Repurposed fabric = new cushions

I had this two meters of fabric for a long time. It used to be the fabric in my headboard in my old flat... sorry long before I had a blog so no pictures of the "before" for this! And the spare bedroom needed something new... so voilà new cushions!
  

The cushions are two old Ikea pillows (they have this longer pillows that I love) but whose covers had long been thrown away, yes directly to the bin as they were in such a bad state... and you know, I hate throwing things away!

I thought I would try something different for the piping, so this time instead of using my zipper foot, I directly sewn in the piping with the all purpose foot. This meant it is a wider pipe than usual and it is kind of flat. I love it, but of course that's just me being weird!

For the back I simply overlapped about 20cm of fabric to make a nice envelope effect. It looks smart and it is the cheapest (and simplest) way of finishing up a pillow case. It won't have much use so although taking the filling out and stuffing it back in may not be the simplest of processes I won't have to do it very often, so it is a good compromise!

Easy and yet so nice. I also made some very simple curtain ties to match with the leftover fabric. Do you have any material lying around that could be repurposed into something new and lovely?

WIP, a few finishes and some nice news!

Oh what a crazy week, with all the sales, promotions and giveaways my inbox has been bombarded with fellow blogger posts like never before! But I am happy to report I didn't do any shopping, but spent my time actively finishing my WIPs (and a few new projects of course!)

So a little status report: The bench is painted and varnished although not yet dried... oh well what can I expect in this weather! The side table is all painted and husband and I have decided what bits are being decoupaged... looking good! And of course I had to start a few projects, but as they are all Christmas related they need to be finished this week! 

Unfortunately I was so busy at making that I have not written a single post just yet! So want a little sneak peak?

And of course, I could not stop myself to start a new blanket as soon as I got back from Argentina. I still had a bag full of yarn that was donated early this year, and voila! There are already 25 squares made... aiming to make 30 and get the blanket ready to send soon.

So on to the nice news... I am happy to tell you that I received an email from Manos en Acción yesterday and it mentioned that the blankets were really useful to many people that lots almost everything during the last flooding in the area where they work. They absolutely loved them! So again thank you all that helped this fantastic donation happen!

And finally, I have made it to the top 10 at Sew Lux Fabrics guest curator contest (here) with my Calm Bundle! If I win I get to be featured for one month in their blog. It would be great to get to do it, and hopefully reach out to new readers! If you like my bundle, please follow the link and vote for me in the poll on the left top corner of the blog.

Linking up to W.I.P. Wednesday at Freshly Pieced and looking forward to see what other bloggers have been up to this week. 

Thanks for stopping by,

Guest curator contest - Top 10

Yey! I made it to the top 10 in the Guest curator contest at Sew Lux Fabrics! What do you think about the Calm Bundle I curated?

I was feeling very relaxed and of course it reflects in the bundle. It is not at all my usual kind of thing but I love it! So all I need now is for you to visit Sew Lux Fabrics blog (click here) and vote (look for poll at the top left of the blog) for The Calm Bundle!

Work in progress and paint stains

Yes, this week I have mostly turned the sewing machine off and have been doing some DIY. After a trip to IKEA and a thought about which projects I wanted to tackle first this is how my garage looked.

I am working on finishing a tea box my mum decoupaged for me, painting the side tables I bought a while ago and also painting a new bench we bought this weekend.

So the plan is that the side table, which is part of a set of two, will then be painted and the top decoupaged with this paper.

Like it? It is a reproduction of a wallpaper from 1912 that I bought at the V&A in London. Once all of that is done I am hoping to have them displayed next to my sofas in the living room.

The other current project is the bench. After realising how close winter is, and with that how much I hated having the whole house floor dirty, I decided to have a bench at the entrance where people can take the shoes off when they come in. So quick trip to IKEA, and bought the cheapest ugly looking bench I could find... and have big plans for it! (I cannot tell you how happy it makes when I buy the cheapest thing and make it into something really nice!)

Pillow for the bench is done, but keeping it a surprise. Now I only need to sand it and then add a few more coats of paint and I am hoping it will be ready and working very soon, or at least before the first snow!

Also in my WIP list (so happy I managed to take it off the non-started to do list) is the headboard for our new bed... frame is ready (well thanks to the handy IKEA again), valance made and already being used, only need to get the cover for the headboard to have the first step of our bedroom re-make finished!

Too many things at the same time, and only one finish this weekend... two new pillows for the spare bedroom bed, looking quite glam. Will share them as soon as I have a sunny day to take some nice pictures.

Linking to WIP  Wednesday at Freshly Pieced and looking forward to seeing what all of you are making this week.

Dots on dots... cushion covers revealed

A few weeks ago... after all the charity blankets were ready to be packed, I had some time to get back to the work in progress projects and other bits that I wanted to get done. So remember the two blocks I made for the dots on dots blog hop?

Well after carefully considering all the great suggestions, I decided to make them into cushion covers for my brother's new apartment! And voilà, the finished cushions...

I went for the dark blue solid to frame the blocks as it made the white in the blocks sort of "pop out". And for the back (just 'cause it is the back it doesn't mean we forget about it right?) I added a little bias tape detail made of the same fabric used in the block, but what I did forget was to take nice pictures of the back - sorry.

Aren't they cute? and my brother was really happy to get them... he has now a few more projects he wants me to get done for his flat, including some huge canvas I am supposed to paint. We'll see about that!

This is me and my brother the same morning I arrived in Buenos Aires. We are looking really sleepy, it was really early in the morning and me after a 13 hour flight!

Love making home made gifts and getting through my list of WIP projects! One off the list, many many more to go...

Visiting Manos en Accion

I had the pleasure of visiting a few days ago Manos en Accion, a charity that helps several families in Manzanares a town near Buenos Aires, Argentina. As you may know with some very generous ladies, I have been working hard at crochet and quilting to make some lovely blankets to donate.

We dropped our donation with the organisers. They loved the blankets and have promised to send pictures of when they give them away. We already chose one for a girl that I met there that has several disabilities and has recently had a surgery that will hopefully allow her to walk for the first time, soon.

My brother and me with all the bags and boxes we took, our quilts and blankets are in that blue bag by my side.

We also took clothes that were donated by several people and four boxes of biscuits to be served as dessert for the kids.

Last week there was a huge storm in Buenos Aires, and many families that live near the river have lost everything as a result of the flooding. I can only hope our blankets will bring them a smile and help their kids be warm at night.

Every week day dinner is served at 6pm for all the kids whose families are registered with the charity.

We were there to help serve their dinner and a little help with their homework. 

That's my brother with Tamara, one of the girls that attend to have her dinner every day.

Thank you again to all the lovely ladies that helped me out with this project, I will be making more to send soon... I hope you will also be inspired to make some, either for Manos en Accion or any other people in need. If you would like to help in any other way, please leave me a comment below and I will get in touch with more details.

Pin it, win it and UR Priceless giveaway winner!

I just discovered that Fresh Squeezed fabrics is having again a Pin it Win it contest, so exiting. But as I cannot be so greedy as to keep wanting to win the same contest twice, I picked a lovely girly bundle that I will be making into a quilt top for charity if I win!

Feel like you could help me? Please head over to my Pinterest Pin (here) and repin to one of your boards. Otherwise you can follow the Pinterest link in my sideboard and browse through the things I like!

And now onto the giveaway! What a great time we had in this hop, so many amazing purses! I am so sorry I asked you all to pick a favourite, I never thought it would be such a hard task! So thank you again to Katherine and Mdm Samm, you inspired us to create awesomeness this time!

Random.org picked comment 11 (thank you! as I haven't managed to figure out how to number comments!) and the lucky winner of a little bundle of the romantic fabrics is Britt-Inger from the Hill Valley Quilter who said "Your purses are sew lovely. My favorite is the romantic one with the flowers. Thanks for sharing you beautiful work. I am now a happy follower to your blog ." An email has already been sent your way, would really appreciate if I can have your mailing address to send you your gift!

Thank you everyone that left such great comments, I love reading and answering every single one of them! Please continue sending me messages and comments! And as we are getting close to 100 followers, when we do achieve the three digit mark I will have a little appreciation giveaway gift for a lucky follower!

Keep tuned for tomorrow's post, I am telling you about my visit to the charity Manos en Accion in Argentina and the quilts/blankets donations.

Guest curator contest

I am feeling very relaxed today, going happy through all the lovely comments I have received on my purses yesterday and today (UR Priceless blog hop post here). So when I came across the Guest Curator Contest, it is not surprise that my bundle ended up being this.

I am calling it The Calm Bundle.

If you are feeling like creating your own custom made bundle, stop by Sew Lux Fabrics and join us in the fun contest! If not, don't forget to stop by and vote for your favourite bundle for our chance to win it!

Today is also the last day of the UR Priceless blog hop, it has been amazing to see such creativity! For a complete link to the schedule please visit the button on my sidebar!

UR Priceless blog hop and giveaway

How exiting, today is my turn to hop, and show you my coin purses. I am so in love with them I called them Romantic & Sweet. And they are going to become very special gifts... more on that soon!

I made The Romantic purse with some flowery fabric I had in my stash, and loved combining the two of them to make it look a bit retro.

For this one I used a sew in frame, and a pale pink thread to match the tones. I love the fabric on the sides, with its smaller flowers it was the perfect combination.

The lining inside is a simple green solid, I just didn't want to draw any attention to it and let the outside fabrics be the star.

For The Sweet purse, I used a strip of this lovely elephant fabric, that I am using for some of the projects in my shop (stay tuned for that one too) and matched it with a solid green fabric. Inside the lining is plain cream linen, again don't want many people to look at how much I carry on the purse lol.

In this case I used a normal frame... it is not as easy to work as the sew in, but I love the final product regardless, and those elephants pop out so nicely... it is just so sweet!

I just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to Mdm Samm for her explanations and step by step guidance... as well as helping me out with my lack of proper resources around! And to Katherine from Sew Me Something Good (it is also her turn to hop today) who is our lovely cheerleader for this hop.

And please don't forget to check out all the other hops today

Read, quilt, cook, pray...
The Learning Curve
Bacon Then Eggs
Nati's Little Things (You are here!!)
by Mary
Feltfree på Åsly
El Patchwork de la Abuela
Amy's Crafty Shenanigans
Maryjo J
s.o.t.a.k. Handmade
Chloeandme
Janice M
throw a wench in the works
Everyone Deserves a Quilt
A Stitch in Time
Sew Me Something Good

Tomorrow is the final day, but for links to the complete schedule in case you missed any of our hops please follow the button on my sidebar.

And now the giveaway!

Yes, I cannot hop without celebrating! So to win this bundle of the romantic fabrics (it is enough to make a 7cm frame coin purse, just like mine) please follow my blog using the button "join this site" on my sidebar and leave me a comment letting me know what was your favourite purse of the hop. I will choose a winner at the end of the blog hop.

Note the giveaway is now closed winners will be announced shortly.

So special...

Look what has arrived on the post! And I am so happy because it is from the gorgeous The Sweetest Thing collection from Riley Blake.

And it is here because I will be working with it for a little project to be featured in Cutting Corners blog by Riley Blake. I even got an instructor button!

And although my feature is not coming until the new year, I am so exited about it I could not stop myself and share the news! 

UR Priceless

The blog hop is coming and on November 5th get ready to see all the lovely little coin purses that have been made.

If you are feeling like joining in and making some along the hop you can purchase your pdf pattern here.

You can find the complete schedule on the button on my sidebar and don't forget to stop by on 12th November for my turn to show you my creations.

It's November Time

Time flies, and this month it went quicker than ever! So what have I achieved??

I have now got a huge pile of quilts and blankets to take to Argentina. I had so much help, but it is worth seeing this lovely results, cannot wait to deliver them!

Two new blankets assembled by me, and crocheted by two of my friends here in Luxembourg were the October additions to the stash.

Also made my brother's some lovely gifts for his new apartment, including the finished product of my dots on dots blocks (see here) but I am not revealing those just yet. This oven glove and pot holders set is now embellishing his kitchen.

And with the leftover quilted fabric I made this pincushion that I absolutely love.

And as part of the 5 minute craft series I also created this set of needle cases for my travelling sewing box.

There are a few other projects that have been keeping me busy and very exited, UR priceless blog hop is coming very soon, and I am working on a few other surprises for November, that I look forward to sharing with you all.

So on my to-do list for November I am planning on working on some house projects that I have left behind for a while, some new cushions and hopefully some Christmas decorations as December is just around the corner.

Linking up today to Fresh Sewing Day at Lily's Quilts.