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Saturday 28 September 2013

Global Scrap Bee and a thank you for Patchwork, Please with centimeters!

Just in the nick of time, I managed to finish my block for the Global Scrap Bee. Adrienne at Chezzetcook Quilts' turn this month. She picked a Patchwork Wheel block (the tutorial is here at Don't call me Betsy), and some beautiful beach colours. I know it was supposed to be a scrap bee but I was missing some of the colours so I HAD to do a little fabric shopping!


At first I wasn't at all convinced it was going to turn out all right and it's harder making something for somebody else, isn't it? My biggest problem was definitely using inches! I realised I didn't have a ruler with inches on it. Luckily my mat has inches on one side so I managed to get the size right in the end! 
Thank you Adrienne for introducing me to the Patchwork wheel! I'm now making one for myself in black and shades of grey. Will be showing it soon... I'm hooked!


Speaking of inches and centimeters, I would really like to thank Ayumi Takahashi who used both in her book "Patchwork, please!". You have no idea how much difference this makes for somebody who's working in centimeters not to have to convert the measurements every single step of a project. I think that if you want to sell a book (or pattern) all over the world, you should consider this.





Tuesday 24 September 2013

Owen's Olivia: Wonky Triangles Pattern and fantastic giveaways!

I shouldn't be telling you this but jealously keeping the secret... ok, I'll be generous: you cannot miss Owen's Olivia. I have been a Bloglovin' follower since the first time I set my eyes on this blog. The graphics are incredible and the style beautiful and super modern.


owen's olivia

Nancy has come up with a really cool new pattern and to celebrate is having an incredible giveaway (this is the bit I should keep secret!).



Sunday 22 September 2013

Sunday Stash: curtain weight fabric

For a project I've had in mind for a while now, I needed some heavyweight cotton so I decided to use curtain fabric. Friday my very kind next door neighbour put a packet against the door (instead of having it left somewhere on the road!)


Inside was this fantastic fabric I got from Terry's Fabric, who specialise in curtain fabric. You can use curtain fabric for other projects too, of course! I fell in love with this Beach Hut fabric and it's perfect for my project. Here's a detail:


And because I needed different textures, I also decided to get this laminated Bunting fabric. Wouldn't it be great for a party tablecloth too? 





Linking up my new stash to Sunday Stash at Finding Fifth!

Finding Fifth



Saturday 21 September 2013

Craft Book Month: coasters from Suzuko Koseki's Natural Patchwork

Craft books? Love them, of course. So when I read this month is Craft Book Month over at Craft Buds, I had to join. I have been buying quite a few craft books in the last three years, since I started quilting, and I keep looking at then again and again. A part from making projects from Patchwork, Please by Ayumi Takahashi (thanks to the fun sew along on Flickr), I must say I've been a bit lazy with my craft books. Recently I did make this fun coaster from a very special book:


The fabric I used is all from a scrap pack I bought a while ago from Noeks, a really cool Dutch on line shop. They have some very interesting products and the scrap packs are the best I've seen so far. They're also very dynamic, adding new items and ideas frequently.
This is the back of the coaster, plain mixed linen. The square quilting is a bit tricky due to size but I think it looks good.


The project is from Suzuko Koseki's book Natural Patchwork, which has become a classic. There are some beautiful projects, in different sizes from this small coaster to lots of purses and bags. I'm also working on the beautiful cover tea cosy, the shape is really original.


And here are the coasters in the book:



Check out the books and projects at Craft Buds' Craft Book Month.

Sunday 15 September 2013

Alphabet Baby Quilt and extra ideas

I couldn't resist transforming Michael Miller's Italian Alphabet into this baby quilt:



The fabrics from this collection have been in my stash for a while now and it's one of my favourites. The style is very "vintage" and reminds me of the books my Italian Grandma, Nonna Clara, used to give me to play with when I was a child.




The striped border is a coordinating fabric that gives the quilt a modern twist and I like the effect. It makes the letters stand out, like a frame. The size of this quilt is 67 x 57 cm (26.38 x 22.44 inches), which I found was a really good size for using in a pram or wrapping round my baby for the first months. Of course it gets too small rather quickly (these babies grow so fast!!!) but then an alphabet quilt like this would look really good hanging up in a child's bedroom too, don't you think?

Along the edge of the  Italian Alphabet panel were these little pictures which I decided to use to make fabric magnets.


The house "casa" one in the top right hand corner has become this magnet:


Lucy loves magnets and this is a fun way for learning new words, moving them about on the fridge making up stories. As I had more than one Italian Alphabet (I told you I really like this collection!) why not make something different: a lavender sachet with the initial of the person you giving it to.







The winner of our 100th Blog Post Giveaway is Quilting Tangent! Congratulations, Pinocchio has found a new home! Bye bye!



Monday 9 September 2013

Sunday Stash: TEXT Me a Charm Swap and Global Scrap Bee (excuses!)

After a long time, I have bought some new fabrics. My official excuse is I needed some particular fabric for two projects I am following. But any excuse is good for buying fabric, isn't it?! So here's what I've bought:



These two fabrics are for the TEXT Me a Charm Swap organised by Leona at Leona's Quilting AdventureThis swap is dedicated to swapping charm squares of text fabric and low volume fabrics. It's my first swap and I'm really looking forward to receiving my charms. I've been thinking about making a low volume quilt for a while now and my love for text fabric has grown with the Zakka Along 2.0:: Patchwork, Please. Zakka projects seem to want text fabrics!


These fabrics are part of the Global Scrap Bee. OK, you noticed, it's called scrap bee. So why am I buying new fabric? This month is Adrienne at Chezzetcook Modern Quilts' turn and she choose this fantastic set of colours for which I was missing the greys and the coral colour. So I really had to go and buy the fabrics I was missing (what a shame!).

While I was at it, of course, my eyes strayed on many pretty fabrics and a few other bits and pieces. In the end I also came home with this:



I know you understand me. I promise I will put them to good use!


I have a week spot for pink! Must be Ella's influence, her favourite colour in many shades.

Linking up with Stash Sunday hosted by Vera at Negligent Style, where I know there are many who understand me!




Thursday 5 September 2013

Zakka Along - Happy Hexagon Trivet

Before the Phoenix flew off with my Happy Hexagon Trivet I managed to take a few photos! I'm very pleased with how it turned out. 


The trivet is quite hypnotic in black and white and I really enjoyed making it. It's my second paper-piecing project and the hardest part of it was removing the paper when I finished sewing it! Ayumi Takahashi's instructions in Patchwork, Please! are really good. The binding instructions in particular were very clear.




The back is fun too, it' not perfect but it looks quite good!