I couldn't wait ....

I'm afraid I gave in.  Remember last week I showed you my lovely new book

and said how I couldn't wait to get finished with Christmas makes so I could break into it?  Well, I'm afraid I have less patience than a child on Christmas morning and I caved, compromised and made a Christmas make from the book!  How's that for sneaky and impatient?

My favourite block in the book is Envy by Angela of Cut to Pieces and I knew that I wanted to make this one some time soon (as well as loads of the others).  However, last night DS was hanging about the sewing room as I was deliberating what design to use to make a companion cushion to the Secret Quilt and as he flicked through the Modern Blocks book (avoiding going to bed rather than out of genuine interest, I think - initially at least) he said he thought the Envy block would look good in the Secret Quilt fabrics.  Totally unprompted! Now that can only have been a sign, don't you think?  So snip, stitch, a few mumbles as I tried to eek out remaining fabrics to be the right sizes, and voila!  One more Christmas pressie cushion -

Envelope Back

(probably shouldn't show it but I'll take a chance)

I know it doesn't quite fit the theme of the Secret Quilt but frankly my quilting ability and inspiration in that area have been exhausted, so it'll be grand!

I love the block so much and it worked out okay in these smaller scale fabrics even though the larger prints of the original are stunning!

One more satisfying tick off the list!  And fun doing it!

Birdie Stitches November Block

A little bit later than I'd hoped my Birdie Stitches November block is finished.

I have so enjoyed these little Birdie blocks throughout the year and it's exciting that there's just one left.  I'd really love to have the December block stitched before Christmas (not a big fan of stitching Christmassy things after the season), but we'll see ...  maybe, when all of my gift sewing is completed I'll find a few minutes in front of a festive movie to work on it.

Tick tick tick

Yep three more Christmas makes checked off the list over the past few days.

As I hoped, I managed to get the little tissue pouches made at class on Thursday night.  These will be presents for two sisters who are friends of my son and are matches for the little purses I made last week.  He was very complimentary when he inspected the final makes and thinks the girls will be happy to receive these on Christmas Eve.  (He chose the fabrics himself from my stash - not bad at all!)

And for DS himself I made a cushion from the remaining Cosmo Cricket Snorkel fabrics to match his Surprise Quilt.

LOVE it!

Surprise Quilt and Cushion together

I wish I had thought to quilt the quilt itself with these wavy lines, they really appeal to me especially with the theme of these fabrics.  Hindsight would be better if it could be foresight!

So, as I say Tick Tick Tick.  The list is getting smaller (thankfully).

Goodies for ME!

From Susan:

gorgeous Christmas tree decorations.  If I could take a decent pic of my Christmas tree with my camera I would prove these are now proudly hanging there for all to see.  But sadly my pics all looked like I'd had a little too much festive spirit, see?

Anyway, I promise they are there Susan - thank you, you're a sweetheart!

I must also showcase the talents of Susan's daughter Helen.  Isn't this a fabulous Christmas Card?

Clearly creativity is working through the generations of Canadians Abroad.  Amazing, Helen!


And then this beautiful, funky Christmas fabric and this Modern Blocks book was gifted to me very generously by my amazing friend Judith.  I can't wait to think of something Christmassy to use up these fun fqs, and now I can't wait for Christmas to be over to be able to get stuck into some of the blocks in this book.  Thank you so much J!

It is good to give, but it is also very nice to receive.  Thank you ladies!

Surprise Quilt Finish

I promised to show you the Surprise Quilt finished, so here it is -

It washed well but I am concerned that it went a bit too wrinkly and crinkly in the dryer, but perhaps that's just my ironing OCD kicking in!

I also rustled up a couple of little coin purses for two sisters for Christmas gifts. I would like them to have been finished off a little bit better, but I think they're acceptable and I don't suppose an 8 yr old and a 10 yr old are going to inspect them too closely (she says hopefully).  Besides the tiny Lindt bears should be sufficient decoy, don't you think?

Tomorrow night at class I'm hoping to supplement each of these wee pressies with a matching tissue pouch.  Well, that's the plan anyway and then that'll be another couple of things ticked off the list.

Christmas Gift Progress

It's getting so tricky around here to get any peace and privacy to sew "surprises" that I've had to resort to this signage on the sewing room door -

Problem is that the future recipient of the "Secret Quilt" and the future recipient of the "Surprise Quilt" are each in on the other's "surprise" or "secret" respectively and therefore each think that the sign doesn't apply to them but only to the other one!  Still with me?  So "Elfette" had to have strict words and the sewing room was pronounced well and truly out of bounds when the door is closed!  It's exhausting trying to be secretive.

Anyway, thanks goodness for the mum who planned her son's birthday party this afternoon which gave me 4 blissful clear hours to get the Surprise Quilt from a pile of blocks to a pieced top, layered, basted, quilted and binding machine sewn on before being hastily hidden to await some other time to finish hand-sewing the binding.

I'm very happy how this quilt looks but should confess that it wasn't plain sailing this afternoon.  I never knew that quilting on the diagonal was such hard work!  Something about the weight of the quilt seems to change with the diagonal feeding through the machine - I hadn't expected that and struggled quite a bit with the drag it caused.  There was also sadly a moment during the penultimate quilting line when I discovered that there was a hole in one of the blocks! AAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH! Gutted does not begin to express how I felt on spotting this mistake! Couldn't I have spotted it earlier when I could have fixed it easily?  I did the best I could with a repair job and am just hoping against hope that it will hold (please, please, please).

On a positive note I think that this is my favourite binding fabric to date and I'm delighted with how it ties the quilt fabrics all together.  Note to self however:  next time I think it would be lovely to make someone a quilt for Christmas think it in July!  Nov and Dec are not good months to be spontaneous about quilt making.  You live and learn!

Hope to have a fully finished quilt to show you in a day or two.

The past few evenings have also been a flurry of activity to try to make decent headway into my Christmas makes list.

First up is the mug rug with little hostess tray which Judith cleverly amalgamated as one of her Christmas Gift Class Projects.  I made this one for my son's male school teacher who I am informed (hopefully reliably) is a huge Dr Who fan.

And then I tried out this lovely little crochet tutorial to cover some jam jars which were destined for recycling but have now met a happier fate  (I warn you making these is addictive!) -

I tried to get a decent photo of these lit up but sadly my photography
skills are much worse than my needlecraft

All in all pleasing progress.

Simple Quilt Label Tutorial

This little tutorial has been prompted by requests at our Bee Blessed meetings.  It's not rocket science by any stretch of the imagination, but if you are new to the concept of quilt labels this will get you started.  After that, you can go wild and crazy and be as creative as you like!  This is only the tip of a very large label making iceberg!

This tutorial will give you a simple rectangular label made up in the style of courthouse steps and finishing at 4" x 6".

So without further ado ...

You will need:

• label centre fabric piece - cut 1:  2.5" x4.5"
• label border pieces - cut 4:  4.5" x 1.5"
• label backing - cut 1: 4.5" x 6.5"
• fabric pen

Assume 0.25" seam unless otherwise stated.

Stitch a border piece to the top and bottom of your label centre piece.

Press the seams away from the centre fabric.

Now stitch a border piece to each side of your label.

Again press the seams away from your centre fabric.
At this stage you have a little rectangular courthouse steps block.  (Obviously you could make this up in any block design/shape you like by recalculating the sizes for cutting.)

Sorry about the shadow but hopefully you can just make
 out the guidelines through the grey fabric.

Next you need to write your label using a permanent fabric pen and set the ink with heat by pressing with the iron (assuming that's how your pen works).  My tip here is to use a guide paper behind your block to provide you with straight lines for writing (akin to the piece of lined paper you used to get when you bought a pad of Basildon Bond letter paper).  This really helps keep your writing nice and straight and level.  Unless, of course, being more random is all part of your design!


Your choice of pen can also be important.  I highly recommend a trial of this stage well before bringing ink anywhere near your lovely label.  Take your pen and follow the instructions to write on some scrap fabric - is it thick enough? does it bleed? When you're happy, set the ink with the iron (if that's how your pen works) and give the scrap tester a wash to make sure it doesn't run or fade dramatically.


What you write on your label is also entirely up to you - it can be a whole personalised message or just as simple as 'To' and 'From' depending on your recipient.  For posterity I would recommend adding a wee date to your label - again the choice is yours.  But remember,  what's really lovely about labels is that they tell a part of the quilt's story, so they are definitely worth the effort, no matter how simple.  

I should also say at this stage that there are many other options for labelling your quilt rather than just writing the label.  Sometimes a wee bit of simple embroidery or the addition of ribbons/buttons can be beautifully effective.  Cross stitch labels can also be effective additions to your quilt.  I've seen many labels stamped too (good news for those of you panicking about your handwriting) and I believe that Versacraft ink (available on ebay) is suitable for this process.  Again, the choices are yours and will make your quilt all the more unique.

Now having written your label, lay your label block and your backing fabric right sides together and pin to hold them in place.

Starting and finishing with a little backstitch, stitch around all the sides leaving a 2" gap for turning through.

Trim the corners.

Pull your block right side out through the gap left in the stitching.  Make sure to push out the corners and seams as much but as carefully as possible.  (I use an old crochet hook for this purpose, which eliminates the risk of the point of my scissors piercing my lovely, newly stitched item.)

Press the label seams out well having also neatly turned under the fabric at the opening left for turning.

Slip stitch the opening closed.

Position your label on your quilt - usually on the back, but there are no rules except your own! - and pin to hold in place if necessary.

Now, using a discreet stitch like invisible applique stitch or ladder stitch, or if you prefer an embroidery stitch like blanket stitch, sew the label to the quilt.

And hey presto, you quilt is all labelled up and ready to donate to your lucky recipient!

Hope this has helped a little (sorry about the shadowy night photos).