New inspiration

Appy times

I resisted the lure for a long time, thinking I should make do with the old cell phone I had. Well, maybe not that old - I must have been the last person among my friends to even get a cell phone. “Who needs to be that available?” I would ask, and cite all the reasons why they were a nuisance, like people including everybody else in their private conversations on the bus, or guests spending most of their time on the phone with others during a visit. Now I must confess that I stubbornly make myself unavailable in such situations by switching off the sound of my phone, but about six months ago I finally caved in and got that iPhone I was so fascinated by. And how that has changed things!

I had heard of apps that would let you visit Twitter and Facebook, plan your dinners and shopping lists, but what my friends at work didn't tell me, not being crafters themselves, poor dears, was what a great companion a phone loaded with lots of crafty apps could be.

I started out by looking for free quilting apps, and found quite a lot, most of which I tried a few times and then forgot about. But there are a few that I use a lot - RK QuiltCalc is great for working out how much fabric I need for borders, backing, or pieces. A great tool when you come across a fabric bargain and want to make sure you buy enough. But my favourite quilting app is ProjectQuilt. I use it for keeping track of my quilting plans. You can describe your projects, adding deadlines, when you started, who it's for, prority and even calculate costs, if you must... You can add photos to identify each project - I usually snap a photo of the fabrics I want to use or a screenshot from EQ of a quilt I have planned. Recently I came up with the idea of using it to store information about all the backing fabric I have in my stash. I do this by snapping a picture and adding length and width of the fabric. It took a little effort to get them all out and measure them, but the beauty of it is that now I can quickly scroll through to check if I have the right fabric for backing a new quilt and if it is big enough without rummaging through it all.

Once I had my quilting sorted out, I went in search of knitting apps. I found Needles which is good for keeping track of all your knitting needles by size and type. Another great help if you want to shop for a new project and wonder if you have the right size needles at home. There are several apps that help you count your rows and repeats while you are knitting, but my absolute favourite helpmate is Knit Companion. In this app you can use a pdf file of yor knitting pattern and set it up, with written guides and charts separately. There is a bit of a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, you get text and charts where you can slide markers to where you are in the pattern, so you easily keep track of where you are. There are also counters to keep track of rows and repeats. The beauty of it is that you can close the app, put your knitting away and the next time you pull it out you can go right back where you left off; no counting to find out where you are in the pattern. You can have several projects on the go at the same time and keep track of them all.

Another great little app is Gaugefy, where you can work out sizes of knit pieces if the gauge is altered.

My embroidery has been left on the shelf for a while now, but with the recent smell of autumn in the air, I was inspired to have a look at my stash. There don't seem to be that many cross stitching apps yet, but I found Xfloss where I can make an inventory of all my floss. It is basically an illustrated list of all DMC colours arranged by numbers. You can add how many skeins you have of each colour, and whether you need to buy more, by tapping the shopping cart. You can also enter projects you are working on or planning, and once you have done that you can assign the different colours you need to their respective projects, giving you a great shopping list.

Now these are just a few of the apps I have come across so far – I’d love to hear about any you have found useful! Yes my phone has become a great little helper. Sometimes it even makes a ringing sound – I wonder what that is about… ;-)

Paddington purse

I have been a bit obsessed with snap lock purses lately. Ever since I saw Very Berry Handmade's purse for the In The Frame Purse Swap I knew I had to make another one. And wouldn't you know - I just happened to have everything I needed! I had bought a kit containing this sweet Paddington fabric and  purse frame a while back, but was discouraged when I found that the pattern was not included. I made a couple of purses a while ago, but that pattern would not do for this one. When I saw this purse, I knew this was just right and luckily the link to the Etsy shop  was included. An hour later the pattern was downloaded and I was happily sewing along - isn't the internet great? A time thief at times, I know, but also a great resource. The fabric I used for the sides is Sweetwater, Hometown.

The purses I made earlier had the kind of frame where you had to use glue, and that had it's own issues, but I found it a bit fiddly to get started with this sew in frame as well. After a few false starts, I ended up with basting a few stitches through the frame mid curve and into the seam connecting the two different fabrics. This left the edge suspended just below where it was to get stitched into the frame and ensured that I got it centered in the frame. I used blue/grey embroidery floss for the stitching and while it hardly shows on the outside, it's not quite so pretty on the inside. But I suppose it's just a question of practise and taking one' s time...

I will certainly get some practise now, though, as, buoyed up by my successfull finish, I went on here and ordered some more frames. I also got an expandable frame, so now it's off sleuthing to find out how to stitch a purse for this one...

A bit of support

As I mentioned the other day - new gadgets means new excuses to sew stuff. I was thinking of buying some kind of stand for the iPad, as I intend to use it a lot for keeping track of knitting and sewing patterns and it would be handy to have it standing upright while trying to decipher a knitting chart and not have to keep putting the needles down to pick up the pattern. While trying to decide on a stand I came across this on Pinterest. Genius! And so simple to make. Just two rectangles of home dec fabric, a bag of rice and a few seams, and there you are! A pyramid for the ipad to lean against and a ridge in front to ensure that it doesn't slide down. The tutorial was easy to follow and now that I have managed to sweep all the excess rice up from the floor, I am ready to set up my knitting patterns in knitCompanion and get started.

So cosy

This is my new ipad cosy. A new gadget is the perfect excuse to sew something new, right? I spent hours searching the net for an idea, but I ended up doing my own thing. As one does.

I used various text fabric, some natural linen/cotton mix, and I just couldn't resist adding some polka dots! I stitched my various strips and pieces together forming a piece that was long enough to go around the iPad lengthwise + a few inches, so it would cover the opening of the pocket.  I layered my finished piece with lining and batting, stitched a seam around the edge, leaving an opening for turning it inside out, stitched the opening closed by hand and quilted it.

I chose to quilt with alternating lines by hand and machine, which gives a lovely, soft texture. The pocket was made of one piece of polka dot fabric, layered with lining and batting in the same manner as the main piece and stipple-quilted, before I stitched it to the main piece along the bottom, taking a detour up the middle and back down to form two compartments.

After stitching a length of ribbon on to the back (just a few stitches across the ribbon) I folded the piece to form a pocket, just a little bit shorter than the iPad and stitched down the edge of each side, catching the side of the pockets in the seam.

And there you are, a nice cosy to tuck the new friend into for the night. I just fold the flap over and tie the ribbon in a pretty bow and it's safe and sound. And as an added bonus, the cosy is soft enough to roll up and use as a support under the pad for reading and writing. Yes, quite happy with this one! And I love how it looks like a neat little parcel waiting for me with the promise of all the wonders of the world waiting inside...

And because new apps must be played with - here's a little sketch from Skitch with all the measurements. 9" might seem a little wide, but I promise, with all the quilting lines making it pucker up it turned out to be just right.

Sweet sewing fabric

I must admit a weakness for text fabric, and ever since Sweetwater's fabric line Authentic caught my attention, I have been eagerly looking forward to each new fabric line from this great design team. So it is no surprise that I was quick on the trigger (or the mouse - but when it comes to internet surfing that's the same thing, isn't it?) when their newest line, Sew Mama Sew, became available and ordered a whole stack of fat quarters.

 I have been playing with them since they arrived - sorting them by colour, by pattern, stacking them up, spreading them out and just savouring them.

This is a particular enjoyment that my new-sewing friends would never understand. If I had told them, they'd just think I was plain weird! "But what is it for?" would be the question, "What are you going to make?". And, you know: I have no idea! For now they will sit on a shelf above my sewing machine so I can rest my eyes on them from time to time, and I'm sure an idea or two will come to me sooner or later.

And while I was shopping I couldnt resist two other sewing related fabrics. These are from Timeless Treasures. Aren't they fun?

Top Lotta

I've been waiting for better weather so I could take a good picture of my latest finish, but it seems that the wait might be a long one, so here goes! I had been pondering for quite a while how to use that stack of Lotta Jansdotter Echo. I spent ages poring over the Kona solids colour chart before deciding on Raisin as my background colour. At the same time I came across this great quilt by Kirsty at You had me at bonjour and used that as my inspiration. I realized that it was constructed in the same way as my Baroque quilt, only with wider strips of the background colour. I spent some time working with the proportions in EQ and ended up with 6x8" blocks, making a 42x40" top before adding the 1" border. Looking back at the initial inspiration it's amazing how different the result is with a dark solid instead of a light one, but I'm quite pleased with it. I think it really shows off those great fabrics.
I have also pieced the backing using more Echo, so now it is just a question of preparing the quilt sandwich and deciding on how to quilt it. Knowing me, that could take some time....

Taming the scraps

So my scrap situation was completely out of control. - How's that for a riveting first sentence? :-)
But seriously, I just didn't have room for more fabric and that's serious, right? I debated with myself about what to do with that plastic crate full of scraps - it could be put to better use storing my backing fabric, and that would make more room among my other fabric for the new purchases.

Of course the simple solution would be to just go out and buy a new box, but then, where would I put that? So what to do? Throw all those scraps out? No, I just couldn't do that - it seemed such a waste. I had started years back to stitch my blue and yellow scraps together into large pieces, intending to cut blocks from them, but I was lead astray by a new tempting project and they were abandoned to a box up on my shelves (I'm pretty sure I can locate them...).

Now I had time on my hands and an urge to continue that project. My scraps were kept roughly sorted by colour and crammed into paper bags in a crate and I could just manage to close the lid. A brief survey told me that the greens were taking over. Now politically or ecologically speaking that statement might not sound too alarming to some, but in terms of managing my scraps, something had to be done.

I started by pouring the whole mess onto the table and, boy, was there a lot - I must have used green borders on a lot of projects over the years, judging from the amount of strips I found. I sorted strips and smaller pieces and ended up with some semi-orderly piles. Off to the ironing board, where they were flattened into submission and then the sewing could beging. I started stitching the smaller pieces together into strips, trimming them and stitching them onto long strips, working my way through little by little.

I'll admit it wasn't all fun, and it seemed to take ages, but I rewarded myself with other sewing projects along the way (which is probably why I have managed to make two quilt tops so far during my holidays and quilt one complete with pieced backing...), but eventually I had assembled enough large pieces to start cutting. I decided on 8 1/2" blocks, because I happened to have an 8 1/2" ruler nearby ...  I ended up with 54 blocks - enough to make a whole quilt - I know! Isn't that an amazing result from one small paper bag of scraps?

Now while I was out shopping the other day, I came across a plastic crate, half the size of the ones I had, with six compartments inside - well they are actually buckets that you can take out, and oh so handy! I had just the right slot for a crate that size, and promptly started sorting through the rest of the scraps. I still had some greens left over, but not too many. Neatly sorted in piles first and then put into their own compartments, I managed to fit most of them in. Now the blue and turquoise ones had to be crammed in, so I see where I have to go next when I feel up to a new scrappy sewing session. I still have the black, white, cream and brown scraps to sort through, but I did manage to find room for those backing fabrics, so I'm well pleased with my organising so far.
 

Now of course, I'll have to come up with a quilt design for these scrappy blocks, but I'll have time to think while sorting out the rest of the scraps little, by little. Any suggestions?

Wonky logs

 It's holiday time and rain - perfect weather for quilting! My pile of Stitch in color-fabrics have been tempting me for a while, and after cutting pieces for all those kits, I had no more excuses. Let the fun begin! Wonky doesn't come easy for me, but I had my mind set on making some wonky log cabin blocks. Once I got started and got my system going, I ended up with a rythm which worked for me. I started with 2 1/2" strips, cut nine cornerstones with one straight angle and two slanted lines, added strips to the angled sides, pressed and cut them at an angle, added new strips and so on. Once I had used the first set of strips, I cut a new set at 1 3/4", and the next set at 2". That way I got enough of a variation for the wonkyness to look random while still catering to my systematic side. I ended up with nine 12" blocks, making a 36" tablecloth. 

I used a thin, soft batting (thermore, I think) to give a nice drape to the cloth, and pieced the backing of wide strips of the same fabrics. I quilted the cloth with yellow rayon thread, following the logs in different wavy, swirly patterns, keeping it quite loose to keep the drapiness I want in a tablecloth.

So there you are- a new cloth for my kitchen table - enough to wake anyone up and add a bit of colour to a dreary morning.

Wordy fabric

As I mentioned I have had a bit of a shopping spree online, and here is some more of it. I really can't resist fabric with text on it, and I came across these fun pieces here on Etsy. Great shop with lots of hard to find fabric.

I got sets of fat eights in all colourways, so I have quite a selection to play with here. They also included some samples of other fabric in the packet that are big enough to use - so great! All the new fabric that's been arriving here lately means that I have to reorganize my stash to find room for everything. I'm also working on a plan to reduce my scrap heap, starting with the greens - more about that later...

All kitted out

 With all this fabric shopping I've been doing, I'd better get a bit more sewing done. There isn't a lack of plans either, but sometimes getting started, ironing and cutting and calculating seems to much of a chore - I just want to get to the stitching pieces together part, you know? So one day when I was in prep mode ( it might have something to do with the fact that I was bored with trying to get to grips with my scraps ...) I sorted out the fabric I would need for my next three projects and started cutting strips and pieces. First in line is a tablecloth with Malka Dubrawsky-fabric. I'm making corner log cabin blocks, improv style - which is quite a challenge for me. I tend to end up with some kind of system, making all the blocks the same anyway - we'll see how I fare this time.

 Next in line is a quilt using Lotta Jansdotter fabric - actually come to think of it, this was what started the whole cutting frenzy - I wanted to make those placemats for my sister (see the previous post) and had to make sure I had enough fabric for this quilt first.

Then there was this stack of Amy Butler squares I have had lying in wait on my sewing table since my Birmingham trip two years ago (!). The cutting didn't take that long once I got down to it, and now I have three kits ready for when the sewing bug hits. Wait, make that two - I just had to get started on those Malka-strips this morning - before breakfast even - they were lying there next to the sewing machine calling out to me (really, I swear!). At this rate I might have to start cutting more fabric before you know it. In fact, I realized yesterday that I haven't got any summery placemats of my own, and I have soem Hometown fabric that would be perfect...

Just as well I have three weeks off work :-)

Almost forgot

 I had these new placemats all rolled up and ready to wrap before I remembered to take pictures.

They were quickly unrolled and I snapped a picture right there and then. At least it shows the colours well ... But you can't see them all here, so I threw them on the floor:

Now I really should have ironed them before taking the photos, but there was no time. I can only assure you that the edges aren't as wavy as they seem here. I used block patterns from the Avalon quilt pattern by Elisabeth Hartman, featured in the Quiltfestival Magazine. The fabric is of course by Lotta Jansdotter combined with a cotton/linen blend and narrow strips in Kona Cotton Raisin. I used more Lotta on the back and quilted them all in wobbly lines.

There -  a quick photosession, placemats rolled and tied, giftwrap added - and I was off to my sister's birthday party, where they were a great success :-)

Scrappy mug rugs

My scrap bin is overflowing, and I decided that I really need to do something about it all. I have a plan, but more about that later...
These recent scraps didn't even make it into the scrap bin, because it was so full and they were so lovely, that I didn't want them to get lost in that wild jumble of wrinkly old bits and pieces. So what better use for them than stitching up a new pile of mug rugs?

There are pieces in there from my latest cushions, bags and quilts - some lovely Reunion, Henna Garden, that great house print from Spoonflower - lots of lovely fabric where I couldn't bear to throw away even the smallest pieces.
I just stitched bits and pieces together randomly, sliced and stitched some more. I ended up with ten tiny quilt tops ;-)  They were all quilted with wavy lines with varigated thread, cut down to size - I make mine 6 x 8" - and given polka dot binding as a unifying factor. Now I don't expect that they'll all stay together, they will probably find new homes with friends and relations soon enough.

Except for these two. I don't know why, but they just make me so happy. Orange and aqua is not a colour combo I would have thought of, but with a bit of black and white it really works for me, so these are staying.  Perfect for enjoying a cup of tea and a bit of knitting on a rainy day. My last precious piece of Aunty Cookie Knit One fabric matches so well with my knitting bag as well. Yes, these are definitely staying!

Fabulous fabric

Yes, I've done it again - I've added more fabric to my stash. I'm living this fabulous FABLE-life, you know: Fabric Aquisition Beyond Life Expectancy! But who can resist it all? (And this isn't even all, I'll show more later...) I haven't got spesific plans for all of it, but then stamp collectors don't use all their stamps either, do they? Fabric just needs more storage space, that's all...

I had plans for this lovely Laurie Wisbrun-print though - in fact I have already used a lot of it - more about that later. I just had to show you the selvedge - how adorable isn't that? I  must find a way of working those fab cabs into a project. Luckily I have a bit of time on my hands right now as I've just started my holiday - three weeks of glorious days I can use for anything I wish. I won't let the weather get me down either - so what if it's pouring down outside: it's fabulous weather for sewing !

What happened?

- Nothing much on the sewing front, that's for sure! A few days away, and somehow I didn't seem to find my way back to the sewing machine for a while. A new delivery of snow from above didn't help - too cold in the studio (aka the corner of my bedroom...) and exhaustingly long days at work have left me feeling drained. Lots of rest, hot drinks and warm quilts was what the doctor ordered.
I'm back now though. It's still cold for June, but summer seems to be approaching at long last, and I have finished quilting those ten mug rugs. The binding next. I had planned on using scraps of binding from former projects, but somehow none of them seem to go with these mug rugs, so I'll probably have to cut new ones.

Mug rugs to be

mug rugs to be, a photo by crafty mathea on Flickr.

Sunday, rain, cold... - What better way to spend the day than staying indoors, stitching scraps together and creating a pile of new mug rugs? Can't think of any.

Vitamin C for vitamin Q

 I seem to spend an awful lot of time over at Pinterest these days. There's so much inspiration there, but most of the time I just look and pin. This time, however, I just had to act right away. There was something about this fruity little thing that got to me right away, and before I knew it I had ordered a pattern.

 Usually new patterns will have to wait in line quite a while, but I started working on this one right away, appliqueing orange segments and stitching wedges together for a sweet sewing kit. One half is a pincushion and the other half has room for needle and thread and whatever you need in a small sewing kit. The pattern also has an apple version, and it had an extra pad for sewing needles. I saw no reason not to include that in the orange, though. OK, it did mean another round of applique, but it also meant that I got to use a bit of that lovely orange Henna Garden fabric.

 The pattern called for an orange zipper, but I had a white one on hand, so that would have to do. I also added a piece of tape measure ribbon - it might come in handy when sewing.

Some more Henna Garden for the lining and a green vintage button for holding the two halves together, and there you are - a new sewing kit. Sweet, isn't it? A bit of vitamin C for when I'm getting some vitamin Q - or quilting, if you prefer...

One of these days...

 ...I just might have to get a new flat to find room for all this new fabric I keep buying!

But who can resist those lovely polka dots from Michael Miller, Valori Wells' new line Cocoon and the reissue of Amy Butler's Gypsy Caravan? Not me for sure! Now it's a question of more storage or more sewing...