5 Sewing and Quilting Ideas you don't want to miss!

The more you look around sewing Blogland, the more you find fantastic projects to try out. Here are five sewing and quilting ideas you don't want to miss. They are original, fresh and modern (with a little vintage/traditional thrown in too!).

1. The first project I want to show you is by Ali Burdon: Jar Covers! They are foundation pieced with selvedges. This project is included in Love Patchwork & Quilting - issue 12. Aren't they pretty? You can put a tin or a vase inside and voilà, you have a quilted flower vase.

2. I have fallen in love with this pouch: Double Exposure Zippered Pouch by Amy @ Amy Made That! Why do I love it? Because it has zips trimmed with lace that remind me of those beautiful Japanese lace zips that are impossible to find at the moment here in Italy (will somebody please import them?!). Another reason I love this pouch is that you can fold it in half and open it when you need to, so it's really handy and very pretty.

3. This project is a very clever and useful wall organiser with lots of pockets by Monica Solorio-Snow, who blogs at the Happy Zombie. This project is also included in Love Patchwork & Quilting - issue 12. I love her new fabric collection Sew Yummy (Cloud9). I couldn't believe my luck when I won a set of five inch squares of Sew Yummy thanks to Quilt Taffy's weekly giveaway post. Looking forward to receiving it in the post!

4. This month's Across the Pond Sew Along is featuring very pretty fabric origami butterflies. A part from deers, there are also butterflies fluttering about in the latest fabric collections. This origami version is too beautiful not to try out. 

You can find instructions and examples on how to use them here:

- Susie @ Susie's Sunroom

- Amy @ Amy made That!

- Amanda @ The Patchsmith

Don't miss the Across the Pond Sew Along Flickr page, where you can add your butterflies too!

5. Check out the fantastic quilts Michelle @ Factotum of Arts is making, they are incredible, front and back. This is just one example, "Neighbourhood" quilt: 

And the back:

Have a look at her blog, if you haven't yet, because she is designing fantastic quilts!

P.S. If you're interested in buying a copy of Love Patchwork & Quilting or subscribing to this magazine, be kind and use the affiliate link button in my sidebar. Any little money earned goes towards my fabric addiction! The links in this post are not affiliate links and I only write about things I really like!

How about a Quilting Selfie?

Summer has arrived and I've decided to slow down. Slowing down blogging means more time for sewing. There is more time for hand sewing too. I'd forgotten what a pleasure sewing by hand is. A part from being very relaxing it's also a bit like going back in time. It reminds me of when ladies used to sit together outside their houses and, with the excuse of sewing/mending, they'd have a chit chat. They still do this in Italy, especially in small villages.

So what's all this got to do with a Quilting Selfie? Blogland is our "small" sewing village and it would be nice to be able to look each other in the eye while we're sewing together. A Selfie could be a way of doing that. I know I always enjoy seeing photos of my bloggy friends at work. I love this photo by Mara (Secretly Stitching) sewing a feather while watching her children play in the park and the photos Hydeeann (Splish Splash Stash) posts of herself sewing and EEPing.
The idea of the Creative Selfie is Antonella's at Totto's Design and I think it's great.
So above is my selfie, sewing hexies for my latest project. It's a WIP at the moment but I hope to finish it for the weekend.

More hexies. Using some paper templates I found as a free gift with the magazine Love Patchwork & Quilting. If you're interested too, you can download free hexagon templates here. Very useful! 

Linking up with a few of the great parties on our Best Link Ups page

I'd love to see your Quilting Selfies! Have you taken one recently? Send me a link to your photo. Happy sewing! 

A Special Giveaway - Thank You!

We would like to say thank you for all the generosity we have found in the first months of joining the Sewing Community with our blog. We have been so impressed by your creativity and by how you share your ideas so generously. To pay it forward and to thank you we have organised a special giveaway:

We have also been sharing the first of our tutorials for some fun projects. Click on the photos or go to our Tutorials page to see the full tutorials.

Now more about the giveaway: we are giving away, thanks to the very kind publisher, a copy of the second issue of Love Patchwork & Quilting to one lucky winner. This beautiful magazine dedicated to modern quilting is packed full of great projects and articles. Take a glimpse of what's inside this issue, including a Tula Pink booklet (the photos are from our copy, we haven't been reading the giveaway copy, in case your were wondering!):

To have a chance of winning this copy of Love Patchwork & Quilting all you have to do is:

• leave a comment telling us what you look for in a blog, what is most interesting for you to find in a blog;
• for followers new and old, another chance of winning: leave a second comment telling us how you follow our blog!

The giveaway is open to everyone and we will post the prize anywhere in the world (if the post office lets us!), closing on the 28th of April. Mr Random will then choose a winner who will be contacted by mail.
If you're interested in subscribing to Love Patchwork & Quilting, full of up to date news about fabrics, quilting trends, patterns and articles by favourite bloggers, you can find the button in our sidebar (affiliate link).  A note: we only promote products we buy and appreciate ourselves!

Good luck with the giveaway!

Grow Your Blog!!! 2014 Annual Meet - Welcome to our Blog and giveaway!

Hello and welcome to our Little Room in Blogland! A big thank you, first of all, to the super kind and efficient Vicki at Two Bags Full for organising the Grow Your Blog!!! party.

We are a mother and daughter team and this is our space for creating and sharing. Here's a glimpse of our projects and what we're up to.

This year we're organising the One Block Project dedicated to making something special using just one of those fantastic blocks you want to try out but don't have time to invest into making a whole quilt with:

THE FOUR (DAISY) PINWHEEL BLOCK - LOLLIPOP DECORATION

THE PATCHWORK WHEEL BLOCK - MAXI TRIVET

Every month we'll be posting new projects using just one block, starting from this week. So come and join us!

We're joining in:

THE GLOBAL SCRAP BEE

THE BARN DOOR QUILT ALONG

We're enjoying making our own version of the Barn Door Quilt at Sarah's Quilt Along

THE SKINNY PINCUSHION SWAP

Come join us at the Skinny Pincushion Swap our bloggy friend Amy @ Amy Made That! has organised, entries are still open. This is the Flickr page for more fun photos.

Don't miss our Best Links Up page, where we list and keep up to date all the great linky parties dedicated to quilting, sewing and creating.

We have a special giveaway for you, to say thank you for visiting Ella and Nesta's Little Room. We are giving away, thanks to the very kind publisher, one copy of the first issue of Love Patchwork & Quilting, the new modern quilting magazine everybody is talking about. This issue includes a sweet DIY gift and lots of great projects and articles from your favourite bloggers:

To have a chance at winning a copy of the first issue of Love Patchwork & Quilting magazine please leave a comment.

We will send the prize anywhere in the world so all international entries are welcome! The winner will be announced on February the 15th. Good luck and Happy Blog Party! 
Remember you can visit over 500 Blogs participating in the Grow Your Blog!!! Annual Meet! Just click on the Grow Your Blog!!! button below:

Ella and Nesta