Works In Progress: Baby Quilt & Table Runner

Dies used: Hexagons, 1 1/4in Sides
                 Hexagons, 1in Sides #2 (for the papers)

                 Drunkard's Path Quarter Circle
                 Drunkard's Path & Fan Background

We're back home again now after our family holiday to the Isle of Wight. The days were packed with visits to castles, beaches, Roman villas, boat trips, dinosaur attractions and more but the evenings were much more relaxed with plenty of time for some English paper piecing. The box I took to hold my basted hexagons filled up nicely over the course of the week.

Still going to need quite a few more though to make a 6ft+ festive table runner!

Returning home again meant getting back to the deadlines and trying to get back on top of the to-do list. One of my close friends is due to give birth in the next few weeks and I want to make a little quilt for the new baby's arrival. Whilst there isn't quite the same pressure as a work deadline, time is running out quickly and so it was time to get on with it!

I've been wanting to use my Drunkard's Path dies for a while to have a go at a circles design and this seemed like the perfect project. I decided to make 4 circles using some printed children's fabric and see how it went. Having spent years sewing toys full of tricky curves as a result I don't really mind sewing curves and found that the quarter circles and background pieces went together really nicely. With the finished circle being quite large at 7in diameter, the curve isn't too tight and didn't feel awkward to manage instead it felt quite comfortable to sew.

I think 4 circles by 4 circles will work out at a good baby quilt size and so the top is almost a quarter complete already. Oh and if you haven't guessed, it's a boy!

To make the children's prints stand out more it might be good to add a few circles made with basic blender prints, or add another background fabric, hmm. Some more playing about with fabric is needed I think!

See you next time and happy sewing!

Holiday Hexies

Dies used: Hexagons, 1in Sides #2
                 Hexagons, 1 1/4in Sides


We're away on holiday at the moment and the last couple of times we've been away I've taken some English Paper Piecing with me and it's the same again this time - it may qualify as a habit now! When preparing a project to take on a summer holiday thoughts don't automatically go to Christmas but I was sent a couple of bundles of gorgeous Dashwood Christmas fabric last week and I wanted to use it straight away along with a few others from the festive section of my stash.

Also my son's teacher told me that her mum, who is a keen quilter, has recently made 30 mini stockings like the ones I made as teacher gifts using my Big Shot and posted about on here last Christmas. Suddenly making Christmassy things in July seemed thoroughly reasonable!

Using the Hexagons, 1in Sides die and a few sheets of scrap paper otherwise destined for the recycle bin, I cut a pile of papers. Then with the Hexagons 1 1/4in die I set to chopping the fabric.

They are intended to become part of a table runner which will need to be 2m long to fit our dining table and so Christmas 2016 may be a more realistic finish date if sewing is to be as relaxed and enjoyable as planned.

And so along with the clothes packing an EPP sewing bag containing all of the essentials had to be packed too.

Cutting the papers and fabric and getting the travel EPP kit together was so much easier and took a fraction of the time it took to pack one of the boys' bags! My Big Shot Plus really is an invaluable piece of kit.

Hopefully a week of relaxed hexagon sewing in the sunshine lies ahead!

Happy sewing!

Inspiring me Quilt : Blocks 10-15

Hi everyone! I come back with more blocks for my Inspiring me Quilt. If you remember I talked to you in this post as my own challenge using just Sizzix Dies!!

My idea is getting 100 blocks!

I have designed six more , some of them with a little of embroidery with DMC floss.

Hope you  like them and enjoy , I´m sure maybe you can sew some project with a block you can find here. 

Ok, here I go with the blocks.

First of all a new one for me and one of the traditional blocks in quilting,

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul 4,1/4in Assembled

It´s fantastic how quick you  have have these pieces cut and just start to sew!!

You can see a video tutorial at the web.

I came back to hexagons again and I have designed a new block.

Hexagons, 1 1/4" sides ( for fabric )

Hexagons, 1" sides ( for pattern)

For the squares I have used

657626

Sizzix Bigz L Die - Square, 4 1/2" Finished (5" Unfinished)

Hexagon, 2in sides

I cut the fabric with the 2" die and my cardstocks with 

hexagon, 1 1/4"sides 

I have try this big hexagon now and I have to say I love this size too.So I ´m sure I will do more things with it!!

This is my first time trying this apple core block. I have to confess I was wishing to have this die at home , especially because this is one of the traditional block that is complicate  to be cut BUT easily with the Big Shot Plus , so you can have a lot of apple cores cut in just some minutes.

Thanks so much to Sizzix who let me to enjoy new and waited blocks!!

Apple Core, 5 3/4in H Finished

You can find a video tutorial at Sizzix web.

I have cut the block assembled  to my size block in a square 8.5"

Here it is my last one , the Drunkard´s path. 

If you love this block as me, you can check my projects  Valentine Square Cushion ,Vane quilt  or even my lovely Drunkard´s Path cushion with pom poms

657168

Sizzix Bigz L Die - Drunkard's Path Arch & Fan Background

657169

Sizzix Bigz L Die - Drunkard's Path Quarter Circle

This is some details of my embroidery.

And here they are all my 15 blocks 

Hope my project inspire you!!
Have a wonderful weekend and see you in two weeks.
Love
Mercedes
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¡Hola a todo el mundo! Hoy vuelvo de nuevo con algunos bloques más de mi quilt Inspiring me. Si recuerdas, te hablé  en éste artículo  sobre él y cómo está siendo mi propio reto para usar sólo los troqueles de Sizzix.

¡ Mi propósito es conseguir hacer 100 y espero conseguirlo!

He diseñado seis más , algunos de ellos con bordado usando hilo de DMC.

Espero que te guste y que lo disfrutes, estoy segura que a lo mejor te anima a idear algún proyecto con alguno de ellos.

Echa un vistazo a las fotos.

El primero ha sido una  novedad, Robbing Peter to Pay Paul es uno tradicional que quería probar y que he tenido la oportunidad gracias a Sizzix. Es comodísimo cortar de una vez todas las piezas del bloque.

Tengo que mejorar el montaje porque ha sido mi primer bloque pero no dudo que haré más cosas con él.

Pincha en los enlaces de las fotos para ver los troqueles.

Vuelvo a los hexágonos y pruebo por primera vez el troquel grande de 2 pulgadas de lado. Me gusta esta medida. Es cómoda y para hacer los patrones he usado el troquel que ya tenía de  1 ¼ de  pulgada en los lados.

Otro bloque  que he hecho por primera vez ha sido el de Corazón de Manzana , Apple Core,  otro bloque tradicional en un buen tamaño. Le tenía ganas  la verdad. Lo bueno es que puedes cortar un montón de una vez con la Big Shot Plus y no tienes que estar usando patrones o reglas con lo que te ahorras un montón de tiempo. Por cierto en el enlace junto a la foto podrás ver un video tutorial.

Por cierto , éste lo he cortado  en un cuadrado de 8.5” para adaptarlo a las medidas de  mis bloques.

Por último otro bloque que repito, Drunkard´s Path  y que me encanta por la cantidad  de combinaciones que puedes hacer con él.  Si te gusta tanto como a mí puedes ver otros proyectos que he cosido como   Valentine Square Cushion ,Vane quilt   o también  el cojín Drunkard´s Path cushion with pom poms.

En la última foto puedes ver todos los que  ya tengo hechos así como el detalle de los bordados. 

Espero que mi proyecto te inspire  y que tengas un maravilloso fin de semana.

¡Te veo en un par de semanas !

My happy new quilt

This last week has been so lovely - but I haven't been tempted away from my sewing!

I've finished the quilt top that I showed you last week - it's only small but I do like it -

The finished size is 42 1/2" square - so makes a cute little lap quilt or even a picnic blanket.

The blocks are made using - http://www.sizzix.co.uk/product/660183/sizzix-bigz-l-die-triangles-isosceles-right-3-1-2-h-assembled and the 3"finished square - http://www.sizzix.co.uk/product/657608/sizzix-bigz-die-square-3-finished-3-1-2-unfinished 
The fabrics and amounts you need are as follows -
Centre squares - 3 pieces 12" x 4" - more if you are going to cut motifs for each square
Star points - 3 pieces 36" x 4 1/2" 
As I mentioned before I used the lovely fabric from the Fenton House collection by Guetermann for the stars.
White - 27" x 42" for the triangles and squares.
For the inner borders - dusky purple - 27" x 42" - cut into 2" strips and then cut 18 x 9 1/2" and 18 x 12 1/2"

For the sashing, outer border, and binding - 27" x 42" - cut into 2" strips.
- For the sashing cut 6 x 12 1/2", 2 x 39 1/2".
- For the outer border cut 2 x 39 1/2" and 2 x 42 1/2" ( now my fabric wasn't quite wide enough so I had to join an extra piece onto each end )
- the remaining strips are for the binding.
Backing and wadding - 45" square of each

Make the 9 blocks - you can see the layout for each block in my blog on 9th April.
Add the borders to each block.
Then join the blocks with the sashing, and then add the border.
Now this is as far as I've got this week - but all that is needed is to layer up the backing, wadding and top. Quilt by hand or machine - I'm not sure yet how I'm going to quilt - but hope to be able to show you what I've done by next week.
Binding uses the remaining strips, and voila! one small quilt completed
And now for something completely different - but with the same die -

If you join the triangles together in rows of 3, as pictured above, you can make easy hexagons!!

Or using 2 fabrics and staggering the rows you can make a zig zag design -

and that's just a starters - I like the idea of using one die for lots of different effects and projects - so next week I might still be on this die - you'll have to wait and see.

Hope you have a lovely weekend and make something fun.

Angela



Mini photo shoot

Hello everybody,

Today, I am suggesting a mini album, very simple and fast to create.

The pages size are the same than the pictures to simplify the pages cutting. You can use a photo in a classic format as a template to cut your papers and you can also add pages with a flap if you wish. I used 9 simple pages in the size of the photos and 2 pages with a flap on the right side.

The binding is made with a spiral, but you can use rings just as well.

I used white paper that I embossed with the textured plates of Brenda Walton to decorate my pages throughout the album. I did the same with black paper and to emphasize the embossed patterns, I put a small white or silvery inking on them.

I used the sentences dies to write my journaling and the knot die to decorate my black and white photos.

I kept the labels packaging to create a pocket for smaller pictures.

Thanks to the Hexagons die, I played with the colours of the papers by cutting hexagons in the various papers.

My very favorite : the Tim Hotlz’s heart die, this heart dresses so easily the layouts of this mini album, pure happiness !

Thank you and bye for now 

Supply list:

658300:  Sizzix Big Shot Starter Kit
658356:  Sizzix Textured Impressions Embossing Folders 2PK - Rose Vines & Trellis Set
658541:  Sizzix Big Die - Brows
658317:  Sizzix Hexagons
667119:  Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 4PK - Scribbles & Splat NEW!
660804:  Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 3PK - Happiness Phrases NEW! 

Paper, Alpha, Labels & stickers: Kési'art
Strass, Buttons & Twin : Scrapboukits
Cardstock: Bazzill

Thank you and bye for now, 

Isalilou

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Bonjour à tous!

Aujourd'hui, je vous propose un mini album, très simple et rapide à réaliser.

Les pages sont à la taille des photos pour simplifier la découpe des pages du mini album (vous pouvez utilisez une photo au format classique comme gabarit pour couper vos papiers), auquel on peut ajouter des pages avec un rabat si vous le souhaitez. J'ai utilisé 9 pages simples à la taille des photos et 2 pages avec un rabat à droite.

La reliure est faite avec une spirale, mais vous pouvez utiliser de anneaux sans problème.

J'ai utilisé du papier blanc que j'ai embossé avec les plaques texturées de Brenda Walton pour décorer mes pages tout au long de l'album, j'ai fait de même avec du papier noir et pour mettre en valeur les motifs embossés, j'ai passé un petit encreur blanc ou argenté.

J'ai utilisé les dies phrases pour écrire mes journaling et le die noeud pour décorer mes photos N&B

J'ai gardé l'emballage des étiquettes pour créer une pochette avec plusieurs petites photos.

J'ai joué avec les couleurs des papiers grâce au die Hexagones, en découpant des hexagones dans les différents papiers.

Mon coup de coeur, le die coeur de Tim hotlz, ce coeur habile si facilement les mises en page de ce mini album, un pur bonheur.

Merci et à très bientôt

Isalilou

Hexie Mat

Any attempt to finish my quilt over the last week was thwarted when I ran out of the thread I'd been using on the back. It became apparent that the colour I was using was pretty obscure when it wasn't stocked in the 6 shops I visited (argh!) and so I had to order it online leaving me with some free time whilst I waited for it to show up.

Having been working on a large and time-consuming project for a while I wanted to go the opposite way and make something small and quick - and that I could try out the new free motion foot that had recently arrived for my sewing machine. I always have a vase of daffodils in the house throughout spring to cheer the place up and a small quilted mat to stand it on rather than the usual coaster seemed like an ideal project.

I love any excuse to do some English paper piecing with hexagons, using my Big Shot to cut both the papers and fabric makes it so quick and easy to get going. I used the Hexagons, 3/4in Sides die to cut the papers and then the Hexagons, 1in Sides #2 die to cut the fabric. I basted a few hexies and experimented with arrangements before settling on one and hand-sewing them together.

Once the hexie flower was pressed and the papers removed, I pinned and hand-stitched it around the outside onto an 8 inch square piece of fabric.

I then made the quilt sandwich and after a bit of practice on some scrap fabric, had my first proper attempt at some free motion quilting - you might still be able to see where I unpicked some less-than-successful stitching here and there (FMQ is fun to do but I'm going to need a lot more practice to attempt anything larger than an 8 inch square). All that was left then was to bind the edges.

All done, it's nice to get something finished!

Hello card and gift card folder

Hello everybody,

I offer you a small card in pastel colours and its gift card folder, in which you can slip some sweets.

The card is rather simply decorated with a hexagon die. It allowed me to cut hexagons in various papers, to create the bottom of my card. 

Then I put it down on a more contrasted striped paper.
I decorated with a ribbon and before tying it, I slipped inside a small charm.

For the pocket decoration, I played with coloured papers and the various sizes of the “Flowers” die.
I then added some brads in the flowers centers.

Good day to you all.

Supply list:

658300:  Sizzix Big Shot Starter Kit
656640:  Sizzix Tattered Florals 
658317:  Sizzix Hexagons
660804:  Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 3PK - Happiness Phrases NEW! 

Paper: Swirlcards
Strass: Artemio
Brads: Kési'art
Charm and clip: Scrapboukits


Have a good day, 

Isalilou

*************

Bonjour à toutes et tous,

Je vous propose une petite carte aux couleurs pastels et sa petites pochette cadeaux, dans laquelle, on peut glisser des petites gourmandises.

La carte est décorée assez simplement avec le die hexagone, qui m'a permis de découper des hexagones dans différents papiers pour créer le fond de ma carte que j'ai ensuite maté sur un papier rayé plus contrasté.

J'ai décoré avec un ruban: avant de le nouer, j'y ai glissé une petite breloque. 

Pour la pochette, c'est le die Fleurs qui m'a permis de décorerai jouant avec les couleurs des papiers et les différentes tailles de découpe du die.

J'ai ensuite ajouté des brads au centres des fleurs.

matériels utilisés:

658300:  Sizzix Big Shot Starter Kit
656640:  Sizzix Tattered Florals 
658317:  Sizzix Hexagons
660804:  Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 3PK - Happiness Phrases NEW! 

Paper: Swirlcards
Strass: Artemio
Brads: Kési'art
Charm and clip: Scrapboukits

Bonne journée,

Isalilou