Wednesday 25 November 2015

Styling The Seasons

Reading through the large list of bloggers I follow, I came across a post on Candypop. It's about how to take good flat lay photographs.
The photography side of me loved this! Usually, I prefer to take landscape photos and still life, so this post really appealed to me (I'm hoping to get back into my photography much more).

For me, autumn is falling leaves, reds, oranges, warm colours in an otherwise colder climate.

I gathered leaves on a walk with Bailey (which is more difficult than it sounds at a pitch black 7am!), and used a few flower heads from the flowers my mum gave me for my birthday (which also happened to be the same day as Natasha (author of Candypop) published the post). I added buttons and thread as there will be a lot of sewing happening in the next month or so. And lastly, candles.  As soon as the nights get darker, the candles come out. So cosy!

I've tried to use Natasha's tips, but natural light has been a bit difficult to achieve. So here's my attempt!


This is also part of another post by Emily Quinton called Styling The Seasons. If you're on Instagram, why not check out all the other entries under #STSxMakeLight. And why not try one for yourself :)

Sunday 22 November 2015

Plush Addict Wishlist

Hello! Long time no see!

It's been a busy year and I haven't blogged nearly as much as I wanted. But that is going to change! Instead of waiting until the new year to sort my priorities out, it's going to happen this week. I've settled into my new place and am currently typing this on my new (free) tablet with a peppermint tea, blanket and Crazy snuggled around my feet. Bliss!
And with that, on to the topic!

Plush Addict (one of my favourite fabric online stores), are giving you the chance to win your wish list! All you have to do is create your wish list on their site and share with them, easy! (This is not a promotional post by the way!).
I've done this and thought I'd share some of my favourite fabrics!

Firstly, this lovely plush fabric by M.O.M called Ooga Booga.


I have a niece and nephew on the way and would love to make a baby blanket out of this.

Next, by Timeless, this gorgeous glow in the dark fabric!


I used this fabric for one of my last swaps, a celestial mini and can't wait to find something else to make with it!

I'm not usually one for flowery fabrics, but I do love this one by Nutex:


I need to make a little curtain for my kitchen to cover up the space that used to house a dishwasher. I've seen a few fabrics I like for this:


Lila's Kitchen by Makower. The colours really work for my kitchen.


Cock-a-doodle do by Henry Glass, because there seems to be a chicken theme in my kitchen too!


And I couldn't resist The Very Hungry Caterpillar, also by Makower.


Another thing I'd like to make for the house is a tissue box cover. As there are butterflies on the pillows on my couch, I thought this Arbor Rose, Butterfly by Andover would go really nice.


And lastly, from the Sewing Studio range by Robert Kaufman. This is going to inspire me to start making my own clothes next year! Eek!

Sunday 12 July 2015

The Animal In You Swap

Another swap done! This one was organised by @terireymann on Instagram. (You might be seeing her name again, I've joined 3 of her swaps this year!).

The idea of this swap was to make 3 homemade items based on your partner's favourite animals. My partner chose a horse:


My partner had posted a few photos on her inspiration mosaic of pouches. So I thought this would be a great gift.

The second animal she chose was a dog:


This pattern is from Mollie Johanson's book, Stitch Love. He's an adorable Darling Dashschund Wrist Rest. 

And lastly, my partner's third animal, a fish!



I didn't get a photo of this after I finished it and posted it, d'oh! But let's face it, something had to involve hexies! 

I've also just finished another swap, due to be sent by Wednesday. My first attempt at a one hour basket:


Again, hosted by @terireymann, I thought I'd join in this one as it was only supposed to take an hour. Now that I've managed to make one, I'm sure the next one won't take me 3 hours! lol. Also, fusible fleece! Why have I never used you before??! My new favourite sewing companion!

Monday 4 May 2015

ALL the swaps!

This last month has been a busy one for me with swaps! I have however, learned to manage the time scales a bit better! (Aside from one swap, but I was determined to use a fabric that I'd ordered from the States which took forever to get to me, by which time I'd had to give up and use other fabric instead! Sewing first world problems....lol).

The first one was a rainbow mini swap hosted by @katebasti on Instagram. I used a pattern from Quilt Now, issue 3, designed by Sonia Spence of Fabric and Flowers. It's a teardrop paper piece quilt, which I had a few issues with to start off. However, the lovely Sonia responded to a message I left her on her blog and helped me through it! She was so patient :)


I still need to work on my seam allowances, but I'm pretty happy with how it came out. I also added a different panel at the bottom by turning one of the teardrops into a kite. It reads "when it rains, look for rainbows", one of my favourite quotes and quite apt for this swap.

The next swap was a spring mini hosted by @beachbabyc on Instagram. I had the pattern for this picked out within minutes! Another one from Quilt Now, this time issue 8, designed by Collette Howie of Poppy And Poochie. The original Catherine Wheel pattern was in black and white, however, for spring, I decided to use nice bright fabric from a jelly roll I had in my stash.


I really relaxed and enjoyed making this quilt as it was back to my happy place of hexie paper piecing! I also made a little extra for this swap, an embroidery hoop balloon, this time courtesy of Mollie Makes issue 52.


The last swap was a tea lovers mug rug swap, hosted by the lovely @jenipher1982, who I got to make for :) One of her favourite themes was nautical, and I had the perfect fabric for this!


As a little added extra, I made a tea cosy using a pattern I found online at Messy Jesse Crafts. It's the first time I've ever made a tea cosy, and after my mum saw it, I doubt it'll be the last! But a lot easier to make than I thought. I'm definitely getting more confident with my sewing machine and things I'm attempting to sew.


I've signed up to quite a few swaps to keep me going for the rest of the year, but the next deadline isn't until July. I'm going to have a little time out this month and maybe start making some things for myself and family, like that tea cosy for my mum! And possibly a cover for my sewing machine, maybe even start a full size blanket, panic! Hopefully I'll find time to post up on this blog more often too.