I've started so I'll finish.......eventually!

I first started this lilac/purple patchwork quilt in April 2009, I blogged about it here and here but just haven't been motivated to finish it,

I've made a start by sewing loads of hearts which looked a bit boring so I've bought some more fabric to add to it, this lovely colourful heart print fabric...

and this lovely flowers and butterfly fabric....

and this lovely crushed velvet...

and some lovely Benartex fabric, Cat's Amore design...

which will make it more colourful, so I can't wait to finish it now, it will be a rag quilt/throw and matching nine patch rag cushion, which should take me about three weeks, so I'm hoping to finish for the end of the month as a belated present for my niece's birthday ( erm, which was yesterday!)

So this will be my One Project a Month for September once it is finished!

Josie x

One Project A Month - November

Well that's something else made and this is a going to be a christmas pressie and with the weather at the moment, I think I've picked the perfect present! I didn't follow a pattern, just looked at other pics on google and drew round the hot water bottle and added half an inch seam allowance and used up some fabric left over from making the cushion cover last month.... I started cutting out about a week ago.....and pinned together ready for quilting....and just working on it about an hour a day except for yesterday, I was sewing on and off most of the day to get it finished.....I pinned the binding round the edges.....which was a bit fiddly but I think it's turned out quite well....

and finally finished, it's a pressie for my Mum, a hot water bottle cover which I know she will find very useful!

Josie x

Purple Charm Quilt - part 2

Remember last month I was sent two purple charm squares from Indigo Blue, to join in a Purple Charm Quilt Tree, well I asked if anyone else wanted to join in and Tracey and Sandie did but the other two people I sent fabric off to, I've not heard back from them, so that left me with six squares. I wasn't sure what to make, so I had a look through my fabric stash and I had two plain purple curtain tie-backs I bought from Dunelm's bargain box for 10p, which I wasn't sure what to do with as I don't have any purple/lilac curtains but it was good fabric so I bought them ' just in case' , anyway I cut out some squares and I decided to make a patchwork cushion cover....it's taken about three hours and here it is! As you can see Millie wanted to be in the photo's (the rag cushion is where Kitt usually sleeps)

and it looks like Millie has 'claimed' this new cushion as hers!

Has anyone spotted the mistake yet? if you look on the first photo where the squares are laid out on the ironing board, that is the layout I wanted but if you look at the last photo I've somehow swapped the squares round, serves me right for rushing to finish it!

So thank you to Andrea,Tracey and Sandie for sending the fabric, at least I was able to make something after all.

Josie x

ps) stuck for ideas with four squares? - I found this tissue box cover on google but I've never made cathedral windows before or I would have made it myself!

One Project A Month - June

Well it's time for One Project A Month again. I've made the rag tote bag and I've washed it and it looks a bit raggy... I don't think it's one of the best things I've made, not as good as other bags I found on google last month....I think I'll stick to my shoulder bags instead. and I've had to take photo's with my mobile, not sure if you can tell but there is a pocket in the front section.... Remember the denim shoulder bag I made for myself last year, I've used up the rest of the fabric to make this bag and bought some lovely cotton fabric with a cloud design, which I bought as backing for a coin quilt which I cut out months ago, I bought some seaside fabrics to make that, so hopefully that will be 'finished' later this year. The back is the same as the front and the bag and straps are lined with a lovely pale blue soft cotton fabric and it's a good size, 19" inches x 12" inches and the straps are 30" long, perfect for summer days out.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I've also made some more Morsbags which takes my total to 103!

Josie x

Sewing - Raggy Quilt part 2

About two weeks ago I started this rag quilt...the checked fabric is an old jacket I've recycled, it's just been hung in the wardrobe for the last ten years, it was a lovely jacket but it didn't look lovely on me, I've only worn it once when we ( me, hubby, son, mum and dad went to York Minster to celebrate the start of the year 2000, so it has special memories for me),

the plain brown fabric was a skirt I started making but never finished and the leaf fabric and plain green fabric I bought on ebay. This is what the leaf fabric looks like cut out into the leaf shapes, I think it looks great....and this is as far as I've got. This is the first large quilt I've made and what I'm finding difficult because it's a rag quilt is that the seams are on the 'right' side of the fabric and the neat edges are the 'wrong' side. But the 'wrong' side looks just as nice as the right side. I thought I would have eight weeks to finish the quilt but last week someone from decent homes came round and checked the combi-boiler and central heating (which works okay and we are happy with) and he has told us we are having a radiator in the downstairs toilet and the combi-boiler will be taken out and a normal boiler put in, so that will mean a hot water tank in one of the bedrooms, we think it will be son's/ Kitt's bedroom, so that means now that we've had to find someone to look after the cats for four weeks (we've spoken to the woman who did a home-check for Millie from Cats Protection and she says she will have them - £8 a day for both cats) and we were going to put all the boxed up stuff from the kitchen and bathroom in there! The man from decent homes says that when he comes round the work usually starts within a month, so we think it will be November. Great timing, as hubby has got two weeks holiday from work, so instead of chilling out and going out, we are going to be stuck in with noise and dust and half the house in boxes for four working weeks and living off microwave meals!

Josie x

Update 23rd October - I phoned up Decent Homes a few days later and asked when they are doing our area and they said November - February but they are doing our street at the end of January!

This weeks sewing.....

This month's pegbag, which I have just finished and is now on sale in my Folksy shop.

...........

I have also making some progress on the patchwork duvet cover I am making, approx 330 squares to cut out and sew together.

The pile on the right is the curtains I bought for 50p from ebay.

I was inspired by a patchwork pattern called 'Just Charming' from Bunny Hill Designs. The patchwork sizes on the pattern are 1 and 3/4 inches so I thought it would be one of those projects I would start and not finish so my size patches are 5" squares.

All the lilac heart shapes are hand-stitched onto the white squares using blanket stitch, all 100 of them, just 90 to go!

I tried sewing them by machine but the material was just puckering and didn't look right.

I am also making another Morsbag ( no 32), I have bought the fabric specially as it is for a birthday present as they like music, there is just enough to make two fabric flowers as a finishing touch to the bag.

I have also been asked to make some kitchen seat covers, they've let me choose the fabric, the spec was "colourful" so I've chosen this fabric called 'Aster', so I hope they like it!

I bought it from Sew Creative , there is just so much gorgeous fabric on sale and I had a telephone call from the owner Sylvia to confirm my order which arrived the next day! I would recommend this website and if you live in Norfolk, I would recommend a visit, me and my mum visited the shop last year on holiday - March 2008 , lovely fabrics and kits, a perfect sewing shop.

Josie x

One Project A Month - April

One Project A Month - this is what I've made this month. Yet another Morsbag, this is no 31, which is made from leftover curtain lining and a fat quarter of fabric I bought last year on ebay....All round the hearts has been hand-stitched with blanket stitch in a contrasting blue thread, which took me about three days in total, picking it up and sewing a bit more when I felt like it. I have some more blue fabric left, so I've already started making a peg-bag. Edit: now for sale in my Folksy shop. (If you want to see the other 30 bags I've made, look on my Flickr album.

Also I have just started to cut out over 200 five inch patches to sew together to make a patchwork double duvet cover, I think this is something I will finish this time as it is a mixture of lovely colours, lilac hearts (using the script tie-backs on the left) on a white background cut from the 10p tie-backs I bought from Dunelm's bargain box last year... also I've cut up some curtains my father-in-law bought me and hubby for our bedroom years ago which is lilac patchwork print fabric (bottom left and right) , the fabric in the middle at the top is some I've had since making a peg-bag in 2006 and I'm hoping to make two pillowcases to match as well!

But I'm not sure I will have enough fabric so I've bought these 66" x 72" curtains from eBay for just 50p so I won't have an excuse not to finish it!
Josie x

Happy Blogiversary!

Happy blogiversary, where has a whole year gone? and with it I've had the ups and downs of family life, making new things, recycling old things and making new friends along the way.

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read my blog and leave comments. I'm going to do a giveaway.

Q) As you know I make Morsbags, so how many have I made up to now?

Oh and don't forget to include this one in your total as well. A completely recycled bag made for the Morsbags valentine competition. I used scraps of fabric to make the 'heart' petals of the flowers and leaves, the cream fabric is old curtain lining.

The prize will be Issue 4 or issue 5) of Sew Hip magazine (or Sewing World or Popular Patchwork, if you already have this issue) and other goodies as well, the competition will be open until the end of February, the winner will be chosen on 1st March, so good luck!

Josie x

ps) there is a clue somewhere in the blog! so you will have to read it all!

Crazy Patchwork...Lavender Heart...finished!

well I've finally finished it, a crazy patchwork carrier bag holder for my Mum's birthday next week.

Two weeks ago , the main cream fabric was a plain pillowcase and the patches all made from leftover fabric scraps and with a lace trimmed hanging loop.

It's taken about three days altogether, picking up and putting down when I felt like adding some more patches.

The only bit I'm not really happy with is the middle part, I feel it should have more than a piece of ribbon and buttons, but what? a piece of lace?

.....but I know whatever I make my Mum will be really pleased with it and it is one of a kind just like my Mum.

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Here is a close-up of the lace hanging loop which doesn't show up very well on the first picture.



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.....just off to write the card and wrap the rest of the presents.







this is one of the other presents, ( I wish I could make things like this, it was bought from a garden centre we visited the other week, I bought myself a tissue box cover, I will post photo later, there was a range of items, quilt covers cushions etc etc)





This is described on the label as a "rubbish bin" but I think it's too nice to use for that purpose , so I'm going to tell my mum it's a magazine rack.

I never know what to buy for presents because my mum doesn't drink alcohol or eat much chocolate and I prefer to get something different than the 'usual' presents anyway. I think thats why I usually make something.

It must be my week for 'finishing' things, about three years ago me, hubby and son visited Norfolk and the lavender fabric was part of a small plain rectangle lavender bag which I bought from the Norfolk Lavender Farm on the last day as we came home, so I decided to alter it.......three years later, its finished!
and you can probably just see in the background is a favourite book "grumpy old women" , now I'm the wrong side of "40" , when I read it, I can see a lot of myself in there....

Josie x

February - patchwork

10th February 2008

Hi
.....not sure how to start really this blog really even though we've had a family website since the year 2000

After reading a book on crazy patchwork, I made a table runner/mat (whatever you want to call it) for my mum's birthday last year , so I thought I would post a picture , after all I keep looking through other peoples blogs and all the lovely handmade items they make so I thought I would have my own blog.....

...having just lost my job three weeks before christmas, money was a bit tight so I decided to make something for my Mum instead of the usual expensive " can't really afford it" present.

I got my inspiration from Niki

http://nostalgiaatthestonehouse.blogspot.com/2006/12/crafty-christmas.html

and after trying to find transfer photo paper what you see is the third attempt of the photo of me ( a few years ago!) and on the other side is my son ( also quite a bit older!) and finished off with lovely Cath Kidston & Laura Ashley fabrics (bought from eBay)

........back next week! Josie x