The Sewing Attic

A gift for Dad.....

2012-01-18T15:32:00.000+13:00

This is my Christmas gift to my Father this year and the final handmade gift to show you here. I made this quilt top earlier in the year for a jelly roll competition which if I'd won it would've been quilted professionally as one part of the prize. After I made it I made the decision that if it won or not it would make a perfect gift to give to my Dad at Christmas which felt really good having one Christmas gift sorted and only halfway through the year!

So it didn't win but I did get a lovely letter/email from the judges giving me some nice feedback. Not having the time to do my preferred hand-quilting I did some simple straight line machine quilting and around the white border I used a decorative machine stitch. The more quilts I machine stitch the better I've become and with this quilt I had no problems at all with puckering on the front or back and I think that is down to the pin basting method I use. I tape each layer to the floor using masking tape and stretch both the back and quilt front ensuring that those layers are completely flat and taunt and I also use lots of pins.

For the back I choose some pieces from my stash that needed to be used up (ie; they had been in my stash way too long) and also coordinated with the front. One of the prints is some leftover fabric from a dress of my Mothers which seemed sort of appropriate to be used in this quilt.

I only have one more quilt top to be quilted and I'm hoping to work on that this afternoon. This means I've kept my pledge that I made here to get all my quilt tops quilted before I make any more which of course it gives the start of my new year a clean slate.

Goodies in the mail.....

2012-01-12T21:58:00.000+13:00

Before Christmas I was lucky to win a giveaway through the SewMamaSew giveaway day on Tanya's blog Second Chance. I haven't won a giveaway in such a long time so it came as a lovely surprise to have my name drawn. I always participate myself in these giveaways as it's such great way to find new to me blogs to follow which does usually mean I don't have time to enter many myself. So last Wednesday I recieved a lovely parcel all the way from the UK. It's always so exciting to get mail from halfway around the world isn't it!

Tanya had wrapped it up so prettily with ribbon and that little wooden heart tag plus had taken the time to write a lovely long letter outlining what she had included and a little about herself . It was so nice to get a hand-written letter and also to get to know her a little more.

Inside was this pretty tote that Tanya had made using up fabrics from her 2 daughters grown out of clothes. I love how she has re-used these fabrics giving them a second life and making this bag so much more special.

Inside was a wee treasure trove of goodies including a cute little christmas stocking that her daughter "Hope" had made at pre-school and gifted to my girls from Hope, 3 fabric pieces (my favourite being the one in the middle of this photo with the animals on it) , a little red brooch ( love wearing brooches!) some thrifted reels of cotton, lace and ....

.....a yummy selection of vintage buttons!! Love me some old buttons!! Thanks so very much Tanya for such a lovely bunch of beautiful gifts which I hope to include in some projects throughout this coming year.

Tanya is a busy Mum of 2 wee girls, recently taken up sewing and blogging and just might be hosting yet another giveaway on her blog sometime soon :-)

Gifts for ladies...

2012-01-07T15:10:00.000+13:00

When my Mother saw my blossom bag that I made a couple of months ago now she liked it so much she asked me to make her one for Christmas. She chose 3 lovely Denyse Schmidt prints available at Spotlight stores here, all of which I love myself and have happily got quite a bit of each one left over to use on another project.

The second time making this bag was a wee bit smoother than the first time. I made sure that the magnetic enclosure was a little higher than on my bag which is sometimes difficult to close as it's a tad too low. Also I had to again cut nearly an inch off the ends of the base pieces so I can only put that down to the measurements being out a little in the instructions. I was so busy in the weeks leading up to Christmas that I ran out of time to make it so she received it just over a week later. Thankfully I also gave her a knitting roll (the one with the birds on it) that was one of 3 I made to sell in my Etsy shop, so she had something to open on the day. When I made the knitting rolls she couldn't choose which one she liked so we decided that whichever one didn't sell would be hers. It turned out the bird one was the one she really wanted.

And after making this little bird for my giveaway I decided to secretly make one each for the girls to go in their stockings. I used some leftover Bliss fabrics and the red and white dot print from Camille & Bonnie's latest collection "Ruby". They were suitably surprised and pleased when they were unwrapped.

Now I think I need one myself! They remind of the friendly little fantails that tease our cats in our garden.

I have one more gift to show here but I keep forgetting to either take my camera or forgetting to take a photo when I do remember my camera.

Toys for small boys....

2012-01-05T21:56:00.001+13:00

Now that Christmas is well and truly over I can safely share some of my handmade creations with you here. First up is a set of stacking cubes from Anna Maria Horners book "Handmade Beginnings". Not the easiest of projects I've got to say but hey the result is worth the extra effort plus it's always good to challenge yourself now and then! These are for my latest great nephew born in October so he's not up to appreciating them fully yet but I'm sure he will appreciate all the colours for now. And yes saying 'great nephew' does make me feel old but it's all my brothers fault who was quick off the mark in starting his family when I was still a teenager.

As you can see I went with an 'I Spy' theme with the fabrics I chose for these to make them even more fun and interesting to play with.

Each cube has little ribbon tags which I made sure included some different textures to feel.

And for my eldest great nephew who is 4 years I made a patchwork drawstring bag using the same fabrics as the cubes.I used this tutorial by Ayumi from Pink Penguin to make it which had great easy to follow instructions. I filled it with little matchbox cars which as I had hoped went down well.

More handmade gifts to be shared here soon!

This past week has flown by with the very wet weather we have been having lately keeping me busy trying to get washing dry and keeping the girls entertained since it was far from beach weather. I got a "Wasgij" jigsaw puzzle out earlier in the week and I was pleasantly surprised at how it kept the girls captivated and completely absorbed until it was completed.

Having a break to just be.....

2011-12-31T14:53:00.002+13:00

This past week I have been enjoying some unplanned time away from the computer, spending time with my two girls, playing new games received at Christmas, going on walks, sewing up a storm, eating way too much chocolate and just generally enjoying this past week without any demands on my time. It's been nice to just take a step back and enjoy what comes along each day.

Caitlin and I once again did our favourite coastal walk to take in the beautiful crimson flowers of the Pohutakawa trees which really does mean summer has arrived although as I write this it is pouring down outside for the second day in a row.

For some reason that I have yet to figure out these trees don't all flower at the same time. It would be nice if they did but I guess it makes their flowering time that much longer which is a good thing too.

Our walk this particular day wasn't the best of experiences as it rained about halfway along, thankfully it was a quick and light shower and we were able to shelter in the bush. Then Caitlin got an allergic reaction to we think some grass seed that she rubbed into her eye which swelled up just a tad along with itchy hives on her legs. To top it off my jandal broke just as we were starting back so I had to walk barefoot the rest of the way.

A couple of days before Christmas I took some time out from my gift making to make this handmade decoration with Caitlin out of old Christmas cards. This little heart house is a great way to re-use and preserve those lovely cards that are received over this holiday season that always seem too nice and special to just throw away. You can find the very easy tutorial over here on Michele's blog. The only thing I did differently was to stick all the hearts together (cut out from middle of the houses) and string them to the bottom of the house. The beads on the top and bottom are from a bracelet of one of the girls that broke some time ago and I had never quite gotten around to fixing it so I guess they were just waiting for that perfect project or 2 :-)

So if your in the midst of packing up your Christmas decor save those cards to make this ornament for next year.

Now I did say at the beginning of this post I had been sewing up a storm so now that the gifts have been given and received I shall be back here soon to show what I have been busy creating these past few weeks.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy New Years eve!

Nearly Christmas eve, eve...

2011-12-22T22:49:00.000+13:00

Yes according to my youngest daughter its Christmas eve, eve tomorrow which I guess is a good way of making Christmas day seem like its a little bit closer. Actually I'd like an extra day to do all the things I'd like to have done but I'm sure what's left on my to do list that doesn't get completed won't really matter on the day. We spent yesterday doing a whole lot of Christmas baking for edible gifts and also to fill up the tins for the coming holiday season. Above is Christmas shortbread stars which contain red and green glace cherries and are then dipped in dark chocolate.

We make these fresh ginger and spice biscuits each year using various Christmas themed cookie cutters. Not only are these delicious but they make a lot as in 60 + biscuits...

and then I just couldn't resist this recipe that I saw on Pinterest and then around a couple of blogs this week. These are seriously yummy and worth my search for candy canes which my local supermarket and in the next town along were out of at the beginning of the week?!...

and finally we made these peppermint creams for my Dad which we also do each year. Here's the recipe if your in need of a last minute gift or just want something yummy to nibble on each time you visit the fridge :-)

You will need:

25 grams butter
1/4 sweetened condensed milk
2 cups icing sugar, approximately
1/2 tsp peppermint essence
few drops green food colouring
200 grams dark chocolate

Mix all ingredients together in a food processor until it forms a firm paste. Roll into small balls then chill for several hours or overnight.Dip in melted chocolate and place on a baking tray to set. Keep chilled in fridge. I doubled this recipe and I think it made 30 to 40 small balls.

My house is now all clean and tidy after today's effort, shopping is pretty much finished so it's present wrapping tomorrow otherwise known as Christmas eve, eve. How are your preparations coming along?

Giveaway winner!!!

2011-12-18T12:59:00.001+13:00

Before I announce the winner I just want to say thank you to everyone who entered and are warm welcome to my new followers too! I was a little overwhelmed with the number of entries and had a hard time trying to keep up with the reading of them. Thanks to all those who included some great links to tutorials out there. I've pinned some of them for future reference so check out my Craft tutorials pinboard on Pinterest if you need any last minute gift ideas. Like many of you I have been busy sewing gifts for family this past week and will be able to show you a couple of items I've sewn soon. I can't show you many as the recipients are visitors to my blog and we don't want to spoil any surprises do we :-)

Okay now onto the winner of my SewMamaSew giveaway.....

The Random Generator chose Number "14" which is Karen who said:

A very nice collection of goodies! this past weekend i just finished making grocery bags to put gifts in. I used the very cute pattern from Keykalou (link ishttp://www.etsy.com/listing/62872287/sewing-pattern-to-make-a-grocery-bag-pdf). It is a great pattern.

Congratulations Karen!!!

Sew mama sew giveaway time!!

2011-12-12T15:00:00.000+13:00

Yes it's that time again, the SewMamaSew giveaway day! Not only can you be in to win great prizes but it is a great way to find new and inspiring blogs. If you are a new visitor here, welcome!

For my giveaway this time around I have a pretty little charm pack of "Ruby" , the latest fabric collection by Bonnie and Camille for Moda. This collection is oh so gorgeous and I really need to get some myself now that I have seen it in person to touch and see the lovely colour palette they have used.

Along with the handmade gift making that is going on in my sewing attic lately I have whipped up a sweet little birdie pincushion and a matching needlebook. The Birdie pincushion was made using this free tutorial here and is really so easy and satisfying to make. I think I will be making more of these in the near future. The needle book cover is made up of tiny little 1" squares of shabby chic fabrics with some coordinating wool felt pages inside taken from my precious stash of Heather Bailey felts.

In order to be in to win this wee collection of pretty sewing supplies just leave me a comment sharing one or more of your handmade gifts for this holiday season or perhaps a link to your favourite tutorial.

This giveaway will be left open till 16th December when a winner will be drawn randomly.

Overseas comments are most welcome and also please make sure I can contact you via email :-)

Feeling Christmasy

2011-12-12T11:15:00.001+13:00

Yes it's starting to feel that Christmas is just around the corner now. I have been madly sewing up some handmade goodness for most of my family. I have 3 gifts left to make and this morning I just added to 2 more gifts to make to the list that is in my head but should really be written down even if to make me feel good when I cross things off as they are done.

Caitlin and I put our tree up yesterday and it certainly felt like Christmas as we opened up the boxes of decorations and fondly remembered all our favourite ones, from the vintage to the precious handmade ones. I do have plans to make more decorations but that will have to wait to next week when the gift making will hopefully be finished.

After the tree decorating was finished we went for a wee coastal walk in the hope that the New Zealand Christmas tree aka 'the Pohutakawa' was in full bloom but we were still a week or so too early. I did manage to zoom in on this early bloom though to whet your appetite.

How are your preparations going?

Oh and a giveaway is coming soon!

Newly acquired

2011-12-08T16:46:00.001+13:00

I've been wanting to get my hands on this magazine ever since it's first edition. I was so very pleased and surprised the other day when I saw a few copies in our local bookshop. I had thought I'd have to get them to order it in specially for me like they do with the American magazine "Stitch". For an overseas monthly magazine it is quite well priced and full of crafty goodness and inspiration inside. I feel like they put this magazine together just for me and I can't wait for the next issue. Check it out at your local book shop if you haven't already!

For my Mother's Christmas present this year she has asked me to make her the Blossom bag by Amy Butler so last week we went shopping and I got her to pick out some fabrics. I was very pleased when she choose some Denyse Schmidt prints as this means I get to keep the leftovers! I really enjoyed making my version of this bag and also love using it with all it's handy pockets and dividers.

Sadly our towns little craft shop is closing down which means I won't be able to nip down town to get that perfectly matching shade of thread to go with whatever sewing project I have going on. I shall really miss being able to get basic sewing necessities at a moments notice. On the positive side the owner is having a closing down sale so I stocked up on just a few different shades of thread to keep me going :-) The Molnlycke reels of thread were only $1 a reel!

These are the fabrics I'm currently working with...for a little giveaway gift soon. What do you think? Do you like their shabby chic prettiness?

And finally I sewed this cute little birdie yesterday. It's a free pattern found here. I'm not sure whether to let it fly away to a new home as it looks quite happy where it is. Perhaps I'll make another one...

Is your week going as fast as mine? So many gifts to make and so little time...

I have been....

2011-12-05T19:54:00.001+13:00

...making and eating homemade ice-cream, gelato, sorbet and frozen yoghurt with this new toy...

...taking photos around my garden after all the rain we've experienced in the last couple of days...

...which has given me a break from the daily garden watering ...

.....everything is so clean and sparkling...

....and in full bloom in the mid morning sunshine...

....my spring onions are starting to bolt and flower, best I start using them up soon...

...my strawberries are getting bigger and more abundant....

.....and it won't be long before we have sweet cherry tomatoes to snack on....

...our rainbow silver-beet is doing so well that we could feed a few of the neighbours as well...

..but I had an idea yesterday that it was time to get out my juicer and make the most of our fresh produce and feel a little healthier too.

While it rained and rained I worked in my Sewing Attic on a Christmas present for a family member, gathered supplies to make something to go with a giveaway here soon, and played "The Game of life" with my eldest daughter.

Today I made a wee brooch out of some Bliss fabrics scraps to be sent away with my Bliss quilt to its new owner in Australia. Yes I sold my first quilt through my Etsy shop on Saturday and may have done a little happy dance when that purchase email came through. I hope the new owner loves it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Beached Whale...

2011-12-04T10:17:00.001+13:00

A sad sight on our beach Saturday morning was this dead beached whale. The above photo was taken by my husband on his phone because I forgot my camera :-( The whale was washed ashore on Friday afternoon and of course half the town was down on the beach to look at this unusual sight. It had quite a large gaping hole in its side so presumably it had been hit by a passing ship which is not a nice thing to think about. We had also heard that someone had come in the middle of the night and hacked off its jaw bone??!! Again not a pleasant thought :-(

Apparently there is quite a few whales around at the moment as they are on their annual southern migration down to Antarctica. To give you an idea of its size and weight 2 diggers struggled to drag it further down the beach to a burial site and ended up having to roll it along.

Chocolate and peppermint cream biscuits - the Recipe

2011-12-01T16:16:00.001+13:00

This is the third batch that I've made of these biscuits and I think they are near enough to perfect to share the recipe with you all. The biscuit recipe is roughly based on a Donna Hay recipe but I wanted it to have a more intense chocolate taste because my favourite chocolate is the very darkest kind and also because I think dark chocolate goes better with peppermint. Anyhow here is the recipe!

Chocolate biscuit.

You will need:

130 grams butter
1/2 cup icing sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons plain flour
5 teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch)
1/4 cup cocoa powder (best quality you can find or afford)
2 egg yolks

Preheat oven to 180 C. (350 F.). Cream butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy then add egg yolks and beat until well combined. Sift dry ingredients and add to butter mixture mixing in to form a firm dough. Rest in the refrigerator for 20 mins. Either roll into small balls and flatten with a fork or use a biscuit press (as I did) using the smaller size. Makes approximately 25 filled biscuits.

Icing:

In a food processor process 1 cup icing sugar, 25 grams butter, 1/4 teaspoon green food colouring and 1/2 teaspoon peppermint flavouring. Add 1- 2 tablespoons cold water to form a spreadable icing.

Sandwich the biscuits together with icing and enjoy!

Hint: Make sure your oven is set to 'bake' not 'grill' as I did the other day! I had baked a batch of biscuits then switched it to 'grill' to dry roast some peanuts to make some peanut brownies. Unfortunately when I went to bake the peanut brownies I forgot to switch it back to 'bake' resulting in some biscuits being perfectly cooked but burnt on top! Just thought I should keep it real here so you don't think I'm some perfect Martha Stewart type cook :-)

Another something just for me...

2011-11-30T19:18:00.001+13:00

A quick and easy summer skirt made up in a "New York" themed print. I am not usually drawn to buying themed fabrics but this one seemed to stand out to me as one that would make a unique skirt. If it had a New Zealand theme or Kiwiana theme I would have steered well clear so if you're from the US I can understand if it's not your cup of tea.

Anyway I'm really pleased with how this skirt came out and how quickly it came together as it took only 2 - 3 hours to whip up. It is quite a flattering style that sits nicely on my hips and therefore not cutting into my waist. The only thing I changed is to make it a little shorter so it comes to my knees.

For a bit of added interest I added some mini blue ric-rac around the bottom edge of the top band and normal sized red ric-rac around the hemline. I used an invisible zipper on the side seam using this tutorial which shows just how easy these zippers are to install. The pattern is "New Look" no.6595 if you're interested in making this skirt too. Now all I need is a couple of tops or three to go with it!

Weekending...

2011-11-28T13:04:00.001+13:00

We had almost perfect weather this past weekend except for the strong winds that are hanging around at the moment. On Saturday afternoon Caitlin and I went for a coastal walk to see if the Pohutakawa's were flowering. This walk takes in the coast line between Onemana and Whangamata. We did this same walk last year but this time we walked 20 - 30 mins further to another beach. The above photo is looking north and out to Slipper island.

Looking southwards down to Whangamata

The water was a beautiful colour and amazingly clear.

Our first glimpse of the beach...not a sole in sight.

To have this beautiful beach all to ourselves and so close to home reminded us of why we are lucky to live on the Coromandel.

A little starfish enjoying the quiet waters amongst the rock pools...

...along with these sea snails that Caitlin had fun re-arranging.

Some sweet and tiny wild forget-me-not flowers growing along the pathway.

Sunday was spent weeding in my garden and picking these roses for inside.

This coming week I have numerous sewing projects to get on with, some just for me, many that are Christmas gifts, one for a giveaway and something for my shop. Best I get on with it!

A pretty summer top...

2011-11-23T17:05:00.001+13:00

I've been doing a bit of sewing just for me for a change and I'm really enjoying it. I haven't sewn something for myself for about 3 years so I was feeling a little out of practice but it didn't take long to get into the grove.

Last Monday I had a day out shopping with my Mum and bought 3 different prints for a top, a skirt and a dress. I almost always are drawn to the blues and greens but this time I picked different colours without even realising although its fair to say there weren't many blue/green prints to be had. Anyway Spotlight had 40% off all fabrics so for less than $70 I will have 3 new pieces to add to my summer wardrobe. I used patterns that I already had so that also saved a bit. This pattern is 'New Look 6179' and the fabric I used is a really soft Swiss cotton that drapes beautifully.

The one thing I changed to this pattern was to add 5 rows of elastic shirring approximately 5 inches up from the bottom. I used to be scared of doing elastic shirring until I saw this video on Heather Ross's blog about how easy it was and it is very easy and satisfying.

The pattern uses bias binding around the bottom of the armholes and for the casing around the neckline. I just happened to have some perfectly matching red bias binding in my sewing box. I also added one of my wee labels to give it a little professional touch.

I'm looking forward to wearing this top and feeling more feminine as I'm a little tired of my shorts/t-shirt wardrobe rut that I seem to be in at the moment.

Next up is the skirt!

This weekend I...

2011-11-21T19:38:00.001+13:00

Spent lots of time in my garden, planting, re-arranging plants, weeding and harvesting a crop of carrots. They don't look as uniform as carrots that you buy but I'm sure they will be much tastier.

Filled up the biscuit tins for the coming week. I made Chocolate Chippies (with big chunks of dark almond chocolate) and Chocolate mint cream biscuits, a recipe I put together myself which is just a plain chocolate biscuit sandwiched together with peppermint icing. This is the second batch I've made because they disappear very quickly!

...noticed some unusual cloud formation out our kitchen window on Sunday afternoon.

Made pizza for Sunday night dinner which is become a family tradition in our house this year. I actually make two, the other one has garlic/potato(thinly sliced)/fresh rosemary & Parmesan. Sometimes the girls help me and sometimes not but the bonus of having pizza on Sunday night is I always save a couple of pieces for the girls lunches on Monday making it a quick lunch to put together on Monday morning.

And today I finally got around to making our Christmas cake. I have had the dried fruit soaking since Friday night meaning to make it over the weekend but both days I went out into the garden and completely forgot about making it. I have also been sewing today. It is something for me and something I haven't sewn in a long time so its a lovely change. I shall share in the next day or so;-)

Hope you too had a lovely productive weekend.

It's in the details...

2011-11-19T18:13:00.001+13:00

Okay just one finish this week but I'm pretty pleased with this one. My original plan was to have some little yo-yo's in the centre but they just didn't look right. Too much pattern I think no matter what I did with them and then I remembered a 3D fabric pinwheel I had leftover from this fabric wreath I made.

I think it looks quite perfect framed with some pale aqua ric-rac that I found in my ric-rac stash. It is quilted in diagonal lines with some variegated thread.

This is the back which I love as much as the front. I used this tutorial that I had pinned ages ago. I love it when I actually use ideas that I've pinned. Makes me feel that all that time that I spend on Pinterest is not completely wasted.

The fabric covered buttons are totally handmade. I was going to purchase a covered button kit but my local craft shop only had one size stocked and of course it wasn't the size I wanted. Luckily I knew how to make my own thanks to the very clever Michele. Here's a link to the tutorial here!

These buttons do take a bit longer to make but are worth the extra effort just to get that satisfying feeling of having made some entirely from scratch.

I've added this cushion to my shop even though I'm sure I could find a home for it in one of my daughters rooms.

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend!

I have been......

2011-11-16T18:21:00.001+13:00

Strip piecing these squares....

....here's a little peek at what I created today and am hoping to finish tomorrow....

harvesting rhubarb and strawberries...

...cooking the rhubarb with some granny smith apples to go with our breakfast cereal, yum. This is especially nice with a little orange juice and rind but today I settled for a little natural vanilla essence in the absence of oranges....

....and I am often found with my nose in this book lately. Jodi Picoult's books get me every time.

Leftovers....

2011-11-11T16:15:00.001+13:00

I spent a good couple of hours today sitting in the sunshine, listening to National Radio and also enjoying the sound of the Tui's singing outside whilst cutting up these squares leftover from my 2 Bliss quilts. It took me a while to come up with a design that would make best use of what I have leftover which also includes a few little yo-yo's. I hope you are not tired of seeing this pretty fabric collection here as I'm afraid that this will not be the last project I make using these fabrics. I still have those triangles to incorporate into something plus I still have quite a bit of Bliss yardage left.

I think we are in for a pleasantly warm and sunny weekend which will make me want to get out in the garden rather than stay inside to sew. Wishing everyone a pleasant weekend too!

Another finish!

2011-11-10T18:11:00.004+13:00

Just finished this little baby girl quilt early this afternoon and I'm feeling pretty chuffed to have finished 2 quilts in the same week! This baby bliss quilt is made up of leftover blocks from my original Bliss quilt and at 30" by 50" is the perfect size for a baby quilt.

As you can see I went to town when I pinned it to make sure it didn't move when I quilted it and it worked. All those extra pins were worth it.

I did some simple straight line quilting down each side of each seam and also diagonally across the squares with the same variegated thread I used on the other Bliss quilt then added a little yo-yo to each intersection.

Here's a photo of the quilt back....I like how the intersecting quilting lines have made tiny little stars. And yes this is the same print I used on the baby boy quilt. I bought a couple of mitres as I knew they would go so well with a lot of fabrics in my stash.

I used one of the pink Bliss prints for the binding just to give it a really girly look.

I now have only 2 quilt tops left to quilt so I think I'm doing well so far in keeping that pledge I made here to have no more quilt tops hanging around waiting for their turn to be finished.

This quilt is up for sale in my etsy shop :-)

Baby boy circle quilt...

2011-11-08T16:58:00.001+13:00

This is the finished quilt I have been working on this last week and the one I showed a little snippet of in my last post. It is for the same baby boy that I made these gifts for. I thought after making the ball and bootees I would quickly whip up a simple quilt for him and immediately thought of this quilt but I always like to put my own spin on a pattern and also wanted to incorporate a bundle of fat quarters I had in my stash that included the zoology print by Michael Miller and some coordinating spotty fabrics that seemed perfect for a boy. The idea for the tree came from the Zoology print which has the same simple tree amongst the animals.

The words are done in a Amy Butler stripe and to make them stand out a bit better I used a machine embroidery thread in a bright turquoise to blanket stitch around them.

I was going to quickly machine quilt it but then had the idea of some hand quilted various sized circles to keep with the circle theme I had going on. I found the perfect colours in one of Anna Maria Horners boxes of Pearle cottons and used a Fiskars circle template that I had for scrapbooking to get perfect circles.

I couldn't resist adding this sweet little bird to one of the branches which I found in one of my quilting books, and used another Amy Butler floral print.

The backing fabrics are nothing fancy but ones I wanted to use up from my stash. I found the 'abc' print and just added fabrics that went with the colours in that print. It felt so good to use these very old fabrics!

The background spotty print is one from Spotlight and the binding print is the same print but the colours are reversed. We gave the quilt and the other handmade gifts to my niece on Sunday and I think it's fair to say she was very pleased with everything.

Circles on my mind...

2011-11-02T15:22:00.000+13:00

A baby boy quilt I'm working on today. All pinned and ready for some simple hand quilting with my new AMH pearle cottons.

And here is a mosaic of circle inspired projects to keep to today's theme...

1. french knots, 2. Celebrate Colour - felt art, 3. embroidery, 4. Sneaky peak of my latest crochet creation :), 5. Pastel Polka Dot Quilt Top With Ruffle, 6. Mini Quilt of the Month, February: Circular Applique, 7. Scrappy Pincushion Swap--Round 2, 8. footrest top view 2, 9. Twinkle pillow, 10. ORBC Q-Along Circle Quilt from leftovers, 11. pillow front , 12. 'Strawberry Sundae' wall art closeup, 13. Rickrack Pies 59x59", 14. pillow front :), 15. Single Girl Quilt, 16. Mini Quilt of the Month, February: Circular Applique

Enjoy!!

Bliss pinwheels!

2011-10-29T11:44:00.002+13:00

I finished hand sewing the binding on this quilt yesterday afternoon and took it outside for a quick photo shoot just in time to enter it in the Bloggers Quilt Festival hosted by Amy. For those of you who are regular readers you will know all about this quilt but for those who are are visiting from the Bloggers Quilt Festival I will give you a run-down on its statistics :-) Oh and welcome if you are new here! You welcome to hang around and have a look at what I get up to.

So this quilt was started with a jellyroll of that pretty fabric collection called "Bliss by Bonnie and Camille". The framed 6 inch pinwheel blocks were originally going to be sewn together to make 12 inch blocks but I decided that they looked better framed individually with the coordinating solids. I also added yoyo flowers to each pinwheel.

I then added a wide border in one of the pretty red prints then machine appliqued a meandering vine with clusters of yoyo blossoms.

Once I finished the top I was a little stuck on how I should quilt it. I love the look of hand quilting but also like simple straight line machine quilting so I did a bit of each. Another problem that stopped the progression of this quilt was trying to find the right shades of Pearl cotton to hand quilt it in but I finally found the right colours after a lot of searching every time I went out of town. (I live in a small coastal town 2 hours drive from any city with a decent amount of shops.)

The pinwheels are hand quilted with circles of Pearle thread and quilting cotton to give the idea of a spinning pinwheel.

The border is hand quilted using the Pearl thread in a meandering line with little loopy flowers to echo the clusters of yoyo blossoms.

Here's a photo of the back to give you a better idea of the border quilting.

For the straight line quilting I used a variegated thread in shades similar to the fabrics.

I used a solid red to bind it which I think frames it all nicely. I always use a double thickness of binding for better durability.

This quilt, which measures 50"x70", is special to me because it's the first quilt I've made specifically to sell in my shop and also it's the first quilt I've made using just one fabric collection. I love how it turned out and would be quite happy to keep it if it doesn't sell. When I made the initial pinwheel blocks I ended up with too many so have made another quilt top (crib size and waiting to be quilted) plus a bolster pillow to match the quilt.

I do hope you enjoyed reading about the makings of this quilt and thanks to Amy for hosting this fun Bloggers Quilt Festival. I'm off to check everyone elses entries now!

A winner and some recipes to share...

2011-10-28T12:23:00.002+13:00

To everyone who entered my giveaway thanks so much for the birthday wishes and for sharing your favourite birthday memories. I really enjoyed reading each and every one! I just wish I could send out 6 parcels instead of the one so I'll have to have another giveaway sooner rather than later. So on to the winner. The Random Generator picked:

Number 18 Heather A from Canada! Congratulations Heather! I'll be in touch via email soon!

And now here's a couple of recipe's to share with you....

I quite often do a little baking in the late afternoon just before I get dinner on to make the most of heating up the oven. Yesterday afternoon after I whipped up a batch of muesli for my breakfast I made this Chocolate Banana bread from Julie Le Clerc's book "Cafe @ home". I have many recipe books but this book is one I cook from often. The recipe's are modern and fresh and use ingredients that I usually have in the pantry. Plus it has a pretty mint green elastic band to use as a page marker! This is the second time I have made this loaf and we like it so much I thought it would be nice to share. It is actually under the section 'Breakfast in bed' ! Now if you are like me and don't like the taste of banana cake I can assure you, you will like this as the banana taste is not there but makes this loaf nice and moist. So on to the recipe:

You will need:

150g butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup self-raising flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1/4 cup cocoa powder ( the best quality you can afford :-)
1/2 cup Chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180 C on fan-bake. Grease and flour a loaf tin.
With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together until pale. Beat in eggs then milk and bananas.
Stir in sifted dry ingredients to combine. Lastly, stir in chocolate chips. Spoon mixture into loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Slice to serve.
Loaf will last 3-4 days if stored in an airtight container.

Also I thought I'd share the recipe for Belgium biscuits (from the previous post) for those who are unable (and had never heard of) to get the Edmonds cook book. Belgium biscuits are quite an old recipe and a classic biscuit recipe here in New Zealand and maybe in Australia. A lovely elderly lady who until recently used to live across the road from us used to make them regularly. She was one of those very generous people who was always giving us and other neighbours things such as baking as a thank-you for helping her out and was famous in our street for her apple shortcake, sponges, chocolate fudge and other baking. I would often send the girls over to return a plate to her and they would always come back with some home-made biscuits, fudge or lollies. Sadly for us she has recently moved to a home closer to her family.

So here is the recipe for Belgium biscuits:

You will need:

125 grams butter, softened

1/4 cup brown sugar
1egg
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon cocoa
1/2 cup raspberry jam approximately

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well.
Sift flour, baking powder, spices and cocoa together and mix into creamed mixture to make afirm dough.
On a lightly floured board roll dough out to 3mm thickness. Cut out rounds using a 6.5 cutter. Arrange on a greased oven tray and bake at 180 C for 15 minutes or until golden.
When cold ice half the biscuits. Spread the un-iced biscuits with raspberry jam and place iced biscuits on top. Makes 18.

For Pink Icing:

3/4 to 1 cup icing sugar
1/4 teaspoon rasberry essence
few drops of red food colouring
water

Mix icing sugar with essence and colouring. Add sufficient water to make a pink spreadable icing.

Enjoy!!!!

Getting inspired by the colour 'Pink'...

2011-10-26T17:49:00.000+13:00

Pretty in pink Belgium biscuits, from my much used Edmonds cook book.

These cerise little flowers are blooming in my front rockery garden.

One of our many Rhododendrons first to flower this season.

Some clematis flowers gracing the stairs up to our deck.

Another brighter pink Rhododendron that says look at me.

Last but not least a little pink Dianthus/Sweet William flower.

Hope you were inspired!

A celebration of All things Black!

2011-10-25T14:29:00.000+13:00

An etsy treasury I curated in honour of the All Blacks winning the Rugby World Cup on Sunday night! Enjoy!

Baby boy sewing....

2011-10-24T20:11:00.002+13:00

My niece has just had her second little boy and although I knew of his impending arrival quite a few months ago now I waited till the very last minute to make up some welcome gifts for him. I've made the 'Just for kicks ball' from Anna Maria Horner's book "Seams to me" once before but I think this is such a fun toy to make I whipped another one up over the weekend. I went through all my fabrics and chose 32 different fun prints so it's sort of like a mini 'I spy' quilt as well as a toy. Fun to make up but challenging to get all those corners perfect and there's a lot of them!

These cute little shoes are from Anna's second book "Handmade Beginnings" and were just lovely to sew up. The 'inner sole is meant to be adhered to the shoe with double sided iron-on interfacing but I hand sewed around them to give a neater and stronger finish. It was quite a good challenge for me to make boy items since I have 2 girls and therefore lots of girly pretty fabrics. I was also thankful for having some hand sewing to complete while the Rugby World Cup final was on as it was such a tight game I couldn't bare to watch much of it and just concentrated on my sewing and listened. Thank goodness we won!!

I'm hoping to have a boy themed baby quilt to show later in the week.

Hoping everyone enjoyed a sunny Labour weekend as we did!

Birthday giveaway!!

2011-10-21T21:17:00.000+13:00

So when I said I'd have a giveaway later in the week I didn't quite mean this much later but hey it's the school holidays so the girls have been keeping me busy.

This giveaway is my way of thanking everyone who visits my blog regularly and for those who leave me sweet encouraging comments as well. I hope you like this little sewing related package of goodies I have put together for you. Included are, a charm pack of the Freebird by Momo fabrics, 3 skeins of pearl thread for hand quilting in coordinating colours, a reel of Gutermann sewing thread, pretty pastel quilting pins, a pack of assorted needles and lastly a pincushion made by me from a free pattern by Heather Bailey.

If this sounds like something you'd like to win all you have to do to enter is leave me a comment telling me your most memorable birthday or birthday gift. The good thing about having a birthday in October is the weather is usually nice and sunny and it's also scallop season!

I'm going to leave this giveaway open till next Thursday so everyone has plenty of time to enter and

overseas entries are most welcome!!

Pearl threads...

2011-10-15T20:27:00.000+13:00

I ordered these beautiful collections of Pearl cottons by Anna Maria Horner what seems like a long time ago now but just received them yesterday. To save on postage I sent them to some friends in the US and my husband bought them home in a car that was being shipped back to NZ. The car arrived about 3 weeks ago but they were then locked in the boot of the car which was and still is in Auckland getting work done on it but this week my husband kindly got them out for me and bought them home!

The colours are divine and are a very welcome addition to my stash as getting the right colours in these cottons is really hard where I live and I very much like the look of these threads with hand quilting. I already have a project in mind to use them on!

Yesterday I made this roll of bias binding for this quilt but was really frustrated to find I was about 40 inches short and could not find anything else suitable in my stash that seemed to look as good as this lovely vibrant red. So I just had to plan a trip today to Waihi where my nearest quilt shop is.

As you can see not only did I find some more solid red fabric but some lovely aqua spots and this sweet little daisy stripe. I'm a bit of a sucker for stripes and polka dots so I just couldn't resist these 2. In case you're interested they come from the Riley Blake collection "Sweet Divinity" by "The quilted fish". It really is nice to shop in an actual brick and mortar shop and see fabrics in person rather than online but I wish they weren't so ridiculously expensive here.

I also bought some other fabric that just might be put aside for a little birthday giveaway I'm planning for a little later in the week as it just happens to be my birthday tomorrow :-)

Wishing everyone a great weekend!!

Thursday tutorial links...

2011-10-13T18:31:00.000+13:00

With school holidays upon us I've decided to make the most of Pinterest and actually try some craft tutorials I've pinned . I've been down with the flu since last Thursday so it was good to actually get some crafting done and feel human again. With some guidance from me Amelia made this pretty plaited headband this afternoon. She's become quite fussy with what she likes and wanted no pink or girly flowery fabrics but as soon as I mentioned my batik fabric collection she had no trouble picking some nice blues and greens which just happen to be my favourite colour combo. This headband really doesn't take up that much fabric just 6 strips 1 inch wide each plus a hair tie cut in half for the elastic around the back. Very cool head band don't you think?

I found this tutorial for a bookmark/journal wrap a few days ago and have since been itching to whip one up. I started making this one for myself but as you can see it's adorning one of Caitlin's books. I quite like the idea of this type of bookmark as it doubles up as a neat way to keep a book such as a journal all together. It also occurred to me that it could actually make a cute headband as well.

See all that time I have spent on Pinterest has not been wasted!

What do you do to keep the kids happy and occupied in the holidays?

Planting for the coming season......

2011-10-07T15:14:00.000+13:00

This is a view of our raised veggie garden from our bedroom window which I have just this last Saturday planted out. From left to right these beds contain, cherry tomatoes, silverbeet & lettuces, potatoes and red onions (waiting for seeds to germinate), carrots & spring onions then the last one has a mixture of herbs and rhubarb. Then in between each raised bed I have strawberries planted in pots and strawberry planters (40+ plants).

I really like these raised beds because they make my veggie garden look tidy and pleasant to look at plus they are easy to maintain and to rotate crops like potatoes. It gets full sun over most of the year and although I don't have enough room to plant everything I would ultimately like to grow I've realised there are certain crops that I seem to fail at growing like brassicas and some crops that seem to thrive no matter what I do. In a couple of weeks I'll plant out more tomatoes, parsley and basil. Yum can't wait for easy summer salads!

These bluebells have just started flowering amongst the maidenhair fern... so pretty but I'd really like some pink ones which my parents have in their extensive garden.

This is Caitlin's cat who loves it when we are out in the garden. She always follows me around then plonks herself down right where I don't need her.

These flowers are from a plant called 'wedding bells' and make a beautiful display next to pathway which you can see in the previous photo.

And these beautiful flowers are peeking through from one of my neighbors gardens. I'm not sure what they are but I really like their pretty colour.
What's growing in your garden this season???

Hand sewing.....

2011-10-06T15:13:00.000+13:00

Thankfully I have a couple of hand sewn projects on the go at the moment because that's all I feel like doing....sitting in the sun quietly stitching away and listening to the radio. I started to feel slightly under the weather yesterday which I think originated from a chest infection that Caitlin caught earlier in the week and which kept her home for 2 days. I'm hoping to feel better soon as I'm not used to feeling sick and also feeling unproductive. I finished machine quilting this quilt last week and am now up to adding some hand quilting to the pinwheel blocks. I'm using a combination of Perle cotton size 8, quilting cotton and stranded embroidery thread just to get the right colour matches. I think it's looking okay so far and it's not taking too long either so hopefully a finished quilt to reveal soon!

And this is my yo-yo project, 170 yo-yo's completed so far although it's hard to tell there's is that many in this photo.

I'm using this picnic basket which is not too large for carrying around this project. It's great to have everything together so I can just grab it and pop it in the car at a moments notice. On Tuesday I and a sick Caitlin went up to Auckland with my husband and because I knew we would be waiting in the car for him while he attended a couple of meetings I took this project with me and got 10 yo-yo's done during one meeting/waiting time. Caitlin occupied herself by counting the competed yo-yo's for me.

Finally I just wanted to share where this cushion now lives. I sold it a few weeks ago on etsy to a lady in Texas who was expecting her second baby. Last week she sent me a link to some photos of her beautiful newly decorated nursery where my cushion sits perfectly at home on a chair. She has submitted her nursery design to a site called Project Nursery where viewers can rate each nursery design out of 5. I think hers is worth a 5 but I might be biased :-)

A rainbow of inspiration for you....

2011-09-30T15:12:00.000+13:00

1. Sneaky peak of my latest crochet creation :), 2. Pinned, 3. Small Patchwork Coin Purse, 4. Untitled, 5. Crochet flowers, 6. New Buttons I love, 7. Colourful cushions, 8. Pillow Swap - A little bird detail, 9. more pincushions

Looking at the above mosaic I think it's kinda obvious that I'm more often than not drawn to items with lots of colour which is probably why I like scrappy quilts more than anything although it's also a great excuse to play with lots of different fabrics ! :-)

This past week I have been inspired by the following items appearing in my reader:

Designer pins by Patty Young @ Modkid boutique. She also has some pretty ribbon collections in her shop. Just saying...
Laura Gunn's sneakity peek of her next fabric collection here.
A new to me blog called 'nanaCompany'. Always inspiring with cute projects and pretty fabrics. (pretty fabrics get me every time!)
I'm very tempted to join up with Carina's Christmas stitches class since I was reminded by Susan that it's only 3 months till Christmas!! but not sure whether I have the time.
Also tempted to join this quilt along. One block a month sounds like my kind of pace:-)

So what's been inspiring you recently ??

Spring blossoms and blooms...

2011-09-26T20:57:00.000+13:00

Spring is really in full swing here and we have been watching this blossom tree just 2 doors along from us quite quickly come into bloom over this past week. Just when I thought it had finished coming out the next day it would look even more beautiful.

It is quite a large tree but I have no idea what sort of tree it is but a good one to play under for the neighbourhood kids when in the heat of summer it provides some welcome shade.

As you can see I took a few photos of it on Saturday which was a nice warm spring day, perfect for being outside in the garden.

These 'Clivia' flowers dotted around our backyard garden are providing a lovely splash of warm colour everywhere.

A delicate blue Japanese iris just coming into flower. These plants love the shade so last year I transplanted a whole bunch of these underneath the tall redwood trees at the back of our property.

Pink and red Azalea's flowering underneath our loaded Lemon tree.

A Magnolia bloom

One of our Magnolia trees with a very similar coloured Rhododendron in the background.

These tiny camera shy flowers were given to us from my late father-in-law and I think they are a native little orchid. Whatever they are I like them for their sweet size and colour.

What's flowering in your garden this season?

Introducing Carina!!

2011-09-23T16:24:00.000+12:00

It is my great pleasure today to be featuring the multi-talented Carina here on my blog. I first came across Carina's blog when I participated in the Flowerpress Brooch swap way back in May. Carina is originally from Denmark but is now based in the UK where she creates the most beautiful embroidery designs, vibrant and fun fabric designs on Spoonflower, and produces colourful crochet. She has also designed for DMC USA and blogs about her crafting life on Carina's Craft blog. There you will find lots of colourful inspiration, tutorials for embroidery stitches, crochet and more, plus some free patterns to get you started on embroidery. On top of all this creativity she also runs online creative blogger classes one of which I completed back in July. Carina has been blogging for about 8 years so has a wealth of experience to pass on to bloggers who are just starting out or feel like they need some extra help in making their blog more appealing to their readers. Read more about this class here! I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't recommended it enough!

Carina also creates and sells embroidery E-books and embroidery patterns in her shop Polka and Bloom!!

1. Spring Birds - new pattern, 2. Summer Garden pattern, 3. Sketchy stitches, 4. Sweet Posy - embroidery pattern, 5. Some stitcheries, 6. Christmas Stitches class - shisha ornament, 7. Satin bubbles brooch, 8. Orange stitchy brooch, 9. Stitchy brooch experiment
You can see more of Carina's latest embroidery designs here on the Polka and Bloom blog.

Some of Carina's vibrant Spoonflower designs...

1. My fabrics on Spoonflower, 2. Happy Flowers fabric, 3. Happy Triangles fabric, 4. Dots and Daisies collection
You can see more of her fabric designs on Spoonflower here.

Carina's designs for DMC in the USA

1. Pearl Cotton Display tea towels, 2. Winter Sunrise, 3. Blue Leaf Appliqué, 4. Doodle Heart

Some of Carina's colourful crochet projects....

1. Stack of happy crochet, 2. Another..., 3. Granny A Day blanket, 4. Crochet stack, 5. Crochet flowers, 6. Jars with crochet cosies, 7. Crochet bunting, 8. Granny A Day 1-20, 9. Folded

To get to know Carina a little better I asked her a few questions........

When did you start blogging and why?
- I started blogging in 2003, completely on a whim. A few pals were doing it and I thought I'd give it a go too. Of course, blogging was very different back then - there was a lot of work involved just to make your blog look prettier etc. My first blog was mainly a personal journal and not really focused on anything. I started Carina's Craftblog in the spring of 2006 after I got into crafting.

How long have you been embroidering and who taught you or how were you taught?
- My farmor (paternal grandmother) taught me to do cross stitch when I was little, but there was a big gap between that and taking up embroidery in late 2005. So I am mostly self-taught, using books and the internet.

I can see your Danish influence in your embroidery designs, what keeps you inspired?
- I'm really, really inspired by colour. And texture and pattern. A tiny snippet of pattern can spark a new design. When I go actively looking for inspiration I tend to gravitate towards things like Ancient Roman frescos or Mexican and other folk art. Strangely, I don't often go searching for Danish inspiration as such.. maybe because it doesn't feel exotic enough..! ;-)

I love the name of your shop "Polka and Bloom". Can you tell us how you came up with this name?
- Thank you! :-) Well, way before Polka & Bloom actually existed, I made a couple of postcard designs, one was called 'Polka' because the background had polkadots, and the other one had flowers on it and I called it 'Bloom'. I just liked the two words together so I decided that if I were to set up shop at some point, I'd call it 'Polka & Bloom'. :-)

Do you have a designated workspace for your designing/crafting. 
- Unfortunately no. I'd love to have a space where I could make a mess and just close the door at the end of the day. For now, most of my crafting takes place sitting on the sofa, usually with a good film or documentary to keep me company.

Are there any other crafts that you like to dabble in?
- Uh yes! I'll have a go at pretty much anything that doesn't involve heavy machinery (and that's mainly because of the lack of space..!) ;-) When time permits, I'll do some crochet and sewing. Plus I draw and paint as well. Stamp carving, porcelain painting, fabric design, at one point I owned a Print Gocco but had to let it go because I just didn't use it enough.. etc etc...

Do you have any favourite embroidery tips you'd like to share with us?
- Patience is probably my best tip. When you start embroidering your stitches will be uneven, the French knot you did to perfection yesterday refuses to be replicated today. Don't worry about it, just keep on doing it. Oh and get some nice materials to work with; it really does make a difference to use threads from a good brand and not a six quid multi-pack.

What path led you to do the work you do today?
- Ugh, that's a good question but I'm not sure I have an answer that will make it seem obvious and easy that this is the path I would be on... But I've always been interested in creative things, like painting and drawing, but never really did much crafting. Until I moved to the UK. I  stumbled upon craft blogs plus I had some time to spare because initially I didn't have a job here. So I got into embroidery and the rest is history as they say.

Can you share with us any future ambitions/goals/projects you are working towards?
- I want to keep working on things that make me happy, and hopefully others too. In less lofty terms I want to make more embroidery books, 'proper' ones and ebooks. Plus more patterns and  teaching classes. I'd also love to devote some time to designing a proper fabric line.

When you're not crafting/designing/blogging what do you like to do?
- I might be reading a book or magazine, taking pictures or watching a film. Although.. even when I'm not doing any crafting/designing/blogging it's always kinda there anyway. Maybe I get inspiration for a design or a blog post; and the pictures I take often end up on my blog. If I'm watching telly I'm usually working on an embroidery or a crochet project. You can also crochet granny squares during the commercials before a film at the cinema - just sayin'! ;-)
If I'm really not doing anything, I'm probably wasting time on the internet!

 I hope you enjoyed meeting Carina and take the time to look around her blog and shop.

I would love to make these features a regular series here on The Sewing Attic so if you'd like to be featured or know of a blogger that you'd like featured let me know either in the comments or send me an email.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!!

Just flown in....

2011-09-21T17:45:00.000+12:00

New additions to my stash arrived yesterday with my husband who is finally home from the US. Knowing that he'll bring back fabric for me always sweetens the deal when he goes away for a few weeks. This time he bought me a lovely fat quarter bundle of Kaffe Fassett prints and some more of Heather Bailey's 'Nicey Jane prints which are always welcome in my stash.

Here's a better photo of those bright and bold Kaffe Fassett FQ's. Looking forward to playing with these babies!

And this is what's happening in my attic this week. Yes it's taken me a while to get started on quilting this quilt but I've finally settled on a quilting plan. I found some pretty variegated thread to do some machine quilting then I will do a little hand quilting as well having tracked down some Perle cotton in nearly all the right shades. I have 3 more quilts to quilt after this one and I'm determined to get them all done and dusted sooner rather than later. There I've said it publicly so now I have to!

Playing favourites...

2011-09-19T14:03:00.000+12:00

Over the weekend I read a post on Mary's blog Molly Flanders about her favourite all time fabrics. You know the ones that you hate to do without but know that one day they will go out of stock. Well I thought I would never be able to choose just one or two favourite fabrics because I have many and I keep adding to my list of favourites when new fabrics arrive in my stash. But then I remembered this strawberry print that I absolutely adore! I bought this print 'years' ago to make up into a twirly skirt for my now 14 year old daughter who I think was about 4 years at the time. So it's certainly no designer print that's for sure but I love it all the same. You can see I only have a scrap of it left now and also that the original skirt underneath is a little faded but it was a well worn skirt by both my girls and I can't bare to throw it away or pass it on to another family.

I have though used the scraps well by adding them to various blocks in Caitlin's quilt like this applique heart....

.....and these scrappy hearts......

and little bits in these scrappy flying geese. So even when I do run out I will still have some to remember, along with that faded twirly skirt.

So do you have a favourite fabric that you never tire of?? Please do share then go on over to Susan's blog Patchwork and Play and link up so we can all see your favourites!

Vintage embroidery

2011-09-16T19:41:00.001+12:00

This vase of pretty spring flowers is making me happy today not only because I love having fresh and fragrant flowers in vases around my home but also because it is sitting upon a piece of recently re-discovered vintage embroidered linen.

I have quite a collection of various pieces which I'd forgotten about. All have been completed by either my Grandmother, her sisters or my Great-Grandmother. We are not completely sure who has done which piece but I'm sure looking at the amount of work they put into each design they would be pleased to know that they are being once again, used, admired and looked after.

I love the style of writing on these particular pieces and also the pretty stitches used...french knots and stem stitch?

This matching pair have what look like embroidered hollyhocks and a pretty crochet edging.

A variety of stitches have been used to create this pretty floral design.

I love the pastel lazy daisy flowers on this one......

......but this one is definitely my favourite. I love the very fine and delicate embroidery on it and it makes me inspired to do something similar myself.
I am just a novice at embroidery though but you have to have something to aspire too right?
Yesterday I read on Carina's blog ( who is a complete expert embroiderer!) about a contest happening over at "feeling stitchy". You have to design a book cover for a favourite book or any book for that matter using hand embroidery or freehand machine embroidery. Sounds like a fun challenge and I'm very tempted. Gone on over and check out the details if you're keen too!
Have a happy weekend!!

My Blossom Bag...

2011-09-14T16:37:00.000+12:00

I finished this bag today just in time to link up with Sara of Sew Sweetness for the "Amy Butler Sew along". We had to make a project using any Amy Butler pattern and I chose this 'Blossom bag' which is a free pattern available on Sew Mama Sew's blog. I think this bag is going to be the perfect spring accessory, not that it feels much like spring today...severe wind gusts making our house sway and nasty cold showers..Brrrrrrr

Inside this very roomy bag are two dividing pockets one with a handy zip making this bag very practical with a place for everything. Sara at Sew Sweetness has also made a nice version of this bag with some beautiful Echino fabrics and has also given a good review of this pattern. There is quite a few steps to making this bag but like all Amy's bags she has very good instructions.
I used 3 Amy Butler prints from her 'Daisy Chain' range plus a coordinating stripe by Jennifer Paganelli.

I particularly like the detailed way the handles are attached which gives it more of a professional look. I used the same stripe as the inside pockets for these details to make them stand out a bit.

There are two handle sizes. I chose the shoulder bag size because sometimes you need free hands when you go shopping :-) I think this bag just might be my new favourite.
Click on over to Sara's blog to see some more beautiful Amy Butler pattern creations or check out the Flickr page here.

New additions...

2011-09-12T15:05:00.001+12:00

Every year my Mum and I have a girls day out at the Hamilton Quilt and Craft fair. It's a great day out looking and talking about things we both like, inspired by new products, seeing fabrics in person rather than online, and gazing at the beautiful featured craft displays. This years display from 'Creative fibres New Zealand ' really wowed us and left us in awe wondering how they create their hand woven and felted garments and art pieces. The quilt exhibitions also included some stunning work and again we were impressed with the details on the quilts and the beautiful machine quilting. Unfortunately I did not remember to take my camera with me so can share no photos with you. The only disappointment for me was that I only saw one quilt that included some hand quilting on it. I certainly know it is not a dying skill because I see many hand quilted quilts online but very rarely do I see them in local exhibitions.

While my budget didn't extend to buying yet more fabric I did add to my button and ribbon collection. And yes hidden under the buttons and ribbon is a copy of "The Farmers wife Sampler Quilt". I have been admiring the blocks being made in this Quilt along for a while now like Camille's here, Kristyne's here and Jodi's here, but was on the fence about joining in since I hadn't seen the actual book. This particular copy was reduced from $45 down to $30 due to very minor dog-eared corners so how could I not resist :-). Now I just need to find some suitably pretty fabrics!

The Sewing Attic - a little tour...

2011-09-10T15:43:00.000+12:00

I've just had a bit of a tidy up and re-arrange in my 'sewing attic' mainly due to finally putting my old sewing machine into semi-retirement and replacing it with my new to me Janome. I had come home early from a school Cross country trip with Caitlin and had an hour or so to spare and thought I would spend it wisely swapping my machines around but ending up having quite a tidy/clean-up. You know how once you get started tidying up one area it sort of leads on to another area and before you know it 2 hours has gone by. Anyway it also occurred to methat this would be a good time to take photo's to share on my blog. I always find it fascinating having a peek into the studios/creative spaces/sewing rooms of fellow crafters so I hope you enjoy this little tour!

Here is my new machine surrounded by my favourite things ie; favourite hand cream, pretty box of tissues (at the back), mini red drawers filled with machine needles etc.. Above and to the right-hand side is a wire recipe holder that my Grandmother made and which I now use for holding pattern instructions.

My sewing space is on the top floor of our home which is an 'A' frame house therefore making the top floor like an attic space with its sloping walls. The downside of it is that it is not as big as I would ultimately like and the lighting is not so great but I love having a space that's totally dedicated to what I love to do. Also when I'm sitting at my machine I can look over the railing and down into our lounge or out our big lounge windows. The view from these windows looks out over Whangamata and out to the ocean beyond plus I can be nosey and see who's driving up our street or my girls walking home from school. And because it's on the same floor as Caitlin's and what used to be Amelia's rooms I've never felt shut away from what the rest of the family is doing. I am also proud to say that my machine still sits on a sewing desk/table that I made years ago when I bought my first machine. It has 2 large cubby holes or shelves on each side that store books, magazines, scissors and all those things that need to be handy.

Behind my sewing machine I have a set of wire shelves holding patterns and other various sewing/crafting needs. On an old trunk sits my wooden sewing box and a few baskets filled with my latest fabric purchases. Having some fabric especially newer fabric on display keeps me inspired :)

The bigger baskets hold larger pieces of different types of fabric and the red vintage vanity case has small scraps of girly fabrics that I can't quite throw away.

To the left of my sewing machine is a wooden box full spools of thread with an old fashioned styled lady pincushion sitting on top that my Mum made years ago. Under the cover is my Janome overlocker bought from my dressmaker neighbour. This part of my sewing table also serves as a small ironing/pressing space which is why I have an old towel on it.

At the end of the sewing table is a collection of some of my quilts and items either finished and waiting for new owners or works in progress. At the moment that would be 3 quilt tops!

Underneath that happy pile of quilts and things is this lovely trunk that came (along with the other trunk in a previous photo) across from Ireland with my Great Grandparents.

And ah yes this where I store the rest of my fabric stash. While it's not immediately accessible due to having to haul all those quilts and things off to get inside it, it is a nice safe way to store fabric.

And just around the corner on the other side of the trunk is this little display of cushions and Caitlin's Zig-zag quilt. And of course in that picnic basket is more fabric....my collection of Batik fabrics.

So technically we are out of my sewing area now but I thought I'd share this photo of vintage suitcases. The bottom 2 were rescued from my parents garage and I can remember them being used on holidays when I was young along with that red vintage vanity case. The smaller blue one is an old school suitcase that I used at primary school and the top one was my kindergarten case which I think my brothers used before me.

This space is to the left of my sewing space and is a little mini library/reading area for the girls. It's a lovely place to sit and do some hand sewing or to just read of course because it gets the afternoon sun which is especially nice on a cool winters day. Out the window the view (beyond the neighbours house) looks towards the bush clad hills that surround our town. This space is also a favourite place for our feline friends to snooze in as well. The little red chairs used to be the girls when they were smaller but now make great cat beds.

Congratulations if you made it to the end of this rather long post!

I really hope you enjoyed seeing where I create! As I said at the beginning I love looking at other peoples creative spaces so if you would like to share your creative space on your blog let me know(in the comments) and perhaps I can compile a list here on my blog for us all to look at :)

Have a great weekend!!

Knitting roll tutorial

2011-09-07T23:13:00.000+12:00

As promised yesterday here's a tutorial on how to make my knitting roll.

You will need:

4 coordinating fat quarters, one for the exterior, one for the interior, one for the pockets and one for the pocket linings.
1 piece of fusible batting measuring 15 1/2 inches by 21 inches
1/2 yard/metre of fusible interfacing for pockets.
2 yards/metres of coordinating ribbon.
Matching thread

Cutting instructions:
From the exterior and interior fabrics cut a piece from each measuring 15 1/2 " by 21". From the pocket and lining fabrics your will need a piece from each measuring 15 1/2" by 10" (large pocket) and another piece from each fabric measuring 11" by 12" (needle holder)

From the interfacing cut one piece 15 1/2" by 10" and one piece 11" by 12".

From the batting cut one piece measuring 15 1/2 by 21".

To make:

Apply batting to exterior fabric and quilt as desired. In the above example I have quilted straight lines across the fabric approx. 1 1/2 " apart.

Apply interfacing to corresponding pocket pieces. With wrong sides together and with lining fabric on top sew lining to needle holder pocket piece up the lefthand long side pivoting at corner and along the shorter side ( which will be the top of pocket). Sew larger pocket piece to corresponding lining peice along one long side.

Trim corner off of the needle holder pocket and turn right sides facing out. Press. Turn larger pocket pieces also right side facing out and press.

Edge stitch 1/8" from edge along the sewn sides of both these pockets.

Place needle holder pocket on lower righthand corner of the interior fabric and sew down one side,along the bottom and up the other side.

Using a fabric marking pen measure across the pocket making a mark every inch. You should end up with 10 columns to hold 10 pairs of needles.

Continue marking every 2 inches or so all the way down.

Sew along these lines to make the individual needle compartments.

Lay the larger pocket on opposite side of interior fabric and sew together along all 3 outer edges.

Measure and cut 2 lengths of ribbon approx. 36 inches. Fold in half and sew to outer edge of large pocket end as shown in above photo. I have me ribbons spaced about 2 1/2" from the centre of this edge so they are 5 inches apart.

With right sides together and keeping the ribbon pieces away from the edges sew around all edges leaving a 3 to 4 inch gap for turning on top edge above needle holder pocket. See above photo. I used a 1/4 inch seam for this step.

Trim corners and turn so right sides are facing out. Press well also pressing in the gap opening edges. Pin these edges together and using a 1/4 inch seam edge stitch all the way around including along the gap opening edges.

And voila you now have a handy place for all those spare needles plus a pocket for your current project to take anywhere.

Roll it up and your good to go :)

Now of course if you don't have the time or inclination to make one yourself I have 3 for you to choose from in my shop.

Happy Sewing and knitting of course!

Been busy making ......

2011-09-06T19:17:00.002+12:00

Yes I've finally gotten around to making 3 more Knitting rolls to sell in my shop. One is destined for my Mum but we can't decide which one to keep for her so they are all going in my shop and the one that is left will be hers.

I had a lot of fun picking out the coordinating fabrics for each one (the best part don't you think) and I love them all. My husband kindly bought me back an assortment of fat quarters from the US a couple of months ago so I used quite a few up in these. The green and teal one is made up with a couple of Sandi Henderson's Farmers Market prints and teamed with a perfectly matching teal batik. The bird fabric I've had in my stash a wee while and I think that swirly green fabric is a Kate Spain print.

And here they are all tied up with some nice satin ribbon. Now for those of you who are keen to whip up your own I took the time to take some photos of each step so look out for a tutorial later in the week. Maybe even tomorrow :-)

On our doorstep.....

2011-09-02T08:00:00.000+12:00

On Sunday last week the girls and I plus a friend of theirs went out for a picnic lunch and walk along a local beach a little north of our town of Whangamata. This is one of my very favourite beaches that is just 10-15 minutes drive away and I thought it would be nice to share with you some photos. This beach is a favourite because of it's undeveloped natural setting and for most of the year it can almost be deserted and it's kinda of nice to have a beach to yourself don't you think. The drive out is picturesque as well and one which I have posted before about here. Above is the little bridge that marks the start of a 2-3 minutes walk through some forestry of pines towards the beach. On various school trips out here the older kids are allowed to jump off this bridge when the tide is in.

A rather old dilapidated sign marking the start of the reserve but don't let that put you off what is ahead.

A pleasant walk through mostly pine forest and often to the accompaniment of 'Tui's' and other native NZ birds.

Keep walking we're nearly there...

And just up and over the white sand dunes is the bright blue of the Pacific Ocean although it could be a little cold at this time of the year.

Looking left or to the north end of this 5km long beach towards 'Ohui' where there are rock pools to explore and you can see 'Slipper island' , a privately owned island on the left hand side of this photo.

And looking to the right or southern end of the beach.

I think a few days beforehand there must have been some quite high tides which had created this sand dune 'cliff' which was perfect for jumping off!

We walked towards the southern end of the beach and back over the sand dunes where there is a sand-spit that is fenced off as it is home to nesting/breeding colonies of several endangered species of native sea birds including the New Zealand Dotterel and the Variable Oyster catcher.

Heading back to the car park we walk along the estuary side of the beach up the Wharekawa Harbour. The sand is a little squishy on this side but the view up the harbour back towards the surrounding hills makes up for it.

I hope you enjoyed this little photo tour of one of the little known gems on the Coromandel Peninsula and thankfully just on our doorstep. You can see a few more photos here.

A rainbow cake of sorts....

2011-08-31T08:00:00.016+12:00

Ever since I saw this cake on pinterest I have wanted to make it and thought it would be the perfect birthday cake for Caitlin this year. Unfortunately on the morning of her birthday I was fast running out of time. Going to bed late the previous night didn't help as I slept in a little :) So inspired again by this cake I made a quicker version of a rainbow cake.

We still had 6 different colours and yes six different bowls to wash. I used a Victorian Sponge recipe and just divided it into 6 to mix in the colours. The girls loved helping me out with this stage of making it and thought it looked a bit like the coloured playdough I used to make for them when they were younger. I was a little concerned the extra mixing would spoil the lightness of the cake but I'm pleaed to say it turned out beautifully.

As you can see it was so nice it was half gone on Sunday afternoon and it is now sadly all gone. The yummy butter icing also added to it's deliciousness! You can find more Rainbow cake inspiration here.

Amelia also helped out by making these yummy chocolate cupcakes with chocolate fudge frosting. She has made quite a few cupcakes recently but these have got to be her best yet.

The humble square

2011-08-29T20:19:00.000+12:00

Even though I have 3 projects on the go at the moment last week I pulled out some fabrics for yet another project. With my youngest daughters 12th birthday fast approaching I realised I'd better get going on the things I wanted to make her. Why I leave things till the last minute I do not know but all of a sudden I realise I have a mere 3 days left to get the ideas out of my head and made. I'm sure I'm not the only busy mother who does this. Anyway I had decided to make her a memo board for her new study/play area that used to be her sisters bedroom. I knew what colours she liked from her helping me out with the layout of the crochet rug, which were aqua, purple and red and had also decided to make her board the same way I made my memo board here. I really love how just a simple patchwork pattern of squares really shows off the fabrics I chose. I think sometimes in an effort to be original or different we can over complicate things. These squares reminded me that a simple shape is all that is needed to let those favourite fabrics shine.

I did however go to town on the machine embroidery which meant getting to play with all the decorative stitches on my new Janome. I started off just using ordinary thread then switched to some nice shiny specialised machine embroidery thread which really made those stitches stand out.

As you can see I actually made 2 memo boards because one big one wouldn't fit in the space I had in mind. I chose purple buttons and a mauve ribbon for one board and aqua buttons and ribbon for the other. I even sewed these squares in front of her without her knowing what they were for. I guess I do so much sewing that she doesn't take too much notice until I finish something.

Here's a close-up of some of those pretty, decorative machine stitches I used. I think these 2 are my favourites. These boards are really easy to make but just take a little time especially sewing on all those buttons! (16 on each!!) And just to prove how last minute I am I was up until 1am Saturday night finishing these boards off and wrapping her presents for her birthday on Sunday.

Simple pleasures that make me smile.....

2011-08-22T13:29:00.000+12:00

Signs of spring in my garden...

Clear sunny breezy days for getting the washing dry and finding sweet smelling spring flowers to pick to enjoy inside....

Discovering this magazine "Good" which is full of informative articles and helpful hints for saving money and making do....

Out cats snuggling on my new crochet rug......

Sunrises like this one and being up early enough to see them.

What's making you smile today?

Yo-yo's and yet more yo-yo's

2011-08-18T17:11:00.000+12:00

I've finally started making some yo-yo's for Penny's 'Yo-yo along'. After finishing up my crochet blanket I needed something to keep my fingers busy at night in front of the TV as I just hate to sit and do nothing so making these yo-yo's is the perfect activity that keeps me busy but still lets me watch my favourite programmes. I've decided to do one colour group at a time so it doesn't seem such a daunting task although having a yo-yo maker certainly makes it quicker and easier. I'm up to 24 as of last night. Penny's making 1008!

And in keeping with the yo-yo theme this is a wreath I made with some of my leftover Bliss fabrics and a few yo-yo's. What do you think?

I really enjoy adding little details to my projects so I embellished the yo-yo's with a selection of buttons and sewed them on with some sparkly beads.

I also wrapped some white ric-rac around the wreath and did a simple running stitch with some pale pink perle cotton to keep it in place and a ric-rac loop for hanging embellished with some simple french knots. Pretty don't you think and its for sale in my shop here.

Henny Penny and her six chicks

2011-08-15T17:33:00.000+12:00

This is the cute gift I whipped up for my friends baby shower on Sunday although when I say 'whipped up' it actually took me a day to make plus the stuffing and hand sewing at night. As I mentioned before it is from the book 'Handmade Beginnings' by Anna Maria Horner and with her great instructions it was pretty easy and fun to put together.

All the fabrics are scraps from my stash and I had the yellow velcro left over from a previous project a few years ago. French knots and not buttons for eyes as they are too dangerous for young babies even though they would look nice.

I went with reddy/orangey colours as the parents have six hens themselves in similar colourings. I hope it gets lots of playtime from its soon to arrive owner.

Last minute gift sewing...

2011-08-12T16:10:00.000+12:00

Just quickly popping in to show you what I'm working on today. These are going to be some little chicks that I'm making from a pattern in Anna Maria Horner's book 'Handmade Beginnings' I bought this book because I know of 2 little babies due to be born during the next couple of months and I thought that was a good enough reason :-) I have Anna's first book and love the way she writes and of course the patterns are great too.

These little chicks are too cute and are a baby shower gift to which we are going to on Sunday.

Hoping to finish them up tonight with some hand sewing in front of the TV.

A very satisfying finish this week!

2011-08-09T22:55:00.000+12:00

Yes I finished my crochet blanket last night!! I've been working on it at every spare moment and I got a lot done this last Sunday afternoon when it decided to rain heavily and not stop just as we were thinking of going out for walk on the beach for some fresh air. So the girls happily played on their Wii while I was happily ensconced on the couch keeping warm under my growing blanket and listening to some favourite music through headphones.

I don't know why but I'm surprised at how heavy it is. I guess it is a pure wool blanket and also I'm used to using our mohair blankets to snuggle under which are really light. I still have to weave all the ends through on the underside which is quite a job with all those colours. To think that just over a year ago I was a complete novice at crochet! I can thoroughly recommend this project as a good beginner, maybe long term crochet project. It's a great project to take anywhere as you are just doing it square by square although it was a little like a jigsaw puzzle to put altogether ;)

Now I think I might like to tackle some crochet cushions to scatter around the house starting with this one and then maybe this one and I'd also quite like a scarf like this pretty one.

And look who's given it the royal seal of approval!! She's been on it since mid-afternoon and is still there!

Starting new projects!

2011-08-03T14:08:00.000+12:00

With my crochet blanket coming to an end I've been itching to pull out some fabrics for a new project or 2. Firstly I've decided to join the Amy Butler sew along over on Sara's blog Sew Sweetness. I love both Amy Butler's fabric designs and patterns so this was an easy decision for me to make and of course there's the added incentive of some prizes involved :) I've already have 2 Amy Butler bags but they are both in blues so I think I need a pink one for this coming spring/summer season. The pattern I've decided on is the Blossom bag which is a free pattern that can be found here.

I'm also looking forward to finally starting on my yo-yo project for Penny's sew along that I signed up for a while back. I'm not sure how big I'm going to make this quilt yet but I have decided to use the above collection of fabrics because they are mostly small scale prints which I think would be nice made up in yo-yo's. I've had a lot of these fabrics for absolutely way too long just waiting for the perfect project. Some are vintage given to me from an Auntie, some were brought by my husband on a business trip to Portugal and some are Liberty prints and of course some I just bought on whim as you do when you like fabric :)

So looking forward to starting both these projects!

The final stage.....

2011-07-28T16:39:00.000+12:00

Yes the crochet squares are all finished (all 199 of them!) and I have finally started sewing them all together. Caitlin and I laid them out yesterday afternoon according to the pattern diagram. You are actually looking at what my lounge room floor looks like right now. My original idea was to lay them all out fiddle around with the right mix of colours, take a photo or two then gather them back up so I could vacuum the floor today. However when I started sewing them together I realised it wasn't going to take as long as I thought and it's so much easier to have them laid out than having to refer to a photo for the correct layout. Plus they are really brightening up the room! Hopefully a full reveal soon!

Works of art.....

2011-07-27T11:57:00.000+12:00

In between trying to keep warm, get washing dry this is what the girls and I have been working on. After seeing Leslie's modern barn quilt canvas I was inspired to create one myself and then realised it would be a great holiday activity for the girls as well. Leslie directed me to the original instructions here. Thanks Leslie! I really enjoyed messing with the paints and creating all the colours from the limited paints we had on hand plus it was great to work on something creative but in a different medium to what I normally work with. Next time I might tackle something wonky like Leslie's!

Another bonus with these paintings was that the canvas's at our local book/stationary store are 1/2 price at the moment so Caitlin ended up doing 3 and Amelia has another couple of ideas for 2 more when she gets back from her stay with her Grandparents. You can see more inspiration here on the flickr group.

My new toy!

2011-07-23T12:43:00.000+12:00

If you've been reading my blog for a while now you may remember that back in December /January my sewing machine that I've had for 20 years (yes that makes me feel old!) broke down. I was devastated and lost without my trusty sewing machine but thankfully my repair man came through and managed to fix it with glue and screws. Ever since I have worried about what I would do if it couldn't have been fixed as there is no way I could afford to replace it with a similar machine.

A few weeks ago I was in the local sewing shop in Thames waiting to be served and I spotted the above machine with a sign on it saying "Second hand, just been serviced, $350". It is a Janome 'Quilters Campanion' 6260, looks brand new and was too good a bargain to be left behind! It has 60 built in decorative stitches and comes with a perspex extension table. While it isn't my dream sewing machine it is going to make the perfect back-up machine if my trusty Elna is ever non-repairable. My Elna was a top of the line model back when I purchased it with 155 built in stitches plus 4 cassettes each holding a further 48 stitches but the Janome has some lovely modern features that I love plus I can do free motion quilting on the Janome which my Elna can no longer do in its delicate state.

I love the built-in storage on the top and the handy stitch guide!

I picked it up this last Monday after the store owner gave me a wee demo on all its cool features like the needle threader, the slide control for sewing speed (great for beginner sewers like my girls), the straight stitch that automatically reverses at each end, to name a few. It also comes with a walking foot for quilting and a handy 1/4 inch foot for patchwork seams.

I have yet to have a play on it yet as its school holidays here and we have been keeping busy with:

sleepovers
playing on our new Wii
using up our free passes to Rainbows End
shopping for shoes, clothes and books
reading new books
visiting Grandparents
cooking, baking and eating

In between I have finished my crochet squares and are now just fixing up the squares I did at the beginning when I had no clue as to how to crochet :). Hopefully today I will find the time to have a little play with my new toy!

The light at the end of the tunnel

2011-07-15T16:22:00.002+12:00

I have about 50 more of these little babies to go so I'm on a bit of a crochet marathon these last and next few days. So close to finishing now that I just want it done! It's been a year since I started and it was always meant to be a slow project to pick up when I had little pockets of time. Now I'm eager to see it finished so we can use it as its just a little nippy around here at the moment plus I'm keen to get going on my yo-yo project.

Sweet treats...

2011-07-13T07:00:00.006+12:00

I have a recipe file that is bursting with recipe's ripped or cut out of newspapers and magazines as I come across them but I don't often actually try all of them out. This recipe for the above tarts is one that I've had for far too long and had never made but its always catches my eye when I see the title "Mt Manganui tarts". Mt Manganui is a town just a bit further down the east coast from our town,Whangamata, and why these tarts are named after this town I have no idea. I finally decided to try them out yesterday afternoon, my excuse being that they would make a nice lunchbox treat or afternoon tea treat for the girls. I am happy to say they are delicious! They are made up of a sweet pastry tart bottom filled with orange custard topped with a almond scented topping. Yum!

Here's the recipe for you to try:

You will need;

16 ready made sweet tart cases

Custard: 3/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon finely grated orange rind

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon flour

Topping:

125 grams butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon almond essence

To make custard:

Bring milk to the boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and orange rind. Beat egg yolk and sugar together with flour. Reheat milk and slowly whisk in egg mixture. Continue whisking until the custard is thick. Remove from heat. Cover top with baking paper and refrigerate until cold.

To make topping:

Melt butter in a saucepan. Mix in sugar. Cool and beat in egg. Sift over flour and baking powder. Combine gently with almond essence.

Place pastry cases on an oven tray. Divide custard among tart cases and spread topping mixture over custard. Bake at 190 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Also you can view all my recipes on my new "Recipe" page tab just below my header. Tutorials tab coming soon!

Little signs of promise in my mid- winter garden...

2011-07-12T12:27:00.000+12:00

A shy pale green hellebore flower that usually have their heads bowed too much for photos....

A daffodil bud promising that spring is not far off...

Another Camellia shrub starting to bloom....

A young Daphne bush showing delicate white buds....

and finally some sweet smelling 'Early cheer'.

Linking up today with Amy's Bloggers Garden Tour.

Two Sidewalk Satchel's

2011-07-06T10:24:00.002+12:00

For the past couple of weeks I have been teaching my youngest daughter Caitlin and her friend Tayarni the basics of sewing. I thought the best way to keep their enthusiasm going was to choose something to sew that they really wanted and would get a lot of use out of so a bag was agreed upon. Last year I bought Anna Marie Horner's pattern for her "Sidewalk Satchel" but had never gotten around to making it for myself. I had shown the girls a few patterns which they thought were 'okay' but it was a definite 'yes' when they saw this pattern.

Tayarni (left) and Caitlin(right)

We did a quick little photo shoot yesterday after school and as you can see from the above photos they were trying really hard not to laugh but....... not succeeding. They enjoyed every step of making this bag right from choosing the fabrics from my stash to cutting out and ironing on the interfacing and finally putting all the 'pieces' together to create the actual bag. Tayarni's bag is the gathered version made from some lightweight denim and a selection of some pretty blue floral scraps for the lining, pockets, flap closure and also the outer side piece.

Inside are two pockets, one large and one small plus a little label saying "Made by.....

Included in the pattern is a sculpted rolled flower to decorate the tab which has a magnetic snap closure.

Caitlin chose a selection of purples for her bag. The lighter floral piece used for the bottom/side is one I have had for a few years and was given to me from one of Caitlin's great Aunts. I always like it when I can incorporate some fabrics like this that have a special meaning or a little history to them, into an item I am making.

For the outer fabric Caitlin chose a floral needle corduroy that was leftover from a dress I had made her when she was much younger, and her flower is made from a leftover piece from my bridesmaid dresses:)

I think the girls did really well putting these bags together and certainly have gained some sewing confidence to do more sewing. Did I mention they are just 11 years old !

Downsizing....

2011-07-04T20:44:00.001+12:00

Yes finally I'm on the smallest sized square, which means I'm on the home stretch to finishing my first crochet blanket which just happens to be my first ever crochet project. I guess I like to challenge myself when it come to trying new skills. It's been a year since I started this crochet project and although I've had a few mini breaks I have enjoyed every minute of making these squares and can't recommend it enough as a great take anywhere portable project.

And this pretty wreath is something else I've been working on these last few days. I managed to add the last few finishing touches to it today.You might remember I showed a sneek peek of it on Friday. When I started designing my Bliss quilt I wanted to also design some coordinating bedroom decor items with a similar theme as well as the same fabrics and this is one of the ideas I came up with. I'm really loving how it turned out.

For the hanging ribbon I just hand stitched some white ric-rac to some narrow red ribbon with some perle cotton. As I've mentioned before I just love adding ric-rac to items.

The pinwheels are 3 inches across and are topped with some pretty buttons. Buttons are another favourite addition that I like to use.

Another photo to share because the weather gods were smiling today and I got some great shots making it hard to choose the best ones.

Listed in my shop today here :)

My brooch has arrived!

2011-07-01T12:53:00.000+12:00

I have been patiently waiting for my brooch to arrive for the Brooch Swap that Susie from Flowerpress organised back in May and finally today there was a package waiting in my letterbox from Tasmania, Australia. As you can see it was beautifully wrapped in shiny red paper and tied with the makers own ribbon and there was not one package but TWO.

Here's what I received, a beautiful round black and white brooch AND matching earrings. I feel so lucky to have been paired with Katie from WhatKatiedidnext. She has an online shop here where you can find more brooches, hair accessories, earrings and pendants. You can also check out her facebook page here. Go on over and check out her cleverness. Trust me you won't be disappointed :)

Thanks Susie for organising this fun swap!

Been busy just you know doing stuff like....

2011-07-01T09:02:00.001+12:00

...reading Jodi Picoult's books, a slight addiction here as this is my 4th one in about 2 months....

...I finished making this pillow last week and today has been the first day that the weather has been good enough to take photos. I've always wanted to make a bolster pillow and I love how this one turned out. It is made from 4 leftover blocks and yoyo's from my Bliss quilt and can be purchased here.

And here's a sneek peek of another wee project I'm working on with some more Bliss fabric:)

And I've finally bought myself one of these Clover yoyo makers. Yes I've been doing it the old fashioned way in the past but I'm sure this will make, making yoyo's quicker and more enjoyable especially when I start this quilt along.

I have also been kept busy with teaching my youngest daughter Caitlin and her friend how to sew. They have been working hard on a rather ambitious project for beginner sewers but when they are both finished I shall share what they have produced.

I don't know why it is when people ask me what I have been doing that I can often never think of exactly what I have been working on. My mind seems to go blank somehow....

Yoyo-ing along......

2011-06-20T10:30:00.002+12:00

Source: decoreblablabla.blogspot.com via Catherine on Pinterest

Inspired by this beautiful wall hanging found on Pinterest last week I signed up to join Penny's yoyo quilt along. Penny has assured us that this will be a long slow quilt-along finishing in Octoberish which is the perfect time frame for me at the moment since I have lots of projects I want to complete over the next few months. Penny will be making a single sized coverlet but I'm not sure whether I can commit to 1008 yoyo's so I'm thinking something like the above wall hanging might be more achievable :)

The quilt along is due to start this week so if your keen to yo-yo along with us go check out the details here I think this would be a great way to use up those fabric scraps that get accumulated from previous quilt projects.
Edited to add: Part one is up on Penny's blog now.

Finished brooches!

2011-06-15T13:28:00.001+12:00

I know I was only meant to make one brooch but the creative juices were flowing so I just couldn't stop at one. Hopefully I've got my partners tastes right with at least one of them. I can't decide which one I like best so she'll be getting them both.

I finished the second one up this morning. It's made using 3 shades of pink felt with a little white as well. The centre is made using Heather Baileys free tutorial here. I used this same tutorial to make a brooch for my Mother on Mother's day but forgot to take a photo. The french knots in the flower centres were replaced for some pink seed beads to add a little sparkle.

And here's my original brooch idea all embellished with some embroidery and beading. I used a tutorial I found on Pinterest for some of the layers.

I'll be popping them in the post tomorrow. For more brooch eye candy check out our Flickr page here.

This week in my garden....

2011-06-13T16:52:00.000+12:00

Amy from During Quiet time has started having a weekly link up of Bloggers garden tours and I thought I would join along. I've realised today that this is going to be a challenge to find new things in my garden to show each week but it also might make me look at my garden in different ways to find new blooms or vistas that I take for granted but will be new to readers. It might also provide further incentive to get out there regularly to keep my garden looking nice and of course worthy of photographing. So here are some things I've found to share today. Above is one of the many ferns that thrive in the shady areas.

In our backyard we are lucky to have a grove of very tall Redwood trees which create a beautiful backdrop to our garden but also create a challenge as to what to grow underneath. We have about 6 on our property but the rest are owned by the neighbor below us. Quite a few years ago now we built some meandering steps in this area and I have since been slowly finding the right plants to thrive there and also plants that will cover the ground and suppress the weeds. The maidenhair fern on the bank in the above photo loves it here .

Tree rounds made into steps in this same woodland area. I am hoping to have these steps completely surrounded in maidenhair ferns eventually.

A lovely rich red Azalea just coming into bloom.

A two toned Azalea also just starting to flower this week.

One of 3 Daphne bushes in my garden. This one is first to begin flowering and I can smell it beautiful perfume already as I walk past it.

Berries on a Clivia which has bold orange flowers during Summer.

Sorry yet another Azalea but doesn't this one have a pretty centre:)

A delicate little ground cover in my rock garden around the front of our house. This is all I'm prepared to show you of this garden at this stage as it needs some serious weeding which I started doing yesterday.

My green thumbed Father has grown these annuals for me from seed and I shall be filling pots with them to provide some pockets of colour around the garden. I think I have Lobelia, Poppies, Pansies and Sweet William.

If you'd like to share your garden too go on over to Amy's blog and join the garden tour .

Sneaky peek...

2011-06-10T19:48:00.001+12:00

It's been a wet miserable day here but I've been happily ensconced by the heater surrounded by various silky fabrics, tulle, felt, beads, thread and buttons creating a brooch for my secret partner in the Flowerpress Brooch Swap. We have 10 more days so I thought I'd better get a move along.

Tonight I'll be adding some pretty details with some beading and embroidery. Sure do hope my partner likes it although I do have a 2nd brooch idea that I might whip up as well....they're sort of addicting once you start.

You can see more beautiful brooches on our flickr group.

A perfect winter activity

2011-06-09T20:11:00.000+12:00

The batting has been joined to make the right size for the quilt.....

....and the layers all pinned together. Such tedious jobs but now it's ready for some hand quilting which is the perfect activity on a cold winters evening. What better way to keep warm with a pretty quilt draped over my lap. I couldn't get the right colours in the Perle thread so I have a mixture of threads and we will see how we go. If anyone has a good source of Perle threads please let me know. Locally would be good but I'm willing to go further a field if the price is right. So frustrating when you can't get what you want. Grrrrr

A Winter Garden......

2011-06-08T23:28:00.001+12:00

I took a few moments this afternoon to appreciate some winter flowering plants in our garden .....

A Camelia that has been in flower for a couple of weeks now......

A lone white Azalea flower on a struggling plant. Love the little green centre.....

Snowdrops flowering amongst a bank of maidenhair ferns creating a nice woodland scene under some tall redwood trees......

Some bright pink Azaleas bordering a pathway....

Delicate purple flowers on a Hebe......

A sweet smelling violet.....

Pretty pink cyclamens...

Tiny pink flowers on a succulent.

Nothing like a walk in the garden to clear the head and inspire some creativity. What are you inspired by this week?

See more June gardens here.

Another quilt top finish!

2011-06-02T15:56:00.000+12:00

I have been sewing virtually at every waking hour these last 3 days to get this quilt top finished. It's my entry for a jellyroll quilt competition which Lara told me about way back in January but it seems I need eminent deadlines to get some things completed. I put my entry in last night NZ time with just hours to spare.

This quilt was made using a jellyroll I won last year on Marguerite's blog so I feel like it's been put to good use to make this quilt. It's "Shangri-la" by 3 Sisters for Moda. I added the creamy white fabrics from my stash for the border. I had wanted to use a solid colour for the border but just didn't have time to get to a quilt shop but I think the almost lacy look of these white fabrics goes with the muted vintagey colours of this fabric line.

I used the diagonal stripes for the first border which nicely frames the inner blocks.

I wish I could say that it went together very smoothly but it didn't and I think it was mainly because I was in a rush to get it finished. I had to re-cut and re-sew "3" of the blocks because I had cut the diagonals in the wrong direction. And then yesterday I was doing silly things like not making sure the right sides were facing when sewing on the white borders...yes there was a little silent cursing going on but I got their with just 1/2 an hours daylight left to get some photos taken...Phew!

So what do you think?? I hope its a winner but if its not I know I've given it my best shot. The prize of a new sewing machine sure would come in handy though!

We have a winner!!!!

2011-05-27T14:55:00.001+12:00

Firstly I like to thank everyone who visited my blog and entered my giveaway. I was overwhelmed with the number of comments - 374!! I always like to reply to all your comments but I just couldn't this time round. Also a big welcome to all my new followers! I hope you enjoy seeing what I create and also some snippets of my life in small town New Zealand. I'll do my best to keep you entertained and inspired :)
Okay so I guess you want to know who the winner is. With so many comments I went with the Random Generator which came up with the number 184 who is:

Dawn who said:

I'm currently obsessed with quilting, but my true passion is knitting. I could definitely use a roll for my needles!

Congratulations Dawn! I have just sent you an email so look forward to hearing from you soon.

So because of all the lovely comments I received regarding the knitting roll I have been busy making 2 more which I will be listing in my shop later on today.

The above knitting roll is made with 2 fabrics designed by Valeri Wells on the inside and a Sandi Henderson print on the outside.

And this knitting roll is made up of a pretty pink and white polka dot fabric and a black and pink floral with a bold pink print on the outside. I'm really pleased with how they both came out and I hope they get to go to a good home:)

I also thought of making up a PDF pattern for those who'd like to have a go at making their own. What do you think??

Okay I have a busy weekend ahead of me, a quilt top to whip up, a sleepover, and a birthday to prepare for as our eldest daughter, Amelia, turns 14 on Monday!! Where did those years go!

Update: Both knitting rolls have been sold :) So I guess I'll have to make another couple!

It's Giveaway time!!

2011-05-23T14:21:00.001+12:00

Welcome to my loyal readers and to all those first time visitors who have come over from the "Sew Mama Sew" blog. I love hosting giveaways and making connections with fellow crafters so I if you are new here I hope you can stay a while and have a good look around my blog and find out a little about me.

For my giveaway I have whipped up a knitting roll for knitting on the go plus some quilting fabrics and buttons. I also like to pop in some surprise goodies before I post it off :)

This knitting roll is inspired by my Mother who actually does all the knitting in our family and has provided us with some lovely warm hand knits over the years. I haven't made her one of these rolls yet but a while ago she asked for a knitting roll to put her knitting in for travelling so this is what I've come up with. It has room for 10 pairs of needles and then a generous size pocket on the left side for your current knitting project. I can knit myself but just don't have the time to fit it in at the moment.

For the supplies part of my giveaway I have 4 pieces of quilters cotton and a handful of buttons just because I love buttons. The fabrics are all fat quarters except one that is cut across the fabric width.

This is the outside of the knitting roll It is padded with batting and quilted with straight line quilting.

So if you'd like to win this knitting roll plus the fabrics and buttons all you have to do is leave me a comment and tell me what your current crafting passion is at the moment. My main passion is sewing quilts, cushions and other home decor but I also like to find time to crochet and scrapbook.

This giveaway is open until 9pm May 25, and international visitors are most welcome! The winner will be drawn by random and will be notified by email so please make sure I can access your email address! Good luck!!!!!

Bliss quilt top reveal!

2011-05-22T11:57:00.000+12:00

So here it is, my quilt top made up of Bonnie & Camille's Bliss fabric. I know I promised pictures of it finished earlier last week but I got called into work for 3 full-time days, plus I'm busy being a solo parent at the moment while my husband roams around the States looking for the perfect car to give away at next years Beach hop festival. Somehow I found some small pockets of time to finish this quilt top. I sewed on the last of the yoyo's yesterday morning...that's 114 yoyo's...yes I underestimated the time it would take me to make them let alone sew each one on but I do love how it turned out which is pretty much exactly what I envisaged when I drew the initial sketch.

Little clusters of yoyo flowers on the vine...

....and a plain yoyo in the centre of each 'pinwheel'

As usual I'm undecided as to how to quilt it. I had thought of some simple hand quilting in some bold Perle cotton but the colours I want are just not available in our little craft shop here so plan 'B' might be to hand quilt it in normal quilting cotton or plan 'C' to have a combination of both machine and hand quilting. So what do you think??? Your thoughts are most welcome!! I still have some bliss fabric and yoyo's leftover to play with so stay tuned for some coordinating decor to go with this quilt.

Oh and the month of May just happens to be my blogiversary of 2 years which nicely coordinates with "Sew Mama sew's" Mayday giveaway happening on Monday 23rd so be sure to come back to help me celebrate with some goodies to giveaway!!

Fit for a princess!

2011-05-16T09:54:00.000+12:00

This post has been a long time coming but finally I can share some photos of my daughter Amelia's newly decorated room. Her old room was upstairs on the top floor of our house but we decided to redecorate what used to be our spare room and move her in there which pleased her greatly. We painted the window frames white and Amelia chose the turquoise blue wallpaper, the charcoal curtains. and the new light fittings herself. I'm really pleased with how this room turned out. It is nice and bright and perfectly stylish for a nearly 14 year old girl and she now has way more storage space than she used to.

She has a wardrobe with shelving which she never had in her old room and a door to slam shut if she feels the need :) In her old room she just had curtains across the entrance.

The dressing table used to be mine when I was her age and hanging next to it is the wall hanging I made her to match this quilt.

A garland of hearts made in a crazy patchwork style with scraps from the frock quilt.

She now has room and a place to display all those essential girl things.

Her cushions I made her here and here are now nicely displayed on her bed.

Above her bed is a new light fitting and her dream catcher plus you can see the pretty swirls at the ends of the new curtain rails which match the swirls in the curtains.

The wreath I made her here also hangs above her bed.

Some favourite things on her bedside table.

Her new desk with a pink Swiss ball as her chair and the memo board I made for her last Christmas. The turquoise blue in the Heather Bailey fabric used on the memo board was the inspiration for the bedrooms wall colour.

And finally this little bird house and bird has been hers since she was about 2 and now hangs above her desk. Moving into her new room also meant being able to have a good clean out and deciding what she did and didn't want to keep. A lot of stuff was thrown out or passed onto her sister but I'm so glad she wanted to keep this birdhouse which was the starting point to decorating her first room with a garden theme.

I hope you enjoyed seeing Amelia's newly decorated room. I'm still working away on my Bliss quilt top but hoping to finish it within the next 2 days!

Happy Monday!

Brooch swap mosaic

2011-05-10T11:25:00.003+12:00

1. folded flower bookshelf decoration, 2. Martini brooch, 3. DSC_0009, 4. recent brooches, 5. Making use of the new felt rope., 6. Vintage Brooches On Dressmaker's Form., 7. Heart mobile up close, 8.green, 9. Little Pink House, 10. flickr.com/photos/74067014@N00/4976499711/, 11. main 006, 12.Mixed Media, 13. 'Strawberry Sundae' wall art, 14. susans flowers, 15. Embroidery from our workshop at Ballarat Patchwork, 16. little garden pin cushion

This is my first ever mosaic made for the Brooch swap. I hope it gives my partner some idea of what I like. Making a mosaic is really easy and fun. I followed Jo's instructions here using the Big Huge Labs Mosaic Maker. I think I might be making more mosaics in the near future :)

Making Yoyo's

2011-05-06T15:16:00.003+12:00

The eating kind! Delicious even if the first batch were in the oven maybe a minute too long:)

And the embellishing kind! These yoyo's are going on my bliss quilt and I still have quite a few to make so I guess that's what I'll be doing in my spare time this weekend. I say spare time because Amelia's new bedroom is very close to being finished. I've showed small glimpses of her room here and here so it's been a work in progress for a few months now. It's looking really pretty and elegant so this weekend is moving in time. I'll give you a little photo tour soon.

Celebrating with cupcakes....

2011-05-05T14:45:00.000+12:00

A few weeks ago I won a giveaway on Renee's blog Nays Place. Renee is a kiwi living in Australia and often blogs about her sweet little girl who seems to provide endless entertain. Anyway Renee had been given some natural food colourings to try and then generously put them up as a giveaway. In the above photo you can see them on the right in that very small little box and that is all I was expecting to receive but as you can see Renee sent me a parcel of goodies to share with my family, yummy mini Easter eggs and a box of cupcake mix so we had the perfect excuse to try out the food colourings.

I was going to keep them for the following weekend to make up with the girls but with the Royal wedding on last Friday we decided they would be the perfect royal treat to have while watching Kate and Wills tie the knot. The above photo was taken at night so is a bit on the yellow side but we iced them in 3 different colours of lime green, apricot and pink. The mix included the icing mix and the cute little polka dot cupcake cases.

The girls had fun decorating them with what I had on hand and in the above photo is one that Caitlin decorated with 2 cute tiny hearts which I thought was very appropriate for the occasion. Oh and if you haven't had enough of looking at the Royal wedding they have their own Flickr page here!

Thanks Renee for the extra goodies!!

A new swap!

2011-05-04T20:21:00.000+12:00

While reading through my blog list last night (which is way too long) I came across this new swap on Susie's blog Flowerpress who is organising a brooch swap to celebrate her 500th post. I've been wanting to join in on a swap for a long time but really couldn't commit the time but this swap seems perfect for me. I love to make and wear pretty brooches and since Susie's given us 7 weeks to make one for our partners I'm sure I'll meet this deadline. If you are keen to join in sign ups are open till May 10th over here.

Today I am thankful for.....

2011-04-29T18:40:00.000+12:00

After 4 days of rain I am making the most of the sunshine and fresh winds to dry four loads of laundry. I could show you a picture of sheets blowing in the breeze but these pink pegs in a vintage basket are much prettier don't you think.

Family and friends sharing their autumn bounty of walnuts and feijoas with us. You can't beat fresh walnuts in baking and the lovely fragrance of feijoas. I just might be baking feijoa and ginger muffins this weekend.

The US and NZ postal systems for delivering these pretty bliss fabrics so I can finish my Bliss quilt, which I'm also hoping to work on tomorrow. These fabrics were purchased on Etsy here and here.

Tonight the girls and I will be staying up late to watch 'the wedding'. Wisely my husband is going out to watch rugby and basketball so it will be a nice girls night in.

Love a good page turner....and a classic

2011-04-27T20:10:00.000+12:00

Thanks to my bookworm nearly 14 year old daughter I have found another great book that I am enjoying so much that it is way too hard to put it down especially when I should really be doing other things. We saw the film last year and loved it although it is very sad and I thought Cameron Diaz was wrongly cast as the Mother. I think the film was well done and portrayed the story well but as is always the case the book has a lot more in it. So Amelia got it out from the library for herself along with "The Clan of the Cave Bear" and I got out.......

......this book because I love the author's more well known series "The No.1 detective agency" and I thought maybe his other series would be worth a go. Unfortunately I got rather bored reading this and gave up which I hate to do but I have better things to do than read a book that I am not enjoying. So now that I'm 2/3 of the way through "My Sister's Keeper" I am interested in trying out her other books and hoping some of you will be able to recommend some of her other titles???

Since it is school holidays here Caitlin and I are reading this book together. This is a classic children's series that I absolutely adored as a child so much so that I wanted to be Heidi or at the very least have her pretty little Swiss dresses, but to my disappoint I have never been able to get Amelia to read them, although she's probably a little old for them now. Maybe its because the writing is a little too old fashioned I'm not sure but Caitlin seems to be really enjoying having it read to her and I am definitely enjoying reading it all over again. Plus its nice to spend a little quality one on one time with Caitlin.

So what children's classics can you remember as a child that you loved and read over and over, please do share with me. As you can tell we love to read in our house where you will find books on every floor :)

Our Easter weekend was spent...

2011-04-25T20:06:00.000+12:00

...clearing our garden and deck of leaves from recent autumn winds ready for the next storm due to arrive tonight, weeding the veggie gardens and picking the last of the tomatoes...

...working on this little pile of crochet squares...

...sewing these blocks - 40 completed and ready to sew into a quilt top!

...playing with block layouts- I think I like the look of this one...

We also...

ate a Good Friday lunch with my parents in Waihi
had a visit from my parents for afternoon tea on Easter Sunday

enjoyed a visit from friends who delivered a dressing table for Amelia's new room, took a double bed back with them and surprised us with there good news of their first baby being due in September :) I'm now looking forward to sewing lots of baby items for them, that they never knew they needed ;)

Easter traditions...

2011-04-22T20:40:00.000+12:00

Just popping in to wish everyone a lovely Easter weekend. As is tradition in our house we bake our own Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday. I do love making these buns and they just fill the house with the most delicious yeasty, spicy aroma. Caitlin was my assistant today, helping to roll them into round little buns then piping on the crosses before they went into the oven. Sadly they are now all gone so we just might have to make some more tomorrow....

Progress is being made

2011-04-21T23:06:00.000+12:00

Just dropping in quickly to give you a progress shot of my bliss quilt. I had first intended to sew these 6 1/2 " blocks all together but they weren't sewing together nicely at all and also weren't giving me the overall effect I had first envisaged. Sooo onto plan B which is to frame them all in a different solid fabric which I'm really liking now. Phew! Hoping to get them sewn all together by Sunday!

Birthday gifts

2011-04-20T16:29:00.001+12:00

This is a post I should've done last week but I've been having trouble downloading photos from my camera to my computer. I think I've got it sorted now although my head is now swimming with information on how to use the software that came with my camera. I won't bore you with any more details suffice to say its a learning curve that is giving my brain a good workout.

Anyway on Sunday a week ago it was my Mothers birthday which is always a good excuse for me to make her something handmade that she needs/wants. This year I made her a plastic bag dispenser for her kitchen and a Shopping list holder to go in her handbag using fabrics from my stash which always makes me feel good. I had recently had a bit of a sort out and had put aside some pretty florals that I thought would be perfect for projects to make for Mum.

As well as holding a shopping list pad I made a place on the other side to hold a wee note pad and also a place to hold the pen.

For the plastic bag dispenser I used a great tutorial written by Rashida Coleman from "I heart linen" in one of the "Stitch" magazines . If you haven't seen this particular magazine I can thoroughly recommend them. They are packed full of sewing inspiration, informative articles, tips, how-to's, and tutorials with full size patterns to to pull out and use.

This tutorial was really easy to follow and so much nicer than the plain dispenser that I was originally going to make. I love the addition of the tag at the top for hanging which was also a great way to incorporate my label.

Even though school holidays are now upon us here I am still managing to get a little sewing done on my Bliss quilt and will be back here soon to show you some more progress now that I've got my photo downloading problem sorted.