Happy Feet

Autumn is coming, and for me that means cold floors! My home would really benefit from underfloor heating but since I rent the place that isn't going to happen. The next best thing of course is a cozy pair of slippers.

And even better still if they are made with pretty pretty fabrics! Some of you commented before that you could never wear these for fear of spoiling them but for me it's quite the opposite. I look for ways to incorporate my favourites in things I can use daily. I believe pretty things should be used often they are the simple pleasures in life. So what if they get a bit dirty patchwork only gets better when you patch it up again!

The pattern I used is by Suzuko Koseki from her latest book Colour Couture. They are a little different from the previous ones I made. But once again they fit me perfectly, I think Suzuko and I have the same shoe size ;) In case you would like to make yourself a pair my size is: European 37 - UK 4 - US 6 1/2 - Australia  5. I made the pattern without any alterations so if your feet are smaller or larger you will need to alter the pattern pieces accordingly.

The pattern and instructions are in Japanese but as usual with Japanese craft books\ patterns there are helpful diagrams that show you how to construct the slippers. The only thing I changed was to add bias binding, it was a little fiddly to sew but I like the dark brown contrast against the Liberty florals.
And it matches the dark brown linen soles with anti slip rubber patches.

Many thanks to Liberty Lifestyle for so generously gifting me some Bloomsbury Gardens to play with! This much anticipated fabric collection is starting to come into stores now, you can buy yours here

x Leila

a new bag

While the relentless rain makes it feel much less like July than I did hope it does allow for more indoor sewing time. I have made this same bag twice before and since wanted one that I could keep.

The pattern is from Natural Patchwork by Suzuko Koseki, but instead of hexagons I like to use squares. I especially enjoy rummaging through my scrap bins searching for just the right pieces of fabric to make up the exterior.

The interior is a linen cotton blend in a pebble sort of grey with irregular white stripe. It is more of a dressmaking weight but of course that would not deter me from using it anyway. After some iron on interfacing it was quite well behaved and no real trouble to sew with.

I think this is just the right sort of bag for a picnic or a trip to the swimming pool but in reality it will probably most often be seen at the supermarket ;)
Hurry summer, I have dresses waiting to be worn and this new bag to take along with me on fun summer outings!

x Leila

Don't forget, there is still time to enter my give away here!

October Bee Blocks

Thanks to all your wonderful tips I finished this months cocorico bee block .
I tried most of the suggestions for the antennae, before settling on these .The bias tape applique looked too whimsical, which is not what I was after with this block. After a few stitches of embroidery I thought it didn't show enough contrast.. I can not for the life of me master free motion so I just 'stitched and turned'

Annabel's Orchard

 I'm pleased with how this block came out and I do think it rather looks more like a moth/butterfly than a half dresden now. Annabel asked for 12" x 16" blocks to make placemats for her dinner guests. Although I do think she has changed her mind on letting food touch her blocks now ;-)

Next up is the block I made for Kerry for our Patchwork 318 bee.
Kerry chose 'afternoon tea' as her theme, which I love. I drink it by the bucket so this was definitely a theme I could work with ;-)

I actually think Kerry's afternoon tea is a lot more refined than mine. No buckets there but a fine collection of vintage cups and saucers she picked up on one of her trips to the car boot sale.
This block measures 6 1/2" unfinished.

Next month we'll hit the slopes with Krista, she and her family enjoy skiing something I know nothing about! The bar has been set amazingly high already have a look at Amy's block!!
And I get to choose a theme for the 318 bee, I have not settled on a final idea yet but I will keep you all posted.

x Leila

More on slippers ..

Some of you had a few questions about the slippers I made from Suzuko Koseki's book Natural Patchwork, so I'll try and answer them here.

The main thing of course with slippers is finding the right size.
I enlarged the pattern by 200% as per the book's instructions and the slippers fit me perfectly.
I am a European size 37 which conversion charts tell me to be US/Canada: 6 1/2 - Australia: 5 - UK: 4
The pattern measurements indicate that the length of the sole is 9 1/2" I'm hoping this will help you determine if your pattern pieces need to be larger or smaller.

I used a double layer of cotton batting for the soles, which I'm pleased with. They are nice and warm and still very soft and flexible. For the bottom soles I used a left over bit of home dec weight canvas, this is not as slip proof as I hoped. Next time I may try using a rubber sole if I can find a pair.
I may also try and secure the lining somewhere in the toe as it's only attached to the opening and slides out a bit.I think a few hand stitches should solve this problem easily.

Apart from being the cutest pair of slippers I've ever had the fact that they're all cotton allows your feet to breathe unlike the fuzzy synthetic slippers you'd buy in the shops. No smelly slippers ladies, isn't that a big plus?!

Happy sewing!
If you have any more questions just shoot and I'll do my best to answer them.

x Leila

it's just one of those weeks..

I'm having a bit of an off week, for no reason in particular really, it's just one of those weeks. I'm so tired and all I feel like doing is curling up on the couch watching trashy telly and eating chocolate.
Not much sewing going on here although I am still making slow progress hand quilting my AMH quilt. So to go with my cocooning mood I made myself a pair of slippers.

The pattern is from Natural Patchwork by Suzuko Koseki
A perfectly fun little sewing project to use up some of those scraps!

Have a happy Wednesday!

x Leila

Paying it Forward

I survived this weekend's birthday celebrations, the rain, the thunder and the kids!! Thank you all so much for your kind birthday wishes, my boy had a blast.

I even managed to cram some sewing in and made three little gifts for my friends who in turn will pay it forward.

First up is Julianna, she told me she would like a potholder. I'd been wanting to try this potholder from Suzuko Koseki's latest book Natural Patchwork, so I decided to make one for her.

This type of binding was new to me, you just wrap scraps of fabric around the edges and sew them on.  I really enjoyed experimenting with this as it was trickier than I thought at first and you get a less 'clean' result than with normal binding. I so enjoy this type of messy patchwork, it's very liberating!
I imagine that with use this potholder may get some lovely stains for Julianna to patch up again and again. I can only dream of the kinds of wonderfulness in design that may bring!

Shannon said she loves zippered pouches, her favourites showed a love of blue and orange ..oh so tricky for me!!
So I settled on this little zippered coin purse in lovely Ruby Star Rising and Kokka prints.

It's perhaps a little more muted than what I've seen in your faves Shannon, but I hope this still fits the bill!

Suzanne said she would like anything so I thought she might enjoy a set of patchwork coasters. The inspiration for these also came from Suzuko Koseki's book.

As with the potholder I hope these coasters will get stained and patched up by Suzanne over time. Even though this design is quite different from Julianna's potholder I still think the coasters would look just as lovely all patched up!

All three will be in the post tomorrow.
I'm so looking forward to see how these lovely ladies will be paying it forward!!

x Leila

August Bee Blocks

Today I want to share my most recent bee blocks with you.
First up is the block I made for Lauree in the Cocorico bee.

Her theme for the month is 'Kitchen Couture'. I drafted up this little pattern of a Japanese style teapot my mum used to have.  Hers was black, as most of these iron cast teapots are but I decided to make Lauree's teapot yellow just for fun!

Next up is my block for Patchwork 318 bee. Ayumi chose "Sweets' Shop" as her theme for the month.

I made a green tea and vanilla rose ice cream cone, topped with strawberry whipped cream and red chocolate bow. I managed to square this block up wrong at the very end! But thanks to all the wonderful people over on Flickr I'm now convinced this mistake isn't too bad after all :-)

I don't know about you but starting in a new bee always gets me a bit nervous!


Last up is Reene's block for Fresh Modern Bee 2. She asked us to make our signature block, and sent some wonderful Hope Valley fabric paired  with a bit of solid. I asked her if I could add some bits from my stash to make this + & x block.

Not sure if it fits the bill as my signature block but I so enjoyed making my + & x blocks quilt that I really wanted to make another one of these blocks!

x Leila