Some mug rugs in the post....

Today I have some very beautiful mug rugs to share with you which arrived in the post this morning. As you may be aware, I recently participated in a mug rug swap organised by The Quilting Gallery which started in September.  I made two mug rugs to send to my partner, Denise, and she made two to send to me and, they have just arrived!! They have travelled all the way from Oklahoma in the USA here to the UK.

Denise has done an absolutely brilliant job stitching the mug rugs and, I will treasure them!! They are beautiful colours which I love!

I particularly like all the little extra details Denise included such as the little red beads which look like apples on the trees, the extra butterflies and the sun.  I also like that Denise made labels for the back of the mug rugs... I didn't think to do that with the ones I sent... but, it means that I will always remember who lovingly stitched them for me.

I was also very lucky as Denise included some extras in the parcel with the mug rugs and I particularly love the pretty little purse that she made and sent which I will also treasure.

It has really been fun getting to know Denise and it will also be fun to keep in touch. I have really enjoyed participating in the swap and, I will definitely consider joining in with another one!

Happy Hallowe'en to you all and have a lovely weekend!!

Just popping in....

Hello! I thought I would just pop by today to share with you the latest copy of 'Love Patchwork and Quilting' magazine which I have just bought.

This is a lovely magazine published by 'Immediate Media' and which you can find at 'www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk'.

As well as a cute free project of a phone case, there are some really lovely projects in this issue and I can't wait to have the time to sit quietly and look at them all properly.

Hope you are all getting time for some stitching!  

Sew-a-long Project Five....

I am very sad to say that this is the last link up for the 'Patchwork loves Embroidery' Sew-a-long hosted by Martina at Sunshine Quilting.  Firstly, I have to say a huge THANK YOU to Martina for organising and administrating such a wonderful sew-a-long.  By participating, I have met some absolutely lovely ladies and I hope they will continue to stay in touch!!

Gail Pan's stunning book!

Gail Pan's wonderful book 'Patchwork Loves Embroidery' has so many beautiful projects that it has been easy to find something to make for each of the five sew-a-long links and, there are still plenty of projects that I want to make too!!

Some of the fabulous projects inside!

My final project was the 'Cinnamon Delights' drawstring bag.  I used some beautiful fabrics designed by Anni Downs (another lovely Australian designer) to construct the bag and some lovely variegated silk thread by Stef Francis to complete the embroidery.

I deviated from the original pattern a little by using fusible applique for the embroidered circle instead of needleturn.  I finished the applique with hand embroidered buttonhole stitch around the edge and added an extra line of quilting around the central embroidery also. For the drawstring, instead of the cord suggested in the book, I used some gauze ribbon which I had to hand. 

It has been such fun to see all the different variations of the same projects that all the other participants have made.  Everyone has made such beautiful things and they are a true inspiration.

Here is a round up of all the projects I made during the sew-a-long and, don't forget to pop across to Martina's blog to link up with all the other ladies participating and see what they have made this time.  

Bloom Pincushion

Garden Delight Needle Book

Little Blue House Wall Hanging

Redwork Tote

The books have arrived!!

The new books that I mentioned in my last post have arrived!! Yay!! I know that I said I was trying to cut down on buying any more books but, I just couldn't resist these!! The first was an absolute MUST as it is the latest Tilda book written by Tone Finnanger, 'Homemade and Happy'.

As you can see from the cover, there are some very pretty projects inside and, one I think I really must make are these cute stockings featuring sweet little owls and other woodland creatures.  There are many others that I have my eye on making too.

I recently had one of those 'recommended for you' emails from Amazon which featured this next book. As soon as I saw these cute little appliqued beach huts on the front cover I was convinced that I needed it.

Now I have the book, 'Applique Art: Freehand Machine Embroidered Pictures', which is written by Abigail Mill, I can tell you that it is absolutely beautiful.  Very artistic and with lots of tips and hints how to produce applique artwork!  There are definitely some more projects going on my extremely long 'to make' list from this book!!

Hope you like the look of them both too!! Thank you for visiting me and, I wish you a happy and creative weekend!!

A few busy days....

Hello! It has been busy here since I last wrote. 

The time just seems to disappear.... I don't know where it goes but, I have managed to finish off a few little projects to show you.

In between all the usual household 'stuff' that there is to do, I have managed to get some time in my sewing room and I have made a few fabric covered notebooks. 

I am really pleased with them. They all have a little bit of embellishment.... some ribbon or lace and a button or a little applique.

I also made another fabric basket.  This one I made using a different technique to the last time. I am very pleased with it as, it stands up well. 

I started with a piece of batting and I fused some bondaweb to it.  I then peeled the backing paper off and covered the whole piece with scraps of fabric which I then fused into place.  I overlapped the pieces each time I added them. I finished all the raw edges using a machine zig-zag stitch.  I then used the finished piece of patchwork to make the basket.  The bondaweb gave it extra support which is useful in a basket. I finished it off by adding a little butterfly button. Hope you like it!

I'm eagerly awaiting a couple of new books which should be arriving this week.  I'll show you them next time if I have them.

I also have to start making some progress on my next sew-a-long project.  I have only got as far as tracing the embroidery design and hooping it ready to be stitched so far!! Hopefully, I will get some more done over the next few days.... until the next time xx

Weekend sewing.....

How was your weekend?  Mine was really nice.  On Saturday we met up with family and friends for a lunch out at the St Moritz Swiss restaurant in Wardour Street in central London. It was a real taste of Switzerland and brought back fond memories of the mountains.

On Sunday, I also had some sewing time and, managed to get some cute little projects finished.  I made some little egg cosies to match the tea cosy I made recently.

I appliqued a flower/heart to the piece of fabric for the front of the egg cosy, finishing it with a small machine zig-zag stitch.  The fabrics I used were Tilda.  I think they look really cute sitting on their egg cups!!

I also stitched up a small fabric basket.  For this I basically machine stitched fabric (Tilda) scraps to a piece of background batting.  I then made it into a basket by sewing the two shorter sides together to form a tube.  Moved the seam to the back and stitched across the bottom and then squared off the two bottom corners.  The same was done to a piece of lining fabric and the two then joined together by sitting the outside inside the lining (right sides together) and stitching round the top edge.  It was then turned the right way out and the lining pushed down into the basket.  The top edge was then turned back down over the top edge to form a rim.  

I decided it might look nice to add a piece of ribbon to the rim, so I cut a small piece of ribbon and appliqued it in place.  I am pleased with how it has turned out.

Hope you all had a nice weekend and, have a lovely week!! x

Finished Mug Rugs!!

As I have mentioned in a previous post, I have been participating in a Mug Rug Swap which was organised by the Quilting Gallery.  I signed up for the swap in September and, received my links to the patterns soon after. From time to time I had a look at the pattern instructions and got some fabrics sorted out ready but, I didn't really start work on them properly until a couple of weeks ago.

I started by cutting out the background fabric and tracing the embroidery and applique shapes as directed by the pattern.  However, what I didn't realise was that my printer settings were 'fit to page' settings rather than at 'actual size' settings when I printed the pattern meaning that they were considerably smaller than they should have been.

I spent a very trying evening peeling the tiniest pieces of fusible web paper off the applique shapes and fusing them to the background fabric only to read the next part of the pattern and discover that the patchwork pieces were not going to fit with the applique design. There are a couple of lessons to be learned here.... to read through all the instructions before you start and.... to make sure when you print patterns from the internet that they are at the correct size!!

It wasn't difficult to correct the sizing problem by enlarging the patterns using the photocopier function on the printer but, it did mean that I had to start again from scratch. They have been a lot of fun to work on.  I loved hand finishing the applique shapes and stitching the embroidery.  I also enjoyed doing a little simple machine quilting on them.  

I have finished these two cute little mug rugs now and, although I had thought that I would let them be a surprise for my swap partner, a lovely lady from Oklahoma called Denise, I just can't resist showing them to you.  

You can see from the photographs below the difference in scale between the finished mug rugs and those I had originally started.

The finished mug rugs are going in the post first thing on Monday morning along with a few other little gifts for Denise which will be a surprise for her!! I hope she likes them all!!

If I have the patience, I may still finish off the two tiny versions.... I think they will be really dinky!!

Enjoy a wonderful weekend! xx

What's new?

What is new in my sewing room today?  Well, I am afraid I don't have anything finished to show you today but, that doesn't mean that I am not working on a few different projects (goes without saying!!)

I have been working on a new crochet cushion.....

I wasn't sure about the colour combination to start with but, it is growing on me and I have come to really quite like it!!

I have been working on the mug rugs for the swap I am participating in.  I have been cutting and appliqueing and embroidering.  I can't show you a full picture of the front because I don't want to spoil the surprise for my lovely partner when she receives them! What I can show you is that I have used a few scraps of these fabrics.....

and some of these lovely embroidery threads.....

I hope my swap partner will like them when they are finished!

Of course, I can't have a 'What's new?' post without showing you the new fabric I ordered from Pretty Fabrics and Trims and which, I have just received. Some Tilda bundles.....

and some beautiful fabrics designed by Allison Harris of Cluck, Cluck Sew called 'Oh Clementine'.  I have a very special project in mind for them which I will share with you another day!  

Have fun where you are, even if it is raining..... like it is here!!  Now to finish those mug rugs!!