Quilting

Craft Patchwork Quilting Sewing Tips and Tricks

Weekender Bag Roundup

Well, I’m pretty excited that I finished my weekender bag and still have a smile on my face.

I took part in the Weekender Bag Sewalong held by Sew Lux and Happy Little Cottage. Unfortunately, the sewalong didn’t finish, but I did! And I was happy to realise that it wasn’t as hard as I thought it might be – probably due to all the research I did before I started. I’ve listed a heap of links below to help you out!

I stayed pretty close to the pattern except that I lengthened the straps to 55″ as I wanted wear it over my shoulder, but not have it drag on the ground. I added some wadding into the handles to make them a little comfier on the shoulder, too.

I also added a double pull zipper – Tara @tarasews on IG suggested it, and I used this tutorial by Two Little Poppets.

Inside, I added a zippered compartment using this tutorial on the U-Handbag blog, and a simple pocket with two sections on the other side (sorry – bad photo!)

I added a pieced M to one end, and a bow block to the other end.

I added some feet to the bottom of my bag to protect it! When I sewed the sides to the base, I had an excess of fabric so I had to sew a little seam along the bottom.

The pattern is by Amy Butler and the fabrics are the prettiest navy floral from April Showers by Bonnie and Camille, Essex linen in denim, and a small red gingham from Spotlight. The lining is a pretty aqua homespun.

Here are a heap of links to blog posts with tips and tricks for making the weekender bag:

Start here: A very detailed 3 part series by Three Owls Handmade – excellent with lots of photos, and a post about the first bag she made here which is just so pretty and has lots of info too.

Mommy by Day Crafter by Night

For quilt-as-you-go bag panels, check out this tutorial:

Oh Fransson

So, there it is! I’ve made a weekender bag, and I wouldn’t mind making another, with hexie panels, maybe?

Till next time,

August 28, 2016 6 comments

Craft Embroidery Patchwork Quilting Sewing

A Spoonful of Sugar Sew Along

written by Michelle

In June, Lisa of A Spoonful of Sugar blog, started a sewalong on Instagram. The idea was to make a project from her book, A Spoonful of Sugar – Sew 20 Simple Projects to Sweeten Your Surroundings Zakka Style. There would be five rounds (each round running for 2 weeks) and there would be prizes and a grand prize winner. There were so many amazing projects made – go check out the hashtag #aspoonfulofsugarsal on Instagram to take a peek.

Anyhoo, I thought I would give a quick run down on the five projects I made.

Round 1: Fabric Gift Basket

I used some some gorgeous Emma Jean Jansen fabrics and my logo for a label. It’s such a cute size – it now sits on my desk holding my fabric labels.

Round 2: Zakka Dilly Bag

I asked my teenage daughter if there was anything in the book she’d like me to make for her. She picked the dilly bag. I bought the cool pen fabric by Cotton and Steel especially for my writer daughter – I just knew she’d love those pens.

Round 3: Gorgeous Gingham Pot Holder

I’d never tried chicken scratch embroidery before, and wanted to use this sewalong to try some new things. So I chose some favourites from my stash, and went to work. I still haven’t used this as a pot holder yet – it’s just a bit too pretty!

Round 4: Grandmother’s Flower Garden Dust Cover

I already had some sweet 1/2″ hexie flowers sitting on my desk, so I thought this would be a good project to use them for. I really loved how this turned out – too pretty to hide away in the wardrobe, so I sewed the hanger hole closed and I’m using it as a chair cover for my sewing chair. I get to look at it every day!!

Round 5: Sashiko Placemat (adapted)

I’d tried sashiko once before, and I love the look of it, so I chose this as my last project. I was blessed to be given a fat quarter bundle of the new Tilda line, and once I saw those aqua bunnies, I just knew I had to use them. I decided to turn the sashiko placemat into a sashiko sign for my sewing room. I did some sewing illustration (that was fun), and added a little bit of pink lace. It’s hanging above the doorway into my special crafty space.

All in all, I had lots of fun, learnt some new techniques, and have some new pretty useful things around my home!

I must admit I was disappointed I didn’t win any of the prizes for this sewalong. Just being real. However, I must also admit I’m glad I didn’t have to judge the competition, as there were SO many great projects made throughout the sewalong. I decided to use this as a learning experience, and the two areas I think I could improve in are my photography and attention to the little details that really make a project. So all is not lost!! Bring on the next sewalong, I say!

Till next time,

August 20, 2016 4 comments

Organization Patchwork Quilting Sewing

How to Make a Bonus Quilt

written by Michelle

I’ve been posting some photos on IG of my leaders/enders project and had some questions, so here is how I organize things so that I can make a bonus quilt without too much trouble while making other quilts.

None of this is new! You can read all about leaders and enders here on Bonnie Hunter’s website, Quiltville.

I follow Lori Holt’s scrap regime (found here), and you can read all about her leaders and enders procedure here. When I saw Lori’s scrappy crossroads tutorial I knew I wanted to make one just like it!

So I gathered all my 2 1/2″ scrap squares, cut some background fabric to the size required and placed it all in a small plastic tub to the right of my sewing machine.

Every now and then, while I’m watching TV, I’ll grab the tub of squares and start putting two of them together (right sides facing) and layer them, ready for me to grab and sew.

I put 16 pairs together, and then I take 8 of the background squares and place 2 of the smaller squares on top of each background square. I draw the sewing lines (I like to have the offcuts already sewn together so that I can make something with these later on ) on the back of these squares before put them back into the tub, and put it beside my machine ready to go.

Then, as I’m sewing another project, when I run out of that project’s pieces and need to do some pressing and/or trimming, I grab a couple of these 2 1/2″ squares and sew them together. I leave this in the machine with the needle down, and then continue with the main project. Every time I have to remove a project piece from the sewing machine, I sew another couple of squares together, leave them in the machine, and then continue on with my main project.

I use my large design board to sit my squares on once I’ve started sewing. This sits to the left of my machine.

Here is the area to the right of my sewing machine. The squares of fabric for my leaders and enders quilt are within easy reach of my machine. I can also trim right there, and throw the off cut half square triangles into that box in the bottom right corner, where they’ll stay until I get a chance to make something with them.

Here is the finished block – I love how scrappy these blocks are and they’re big so I think I’ll make 16 of them for my quilt.

And here are a few blocks together – don’t they look great! I’m going to love this quilt when it’s done.

Do you have a leaders and enders project? Please let me know by leaving a comment below.

Till next time,

August 14, 2016 7 comments

Patchwork Quilting Sewing

Quilt Finishes First Half 2016

written by Michelle

I started quilting a couple of years ago and have been obsessed ever since.

I thought it might be fun to look back at the quilts I managed to finish during the first half of this year.

Low volume quilt

First up is my low volume quilt I finished in January. I saw some beauties on IG and just had to make one of my own. All the fabrics were from my stash (except for a few which were kindly donated by my sister!) I decided to just go with 5″ squares – a quick and easy make.

Back and binding of low volume quilt

The backing is a lovely soft low volume vintage sheet, and I used a black and white stripe binding – perfect!

Liberty quilt

In April, this beauty was finished. I joined the Liberty Stamp Swap run by Ava and Neve back in March 2015. We each had to make 28, 16-patches from Liberty lawn, keep one for ourselves, and send the rest off. We then each received 27 16-patches using all sorts of different Liberty fabrics – and they were all beautiful! I used a dark blue (not quite navy) for the alternate squares.

Back and binding of Liberty quilt

The backing is a lovely soft brushed cotton fabric that was part of a doona cover I found at Vinnies. The binding is the lovely aqua Capel Liberty lawn.

My daughter stole this as soon as it was finished – she loves how light and soft it is!

Bloom quilt

Then in June, I finished my Bloom Where You Are Planted quilt. The pattern was by Lori Holt of Bee in My Bonnet, and she put a tutorial on Instagram. Look up the hashtag #bloomwhereyourplantedquilt to find all the details. The gorgeous fabrics are by Emma Jean Jansen – The Linen Cupboard and 60’s Scrapbag which went together so beautifully.

Back and binding of Bloom quilt

The background was white homespun from Spotlight and the backing was a vintage sheet I picked up from Vinnies – doesn’t it match just perfectly? The quilt was bound in the green stripe from The Linen Cupboard.

Well, I’m quite happy with three finished quilts for the first half of the year! I wonder how many I’ll get finished in the second half?

Do you keep track of how many quilts you’ve made? I’d love you to leave a comment and let me know.

Till next time

August 7, 2016 2 comments

Craft Hobbies Patchwork Quilting Sewing

Sewing on a Budget

written by Michelle

I want to make all the pretty things I see – but there are more projects, and more pretty fabric, than money can buy! We are a homeschooling family living on one wage in Sydney – so because of the priorities we have chosen for our family, I know that I can’t buy everything I’d like to buy.

But that’s OK. You can still craft and make pretty things – you just have to do a few things that will help you to stay within your budget.

Sewing on a Budget

♥ SPEND YOUR BUDGET WITH PURPOSE

I buy charm packs or mini charm packs of new lines of fabric I like. Then I will grab a fat quarter of one or two of my favourite fabrics from that line to go with the charm pack. This way, there is coordinating fabric for backing, or binding of mini quilts, or lining for pouches.

Charm Packs

If I really, really love a particular line, I’ll buy a fat eighth bundle – these are much cheaper than a fat quarter (FQ) bundle, but still enough fabric to make a quilt.

Strawberry Biscuit Fat 8th Bundle

Split a FQ bundle with a friend.

Look out for offers like free shipping, and other sales from favourite quilt shops – in real life and online.

I keep an eye on destash pages on Instagram. This can be a good thing or a bad thing! I picked up a FQ bundle of an older pretty line for around $80! That was a bargain – only about $2 for each FQ. I count a FQ for less than $4 a bargain! But beware you don’t impulse buy and spend more than you should (I speak from experience!)

I use homespun for my backgrounds – on sale, I can get it for $3-$4/metre, as opposed to quilting cotton at $20 or more a metre.

Vintage Sheets

I also use vintage sheets for quilt backings. I pop into op shops every now and then, and have been fortunate to find some lovely vintage sheets for between $3 and $5 each! Now that’s a bargain!

If you live near an IKEA store, they have very reasonably priced fabric just perfect for a quilt backing!

Also, as I was reminded by the lovely Corinna and Laura on IG, for those of us in Australia, Spotlight often does 40% off one full priced item, $40 off when you spend $100, and they currently have a scratchy where you can win various amounts off your purchase. Mine gives me 20% off. So make sure you are a VIP member – you can sign up here. When I get the 40% off one full priced item voucher, my sister and I share one of the big rolls of batting! You can also go shopping with a friend to make up the $100 you need to spend to get $40 off!

♥ SEW YOUR STASH

Before you buy more fabric, check your stash. It is easy to forget what you have, so take a good look around your cupboards and see what you can come up with. Also, don’t forget your scraps – there is a myriad of patterns out there that just use scraps and the finished projects always look amazing!

Fabric Stash

Have some kind of system for remembering which fabric your bought for which project – sometimes I keep a list and sometimes I just use sticky notes attached to the fabric! Whatever you use, it will help you not to buy fabric when you already have just the right one for the job.

♥ FREEBIES ON THE INTERNET

It is quite amazing how much free stuff is out there on the web. Patterns and tutorials abound. Just do a search on Pinterest for free tutorials/patterns and you’ll be surprised how many there are. I do still like to support small businesses and buy patterns and books – but don’t forget the freebies out there as well.

Anyhoo, that’s just a few ways I craft on a budget. Do you have a tip to share? I’d love to hear it – just leave me a comment!

Till next time

July 16, 2016 9 comments

Patchwork Quilting Sewing

Love Tula Pillow

written by Michelle

I just had to tell you about my Love Tula pillow and all the firsts that happened while making it!

Love Tula Pillow

But first! How gorgeous is it? Those colours are just so vibrant, and I really enjoyed the whole workshop experience. It was great to meet Tula in person – she was very gracious and friendly (when she must have been very tired!) It was also fun to sew with some IG friends.

My sister and I with Tula

So here is my list of firsts:

♥ First time doing a workshop at the Sydney Craft and Quilt Fair

♥ First time using a Bernina sewing machine (and a Tula Pink signed one at that!)

Tula Pink sewing machine

♥ First time using a sewing machine with a knee operated sewing foot lever

♥ First time using any Tula Pink fabric (shame on me!)

♥ First time having fabric signed by a fabric designer

Tula’s autograph

♥ First time buying Tula Pink fabric (those foxes! those colours!)

Back of pillow

♥ First time doing pebbling FMQing!

Pebble quilting

Well, that’s a pretty long list. But what a gorgeous pillow I have to show for all that!

What are some first’s you’ve experienced lately – fabric wise? I’d love you to leave a comment and share with me!

Till next time

July 2, 2016 2 comments

Organization Patchwork Quilting Sewing

Two Creative Ways to Tidy your Sewing Area

written by Michelle

I don’t know about you, but the area around my sewing machine can sometimes get very messy. Reels of thread, scissors, unpicks, pens, rulers, etc., etc.

It all came to a head the other day, and I thought to myself, “For goodness sake, make yourself one of those lovely sewing machine mats you’ve seen on Pinterest.”

So off to Pinterest to search for sewing machine mats. And I found this great free tutorial by Nicole over at Lillyella here:

I liked the selvedge pockets and that sweet paper-pieced butterfly. I had been saving my selvedges for ages and had two big Moccona coffee jars full of them – finally, something to make with them!

Sewing machine mat

I decided to use my Bonnie and Camille stash, so off I went. The tutorial was very well written, with lots of photos, and great instructions for those selvedge pockets. I had already done some paper piecing, but Nicole suggested the tutorial over at Cassandra Madge, which you can find here.

Paper pieced butterfly

I had a quick read through her excellent photo-rich instructions to refresh my memory. If you’ve never done any paper piecing this is a great tutorial to use.

I was going to make the main mat part from navy fabric, but then I thought it would just show up all those white threads (and dust! I’m not a fan of dusting!) So I used a mid-blue cotton hoping it would do better hiding the threads (and the dust!)

I’m so happy with how it turned out! You can add ties and turn it into a sewing machine cover, but my machine is in use pretty much every day, so I left off the ties.

If you were ever thinking of making one of these mats, I can highly recommend lillyella’s pattern and tutorial.

Well, of course, then I decided I needed an extra bit of organizing and found this tutorial here at Diana’s Sewing Lessons.

Mug caddy closeup

She doesn’t have a pattern as such, just a photo of the main piece, but it was pretty easy to replicate if you’ve done a bit of sewing! I really liked the look of the binding, so I used this tutorial. But there are others out there that give the exact measurements if you’d feel safer with that, and that have internal pockets (which I felt were unnecessary for my needs).

So now I am all sorted for storage around my machine – if only I could get a lovely photo of it!

Tidy sewing area

I’d love to hear if you have any great ideas for keeping your sewing area tidy – just leave me a comment!

Till next time

June 25, 2016 3 comments

Patchwork Quilting

Done is Better than Perfect!

written by Michelle

Done is better than perfect¹.

Or finished is better than perfect².

Or perfectly imperfect³!

I’ve heard all of these expressions in the last week and they have rung true for me. Just yesterday I finished listening to the audiobook of Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert and can highly recommend it. I was also listening to the latest Modern Sewciety podcast with Christa Watson and she had some great insight into this topic.

Just to say – it’s better to have accomplished something, anything, than wait till all is just right, before starting.

This is certainly true in the crafting world. I can spend so much time looking around Pinterest and Instagram, being inspired. Then spend ages looking for just the right pattern, fabric, and embellishments. Then stress about little mistakes made here and there.

Tic Tac Toe quilt

But when all is said and done, it’s quicker and less stressful to just jump in, make a decision and get on with it.

And there are going to be mistakes, and unpicking, and little things that just need overlooking in order to finish.

Pointy and not quite stitch-in-the-ditch quilting

I remember reading somewhere years ago, that quilters would purposefully make a mistake in their quilts, to remind them that only God is perfect.

I’d made about 5 quilts, and straight-line quilted them all and they look great. But I really liked the look of stippling, and wanted to try some free motion quilting on a quilt.

So I did some practicing on some quilty offcuts which didn’t turn out so great. Then a stellar person on IG (can’t remember which one now!) suggested that the best way to learn FMQ is to just practice on a whole quilt.

Pointy bit of quilting

I had the top of my #beehiveswarm Tic Tac Toe quilt all made up and decided that I would use this quilt to be my practice quilt for stippling.

So off I went, and had a ball! I stippled like a crazy woman! There were pointy bits and crossovers and loopy little bits of thread where I got the foot caught in the stitches. But I loved it!

Crossover quilting

I’ve heard that if you can’t see the mistake in a quilt riding past it on a motorbike, then it’s good to go. So that’s what I did. And unless you look up close, my quilt looks spectacularly stippled (even if I do say so myself!)

Tic Tac Toe quilt

Some quilts just beg for straight line quilting, which is still easier for me. But some quilts need something a little different. My Bloom Where You’re Planted quilt was one of these. So I decided to stipple this one – my second attempt.

Crossover quilting

And there are still pointy bits and crossovers and little loopy bits of thread. But overall, a better attempt than that first one. And again, I loved it and was so glad that I didn’t let my inexperience or fear of mistakes stop me going ahead.

Bloom Where You are Planted quilt

I’m sure my third attempt will be even better.

Till next time,

Footnotes:

¹Big Magic audiobook – written and narrated by Elizabeth Gilbert

²Angela Walters

³Christa Watson

June 8, 2016 6 comments

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