2013 - A Year in Review Part 1

2013 has been a splendid year.  So it seems only fitting to write a year in review, and reflect on all the things I've made, all the wonderful people I've met and all the fantastic times I've had.  It's hard to know where to start with such a mammoth task, but I think first I'll start with my makes. 

 

As you may know I make quilts and other items for my little business Quilt Candy, so here are all the quilts I've made this year, roughly in chronological order. 

 

A mini for my dear friend Julie

I'll admit, it's not as many quilts as I would like, but that's partly because I have been super busy making personalised bunting too - something that has proved really popular.  Here are some examples of the bunting I've made, often many times but with different names. 

 I was also lucky enough to have a stand at The Harbour Gallery in the summer months.

The small items in particular proved very popular; I never imagined having to make so many chickens!

I also had great fun  making lots of quilted journal covers. 

 

 

I did have big plans to make personalised stockings.  But sadly there was just not enough time.   But I did manage to finish my WIP of six years, my Christmas Stocking Cross Stitch.

And I even managed to make some Christmas gift tags, both for my children and a few orders :-)

 

When I look back, I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to achieve all I have in this last year.  All those late nights at the sewing machine; all those mornings where I've felt like a zombie have all been worth it when I think of all the things I've made and hopefully the happiness I've brought to their owners. 

I've also had so many wonderful quilting related experiences, more than I could have ever imagined, and made SO many new friends.  I can't wait to re-cap them all with you.  But I think I'll save that for another post. 

Thank you so much for stopping by, I hope you've had a wonderful year too.

Sarah x

The Last Stitch

Well that's me done for 2013...all my orders complete, woo hoo! 

 

Last night I put the last stitch into a custom order; a quilted journal cover using this gorgeous 'high tea' fabric. 

I love these fabrics and the ribbon was an early Christmas gift from a dear friend of mine.  It couldn't have been more perfect, matching the icing on those little cupcakes that look good enough to eat ;-)

 

I've packed my sewing machine away for now, and I won't bee seeing it again for over a week (breathe!!) as we are visiting the Welsh Valleys for a family Christmas. 

 

I've even managed to finish the stocking cross stitch, that I had so many kind comments about. 

 

 

Hooray!  That's another WIP ticked off the list, and all I have left on my list is my bee strip for February. 

 

It's such a great feeling clearing the decks and making way for new projects. 

 

Which start when we arrive at our rented cottage!  I'm pretty sure that Santa has fulfilled my wish, and that a Tula Pink Needlepoint Kit is on it's way to me very soon.  I've never done needlepoint before, and I can't tell you how excited I am to start this!

 

 

 

I'm giving myself a year; the plan is to have it finished by next Christmas.  I really want a portable project that I can work on when I'm not near my machine and I liked the idea of trying needlepoint and I just loved the colours in this.  Not to mention her hairstyle!  I'll let you know how I get on.

 

This will probably be my last post now until after Christmas, as I fear that the wifi signal in the Valleys is going to be anything between bad and non-existent.  But what a good excuse to crack on with my tapestry in between chasing after excitable young children and catching up with all the family. 

 

So I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, I hope it's a good one and I look forward to being back before the year is out.

 

Sarah x

A Special Lesson

A few months back my daughter's school had a Promises Auction and they were asking parents to donate items, skills and goods.  Sadly I don't have a villa in Spain to offer for rent, but I do have a few craft supplies and a big kitchen table.  So I thought it would be rather fun to offer a 3 hour parent and child craft session in my home. 

 

And so yesterday was the day mum and daughter came to my house, and we set to work on some little Christmas themed Cross stiches.  Christie is 7 and my goodness once she got going there was no stopping her, she hardly even stopped for a chocolate biscuit!  Here she is concentrating hard on her adorable reindeer motif.

 

 

We had such a lovely afternoon, chatting, sewing, listening to cheesy Christmas music and generally getting to know one another. 

Three hours simply whizzed by.  But the reindeer cross stitch was complete! 

If you look closely you'll see that we even used red beads for Rudolph's nose :-)

Mum Cleo made a good start on a gorgeous Christmas heart.  I know she's really looking forward to working on it in the evenings leading up to Christmas, and I can't wait to see it finished. 

 

 

Didn't they do well!

 

Sadly there wasn't time to do anything with Rudolph while they were here, but later I put him on a matching red notebook.  I'll see them both tomorrow and I can't wait to give it to Christie!

 

It was such fun, I'm thinking of offering a Valentines Special class as well.  In the busy lead up to Christmas, it was such a joy just to sit and forget about everything for a few hours and sew.  Thank you so much to Christie and Cleo for your being such a pleasure to teach.

Sarah x

WIP Wednesday

This is probably the oldest WIP I possess - a stocking cross stitch, that to the untrained eye is already complete.

 

I started this back in 2007, and although it's taken me 6 years so far, actually I did the whole thing in 3 months bar the last few stitches.  It's hard to tell from this photo, but I decided to cover the whole cross stitch in teeny, tiny glass beads.  It adds such a lovely dimension, but can you guess what happened... yes I ran out of beads just as I was coming to the end.  And instead of hunting down some more, I put it in a draw and forgot about it until now. 

 

So I'm pleased to say I have now ordered some more of the exact same beads on ebay, for the bargain price of £2.50.  It took me all of 5 minutes to hunt them down and place the order.  I don't know why it's taken me so long to do it!

 

I'm determined to get it finished and framed before Christmas Day.  There really is not a lot to do, it's just a few beads in the bottom right hand corner. 

 

Watch this space!

 

Sarah x

 

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Busy with Bee Blocks

Last week I worked frantically to finish of my strip for the Strip Bees Quilt.  So I'm pleased to finally share with you a few sneek peeks, without giving too much away. 

Here  aresome little Russian dollies;

Some funky flowers;

Aren't these Lamas the cutest!  I simply had to include these.

 

 And look at this cheeky looking lobster.  He's been a favourite of mine for a long time now. 

 

All in all rather an eclectic mix!  I'm pretty sure they tie in with the rest of the quilt - somehow!  And I can't wait for March when we all get to finally get our original strips back, only this time as a complete quilt top.  Only 2 strips left to go, how did that happen! 

I'm working on some more Christmas gift tags tonight, a bit like this one.

I'm making 5 but I might just make 7 - one for me and one for Mr Candy too! 

Sarah x

Triangle City

That's what it's felt like in my studio kitchen these last few weeks.  I mustn't complain, it's great to be so busy with bunting orders for Christmas.  All I can say is I'm glad I've got a template and a rotary cutter! 

 

So here's a new one I put together last week for a friend who wanted a gift for a baby boy that wasn't too cutesy babyish, as she wanted it to last in his room for a couple of years.  Those good old chevrons did the job...I hope!

 

I'd not heard of the name 'Avi' before, I had to keep checking to make sure I had the spelling was correct.  How silly is that with a 3 letter word?!

 

I was also asked if I could make some space/robot bunting for 2 brothers.  I immediately knew I had the perfect fabric in my stash.

 

 

 

Isn't it just adorable.  It's Rebekah Gilnda Robotic and available at my favourite store of all time, Eclectic Maker.  But get in quick because it's selling out fast.  I had to stock up on Robotic supplies, as I plan to make a quilt for my littlest Candy for his 2nd Birthday at the end of January.  At this rate he'll be lucky to get it before he's 3! 

 

 

I've also been busy making more Christmas bunting and Circus bunting; at one stage I had 5 sets of bunting on the go simultaneously.  That was a lot of triangles!

 

I hope you are having a productive week too.  Bunting is fun but I can't wait to make a quilt soon!

Sarah x

Christmas Tags

This year some hessian Santa sacks caught my eye for my 2 Candies.  There were printed personalised options, and plain ones.  I just loved the personalised ones, but they were a little on the pricey side, so I opted for the plain ones, and decided to make some Christmas tags to tie around them, so that Father Christmas would know whose is who come Christmas Eve. 

 

So here's the one for my little Candy girl.

 

 

And for my littlest Candy, he's got  a red one.

 

 

I wanted to have a go at making an 'icy' one too, so I made it for one of their friends.

 

 

The snowflake is one of those confetti type metallic things, and I pierced a hole and added a bead, then sewed it on like a button. Easy!

 

I took them to playgroup this morning to show a friend, and I'm pleased to say I'm now swamped with orders for them.  So guess what I'll be doing for the next week?!  Not that I'm complaining!

 

What are you making this Christmas?

 

Sarah x

A Satisfactory Sunday

I'm feeling pleased with myself today. 

 

Not because I've sewn anything remarkable but because dragging my entire family (i.e a 2 year old, 4 year old and a grumpy husband) to the indoor boot fair to sell our 'stuff' actually turned out to be rather profitable.  Mr Candy transformed his 'why are we doing this face' to a concealed smile when we counted the cash at the end of the sale.  I knew it would be worth it!  And you can't beat that de-cluttering feeling.  Love it.

 

So can I spend the fruits of my labours on more fabric?  Well perhaps some of it.  Look what I purchased last week. 

 

 

Sometimes I'm such a sucker for a novelty print and I have soooo many ideas of what to do with this!  I'm thinking cushions, quilted journals...that should get boys into writing! 

 

I'm working on a couple of cute little Christmas items for my children at the moment too.  I'm nearly finished so hopefully I'll be  able to get a decent photo tomorrow.

 

Hope you all had a productive weekend too.  What have you been making? 

 

Sarah x

 

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