Just a few cushions!

Last week was cushion week! I had several orders for cushions to complete last week. One order was particularly special because a customer who is getting married, ordered 3 cushions for her flower girls. On the back I embroidered a message. Such a lovely idea!!! I have blogged one as they were all the same (except for the name) and then the rest were other orders.

Quilt as you go Needle cases

For Easter my sister sent Lulu a beautiful patchwork drawstring bag which was made with the Quilt as you go technique. I love the effect this technique creates and it's a great way to use smaller pieces of fabric.

I decided to try it out and must say it's so much fun! Earlier this year I bought these gorgeous Japanese fabeics which I haven't had the chance to use yet. I decided to make 2 needle cases with them which turned out so pretty!

New items

A couple of weeks ago I took some time and made a new cushion and tote. They are made the same way with patchwork and are machine quilted.

I cut out a few more to make in different colours but haven't had time to make them yet. Hopefully I'll get them done soon!

Zakka style pot holders

I had an order for a set of pot holders and potmats (pictured below). I combined linens and cottons together, plaind, florals and checks. To finish off the pot holders I hand embroidered/quilted them.

 Of course I couldn't stop myself making a few different sets for my shop!

Ceramics by Io & Bianca

 For my birthday my friend gave me a set of gorgeous tea cups called 'tisaniere' here. 

 I just love them. Carla is an architect who so talented. She love ceramics and has been studying different techniques. Carla makes all kinds of items great for the kitchen in fact my collection is growing. Pop over to her Facebook page Io & Bianca to see more of her beautiful work.

 Oh and I also attached the sewing bug to her so she's stitching away to making beautiful creations!

Growth chart for Bonnie Jean

Last week I sent off this lovely growth chart for Bonnie Jean. Her mum's brief was tea time and princess so this is what I came up with. I've been wanting to do a growth chart with a castle/primcess theme for a long time so was thrilled to work on this one!

Sweet drawstring bags

Here are some sweet drawstring bags I made a while ago. I completely for got to blog them!

Pastel candy coloured gadget sleeves

Yesterday I took sone finished an order and took some time out to create something new, yeah!!! It was a daunting prospect thinking about what to create condsidering I haven't created too many new items since last year!

I have so many scrap pieces of fabric which I can't bare to throw out, so I decided to make some goodies with them. I have my scrap in clear plastic boxes divided into colours, so I took each box and cut heaps of small squares from each colour. The distressing thing is that I seemed to cut for ages but didn't even make a dint in my pink and blue boxes!!!

Then I arranged my squares in colours and sewed them together. At first I was thinking I was going to make some zipper pouches but then decided the size was perfect for iphones, blackberry etc. Totally inspired by my sister Sarah I placed a thin batting behind and machine quilted the patches I had created. As I final step I stitched up into gadget cases!

Foundation Paper Piecing

I came across the technique of 'Foundation Paper Piecing' when I read this blog post by Kerri from Sew Deerly Loved. I watched the You Tube clip which very simply explained the technique. Then I used the pattern provided. It was quite easy once you got the hang of it.

My second attempt (Above) was inspired by this block by Hart Hill. I have had this picture saved as a favourite in Flickr for ages. I read all the comments on her block which lead me to the pattern on Amazon. It was easy to find. I used a few different liberty fabrics in this block which was fun to do.

My third attempt was from Pink Penguin's new book called 'Patchwork Please'. I was so excited when it arrived in the mail as I per-ordered it ages ago. There are so many great projects in this book as you would expect from Ayumi and there is a whole quilt made from this fantastic pattern (above) which I totally love. My next friend to have a baby girl will get a cot quilt made from this design as I really want to make one for someone. I made the blocks above smaller than recommended size and only did two flowers rather the nine as in the original quilt.

Growth chart for Estee Elyse

This is the latest growth chart I finished lately. It's for a little girl who loves her cat, flowers, stars, wand, bunnies and snow. I included all elements except for the snow which I felt didn't really tie in. Her room is especially pinks and greys with some white and black. I love the pink and grey together and was thinking how lovely a quick would be in these colours!