An Easter monthly make

As you may be aware, I pledged over at The Felt Fairy's to make something (anything!) every month in 2012. My aim was to try something new that would help me to learn a new woolish or fabric skill.

Last week I was inspired by a tutorial I saw at i have to say, Randi has been sharing a tutorial each month for a sew a long and March's was for a zippered pouch. I have put zips into cushions before, but it was always more by luck than knowledge that they worked and this tutorial was to make it a lined pouch as well.
I had recently bought some linen blend fabric and had some springish fabric that I had spare. The tutorial was very easy to follow and gave 4 different variations for the final look. I decided to add a bottom to my pouches and here they are.

The one at the front was the first one and I made a fair few mistakes, but I had rushed it and decided to use it a lesson!! It's very wonky (my cutting) and the wrist strap is too long(I forgot to try it out and cut to size). But the second one at the back, I took my time and it turned out perfectly.
The tree fabric is Cut out and Keep by Heather Moore for Cloud 9 and the spot is Nicey Jane by Heather Bailey for Free Spirit. The lining is a tonal lemon that I found in the off cut basket at the fabric shop.

I hope to use these for adult Easter gifts with some chocolate eggs hidden in them. That way, after Easter is over and the chocolate is gone, they still have a small bag for makeup or stuff to keep and use.

My other make for March was my mother's day cushion

 which you can read all about here.

Oh, and I've joined twitter!! I'm still getting used to it and don't tweet too much, but it's a great way of seeing what people are working on. You can use the bar on the side to see me or I'm @RoseDahlia1

I'm off to enjoy the unseasonal sun, and tidy the garden! Toodle pip xx

Tuesday's tallies

I missed my hexagon update last week as I hadn't made any!! I was so concerned to get my mother's day present finished in time that I ignored them, but this week I have kept on track. I have added another 14 to the blanket and now have a grand total of 224 colourful hexagons!

Seeing as we are having the most wonderful and unseasonally warm weather I decided to take a picture on the washing line. I love seeing the sun through the gaps.

Although, I'm not sure what the neighbours must think.
Here it is on the bed,

I do think I'm only a few rows from the border, I will be so sorry to finish it but pleased that I will be able start a new one a day!
I hope you are having a wonderful day whatever you are up to xx

We love .....Mother's Day

I hope all you mums, daughters and sons had a lovely day today and had a lovely Mother's Day. I know it's celebrated at different times of the year over the world, but we have had ours today.

This year I planned to make my mum a special homemade present for Mother's Day and have been working on it over the last two weeks. I even had to ask for one of my own presents early to complete it!! (I hate a surprise and had told hubby what I wanted!)

I wanted to make a cushion for my mums bed and as I have been making blocks for the QAL I decided to use what I have learnt to make her something. I used a tutorial from Jenna at SewHappyGeek to make a woven block and then added a border. 

I made it into a envelope cushion as I hoped to add some embroidery to the back and this was how I originally planed on finishing it. But thing don't always go to plan!!!

And I felt it was a little plain and lacked something, so I have spent Friday and Saturday binding this cushion by hand (!!!) and embellishing the back. 

I used the children's hand prints, one of each of the boys and both of Rose's and then the boys favorite saying when they were tiny......

The hand prints may not be perfect but it's fairly hard to keep a 14 month old still for longer an a few seconds!!

The boys were a bit easier!! I used baking paper and then traced them onto the cotton. 

As I didn't plan on binding it, it was fairly thick to wrap the binding around but I was using this as a massive learning curve. And it's not perfect, but I made it with a lot of love, thought and a fair few swear words (after the watershed!!).  

Also you have to remember that no matter my age, my mum has to LOVE what ever I make. This is one of the rules of Motherhood!!! 

Anyway, I love how it turned out and my mum was over the moon with it (so she said!!!).

I'm linking this post up with

Wishing you all a

Fabulous St. Patrick's day.

I may not be Irish but my late grandfather was and I'm wearing this today to remember and celebrate for him.

Pattern from here with a few small changes, used Rowan Handknit in Pesto and popped pins on the back to make them into a brooch.

I'm off for a busy day at work. xxx

A birthday, a hexagon update and a few wip!!

WARNING: this post is photo heavy and is written by someone who can't count!!

It's been a busy few days here, our eldest was 10 yesterday!!! I can't believe that 10 years have vanished and he has gone from

this

to this at 5

to being 10!!!!

And he only has one more year at primary and then he will be off to BIG school! Arrghhhhh.......

He enjoyed his presents and there was two little helpers incase he need any extra help.

 

He will be having a few school friend home after school on Friday, he's too big for a party now!

I have been plodding away on my hexagons this week and have gotten the 14 finished and added to the blanket. This brings my grand total to.......... hang on a minute.......after a recount I have realised that somewhere over the last two weeks I have miss counted and have now made 15 rows of 14 hexagons equalling

  210 colourful hexagons!! 

(I think I should go back and check if I got my sons age right! haha)

I have gotten two other projects started over the last few days. The first is a cross stitch cushion that I bought the materials pack for ages ago (November 2011) and never got around to starting.

Whistle while you work cushion

  

It's from the September issue (Issue 243) of CrossStitcher and is called 'Handmade with love' and was designed by Jacqui Pearce.

The other project is a present for my mum for Mother's Day. I used the Woven Block tutorial from SewHappyGeek and have added a border and am making it into a cushion.

Here the top is all ready to be quilted. I am also using this as a cheeky way to see if the quilting I have picked will suit the block!! I am hoping to add some embroidery to the back. 

I'm off to see if any of my children can give me any tips on keeping count!! and to crack on with my mums present as I only have a few days to get it finished. Toodle pip xxx

Yippeee...........

It's done........ after a marathon sewing session this gorgeous sunny afternoon my quilt top is finished.

I didn't want to leave it till the week as you never know what will get in the way! I am SO happy with how it's come out, I really am 'Delighted!'
It may not be perfect, but it's my very first quilt and I couldn't be happier. As I was putting it together I was just beaming.
I still have to make a 'quilt sandwich' with the wadding and the back and actually quilt it(This is the bit that is worrying me)!!! Any quilting tips greatly appreciated.

All patterns have come from SewHappyGeek and I have to say that Jenna has created a quilt addict!! I am already thinking of my next one and which fabric and pattern I could use. Maybe something by Camille Roskelly or Aneela Hoey or both!! Just don't tell my husband....

The fabric for this quilt is Delighted! by The Quilted Fish at Riley Blake

Here it is in the last of this afternoons sun.

I'm off to enjoy a glass of wine while I keep staring at the quilt top and wonder how do I quilt it!! 

The last block!

This afternoon I have finished the last block from the SewHappy QAL.......boo!!!

To say I have enjoyed making these blocks is an understatement! Each week I have been excited for the next tutorial. Jenna's explanations have been clear and so easy to follow, that even tricky blocks were great to tackle, even for a complete beginner like me!

So, here is the Dresden plate block

This block came together super quick.....until.....I changed the thread from white to red and then had to re-sew the corner 4 times!! My machine just had a mad 15 minutes and wouldn't behave. The tutorial and templates are available here, if you would like to give it a try. 

Thanks to those who gave their opinion about the quilt back, I also agreed with the majority and went with the red. Here it is all finished and sewed together. 

All I have to do now is decide on a layout for the blocks and add the sashing and border. 

I've been having a play around with them to see which sits better. I find looking at photos helps me see which looks best. A few people have finished their quilt tops and they are stunning, please pop over to Flickr to see them. It's so strange to see how the same blocks can be completely changed by the fabrics, colours and layouts.

Oh, and finally, I have disabled that silly word verification on my comments as it drive me up the wall when I want to leave a quick comment on other peoples blogs. I always get the words wrong, so it has now been banished from mine!!! 

I'm off to get dinner started, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend xxx

Tuesday's tallies and a question.....

I am unsure how I managed to get this weeks hexagons done, but I did!! 14 gloriously colourful hexagons all joined in. Thank you to the elves (or glass of wine on Saturday that made me miss count!) that must have sneaked in and helped me to catch up! I was sure I was a few short. 

Anyway, this brings my total to.........182 hexagons!! It's definitely getting there, I would like to think that by Easter I might be on the border. The problem is that every time I put it on the bed,  I want it to be just a bit bigger. I'll have to see how it looks over the next few weeks.

Now for a question, as you may be aware I'm making my first quilt in a QAL with Jenna at SewHappyGeek and I need to get cracking with the back. You can see the squares I  have finished for the quilt top here, but the backing is up to me.
I've worked it all out and cut my pieces but there is one square I can't decide on.

I'm using the red at the top for the binding, so would you use the red or turquoise square? Any suggestions would be great.
I am going to catch up with the other One a Day delights and you to can see them here.  Carole hasn't posted recently, I do hope that her and her family are ok. You can also see the other One a Dayers on the Ravelry page.
Toodle pip xx

Blocks and a bit of shopping!

This weekend I really wanted to  concentrate on my blocks for the Sew Happy QAL. I needed to still finished last weeks one and start the one I had been dreading......foundation piecing.

Some after some prep on Saturday by cutting and marking all the fabric I settled down yesterday afternoon to sew them together.

Firstly the HST Diamond block

This came together wonderfully quick, and amazingly it lines up so well! I must be improving slightly, as I didn't need to unpick any of this.

Then came the QuatraStat foundation piece block

The tutorial for this block was a video and it was fantastic. Seeing it in the flesh, gave me a better idea of how it works and I can tell you I did a dance around the kitchen when I finished it.  If you have ever wanted to try paper/foundation piecing you must watch this tutorial as it takes all of the mystery away from it.
After this block,  I decided I am a visual learner as things just slot into place in my head better when I have images.
So, the QAL has just one more block to go. Here are my 11 blocks so far.

I'm liking this Riley Blake fabric  more and more. The name Delighted! suits it perfectly, as I'm delighted with it.
I needed buy some bits to get ready to finish the quilt and used this as a great excuse to visit a new sewing shop in North London called Ray-Stitch.
                              

It was wonderful and had the most fantastic fabrics. I only had to get some wadding but ended up with some fat quarters that caught my eye!

I'm not to sure what to use them for yet, but I doubt they will go to waste. I think the fabric is called Nicey Jane by Heather Bailey Fabrics, I just really liked the freshness of the yellow and greys.
I'll be back tomorrow with my One a Day update. xx