Sew 6 organisers giveaway

 

As part of the sewalong, we also held a giveaway at the end. Me and Zena sent a prize each with winners selected at random from those who joined us in the sewalong. My winner was Maja. 

We decided that since the participants had the book already,  we would use a different pattern by Aneela Hoey. I chose to make a flex frame case and hand stitch some decoration on, using the stitch & sew book.

I added a few extras to the package including some ribbon, a  notepad, pen, some little stationary bits and a handmade card. 

This was also one of my finish-a-long projects that I had on my list. you can see the original post here to find out more! 

Mx

my #sew6organizers sewalong

This year I decided to host a sewalong on instagram, with the help of a friend zena. We chose to do 6 projects each from the Aneela Hoey stitched sewing organizers book, one per month. Everyone who joined in could choose their own patterns and make any little adjustments to the projects to suit them. The idea was to share our projects and we had a little group chat for any questions or help, making the most of the lovely sewing community on Instagram.

These are the six projects I made for the sewalong: I used the distant dreams collection from dashwood studios. I split the collection into 3 mini collections and added some dashwood twist fabric, (indigo and cherry I think).

 

I kept the first project simple with a little fold up pouch. This is a great little project that doesn't require a zip. It is an simple pattern to follow and can easily be adjusted to make other sizes.

The second project was this handy needle book. I liked this pattern, although I did make a few changes to the suggested pockets used in the pattern. In the book it shows 2 different sized pockets at the back, at the front is a single pocket with the addition of a small pin cushion. I changed the back to just have the 1 large pocket and since I didn't need a pin cushion, I chose to just do one large pocket at that side too. These work out perfectly to hold all the needles I keep in packets.

 

 

 

The next project was the see-it-all pouch... this is a very useful pouch and quite simple construction although the use of binding does make it slightly harder. I used sparkle vinyl as I liked the look and fussy cut the back to ensure I had a full peacock in the centre.

The fourth project was the 2-in-1 case. I love this case and I am using it to hold all my tools. This is made in a similar way to the see-it-all with the addition of a fastening tab. I had a few options for fastenings; I did try a button first but the button hole on my singer machine was not very neat and I was struggling with placement, I also considered using a magnetic clasp, but decided against this option as they are very strong and I didn't want my tools attracting to the magnets. The best solution I found worked as a fastening was a kam snap, both simple to fit and to use.  

 

Next was the fold up sewing folio. I found this project slightly tricky, not because of construction but directions. I kept getting very confused about the direction of things, so my layout differs slightly from the one pictured in the book. It is still fuctional though and my mum has taken it to store her sewing supplies.

 

The final project was the boxy pocket pouch, I like this pouch and it is definitely bigger than I expected it to be. Since it was the last project and I had been avoiding it slightly (I'm not sure why, maybe because I didn't want the sewalong to end) to give me a little nudge, I added this to my  finish-a-long list of things to make. You can read more about that here!

 

Overall, I enjoyed hosting the sew along and would definitely do another one. It was a joy to see everyone else's projects and make some friends along the way too. If you're interested in seeing all the projects for yourself, you can visit the #sew6organizers on instagram.

Mx

Blue liberty pouch

I made a patchwork panel using liberty fabric in blue shades. I was originally making something else but that didn’t go to plan!! Since I didn’t want this panel to go to waste, I made a pouch instead.

I decided to make the pouch to hold some scissors and a rotary cutter so I added wadding for protection. I wanted the closer/flap of my pouch to be in a solid colour, so I used some art gallery pure elements fabric. I also added interfacing to this and the lining for some stability. I used a kam snap fastening to be easy to use. 
 

 

I made this for my mums birthday, unfortunately I had to cut my panel in half to make the pouch the right size so the patchwork isn’t as even as i would have liked, but she likes it and that’s all that matters.

This was on my finish-a-long list of projects to do and you can read more about that here!

Mx

An owl stocking

I chose this beautiful owl fabric to make a stocking for a friends baby. I opted for a large stocking to hold plenty of presents. I used some coordinating red fabric for the cuff and appliquéd her name and blanket stitched it in place on the front. I added some quilting with sparkle thread to the main stocking too. I think all these little touches make this an extra special stocking. 
 

I’m not sure what Annie will think to it since it’s only her first Christmas, but hopefully in a few years she will like it. 

This is also one of my finish-a-long projects, you can see more about this here!

Mx

#sncaswap18

Over on Instagram I join in with the #saturdaynightcraftalong most weeks. Towards the end of the year they have a swap. Last year I signed up and although quite stressful, I received the most beautiful gift and enjoyed making my gift to send too. This year I signed up to do the #sncaswap18 as soon as I could.

I found out my partner was @a.fox.made.this I was thrilled as I knew who she was straight away. I was able to order some fabric straight away as I thought her favourite designer is Tula pink. Alex makes the most beautiful bags and pouches so I crossed making those of my idea sheet. I had thought of making a cushion but eagerly waited for her inspiration mosaic. I was thrilled to see a couple of cushions and plenty of patchwork. I was drawn to one of the patterns on her board and decided that could work nicely in the Zuma fabric range by Tula pink. 

 

I did have to do some quilty maths and a couple of sample blocks before I made a start. The patchwork came together surprisingly well and although most of my points aren’t perfect the overall effect i thought was quite striking. I added fusible fleece to the back and did some simple quilting, either side of the seams. I made the cushion back with a zip in. I basted the two sides together and attached the binding. I used a ladder stitch to hand sew the binding to the back and finish my cushion for Alex. For my first attempt at this much patchwork and making a cushion this way, I am very happy with what I made. 

 

To complete the swap package, I added in some fox socks from accessorize, a christmas scented diffuser, a colouring in postcard and a screen printed tote bag I made.

This was also one of my finish-a-long projects that I had on my list. you can see the original post here to find out more!  

***

The other part of this swap is what I received. I made this mosaic and posted it on Instagram as inspiration for my partner.

 

 I received my parcel from @sewinthecorner and it’s beautiful. Michelle has made me a sewing caddy to use when I hand sewing in the lounge and this will definitely be going away with me and used in the car too. I especially love the cute fussy cut patchwork panel on one side.

As an extra Michelle also made a beautiful bee pin cushion that was featured on my mosaic, I love the added embroidered details on the bottom too. As extras she included some yummy chocolates, ribbon, embroidery threads and some washi tape.

Mx

2018 finish-a-long Q4

I am slightly late to the party but have decided to join in with the 2018 finish-a-long. It is hosted by a few bloggers, the nearest to me is Sandra in Ireland. You can visit her blog to find out all the information about this here... but it is basically a low pressure online community that encourages you to finish all your wip (work in progress) and I have a few at the moment!

My projects for this quarter:

• My last #sew6organisers sewalong pouch
• Unicorn retreat bag
• Cotton + steel #100hexies100days2018
• Polar bear patchwork cushions 
• Stitch and sew project (for my giveaway prize and the sewalong in November)
• A owl Christmas stocking
• Make a project from the blue liberty panel I stitched months ago
• Christmas diamond patchwork (have some cut)
• The Adele dress I cut out in summer
• Dashwood advent calendar for myself 
• Do something with the patchwork block I made for my sister
• A mermaid bookmark (not pictured)
• Easter hoop cross stitch (not pictured)
• Christmas bunting (not pictured) 

I will also add the #12daysofchristmasswap2018 im working on and have signed up to do the #saturdaynightcraftalong swap!

This is quite a few projects and I know I will probably not finish them all. Also a high possibility I will start some more along the way but at least I’m doing this with good intentions of finishing everything... only time will tell.

Mx

bambi quilt

This is a very special quilt, not only is it the first quilt I have finished, but because it was made for a special occasion. A close friend had her first child and I just had to make this as a christening gift. Knowing how much we both like Disney, I knew this would be loved by them both for many years.

I originally bought the bambi panel to make a quilt for myself, but once the little one arrived, I knew it would be prefect for her.

I used other fabrics from the range to make borders, a pink to really frame the panel and add more colour, and then a larger border of small bambi images. I used the grey silhouette bambi fabric for the backing, and more pink for the binding. I chose to make my quilt to 43x52”, this was mainly so I didnt have to join fabric for the backing but it worked out a really nice size.

 

 

Since this was my first quilt and there was a deadline, the panel really helped cut down on the time it took to piece the quilt top. I did choose to thread baste my quilt sandwich as I'm not very good with pins and wanted it secure to help with the quilting. I did simple straight line quilting with my walking foot, using masking tape to act as a guide. I originally intended to just do evenly spaced diagonal lines, but decided to space them differently to make more of a pattern. I think this adds far more interest while keeping it achievable for my first quilt. 

Once I had finished stitching I needed to remove all my tacking stitches and trim all the edges, removing any excess batting. For binding I cut 2.5” strips and folded them in half before attaching to the edge of my quilt. I used a ladder stitch to hand sew the binding on the reverse to finish.

The final touch was a handmade by label, I recently purchased from wunderlabels uk... Luckily they arrived in time!! I just used a backstitch to attach it to my quilt.

 

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I am really pleased with how the quilt turned out, it was happily received and know it will be cherished. I can't wait to get sewing some more now ... I think its safe to say I have the quilting bug !!

Mx

I laid wool over the quilt to help decide on a quilt pattern.

close up of thread basting in progress