Castle Peeps placemats

I made these placemats for my kids ages ago - they were actually Hanukkah presents!

Of course, I finished stitching them late at night and wrapped them straight away to gift them the very next day.

Since then they've gotten continuous use which has made it really hard to get any decent photos before they got messy again, and again, and again.

And then, I used some scraps of batting and wasn't sure which brand and how far apart I could leave it open. So, already food stained I added some hand quilting (my first attempt at hand quilting!) before throwing them in the wash for the first time.

I fussy cut the peeps and then made the one block loosely based on the Sunspot block in Elizabeth Hartman's book, The Practical Guide to Patchwork.

They are very well-loved and well-used and definitely brighten up the dining table.

Lots of little gifts...

Ready for a bit of time travel? You'll need to go back in time to Christmas 2011! I made a pouch and three of the very popular and oh-so-clever drawstring bags for presents.
In a bit of a last minute sewing frenzy, I managed to turn this stack:

Into this:

Christmas Present for my son's favourite childcare teacher

this:

Christmas present for sister-in-law

and this:

Christmas present for brother-in-law

My zippy zipper ends were always bothering me, so I finally splurged and bought Oh Fransson!'s Perfect Zip Bag pattern, and it was worth every penny.

Now, if I'd made these recently, they could so be part of the My Precious QAL; my heart palpitated as I cut the precious fabric. Perhaps I'll have to make myself something special soon?

And those of you paying close attention will have realised that there was also some Echino fabric in that first pic - I better snap a photo of the iPad case I made for my husband!

Whipped up...

So I've been sewing long enough now to have the skills and speed to 'whip something up'. It's great to actually be able to sew something in less than an hour, albeit basic. I have two items I made for gifts to share:

The first is a simple skirt made gorgeous with one of my favourite fabric lines - It's a Hoot by MoMo. I based it on the Lazy Days Skirt free pattern by Oliver + S, but did a basic hem it instead of using a ribbon. It's for a friend of my son's 5th birthday - Mum requested no presents but mentioned that handmade is good. I hope she likes it!

For a size 5 I used a 16" width-of-fabric strip and a 20" length of elastic.

The second gift is a portable change mat for a friend who just had her second baby. This one took a bit longer, but probably still under 2 hours.

I no longer have the pattern for it (it was either out of a Lotta Jansdotter or Amy Butler book), but it's simple so I just measured mine. I used some Denyse Schmidt County Fair home dec weight for the outside and some Denyse Schmidt Spotlight/JoAnn's Fabric for the inside. Don't they coordinate well?

I did some basic diagonal quilting following the pattern of the fabric. Have I mentioned yet that I LOVE my new walking foot?!! It made the quilting super easy and quick.

So I've made heaps of things that I haven't blogged about yet. I'll try to catch up! Overdue and upcoming blog posts include:

• The flower girl bubble dress
• Castle Peeps placemats
• Lego Birthday Party

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter, Pesach, etc. Don't eat too much chocolate!

Wheels Quilt

Finally a finish! At about 11 pm the night before my son's 5th birthday - so had a bit of time to spare! I washed and dried it while he was at school and presented it to him that evening. He immediately snuggled into it right on the floor and it's been on his bed since. I'm so pleased that he loves it so much and it was really nice that he showed it.

I borrowed it for some photos today. Although it was overcast, the photos came out ok. It's made from Riley Blake wheels fabric, with three different kona solids thrown in to tone it down a bit. I did three different proportion square in squares, which mathematically allowed me to cut squares and strips perfectly out of 1/2 yard cuts. The blocks are 10" square and the quilt approximately 67" x 86". It generously fits his single (twin) bed.

The backing was pieced out of what I had left! I hadn't foreseen how huge this was going to be and was lucky to find enough 'leftover' fabric for it. As for the quilting, I ended up using gutterman cotton in a pale blue to match the backing. I got to use my new walking foot and LOVE it! I quilted straight lines about 1/4" either side of the main seams. And I must thank this post for solving some pretty serious and frustrating tension problems. If you don't know what that little screw on the bobbin casing is for than check it out!

My son wanted the red dots which I really love as the binding:

I sewed the binding by machine a la Red Pepper Quilts tutorial. It's not perfect but it took me about an hour instead of many many long evenings.

My next quilt project will be a single quilt for my daughter - she's already chosen the fabric AND pattern. At two and a half she already knows what she wants!

We have a quilt top!

Those that have been following my blog for a while would know that I've been making my son a quilt for a long time now.

You can see my son checking out the fabric way back in 2010 in this post. And some sample blocks at the end of this post. I've been ever so slowly working on it. I'm not sure why it is taking sooooooo long. I aimed to complete it for Christmas 2010, then his birthday 2011, then Christmas 2011. Wow! That's pretty bad. So now, I WILL finish it for his 5th Birthday, which gives me about a week. Today is basting day. I'll straight-line quilt it with my new walking foot. Hope the machine (and I) can handle it!

Any quilting suggestions? And what type of thread do you use for machine, straight-line quilting?

Cool Kindy Pencil Case

My eldest just started Kindergarten this year and I couldn't send him to school with just any pencil case.

I gave him a choice of fabrics and was really pleased that he choose my favourite Melody Miller print from her first line of fabrics, Ruby Star Rising. It's been sitting in my stash for quite a while now in need of some love!

The size was determined by the print - I cut 1/2 inch out from the edge of the viewmaster reels to make eight reels fit perfectly on each side. Whenever I make a zippy now I use the techniques from Oh, Fransson's perfect zip bags pdf pattern - it makes for such tidy zipper ends. I also ironed interfacing onto both the outside and lining pieces, and sewed in a stiff woven interfacing. It should last at least the year!

Inside, one of my fabric faves - a snippet of MoMo's Wonderland scissors. So perfect for a pencil case, and I love to see it peeking out.
Still plenty of finished items to blog...I just need some sunshine to take some decent photos!

Bubbles and Ice Cream

I made this bubble skirt for my friend's 3 year old. She always wears very trendy clothes and I thought this fabric and look would suit her perfectly. I can't wait to see it on her!

The fabric is from Joel Dewberrys' Aviary 2 collection - sparrows in aqua, and is lined with a basic muslin. I kind of made up the pattern, but it's heavily based on the skirt from the Oliver + S bubble dress. I used the front skirt and front lining pattern pieces, size 24 months, to cut out both the front and back pieces of the skirt and lining (this worked well for a size 3 skirt, as on the dress the skirt starts up well above the waistline). Then I stitched it together and stitched the elastic as per the pattern. I completed it with a simple elastic casing at the top for the waistband.

I really love it and secretly wish it was in my size. I've been contemplating how to replicate it for me, but it would be more complicated with gathers and a zipper, so not too sure yet.

I thought I'd also include some photos of my daughter wearing her ice cream dress and top, now that they fit properly!

Today, I'm laying out my son's quilt blocks. I might have a quilt top before the end of the week!

Kitchen Curtains

Really? Have I not blogged since my giveaway winner post? Sorry about that - times have been busy (in good ways, mostly) - overseas visitors; brother-in-law's wedding (can't wait to show you the flower girl dress I made my daughter); my sister's moved here!!!

I've got lots of projects to blog about, some from ages ago, so here's the first one - our kitchen curtains. Yes, it took five years for me to make a window covering for our kitchen, but at least these are pretty awesome, thanks to Melody Miller's Ruby Star Rising fabric. I was super excited when I showed my husband about a dozen fabric options and he chose this one! I was even more excited when an online search turned up this fabric half-price - making it much more affordable. Somehow I managed to order just a bit less than I needed, so I used some Denyse Schmidt Country Road from my stash to make the casing and some tiebacks - it coordinates really well.

Unfortunately, I found it seriously hard to take a good photo of curtains, as they were so back-lit. Hopefully you get the idea.

I've got lots of little Christmas presents to blog about, and that flower girl dress - I'm just waiting for some photos from the proper photographer.

Crayon Rolls for Christmas

Crayon Rolls

Firstly, a quick hello and thank you to my followers - old and new. You've provided me with such wonderful support, inspiration and assistance in my crafting endeavors (and sometimes life, too)! I'm a bit overwhelmed again by the response to my giveaway - thanks so much, especially for all the food tips; I hope to add some dishes to my repertoire. My giveaway will be open a bit longer than the official time (I'll be sound asleep here in Australia at 6 pm PST); I'll close the comments when I get up in the morning, and draw the winners sometime during the day. I'm so excited to pick and announce the winners!

Crayons galore!

I've made three more crayon rolls, for Christmas presents, using Skip to My Lou's easy-to-follow tutorial. Every bit of it - from the size of the pocket to the length of the ribbon, works great. But what works even better is Lizzy House fabric - those peeps are just the right height for the pocket - don't you love it?

Red Letter Day Ugly Duckling

The above fabric is particularly special to me, and since my little girl loves pink, this one is for her! Lizzy House Red Letter Day Ugly Duckling on the outside; pearl bracelet on the inside; and some DS Quilts for the pocket - I thought they looked great together.

Castle Peeps - for boy

The next two are for a sister and brother - our friends' kids that we're about to meet for the first time when they visit from Holland (for Christmas). So I made coordinating Castle Peeps rolls.

Castle Peeps - for girl

I love how the peeps look like they're guarding the crayons!

On Guard!

So that's three gifts finished, about a dozen I'd like to complete before Christmas. I'll be happy if I finish four more. How many gifts do you still hope to make?

Ruffled Skirt

This skirt has already gotten a lot of wear; it's about time that I posted about it!

Bubbles

I made it without a pattern - a long strip gathered to make the ruffle, and a rectangle for the top section, 'gathered' by the elastic waistband. The only reason it took me a while to make is that I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to things like gathering.

Striking a Pose

The fabric is DS Quilts and I love how the two prints work together (the blue is an Australian-only print - be sure to check out my SMS Giveaway post for a chance to win some). I got the best compliment from my husband - he asked where I'd bought the skirt!

Brotherly love

Coming up next, my SMS Giveaway Day post. If you don't know what Giveaway Day is, click the link below to find out. Good luck to everyone entering giveaways!

SMS Giveaway Day

Another sweet little dress

Sweet Little Dress #2 has been gifted. I made it for a good friend's one-year-old. I let her choose the fabric (mum, not the 1 year old!) and was really happy when she chose this fabric from the Habitat line. I think it makes a pretty hip urban baby dress.

I made the 18 month size and added a bit of length to the elastic, with the hope that it will also fit next summer as a top.

I got to see her in it the other day and it looked great - a little bit big but that's better than small!

In WIP news I finally cut the fabric for Mimi's flower girl dress - it's from the Bliss line. I really hope it fits. I added a bit of length to both the bodice and the skirt for my very tall girl. I figure if I make it now and it doesn't work, that gives me time to make something else or buy something! I'm using the Oliver + S bubble dress pattern. Wish me luck!

Sweet Little Dress

I rarely sew (or knit) a pattern more than once. I enjoy the challenge of figuring something out the first time, and usually find it a bit boring to repeat the same motions again. This pattern, however, is different - it is very simple and quick to put together, and the result is exceptionally cute! I've already made two more (but they're gifts so still a secret). The only challenge was getting this little one to stop and pose!

The pattern is called Sweet Little Dress by Leila & Ben. I definitely recommend it!

I used fabric from the DS Quilts line sold here in Australia and am really happy with how it looks. I would love to make myself a dress using the same fabric (I have a great new Japanese pattern book with the perfect pattern in mind).

So in future posts expect to see some more sweet little dresses. And I'm still planning on a tutorial for a ruffled skirt made out of fat quarters. And finishing the wheels quilt. And, most importantly, sewing Miriam's dress for her Aunt and Uncle's wedding! That's only some of what's planned in my head. Does anyone else need more time to sew and less time to daydream about sewing?

Castle Peeps Skirt

I thought about making this skirt for a long time. I really need to start using my precious fabric so I finally got it out, cut it and made this. It was so much fun! And it turned out just as I wanted. I only had fat quarters of the Castle Peeps fabric, so I made this up as I went along, using the amounts of fabric I had. The bottom ruffle is from Riley Blake Bloom and Grow - I think it compliments the Castle Peeps perfectly.

Miriam loves to wear it. We call it her princess skirt and she sings the theme song to the show Little Princess while she wears it. As you can see (and as I'm sure many of you experience), it's impossible to get her to stay still and pose for a photo!

I have so many cute fat quarters, but no skirt patterns that use the right sizes. That's why I've made up some patterns myself. I could write up a tutorial and measurements for how to make ruffled skirts using only fat quarters. Anyone interested?