The quilt is finished... The big reveal!

So... It has finally been done...

And what a journey it has been...

Once all the panels were finished I stitched them all together to make the complete front of the quilt.

I then cleared my living room to make enough space to lay down the backing, wadding and front panel on the floor.

And then the grand pinning project began...

Once pinned it was on through the sewing machine...

The weather has been extremely hot in Yorkshire which, I have found, is not conducive to sewing quilts in a windowless room shared with a smelly tortoise... Endurance didn't cover it! There must be an easier way too to get a quilt through a machine like mine... Though I am surprised how well it coped. There is nothing worse than stuffing a half made quilt through a machine when most of it starts on your lap, you are pricked to death by pins and the weather is 30o outside!

Since I last wrote I have recieved the walking foot for my sewing machine. And what a god send it has been. As readers of my blog will know that when I did my last quilt I broke a stack load of needles while using a regular foot and it was a complete nightmare. My life has now been transformed with this foot. I haven't puckered the fabric once and it worked like a dream... The link for the one I bought is below!

I then carefully pinned the re-ironed bias binding to the outside edge (while trimming the excess fabric along the way!)

That was then sewn... I don't know about anyone else but I love this part as you know you are on the home stretch... And it seems to go a lot quicker than the quilting bit... But it is not as hot either!

And then it was a quick trim or two and TA-dah! The quilt was finished. I am pleased that it is finally done as it was a long time in the conception and the actual practice but all a labour of love. I will be travelling down to my parents at the weekend to give it to them and can't wait to see their faces when they see it...

Ladies and gentlemen... The anniversary quilt!

A Guard Dinosaur of my very own!

My husband has been sewing again... Something he always does by hand as he doesn't trust my sewing machine... Not that he can get to it at the moment due to the large quilt that is currently being pushed through it!

I bought some fat quarters of fabric for the bow tie project a couple of months back and in amongst that material was some fabric with dinosaurs on it. To him, this was fabric Mecca and thought that he was his duty to use it.

So he designed a dinosaur that, once finished, would sit on my side of the bed during the day and 'guard me' during the night...

The whole idea of 'guard dinosaurs' is one that has been around many years - in fact, since me and my husband moved to Yorkshire. I bought him a dinosaur when he was unemployed to cheer him up (he never grew out of loving dinosaurs!) and as a bit of a joke he said it would guard the bed and him at night as it would make sure I wouldn't steal the duvet... And so the Guard dinosaur was born...

Even my 10 month old daughter has a Guard Dinosaur (who is apparently called Terry) whom she plays with in her cot when she awakens at some unearthly hour... Something which is all too frequent at the moment!

So, 'Eric' my Guard Dinosaur was made. He is made of two contrasting fabrics (easily purchased from Hobbycraft) and drew the outline of the dinosaur on the wrong side of the fabric.

He then sewed the two main body pieces together with the wrong sides facing leaving a quarter inch seam allowance. He then added the contrasting fabric pieces and then turned it inside out.

He stuffed the dinosaur with off cuts of wadding and toy stuffing which I had in my scrap boxes (something I am grateful for as I MANY off cuts from quilting projects!)

The rest of the dinosaur was then sewn together.

My husband then chose some buttons for the eyes and added some google eyes onto the buttons.

And there you have it... I introduce to you: Eric!

Quilting against the clock ... Part v

After the success of the peacock a few squares ago (and managing to not stick too many pieces to the iron which happens far too often when I have very small pieces to work with!) I thought I would tackle what seemed to be the most complicated square (and I hope I have judged it right!)

While looking for pictures that would be suitable to transfer to a quilt I loved that I found a map of the USA with a Stars and Stripes on it which encompassed my parents trip there a good couple of years ago.

I have found the best method is to bondaweb the material first and then cut out the shape... It helps to battle against fraying on the slightly thinner fabrics.

I have also discovered that it is useful to put a couple of tea towels under the fabric as well as having a few pieces of calico handy to place on top of the square too... I saves from burning anything... I hope!

I use a little travel iron for all my quilting needs... It heats up super quick, cools down ok and is perfect for doing smaller stuff!

I had to take a photo of the original picture before I cut it up and I am sooooo glad that I did! There is nothing more scary than being faced with a pile of fabric strips and not knowing the order of them...

This square isn't quite finished though... I realised I could bust a gut doing the stars on the blue background but realised I certainly didn't have the time (or possibly the patience) to cut out all the stars individually out of the white fabric (which frayed around the edges which was not ideal)... So, I have cheated and bought a square of it off ebay...

I am currently awaiting the square so I can finish this panel... One more 'country' square to go... Three letters and five 'project' ones to go too...

Oh... And 18 days to complete it? This is going to tight...

Quilting against the clock.... Part III

After spending a lot of the previous evening appliqué - ing I had a finished panel... Only another 12 to go plus the extra filler, backing, wadding, edging etc!!

The next on the list was the peacock to symbolise my parents trip to India as my mum couldn't get over the fact that she had wild peacocks to look at every day!

The picture I found had a lovely big tail and didn't seem too difficult to cut into colour blocks.

I have been able to use scraps and off cuts of cotton for this one ... The blue is from the off cuts of the massive quilt that I made for my husband... The green is from the bow tie project at school and the silver is from the previous lemur leftovers!

The cutting out of the fabric was slightly more fiddly than the last one... There seemed to be more small part in this one than in the last one.

The crest of the peacock will be finished once I have appliquéd it... Something I plan to do tomorrow night... I can't wait as I am really enjoying this project so far!

Butterflies and bling...

So, I may be getting a bit of an obsession with fascinators ... I seem to want to make a lot of them but  I then have to sell them because otherwise the house will really be over run by feathers and bling!

My latest creation is another one with butterflies but this time to go on a hair clip which I picked up and thought might make a nice headpiece.

I did a lot of different drafts of this one as I could not decide which side the feathers should go on.

All the feathers are stuck on with silicone glue which, I have to admit, is one of my new favourite things... It seems to work with everything and doesn't have the white residue that seems to be left when using superglue.

I am really pleased with the results - so pleased that it is now for sale on my etsy page (see side bar for link!)

Definitely more of a back-of-the-head accessory rather than a side one!

A second one will follow... I just can't find the picture...

Again, this is available in my etsy shop!

Dinosaur in disguise!

As I have said many times before my husband is a dinosaur nut. And, instead of getting him something rabbit related for Easter this year (to go with the jars I made a couple of weeks ago) I thought I would delve into the world of decoupage again and give him a decorated dinosaur.

The dinosaur template was relatively inexpensive  and the papers were left over from a few previous projects so it was nice to use up some scraps too!

Again I used Mod Podge which dries in a nice matt glaze.

I used two colours of the decoupage papers: camouflage and gold crackle...

The process of actually doing the decoupaging took a lot longer than I had anticipated as I was trying to do this project when my husband was not in the house so tried to fit in doing it between him leaving for work and me taking my daughter to nursery first thing in the morning... This had mixed results as sometimes my daughter let me get in with it and sometimes she didn't!

Eventually I got it done and was pleased that it was finished...

I can't wait to give it to him on Easter Sunday!

Footsteps and memories...

One of the many joys of having a young baby is the fact that there are many little things you can do to give yourself a memento of when they were very tiny!

This imprint was taken when my gorgeous daughter was only 3 months old at our local children's centre.

Play dough was placed in a clean metal takeaway container and her foot was carefully placed and pushed... Careful that the dough doesn't go between the toes otherwise it can take an age to clean afterwards!

Liquid plaster of paris is then added until the foot is filled and there is about a 1cm deep above it.

Let it dry for 24 hours.

Then remove the plaster carefully and use a dry toothbrush to get rid of any excess dough.

And there you have it. I have mounted my daughters on a cheap memory box frame with a sheet of patterned paper...

This particular one is so easy to do that I am thinking of doing one when it is her naming ceremony too as she has grown a lot since this one!

The perfect present for a 6 month old...

When my husband was looking for his next cross stitching project he saw this kit and just knew that he wanted to sew it for our daughter who has just turned six months old.

My husband dedicates a lot of time to reading our daughter books of every kind but she especially loves the Mr Men books. So when he spied a height chart with mr men he simply had to give it a go.

The hardest part was trying to find the right place to start as finding middle of such a long project was not easy... But once he started on one the rest fell into place.

He has probably taken about a month to complete the project by completing a bit every night...

When he finished the pattern he also wanted to dedicate it to our daughter... Her nickname is 'little face' hence why it says 'for face'. My husband was particularly pleased with this as he didn't follow a pattern and did it freehand.

The piece is now waiting to be stretched and framed and hopefully will be enjoyed for years to come...

Mammoth robotics!

I have said before that my husband loves anything that is really old (fossils, dinosaurs etc) so when this little project came up he simply had to make it!

It comes as a kit with easy to follow instructions but with many, many pieces...

For my husband it also had the added bonus of electronics to play with too which he said had clear instructions and took him a lot less time that he had anticipated.

The project took him an evening to complete but it was a wonderful way to while-away some time...

It also acts as a great thing for my daughter who thinks there is nothing better than watching the mammoth move across the coffee table... A definite success!

Something fishy...

One of my many obsessions is pufferfish... I think they are possibly the most comical fish of the underwater world.

I was given a Pom Pom kit by my mother as she knows that I need to keep busy. And the fish came in one of them along with a couple of other fish but the pufferfish needed to be made first!

The instructions were fairly easy to follow but I had to be very liberal with the fabric glue as the Pompoms were very difficult to stick stuff too. The hardest part was the spines as they were made out of small lengths of pipe cleaner which were then a challenge to stick.

However, I love it. And I can't wait to do the rest!

Insects in disguise...

Sometimes there are stocking fillers and little gifts which are just pure and unadulterated joy. They get you to create something which give you hours of enjoyment afterwards too.

 These were just such a gift.

Bought for my husband my mother thought these would be a great little kit to keep him busy. I think the spider one was first and then the rest followed.

 What I have not included in the picture is some of the smaller insects that come in the pack as they did not move with us a couple of years ago... They were too fiddly for my very rushed packing!!!

 I love them. They are a unique little craft but someday my husband wants to make the templates himself... I will keep you posted!

Potty about Easter...

I love to try and give something a little different at Easter and, as much as the whole chocolate overload is something I look forward to (especially as I will have just finished the Christmas chocolate treats) I try my best to make something.
 Easter is also time for a bit of friendly completion between me and my sister. One year she had made up some organza bags with fake grass, a couple of creme eggs and a chunk of our respective birth stones - a nice little touch.

 So the next year I made everyone personalised mini flower pots and filled them with mini mini eggs.

The pots (bought through amazon) themselves started off terracotta in colour so I painted them copper with some acrylic paint which gave them a nice sheen.

 The wooden letters I bought from a local craft shop and painted them too (these can be bought through amazon too!) The butterflies were also bought at the craft shop but I have yet to find them anywhere else - please let me know if you know where I might be able to find them again...

 The gold letters finished off the personalisation...

 These were then given out in little cellophane bags with mini chickens on Easter Day...

You're having a giraffe...

My 5 month old daughter loves giraffes. She saw her first one at Blackpool zoo at 3 months and now every time she is shown a picture of one or sees one on tv she breaks out into a massive grin.

I have been trying to find a decor for her naming ceremony which is taking place in April and thought that a giraffe theme would be a nice way to incorporate something my daughter loves and something for the guests could take away with them to remind them of the day.

I also needed to come up with a way for the guests to know where they are sitting so came up with a combination of place card and guest memento!

The little giraffes were made from fimo which had been made in a silicone mould and then baked in the oven for only three minutes. These were then stuck to luggage labels and then the names of the guests were then stamped on the labels (although I did think about writing on them at one point like the one in the photo!)
On the back there was a small note saying that is was our daughters naming ceremony and the date.

I was pleased with these and then tied the labels with giraffe print ribbon.

I will let you know what the guests think!

Sewing with Cath...

Another of my greatest loves is Cath Kidston. I love the fabric, the designs and the homemade element of her things.

I particularly love her craft books: 'sew', 'stitch', 'patch' and 'make'. Free with her 'sew' book is the fabric and pattern for a bag. And I thought I would give it a go.

The instructions were easy to follow but I was grateful that the pieces were pre cut for this first project as I felt that this project was not for the beginner although the book does come with a massive pattern sheet which is, again, very clear.

It got me used to using my sewing machine (which was very new at that point) which was very useful but as the material was quite thick it made me test the tension on the machine too (another skill I had to learn!)

The project took me a couple of evenings to complete. However, I did tweak the instructions a little and did not make a loop for the button but instead sewed Velcro on the inside of the bag for a fastening.

All in all a great project for Cath Kidston fans... I'm certainly hooked!

Just dance...

After the success of my 'smile' bag I wanted to make another tote bag for my sister and step sister who are both crazy about dancing. My sister in particular always has a thousand-and-one shoes for her hobby so a bag would come in useful for her.

In fact, it was nice to return a favour to her as she once made me a tye dye bag at school which I kept my tap shoes in for many years - it goes without saying that I was a rubbish tap dancer!

 The principal of the 'dance' bags was the same as the 'smile' bag - the letters were traced out of different fabrics and then bondawebbed on and then appliquéd!

 The bag wasn't as good a quality as the previous one so if you attempt this yourself use a calico bag rather than a cheap one!

Gambling with monsters...

During a particularly stressful supermarket shop I found myself going down the book aisle ( a fairly normal occurrence) and saw a couple of sewing kits going cheap and bought them on a whim.

 The first of these books was 'Dastardly delightful monsters' (see link below) and instantly feel in love with the quirky designs and bright colours - something a bit different.

 My husband had a quick flick though and then instantly picked one that he wanted to make. The 'Dizzy Die'. This was probably the most complicated one to make but my husband likes to set himself a challenge!

 Thankfully the book has easy to follow instructions and very clear templates to follow. I would recommend the book for beginners to sewing as most of the designs require felt which doesn't fray and something relatively simple with great looking results!

Heart to heart...

I love buying craft magazines. It is a bit of an obsession but I love flicking though them and gaining inspiration from their pages.

 I also, most embarrassingly, love the ones that have free gifts which come in kit form - I'm a real sucker for those!

 The latest idea came from 'Makes' from Prima - it had a make your own mouse on the front which completely won me over! I had some off cuts from the onesie that I had hemmed for my sister in a nice bright fleece material. I thought I could make some little fleece hearts which could then be strung together to create some heart bunting - something which could make a fireplace a bit more cosy.

 The hearts were easy enough to cut out and a button was sewn on with invisible thread. The hanging ribbon was part of my stash of off cuts which I usually snip off new clothes as I usually have them hanging out in strange places!

 Once they were sewn up I hung them up on the ribbon and pinned them on.

These little hearts went onto etsy - my husband said we had nowhere to to hang them ... To be fair to him he's probably right!



Etsy shop

Batty about felt ...

My dad works as an ecologist and spends a large amount of time handling bats as part of his job.

 The back lash of this is the fact he gets given all things that are bat orientated. So I decided to make him a little felt bat.

 The template was from a hanging decoration I had bought one Halloween and it was traced onto the felt twice. I used a running stitch to stitch the front and back pieces together and stuffed it with polystyrene balls - I have a MASSIVE bag of these so they get used for everything!

 I also found some eyes in my box of everything crafty and stuck them on.

 The finished article is rather sweet and could perhaps be used as a pincushion or a loop could be added as a Halloween decoration...

Taking it down a size...

After the success of making normal size bunting I had some very nice material come with a magazine and immediately thought of my sister (who needed cheering up) and made her some bunting.

There was rather a lot of fabric scraps left over from the bunting and it seemed a pity to throw it away. So I decided to make some mini bunting.

I did what I usually do for the big stuff and just scaled everything down and used bias binding yet again to bind all the triangles in a line. The triangles themselves were quite a fiddle and I had to be carful not to trap my fingers in the machine or burn my fingers while pressing!

This bunting is still in the box I put it in - where projects that have no special place go until I find a use for them. I think I may need to make a small bunting just to prove it can be done ... Do dolls houses need bunting?

The model farm...

I love giving handmade gifts. It gives me a warm glow. It also means that I can give something that is unique.

 When my parents hit their 7th wedding anniversary I wanted to make a little something for them. The 7th anniversary is wool. I saw a fimo pack with some farm animals to make. A sheep would be a great gift!

 I hadn't tried fimo since I was a young kid and I used to love it... And I still do!

As there were two animals to make in the pack - a sheep and a pig - my husband decided to make the pig. The results were great.

My parent's loved the sheep. These packs are great crafts to do with kids and I can't wait for my little one to be old enough to discover the wonders of fimo!