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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A Little Dolls Quilt

A few weeks ago I was asked to make a little dolly quilt from a Moda kit using Seaside Rose fabric. 

 

This fabric was available about 5 years ago, and it's so pretty, floral and vintage.  So it really was special to use because it's now very difficult to get hold of.

 

 

The kit came with a pattern and instructions to follow; as you can see, lots of half square triangles, sashing and little yellow cornerstones. 

 

I was asked to add the letter 'L' in one of the corners, the initial of her daughter.  After some debate and fabric auditions, I opted for this yellow/green print and I outlined it in a contrasting pink. 

 

 

 

I chose to hand quilt it, with a light cross hatching that intersected the triangles. Any excuse to use my Anchor number 8 perle cotton, and even better it was pink!

 

 

 

 So I think Dolly is going to be very lucky to snuggle under this vintage Moda quilt :-) 

 

 

 

And I hope that the little girl whiles away many an afternoon playing with her dolls, in her imaginary wonderful land.

 

Sarah x

 

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Bagging a Bargain

This weekend was a particularly hectic one.  It seems my children's social lives consume the majority of my life.  But in between under 5's socialising madness, I did manage to grab myself a bit of a bargain. 

 

In Jersey we have a store called Imagination.  It's a toy shop come kitchen/electronics shop, come café/card shop and it has the biggest selection of adult craft materials on the island.  I was always popping there for threads, rotary cutter blades, buttons...

 

But now the craft section is closing - disaster!  I am really gutted as I was always nipping there when  having a craft shortage and didn't have the patience to order online and wait. 

 

But the silver lining is, they've extended their 50% off sale to no less than 75% off all adult craft materials!  Well who was I to pass up such a good opportunity to stock up. 

 

 

 

The shelves were pretty depleted but as you can see they still had a good range of threads, so I bought most of them!  And some ribbon to wrap my customer orders, some navy bias binding and some plastic pockets.  All this for £15.00.  I think that's the bargain of the century :-)

 

I've also been busy with bunting orders, this time a couple of sets of butterfly bunting, similar to this one.

 

 

 

Another busy week lies ahead; I shall be making some Christmas bunting for a customer, a bit like this one but with the word 'Noel'.  The perfect decoration for someone who's travelling (as she is) as it will fit nicely in the suitcase :-)

 

 





 

I also want to make some of the quilted journals that I made a few weeks ago.  I'm looking forward to sharing them with you soon!

 

Sarah x

 

 

 

 

 

Books and Binding

I haven't blogged for ages.  But I'm pleased to say I'm back!   And I've a few things to share. 

 

First up is some gorgeous fabrics that a very dear friend of mine, Heidi sent me, to cheer me up, because a few weeks ago I had all 4 wisdom teeth out - ouch! 

 

 

 

They are a bit thicker than quilting cottons, a bit canvas-y, so I am thinking what I can make with them.  Any ideas??  They are so gorgeous, and I just love those pink birds and butterflies. 

 

I've managed to get some sewing done in the evenings, this time some quick finishes, which have been wholly satisfying after a few days away from the sewing machine.  I started thinking about teacher presents for Christmas, and given that my daughter's teacher is a man, it posed a few problems as I didn't think he would appreciate a mug rug, which is what I made for the (female) nursery teachers last year.

 

Last years teacher presents

 

In fact I was very limited.  A quilt. No.  A cushion. No.  A bag.  No.  Bunting.  Definitely no!

 

Then it occurred to me that perhaps he might like a 'manly' journal, so I searched for a tutorial, and found this little gem. 

 

http://www.rileyblakedesigns.com/cutting-corners/2013/07/15/quilted-composition-book-cover/

 

And I came up with this, using left overs of my gorgeous City Quilter fabrics.

 

 

 

It was soooo much fun to make, and I am thrilled with the result.  It's held together by sewing in a little hair elastic to the back, in this case a black one, which simply wraps around the button.  It's hard to tell in this picture but the whole journal is quilted, and I've just used a hardback notebook that I picked up at the local pound store in town. 

 

I also made one for the teaching assistant, this time a lady, using these gorgeous fabrics.

 

 

 

 

These journals were such a great excuse to raid my ribbon stash and also sift through my buttons of all shapes and sizes, and Cinderella style find the one that was the perfect match.   

 

In fact I got a little bit obsessed with making journals last week and also made a 'London' journal. 

 

 

 

This fabric was in the goodie bag that I received at the Fat Quarterly Retreat, so there was  just enough to make one notebook, and put my gorgeous solider ribbon to good use.  I knew I would find a home for it one day! 

 

I have plans to make lots more journal covers.  They are so fun to make and  I love how different each one looks.  My next one will feature pink, cakes and cake stands - perfect for keeping those baking recipes safe.  Watch this space.

 

But for now journal making is on hold, as I'm finishing a little doll quilt and now that I've finished hand quilting, I shall mostly be binding.

 

 

 Oh and catching up on blog reading.  I've missed it!

 

Sarah x

 

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