points/intersections will look like on the right side - PERFECTO!

There WILL be times when you won't get it perfect - but hey - the points are still there…….  See photo below.

See - you still get the points, but there's just a little, little bit of space above and below each one.

Once I had all my rows sewn together, I trimmed off all the overhanging dog ears.  You don't have to do this, but I find it just takes away a little more bulk when you're quilting.

I also like to press my seams apart for the same reason.  

When you have it all pressed, you can feel very VERY proud of your hard work and ALL THOSE POINTS!! 

And one last photo.  I had a few peeps on Instagram ask me about my basting process when I posted this photo.  I have learnt that I can do it standing up, on my dining table (Ummmm, that sounds a little wrong, but you know what I mean!).  It saves my knees and my carpet (and again, sounds wrong).  Here's a quick explanation of how I do it….

I have quite a large dining table - it can fit 10 seats around it.  If I'm doing a quilt that is smaller in length than the table, then I place the backing wrong side up on the table top.  Making sure it is completely flattened out with no ripples etc in it, I get some thick sticky tape (cello tape) and tape the ends of the backing to the table.  I then lay the batting on top, ensuring I smooth out any ripples etc again on the backing.  I find that the batting smoothes out very easily!  Then it's time to put the quilt top on.  I fold the quilt top in half length ways, right sides together.  Then line up one end to where I want it to sit on the batting/backing.  Once I have it lined up on the end, and the sides, I place it down, and unfold over to the other end.  Again, time to smooth it all out and adjust it where necessary.

Once it's all smoothed out and where it should be, I start basting from the centre outwards, and when the whole table worth of quilt is basted, I unstick the tape from the ends, and from one side of the table, centrally, gently pull the quilt over to reveal the rest of the quilt that requires basting.  It's then a matter of smoothly that section out again.  Repeat for the other side.  And HELLO - quilt basted!

If you have a quilt that is too big to sticky tape down on your table top, it means it's usually heavy enough not to move around too much - like the triangle quilt.  It just takes a little more time to smooth out and make sure you won't have a bunched up backing!  I have to say - I haven't had any problems (yet) using this basting method!

So there you go my friends.  A sort of tutorial on how to make your own isosceles triangle quilt!  Now - go forth and triangulate?!!!?!