... blockcrazy

Ok, a little sneak peek at a few more of my scrappy log cabin blocks as first mentioned on this blogpost. Am sewing these constantly despite having pledged to finish the other quilts. OOops.

I am planning to try the Quilt-as-you-go method on these using the same block design on front and back. No idea what I'm doing but I'll figure it out somehow.and will keep you posted once I do.

Nadine

Mini Geisha Quilt

I have been Quilting like a mad woman lately to work on presents (working on my Pay it Forward gifts and Justine's little wedding pressie) but am also trying to finish things and then hopefully set up an Etsy shop SOONish.

But here is one thing I meant to show you a while ago and I just finished the hand quilting this weekend amidst all the other stuff. It is a mini Geisha Quilt made up of beautiful Asian fabrics.

Am actually quite happy with it, the quilting turned out very well, very even for a change. I used gold thread which is a pain in the backside for handquilting, it keeps breaking or twirling up into loops, argh. But it worked out well in the end.

Close up:



The only thing I don't like is the binding. It looks shabby and wobbly and uneven and I might just take it off and replace it.

Hope you like it.

Love, Nadine

the back:

Wedding present challenge!

OK, everyone, something unusual today. My blogland friend Justine is getting married soon and has challenged her crafty online friends to make a wedding present for her lovely future hubby.


Here is a quote from her blogpost:

Sew Justine Sew:

Wedding Love........

Now I had a little thought today whilst I was brainstorming ideas for wedding presents for the lovely Mr. G.......



We've not talked about getting each other gifts but I really do want to give him something on this momentous occasion, he's such a doll and honestly he deserves a medal (if only for putting up with me!). He picks up the pieces of my wildly busy life - whilst I try being a special care nurse, mummy to two young children (one with special needs and all that that entails) and on top of that now I've found a huge passion for sewing and blogging - the poor man often doesn't get a look in!

He never grumbles though (sometimes he hides the laptop and blames the kids) and he pays genuine interest when I make him read some of my favourite blogs, he listens to me waffle insanely about fabric design and never goes mad when he reads the bank statement and realises how much I spent this month on fabric (he says he feels like Courtney aka Seamstar is part of the family) and he takes great pleasure in seeing my face when I make something I love (his words not mine!). He's a great dad and the kids adore him (as do I I've just realised), so anyway my idea.....

How cool would it be to give him some handmade wedding themed goodies from my lovely online blog friends???? I'm open to ideas and really I'm not expecting freebies, I'd be happy to pay for your services if you think you can help!

So if you're up for a little challenge to help me make our wedding day extra special for the fab 'Mr. G' then please leave me a comment. I don't want big ideas just a few little handmade items that will put a smile on his face that we can display in our home afterwards would be immense.

I really do hope some of you will be able to help me, it would mean a great deal to me....


Wonderful Idea, I say. The man deserves so much more than a medal for putting up with a crafter, without moaning about the money spent on fabric or being neglected while Justine quilts and crafts away. What a catch, Justine!

So I was thinking I could spread the word a bit and invite all of you to go to Justine's blog and help her out. We all love making things, why hoard them, why not make someone's day by giving them something we've made. And if we give it to someone so deserving as Justine and her lovely family it is even better.

Now get thinking and GO MAKE SOMETHING!

Light and Dark - Finished!

Finally, I have finished a quilt completely. I am absolutely determined to finish things before embarking on big new projects. And there are a few quilts which still need quilting (does that mean they can't actually be called 'QUILTS' yet? hmm?)

OK, I have to admit I haven't been keeping my word. And I keep cutting fabric for new quilts. Or I am piecing blocks and keep getting sidetracked. But I do try to go back to the unfinished ones and try to work on them too.

So here is one of those.



I made this last year but never actually quilted it. I am always a bit apprehensive about the quilting. I feel like they look better without the wobbly quality of the hand quilting. Maybe, just maybe, that means I do need to take the plunge and get a machine? But which one? It would have to be a super simple beginners machine. If it is too technical and the threading is too fiddly I'll break it and won't be able to fix it.

Anyway, this is my 'Light and Dark' quilt. Quilted and ready to find a new home maybe on Etsy one day?!

Details:





Hope you like it.

Nadine






the back

What is it?

My latest creation. So what is it?

Is is a coaster?

Or is it a placemat?



Is it maybe a wallhanging?



No, it is in fact my first potholder.



And I made 4 just in case.



Will test drive them on the weekend. Hurrah.

Love, Nadine

My prize

Yay. Take a look at the beautiful Marimekko fabrics from Nido which I won in a giveaway on Film in the Fridge.

Now I need to decide what I am going to make with these. So many possibilities. Any suggestions? They are mostly home dec weight.







- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

New UK Fabric shop opening with a giveaway!

Today's big huge news is the opening of the new UK online shop - Simply Solids - selling the must have solid - Kona cotton. The opening is being celebrated with a HUGE giveaway of 22 Kona solid fat quarters - you can see the colours in the picture below. The colours in this picture are all in stock for immediate dispatch. Mandy can also get in any Kona solid colour you request.* P+P in the UK is free for all orders over £15. Check out Lily's Quilts for details about the giveaway.

Good luck to you all. (or maybe I shouldn't say that.)

Nadine

Pay it Forward.

The idea is that random acts of kindness are given without expecting anything in return. Just passing on the kindness, hoping that your recipients will do the same and forming a never-ending chain of kindness.

That's what this is about. But it isn't only kindness it is also a means to connect with our fellow crafters. To network if you will and to spread our work (instead of having it sit in our house where only friends and family get to see it).

Justine from Sew Justine Sew! has posted this on her blog and I thought it is a great idea. As the second commenter on her blog post I will receive one of her gifts, hurrah.

And this is how it works:

You'll have to comment on this post and the first 3 people who comment will receive a handmade gift from me within the next few months. But those 3 commenters will also have to post the idea on their blog and commit to making a gift for the first 3 people who comment on their post and so on and so forth.

I can think of a whole lot of things I can make. This will be so much fun.

So please pass on the word and spread some kindness.

Love,
Nadine

Spots of Color

One quilt down, about 5 more projects to go.

I am slowly working my way through all the things that aren't finished and then I can move on to the beautiful new fabrics that have magically appeared in my flat over the last 2 - 3 months.

Hope you'll like this one. It is a rather small quilt, maybe more like a baby quilt. I can't decide which one is the top and which is the back of the quilt. Please also note the wonky hand quilting, actually the wonky everything. Was hoping I could maybe sell this one in my Etsy shop once I have one, but now I don't think I could. It just isn't neat enough.

close up



But I still love it.

Perfection is just not that appealing. (my wisdom for the day. :)

Love,
Nadine

the back (or front?)

Next stop: Hope Valley!

Look what has just arrived. Finally. Hurrah. Oh, I can't wait to start using these. They are absolutely gorgeous. The colors are stunning.

(.. and may I just add, buying the whole FQ pack from the States incl. shipping AND CUSTOMS is still cheaper than if I had bought them in the UK. go figure.)

Things to come

Just a little sneak peek at something I am working on.

Yes, I know, I KNOW (*blushes*), I should really finish the other projects first, but the basting and quilting takes me forever by hand and I absolutely prefer cutting the fabric and piecing the blocks.

This is one of the log cabin blocks of Kaffe Fassett and Martha Negley prints for a fairly large quilt.

Actually, I might as well tell you, lay it all out on the table as it were. I recently reorganized my (ever growing) fabric stash into plastic drawers and as I have been buying quite a lot of fabric lately (see the La Dolce Vita post) I had to be careful that all my fabric fits into the drawers. The Kaffe Fassett fabric didn't and I decided to cut 2,5" strips off so it fits. Am now making log cabin blocks out of those strips.

I will show you more of those later on.

Hope you like it.

Love, Nadine

Far Far Away II ... GIVEAWAY

Jennifer from Sugarstitches is hosting a Heather Ross "Far Far Away II" fabric giveaway.

Check out Heather Ross's website here.

What a wonderful way to start the week.

Good luck everyone!

Nadine

I'm a WINNER!

Yes, you saw that right. I have finally won something, hurrah.

I entered in the latest giveaway on Film in the Fridge and I won a scrap bag of Marimekko fabrics from Nido. Yay. Can't wait to actually see them.

Will let you know when it has arrived and I can start playing with it.

Nadine

Fabric Storage Basket

As promised I made another small fabric storage basket and here is my tutorial. It is pretty easy to do and you could just look at the images and probably figure out quite quickly how it's done. I am leaving out measurements so you can decide how small or big you want it to be.

You'll need
2 pieces of fabric
8 ribbons
some card(board)
I used the backs of notebooks as the material is quite sturdy and perfect for this sort of project.

1. cut the two pieces of fabric to fit your measurements



2. position the ribbons on one of the two pieces of fabrics



position the ribbons on the fabric as indicated exactly outside the markings for the cardboard pieces (here I positioned them exactly inside the 3" mark from the edge)






3. put the second piece of fabric upside down on top of the first and pin the ribbons to keep them in place





4. now sew the 2 pieces of fabric together making sure the ribbons are properly fastened



5. now turn it inside out. the longer end of the ribbons should be on the outside



6. cut the middle piece and the 4 side pieces of cardboard. you might have to adjust their size as you go along.



7. position the top side piece of cardboard between the two pieces of fabric



8. and pin the fabric together tightly around the edges



9. now sew along the piece of cardboard to keep it in place



10. add the cardboard pieces and sew the fabric together first vertically and then horizontally. I did this very tightly not leaving much room for the card to move about



11. fold the last open side of the fabric basket inwards and pin the fabric tightly



12. don't forget to pin down the last 2 ribbons and sew the fabric together



13. Et Voilà. Now you can tie the ribbons and you have a fairly sturdy fabric storage basket.






Here it is with the first larger storage basket I made a few weeks ago.





I hope this makes sense at all. Would love to see your baskets when you've made some. Maybe you could leave a comment with a link to your creations.

Love, und frohes Schaffen

Nadine