2/2

And so the second cushion cover from the Sew Mama Sew giveaway is now complete.

Melissa asked for aubergine - tick

Pieced - tick

Sage - tick

Bold - I hope so

Egyptian - why yes, don't think triangles, think pyramids.

 Quilted with mono filament thread with a wavy stitch elongated to the max.


Oh, and if like me you are on a fabric diet, may I suggest tea towels from Well Worth It? (used to be Woolworths).

They're just  £1.99 each.

But who's to say you have to use them for that purpose ;-)

3 4 13

A little pouch thingamy whotsit to store Important Things for a niece.

A cushion cover for someone who is mad about V W camper vans.

I used the free pattern on Tula Pink's blog and made one slight addition.

I added a name plate...

...of the intended recipient.

Which is not to say this idea would work if you were making this for a Stephanie or a Francesca or any other long girls' names for that matter.

The back is an extremely tactile Anna Marie Horner velveteen.

And my third make of 2013 is really a finish off from the previous year.

It was a great way to showcase big print fabrics.

I also used it as an opportunity to try out various free motion quilting design ideas in each of the squares.

The back is fairly pedestrian but is in line with my new modus operandi of using up what is to hand.

When I posted a picture of my sewing room a while back, there was a comment left by someone that it looked like a scene from The Hoarders. I don't think we get that this side of the Atlantic but I knew instantly what she meant.

I can't disagree with that and aim to remedy the situation throughout this year.

Here's to 2013, the year of being thrifty.

One down, one to go

So here is the cushion/pillow cover for the second person who won my Sew Mama Sew giveaway.

I'm still pondering my options for the first person.

I had the words  'texty' 'scrappy', 'triangles' and 'linen background' to go on which was quite liberating in the sense there were no colours specified.

I hope I ticked all the boxes.


And the back:

And that's it.

I'm all done for 2012.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by - I'd like to wish you all a Happy Christmas and a safe 2013.

I'll be back in the New Year.

Linking up to WIP

Where do your quilt ideas come from?

In my case, sometimes when I least expect it.

Some tidying up.

Which results in 'new' fabric being found.

And bits of fabric from past projects.

And pieces that you hoard because they have such large prints that you don't want to cut into them because you don't want to lose the pattern. So you just keep them and keep them for some indeterminate next quilt.

And then inspiration is sought to try and marry all those disparate finds together.

Kaffe Fassett's Quilt Romance

Which is how I have ended up with this.

I may go bigger, I may not.

I may just do a bit more tidying and see what appears to be added to the mix.

How do your quilts evolve?

Some Secret Santa Sewing

The rule was that no more than £5 was to be spent...which I didn't.

Because as we all know...

...scraps are priceless.

Linking up to WIP Wednesday

And the winners are...

Thanks very much to everyone who entered my Sew Mama Sew Giveaway. I was a little overwhelmed by the response but still managed to read every single comment.

What an education. I had no idea that a word like 'steampunk' even existed for a type of cushion cover style and it was really interesting though to read what everyone would like.

And because there were so many of you that entered, I've decided to pick TWO cushion cover winners, as well as the charm pack and a wodge of my scraps winners. I do hope if you are the recipient of my scraps winner that you don't feel like you got the booby prize - I'll make them nice scraps, I promise!

OK.
First pillow cover will be made for:

Who was:

I'm OK with those words; it's her comment before that I shall struggle with 'Bold, Egyptian, Pieced.'
It'll certainly be a challenge.

Second person to get their own cushion cover will be:

Which was:

She also had a comment before with these words:  'texty, scrappy, triangles.'

Then the person getting the charm packet is:

Which was:

And finally, the person getting the creme de la creme of my scraps is:

Which was: 

Feel free to drop me an email with your addresses if I don't email you first.






Thanks everyone for a fun giveaway.

A pinwheel half-square triangle quilt

I first wrote about this quilt here (if you're interested there are measurements for the block size and a little 'how to' construct each block). It's also hanging out in all its unquilted nakedness on my blog header.

It's now all quilted up.

As you can see there are two types of pinwheels: ones using two fabrics of similar colour and ones that are an excellent opportunity to use fabrics with big patterns on them.

I definitely think having the little butterflyesque scraps of extra colour add to the movement and interest.

And the back probably gives the best view of how I quilted it: with a simple grid pattern either side of the seams.

I do like the challenge of a complicated quilt but equally, sometimes it's very relaxing just to put together a simple quilt which can also be just as effective  in its own way.

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday