Polar Bear

I got one done!! Tick!!
I finally sat down and sewed together the polar bear that I had already cut out and pinned. It really didn't take long which was great. Chloe had picked out a fat quarter of this material one day and decided that I would make her a soft toy with it. I found a book of patterns at the library and this is the result. It is designed to lie down so looks a little funny when being cuddled, but she loves it. It's name is Spotty.

The bell around his neck is from an easter bunny. At least he's not gonna sneak up on us. 

WIP's

When I first saw the term 'WIP' I had no idea what people were on about. It took me a while but I worked it out - work in progress. I am a little depressed that I have accumulated a number of WIP's and also a couple of W-to-be-IP's. I thought if I listed them then I could work through them, hopefully one at a time. I have this bad habit of starting something and then seeing something else cool to make so starting that at the same time. I'm just glad the quilt is done! 


 *beanie for Beanies for Babies (to be given to hospitals and such for new babies and kiddies who need them. BFB Facebook page) 
*singlet for Beanies for Babies 
*soft toy for Chloe from some material she chose at Spotlight one day *PJ's for Alex for winter *PJ's for Chloe for winter 
*cover for second seat cushion so we have a spare 
*fluffy knitted bolero for Chloe 
*knitted dragon hats for friends having babies in the Year of the Dragon 
*quilt for Alex (in design phase, material purchased) 
*cushion to match Chloe's quilt (designed, won't be started until I get this list smaller)


 Hmmm, I thought of more as I went. I just don't seem to find the time at the moment to get them done, or the motivation after the kids are in bed. Maybe if I finish one then I'll be inspired to do the rest. Right, off to do some knitting!

Finished Quilt

IT'S DONE!!! I have finally finished the quilt. I am very happy with the result and I know it is going to be snuggly for Chloe as the weather starts to cool down. I ended up hand stitching the back of the binding for a tidy finish and I'm glad I did. It only took me 4 nights to do (!!!). In the grand scheme of things it wasn't that long. 


I am already investigating what pattern to use for one for Alex and so far I like this one, also by Moda Bakeshop. 

Quilt - part 5

It's quilted!! It took longer than I thought, especially as I really only wanted to do it in the daylight so that I did it acurately. I had lots of fun rolling and turning, and then with 5 little squares to go my thread ran out! Doesn't matter as it's done now. 

The overall look of the back

Big squares, little squares

Tonight I trimmed the edges and have pinned on the binding. Not much more to go!!! I'm using this tutorial on how to bind the quilt. First I want to make a little tag to go on it with a message for Chloe so she knows it was made especially for her.I'll add that on when I do the last row of stitching on the back.

Binding all pinned and ready to sew

Hobo bag birthday present

Chloe's friend Holly is having her 3rd birthday this weekend and I was trying to think of what I could get her. Then I realised 'why buy something when I can make something!!' I had seen this hobo bag which I thought was cool, so I adapted the decoration to add Holly's name and a butterfly which is the theme of the party. 

Little pocket inside for little treasures

Of course I had to put something in the bag so I got a couple of sheets of butterfly stickers and then put together this colouring book with a few 'H' pictures. I did each page on a separate piece of paper on purpose so that there were a few blank pages for creative drawing without having to keep between the lines. It took me a little while to come up with 'H' nouns but I ended up with horse, heart, hamburger, hat, hippo and holly (of course). The font on the book is the same font I used for the name on the bag (Hobo Std in Photoshop).

The Quilt continued

I finally got a weekend to do some more of the quilt. I have been piecing it together, and got myself some batting and some basting spray to be able to actually finish it. This weekend I used the basting spray to put it together, though I must say that it wasn't as great as I had hoped and I still pinned it all down as well. I followed the directions on the can but maybe I didn't use enough as it just didn't stick very well.

The quilt in the machine

All laid out, pinned and ready for quilting

I decided to quilt it by doing a stitch-in-the-ditch around the large squares (so basically along the lines separating the rows), and then sew around the smaller squares in the middle of the larger squares. I'll have to practice a bit more before I try free-hand quilting on a project this big. I have managed to quilt along the lines around the big squares, and have done 3 little squares - only 22 to go! Glad I remembered to start in the centre of the quilt and work out with the quilting as it needed a bit of re-pinning as I went to smooth it all out.


The end is in sight and I'm pretty excited to get it done now. Maybe it will be ready for autumn when Chloe will need another layer on her bed.

Quilt update...again

After getting the birthday party out of they way and christmas under our belt I thought I'd re-visit the quilt that has been patiently sitting at the side of my craft table for the last couple of months.


I managed to piece together the strips that will make up the binding so that I don't have that step to do when I get to the end. I also put together all the extra little squares that will make up the strip across the back of the quilt.


I also got all of the larger squares put together which actually didn't take too long with chain piecing. I have even got the first row sewn together!

The squares in place to show the layout. The border strips look shorter as I haven't allowed for the seams when laying the squares out.

Now I just have to keep the momentum up and get all the pieces sewn together. With no more pressing projects I will hopefully get it sorted soon. It is very indicative of my OCD that I am looking forward to sewing together the rows to see if all the seams line up.


Looking good so far. This pic should give me the inspiration to get it together.