Girls Ruffled Halter FREE tutorial link

My little girl is off poorly at the moment so I thought I'd cheer her up and make her a new top. The trouble is she has wardrobe of clothes thats bigger then mine so I decided it might be a good idea to begin making clothes a size bigger so that she can wear them next summer. The problem with doing that is that there is less choice. I find a lot of patterns only go up to age 4...but not this one...and best of all...its free!

The wonderful Oliver+S has yet again come up with a simple, easy to follow pattern, and im really pleased with the results.



If she looks a little sultry its because shes not eaten for a couple of days and has tonsilitis...poor thing...

There thats better...a smile...




The pattern can be found here.

I was so pleased at how easy it was to do, I will definitely be purchasing some of her other patterns in the future.

Graffiti Trainers

It is much to hot to sew today! But going with my boy theme, here are some pics of my sons trainers I revamped with some graffiti.






Yesterday was spent at the beach with my family. I wanted to take lots of pictures to go into my daughters golden box, which I will need for September when she starts school. A golden box is a box kept at school for your little ones, so that if they miss you or are upset they can get some comfort from going through all the things in the box that remind them of you. I need ideas, so far I have her nunu which is her Kalloo comforter bear she has carried around with her since she was a baby. My next idea is photographs- I love this one:



This is Mya screaming with joy as the waves of cold water lap at her feet.

Do you have any ideas I can use as to what to put in this box? I really am stuck (short of packing it full of sweets which I know would always cheer her up!)

Chinos to boy shorts

Another one of my husbands cast offs has been remade into some shorts for Jacob.

Before:



After:






The pattern was "little explorer" by make it perfect which have some wonderful patterns for both boys and girls. Dont look to closely at the applique satin stitch though - it was my first ever attempt at satin stitching. Clearly LOTS more practice is needed!

Shirt to boys pajama bottoms

Goodness I'v been busy!. My daughter is due to be starting school this September and I'v been attending lots of meetings and filling out paperwork for the past few days. It's left me very little time to create but I do have lots of ideas bouncing around my head, so I will be posting, just not as frequently.

The make do and mend book really inspired me to start thinking about different ways I can use old clothes.

My husband has outgrown this shirt so I turned it into some boys pajama bottoms.

Before:



After:



This was such a simple project, and Id like to try and make these with jersey as I think they'd be really comfy- all I'd need is an old tshirt (but my husbands not getting rid of those just yet!)Jersey is a fabric Im not familiar with using, and I havnt seem it anywhere online to by, so if anyone comes across any in cyberspace, do let me know.

The best bit about this was that I used the bottom of the shirt for the bottom of the pajama legs so I didnt need to sew this part at all.

I've been given a few other things from my husband too, so I will have to put my thinking cap on and see what else I can come up with. Making things this way gives me a good opportunity to use fabrics other then cotton that arnt as easy to come by in your bog standard fabric shop. Its also a great way of recycling and saving money. :-)

Boy shorts Michael miller 2d zoo fabric

I've made so much for my little girl I thought it was about time I started making something for my (almost 2) year old boy, plus there is actually quite a bit he needs, shorts being one of them. There is so much choice for little girls out there, the fabrics are bright and funky, but its much harder to find brights for the boys. Even Gap kids have a dull range of muddy browns, greys and khaki greens. I did note that the under 2s section for boys was a little more adventurous but cant understand why age 2-5s have to look dull!

I just love this fabric and I have a few differnt styles to try out. I havnt tried making shorts before- the only trousers I tried were for the Tilda doll.



There were two flaws with the pattern I used- One was that it didnt tell you if you were using patterned material which direction the pattern should go, and if I should be cutting on right or wrong side of the fabric, and it also didnt tell me that before I put one leg into the other that I have to turn one leg piece the right side up. So I wasted a precious fat quarter of fabric thinking I had cut the pieces incorrectly when I hadnt....Perhaps this is all obvious stuff I "should" know but I really appreciate a "patterns for dummies" approach when it comes to following guidelines. I also prefer lots of diagrams, and this was somewhat lacking which is a shame.



Right, Im off to carry on quilting my pillow. Its going to take a long time as I've chickend out with the stippling and have decided to go with a straight line, but even by machine its taking a long time with all the starting, stopping, thread cutting and burying I have to do, so it will probably be at least another two weeks before its finished.

Lined Linen Peg Bag and discount at Celtic Fusion fabrics

I received my order from the lovely Saints and Pinners a few days ago, and the card they sent with it has a picture of clothes hanging on a line, and it reminded me that I wanted to make a peg bag so I traced around my very old worn peg bag and made a new one. I might add a little bit of top stitching around the edges but the kids have worn me out today so I may just have to put me feet up instead.

Whilst stocking up on some supplies at the fabric shop, I came across this:



Its printed card with little holes in that your child sews around using a special childrens needle.

I will have to get this for my little girl when I have some spare pennies!, it would be good to get her into sewing.

...and look at these, I love these retro tins:



I remember making friendship bracelets on the school bus! I'd love one of these tins to keep my bits and bobs in.

I'd love to hear your comments on my makes, Im feeling a little lonely and do wonder if anyone (apart from the lovely Kandi) reads my ramblings! xxx

p.s There is 15% off at Celtic Fusion Fabrics till Wednesday!

Tilda bag and purse

Do you ever get one of those days where you cant even string a thought together let alone a sentence? Yesterday was one of those days. I wanted to make something but I just seemed to have some sort of creative block!. Sure enough at 11pm something happened (kids tucked up in bed and a fruit and nut bar devoured) I relaxed enough to begin making lists of things I wanted to try, supplies I needed and I also sorted through my fabric stash. (I recommend doing this, its really easy to forget what you have.)

In the early hours of this morning I was inspired to try making a make up bag...which I have now renamed a purse as it came out tiny! This was my first attempt at doing anything with a zip and I found it tricky to say the least!. I found that it was difficult to sew exactly the same distance from the zip all the way around as there was no visibility. The tilda instructions mentioned nothing about how to finish the edges of the zips off. I've seen other people use a strips of fabric to make a neater finish, but as they looked good in the picture and I hadn't made anything like this before that I would follow the instructions to the letter.

Just about the only thing I enjoyed about making this was seeing how the wadding I used added some nice body to it. Once the zip was completed I thought that was the worst bit over but as the purse was lined I had to sew that aswell and ended up with one side longer then the other...oh dear!! So now my daughter has a play purse but I still dont have a make up bag big enough to carry my huge amount of make up!

So anyway, Iv pictured it next to a larger tilda bag I made earlier on in the year which was far more successful then my wonky purse!

Both bags are from the Tilda sew pretty homestyle book.



I borrowed this book from my local library and have found it really interesting. Darning socks has become a far cry from paying £2.50 for 6 pairs from Primark that my husband bins and buys fresh every year!

Its made me realise just how privileged I am, so I've now decided not to buy any more fabric until I've used up all I have!!. O.k so a small stash arrived for me today, but thats all I promise! Im also going to go through all my daughters old clothes and unpick the stitches and upcycle it for other projects.

Here's a question for you, what's been your most successful, enjoyable creative project to date?

Started on my quilted pillow...

I've noticed I've been posting a lot of pink and blue makes on my blog, I think I must be going through a phase!. I've been working all weekend on my quilting/applique pillow project and I've still a long way to go, so heres a sneaky peak, (and not a hint of pink or blue in sight!...yet)

I used up a whole real of green cotton so Im going to have to pop to town and get some more next weekend which means it will take even longer to finish and I'm not the most patient of people!

Quilting on applique has proven to be quite tricky and not a job my sewing machine particularly likes, its a case of suck it and see, and yes that is puckering you can see inbetween the stem and the flower. I was using the applique foot when I should have been using the walking foot, if anything, it has highlighted the need for the walking foot as the rest seems to be a little better. I have managed to snap 3 needles what with all the tugging I need to do. Even with rolling half of it up, its difficult to manovre due to the high loft batting I used. Im glad I invested in some quilters gloves as it does seem to make the process a little easier.

In the mean time I will be reading this magazine:



There are some lovely looking projects inside:







Im going to need to get my teeth into something new this coming week, as I have loads of new fabric, for now I will sleep on it and see what inspires me in the morning.

Night night x

FABRIC SHOP LIST and FREE wild flower pin cushion link

I've not had the chance to make anything today. I guess sometimes you just have to catch up on housework! So instead Im going to show you something I made a little while ago and share my list of online fabric shops. Above, is a pin cushion I made which gets used all the time. Its much larger then your avarage pin cushion but this is a good thing as its easy to take the pins out whilst sewing and just jab them in without missing!

The tutorial for this can be found here.

Now for my list of online fabric shops.

If you go through the list you will get a sence of the types of fabric I like, If you have any other fabric shops you buy from that you think might appeal to me and that you recommend please do let me know and I will update my list. I have made all of these clickable links so they should be easy for you to find.

Fabric Rehab Frequent new lines added, easy to use website, reliable service.
Celtic Fusion Fabrics Fast Delivery Fabric arrived fast even though it had a note saying sorry for the delay we have been on holiday. I really appreciate it when people go to this measure as it shows a lot of respect for their customers.
Ga Ga Fabrics If fabric has gone out of stock and its still on the website, then that means it should be coming back in to stock, so send an email to find out when it roughly gets in and keep checking back.
Cornwall Fabrics Reliable, but do note if you order 3 fat quarters you will get half a metre plus one single fat quarter rather then 3/4 of a metre as one piece.
Saints and Pinners Probably my favourite store!, the website is lovley, the fabric is cut neatly and comes wrapped in tissue paper with a lovely blue ribbon. (Its on one of the hobby horses I made, my way of recycling!) It also sells a lovely bright range of plain fabric complimenting their range.
The Cotton Patch HUGE range of fabric and and quilting supplies. I ordered my rotary cutter mat and ruler from here (sold as a bundle, so slightly cheaper then buying seperatly) and they arrived 2 days later. Exellent range of Kaffe Fassett, fast delivery.
Emma Garry Fabrics Fast delivery and they sent me samples from the same range without me asking for them.
Seamstar
Tikki London Also stock Tilda fabric
Coast and Country crafts Great range of Tilda fabric and supplies, also has a great selection of magazines not normally available in the UK. Very helpful and understanding owner.
Eternal maker
Patch Fabrics Fabric a little cheaper here then some of the other sites I'v mentioned.
Nerybeth Crafts
Beyond Fabrics
Jbsewingbox
Millie Moon The websites a bit deceptive, at first I thought they only sold Amy butler and Alexander Henry fabric but scroll down the list to reveal a lot more!
Backstitch
Fancymoon small but lovely selection, stocks fabrics I havnt found on other websites.
Prints to Polka Dots
Gorgeous grosgain ribbons
Sew me Happy
Cross patch waddings and pearle cottons
Quilty pleasures
The fabric loft
River Fabrics

There are many more on my list but they are what I call the "usual suspects" and a lot of the sites above stock the same range.

Phew, that took a while! I hope its been helpful. (I've just spent a fortune on fabric doing this!)

Im off to check out all your blogs, which reminds me if you're following my blog and I havnt added you, let me know and Ill join your blog too. :-)

Quilt sandwich anyone?!

I have a project Im currently working on that involves doing some free motion quilting. How silly of me to think that taking this on would be easing me into the world of quilting gently! Its SO much more difficult then I thought! One tip I was given was to make up a pile of quilt sandwiches and every time I sit at the sewing machine, practice for 10 minutes before I start on whatever project Im doing.

Here are my first (feeble) attempts at stippling:



Wavey lines:



There seem to be four areas that I need to simultaniously think about.
Its the balance of speed on the foot pedal vs the speed at which I pull the fabric through, I am also trying to regulate the stitch length with the speed at which I move the fabric, so to get an even stitch I have to be consistant in all 3 areas. In addition to that, I'v noticed its easier to get a consistant stitch length the faster I quilt, but the problem with that is that its easier to make a mistake. If anyone out there has any tips or advice for me or can show me some successful projects they've had, please share them with me, I could do with the motivation!

FREE door stop tutorial link and more fabric!

I bought this fabric months ago but had no idea what to use it for. Then I found this tutorial. I'v seen a few tutorials about but I really like this one as I didnt want to use a zip. I can just imagine my 4 year old emptying out the contents on her bedroom floor, which, by the way, was a mixture of rice, lentils and mung beans (the last two from my Gillian McKeith phase)which I found in the back of my cupboard.

I recommend using a thicker fabric like this plus adding interfacing (as I did) because it keeps its shape much better and much to my surprise, my machine handled it well- I really think it was due to the interfacing as Iv use a heavier fabric like this before and my sewing machine didnt like it at all. I'm pleased with the end result.

Look what I got today:



Is it just me or does anyone else salivate when they find fabric they love?! I just want to drink it up! Im particularly pleased with the orange spot on the pink background It cost me £1.50 for a little over a fat quarter. I've seen exactly the same one online for £2.60 so I'm pleased to have saved the pennys.

Hobbyhorses: Meet Finaker and Joe...(named by my 4 year old)

The hobby horses are finally finished!. I posted them a little while back on MSE but since then, the heads kept falling off so I decided to cover the dowel stick with fabric and sew the top of the fabric to the head, so far so good. Incase you are wondering I got the pattern from Tildas Crafting Christmas gifts books. It was adapted from the hobby raindeer, but you dont really need a pattern as they are very easy to make.




I got the most lovely of surprises through the post this morning from Kandipandi from kandipandis Pad (check out her blog, its fab!). It was a joy to open as it smelt beautifully of Lavender (a personal love of mine)




Heres what was inside:





Arnt they gorgeous? (and a particularly apt postcard for the kind of day I'm having!)

I fell in love with her hair clips and she very kindly posted me some as a gift for my little girl, who Is thrilled to bits with them. Her exact words were "oh wow they are beautiful mummy!" She also included a brooch for me which I adore (and had to hide from my little girl) which is now firmly affixed to my denimn jacket. Everything was beautifully packaged and a real treat to open. Finishing touches really do make a difference.







Im going to have a little look around and post a little something to say thankyou. It really did brighten up my day :-)

Im popping over to Guildford tomorrow for some more supplies. Im looking for some very fine thread for applique. I need to applique some thin lines and am supposed to use machine blanket stitch, however, the lines are quite thin and the multi purpose thread im using looks a bit heavy and thick, the machine gos over the same stitch twice for some reason, iv tried invisible thread but as its raw edged applique, the edges really need to be lined with a matching colour just a much finer thread so Im going to try and find something tomorrow. If anyone has any recommendations I'd love to hear them.

Oh and I just wantde to say a big thankyou to everyone who has left comments on my blog, I love reading them and its great to have feedback so keep em coming!

FREE Ironing Board cover tutorial link

How exiting, I have my first 5 blog members overnight! Well I will try not to disappoint. I made this ironing board cover in the school holidays. The tutorial can be found here.


My ironing board needed major modification!. I got my husband to saw off the iron rest as I just dont use it and the cord from my iron kept getting caught in the gap between the iron rest and the board. The removal of this made the ironing board much lighter which I was pleased about as its quite large. I also got him to put some mdf on top of the wire mesh because I cant stand it when the shape of the mesh comes through onto whatever im ironing, and the wadding on its own just wasnt enough to prevent this from happening. Its so much better now but please note if you choose to use this tutorial and like to use a lot of padding, a 2cm seam allowance just isnt enough. It took A LOT of pulling and holding with the two of us to get it on!. I would recommend 2 inches just to be on the safe side.

Ooo look what I got in the post today:



Feet! Russell from sewing machines Direct was really helpful in helping me choose what feet I needed when I told him what projects interested me. He was great because he was honest and told me which feet were more popular for visability/compatible with my machine and also told me what feet I could make do with, with the pros and cons of each one. I would really recommend this company, so check them out here.

I've been saving all of my pennys to begin my journey into the wonderful world of quilting. Im going to ease myself in gently and begin with a pillow. Im not going to start on patchwork just yet as I'd really like to try some applique, so its going to be a combination of applique and free motion quilting. Im nervous, have I bitten off more then I can chew? I guess only time (and a lot of practice) can tell....

FREE Sock monkey tutorial link and FREE girls skirt/top/dress tutorial link

It all started with a monkey...

Back in October 2009 my kids got poorly which left me house bound for a week. Whilst they were sleeping I decided to go on to the MSE website to look for Christmas gift ideas. I stumbled across a lovely thread where people were making gift hampers. It was here that I discovered sock monkeys. In particular one poster called Stardrops (whos blog I am a follower of) created such beautiful sock monkeys that I just had to have a go myself. Ofcourse I had to make one for each child and then I wanted to make them better so made a couple more. Since then, Iv made several for family and friends, none quite as polished as Stardrops but the feeling I got when giving them to people who appreciated the time and effort I made in creating something for them inspired me and it was from there that I begain making other things.

If you would like to make a sock monkey this is the tutorial I used.

I started off with Tilda makes from the sew pretty homestyle and crafting springtime gifts books:





I then began making clothes:





Its called the Lazy days skirt and is from Oliver+S The tutorial for this skirt can be found here.

Alternativly There is a skirt called the twirly skirt, which has a tie at the waist and rather then using ribbon, it uses contrasting fabric. It can be found here.



I took apart my daughter old dress to create the pattern for this swing top and dress, but Iv recently come across another free tutorial for one very similar here.






So there we are! Over the next few days Ill be adding various blogs and compiling a list of various projects I have lined up as well as a list of online fabric shops that Iv discovered and recommend.