Man Present...

I promised you something a bit more interesting than my kids; oh that's not quite fair, but you know what I mean, so here you are...

My brother-in-law has a big birthday coming up, and I wanted to mail something to add to his collection of 'oh what on Earth is she going to send next time?' gifts!

Lots of Echino, a little Melody Miller plus some other bits and bobs from my stash, and I think suitably manly...

It finished up a little on the large size, 20" square, quilted with a mixture of Aurifil 40wt 2021, and the last few inches in Gutermann, because I ran out, dammit!

I have going from being totally unsure, to thinking it looks just the job; I just hope it receives a warm kiwi welcome.

Back tomorrow and I'll be linking up a little something with Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day, hopefully! xxx

Picky...

You all know the score.  The evening before you head off on holiday, and you have to be up at about 2am, all the bags are packed, spare keys hidden, fridge emptied and time to relax, then you decide you need to make a new iPad cover, because you just have to!  Right?

Well I did.

I had been eyeing two different patterns, Ayumi's from Patchwork Please! and Alexia's from Liberty Love.

I plumped for a mix, the Liberty and Echino combo of Alexia's, and Ayumi's pattern, minus the accessories pocket.

I stitched up a storm until I had the binding attached and ready for finishing.  Gah!

I had used my walking foot to do everything, so although the binding looked great on the outside, when it came to stitching it down, the wider than necessary seam meant the mitred corners were horrendous and I had to pull it quite tight to cover all the raw edges.  The clock was ticking, so I persevered.

It looked OK, but it didn't look great...

As it turned out, I didn't even get my iPad out of the case the whole time we were away, but it niggled me nonetheless.

So on the night we got home I unpicked the binding, trimmed the whole case down by 1/4" all round, as it was a little on the large size too, then re-attached and re-finished the binding.

I had to use a straight seam to join the ends as I had previously cut them on the bias; it was making my head hurt to try and re-cut to the right length, but I am more than fine with the outcome...

So now I am a happy bunny.

Looking at the After picture above, it still looks wonky as I'd just plonked it on the floor, but in reality, it is all good!

The pattern was easy to follow, and really quick to put together, even with all the quilting.  I will make more in the future no doubt as it is not a fabric-hungry pattern, and I am all about the co-ordinating tech!

Ready for another one?

So I ran out of snap fasteners last night, and I couldn't get this one finished until a quick trip to the goldmine, that is my local stitching, crafting and fabric shop in the village!  I got the original pack from eBay but I am surprised and glad to say that the little local lady was cheaper, and after a quick phonecall to check she had what I was after, I was there and back in 10 minutes... Oh I love living here!

Fab Friday Feeling...

It is now the weekend - the sun has been shining all day, I sat on the deck whilst the girls sang their hearts out for about an hour before the school run; (the boiler service man got a few tunes for his trouble too), and I managed to make up another, smaller, change tray from some more lovely Echino!

This time the fab pink cars!  It's all good.

All change...

Poor hubby has the man-flu, and has been hinting for a while that he needs somewhere to put all his small change, so thanks to a well-timed Sew Hip project (issue 27), I decided to be nice...ta da!

Although my fabric selection, cutting and stitching were all interrupted by cooking, eating, getting 3 ready for bed and a quick phonecall to NZ, I reckon I could have got this made in about 30 minutes!

I used some linen and Echino, and a bit of hubby's favourite 'spider-pig' print.  Please note my shaky shadowy photos make my shaky stitching look a bit worse than it really is!

The pattern is simply a square, 3 rectangles and poppers!  I will definitely make more - I think I have found my calling!  There are adaptations to be made.

Credit for the pattern goes to Jo Ebisujima, and I've just had a quick look at her lovely blog and etsy store, hmmm, I spy lovely Japanese linen!

I heart Inset days!

Firstly a big thank you for all your kind words about the HUG, they really mean a lot - check out today's new Flickr pic!

Today then, taking just 3 hours flexi-leave, I managed to cram in loads especially as there was no school run, no rain and no furniture to build for a change!

There were huge Belgian Buns for breakfast, (apologies to any Danes reading, but the Belgian variety looked yummier this morning), a lovely pot of tea, with a tea strainer, and a huge chocolate milkshake for my companion; the parcel was safely posted to NZ, we did some reading about tarantulas - not my choice, a few random rounds of eye-spy, a quick spin around Tesco, all before collecting the girlies from nursery, then back home for a bit of mummy-time!

We are still in need of a large picture or 'something' to go above our bed, to cover some incumbent holes and scuffs, and also to inject a bit of colour and personality.  So after a little ponder, here are my first 'drafts' using some of my beautiful and beloved Echinos and some previously covered canvases...

I have a real problem cutting into these gorgeous prints, so I am thinking that they will remain largely intact and be able to be re-used in the future should we tire of them, and I would get to see them all the time - so a win win.  Dear hubby seems to be onside at first glance, so I may well get happy with the staple gun over the weekend.

Taking the photos, and trying to get all 4 canvases in wasn't so easy, even with assistance!

Then, as if playing with fabric wasn't enough, I just needed to make a little something, some good old instant gratification, and what better way to use up some of those scraps left over from the bunting, than pin cushions.

I literary had my conscience pricked last night; check this beauty out by lovely clever Fi (Patchwork Delights) - I can only dream of making anything so perfect!  When Verity said at New Year that she was going to make a concerted effort to make things from the books she owns, this was one of those 'things' I vowed to make!

So I grabbed my Quilting In No Time and got going!

I didn't want the frilly bit, and I probably didn't follow the instructions to the letter, and if you don't look too closely, I am really rather chuffed! 

The pink one is for my mum, sort of a early consolation prize for looking after dear son for a few days over half term!  The other one is just for me. 

The postman also came laden with literature, (well you may beg to differ), and I now have these to look forward to...

 
I love days like these.

and an even happier Saturday evening Winner!

I am constantly being surprised, it would seem, but logging on this evening I saw that I was a lucky winner over on Fat Quarterly!  I had even forgotten that I had left a comment and was in the running!

So now I can look forward to some of my favourite fabric - Echino, from one of my favourite shops - The Eternal Maker!  Things are looking up!

Fantastic giveaway!

The fantastic Lyndy over at Stitchbird Fabrics is having a 1 year of blogging giveaway, and although I do not want to reduce my odds of winning, please take a look.

Based in Wellington, NZ, home to my sister, I love all the beautiful fabrics she stocks and wonderful things she makes!  Obviously the Echino cushion is a hit with me!

Echino cushion no.2

This afternoon I made my second man-cushion, this time for my dear husband.  I am probably a bit daft to have given it straight to him, as it is his birthday in less than a month and I haven't got him anything yet, but he deserves it!

I am 95% happy with it, I had a 'tape measure failure' midway through so it ended up a bit bigger than the cushion pad.  I love the grey and cream combination, and the sneaky panther prowling along the bottom.

Echino cushion no.1

Everyone is enjoying the chance to make a bit of mess, relax, eat chocolate and watch the opening of the Commonwealth Games;  I have also made my first cushion cover.

As with all these things, the planning and cutting all took far longer than the actual making up, and I love it!  I did a simple envelope back in plain natural cotton, and the feather-filled insert works a treat.

This one is a gift for my father.  His birthday is in December, but I don't think I can wait that long, so it'll probably be for next time we see him; sort of a 'Happy 1st Craft Show' present!

Something for the boys!

Look what I got today - and the postman even left my parcel with a neighbour!  The lovely folks over at The Eternal Maker are responsible for this little bundle of fun!

I want to make something for both my husband and father, and these heavier weight Echino linen/cotton mixes are just the ticket.  I am thinking cushions rather than quilts, so I need to come up with a plan to make the most of the superb prints - really does seem criminal to chop them up!  I might just end up just sewing a couple of fat quarters together!

I will, without question, keep you posted.