Dreaming of Prints and Patterns.....in Blue!

This fabric arrived in the mail for me this week. It's some fat quarter bundles of Amy Butlers new Belle fabric collection. I'm designing a new patchwork duvet cover for my worn out down duvet. Our new apartment has icky pale blue walls in the bedroom which do not work with my colour preferences. In hindsight a should have painted the bedroom a warmer colour before we moved in - but I just wasn't up for it at the time. Now, instead I'm going to make a new cover that works with the blue instead of fighting with it like my current duvet cover which is an Indian Block Printed textile of olive green, sage and terra cotta. I can't think of a worse colour combo for icky blue walls. I grate my teeth every time I walk into the bedroom. This is one sewing project that cannot be delayed. My colour sensibilities will tolerate it! Now I just need the Wrought Iron Head Board I've been dreaming of to go with it...

Bag it!

Hello again! I've finally got a July project to post. Nothing too fancy just a new bag idea I've been playing with. This is the 1st prototype - and as most crafty sewers know - it's never totally perfect! My goal was to create a simple bag that wouldn't require interfacing. (I've nothing against interfacing, I just don't happen to have any at the moment).

I used fabric from Amy Butler's Lotus collection. I had originally planned to make a skirt with it, but in the end decided on a quicker project. The bag is fully reversible with bias binding on the handles. The other goal I was trying to accomplish with this bag was a shoulder strap that would stay put on my narrow sloping shoulders! I angled the seam at the shoulder joining area and it seems to work "sort of". It still slides if there isn't enough in the bag, but it does stay put when it's loaded full of "stuff". After finishing the first sample I've decided I want the bag to be bigger. It also needs a zippered pocket on the inside for my keys so that I'm not fishing around for them.

I'll post a tutorial on how to sew zippered pockets. I know some sewers still feel nervous about zippers but they really aren't that hard. Having done my time as a sample sewer of Outerwear clothing (which are full of zippers) this is one sewing technique I have definitely mastered. Stay posted for the tutorial....

I'm making a real conscious effort to cut down on the number of plastic bags I collect from grocery stores. I can't believe that cashiers still look at me as if I have horns when I tell them I've got my own bags. We are seriously clogging the earth with them....I'm just trying to do my little part.

Baby Quilt!

Whew! It's been almost a month since my last post. I've realized if I want to have a craft blog I need crafty projects which aren't so labor intensive. I suspect this might be why "doll" quilts have become so popular as of late.

I just finished this quilt for my friend's baby boy. I had intended this gift to be for him when he was born. As it turned out, he was one month early (I hadn't even started it yet) and then some family circumstances put all my craft projects on hold for a few months. Tonight I am delivering the quilt 1 year, 2 months and 23 days late. Luckily my friend Vicky is very understanding.

I used a combination of Amy Butler fabrics mixed in with some cute frog prints that I found on eBay. I was so happy to discover the colours were a perfect match of greens and blues. As I don't have a machine that does free motion stitching I had to improvise with stitches I could manage with my regular sewing machine. I think the stitches turned out ok but I can't wait for the day I get my own Bernina quilting machine!