Jan May

A vision in Teal - front view Towards the end of February I saw a competition advertised on Twitter by Hillarys Blinds .  I can't remember the exact wording, but it was along the lines of "would you like to receive some material and enter our competition?" Of course I would! After sending an e-mail, I was delighted to hear I'd been chosen to take part.  I was able to pick from 3 fabrics.  I opted for the peacock print as I adore teal.  About a week later I received a packet from Hillarys containing a metre of my chosen material.  I wish I could get the colours to come out properly.  I don't think any of the photos I've taken do the fabric justice.  The background is a light cream, with the branches and blossom in subtle shades of brown and pale yellows.  Sitting on the branches across the fabric are a selection of beautiful peacocks.  In shades of teal, they are quite wonderful. A Vision in Teal - back view My ...

After much fiddling and generally farting about - this is the layout I've decided on for my bed runner. I've given up on the idea of puffs......  once I realised how many squares it would take!  I would have been well and truly out of puff by the time I finished.  Does everyone take as long as me to decide on what's going where?  Blimey - if I hadn't been so precious about it, I could have sewn half of it together already.  I'm going to do simple squares.  I don't want to overdo it, and take away from the pretty bedding I want to compliment. (though I may have to add a button or two). I've worked out that I need 76 x 5 inch squares to make the runner.  It's the closest I can get to the width of a super king quilt - leaving me a couple of inches to do an edging or binding of some sort.  I would love to add a big bobble trim, but the cat would have a field day with it - so that's a no-no.  Plus, anything on the bed has to be capable of ...

I've got there in the end!  One puffy pillow already for the bed.   The puffs were easy to do - and a good trial run for my next project of a bed runner to match.  I actually think the pillow would look better if it was all puffs, but hey - ho - you make and learn. Here's what I did...... Fabrics collected together.  The finished pillow is 14 inches square.  Allowing 1/4 inch seams - I cut the centre embroidery at 7.5 inches. Then 12 different squares of 5 inches each (top) 12 squares of 4 inches (back) cut from old white shirt.    There's no need to tack.  Though pins are a must. Begin by folding each top square in half (wrong sides together) and run over with an iron at the edges.     Match up the corners with a backing square.    Pinch fold in centre, and fold down flat against the backing square.  Pin in place, and continue around, bending each fold the same way.     All squares pinned, placed, and ready to se...

A trifle miffed that the sun has decided to hide this morning.  The sky is back to it's normal leaden look. So lets jolly things up with a selection of pastel pinks - never fail to cheer. I shall start shamelessly with one of my own creations - the Sugar and Spice pillow.  I love the way the fabrics go together.  Currently sitting on my bed.  I do enjoy foundation piecing - and have another one in the pipeline featuring beach huts.  (Better get cracking or summer will be over). Isn't this wigwam delightful?  It screams summer.  I want a grown up sized one.  This is so utterly charming.  Created by Hickity-pickity who makes the most delightful things (if you have a little girl - get over there right this minute - you'll love her designs), using fabric designs by Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom   I am in the throes of a long distance love affair with all things Sis Boom.  If you like bright, fresh and zingy fabrics - you m...

My blog posts have been lacking the last few weeks.  This is due to moving home and trying to sort out the chaos.  One of the things required was that hubby thin down his clothing, or there would be no room for any of mine in the fitted wardrobes.  At the last count he had well over a hundred shirts.  Ridiculous.  Under strict instructions to free up half the wardrobe space for me, he set to with bin bags, to turf some out for the charity shops. With a large selection of shirts ousted, I started looking at the fabrics and wondered if I could make use of them myself.  There's a surprising amount of fabric in a mans shirt, particularly an XL one. After cherry picking the ones that were all cotton and nice fabrics, I sat down and scratched my head for inspiration. My first of two makes is this pillow.  When I began I had no real vision of what it was going to look like.  I just knew that I wanted to use some of the front pockets, and make a...

Adding binding to a project is something I rather enjoy.  Not only reserved for quilts, I've also been finding it pretty useful when making pillows.  It makes putting a pillow together a doddle, is quick and easy to do, and is a whole lot less fiddly than messing about with piping. After talking to a few quilters, including some who have been sewing for years, I've realised that not everyone knows how to sew a mitred binding.  It's dead simple, and easy to master.   If you haven't attempted it before, do give it a bash.  You'll be adding binding to everything in no time! Many quilting patterns say to cut binding in 2.5 inch wide strips.  I find that 2 inches is ample for any quilt, and looks neater.  With the recent pillows I've been making, I've reduced it to 1 3/4 inches - giving just enough fabric to turn over and stitch down. Anyways...... lets get on with the info....... Start off by cutting enough strips to go around the outside edge...