What I'm Making ~ Random ~

A little sneaky peek...something I'm working on that would be a bit premature to reveal just yet.
 Ooooh the intrigue!

Sewing more of these fun little wallets for the shop. In an attempt to start stocking up for the supposed Christmas rush Etsy Success is warning us about {already?! I kow, I felt the pressure of my newsletter lol!}

Hand quilting some more flowers.

And just so you know I didn't actually do all of this today! I wouldn't lead you on to think I was perfect or anything ;-)

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

Six

Today you are six I can hardly believe it!
You've started at the 'big school' now and you're so proud of yourself and so am I.
You're really good at maths.
You don't like kisses.
You ride your bike to school every morning and you hardly ever fall or complain about it.
You're bright, and smart and funny and gorgeous and I love you more than rock & roll!

Happy birthday little monster of mine!

x Mum

241 tote #2

I had so much fun sewing my 241 tote I couldn't resist making another one! I really enjoy rummaging through my stash looking for the perfect combination of fabrics for this bag.

I chose one of my favourite fabrics for the front panel, it's a vintage kitchen print by Yuwa. It's slightly heavier than normal cotton because it's textured. Perfect for bags and pouches. The stripes and pockets are normal home dec weight.

Like I did with my first bag it closes with a magnetic snap and I added a key chain and hand stamped label as well.
Since some of you asked, I purchased my stamp on Etsy here .Kerry recommended Tommie a while back and I fully agree she's lovely and makes wonderful handcarved stamps!

Since it would be pure greed to want to keep this 241 tote for myself as well, I decided to list it in my shop. But not before I have one last pose ;-)
It even matches my outfit!!

x Leila

Work In Progress ~ Wednesday~

I've finally made a decision what to do with my Anna Maria Horner stash.
A quilt for my bed, that's what I settled on a while back but the design.. I couldn't make my mind up about that. First I started ambitiously with some English paper piecing. I love this design, but I feared I would never ever get a full sized quilt finished this way!

Then I though I'd let my fellow Fresh Modern Bee2 members come up with some amazing blocks, and they did!
But all the while I wasn't sure which way to go with this quilt. Until finally I made up my mind and went for squares...genius right?! No, not really but I love simple patchwork squares and these fabrics are so pretty to look at why cut them up even more? I made big blocks 9" square with a few pieced ones scattered in to add a little interest and to use up some of the scraps I had left.

It's a big quilt 72" x 81" and will cover my bed up nicely. Basting wasn't fun, but I'm using this wonderfully soft silk batting and a voile backing. It's going to be such luxury to sleep under this!
I'm now figuring out how to quilt it. Because the design is so simple I want to make the quilting a bit more interesting so I'm experimenting with a flower design and perle cottons. I'll let you know how that goes!

x Leila

P.S. I've put some lovely Anna Maria Horner scrap bags in my shop they'd be perfect for some scrappy pillows or even some English paper piecing!