Happy as a Clam. When R & D meets R & R

Sometimes being creative can be a drain. The constant demand for new ideas can actually block the flow of inspiration and the deadlines and work that come with creating new patterns for publishing can mean there is little time left to actually play, think or dream of new projects.

So you just have to hit pause. Which is exactly what I have been doing for a couple of weeks. Don't get me wrong, there has been no rest! But rather a little respite from the deadlines and compulsory sewing and writing.

It has given me the chance to play a little and in doing so I have found new ideas for work. How lucky can one be when the research and development of new projects actually can be playing with fabric and having fun?!

One idea I have been wanting to try for a long time is some machine appliqué clamshells. One evening a stack of the new Tilda Cottage Collection was calling to me, I was in a festive mood and it has some perfect christmasy coloured prints.



I used my tried and tested technique for turning under the raw edges of the clams and then machine appliquéd them to a linen base. You will have to excuse the poor finishing of the clams, this was certainly a case of the head working faster than my hands! I was in such a hurry to get the idea out of my head and tested that this was only ever intended as a practice piece. Of course, I couldn't resist finishing the piece and turning it into something useful! I just made up enough clams to cover the base of my scrap of linen and I let this this determine the size of the pouch.



A quick bit of hand embroidery, add some lining, wadding and a zip and I have a zippy pouch. For the hand embroidery I printed out the wording I wanted using my computer and traced it on using my lightbox and a Frixion marker as I never trust my poor handwriting to do it freehand.



I always print a few different sizes on the sheet so that I can choose the one that has the best fit when I hold it up to the project rather than having to go back and forth trying different ones.

I squared up and trimmed the embroidered outer and then cut the linen backing, lining and wadding pieces all to the same size. The linen outer allows the pretty Tilda prints to do all the talking, I really love how these prints can be so festive but without a hint of christmas images in them.



For the lining I used a salvaged piece of stripe shirting. I love how its simplicity is the perfect match for the outer. I used Vlieseline 279 cotton mix wadding which gives the pouch a little structure but a lovely soft handle.

SaveSaveSaveSave

I do hope in the run up to Christmas there will be more time for me to play but for now I must get my head down and meat my end of year deadlines! I hope you all get the chance to work on some pretty and frivolous projects too, all work and no play is good for no one!

Stockist enquiries for the Tilda fabric which was supplied by Groves Ltd can be made by contacting groves@stockistenquiries.co.uk where they will be happy to assist you. The wide range of Vlieseline products can be found at Lady Sew and Sew and Six Penny Memories.


SaveSave

Santa Claus is coming to town

I have to hold my hands up right now and confess, 95% of the decorating I do at Christmas is for me, not my children, not my visitors, but me. I love to create a winter wonderland and my discovery of the Tilda Dolls last year took this magic to a whole new level.

Last year I made a beautiful Tilda Santa complete with traditional red velvet coat and white fur trimming. He was a joy to make, but he seemed a bit lonely. So earlier this year I made a wonderful fur polar bear from the book Tildas Winter Delights, there are several sizes and I have already had demands for a tiny one from my girls. Then I found out that alongside the new Cottage Collection Tilda were releasing a Patchwork Santa Kit.



I couldn't resist, Patchwork AND Christmas all in one Santa? Yes please!

The kit comes with everything you need to make the Santa (except wadding and Stuffing, more on that in a minute). It has complete illustrated step by step instructions that cover the construction of the doll and the patchwork coat. You are of course free to make you own tweaks to the design and the kit comes with a generous amount of fabric so that you can add any extra accessories you may wish - miniature patchwork santa sack anyone?!



I found the doll pretty easy to make over a couple of days. There are a few fiddly tasks, like turning and stuffing the thin legs and arms, here I found the wooden stick provided in the kit very helpful. I also found holding the legs and arms in place whilst trying to sew them to the body a little awkward, but my Clover appliqué pins were very useful. Their tiny size means you can put a few in that you just wouldn't have room for with normal pins. I also found Gutermann Hand Quilting thread great for attaching the limbs, it has the extra strength you need to be able to put quite a lot of tension on the thread without breaking and attaches the limbs securely.



My previous Tilda doll had taught me that standard wadding like the kind I use in my quilts just won't work for the doll clothing. Despite being low loft quilters wadding it was just too dense and thick for the tiny seams and particularly the underarm area, causing puckering no matter how much clipping of the seam I did. This time I tried Vlieseline's Thin Fleece 248 which is an incredibly lightweight and low volume batting.



It was the perfect match! I am so glad I found this and I will certainly be using it for all my future Tilda Dolls, alongside the Deco-Wadding also from Vlieseline which is my absolute favourite doll stuffing. It is so fine you don't get the lumpiness you sometimes run the risk of with cheap poly stuffing.

 

Because the kit came with such a generous amount of fabric I was lucky enough with some savvy cutting to have quite a bit left. I couldn't resist using the leftover 'doll skin' fabric to make a couple of cute reindeer. I used the free pattern on the Tildas World Blog for the Tiny Egg Hares  and just added some little stick antlers. There is a pattern for large reindeer in the book Homemade and Happy but I think these tiny ones are adorable and will look wonderful tucked away around the house at Christmas.


I didn't make many changes to the original design of the Patchwork Santa, I just added a little bell on the end of his hat and some little bows on his socks/boots.




SaveSave

The Kit and fabrics used were supplied by Groves Ltd and stockist enquiries can be made by contacting them at groves@stockistenquiries.co.uk where they will be happy to assist you. The wide range of Vlieseline products can be found at Lady Sew and Sew.

I hope I have inspired you to have a go at doll making, after all they are not just for children, or indeed just for Christmas! When they are this beautiful you want to enjoy them year round and the fabulous kits mean you can have all the supplies you need in one easy purchase. In the mean time I am off to work on another Santa that I am part way through, this time he has a lot of intricate needle turn appliqué adorning his coat....I know, I'll be able to hold the Annual Tilda Santa convention soon ;-)

Tilda Cottage Collection & Stitched Sewing Organisers

Inspiration is all around us and Christmas is one time of year I just can't contain my creativity. I love to fill my home with handmade decorations, quilts and cushions, home baked treats and handpicked foliage. Of course I love to make gifts to share too with friends and loved ones. All of this decorating and crafting means I have to be organised in my approach. I like to keep lists of gifts to make and buy, jot down notes for recipes and keep all my festive crafting supplies organised together so they are easily accessible.

The new Tilda Cottage collection arrives at the perfect time, just when I am allowing myself to begin the preparations for the festive season. It is serendipitous that one of my favourite pattern designers Aneela Hoey is also having a blog hop for her superb book, Stitched Sewing Organisers. So I decided to get a head start on my holiday preparations by making up some sweet storage for my craft supplies.

I used the Handy Fold Up Pouches pattern to make a little storage case for my threads I'm using in a new project (pop back later in the week to see which project it is!) I love the genius of this pattern, Aneela is so clever in her construction techniques. This little project took me 15 minutes, no wonder that I have several of them already made up for various uses! They also make darling gift pouches and in the Tilda Cottage fabric they really are adorable, the sweet little ditsy prints are prefect in this small project.

I also used one of the larger scale prints from the Cottage collection with some Mod Podge to up-cycle a lovely strong cardboard storage tray I had been saving (it is the box that my amazing rechargeable led hand sewing lamp came in, the lamp has been a revelation in cosy evening sofa stitching!). It is amazing what a little glue, a scrap of fabric and an old box can make.

I added a sweet little spool handle to the tray, made with a tiny Tilda wooden spool wrapped in some red thread and secured with some DMC Memory Thread. The box is perfect for storing my hand sewing threads in.

There are four colourways in the Cottage Collection, all with the perfect balance of Tilda's signature large and small scale prints that make the fabric so versatile.

You can shop the Tilda Cottage Collection over at Past and Presents (they have free UK shipping!) as well as the gorgeous new Tilda book Sewing By Heart and the quilt pattern and kits that accompany the new Cottage Collection - more on those later in the week!

You can also find some adorable free projects and pattens over on the Tildas World Blog which is full of charm and inspiration. I am planning the most adorable project using the Tiny Egg Hares pattern that I can't wait to show you!

If you would like more details on the Stitched Sewing Organisers blog hop you can find the full schedule, prizes and details here.

All fabrics used were supplied by Groves Ltd and stockist enquiries can be made by contacting them at groves@stockistenquiries.co.uk where they will be happy to assist you.

SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave
SaveSaveSaveSave