Falling In Love With Sewing Again

It’s no secret, this year has freakishly flown by, eating up time like it’s no bodies business. And my poor sewing machine has suffered as a consequence.

Also, not gonna lie, my motivation to sew and be creative has taken a bit of a hit too. So with all of that combined, not a whole lot of movement has been had in my sewing room this year.

But recently a few projects have come to hand to make me dust off the sewing machine, dig out my rulers and cutters and get sewing again.

In my last post, I shared with you my finished Star Sampler Quilt (sans quilt label!)

It felt like it took me for ages to get this quilt (and YouTube series) finished. But I’m so happy with the end result.

I currently have it hanging in my sewing room and I find myself just staring at it at times, admiring it’s beautiful tactile quilted surface, it’s perfectly pieced and nested points as well as the monochromatic tones clashing with the pops of colours dotted here and there.

When I was quilting this quilt, I took a gamble and used a new tool that I’ve been told is a must-have to use when quilting… Quilting Gloves!! OMG!! How did I ever get through quilting a quilt without these bad boys all of my quilting life?! They’re ah-maz-ing! Although I felt a little bit clumsy and resembled a bad Mickey Mouse look-a-like, the grip the gloves gave me was 10-fold compared to just using my bare hands!

Although the series has now come to an end, I only just finished the final touches to the quilt today… The quilt label!

Quilt Labels from my two previous QALs

And as tradition stands, I made the quilt label a Hexie Flower using some of the fabrics featured throughout the blocks in the quilt. Love it, love it, love it!

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Over the past few months, I’ve been sharing a new quilt that I very excitedly started after wanting to do it for ages and ages! The pattern is called Pixelated Rose by Riley Blake Designs and it sings to my yearning Florist inside of me!

So far I’ve loved every stage of getting this quilt underway. Choosing the harmonious solid colours was a breeze, the measuring and cutting was a slow but very meditative experience (I think I must be one of the very few quilters out there who loves the cutting process!) and then the precise piecing has kept me on my toes! Because of it I’ve been able to settle into an easy pressing and nesting routine that each block needs to be able to fit together in the end. Not gonna lie, the whole process (for me anyway) has been quite slow and lengthy. But I already knew this and I took on this project as one of those slow burners that you keep coming to over a set period of time until it’s finished, either months or years after you started!

I’ve been posting pics here and there on Instagram of the progress so far…

Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten any further than the last photo in the right hand corner. The past month has been jammed packed full and this project has been pushed to the side, collated into block order and hung outta mind, outta sight. Although, I do have some free time tonight… Hmm… 🙂

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Now, I must also confess that there has been a spectacular fail in the sewing room too.

That being a terrible attempt at making a pretty gathered A-Line skirt for my birthday a few weeks ago.

Despite being quite time poor during the weeks leading up to my birthday, I knew it would be a pretty big stretch to be able to cut, make and finish a skirt when dressmaking really isn’t a strong skill of mine. Although, in saying that, I did successfully stitch a side pocket for the first time as well as sew in a zipper next to another side pocket! Yeah!

However, things began to fall a part when I had to attach the waistband and match up dots and seams and things that I didn’t know I had to match up… So with time pressing on me and my interest and patience waining, I gave it up and allowed in the realisation that I’m no good at dressmaking one bit. (I’m sharing no photos of my sad attempt of a skirt!) Perhaps with a bit more practice and a bit more patience, I may become a superstar seamstress yet!

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I hope you enjoyed this brief glimpse back into my sewing room.

I feel like I’ve really fallen back in love with sewing again… Just the raw, basic and fundamental steps in this creative skill I’ve been blessed with. Over the past year or so, I’ve felt slightly distant from my sewing bubble that I’m so used to be being in. But I think I’m finding it again and it feels great!

Happy Sewing, Friends!

xx

A New Note.

About this title: I had a plan today to sit down and dedicate some time to my blog (I know, it’s been a while…). But at the same time, my TV decided to air a Friends marathon… even though I’ve seen all of the episodes like a gazillion times! 

Source | Pinterest
Source | Pinterest

So due to a not-to-be-missed marathon and the need to get some blog posts written, I’m currently sitting on my couch binge watching Friends and typing this post in the ‘notes’  app on my iPad. The title of my note reads ‘New Note’ and I liked it.

Hence the title: A New Note….

Yes.

Well, anyway…

As much as this blog has been neglected over the past couple weeks, my sewing and patchwork adventures haven’t!

There’s just so much to catch you up on it’s hard to know where to start…

Hmmm…. How about here…

My last post was all about my latest Quilt Block Video Tutorial – the Churn Dash Block!

Simple, quick and effective! Perfect for beginners!

Video Thumbnail
Video Thumbnail

I really think you should check it out! (But only if you want to, of course! No pressure!)

Next!

One afternoon, about a week ago, I was bitten by the ‘Cutting Bug’.

Da-Da-Daaaa!! *imagine sinister movie music*

You know the one I’m talking about; where you’re suddenly taken over with an urge to start cutting up some fabric and begin piecing together a quilt just for the heck of it.

I’ve always had a craving to do one of those simple Cross Quilts where they sort of all joined up together…

Cross Quilts
Find links to each of these quilts at the end of this post!

So in about an hour, I had cut 100 5inch squares from random fabrics that I thought looked good together and hey-presto, a new quilt top is currently (albeit slowly) being pieced together!

My Cross Quilt

Once finished, I think it’ll become a really sweet lap quilt – suited for watching Friends marathons and writing blog posts on the couch! Te-He!

Another sewing adventure happened this past weekend when I helped host a Quilting Expo Day at my local Spotlight store. It was a fun day, as usual, where I got to teach, demonstrate, chat, sew, laugh, eat and be inspired by others.

I made simple blocks and projects that featured basic patchwork elements like cutting and piecing, making HSTs, pressing and chatting about all the different tools that can make the experience a whole lot easier (and fun!). I also had the opportunity to make and swoon over this Piccadilly DS Quilts Fabric range! Oh my!!

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And lastly, over the past few days I’ve been dabbling in a spot of dressmaking!

#quilterturneddressmaker

I’ve been searching for a while for some basic t-shirt patterns and was able to find some perfect ones while I was at Spotlight on the weekend! Whoo!

So I bought some fun printed cotton knit fabrics and got going the next day!

I’m so happy with how they’ve turned out!

Shirts1

Shirts2

So happy that I’ve actually cut out my third pattern, but instead I’m using a lovely cotton weave spotty fabric that will make (I think) a really beautiful blouse.

Pattern3

So there we go! You’re all caught up!

What have you been making lately?

Can you relate to my ‘Cutting Bug’ itch?

Let’s digress together in the comments below!

Happy Sewing Friends!

xx

{LINKS}

The Quilt By BlueElephantStitches

The Quilt By Kelly from Jeli Quilts