Bloomers!

In the last month or so, I've embarked on a new (ish) adventure...dress making.  Well, baby dress making that is.  

And as a result I had a request from someone to make a dress and a pair of bloomers.  You know the type that go over a baby's nappy, and co-ordinate ever so cutely and perfectly with the dress.  Well I was up for the challenge, and this is what I came up with.

I think the Wee Wander fabric adds to their cuteness, I just love this little deer that looks you right in the eye.  

And here are the ruffles on the bottom ;-)  

They worked out just fine, but there's definitely a few things I'd do differently next time...it was a learning curve!  

So now I'm mid dress making and looking forward to sharing it with you soon. 

By the way, this is one of my favourite fabric lines of all time, and in case you didn't see it before, here's the cushion I made using it last year.  

It's too cute! 

Sarah x


Linking up with: 

'Dusty' inspired Planes Cushion

When you look at my 'Dusty' cushion, you will either instantly 'get' what it's all about, or, you'll have absolutely no idea.  

So for those who don't know, Dusty is the main character from Disney's Planes, and is loved and adored world over by anyone 6 and under. (Ok,and adults too!) My children are crazy about him. 

So with my son's pending 3rd birthday coming up, I knew I wanted to make him something 'Planes' inspired.  And when I opened up the 'Planes' CD so that we could listen to the soundtrack in the car, there was my inspiration right there.  

The image on the front is of the Jolly Wrenches Insignia, which Dusty has branded onto his side, during the first film.  I made myself a template and appliqued it on using a zig zag stich, onto a lightly quilted background.  I can't remember if it's Kona Coal or Charcoal, but it's a lovely shade of grey.  And isn't that just the perfect shade of Aurifil thread! 

For the back I used my friend Chris' Hidden Zipper Tutorial and as you can see it worked a treat. 

It's the first time I've put a zip in a cushion and it was no trouble. I think the style is better suited to this cushion than my usual hand made buttons.  More streamlined I think!  

As well as William's name, I also appliquéd the shape of the Planes motif at the bottom as a final but subtle nod to the film. 

I'm so pleased with this cushion, as it's themed but not in a really obvious way.  My son may have had a glimpse of it already, but he will have to wait until the big day till it's his ;-)

Sarah x

Glancing back, leaping forward...welcome 2015!

It's that time again.  Time to reflect on the year that's past before blindly leaping into the year ahead. I'm pleased to say that overall, 2014 was a good one for me.

There were so many highlights, it's hard to know where to start.  It was my first year of teaching, not only at at The Harbour Gallery in Jersey, The City Quilter in New York (it was wonderful to meet Chris at last) and MyBearpaw in Edinburgh too. My goodness what happy memories I have of those times and all the wonderful ladies I met.  

The Fat Quarterly Retreat was also fabulous and it was wonderful to catch up again with fellow quilters at the Stitch Gathering in September.   I've nearly finished the quilt I made with Thomas Knauer!  

I also had a fabulous time here in Jersey with some wonderful textile artists.

Not to mention taking a 2 day class with award winning Phillipa Naylor, who shared her secrets of FMQ.  What an inspiration she was.

And I met the wonderful Strip Bee ladies, and we swapped our beautiful quilts in the sunshine of Jen's back garden.  It was so much fun, I just wish we could have been together for longer.  

And so to my year's makes in pictures.

Starting with quilts.  Not so many, but each special in it's own way.

Then there was lots of bunting and cushions...

And then I got a little bit obsessed with making mini's,  zipper pouches and sitting in front of the tv stitching pretty embroideries.

I know there's more makes than I can find photos for, but I think it's fair to say it was a productive year.  2015 certainly has a lot to live up to!   But no fear, I'm hatching plans, hatching plans...I can't wait to see what it brings.

Thank you so much for stopping by,

Sarah x

Linking up with:

  

A Christmas Cushion

I'm struggling to keep up with blog posts for the things I've made recently, so here's a little cushion that I made a few weeks back, ready for our home when the festive season is upon us!  

I just love the background fabric and knew as soon as I saw it that I wanted to make a snowflake cushion.  It was lovely to use a combination of techniques too; machine applique, machine quilting for the background, and some hand quilted detail.  I had forgotten how much I enjoy hand quilting!  

It was lovely to make something for the family, and I look forward to getting this cushion out every winter, hopefully for many years to come.  

Thank you so much for stopping by,

Sarah x

Linking up with:

Summer Roundup

I hadn't planned to have a blogging hiatus over the summer, but life just got so busy with the two little Candies that it had to take a back seat.  

So I thought I'd do a quick round up of the holidays, starting with the fun and merriment that was had at the Fat Quarterly Retreat in London.  

Here I am with Kerri, Liz and Nikki, who came up to meet us all on the Friday night.  You can't beat catching up with sewing friends!

And this was us on the last morning, chatting, hand stitching and enjoying the sunshine.  Can life get any better?!

I had a great time taking part in so many classes and table top sessions, and I was particularly pleased that I actually got to finish a quilt top.

I think I'll add some big white borders to this quilt so it's a bit larger, and to really make the colours pop.  I can't wait to finish this one, and it's for keeps!

So anyway, after the FQR, I was lucky enough to visit the Harry Potter Studios, which was just fantastic.  Do you know this street?!

I did also manage a few makes once I got back to Jersey.  

This summer was particularly special for me, because my daughter made her very first quilt!!  Here she is with her patchwork quilt (technically it's a blanket) for her toy lion, Simba.  

Thankfully there was also time for a family summer holiday, first to Disneyland Paris and then the Dordoigne in France.  

And now it's all over!  But it will be nice to get back into a routine again, not to mention catching up on all the blogs I've missed reading over the summer.

I hope you've had a great summer too.  Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x  

Wee Wander Quilted Cushion

It's a very rare that I get time to sit and do some sewing for 'me', but I am so in love with the Wee Wander Collection by Sarah Jane, that I wanted to use it to make something for myself to keep.  A cushion seemed perfect.  

I made yet more Economy blocks using this tutorial and I think I've said before, I'm completely addicted to them.  I just love how they showcase your very favourite fabrics, and I love the on point square within a square.  They are super fun to make, and by over-sizing the pieces and then trimming back, it's possible to get near perfect blocks every time.

I'm really happy with the back of the cushion too, as I just love all the characters; that tree is beautiful and the deer adorable. 

  

 Who wouldn't want to sit and play with the animals in fields full of blossom!  

I opted for an envelope back so that I could include some of my hand made fabric buttons.  

And I quilted the front with 1" vertical straight lines, using my favourite Aurifil 50 weight thread, number 2425.  It's such a gorgeous candy pink colour and so much more enjoyable to sew with than my usual grey!  Hopefully the quilting gives it just enough texture without taking away from the characters.   

This cushion indulges all my favourite things.  It's pink, it's quilted, it's vintage, it's whimsical.  And best of all, just this once, it's all mine :-)

Sarah x