Cherry Possum

Lazy Days skirt

2010-02-25T13:00:00.000+08:00

My latest project was the Lazy Days Skirt from the tutorial from Oliver and S

I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I didn't quite have the full selvedge to selvedge, but as Possum is pretty small it didn't really matter.

It was really simple and the instructions were very easy to follow.

As I didn't have the selvedges intact I watched this YouTube video on French seams, and I am now a whizz!

Shirring - Aarrrrrgh!

2010-02-24T12:26:00.003+08:00

Here's my first attempt at shirring......

If it were competing in Vancouver - "Nil Points!"

I'm off to google to solve my problems! Wish me luck.

Pillow talk

2010-02-08T13:07:00.006+08:00

Here's what I've been working on recently.

All the kids in my mothers' group turn on in the middle of February so they all had a joint birthday party and Possum and I were the guests!

So as little present for them all I made them name pillows.

Since making Possum a stocking for Christmas using this tutorial and using this tutorial to learn how to embroider I've really gotten into my embroidery.

I hand embroidered the names and then made borders in coordinating fabrics. I used this tutorial to make the actual pillows.

When it came to Isabella's I didn't have the stamina so I found a different stitch and a different font and did a slightly different version, I think I need to practice my raw edge applique technique!!!

Uh-oh!

2010-01-15T10:54:00.005+08:00

I finally succumbed a ordered the Single Girl quilt pattern from Cia's Pallette. I've been coveting it for a while now and I'm soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo happy to finally have a copy! However now it means selecting/collecting 36(!) fabrics to make it! I've been wanting to make a qult for our bed and this has been the pattern that's been in my head for a while. I'll machine peice this baby and then ahnd quilt it so I'll be at this one for a while, but I do love the look hand quilting gives.

Here are my collected fabrics so far....

I've had the Heather Ross russian dolls for a while with our bed quilt in mind. I'd really like them to be dominant in the quilt so I'll probably double up on those. I'm just not sure about the oranges or the mermaids, what do you think? Maybe I should seek out more browns and maybe a pinky/red colour to pick out the colour in the russian dolls?

Christmas Gift and latest project

2010-01-14T19:55:00.003+08:00

Here's a little gift I whipped up before Christmas for Possum to give to her Daddy. I used this tutorial from myrtle & eunice and I changed it slightly as I didn't want to use ribbon as a fastener so I sewed on velcro and it worked pretty well.

I also created my own vouchers for trips to the zoo, the botanical gardens, Sentosa and a few other places. I wanted tears from the recipient which I didn't get, but he was pretty chuffed with the present. The fabrics ae just ones I found at Spotlight with an animal theme.

And here's my latest project, little stacks of blue and green coins for a coin quilt. I'm using Jaquie of Tallgrass Prairie Studio's tutorial found here.

New Years Resolution

2010-01-06T15:45:00.004+08:00

My new years resolution is to look after this blog a little better!

There are so many projects which I made in the last few months but I've given them away or lost them before I got chance to take a picture! I worked on them all right up to the wire and didn't have time for picture taking. Maybe better time management should be another new years resolution?!

So I'll have to ask people to take pictures of their gifts to show you, there's the birthday quilt, Molly Monkey, a handbag and the B&W photo quilt to show you. And I made a Ruby doll from this tutorial, but Possum lost her somewhere on Orchard Road : ( So I'll have to make another and show you pictures of the new one.

I the meantime it's the hubbies birthday tomorrow, and there appears to be a distinct lack of husband birthday cards here in Singapore, so I found this tutorial on AlphaMom for a shirt and tie father's day card, I started making it and was inspired by my colour choice and the little bits of qhite poking through to the right side to turn it into the hubbies football team's home shirt, so here you go.

Done!

2009-11-03T20:45:00.004+08:00

My blocks for the Sis Boom Pow! block gather are all done and I'll be posting them off to V in NYC tomorrow (weather permitting - the walk to the post office!), and my Black and White quilt top is done too, I'm just waiting for the bacing fabric to arrive from Spoonflower. I can't wait to see the fabric, it should be here soon as it was post two weeks ago tomorrow! It's dark here now, but I'll take photos of the blocks and the quilt top in the morning sunshine and post tomorrow.

In the meantime, have you seen the new Block Party quilt along? There's a giveaway over on the blog to celebrate.

x

Catch up

2009-10-15T09:52:00.008+08:00

So....... had visitors galore for the last eight weeks, and now we're home alone! Yay in one way, but boo in another as I miss my mum : (

Aforementioned visitors have resulted in limited crafting and even more limited blogging. So here's a post full of the goings on over the last few weeks.

I received my parcel from my swap partner for the friendship bag swap. The lovely Frieda of sheknitsallday sent me not one but TWO beautiful bags, one for me and one for Possum, she's adopted the one on the right and took it out yesterday to carry her maraca and a little cow (as you do). Frieda also sent some lovely FQs, a covered tape measure and a little toy for Possum (not in the picture - already in toy basket!) Possum also love the tape measure, she pulls the whole thing out and then looks on in amazement when I push the button to retract the whole thing.

The birthday quilt was not finished on the actual birthday, so I whipped up this tutu from this tutorial as a quick on the day present, and the quilt was finished in time for the party a few days later - unfortunately it was finished in the nick on time and was hastily pulled from the dryer and promptly wrapped and arrived only 15 minutes late to the party - which meant no pictures! But I have asked for some pics so hopefully I'll have some soon.

I sign up for the Sis Boom Pow! block gather which V from Bumble Beans has organised. Fabrics donated by Jennifer Paganelli and a request for appliqued blocks. Here's the fabric parcel I received from V (I don't know if you can see in the pic the little bee in the cornerof the envelope, a nice little calling card - very cool, think I may have to get me one!)

And here's my first attempt at machine applique, quite a few puckers so I think I need to lift the foot at every pivot and be a bit more careful, now I just need to finalise my design, hmmmmmm.

And onto my most recent project, the black and white quilt for the Grandparents for Christmas.

I have already printed lots of black and white pictures of Possum and her cousin onto the inkjet fabric, they are all wash, pressed and cut out. I think the fabric worked quite well, although it did skew slightly after rinsing, and the colours look a little green tt me which I think will annoy me beyond belief as I am a real stickler for colour matching (used to be a big part of my job!)

My inspiration for this quilt, started from this, and eventually turned into a version of this but with actual pictures. I'm going to frame each picture with one of the black and white fabrics, and then put them all onto a white background courtesy of the Ikea flat sheet, and the Piece de resistance of the whole quilt will be the backing courtesy of spoonflower, but you'll have to wait for that to be revealed!

A new week.

2009-09-28T09:42:00.004+08:00

Well another week rolls, by......

I kind of got a bit behind on the Fall Colour Week, and I'm afraid short of going and buying some plums, I give up with plum! But here's Thursday Chestnut, our lovely family dog, who sadly went up to the big kennel in the sky last week : (

I finished my friendship bag and posted it on Friday, but being the complete numpty that I am I forgot to take a picture of it before I posted it, maybe my partner will take a picture when she receives it. Also in the post I posted back the DVDs which my MIL had sent that week - wrong envelope - we hadn't even watched them!!!

I have a deadline this week, the birthday quilt which is in progress ....... birthday is on Wednesday! Party isn't until Saturday so maybe I could give myself a little extension! But I've had quilted some bit and started machine quilting, but I just couldn't get the tension right, and then I got lots of tucks in the fabric, so I'm unpicking all that and then I'll have to decide what quilting to do........

Wednesday Fall Colour Week - Goldenrod

2009-09-24T08:05:00.005+08:00

The colour of Jiffy envelopes which the postman brings contain recordings of X-Factor! Yay!!!!

Friendship Bag Swap

2009-09-22T13:28:00.004+08:00

I've been beavering away at the bag for the Friendship Bag Swap, and I'm very nearly finished, then I just need to fill it with some goodies and sent it off to it's new European home.

I've been checking out all the blogs from the list of other swappers and so far haven't found one which I think is heading my way, I v much looking forward to receiving mine, and even more excited about my European swap partner getting hers!

x

Tuesday Fall Colour Week - Burnt Sienna

2009-09-22T13:21:00.004+08:00

Day Two of Fall Colour Week is Burnt Sienna - Meg from Elsie Marley describes Burnt Sienna as like the rooftops of Sienna - how about a picture of the rooftop of Sophia?

It's not actually Burnt Sienna, some would call it "ginger", others "red", hairdressers have told me it's "Titian" so as Titian was Italian (but from no-where near Sienna) I think it counts!

Monday Fall Colour Week - Brick Red

2009-09-22T09:33:00.004+08:00

Elsie Marley is hosting a Fall colour week, based on Crayola crayon names, so I thought I'd play along, despite there being a complete lack of seasons here in Singapore!

I'm running a little behind as yesterday was a public holiday here in Singapore and was spent doing fun family stuff, but the way I figure is it's still Monday in the US so I think this post counts! Yesterday was Brick Red, so here's my pic, it's of the Buddha Tooth Temple in Chinatown.

Tomorrow is Burnt Sienna.....

x

WIP

2009-09-14T10:03:00.003+08:00

Here's my latest WIP, it's the birthday present quilt for a friend, and here are the blocks all sewup, threads trimmed and pressed.....

Next came laying them out to plan the quilt layout...

Then came the ginger possum destruction unit, and this is the aftermath!

x

Another beach ball and a new project

2009-09-11T11:08:00.002+08:00

We're back from a little holiday to Bali, which was fabulous, for the trip I made Possum a little beach ball with some of my prized Far Far Away fabrics, she seems to love it which is pleasing!

And now my next project...... a 1st Birthday present for a friend's daughter. I order some fabrics from afabricoutlet on Etsy, and I pulled together this bunch of fabrics for it, what do you think?

Now I think I will pre-wash these - that must be the worst bit of making a quilts! Then the cutting up, then my favourite bit sewing the first few pieces together. Although I think the bestest bit of making a quilt is that last seem which finishes the top - what's your favourite part of the quilt making process?

Snuggy

2009-08-26T09:30:00.005+08:00

I've been meaning to make Possum a snuggly/security blanket type thing for a while now, and here's what I came up with....

I used some Heather Ross Far Far Away double gauze for the front, and Princess and the Pea panel, surrounded by little snails. And on the back is leftover pink fleece. I sewed some ribbon loops into the seam on the front panel for some interest and something for little hands to explore, and I bound the whole thing with peach coloured satin blanket binding (not easy to work with!) I hand quilted a loopy line around the border, kind of like a snail trail, and I quilted Possum's name down one side.

So far she has quite liked it, and it's been everywhere with her (my choice rather than hers!), I hope she really takes to it - I still get a warm fuzzy feeling when I think of my Bowie (my baby blanket which I had until I was 11!) and I hope Possum feels the same about her snuggy.

Oh Fransson's pincushion organiser.

2009-08-21T10:04:00.004+08:00

Introducing my latest sewing project.......

It's the pincushion organiser from this tutorial by Elizabeth from Oh Fransson on Sew Mama Sew. It was really easy to make and the instructions were al very clear. The little bag for scraps and threads is very useful. I used some Erin McMorris Wild Wood, and some cool batik-y type fabric from Quilts n Calicoes.

Spot the mistake? I cut the piece to make the organser section the wrong way round, so the trees grow sideways - never mind!

Definitely a tutorial I recommend - I'll be making my mum one of these for Christmas - and speaking of Christmas - flights back to Blighty book - YAY!!!!!

Handmade presents

2009-08-18T14:54:00.005+08:00

One of mine and Possum's bessie mates is moving back home tomorrow and we had to say goodbye today : (

As a little token departing gift I made Possum's buddy this little fabric beach ball using this tutorial from Purl Bee. I used some Amy Butler Full Moon Dots, some Jay McCaroll's Wood Maze, some cute birdie fabric and some orange solid. It was really easy to make, except the circles on the ends, the tutorial says to cut out the circles and iron the the fabric in a little, but this was waaaaaay too hard for me, so I used this tutorial for circles, and they turned out pretty well I think!
And for my buddy I made the "Poopy Clutch" from this tutorial. A few things went a bit worng but I gave it to her anyway as I thought she'd see the wonky bits and think of me!

I'll definitely be making more of the beach balls, they're fab!

A leson learnt.....

2009-08-05T10:09:00.005+08:00

I'm fairly new to the quilting world, and I'm learning all the time.

I've recently learned a great lesson in pre-washing fabric, well I had a pre-washing incident and I am yet to assess exactly what I have learnt.....

These are my lovely owl and mushrooms Alexander Henry prints, and I pre-washed them along with the other fabrics inteded for my next project all together. I bought the other fabrics from Spotlight and they were a poly/cotton blend. I suspect the culprit of the above and below pictured grievous assault was the red!

The pictures don't look toooooo bad, but in real life the fabrics now look murky and horrible, luckily I only prewash half of what I had of each fabric so I'll use the other half in the quilt. Do you think some of that dye-gone type stuff will work to get the fabrics back to their pre-pre-washing beautiful state?

And do I take from this to.....

a. not pre-wash fabrics?

b. pre-wash dark colours separately?

c. don't buy cheap poly/cotton blends?

d. to pre-wash fabric on a very cool wash?

There we have it, still so much to learn!

But the fabrics are intended for an outdoor play quilt - here are all the fabrics together.

I want this quilt to be used and so I want to back the quilt in something hardwearing - any ideas anyone?

Another bag

2009-08-04T13:25:00.005+08:00

I've made myself another bag - my Heather Ross Weekend Sewing Hold Everything Tote actually holds too much! So I looked around the good old "t'internet" for a bag tutorial. I knew what kind of shape and size I wanted but didn't know how to make one without some guidance. I stumble across this tutorial, and it was brilliant as I could alter the pattern to fit my needs.

I made the strap shorter and wider, and I made the bag bigger all around. I also lined the pockets and made the fastening from velcro. Big lesson learnt here - when pressing a project involving velcro avoid the velcro! I managed to melt the loops! I made it using canvas from Ikea which I bought to make Possum some curtains, and lined it with some orange fabric I have. Here the bag in use - carrying toys!

I'm well chuffed with it! It's just what I wanted! And I loe the super-bright colours. It could maybe be an inch bigger - but I'll just have to make another one with some amendments!

I've also signed up for a Friendship Bag Swap over at the Quilting Gallery - should be good fun, check it out. It'll be my first ever swap - how exciting!

x

I wish I had a studio........

2009-07-31T13:18:00.003+08:00

Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts, has posted about her studio, and asked commenters to show her their creative spaces. Well this is mine........

It may be my space where I create but it is certainly not creative! It's the end of the dining table! When you live in a three bed 1100sq foot apartment - there is nowhere to claim as my "creative" space : (

Maybe one day I'll have my own little room..................... a girl can dream can't she?

x

Whirlygiggles finished!

2009-07-30T10:09:00.009+08:00

Yay! Quilt No. 2 is finished! I started it way back here in May. It's destined for my niece in England as a Christening present - unfortunately I won't be able to deliver it myself, but it will be on a jet plane across the continents in September.

I used this tutorial as a starting point, but modified the angle of the trapezoid/trapezium (big words!) to fit the size of the blocks and also to make it look the way I wanted. I also added on the seam allowance to the measurements and used the rotary cutter instead of making a template and cutting out all the shapes.

Here's how I did it..... my finished blocks are 6.5 " so I cut my fabric into 4.5" x 4" rectangles, I then I marked 1/2" up from the centre line on one side, and 1/2" down from the centre line on the other side, stacked a bunch of rectangles together and rotary cut from the marking on one side to the marking on the other - hey presto a load of trapezium/trapezoid ready to be sewn into Whirlygiggles. More whirlygiggle quilts can be seen here and here. And if you're into paper piecing - here's a tutorial on paper piecing a whirlygiggle.

The fabrics, are left overs from this quilt with a couple of extras added in. I know my SIL is not such a big fan of pink - and she loves orange, so I added in the Amy Butler's Ripple Stripe in Orange, to try to de-pink the overall look, I also added the orange border in linen which I just love! Orange is a very happy colour!

I tried something a bit different on this quilt, I used a fleece blanket as the batting AND the backing, I think it works quite well, it's made the quilt a nice weight for a toddler quilt. And in keeping with the current economic downturn - the fleece was a bargain! I just wish I had put a layer of white fabric between the top and the fleece as the pink shows through a little - but hey you live and you learn.

My lovely sewing machine was purchased half-way through the making of this quilt so it is half hand pieced and half machine pieced. All the blocks were hand pieced and then the whole thing was assembled using the machine. I still really enjoy hand piecing, but I love how quickly things come together with the machine.

For the quilting, I hand quilted a quarter inch in on all the cream bits, and then did parallel lines around the linen border - I think that may be my trademark in borders as I really like how it looks.

This is the first quilt I've labelled properly - the other's are on my to do list! I hand embroidered the label as inspired by this.

I here's my little possum - who generously agreed to model for me!

I hope my little niece treasures this quilt for years to come.

Next project - a quilt for her baby brother or sister who is currently a bun in the oven!!

x

More stash building

2009-07-20T11:45:00.005+08:00

I've been indulging myself in a little more stash building, this time from Quilts n Calicoes .

These are some more black and white prints for the picture quilt intended for the grandparents Christmas present. I need to find more greys as at the moment the quilts is very black, and I don't want the stark contrast which too much black and white will give - oh no that means more fabric buying - shame!

These two are kind of intended for the quilt for our bed based around the Heather Ross Matryoshka fabric - but I'll have to wait and see if they go.

And now I definitely need to find a better place to keep my fabric stash than this Canele bag!

Whirlygiggle update

2009-07-20T11:11:00.004+08:00

Here's the "Whirlygiggle quilt so far.....

I just need to finish off the hand quilting, including quilting in the recipient's name, machine quilt the border (eek, this will be my first machine quilting adventure!) sew on the binding, and make and sew on a label, oh yes and then wash and dry and wrap up! Phew that sounds like lot of work - I had best get on with it!

x

Things to make.....

2009-07-17T13:35:00.011+08:00

I'm so inspired whilst trawling around blogland, I find so many fabulous tutorials out there, and I want to make them all!!

Here's what I really want to make. (I'm not really sure what the etiquette is for using pictures, but I hope all the people who's work I refer to don't mind me using their photos)

This gorgeous Felt Garland from Anna Maria Horner's blog, this one will definitely be on the tree come Christmas (that's how long it takes me to get my proverbial ahem into gear!)

The Kidlet Wall Pocket/Tidy Tote - from JC Handmade this one is way down the "to do" list - not because I don't love it, but because I think it's a bit much to ask of a 7 month old to tidy up after themselves! But I can just see these on all the doors and hanging on hooks in bedrooms in out beautiful house in England - oh how I miss my house : (

This fab Play Microphone - from Blueprints which is again way down the list until Possum is a bit older.

These groovy Soft Trees - from Little Birds Handmade, I'll have to find somewhere for these to go come Chirstmas time, but I also thing they make cool ornaments any time of year - don't you?

I just lurve these little Love Birds - from Molly Chicken
I'll be making six of these to send to my nearest and dearest six best buddies back in blighty.

This well used tutorial for Fabric Baskets by Pink Penguin, is there anyone in blogland who hasn't made one (well me - but I will make one soon!)

Another one for when Possum is older but this Tutu tutorialfrom Plumtickled has got Possum's name ALLLLLLL over it!

The Poopy Clutch - from IS.LY I'll be making one of these for me and many other ladies and ther adorable babies!It's great fits a few nappies/diapers and a packet of baby wipes, and hey presto purse magically turns into a nappy/diaper bag without morphing into some horrendous monstrosity!

This Toy gathering basket - from Sew Mama Sew posted by Kristen, is a great idea, it's a toy in itself with all the little toys in the side pockets, I think it's great to encourage kids to tidy up.

And these Baby Cloth Shoes - from Stardust Shoes, Possum doesn't really wear shoes at the moment, but when she starts walking/cruising she'll need some (and I don't think that will be long the rate she's going!)

Well those are all the projects I want to make, plus a whole load from the extremely talented Elizabeth from Oh Fransson. I made the laptop pouch for a friend but forgot to take a pic before I gave it away - doh!

Now I just need to decide which one to make first.....................

Inspiration

2009-07-08T09:49:00.006+08:00

This super cool and groovy art installation stands in the foyer of the National Museum of Singapore. I love the contrast of something so hard and associated with violence and war - turned pink and girly. All the shades of pink together make me want to make a pink quilt! And the batik banners on the walls are just yummy.

And here's a pic of the the Chinese New Year decorations at the Paragon, I love the red and black, with the bright white light shining out - this makes me want to make a Chinese inspired quilt.

But I've made a rule for myself - one quilt at a time! And until the Whirlygiggle quilt is finished I MUST NOT start another! I'm just over halfway through handquilting the blocks, then I'm going to brave some machine quilting in the border (only straight lines!) - watch this space for an update!

x

My first sewing project

2009-07-07T12:57:00.009+08:00

Here is my first sewing project from Heather Ross' Weekend Sewing.

The raw materials.......

Et voila - the finished article

It's the Everything Tote. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, I'm using it as my combo handbag/diaper bag, and it's pretty roomy so it fits LOADS in. I used red ticking for the body and green ticking for the binding and handles, and the coolest camo print with hearts for the lining.

Of course I made a few amendments to the bag in the book. Firstly my tote is smaller - but still huge. The book calls for 1/2 yard of inner and 1/2 yard of outer fabric to make the tote. However this is way off the mark, I couldn't even cut the bag pattern piece from my half metre, never mind cutting the handles and binding on the bias! So I had to trundle off to Spotlight and get more fabric halfway through! In all I used 1.1 metres of ticking to make the bag and it's about 3 inches smallr in width.

I also used the suggestions from this post on AlewivesGirl to change the instructions to make more sense. I only folded the binding and the handles once, and I even left the straps open so that you can see the lining underneath and so that the straps are wider and stay on my shoulder better.

All in all, I'm pretty chuffed with my first sewing project (since I was at school) and I think the bag looks pretty special! (By the way I think I "forgot"to mention that my sewing afficianado mum was here for two weeks and oversaw the whole project!)

I already have my cogs whirring on making more bags!

x

Christmas in July

2009-07-03T13:32:00.004+08:00

Look what the hubbie bought me!.......

Now I have my trusty stead I shall be whipping up projects left right and centre!

First thing - finish off the whirlygig quilt. All the blocks are finished (sewn by hand), but now I can zoom them all toghether and get the borders on in no time! Yay!!

I'm so excited, there are so many gorgeous things out there in blogland and crafty books which I am raring to make.

x

Il Postino has been....

2009-06-30T16:56:00.006+08:00

Well I've been absent from Blogland for a little while, had lots of visitors for the last few weeks and haven't had time for much blogging.

But I have had time to receive deliveries......

This arrived from Kathy at Pink Chalk Fabrics....

These Tillsbrook Toadstool and Spotted Owl from Alexander Henry - no great plans for these, but they were just too cute not to have in my stash!

These beautiful Matrioshka prints from Heather Ross' West Hill - intended for a quilt for our bed (watch this space!)

And this pack of fat quarters because they were too cute to pass up!

And this arrived with my parents from Amazon UK (much much cheaper than it is here in the book shops in Singapore)

I just love this book, all the illustrations are soooo cute and all the project ideas are great, Heather Ross is just so fab. In fact she's so fab I've ordered some of her Far Far Away line from fabricworm, waiting for it to arrive as we speak, and I think I'd like to order lots and lots more!

BLW

2009-06-04T12:49:00.004+08:00

Possum and I are just embarking on our adventure into "real food". We're following the BLW, or Baby Led Weaning approachand it's going real well. (Here's the website if you're interested). It's based on a paper research and written by Gill Rapley, basically you put real food in front of a 6 month old and let them feed themselves and eat what they want. So no purees and no spoon feeding. It's so much FUN! So far we've tried, strawberries, bread, mango, broccoli, baby sweetcorn, yoghurt, asparagus and bread.

Highs and Lows

2009-06-02T18:45:00.002+08:00

Well the highlight of my day was ordering some lovely fabric from Pink Chalk Fabrics. The service received so far has been excellent, I had some problems placing my order due to the amount of fabric left, so I popped over an e-mail and got one pretty much straight back with the problem resolved, I was surprised by such a quick reply given the time difference. I cant wait until it arrives, I have no idea how long it will take tho - so I'll be down at the post box every day waiting for Il Postino!

And the low - realising I hadn't won ANY of the giveaways I entered from Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day! Oh well maybe next time. I'll have to have a giveaway of my own soon to celebrate my blog!

x

More stash building

2009-06-01T19:45:00.006+08:00

I'm pleased as punch with my latest purchases. I ventured out to Quilts n Sew Forth and pick up a few fat quarters to bulk up my stash.

First off some black and white prints, and a grey marble, all destined for a quilt loosely inspired by this one from WhatKnot and another quilt which I don't have the foggiest where I saw it, but it was all blacks, whites and greys with photos framed with solid black. (If any recognises this description - please let me know where I saw this quilt!) I want to make this quilt for Possum's grandparents with B&W pictures of her first year.

Then this lovely geometric print, I just loved the colour, and the kind of traditional look. I have this in mind for a quilt for our bed (I know a King size quilt is a bit ambitious for a novice quilter!)

This GORGEOUS 50s style print - again I just loved the colours, and the print is just too cute.

I also bought some solid Kona cotton browns and a kind of crazy Hawiian print.

Here are all my most recent additions to my stash nicely folded using this video tutorial by Kirsty from Kootoyoo

Watch this space for more stash building.......

I'm in the market......

2009-05-29T19:24:00.004+08:00

...... for a sewing machine. Well I figured I've done the hard slog and completed one quilt completely by hand, and I'm halfway through hand piecing quilt numero dos, but I think it's high time I invested in a sewing machine. Told DH that I need to make some darker curtains for Possum's nursery, so under this pretence I have had the go ahead to make a purchase (but we all now the real reason - QUILTING!)

Possum has accompanied me in her HotSling on my quest, trawling around the shops in Singapore and the main brand I can find is Brother. I don't want to spend toooo much on said sewing machine, as I want to make sure I will definitely use it lots and won't lose interest in a few months (my usual style with hobbies). There are two models I've seen in Best Denki, the XL2220 (reasonable price) and the XL5700 (more expensive).

So here's where I need some advice; the more expensive model has a lever for lowering the feed dogs to allow me to machine quilt, and according to the lady in the shop the cheaper model has a thingy-mag-ig which fits over the feed dogs to allow me to quilt. So the upshot, do I go for it and buy the more expensive which I know I can quilt on, or save my pennies (sensible in the current economic climate) and get the cheaper one.

Answers on a postcard if you please (or alternatively just leave me a comment!)

(and here's a pic on Possum in her sling, outside Orchard MRT station)

Whirlygig Quilt

2009-05-25T09:29:00.007+08:00

Here's how my latest project is shaping up.

I only had enough of the cream fabric to make 20 blocks, so at the moment it's going to be 5 x 4, the blocks are 7" at the moment but will be 6.5" after seam allowance, so I'm not sure if it will be large enough - we'll just have to wait and see.

The little possum and I have had rotten colds last week, and we're just getting over them, we had to cancel all baby rendezvous so as not to spread the germ love, so it was quite a boring week! On top of this our whole "nap regime"was thrown completely off kilter - hence very little crafting was done!

I'm super duper looking forward to Wednesday, Sew Mama Sew is organising another Giveaway Day. I was going to try and make something and take part - but rubbish week = no time = didn't make anything. So I'm just going to enter as many as I can!

Have a nice Monday

Bargain find!

2009-05-21T15:09:00.003+08:00

I've read a couple of times of people using fleece as batting, or even as batting and backing in quilts, thinking this was a good idea, I thought I'd keep my eyes peeled for any fleece bargains to be had- and what should I stumble across in Carrefour yesterday but these babies - and reduced to Sing$2.50 each! Think I'll be going back for some more!

New Project

2009-05-06T09:49:00.003+08:00

Quilt number two has been in my head for a while now. I have some left over fabrics from this quilt and I've bought a couple of other fat quarters to go with them, so I'm going to work on a "whirlygigg"quilt. Hopefully it will be a present for my neice, her birthday is September but I hope to have it finished way before then! But remember people - all by hand no sewing machine!

Here's the fabrics

Now I just need to decide what size to make it - I want it to be for her to play on the floor on so Sophia and I will have to do some research into the optimal size!

2009-05-05T19:37:00.003+08:00

Buiding a stash - slowly but surely!

2009-05-05T10:45:00.006+08:00

I'm sooooo jealous of all the wonderful fabrics which everyone seems to have in their huge stashes. I don't really have a stash, but I intend to work on that - I started yesterday with a trip to a little quilting shop in Grandlink Square recommended to me by Yvette from Midnight Crafts. They stock lots of lovely Japanese fabrics.

I bought a cute little retro 50s print, and a quaint little patchwork-esque print.

The retro print is from the Sweet Life collection by Atuko Mtsuyama Design, printed by Yuwa

And the other is by Lecien, I love the little baskets, and watering cans. There's a little puppy and a buzzing bumble bee, all very cute!

No great plans for these babies, in fact I have no other fabric which would go with either of them, but the can sit and look at me until they have some more friends to play with. So next week I'm going to venture out to find more fabric stores in Singapore - until then I'm going to enter as many giveaways as I can!

Here starts the stash - wish me luck!

There's a fab giveway here, a pillow of your choice, even a custom made one! I love the bird silhouette pillow in the etsy shop. Check it out.

x

Bloggers Quilt Festival - Favourite Quilt

2009-04-23T07:48:00.004+08:00

I couldn't resist entering my quilt in the Bloggers Quilt Festival orgnaised by Amy at Park City Girl. Such a great idea!

My favourite quilt is my only completed quilt, freshly finished!

It's a quilt made for my baby girl, I hope she will treasure it forever and get so much joy from it. It's posted about in more detail here. I think (and hope) it will always be my favourite quilt, it has got me hooked on quilting and in turn hooked on quilting blogs, it will be the first of many quilts!

x

Finally Finished - "From Mummy with Love"

2009-04-22T13:32:00.010+08:00

I've finished my first quilt! Yay for me! I'm so please with the final results. And here she is!

We moved to Singapore from the UK in June when I was 3 months pregnant - with no job and not prosepct of getting one in my condition(!) I was a little bored. I'd always wanted to make a patchwork quilt, and had one failed attempt with my mother's sewing machine when I was about 10 years old. So I thought I'd occupy by pregnant time by making a quilt for my little baby. I found a quilting shop which also does lessons and signed up for the beginners class in October. A mere six and a half months and a baby later it's finished!

It's a hand pieced and hand quilted sample quilt using traditional blocks, these are my favourite blocks.

Hand quilting is labour intensive but I love the end result. I started to quilt in the ditch, but it was just too hard to do by hand with all the layers, so I started again sewing a quarter inch in from the seams. I decided to do the minimal quilting needed to get the quilt finished - knowing that it can be added to later - so all the sashing and corners are quilted, and there are two lines of quiting in the border. I put little hearts in the coner squares - a little bit of love going into the quilt.

I chose a pink and green colour scheme as I knew I was having a girl. And I just love the Freshcut by Heather Bailey print which I used for the backing.

I have enjoyed every moment of making my first quilt and can't wait to start the next one! I've call the quilt "From Mummy with Love" and I hope Sophia will cherish it for years to come.

Oops

2009-04-20T11:40:00.004+08:00

Spot the mistake? I accidentally sewed my binding down wrongly at the corners - had to unpick it and redo, oh well.

My first quilt is just nearing it's final stages. I can't wait to post about it and include it in Amy at Park City Girl's Online Quilt Festival (http://parkcitygirl.blogspot.com/)

x

First Post

2009-04-15T16:33:00.004+08:00

I've been so inspired over the last few months by all the quilting and crafting blogs which I've read, that I decided to have a go myself. So here we go.......

I took a quilting class back in September and I am just about to finish sewing on the binding of the quilt.

It's been a labour of love. It's all 100% hand peiced and hand quilting - so progress has been slow. And on the subject of labour - my waters broke while I was quilting it! The quilt was destined for my baby girl - however she decided to show up two and a half weeks early - and I had only just started the quilting. Since the birth of Sophia I've been snatching the odd 20 minutes here and there to get it finished.

I'd love to make lots of quilts like all the ones I see on the quilting blogs, and hopefully I will when time allows.