Quilted Cushion

We brought a rocking chair for the room and as it is quite uncomfortable to sit on I decided to make my first cushion cover, that was my first time in patchwork and quilting! Again I used material that I had used in other projects. I was quite surprised with the end results, I think it looks really good.

Baby Bunting

Last week I had bunting coming out of my ears, I made 5 different lots as two friends are having babies, and I wanted some for my craft room, plus 2 for me. Again most of my ideas came from pinterest.

The idea behind this was that it used material that i had used in other projects and I could appliqué her name on later. However I planned for 9 triangles but it was too large so had to chop it down to 7. In-between each triangle is a stuffed felt heart.

This fabric was brought when i wasn't even looking for it and was for a friend who is expecting a boy, however i had already chosen the material for hers and was hoping that this would fit, it didn't so i made my own.

My last bunting was left over felt hearts i had from the bunting for the craft room, if I included the hearts it would have been to long, so I decided to use it in the baby room. I did buy to ric rac but ended up crocheting a chain.

Flossie the Flamingo

I came across Flossie the flamingo again on Pinterest and thought that it was a good reason to get some pink into the room. This is what it looked like on Pinterest., it was uploaded by sew magazine.

And this was my attempt.

I wadded the wings, and although I only had the pattern and no instructions I am quite pleased with how she turned out. 

Nursery Giraffe Canvas's

You may have noticed that It has been a while since I last posted. All with good reason, I have been very busy in cooking a baby who is due tomorrow and I have been very busy in making lots of lovely things.

We know we are expecting a little girl but I am not a big fan PINK! So we have decided to go for a few colours with hints of pink. Pinterest has been a huge help in deciding what I would like the room to look like, the first ideas were grey, yellow and chevrons, but how boring for a little person to look at, so decided to go for an animal theme, this meant i can have different colours and some fun in sewing.

The first ideas were for a few pictures on the walls, I have made canvas's before for my own bedroom after seeing something I liked and refusing to pay for it, so I made it myself.

This is what it looked like on Pinterest.

And these are mine.

As Lilac is one of our colours on our stripy wall this is what we decided to go with. the material is material that has been used else where in other projects in the room so that it ties in nicely.

Yellow is another colour that is in the room. This one took a little longer to try and paint. I first had to find an image of a giraffe that would fit over my three 12inch square canvass's. My first photoshop attempt didn't work but my second fit better. I then had to use carbon paper under the photocopy to transfer the image, then a Sharpie, I only used one Sharpie even though I brought 3!

Summer Wardrobe Challenge

As summer is here I have been busy making most of my own wardrobe to go on holiday, mainly because all the stuff in the shops is made out of man made fibres and not breathable, and going to Croatia in July and in my first trimester of pregnancy meant I needed some clothes that I felt comfortable in. This is what I made.

Wrap top.

Sorry the photos are a little crap but due to the type of fabric it was quite hard see the layers. I have admired this top for quite a while but couldnt' find a pattern I liked, so I ended up looking at all of them and making up my own. I so far am yet to use an actual pattern. This was also my first time using this satin type material, and it did slip a lot on the machine, but I did manage not to get any puckers, and it was also my first time doing any facing with no instructions and only going on what my sister had previously said.

Colette free Sorbetto Top

Free download - https://www.colettepatterns.com/sewing/sorbetto

I have made one of these before last year, but again due to the material I used I had to change the pattern around. I had had my eye on this pattern for a year and decided to get a metre of it. As this was my first proper time using a pattern it did come up large and my sister had to help me take it in, but it came out really well.

I did change one thing though, I added a box pleat!

The Staple Dress by April Rhodes

For 4 -5 years i have had these 2 dresses from Primark that I love and have looked for a pattern for a while. However it was down to my sister who found this pattern for me. Easy to use, but know me I did change a few things. the pattern asks for pockets, I don't like pockets on floaty dresses as it makes them bulky and it also asks for a french seam? really on a floaty dress, don't be daft. I ended up making 2.

The red one was my first and I did make the neck bigger as the pattern looked like it was too heigh, but I am still not sure on it. I also made he skirt fuller so was more floaty. I wore it on holiday In Dubrovnik and it was a great floaty breezy summer city dress that took me through to the evening. 

The blue dress was  more tricky with the heme, I tried making the skirt fuller but the sides just didn't hang properly so I did have to cut some material off and it hangs a lot better after ironing. Again I made the neck a little lower but not wider.

The sad thing is that since finishing these items I have not touched my machine and don't even want or think about sewing, which just shows that I sew stuff I want to, not clothes! So I am currently self teaching myself crochet.

Simple Way Monet Messenger Bag

For Christmas my sister brought me the Simple Way Monet Messenger bag 
http://www.simpleway.co.uk

Overall I really enjoyed making it and the kit was really nicely put together with dead simple instructions.

The only issue I had was that the last thing you had to do was add the strap, this should have been the first thing you should have to do as the bag is already together it's a really small space to find the hole and you have to go through all holes twice, so I would defiantly say do this first.

I also decided to add a clasp to my meh bag as I used it for a few days in the vain hope the the flap would sit better, it didn't so I brought one off eBay.

Cheaters Quilting Appliqué Dog Travel Mat.

As from my last post I said I would share with you my first cheat appliqué quilt doggy mat. I got the idea from a Pinrest post that lead to to blog. I have no idea what I would do with out Pinterest in my craft life.

As you can see I made straps at the bottom of my ruck sack to hold the mat in place, I also spared in mind the width of the rucksack and doubled it for the width of my mat so I knew it would fit.

The first thing I did was I measured the pattern paper and drew a template, I would be lost without a template. I transferred this on to my material giving an few inches and more for the wadding, I used a  7oz wadding, so nice and thick when you sit on it. I stitched them all together. My singer 201k was great with this, I thought the wadding would get caught in the feeder tether but I lessened them off and it slid through.

I then trimmed away the excess.

And turned the right way round and hand finished the gap.

I then did two rows of straight stitching around the edges. I found this pretty hard.

For the bones I again had to make a template, I also had to make sure that I interfaced it before cutting as so the edges didn't fray, it then got pinned and sewn. I know it's a little rough but for my first time I am really pleased as I was still using my Tedder teeth and I didn't have a free motion quilting foot.