Tired. Tired. Tired.

Afternoon, Morning - whatever it is!

Yep, you guessed it's my turn to work weekend nights this weekend so just a quickie post!!

First up, on Friday I managed to cut, package up and post out all my little fabric parcels for my fellow bee members in Fresh Modern Bee 2. Its my month in Feb and we're doing modified bento boxes using Amy Butlers 'Love' collection:

Thats about it on the sewing front for this weekend but on Saturday whilst we were in town I managed to pick up a couple of bargains I had to share!! First up some new Converse for 'Master M' in the sales::

How cool are these?? We're Seuss and Converse mad at our house and these had more than 50% off so were a real bargain!!! Second up I got lucky in the charity shop with this little beauty::

How super cute is this little jug? I love it!

Finally Mr. Postie brought me a couple of parcels on Friday too. First up some Cath Kidston lovelies from The Book Depositary::

I've been wanting the 'Stitch' book for some time now and thought I'd treat myself seen as though I was ordering the little mini journals!

Finally I ordered these lovely screenprinted fabrics from the lovely Lucie::

The colours are just so vibrant and the design so cute. Not sure what they're for yet but I know I'll use them soon! Check out Lucie Summersville here, she has great screenprinted items for sale!

Sewing Sweatshop!

Today I've had a lovely day. 

I feel lucky that I live quite near fellow quilter and blogger extrodinaire Katy, it means we can meet up and sew/drink coffee/surf blogs together on what's becoming a pretty regular basis.

Today we did just that.

I wanted to get my nephews quilt basted and quilted and as my walking foot hasn't arrived yet and I'm a tad nervous about the actual quilting bit (for fear of ruining the quilt!) I popped over to Katy's for some expert advice and to hog her sewing machine!

 
Here's said quilt having been basted with a huge kitty kat trying it out for size!
I managed to get it quilted too, under close supervision of course::

And here's a shot of Katy sewing miles and miles and miles of binding, you know just in case she needs some!

Another shot of my quilt being wiggly line quilted::

And to add to this lovely day, guess what the postie had delivered when I got home?? No? Not one but two lovely parcels::

This cute little coin purse which was stuffed full with the fabby scraps shown are my winnings from the lovely Cara! I entered a giveaway on her blog and I won!! YAY!! It's so cute, thanks Cara! 

The second parcel was my much awaited gorgeous calendar from Sarah Jane Studios. I'd been hunting around for what seemed forever for the right calendar and when I came across Sarah Jane on Etsy I was sold! If you're still looking for the perfect calendar snap one up now as they've got 50% off! The calendar is so beautifully illustrated and is perfect for my sewing area. I'm planning on showing each months illustration as the year unfolds.

Finally a little spring cheer is in the air::

I just had to have these beauties when I spotted them on a recent trip to Ikea!

Blown Away....

I've been a busy bee this week in the midst of some traumatic stuff going on as well!

I've pieced my nephews quilt top::

This will be basted today and then quilted and bound by the weekend - Yay!

I've also been busy cutting fabric for  my next project::

On the left are some fairytale pieces that will make the block centres of my neices quilt. They were cut from an Alexander Henry panel and I got the inspiration for this quilt here and here.

On the right are some samples of 'Hideaway' that Courtney over at Seamstar kindly sent me. Here's a closer look::

The fabics on the left will certainly make their way into my stash and the ones on the right I'm a bit blah about so they probably won't!


Now those of you who follow me on Twitter will know that last week I wrote my car off on the M62. It's been really stressful sorting out all the insurance stuff and when the car was finally declared a total loss on Monday I had to go clear out all our belongings. I was shook up when I saw the state the car was in, we're lucky to be alive::

Luckily for me my faithful companion has been following me around and lying by my feet all week, she really destresses me::

Finally, this video on You Tube blew me away yesterday. I sent it to some people via email but I think you should all see it!! It made my heart sing, my face smile and my whole being feel proud::

I am the proud mum of a little girl with Down Syndrome.

Fabric?

This week I have finished this::

A few of you guessed correctly when I showed this block last week minus the embroidery! Yep, its Little Miss Shabby's Birdie Block of the Month.It's a really cute block and was a breeze to make, can't wait to see what birdie is doing next month!

I've also made good progress on this::

This quilt top is practically pieced, I just need to add borders and it will be finished ready for basting by Sunday evening. Yay! This little beauty is heading my nephews way and will only be my 2nd ever quilt and my 1st of 2011.

Over the past few weeks I've not only been using my stash for projects (about time!) but I've also made yummy fabric purchases too (oops!) As I've only been sewing for around a year I think it would be unrealistic of me to pledge to use only my stash for makes. Frankly I'd fail. Fabric is my thing and as I don't like failing, I'm not promising!!!

Here are photo's of my recent yumminess::

This is my newest fabric bought from Seamstar just this week. I'm thinking 'Mr.G' would like a pouch for his iPad from it. I love it!

I decided just before Christmas that I 'needed' to get my mitts on Anna Maria Horner's Good Folks collection before it is no more. I'd seen a WIP (which must remain secret unfortunately) and it totally inspired me! I've always liked the 'Good Folks' collection, it was one of the reasons I began sewing, I used it to make 'Little Miss H's' and my neice's wedding outfits from if you remember? So I've got all but 2 of the prints in the collection and will be turning it into a quilt. Soon! I sourced Good Folks here, here and here.

I also got some of the whole of Lizzy House's Castle Peeps collection! This is only half of what I ordered, the rest is still in transit! Again this is for a specific quilt that I already have the pattern for. I got this little lot from Kerri's great little shop, if you don't already know of this etsy shop I urge you to try it out, I've had lots of great bundles and the service is exceptional!

Also from Etsy, I got this:: 

The seller of this little beauty is Christina whom I came across via this post on Angela's lovely blog 'Fussy Cuts'. I'm going to use it to make a cushion for the living room.

And these::

How cute are these little hearts?? I love them! 'Master M' and I are going to make them into a couple of cute garlands to decorate shelf edges with for Valentines. Get yours here.

Happy Weekend!

Catching Up!

Had a bit of a busy week this week and to be honest next week is worse as I'm working lots. (Boo Hiss!) So advance apologies if I am a little quiet, though secretly you may of course cheer!!!

I had hoped to achieve a few things this past week, mainly to finish up the block I showed in my last post, make my brother another cushion and to start the quilt that I had cut the fabric for last week. Here's how I faired::

Great on the quilt front! I've pieced all the squares that make up the main body of the front, I just need to sew the rows together now which will be done this week!

And thats about it!! Seriously, no cushion for my brother (oops!) but the block is nearly finished and I'll be able to show that in my next post!

This week I received this lovely lot in the post from Simply Solids

A Kona colour card and some great solids that are to coordinate with the Amy Butler 'Love' line which I am using for my month (Feb) in the Fresh Modern Bee 2 I will of course post pictures about the little packages I send out to my fellow bees soon.

Today the four of us had a little jaunt out to the Trafford Centre in Manchester. It only takes about 30mins in the car and I wanted to go get some home decor inspiration!! To be honest 'Mr. G' and I had forgotten how great the homes sections were here and could have spent all day 'ooohing and aaghhing' but with the kids in tow it was quite stressful!!

We did however strike gold in Selfridges with this beauty coffee maker::

Its a Lavazza A Moda Mio and I am in love! Enough said. 'Master M' also thought he'd won the lottery when he spied these:: 

He was so excited that he ate them in the car on the way home! He discovered the joy of the Lucky charm when we were in the USA last year!!

More Echino......

I'm on a roll! Did you guess? 

I managed to have a really productive day yesterday and made another Echino cushion for my brother::

And here's the back::

 I also did lots of prepararation for what will be the first quilt of 2011! I've had the fabric and pattern a while and was hoping to make it up for my nephew as part of his Christmas present but I really wasn't in the mood after I'd had the miscarriage. He got the lego he wanted instead and I'll deliver the quilt to his mummy when it's finished! I've got one for my niece to do as well.....

I also made this little block up. Can you guess what it is, there is something missing that I will reveal later in the week!

I couldn't decide which fabric to make my pieced border from so I decided to go with the red scrap pack that I bought from Manda at Treefall Design. I'll have to get a couple more I think to finish the project!

For the rest of the week I plan to complete the above block, make another Echino cushion and make a start on the prepped quilt. That's all.

Finally, it was my big weigh in last night at Slimming world and I lost 3lb. Woo Hoo!!

Still feeling stitchy?

So are we all keeping up with our New Year's intentions to be more crafty?

I certainly am, though to be honest I'd hoped for more time at the machine but I've been so shattered with going back to work!!

This week I've finished my 2nd bee block for November's Fresh Modern Bee 2. If you remember the theme was Pinwheels in Tanya Whelans Dolce.

I hope it's well received as I quite like it! The package with the two completed blocks in will be posted back tomorrow then I have one more block to catch up with and then I'm back on track - yay!!

This week I've also made good progress on my brother's cushions. Huhum, just a bit late! He's away travelling in Peru and the Amazon at the moment so he wouldn't have made use of them anyway. They will be adorning his sofa before he returns I assure you....

I decided to use my Echino Spring/Summer 10 collection and some lovely linen that I bought from Manda over at Treefall design. 

I was having a real panic a few weeks before Xmas and several ordered linens later I still wasn't happy, thankfully Manda had lots of just the linen I needed and so kindly sold me some of hers! At a fraction of the UK prices I'd paid might I add! 

Manda is going to be selling this lovely linen on a regular basis over the next coming week, so please get in touch with her if you're on the look out for some!!

Here's a shot of the back of the cushion::

I'm really loving this cushion and will show you the others over the next week as they are completed. 'Mr. G' wants to keep them but I have other plans for cushion designs for our sofa!

Must dash as school uniforms to iron, blah. Big weigh in tomorrow night at Slimming World, think I'll need all the luck you can wish me as I got my period this week and we all know what that means!!!!!!!

Speak Soon xx

A little New Year Sewing...

So it's 2011. Are you full of new years resolutions, plans and ideas?

I haven't really made any resolutions so to speak as I always break them! Instead just a few wishes and a really positive feeling about this year, I hope it continues!

As you know 'Mr. G' got me a Kindle for Christmas. I Love it. Really. I'm converted, onto my 3rd book already. Seriously! Heaven forbid that anything might happen to the new love in my life, my Kindle clearly needed some fabric love wrapped around it in the form of a pouch of some description!

Earlier in the year I read this post from the lovely Quilt Dad and went straight back to it to see how he'd made his kindle cover! The pattern came from Moda Bakeshop and so yep, you guessed I've whipped one up for my baby!!

 

I chose the Bliss range by Bonnie and Camille and let me tell you the cover was easy to make, I'll be making more!

Although I'm pleased with my efforts, the binding is poor and not up to scratch so don't look too closely! I really struggle with it and clearly wasn't paying enough attention when I went to Katy's for a tutorial before Christmas!! Katy if you're reading this I need another session!!

I've also completed one of my outstanding blocks for the Fresh Modern Bee 2. Amanda wanted pin wheels and she sent some of the lovely Dolce! from Tanya Wheelan as her fabric.

I thought I'd done really well, it took me ages to workout what was wrong. D'oh! What a pain having to unpick it all.....

Anyway, one block down two to go then I'm fully caught up. Yay! 

Looking forward to getting some more sewing in tomorrow as well as taking the little people to the park on their new bikes. Actually, we took them today and I forgot the camera.........