Fabric news

I haven't had a fabric news post in a while, and showing all I bought in the meantime may not be wise! But I wanted to share with you all the lovely finds from this weekend...



I went to a flea market for sewists and crafters in a little town 20km from where I live. It was lovely (not the rainy day but the rest) in the courtyard of an old church and lots lots lots of things to buy. But I had secretly set myself the target of not spending more than what was in my coin purse... I think around 6 Euros in all!

I found this lovely fabric that pictures the cartoons from Chita (the series) and I thought it would be amazing for a project for my nephews (yes that is as far as I got from planning what I will make with it)... and the lady I bought it from was adorable.

Then I found these gorgeous charms... I think they are the perfect addition to a zipper tag... I already know what I am making with them, but they will be gifts so can't spoil the surprise!

And finally this amazing fat quarter of fabric. This was from a shop stand... so I didn't buy more of the wonderful fabrics they had as I am planning a visit to the shop itself! But could not help get a fat quarter of this... do you know the collection? I have never seen it before and there are no printed selvages in my fat quarter... but it is just perfect!

Also I recently got this lovely FQ bundle... this was a gift but I wanted to show it as it is such great fabric I look forward to making things with it soon....

Hope you were as lucky as me recently and have lovely additions to your stash as well!

Work (not very much) in progress Wednesday!

I honestly try to think at what have I done this past week, and it has gone by so quickly... I have no idea! Anyway you may have seen that finished Feli's toy basket (see tutorial here)... he loves it and all his toys are stored in it... I am thinking of converting it into a carrier basket though (add straps) so I can take it to the park etc... but we'll see about that and we'll count it as a finished product for the time being, shall we?

We had a couple of gorgeous days around here, and my balcony needed some colour... tulips were already planted late last year and had started coming out, so off I went to get some spring flowers and this is what I made:

Did you notice the hooks? Well I could not find ones that fitted, so here I made some with clothes hangers!

Shy tulips... only one manage to grew from this pot but the others may just be shy and show up later (fingers crossed)

Colourful by the window

Lots of tulips ready to open in here!

The little daffodils were very small this year and are gone but lots of light purple flowers to make up for it!

And then I started my birds blog hop project..no sneak peak yet but I am hearing birds everywhere... And I am calling it... A modern take on vintage birds... intrigued? (I am to see how will this turn out!)

And as a final note, I am very close to my 100th post... so expect a giveaway really soon to celebrate!

Linking up to WIP Wednesdays at Freshly pieced...

Have a fantastic week full of great projects...

Blog hop news

Happy Monday... I just thought I would start the week with an easy post... easy on me to write and easy on you to read... and let you all know that I have signed up for two blog hops (yes after a hop rest I am back with two!).

Coming up first is "It's for the birds", isn't it a lovely name? and I am thinking birds, songs, sunshine while making my projects (well actually I haven't really started yet but they are all in my mind) look up for the  sneak peak next week (hopefully or I will be really late!).

Follow this link to the full schedule, but mark your calendars to come see my post on 8th May! And coming up right after... it is "Say it with flowers" and I am up for that one (and things could change here but for the moment)... on 27th May. 
So a lot coming up, lots of projects to do... and some giveaways to plan! but a really cool month ahead... Hope to see you around!

A toy basket for Feli

After almost two months of having the puppy our flat has toys everywhere... so in an attempt to minimise the damage and put some order around I have made Feli a toy basket.

The idea being that he can go around the house taking toys everywhere and I can go around the house picking them up and having a place to throw them in... until he takes them out again. Here's the only picture I managed to take with some of his toys in before he demanded them back!

Notice the slippers at the bottom? Yes he won and now he has my slippers as his toy...but I am not giving up with the rest of my shoes he so much wants!

It is quite a sturdy basket, and inside the lining there is cardboard to keep it straight... but if you are thinking of not having a puppy jumping in and out of the basket, you can loose the cardboard. and make it a lovely soft basket for yarn, fabric scraps, etc.

What will you need?

• Two 30 x 20 inches pieces of colour coordinated fabrics (this makes a big basket - reduced if a smaller basket is wanted) one of outer and one of lining fabrics.
• A 32 x 22 inches piece of batting (I used thick polyester one to make a sturdy basket)
• Sewing machine, thread and scissors.

How to make it?

Step 1 - Start by laying the outer fabric on top of the batting, right side facing up. Pin in place (as if basting a quilt) and quilt as desired. I used a wonky line method with my all purpose foot. Basically I made some curves in a few of the lines, but generally just let the fabric go where it wanted while quilting without much guidance from my part. 

Here's a better picture of the back:

Step 2 - Square up to 20 x 30 inches... if smaller for some reason (a little shifting may occur) just trim the lining fabric to your final measurements.

Step 3 - Fold the quilted fabric in half right sides together and sew both sides of the fabric using a 1/4 inch (or 1/2 inch if desired) seam allowance.

Step 4 - Now to make the base, fold together the seam side and base, trying to match the seam line to the folded crease. Then measure to your desired base width, I used 8 inches, so 4inches each side of the seam. Pin in place and mark the sewing line. Sew both sides. 

Note: I did not cut the triangle corners out as it will make the basket base sturdier. However I generally do cut it out when sewing other projects.

Step 5 - Fold the lining fabrics right sides together and sew it as a tube. Note that you want it in the shape of a tube as you need an opening in the bottom for turning right side out.

Step 6 - Turn the basket inside out and place the lining tube, right sides together, around the outer of the basket as per the image below:

Now line the edges, pin in place and sew all around the edge.Turn the lining inside out and into the basket.

Step 7 - Sew along the border to set the fabric and lining in place. I decided to wrap the lining around the seam and leave it as a decorative detail. I sew over the black fabric with black thread and white thread on the spool to match the lining for the inside.

Step 8 - Finally, if you so desire, add the cardboard sides. Otherwise just sew the bottom lining close. As the bag will generally be full of things, I just turned the seam inside and run a line of machine stitches along. You can hand sew it with an invisible seam to make it perfect! (I wasn't too worried).

And voilà you have a multi-purpose fabric bag! Hope you enjoyed the tutorial!

WIP Wednesday

Again I have been MIA for a few weeks, a combination of Easter travelling and puppy walking time have generally decreased the amount of time I spent crafting and blogging the past few weeks...

But I have a few things going on... I have been busy working on these lovely pouches that were featured yesterday in the blog and at Lily's Quilts blog. (see post here)



And I am still busy working on the blanket for one of my friends who is expecting...



Finally trying to give Feli a basket for his toys, I have been quilting wonky lines in the last scrap of his coat fabric (see his coat tutorial here)



Hope you are up to interesting things this week! Linking up to WIP Wednesdays at Freshly Pieced today.

A set of pouches - Project in a Budget

Today I am very happy to show you a project I have been working on to be featured in Lily's Quilts blog. She has this series called "Projects on a budget" in which we are ask to come up with ideas of what to do buying all the materials from the very budget friendly Abakhan Fabrics.

And when I saw this picture on the blog...

... I knew I wanted to make this:

It is a set of pouches, a 20 cm (8 inch) red pouch embellished with the lovely "made with love" ribbon and lined with a lovely floral fabric. The second pouch is bigger (approx 25cm), made with the lovely floral fabric and with a wide opening zip that fits not only the smaller pouch but also quite a few other things.

  

You can find the tutorial on the small pouch with lots of step by step pictures in Lily's Quilts today. And if you are interested in making the bigger matching pouch... I explain the adaptations from the original pattern below. For a printable version of both tutorials click here.

• Your fabrics will need to be cut in bigger pieces, that is 30 cm wide and the desired length. Please note that I also gave it a wider base (so take that into consideration when cutting). I cut a 30 cm square.
• When attaching your zip sew along as per the small pouch until you get to the end of the zip (the tail bit) and stop 3 cm (1 inch) before the end. With the needle down, lift the presser foot and tug the zip in (to avoid sewing over it). And continue sewing until the end of the fabrics.
• Do the same when attaching the back fabrics.
• This allows for the wide opening.
• When sewing outer and lining fabrics together, ensure the tail of the zip is tugged in (to avoid catching it somewhere in the seam).
• Finally make a little fabric tab for the end of the zip and voilà you are done!

Hope you enjoy making many of them... 

Nominated for the Liebster Award... yey!

It was a lovely surprise when I got an email from Kristin @ Kristin's Quilts and Stuff nominating me to the Liebster Award. I have seen a few blogs I follow getting the award but I never thought someone would think of me. So first of all a BIG thank you to Kristin for thinking of my blog, reading the stuff I write (and she seems to enjoy it)... you made me really happy.

What makes this award so nice it is that there is no judging, it is just one blogger to another blogger telling them I like what you do and I want to know more about you! It has very few basic rules, here they are:

1) Provide 11 random pieces of information about myself,
2) Answer 11 questions posed by the person that nominated me;
3) And nominate 11 other blogs and pose their own questions. There are a few rules on who can be nominated, but as I am breaking some of them I just decided to skip that part ;)

So 11 things about myself:

1. I am an Argentinian, living in Luxembourg, married to an Englishman (that's pretty random isn't it?);
2. I love ice cream... love it can't live without it;
3. My favourite fruit is watermelon;
4. I miss my grandmother Maria every day of my life, she was the sweetest, caring woman I have ever met;
5. I have an amazing family, and we stick together like glue... have you ever seen two 20 something year old (and me in my 30s) enjoying going shopping with their mum and dad? well you should see when we all go to the shopping mall together...
6. And I have a lovely husband who spoils me so much and I love him tons! 
7. I have lived in the second smallest country in the world... yes Monaco for a whole year and got to see the grand prix from my balcony... that was really cool!
8. I am really bad with plants, have you seen someone killing a plant in 2 days? well that's me... though I managed to get one of my orchids to flower three times (that's a first).
9. I am very girly (not to say childish) and every now and again I am still drawn to buying hello kitty or Disney Princess stuff...
10. I have a care bear sweatshirt, that I use... sometimes even out!

And the questions that I was sent (as per Kristin's post):

1. Why did you start blogging? (being 100% honest here!) To have some other people, rather than my husband, to talk crafting with... I realised it was too much to expect husband to listen to all that stuff after he asked me "Did you sew that with a 1/4 inch seam?"
2. Who taught you to sew? My grandmother, I would watch her for ages... she would let me sit at her feet and push the pedal on her Singer (yes she still had a pedal one in the early 80s).
3. What is the one thing you have made that you are most proud of? My first charity quilt, and I know it went to a lovely little girl that treasures it! 
4. What inspires you? Anything and everything... Generally stuff I see in shops and magazines, but I was recently surprised with my trip to Pompeii in Italy and being inspired by Roman mosaics.
5. Do you have any UFOs and how did it happen? I don't really know how that happen? Could it be that I get too tired too quickly and leave stuff half-way??? or that there's always something new and exiting to sew?? (I have lots, seems like I collect UFOs)
6. What is your next project going to be? Maybe finish a UFO?
7. Where is the farthest place from home that you have travelled? I am very lucky to have been many places, I think the farthest, or more adventurous trip, was my move from Buenos Aires to London in 2007. It was my first visit to Europe, the UK or London for that matter... and I was moving in! 
8. What is your favourite foot on your sewing machine? All purpose.
9. What kind of sewing  machine do you have and how many? I have one, without counting my grandmother's Singer that I am planning on being gifted by my mother some day... (hint hint) I have a very basic Singer machine (I could not do with buying any other brand... yes I am a bit obsessed with anything that could be linked or remind me of my grandmother).
10. What is your favourite food? Ice cream, watermelon and macaroons. 
11. What would we be surprised to find in your closet? Oh many things... you will never find patterned  trousers, very high heels or feathers!

So who am I nominating? It was so hard to choose, and for some I am breaking the rules a bit, but these are small blogs (well I follow some that have more than thousand readers) and that I really enjoy following.

Jamie @ busy bee quilts 

Happier than a birds quilt 

Melissa @ Issa.ino: Handmade 

ChrissieD @ Made by ChrissieD 

Jeanette @ Stamp, stitch, create 

And I want to do a especial mention to Yzo @ Chez Ro who has already been nominated but I really like her blog. 

And here are my questions:

1. What is your most bought craft item?
2. If you looked at your fabric stash now, which colour do you have more fabric of?
3. Which is your favourite place to work on your craft?
4. Do you rather iron or clean?
5. If you had a magic wand, what would you fix?
6. How many countries have you visited? Do you count or you had to think hard at this question?
7. Apart from crafting, what is your favourite thing to do?
8. What is your favourite flower?
9. What is the most striking, funny item in your wardrobe?
10. Do you speak any foreign languages?
11. Who is your favourite person ever?

Wow, writing this post has been a really fun thing! Hope you have enjoyed it as well! And now off crafting to keep up!

Vintage coffee pot

Finally I manage to have some time, take some pictures and write some posts... Hope you all had a lovely Easter, enjoyed your loved ones and eat lots of chocolate!

Today I wanted to share with you all this project... I had volunteered myself to test a pattern for Kristy @ Quiet Play. I love her patterns and I just thought it would be good to practise my paper foundation piecing skills.

So remember this sneak peak from a few weeks ago?

This pattern is part of a lovely kitchen set that you can find in Kristy shop. And voila, here's the finished block:

I love the way the pattern is set out, and how it comes together. I only struggled a bit with the background as I wanted originally to use a stripped fabric... after a little headache and some failed attempts I decided to change to a small flower design that worked much better (and easier).

And now we have the question of what to really do with it, I wanted to have it my kitchen, to add a little colour, so thought I could make cushions for the bar stools, but somehow it didn't seem fair... to have this beautiful coffee pot hiding under the bar...

So it has gone in the wall... yes I am all up for wall art lately!

I know the picture is crocked, but so are most of my pictures... so I thought it was funny for once not to edit my picture and show it as I take it... 

Feeling like making yourself a nice warm cup of coffee, I certainly do now! enjoy...

OMG it is April already

Where has time gone by? well it certainly doesn't look like April around here... all still frozen in the mornings, snow (and ice) in the pavement... and my coats, hats, scarves and globes have not found their way to storage for some reason just yet!

But be as it may it is April already!

It has been a month full of surprises, some really good, some not so good, and the crafty world has been a little bit on the side I have to say... but I managed to finish and post a few things this month:

My lovely Pinwheel cushions have been finished and look amazing on the bed (here)... though they are still waiting for the quilt, that has been half quilted, not liked, half unpicked and still waiting for me to finish unpicking all those stitches!

We brought our lovely Felipe home... he is the sweetest, funniest puppy and I love him so much! I also made him this travelling kit (here) so he can wear his coat and sit on his new cushions when we go places! He also now has a travelling bag that was purchased, but I have been meaning to make a pouch to carry his toiletries and other stuff when we travel as well.

A few new orders were made and delivered this month, you can see pictures of our orders on our Facebook page. 

And finally some embroidered wall art for our dining room. This will be part of a three embroidery designs that I am hoping to finish soon.

So what is most urgent that I work on April? Well I definitely want to finish a blanket I am making for one of my friends soon to be born baby girl, finish our quilt and work on the remaining two embroideries... and if I can add here and there some other little projects, why not?

Linking to Fresh Sewing Day... don't forget to stop by and look around what other bloggers have been up to and their plans for the next month!