Top 12s of 2012

 So I thought I’d jump on the yearly review blogpost bandwagon and do a bit of a wrap up of what I’ve achieved for 2012. Turns out I made more than I thought. So I settled for my top 12’s.

I’ve learnt so much during 2012, made such wonderful friends, got stuck into blogging, joined my first Bees, started paper piecing, started designing paper pieced patterns and basically sewed my heart out. It’s been fun!

So in true lazybloggergirl style, here are collages of my top 12’s.

Top 12 paper pieced blocks:

Top 12 Quilts:

And I pretty much achieved my quilty goals for the year.

- Learn how to machine bind quilts – Done!

- Practice FMQ and try it on a quilt – Done! Still not a big fan though

- Join a Bee – make that joined three Quilting Bees!

          - Make a snowball quilt – what was I thinking?! I don’t even like this design now. Not done!  
            Likely won’t ever be done!

- King size quilt for my sister’s 30th – Not done! She never did settle on fabric for it! Did make a Queen size for my Mum, does that kind of count?! Will eventually get this one done when the freespirit sister settles on a permanent home country.

- Sort out my craft cupboard – done the other week when the electricity went out for the day. What else is a girl to do with no power to sew or blog?!

- Take a quilting class – done! Fun mystery quilt class with Fiona and a few online Craftsy ones.

Take that 2012 quilt goals! Mostly met and blitzed.

And can’t end without mentioning the excitement planned for 2013 – Pop back tomorrow for the first installment of the And Sew On BoM! Oh yeah let’s make 2013 the year of paper piecing!

Thanks for joining in the sewing madness with me this past year – here’s to a fun and creative 2013 for us all! Happy New Year!

Secret Santa Gifts – Sent and Received

If you’ve read much of my blog, you’ve probably heard me mention Wombat Stew – a paper piecing bee I’m part of. Love my fellow wombats. It’s such a wonderful group of gals. We talk pretty much daily online – whether it’s sewing, kidlets, fabric or snakes in the kitchen.

Yeah that’s an example from today. Gemma (from Pretty Bobbins) totally talked me down off a ledge while I was dealing with a snake in my kitchen (non venomous and the wildlife people took it away and released it hopefully far far FAR away). Naturally while I was cowering completely terrified standing guard watching the saucepan cupboard it was hiding in, making sure the vile thing didn’t disappear into the rest of my house (desperately praying that the WIRES guy would show up fast), I had to inform the Wombats of my crisis, if only to keep me somewhat occupied while on stake out (or should that be snake-out?!). Thankfully the gals helped me stay calm (ish) until the snake was removed.

So when Christmas was approaching and Fiona (from Finding Fifth) suggested a Secret Santa amongst our group, we all jumped onboard rather quickly. My secret partner was Alyce (Blossom Heart Quilts). She just got her parcel today so now I can share what I made!

I had a pretty good idea of fabrics/colours Alyce liked, but was stuck for ideas of what to make. Until the awesome Erin (Missy Mac Creations) mentioned this fabulous embroidery hoop storage idea! Then it was on like donkey kong. Well mad sewing anyways.



A bit of linen, some Simply Color, and some fussy cut tape measure fabric (+ a million or two emails to Erin for support) and I was away!



I paper pieced Alyce’s blog header and ended up embroidering her initial in the centre.

I used this pattern as a guideline of how to do it, but the templates didn’t help as I could only find one embroidery hoop in town. Yep the whole town. I spent hours traipsing around with Miss Lulu trying to track down an embroidery hoop. Was happy to finally get one, didn’t care what size! So it ended up being a 10” hoop.



A few tips if you make one of these. Don’t bother with interfacing, unless you personally know the Hulk and he can fit the frame back together over the stupid amount of layers that the pattern calls for. Me? I don’t know anyone with super human strength so the interfacing had to be cut away so I could actually make it all fit.



Those fancypants posts on Pinterest that tell you to glue the fabric to the hoop when you’re done? LIE!! It does not glue. It goes stiff and wonky and bumpy and looks like you let your 2 year old do it. (Was tempted, but it is all my own work Alyce, I assure you!). So I just trimmed off the excess fabric as best as I could.

That said. I’m totally going to make another one for myself. If only to have an awesome looking place to store my sewing tools high up on the wall where climbing half-monkey children can’t reach them.

So that’s what I sent! Now what I received! My secret Santa was Fiona and she totally spoiled me!



Look at this loot! Thank you Fiona!! Love love love!

A gorgeous Flower Fairy tote bag (already being eyed off by Miss 2 and a fabulous framed purse (I so wanted one of these!) – double sided – with a sewing goat (love!) and Good Fortune on the other side.

Plus fabric! A whole panel of Autumn Flower Fairies and some Very Hungry Caterpillar food scraps. Spoilt indeed! You can pop by Fiona’s blog and read more about what she made here. There’s also a hint about a prize she’ll be offering for the BoM! Only a few days now folks until the first pattern’s released!


And on that happy note, I shall end here and head to bed. And hopefully not dream about snakes in the saucepan cupboard. 

A Fast Finish Friday

 So I thought I had a bit more time to make this last Christmas gift. But apparently days have been slipping by without me noticing. Or paying close attention.

It suddenly dawned on me that I needed to have a gift made for my sister for our little Christmas get together. Which is tonight. Fortunately I remembered this yesterday and got busy sewing.

So a fairly quick project but so fun and I love how it turned out.



I used some of a Simply Color charm pack (I think I need more – it’s so pretty) and paired it with dark grey homespun.

The pattern is Ornate by The Sometimes Crafter. This is the second one I’ve done. The first one I made with Echino and linen.



It’s a great pattern – and a nice way to play with curves without too much risk! I actually found these curves fairly easy to sew (hence revisiting the pattern for a second time!).

This time however, I made sure not to use any directional prints. That made it a lot easier!



Rather simple quilting (for a change, I know!) just to echo the curves and the diamond shape.



I added hanging pockets on the back so it can be a wallhanging, or it can just be laid flat as table runner thingamajig.



Rather pleased with how it turned out with such a short amount of time to sew. I really need to keep track of the days better. Holidays seem to do that – make all the days fly by. Which is also my excuse for two blog posts in one day. But now I’m caught up with my Hustle post done and something for TGIFF Friday. Whew!

Do the Hustle… Final review

 Did I hustle? Why yes, yes I did.

Let’s review! Here’s how my list looks now:

1. Iris Wallhanging – Done!
Not only done, but I also managed a Daffodil wallhanging too!


2. Diamond Stars – Done!


3. I did not make a LEGO quilt for preschool after all – which I had said I was thinking of giving up the idea at the Halfway Hustle. I did however make some little tote bags for the teachers instead.

4. Christmas paper piecing patterns – Done!
Not just done, but blog hopped and made into a Christmas quilt!

5. Glasses case for Mum Boomerang pillowcase – Done!
I changed my mind at the Halfway Hustle and turned this one into a pillowcase for Mum for Christmas.


6. Polaroid Block I-Spy quilt for kidlets for Christmas – Done!
In fact – two quilts done for the kidlets!



And as for my list of Who am I kidding projects:

1. The big family 90th birthday quilt for Nan – Started!
Fabric ordered, design picked, some embroidery started. But now I have decided to do a second autograph quilt for her. Must work on those blocks soon to send out with the invitations.

2. Seaside Cottage Spanish Tiles Clearly Needs a Better Name Quilt – Done!
And I’m still in love with this one.

Ooh yep I sure did hustle. I’m surprised at just how much I got done. Just takes a bit of motivation, accountability, oh and deadlines. Nothing like the idea of no presents under the tree to make one get a move on with sewing projects!

Thanks for the fun hustling Kelsey!

And Sew On… Fabric Choices

 Hard to believe, that after all that crazy sewing and preparation Christmas is done for another year! Hope that you and yours had a wonderful time! We sure did!

Have you noticed the end of year fabric sales that are starting to pop up? Very very tempting! Might be a good time to pick out some fabrics for the And Sew On BoM next year! After all, we’re getting started with the first pattern in just a few days!



So I thought I’d do a bit of a search for some sewing themed prints that might work in nicely with the BoM! I will admit – I’m a bit of a sucker for novelty fabrics. They are so perfect for fussy cutting in paper piecing! I’m starting to build up a bit of a collection of sewing themed ones. Hard to resist.
Here are a few I found at our sponsors’ shops! Some of which have some great sales on right now!

Some perfect for fussy cutting, and some I can’t resist for paper piecing. Like really, how cute would pearl bracelets look as wallpaper for some of the blocks?!











 Christa also has a wooden seam roller that would be very helpful for paper piecing – save you having to finger press/iron each seam as you go.


From Fabricworm: Aneela Hoey’s Sew Stitchy line is perfect for this! Oh and dots. I use dots a lot in paper piecing.


Fat Quarter Shop has a number of sewing novelty fabrics – loving the tape measures!


Mama Said Sew is another great line for sewing fabrics – and on sale at Pink Chalk Fabrics.
 
So there are just a few I found while having a look around. A couple of tips – check out the “Novelty Prints” sections of shops. That’s usually where you find these ones.

I often use the search feature of the shop too. For the above fabrics, I used words like: spools, pins, scissors, sewing machines, tape measure etc. Fairly obvious search words – but when you get your result, have a look if the shop suggests other fabrics from the range, or what other people purchased when they bought a particular print. That can help you find other perfect fabrics!

I’d also suggest keeping an eye out for texture type prints. Woodgrain (for the sewing desk), pebbles (for flooring), even batiks (and I'm not a fan of batiks) work nicely in paper piecing and give that extra bit of dimension to your block!



One thing I’d caution you about – stripes. They can look great, but they are a pain in the bum to get them all lined up when paper piecing! They work great for small sections of a block, but I wouldn’t recommend them for wallpaper or flooring (like in my above picture – that added some extra time and frustration to line up those stripes!).

Plus you’ll definitely be able to use up scraps for the BoM (so keep an eye for scrap packs too!), but you might want to consider using similar colours/prints throughout all your blocks to make them look a bit more unified – or go crazy and make them all completely different and bring them altogether with some great sashing fabric. It all depends on your style!

While we’re talking fabric – now’s a good time to point out that the gorgeous Alyce from Blossom Heart Quilts has started a Japanese Bundle Club. A fat eighth or fat quarter bundle of Japanese fabrics on a particular theme each month. And guess what February’s theme is? Oh yes – sewing! Perfect!


So! Getting excited?! I am! First block will be posted on 1st January in my Craftsy shop and I’ll pop up a blog post too. Looking forward to seeing some fab sewing themed blocks popping up around the place! Let me know if you have any questions!

Daffodil Dreams

 It’s finished – just in time for Christmas! This daffodil wallhanging is for my lovely Mum.


The pattern is by Eileen B Sullivan and I used Kona solids to piece it, with blue Color Weave for the border.

I think she’ll like it. Considering she thinks her present from me this year is just this boomerang pillow cover:



And she is getting that. It’s to match the XOXO quilt I made for her birthday last year. I managed to try the case on the pillow while she was playing with the kidlets. Thank goodness it fits! Those things are such an awkward shape! But it was a rather quick project, so the daffodils are her big present.



I had planned to find a pattern with yellow roses (Mum’s favourite) but roses don’t seem to translate to paper piecing quite so well. So when I saw the daffodils… well. It's a long story. But here we are.

I wasn’t sure what to use for the border, but I couldn’t go past Color Weave in blue. It just set the daffodils off beautifully.


The binding very nearly didn’t happen. I had it all made up ready to finish the quilt. Then discovered that while I was cooking dinner, my monster darling children had found it and were using it as reins to play “horsey”. I was not impressed. Fortunately other than some frayed edges, it was still salvageable. A good thing too as this was all I had left of the navy blue and no other fabrics worked quite so well for binding. Trust me, Christmas was nearly cancelled for two kidlets that I know. Fortunate indeed.

Oh and the mucked up piecing I did?



I managed to fix that. I didn’t bother unpicking all that section. I flipped it over and traced the paper templates onto some thin paper and just redid them. It worked. Thank goodness.



I added a little label to the back because I know Mum will be looking for one! Excuse the terrible embroidery – I really need to work on that. It gets the message across and that’s what counts. And more importantly, everything’s spelt right



Here are the two paper pieced wallhangings together. The irises are mine and hang in my sewing room, and as of tomorrow the daffodils will belong to my Mum. Just have to find somewhere to hang it!

So I’m a happy gal. And I think my mum will be too.

Wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas! Hope you find some fabric-y goodness under the tree!!

Want to learn how to paper piece?

So I’m pretty much self taught when it comes to paper piecing. I learnt via youtube, blogs and tutorials. And a wholllle lot of trial and error. Some things I guess you just learn as you go! And I still make mistakes. Like on my recent daffodil piecing (now remedied, thankfully!).



However when I had the chance to try out a Craftsy class, I thought why not try one on paper piecing? I might pick up a few tips, and see how a professional does it. So I signed up for Quick Strip Paper Piecing by Peggy Martin. (Note: pics in this post aren't all from the class - just wanted some pretty amidst all the text!).

Gotta say – the “quick” part of the title definitely appealed to me! Paper piecing is a lot of fun, but let’s be honest. It is time consuming. I love to chain piece when I’m sewing blocks together but it never really occurred to me to try it while paper piecing. But I think I may be a convert. Particularly for those blocks that have to be made in quarters. Like this block I did awhile ago (called Thuban from equiltpatterns.com)



So I know you’re waiting with bated breath to hear how I found the class! Well I am still working my way through the projects (afraid Christmas sewing is taking priority at the moment) BUT so far, so good.

It is the perfect class for someone brand new to paper piecing, but who has the basics of quilting and sewing already sorted. Peggy goes through it very clearly every step of the way. If you’re a fairly competent paper piecer, it might not be for you as the class is geared for those new to paper piecing – that said though, I am finding it interesting to see how Peggy paper pieces and some of her tips (like sewing all the seams the same way – that never occurred to me!).

I did notice a few little things that I do differently but I don’t think it makes that much of a difference. I like to backstitch at the start and end of each paper pieced line. I feel that it secures the blocks a little better. But that’s just what I find works for me.

Too Pretty for Pickles - another block made in quarters

 Plus like with any of the Craftsy classes, you can ask questions of the teacher, pause/rewind classes, see other people’s projects. Oh and you’ve got the class available pretty much forever. So you can come back and watch it later down the track if you need a refresher. The other bonus of the class – you get some great patterns with the class! And who doesn’t love more paper pieced patterns? Right? Right!

So! Enough advertising talk. Here’s my version of the first project in the class – a Pinwheel Polka block. Strip piecing was a different way to tackle it and might not work for all patterns but it was great for this one.

So, interested? All the Craftsy classes are on sale at the moment. And Quick Strip Paper Piecing is half price! Score!  But you have to be fast. The sale ends midnight US time on December 24. Christmas present anyone?!

As with all my blog posts – I like to be completely up front. I am a Craftsy affiliate, so I get a bonus if someone purchases a class through one of my links here (eh we’d all like to manage a bit of a bonus from our blogs and quilting wouldn’t we?! Don’t hold it against me ) However, I know there are a few people who have commented on my blog that they love the idea of paper piecing but are a bit nervous to give it a try. So I thought it worth trying out this class and sharing my thoughts for those interested in trying it. 

Well better get back to the Christmas sewing – keen to get that finished so I can try out the Sailor’s Delight block (I do love a paper pieced compass block!).