Crafts – Page 4 – 3and3quarters

September 12th: A Sunny Spring Saturday & A Day of Non-Starts!

Oh man, the weather today was absolutely lush! The sun was shinning brilliantly, the flowers were in full bloom, a warm breeze rustled through my hair and it was the first day since the beginning of winter where I haven’t needed to put socks on by days end! Yay! Spring is here!

So for today I had planned to get started on what I like to call ‘personal sewing’. It’s those projects where I’m making it simply for me and my own enjoyment. For example, my Pandamonium Mini Quilt was a ‘personal sewing’ project, as was my Pineapple Mini and so will be the patterns I bought from Fat Quarter Shop the other day. And it’s one of those I was going to start this morning…

However, after sitting down in front of my machine I annoyingly remembered that I hardly had any thread to sew with and that I needed to buy some new needles for my machine! I’d been putting off and putting off and putting off going to buy some all week (which is REALLY terrible, I know!), which resulted in me cursing at myself as I sit down to sew and hear/feel that spine-tingly clunk-clunk-clunk of my dull needle piercing through the fabric! Oops! So because I treated myself to a lovely and much needed lie-in in the morning and had the afternoon booked with another event, I ended up at Spotlight buying what I needed 20 minutes before they closed for the day! And by then, my day had been busy enough that my up-and-go had up-and-went!

The pattern I was going to get stuck into was the Notting Hill House Mini by Nedra Ridgeway. I currently have the pattern pinned up on my cork board behind my desk and every now and then I can’t help but look over at it because it’s just so stinkin’ cute!!

A few moments a go, I had a good rummage through my stash for some lovely pastel florals and spots that I think would suit the pattern. I’m still not 100% sure on how the prints sit together and what exact fabrics will make the cut, but I’ll look at it again tomorrow with fresh eyes and see if anything needs changing!

That’s been the day! I hope yours is much more productive in the sewing room than mine was!

Happy Weekend, Friends!

September 11th: TUTORIAL // How to Make a Petal Pincushion!

Since the day I first shared these darling little pincushions on Instagram last week, lots of requests have come in for me to do a tutorial!

And so here it is ladies! (Ahem…and gentlemen, if you’re reading along!)

Materials List:

A suitable amount of cotton fabric, depending on how big you want to make your pincushion. The fabric I use is DS Quilts, Daisy Mae collection.
x1 large button with two holes in a colour of your choice
80″ (estimate) of DMC Pearle Cotton thread in colour of choice
x1 Straws needle in size no.1 (or any other type of strong hand sewing needles)
Hand full of polyester stuffing
Scissors: Thread snips, Fabric scissors and Pinking Sheers
Lead pencil
x1 small hand sewing needle and matching thread
Chop stick
Sewing Machine
Dressmaking pins
Something round to trace around eg. Jam jar lid, tin lid, plate etc.

The beauty about this pattern is that you can make your pincushion as big or as small as you like depending on the size of the circular object you choose to trace around! Yeah!

If this looks like a great little project that you’re going to make, don’t forget to send me a photo of your finished little (or big!) petal pincushion! I would absolutely love to see how you go!

Happy Sewing, Friends!!

PS. This petal pincushion has been inspired and adapted from a pattern in a booklet that came with issue 52 of Mollie Makes magazine.

September 10th: A Typical Work Day

Thursday has panned out to be a pretty typical work day for me.

The day started out with replying back to emails and checking all of my social media places and answering comments and seeing what all of you guys are up to.

Then my usual late morning procrastinating set in and I got sucked into watching too many YouTube videos. (We’ve all been there! Am I right?) Well to be honest, I was waiting for my camera battery to charge so that I could get filming my Petal Pincushion tutorial…I had to do something to pass the time! 😀

After lunch, my motivation came back with a punch (I find I work best from early afternoon and into the evening!) and I got the Pincushion tutorial filmed and ready for editing! Yeah! Over the next few hours, I’ll get the major part of that edit done, ready to add the finishing touches tomorrow morning so that I can upload it in the afternoon! So get ready for that!

Also this afternoon, when I was importing my tutorial files into iMovie, I got momentarily distracted by some of the downloadable PDF patterns on the Fat Quarter Shop website. (As one so casually does!) I ended buying two patterns that really stood out to me and that I could see myself easily making! The first is a paper piecing pattern by Zen Chic called Octo!

I’ve always been really keen on making a quilt with a circular type element/design to it. As soon as I saw it, it reminded me so much of this Anna Maria Horner pattern called Spinning Stars. I think they’re very similar!

The other pattern I bought was this gorgeous Notting Hill House Mini by Nedra Ridgeway from the most beautifulist of blogs, Ellis and Higgs.

Gahh! This house is so super-super cute and I can’t wait to plan what pretty pastel floral fabrics I can use to make it with!! Yip-yip!

One other thing that I’ve been up to today is researching and making the final decisions of what blocks will make the final cut for a new Quilt-Along I’ll be doing on my YouTube channel very, very soon! It’ll be a Sampler quilt of sorts and I’m quite sure all of the blocks will have a HST base to them. The only thing I’m really stuck with is what fabrics to use. Unlike my first QAWM series, I want to use a fabric (or fabrics) that are readily available to everyone all across the world. Hence why I’ve been stalking the Fat Quarter Shop of late as well as Kelani Fabrics and Hobby Sew. There are a few fabric ranges I’ve found that I think will work but I’m still on the lookout for that perfect collection that ticks all of the boxes!

So that’s been my day. Well so far, anyway. I still have this post to finalise and publish as well as a tutorial to edit for you guys to see tomorrow, along with half a dozen other important things on my to-do list that I’m casually procrastinating over! Eek!

I hope you’re all having a wonderful Thursday wherever you are in the world!

Happy Sewing, Friends!

Fat Quarter Shop Jolly Bar Blog Hop!

Today I get to share with you a very special quilt I made in collaboration with the Fat Quarter Shop using their exclusive 5″x10″ Jolly Bar pre-cuts!

The range I was given to play and create with was the beautiful Polka Dots & Paisleys by Minick & Simpson for Moda Fabrics. Full of gorgeous florals, paisleys, polka dots and rich Americana colours, it was such a lovely range to work with and discover all of the intricate patterns and shapes within the prints.

One of the things I found working with the Jolly Bars is just how versitile they are to work with! I found it so hard to narrow down the perfect block to show off how effortless they are to design and sew with! My thoughts were; ‘Do I cut them half and do a simple strip-piece quilt?’ ‘Should I cut the Jolly Bar into rectangles and make it into a tumbler block?’ ‘Do I stick with a simple HST?’ The list was endless! Also, one of the other great things I love about the Jolly Bars is that each range featured comes with an exclusive pattern to make with it! All of the hard parts of wondering what to make from them has all been taken care of! Yay! So all you need to do is pick the range you love the most, make the super-easy pattern inside and you’ve got a beautiful quilt that you’ll love forever!

The quilt I chose to design and make features a very simple variation of the Open Window block. To make it, I simply cut the 42 Jolly Bars in half, paired them with a white solid fabric, then stitched and trimmed the 5″ squares into 84 4.5″ half-square triangles. I then pieced together three matching HSTs of four different prints around an 8.5″ white centre square to complete the block. I made twelve blocks all together, with a few HSTs left over and then added a 4.5″ sashing around the edges to complete the quilt top.

I used a beautifully soft and luscious bamboo/cotton blend batting (a new favourite!) and a creamy blender fabric for the backing. I then quilted it by stitching two lines either side of all of the seam lines, creating an echo type pattern within the open spaces of the blocks. To finish it up, I used a matching red solid fabric to bind the edges.

The finished size of the quilt measures: 57″x73″ or 145cmx185cm.

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If you’re curious to know how to piece an Open Window block together, then feel free to check out the following tutorial I made for my YouTube channel!

Measurement & cutting info…

From the white solid fabric cut –

x1: 8.5″ square for the centre of the block

x8: 5″ squares to be made into HSTs

From four print fabrics cut –

x2: 5″ squares from each one to be made into HSTs

Follow the steps in the video to learn how to piece together this block! All seams are a 1/4″.

FINAL BLOCK SIZE: 16.5″x16.5″ (42cmx42cm)

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I would like to extend a big thank you to the team at the Fat Quarter Shop for inviting me to join this blog hop and to be given the opportunity to work with such a beautifully rich fabric range! It was an absolute pleasure!

Happy Sewing, Friends!

September 7th: Stocking up the Etsy Shop!

After the wrap up of Market Day over the weekend, I was left with a few items that didn’t manage to sell on the day.

Luckily for my Etsy shop, this means a bit of a refill of it’s shelves! Yay!

In the shop today I’ve added a couple of new Little Wallets…

And then later on in the week I’ll be adding a few of the little Petal Pincushions I was making last week…

…as well as some mixed FQ bundles…

…along with one very special item that you’ll learn all about tomorrow! Fingers crossed!

(HINT: It’s a quilt! Ooo!!)

To have more of a look at what’s in my shop, you can visit it by clicking here!

Can’t wait to share more with you tomorrow and later this week!

Happy Sewing, Friends!

September 5th: Market Day!

Whew! What a day! This poor little quilter is ready to dive into bed and go to sleep!

Today was Market Day at my church, where my sister-in-law and I shared a handmade stall full of lovely little knick-knacks, accessories and every other good thing!

Although the day was quieter than expected (unfortunately for us there was a local fair happening at the same time!), we both made a tidy little profit with what we had to offer! Yay!

Things that Amie had on the table included custom made Headband Frames, super sweet headbands with adorable flowers and embellishments, hair clips with dainty little bows and frilly lace plus these really clever dummy (or pacifier) clips made with super cute printed ribbons, studs and fancy alligator-type clips. So clever!

On my side of the table I had a pile of my famous Little Wallets, all of those delightful little pincushions I’ve been showing you the past week (tutorial coming soon!!), fully lined tissue box fabric covers, a few mixed FQ bundles, handmade earrings, bags of buttons, a few craft kits, some old craft books and my Pineapple Mini Quilt. Safe to say the Pineapple came back home with me as did most of the things I made. So because of that, get ready for an influx of stock in my Esty shop! Yay!

I was really happy with the way we were able to set up our table. I used one of my mum’s embroidered linen table cloths as a base to set off the ‘handmade’ aesthetic of our stall. Then I used the Pink Wire ‘Falkhojden’ shelves I bought from IKEA last week to place stuff on and then an array of pretty glass bowls, silver trays and cake stands to displays our wares on. I think it all worked out pretty well!

So now that the busy chaos of getting everything ready for this market day is over, it’s time to finally get my head back into YouTube mode and produce some awesome videos and tutorials for you to enjoy and be inspired by!

And just as a warning: I’m diving-in head first with three tutorials to (hopefully) get out to you over the next week and a bit! Whoo!

Stay tuned!

See ya tomorrow Friends!

September 4th: Making Friends Across the Globe

One of the wonderful things that has come out of writing a blog, managing a YouTube channel and having an active Instagram account is that of creating some beautiful friendships with fellow, like-minded people all across the world! There are quite a number of you who regularly comment, chat, encourage and inspire me in everything that I publish and upload which makes my heart sing with gratefulness, humbleness and thankfulness! (Whew, so many ‘nesses’!) Words can never do justice to how kind you all are and how proud I am to call you friends, even though we’ve never met!

One act of insane kindness that I’m still blown away with is one made by a lovely lady in the UK whom I met on Instagram, Ayshia. Over the past year or so through sharing photos and having lots of great little chitta-chatta sessions, we’ve crazily discovered how many things we have in common even to a point where it’s borderline scary! I find it so fascinating that someone who literally lives on the other side of the world can be so alike to yourself that it feels as though you’ve known each other for ages, even though we’ve never met!

Anyway, with my birthday coming up soon Ayshia so kindly sent me a lovely package in the mail full of sweet gifts that made me so happy!

Everything she sent was just perfect! Lots of UK memorabilia (because I’m obsessed with the country, as you may know by now!): British flag keyring, a pack of socks (that’ll wear everyday with my Aussie Uggs!) and a half-metre cut of quilting fabric with MINI Coopers on it!!! OMG! Then the most adorable draw-string button bag (with buttons!) from Cath Kidston that I’ve ever seen! I love it so much!

But the one thing that I am so grateful to receive is this beautiful cross-the-body bag that she made herself out of such gorgeous fabric!

I mean it’s absolutely perfect! Literally! I’m completely blown away by how talented she is and how wonderfully constructed the bag is!

The bag itself features two deep zippered compartments, both fully lined and has a nice long adjustable strap to sling around the body! My favourite type of bag! I’ve decided I’ll be using it tomorrow at the Market Day so that I always have all of my valuables and change safe and close to hand!

To Ayshia, thank you so much!! Truly, your utter kindness has blown away and I’m so thankful for our little blossoming friendship! I’ll cherish everything you’ve taken the time to send me and continue to sing your praises whenever someone asks about that gorgeous little bag!

And to all of you who regularly read my blog, watch my YouTube videos, like/comment on my Instagram and Facebook page, thank you for your lovely friendship! Everyday you blow me away with your lovely comments and words of encouragement that it makes all of the hard work and late nights totally worth it!

Thank you!

September 3rd: Happy Birthday Mum!

Today, the 3rd of September is my beautiful mum’s birthday!

Words really can’t express just how wonderful this woman is in my life as well as my brothers, my dads and our extended family and friends. I’m so proud to say that my mum really is my best friend. (Something I’ve only really noticed these past few months or so!) She knows everything about me, supports and encourages me and is always, always there when I need her for anything, whether it be big or small. She also always knows the right time and the perfect way to snap me back into reality when I’ve been in ‘the clouds’ too long, which is quite a regular occurrence I must admit! Put simply, life is better when she’s around and I don’t want that to change. Ever.

So today, we spent a lovely day together by going out local for lunch, laughing, chatting and being our usual nutty selves. Our dining table has been taken over by glittery cards, pretty flowers, chocolate cupcakes, oodles of strawberries and handfuls of crunchy caramel popcorn! Ooo, yum!!

Tomorrow we’ll be extending the celebrations further when my brother and his family come by for an afternoon-tea-slash-early-dinner party! It’s there, when we’re all together, that the fun, laughter, chaos and big ‘happy birthdays’ are sung! It should be fun, I think!

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Also today I’ve been busily sewing away making some sweet little things for my stall at a Market Day the PWA are holding at my church this coming Saturday! (Actually, I should OUR stall as I’m sharing a table with my sister-in-law Amie, who makes the most adorable little baby accessories!) Ergo, the day has consisted of making the finishing touches to a few new little wallets as well as quickly stitching up some very cute petal pincushions and some tissue box fabric covers! Well, the tissue box covers have only been cut out at the moment. I hope to squeeze in some more sewing tonight and tomorrow morning!

I’m so unbelievably happy with how these little pincushions turned out! The pattern I used was one that came in issue no. 52 of Mollie Makes. Once I read through it and saw how simple they were to make, I knew I had to get into it and make some to sell at the stall! Also, while we’re talking about them, hands up those of you who want a tutorial on how to make one… I’d be more than happy to share with you how I make them!

Until tomorrow…

Happy Sewing, Friends!

September 1st: The Challenge Begins!

A few weeks ago, I had a crazy thought…

At the time, I hadn’t written, checked or really had any plans of what to publish on my blog. Guilt set in and I thought to myself, ‘What can I do to ensure my blog won’t be neglected throughout September?’ Then the ‘crazy thought’ happen. As September is a busy month for me, why not set the challenge of writing a blog post every day during the month commentating, chatting, sharing and celebrating all of the good things that are happening!

So that what’s we’re doing! Every day this month you can expect a new blog post from me, giving you more of an insight into my life, my family, my sewing room and what I do outside of it too! The posts I write from day-to-day will vary from super long and wordy to short, direct and to the point. They may be all words, or just all photos.

Like I mentioned, September is super-busy for me right from the get-go! There are birthdays, special weekend celebrations, blog hops, quilt tutorials, shows in the city, a new job prospect and so many ideas to trap and share! And as an added bonus, September for us Aussies equals the start of Spring! Yay!! Goodbye winter worries, with your sneezy noses and freezing finger tips! Hello to glorious sunshine, warm breezes and colourful flowers in the back garden!

So, should we get this challenge under way?

Cheers to a happy, healthy, fun and memorable September!

PS. This edit marks my 200th blog post published to my blog since I first started it in November 2011! Hooray!!

Let’s Hear it for the Minis!

So I was originally going to call this post, ‘Weekend Sewing’ or something similar to that, as most of these sweet little minis were started on a weekend! But I thought not. Instead, I chose to capture the flourishing obsession that’s been growing inside of me lately for making mini quilts!!

Let’s hear it for the Mini Quilts! Hooray!

The first mini that has come across my sewing table is my cutest-of-cute Pandamonium Mini Quilt by Fat Quarter Shop!

Gahh! Isn’t she the sweetest?! I smile like a Cheshire every time I look at it!

I chose to keep as close to the true colours that are in the original pattern, using a few subtle print fabrics for the white and pink parts and keeping the rest as basic solid colours. I stuck to my ‘traditional’ version of straight-line vertical quilting, backing it with a black and cream floral print fabric that was the perfect find within my stash! (I had one of those, ‘Oh, I forgot I had this fabric! It’s absolutely perfect for this project! Yay!’) I then finished it off with a green binding, a lot like the one in the pattern.

This little beauty now hangs on my bedroom door, where I pass it every day with a smile as it captures everything I love about quilting… pattern, texture, line, colour, shape, geometry and creativity!

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Mini number two: my Patchwork Pineapple Mini by Sassafras Lane Designs for Dear Stella!

I’ve only quite recently become partial to the odd pineapple design or two, whether it be on fabric, on a t-shirt, in the kitchen, in ornament form or as a fun little quilt pattern!

I think I first came across this design on Pinterest. Then on Instagram. And then again on Facebook. I saw it as a sign and thought I should investigate it more… As soon as I saw that it was a FREE pattern, I knew then that I just had to make it!

And so I did!

Now I must admit, I did alter the pattern a little bit – I made mine slightly bigger than what the pattern says to make it. Instead of the finished mini measuring 8.5″x11.5″, mine measures 19.5″x27.5″! I simply wanted to make it a bit bigger so that it would fit the space I’m planning on hanging it. I think one day I’ll make it to the true size of the original, but at right now, I’m super-happy with the results I have with this one!

I chose to quilt a simple design, echoing the patchwork squares that make up the main body of the pineapple. Now I just have to finish hand sewing the binding to the back, make and stitch a rod pocket to the top, give it a good press and then hang it into place! Yay!

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And the last mini that has been making my life happy and one that I’m pretty sure I’ve over-shared these last couple days/weeks is my Crown of Thorns Mini Quilt!

I’m so darned proud of this little beauty and I’m so happy that you all seem to like it too! All of your lovely feedback and comments about it have simply blown me away, making me so thankful for such delightful and supportive readers, viewers and friends! Thank you!!

So I really hope you don’t mind me sharing a few more photos with you… This last one is where the quilt has ended up – on the wall above my sewing table, where I can admire it as I design, cut, sew, quilt and daydream!

If you would like to make this yourself, you can check out the tutorial I made here!

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Have you been making any fun little Mini Quilts lately? Let me know! I would love to be inspired by you!

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Happy Sewing, Friends!

PS. Don’t forget to enter my RJR Fabrics GIVEAWAY! Click here to find out how to enter! Entries close: Friday 7th August 2015!

Goodluck!

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Materials List:

PS. This petal pincushion has been inspired and adapted from a pattern in a booklet that came with issue 52 of Mollie Makes magazine.

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Measurement & cutting info…

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