Birthday stitchers swap 2020... what i made!!

I decided to take part in the birthday stitchers swap on Instagram again this year. I was so pleased to be making for one of my close friends again too! I had so much to choose from the inspiration mosaic Zena made, it was full of fun ideas and I was quickly excited to get started. 

For the main make I chose to make a quilted tote bag with strawberry patchwork. I used similar construction to the previous one I had made, but changed the measurements (I'm hoping to do a tutorial blog for this soon!). I knew Zena had already received a larger grey tote, so it would be nice to make something different and a bit smaller. The smaller size also made more sense to fit the size of the patchwork strawberry

To make the bag I used red and green scraps for the strawberry patchwork and Everglades by Betsy silver for Michael Miller for the white. I added an Essex linen in ‘midnight’ to finish the bag outer nicely. For the lining, I used Strawberry tea by Axelle design for Michael Miller and added a slip pocket inside. This print felt like the perfect match for the patchwork design on the outer. I picked the Aurifil thread in shades 2745 & 2021 to use as I thought the colour matches were great

For the small makes, I started with a medium sized sewing case as Zena had included a few similar ones on her mosaic. I didn't want to purchase another sewing pattern, so I just made it up as I went along. I'm pleased with how it turned out, (although I'm sure there was a lot easier way to make it, so I wont go into that!) 



The main feature of this make for me though was the EPP. I didn't want to do just regular hexie shapes, but I don't feel quite ready for anything as fancy as clam shells. I decided a honeycomb was a nice option, it was a little different but still in my comfort zone. It also worked very well with the fussy cut images that I wanted to include. I felt it would be too much to make the entire case from patchwork, so I opted for a panel on each side instead. I joined my EPP shapes together, appliqued them onto the linen, then quilted over the top. This was the first time doing something like that and I'm so happy with how it looks. I used several prints from the Penny Rose fabrics 'bunnies & blossoms' by Lauren Nash range, some cream/ natural linen (I cant remember the shade colour) and Aurifil thread '2311'. I know Zena likes to add extra details into her makes, so I thought it was only right I did the same when making for her too. I made zip charms using some strawberry shaped beads and handmade hearts. I also used a single honeycomb shaped piece of fabric, appliqued on to the inside with stuffing in, to create a mini pin cushion!

Next was a small drawstring pouch with a pocket on the front. To make it, I used some cotton + steel fabrics. Zena said she likes neon's and I knew I had some prints that I had bought without a plan of what project to make with them. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to use them. I liked using the different prints but felt like they blended a bit to much, so I went in search for some trim and ribbon. The neon was a struggle to find and it isn't a perfect match, but it's close enough to make the pocket look pretty and fasten the pouch.

The last little make was one of my mini travel pinnies.  I used the Riley Blake 'little sweetness' range by Tasha Noel, which I know Zena loves and managed to fussy cut the little dresses for the front to really make a feature of the print. The extras that I bought for Zena was a Cath Kidston mug, a 'z' candle and some charms. The best gift wrapping for any sewist is fabric of course, tied with a big ribbon. I also made a little scrappy keyring that served as a gift tag! 

It was a pleasure making everything and I'm pleased to say Zena loves her gifts. More photos of her gifts are on my @craftylilmouse Instagram account and you can go see all the beautiful things Zena makes on her account @mycreativepottylife too!

As for my birthday stitchers swap parcel, I still have a while to wait. I am already getting excited and will share those as soon as they arrive...

These projects were on my finish-a-long list, so I can tick them as complete!!

Mx

Bunnies and blossoms pouch

I decided to take part in one Christmas swap this year, but wanted something a bit easier than last year. The #simpleandsweetchristmaspouchswap was perfect!

The guidelines were one pouch made to your partners preferences, with a nice size limit (maximum size 15”x12”, minimum 8”x6”). The parcel could also include 1 or 2 Christmassy extras. I was given Naomi as my swap partner aka @naomic08 on Instagram. I was very happy to be making for her, since she had made a wonderful cotton and steel swap parcel for me... see this here. 

Firstly, I decided I would make one of my snappy zip pouches but would enlarge it a little. My final pouch measurements were 10 1/2”x 9 3/4”. I couldn’t decide what fabrics to choose, so I gathered a few options and posted about it on Instagram. I had been eager to use these cute bunnies and blossoms fabrics for a while and was thrilled when Naomi commented she liked them too.  

 

I went for a patchwork panel, to include plenty of the fabrics with a few cute fussy cuts too. Simple straight line quilting, 1/2” apart worked out well too. I used the strawberries for the main pouch lining and the pink lace check for the flap and zip pocket lining. I decided not to quilt the flap and am pleased I didn’t now.

I found the sweet little strawberry bead in my jewellery supplies and made a cute zip pull charm with it. I love the way this pouch looks and hopefully Naomi does too!

My pattern is available on Etsy here, if you fancy making your own version of this pouch.

 

This was also one of my finish-a-long projects. See more of my list here, and visit their blog for more details about the challenge. 

Mx

Easter bunny bag

I made this cute drawstring bag as an Easter gift for a little girl. I bought the ‘bunny tales’ by lucie crovatto by studio e fabrics and some carrot fabric (I don’t know the name and my fq doesn’t have a salvage), a while ago and knew it would be perfect for this project. I added some dashwood twist fabric and some pale blue ribbon that I thought matched the fabrics. I made the pouch with a boxed base so that a bunny soft toy would sit inside and in years to come there is space for plenty of chocolate eggs. I took extra time and care to stitch the turning gap up neatly so the bag is also reversible.

This isn’t a tutorial but if you're interested in the measurements (also so I have a reference point) I have written them below:
4 @ 7” x 9” with a 2 1/4” square cut from all the bottom corners
2 @ 1 1/2” x 8”
2 pieces of ribbon approximately 25”

Mx

Easter bunny hoop

 

I bought a daffodil patch cross stitch kit from hobbycraft and thought it would make a lovely Easter decoration. I stitched it last summer but since Easter had already gone, I didn’t finish it til now. 

To make my hoop art decoration I firstly chose my hoop size and drew around the hoop onto some card, I used this to make a template for later. I took my finished stitched panel and placed into an embroidery hoop. I pulled the fabric nice and tight into the hoop and used a screw driver to really tighten the top, then trimmed the fabric to be an even size all around. I added glue to the inside of the wood frame and stuck the fabric down neatly. 

I then made sure my card circle was the right size to cover the back of my hoop and cut a piece of yellow fabric, adding a good 1/4” for seam allowance around the card template. I did a running stitch around the edge of the fabric and pulled the ends to tighten the fabric around the card. I ironed this then let it cool. I removed the card to be just left with the fabric circle. I laid this onto the back of the hoop and stitched in place, using a ladder stitch with some neutral cotton. I had to bend a needle to make it easier for me to stitch it neatly. 

The final thing to do was add the ribbon for it to be hung up. I took a length of yellow gingham ribbon and tied a knot to secure both ends together creating a loop. I then threaded the ribbon loop through the gap near the screw and hooked it through itself to secure to the hoop, with the knot positioned under the screw. I cut a second piece of ribbon and wrapped it around, to cover the knot and most of the metal bar that would be on show, and tied it into a cute bow with the ends trimmed to size. 

A friend celebrates Easter much more than I do, so I have decided to gift this decoration. Since I am gifting this, it needed a box. I used kraft card to make a square base. The hoop is slightly longer than wide due to the fixings at the top, so to stop it shuffling around in the box I used cream card to make an insert. This holds the hoop snugly in place. I made an acetate lid, to just slot in between the 2 pieces. I’m really happy with how this turned out and think it looks quite professional. 

This was also one of my finish-a-long projects, although I finished it in Q1 I am going to enter it into Q2 since I didn’t want to spoil the surprise. You can read more about my finish-a-long projects here.

Mx