Marco......Polo.....

Feels like I have been trying to "find" my sewing and the machine for the last week.  There were lots of things to do, but none of them were done.  If I think it through, it was probably the cold virus that is running rampant throughout the house that made me go to bed at 9pm every night last week.

I know that it's not quite March yet but I have been letting the swoon side down.  So tonight I have cut two, yes not one but two, more swoon squares.  Yay me!

Then at the weekend we are going to meet with friends and I said I would bring pudding.  One of our friends is wheat intolerant so today had been my trial run of making chocolate brownies with spelt flour.  It was lunch time and I couldn't wait, which was a good thing as they are really really yummy!

So things are happening and I'm doing my best not to forget you, but life and work are most definitely getting in the way!

Hopefully be back Wednesday with a completed wallet from this tutorial.

Henry's Wife

Last week was holiday!!  We all had a great time, despite me feeling quite poorly.
The girl came home at the start of the holidays with a challenge for me!  "Mummy can you please make another one of these as we only have 5 and are using another Henry for his 6th wife"  (Henry being Henry VIII)

This kind of making is not my strong point and I couldn't take it apart for obvious reasons, so I left it until the very last minute so I couldn't obsess about it and I had to get it done.

The first one only had 1 shoulder!  I couldn't put that right so I started again and used a lot more glue.

This is the second one...

By this time I had done nothing else during day, but the girl was very happy and so I'm not even going to list the things I would like to be different / better.

I havent forgotten about my swoon quilt. I have decided to do a block a month now that I am working more so I will have another done in a few weeks.

Beautiful binding

There are many aspects of quilting that I need to work on; design, quilting by machine and hand, use of colour and pattern, curved piecing, I could go on.


Today though I think I've had a break through on binding!


Although I usually cut straight strips I always join them on the bias.  Before I went back to work, I went to some classes at the LQS and was taught how to finish the binding with a bias join. Unfortunately after a few nights sleep, all the instructions ran away from my memory.


A few weeks ago I went back for a course at the LQS and was taught again how to do the bias join.  Well I have had a few sleeps since and I was finishing the boy's quilt (yes I know it's taken a long time) today and wanted to give it a go.


It worked! I am so excited about this because I have bought a binding tool and I couldn't get to grips with it and like the finish when you join the binding the same way all the way around.  So I am committing the instructions to here so I can't say I have forgotten again.

• Leave about 6 inches free at each end and each end should over lap by the width of the binding and a bit more.
• Lay the binding out and crease each end so they join (butt them together)
• Cut one end to the crease 
• With the bit cut off open it out, lay it on top and perpendicular to the other side (this give you the join point plus the width of the binding)
• Cut any excess off (cut is made on the further side from the crease)
• Putting right sides together, lay the shorter end perpendicular and on top of the other side.
• Draw a line across the square that is made.
• Stitch along that line.

Only took this one because I was so shocked it worked!

• Check that when you refold the binding it lays flat and all folds the right way (this is important!)
• When you are happy, cut the excess triangle leaving a 1/4 inch seam, press

So I'm not calling this a tutorial as I didn't take enough pictures  and the next time I bind a quilt I will take photos and update this post.


Hope you had a happy Wednesday!

This week, it's my table

I've been spending a lot of time wandering around the internet because I haven't been able to sew or swoon much as the girl has had quite a lot of homework and that takes priority for the table.


We are on holiday this week!!!  I have taken the table back and today made this letter tidy 

from this tutorial, which I found from Aneela Hoey's website.


How fast?  It took about 2 hours to put together, including usual child / domestic related interruptions! You can also see that it's big enough to hold magazines.



I love it and I really love the fabric.  It's an old sample curtain from our local upholstery shop.  I now just have to find the perfect spot to make sure it gets used often!


In a bid to stick to some of my resolutions, hopefully i will get to make my dressing gown tomorrow!

Cake is bad

I never though I would ever say that cake is bad, but I really have to *sob*.


For about 6 weeks we have been creating cakes from a sourdough starter that I was given.  The cakes are sooo good.  Good to the point that I'm in the process of splitting the last starter and making it into cakes for us (4 cakes this size!).  

We have about half of one in the process of being eaten and another in the freezer, did I say that we like this cake?


Yesterday I made myself some trousers.  I've used the pattern before and the trousers were a comfortable fit.  Weelll... since the cake, I am blaming the cake and not Christmas, the fit is a bit more than snug :(


On the up side the trousers are lovely!

Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday
(apologies for the late night photography)

My first Rug Mug

In my quest to improve my embroidery skills I have started going to the "local" (it's miles from my home but I think the closest) Embroidery Guild.

At the meeting I was offered the chance to go for a sewing day at the LQS.  Did I know what I was making? No, I heard the word 'mitred' that was enough. Was I in anyway worried about this? No. It's a day at the quilt shop, I just paid up!

I arrived to get sewing and then discovered that we would be making mug rugs with decorative stitching (the embroidery link).  I had taken my trusty machine with me but thankfully there was one I could use with some stitches that were decorative and not just odd looking!

It was a lovely day with tea, cake and the soothing sounds of sewing machines being used!

It's funny how you don't factor in things like lunch and so don't realise how long a task will take, but we were all done by the end of the day.

I was expecting to do mitred borders, but it was after we had started that i found out that it was mitred corners!  Thankfully our teacher was kind enough to show me mitred borders so now I can get another quilt top finished and to the shop!

And Stitches

I needed something to do over the holidays that didn't involve my sewing machine.
I spent an evening looking for an easy embroidery pattern to try.  My embroidery skills are a bit more than limited!


I came across this pattern and decided to give it a go without buying more floss; always a challenge to then get the colours organised!  Anyway I finished last week!!  The girl helped me pick which colours would go where and she was pleased with her input.  It came out looking like this...





Not quite a pattern of fire but I like it.  Clearly I chose well as the designer is also co-author of &Stitches.  I couldn't resist and have bought the first issue which is really interesting, especially the section on colour selection!  Now that I can't confuse myself (don't look at the random red/orange I've put in) and have finished the embroidery I will be giving that a read!