Tilda Lemon Tree Blog Hop & The New 'Take it All Tote' Bag Class

I have been sitting on my hands waiting to share the gorgeous new Tilda range, Lemon Tree, with you all. Originally scheduled to come out early this year the release date was delayed until last week. It has certainly been worth the wait.

The lovely folks at Sew and So sent me a few prints from the new range to play with. There is a wonderful palette of fresh vibrant colours that really have me excited. I love that these play well with designs from Tilda's previous ranges but have such a fresh bright look.

I knew that I wanted to use the small scale prints to create some patchwork and the larger feature print with some quilting to really show off the design. I created my new Take it All Tote.

A capacious and sturdy tote that uses the excellent Vlieseline Stylevil to create a self supporting Tote bag that can easily be loaded with whatever you need, whether it be supplies for a craft class or a picnic or towels and snacks for a day out at the beach.

I had great fun piecing the patchwork panel for the front of the bag, the ditsy print I used for the binding is my favourite and the simple natural linen from Stoff really sets of the bright colours of the Lemon Tree. 

I used a simple striped cotton lining and thick padded handles for comfort during use.

The back of the bag shows of the wonderful print Lemon Tree in Plum, quilted simply with a flower motif to let the fabric do all the talking. There are so many wonderful details to pick out in this fabric,  camels, elephants, ballerinas and penny farthings, it is so fun!

I will be teaching the Take it All Tote at Serendipity Patchwork and Quilting in Bovey Tracey over two mornings on March 8th & April 26th and the cost is just £35 for the two sessions. You can contact them to book a space through the website. It promises to be a great class with instruction on how to piece the patchwork, how to work with innovative stabilisers for great finished results and of course the chance to sew with beautiful fabric!

You can find the full range of the new Tilda Lemon Tree at Sew and So and for Vlieseline Stylevil Stabiliser please visit Lady Sew and Sew or Six Penny Memories. 

Sewing World December 2017 - A giveaway

UPDATE - 23 November 2017 ** Giveaway now closed ** Congratulations to Kay who commented on the blog and won the copy of the magazine 

The latest issue of Sewing World magazine is out in shops now. Packed full of beautiful projects it is a must buy! There are lots of sweet quick makes that would be perfect for Christmas gift ideas. 

I also have a project in this months issue (thats the 9th time this year I have been featured in Sewing World, yay!). I really hope you like it, its one of my most favourite to date! I used the stunning traditional Hungarian Kalocsa style of embroidery to design my free machine embroidered purse.

You can order your copy here. And connect with Sewing World to see more here:

www.sewingworldmagazine.com

www.facebook.com/sewingworldmagazine

twitter.com/sewingworldmag

www.instagram.com/sewingworldmag

But I have one copy (complete with the free cover pattern) to give away to a reader. Simply comment below to be in with a chance and I will draw a winner on 23 November using a random generator, please be sure you are not a no-reply commenter. For an extra chance to win head over to my Instagram and comment there on my giveaway post too.

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Watch out, here comes the 'C' word....

yep.....Christmas!!!!!

I have been getting into the festive mood early this year, a couple of weeks ago a friend came over for a little workshop to make an advent calender. She had seen mine, made quite a few years ago, and fancied one for her own little family

I taught her how to cut her fabric, baste, free machine quilt and bind....all in a morning! She hadn't used a sewing machine since school. She was very happy and I was very relieved that it went well!

In fact she enjoyed herself so much she is coming back next weekend for another go and this time she is bringing other ladies with her! I decided I had better make another sample, something a bit more professional looking! The one above was made before I had 'learnt' how to free machine quilt or put on binding so it was all 'made-up' leaving the finish a little lacking.

This time I used a quilt as you go method and made little pockets for each day, I finally got to try out one of the fancy stitches on my new machine too. I just love the blanket stitch, I have always wanted a machine with this and I got a kick out of sewing on every single one of these 24 pockets, honest!!

I have yet to decide whether to add a pot to the bottom of this calender.

So mince pies, mulled wine and Michael Buble (just the CD, not the man unfortunately) on standby, we'll be pretending its Christmas next Saturday!

No time to talk

I have been busy, busy fielding squabbling children (are we really still in the first week of the holidays?!) busy cleaning and washing whilst the sun shines and happily busy sewing when I can.

So with the kids wrapped up in bed I am going to give you a whirlwind update of what's been going on here before whizzing off to do some more (or possible collapse in front of a film, I will see how far my legs take me!)

First up, my new wallet! I have been drooling over the wonderful purses Ali at Very Berry Handmade makes for months and every time i get out my tattered old wallet I swear I am going to make myself a new one. I finally did it and I love it! Best of all the fabric was in the bargain bucket at a local quilt shop and I found they also sell fusible fleece (amazing, no-where here ever stocks anything useful or modern!) so I got everything I needed, hurrah!

I took photos of it VERY late at night, hence the poor quality, obviously I couldn't wait to use it!

Next I trialled a block for my month in the new Modern Stitching Bee, Alleyways from the book Modern Blocks

I did a quick mosaic to give me an idea of how this would look as a quilt, although it is hard to imagine because each block will be made from different fabrics from their own scraps, so it will be less uniform but I think I will like it. I have a few more to trial when I get a minute!

I also finished my frame purse last week for my swap partner, I had a bit of a mare with the glue, which was very frustrating after all the care I had taken to make up a pattern, embroider and sew the purse together. Thankfully some lovely smelly acetone took care of my spilt glue :-)

The front, thankfully now glue free (almost!)

The back...fly birdie, fly!

The inside, yes, more bargain Amy Butler, but when it is so gorgeous why not?!

My not so little purse is now stuffed with goodies and ready to be wrapped up and handed to the postie at the end of the week.

Finally last week just because I could I made a quilt! It is not on my FAL list, it didn't need making, but sometimes you just have to. I had a beautiful Cape Ann charm pack from one of the lovely ladies in the rainbow charm swap, sent as a thank you. As soon as I received it I knew it would be a quilt for one of my girls but it promptly got stroked and put in the fabric cupboard, where I forgot about it!

So I pulled it out last week (does this mean I can buy new fabric now as I have used up some stash?!!!)

Love that vintage sheet stripy binding, my favouritest binding ever (and yes that is a word)

 Vintage sheet backing too, quilted with free motion loopy hearts

 It is amazing how far a charm pack can go! This is a generous fit on little Juliettes toddler bed and I am hoping it will sit widthways across the bottom of a single bed when she moves up to one as it too pretty not to keep using.

So that's me pretty much upto date. Tell a lie, I did finish my BQS3 mini today but was too busy hand sewing the binding and sunbathing to take a picture, so you'll have to wait!

The Kindness of Quilters

Thanks to the kindness of everyone for all the comments about my sewing machine, I am sorry I haven't had time to reply to each of you but your comments really did cheer me up. I spent most of Friday at a lovely friends house tuning these blocks into a quilted runner for my Mother In Laws birthday present. My friend Liz let me loose on her amazing Husqvarna, brought me several cups of tea, sweeties and made lunch to keep me going.  She even managed to dig out the right shade of thread from her stash when I ran out! She really is so wonderful! Thank you Liz.

My mother in law has travelled to Lancaster County in the USA before and fell in love with the Amish quilts but was unable to bring one home. I tried to re-create a sense of traditional American/Amish quilt style in my runner.

Arizona Star Block

Mariners Compass Block (thanks to Katy for helping me find the pattern!)

Bearpaw Block

After almost 6, yes 6, solid hours of sewing and quilting I had a runner that just required the binding sewing down. This took me an hour! It is a large runner, although I didn't measure it but it is about 54" x 18".

Jumping right in at the deep end I decided it needed fmq with feathers and stippling. I watched several youtube videos and I think that really helped me with the feathers as this is the first time I have tried them. I will admit to drawing them out first with my frixion pen, I don't think I would have been able to do them otherwise. I also used an easy curve ruler of my friends, very useful and going on my wish list.

I also added triangle pockets and a piece of dowelling in case my MIL wanted to hang it on the wall. I must admit to being secretly very very proud of my quilting, the stitch length is awful in places but I don't care. I was exhausted after the race to finish it on Friday, then Saturday was spent cooking and packing ready for her surprise 70th Birthday Picnic. What with all that, the travelling and hours worrying about the weather and whether anyone would come I was shattered by the time we got home on Sunday evening.

Of course that is the last item on my finish along list done, good job too because my machine is still out of order, the foot pedal appears to be the problem and it is at my lqs waiting for the repair man to see if it can be repaired or needs replacing. I hope it can be repaired as I know I cannot afford a new foot, I should find out on Thursday.

In the meantime I am going to stick with my epp from the retreat and hopefully get my tax return completed!

Whoops missed my blogversairy!

Oh dear, whoops! Little bit of an anti-climax was my blogversairy, so busy working on VIP's (very important projects) was I that I completely missed it! Still, sewing had to be the best way to celebrate it!

Hmm, a little disappointed nobody sent cake ;-)

For anyone who is interested it all started a year ago on the 17th June with this post. I am amazed daily by the kindness and support of the online quilting community and so honoured to call some of these wonderful people my friends *grin*. Had you told me a year ago that I would be going to London for a weekend of sewing with these talented bloggers I would never have believed you!

Thanks to each and every single one of you for reading my ramblings, giving kind and encouraging words and telling me off and giving me a kick when I need it, ahem Nicky ;-) I actually love you all, you make me a better, stronger more adventurous person and I wouldn't be where I am now without you (although my husband may have something to say to you about the amount of time I spend in my studio now!!)

Anyway, what have I been so busy on? Well killing two birds with one stone (there is a pun there, honest, you'll get it in a while!) I have been working on the last two outstanding items on my FAL list. My mother in laws birthday is this weekend and I wanted to make her something VERY special because she is special. Without her help I wouldn't have been able to come to London and I love her so much. BUT I can't show you for fear she will see it, you will have to wait until next week!

So the other item on the list was to do  my Birdie Stitches block for July. You may have read before now that I have a love/hate relationship with these birdies (read as hate!) So I decided I was going to do something about these annoying little blighter's, see the pun now??!!

Yep that's right I decided to get rid of these winged creatures of torture by finishing the quilt top! I still hate it AND with over a years build up to the quilting I.AM.DREADING.IT! Not least because I managed to make the quilt grow in size a good several inches by adding what is becoming my signature scrappy and white boarders. I also have a very sneaking suspicion that in my haste to get it done and over the top is now less than flat and is going to be a b***er to baste and quilt without getting puckers. Oh listen to me, what a whiner! 

I think deep down I do love it really, this was the first big project/qal I joined in with when I started blogging, I was also the third ever quilt I started making (it is all Cindy's fault btw, I saw her sewing along and had to join in!)

In other news, seeing as the big day is passed I can show you what I made my Dad for fathers day. I used up a remnant from Juliette's old blackout blind, an odd shoelace and a toggle (hehe for presents from rubbish!) to make him a shoe bag for his running shoes. 

I printed off a line drawing of some running shoes, transferred it onto the material and free machine embroidered it. I am still having trouble with the heat transfer pencil, it did work a little here, but I couldn't hold the iron on any longer or the fabric would have melted! And due to the waterproof/blackout coating I couldn't put it upto a light source and trace it. Still, I think they do look like running shoes. Dad was pleased with it at least, he sent me a comment on facebook hahaha ;-)

As for my husband, I didn't make him anything, not because I am mean but because we have enough handmade stuff around the house and I didn't think he'd like a zippy pouch or cushion lol! So I made him a very special lunch instead. A day out on Dartmoor with banger sandwiches cooked al fresco, we had a wonderful day indeed :-)

sqiffle waffle doo daah!

Well, I don't know about you but I am not cool enough to ALWAYS think of something intelligent and appropriately awesome in my title, so today 'sqiffle waffle doo daah' will do!

I was naughty last night, I SHOULD have been sewing together the blocks I had made for the Siblings Together Quit2 during the day

But I didn't. I should also have been getting my name badge for the FQ retreat swap finished....but I didn't!

Instead I had a compete whim to suddenly have a go at some fmq. I wanted a really plain canvas to work on so made up a quick mini quilt, I also had a little length of dowel kicking around the studio I have been saving for about a year for just this purpose. Earlier in the day I had found the amazing quilting by Krista Withers and for some unknown reason I had ideas of making my own mini quilt in a similarly awesome quilty style.

How wrong was I! I was so excited, quilted away and then soon got disheartened! I used 2 different thread colours (the first ran out!), I am telling myself it doesn't matter as it was just a practice, truth be told I don't like to waste anything so I always secretly hope the practice is good enough to use!

Anyway, I finished it, felt rather disappointed and went to bed thinking I had wasted the evening making something awful when I had so much else I should have done.

I got up today, not remembering the quilt and was pleasantly surprised when I saw it in the daylight

Nope, still don't like the darker thread side!

It is not brilliant but it is mine, I would love to have a quilt long arm quilted in this style, but I doubt I will ever afford it. So I have my 15 inches squared of amateur fancy pants quilting. Perhaps when I get over how testing this was I may make another so it is not so lonely on the wall!

Soluble Fabric Bowl Class

Before I went away this week I made the most of my husband being off work and ran off for the morning to play at my friends house!

Liz is an amazingly talented lady, it is down to her that I ever started quilting, she is so inspiring! I find that I almost have to go to her studio with blinkers on or I find myself distracted by all the wonderful projects she has on the go.

I am very comfortable doing fme, it is one of my favourite techniques, I love doing stitched pictures with it but I wanted to see what other applications it can have.

This time we got to grips with soluble film.

We popped our film into an embroidery hoop and using this as inspiration set off!

Once we had finished our embroidery (lots of bobbin changes later!) we dissolved the film in a bowl of warm water and shaped the bowl around a balloon. Then used a hair dryer to set it, you could leave it overnight if you have time. 

Next time I will use a smaller balloon as I'd like higher 'sides' on the bowl but I am still really pleased with how this turned out.

I highly recommend having a go a this, it is so simple and loads of fun, the possibilities are endless!

I am hoping that next time we get together we can make up one of these bowls (bit of a bowl theme going on, but you can never have too many bowls!)

Now all we need to do is source the cotton clothes line in the UK, in the US it is very easy to buy and very cheap - not so much here!