Wonder Cushion Tutorial

I never know what to do with my wonder clips, they rattle around in the bottom of my sewing bag, and so I got to thinking "If only there was a pincushion for wonder clips..." and so I made this, in about 20 minutes flat. A sewing frenzy, if you will.

 I haven't found anything like it out there on t'internet, so I thought I'd make a tutorial!

You will need:
5 2x4" scraps for the tags
4 1x5" pieces for the in between strips
2 2x5" pieces for the start and finish strips

1 5 x5" square for the back

heavy filling - rice, couscous etc.

1. Fold the 5 tag scraps in half lengthwise, right side together. Sew across the short ends.

 

2. Turn the tags right side out and press.

3. Take the start piece and lay a tag, centred, along the bottom edge, lay an inbetween strip over that, matching up the ends, pin and sew along the bottom edge, 1/4 inch seam of course!

4, Finger press the inbetween strip down, so you can see that the first tag has been neatly stitched inbetween the first and second strip.

5. Now lay the second tag, just as you did the first, and cover with the next inbetween strip. Sew along the bottom edge.

 

6, Repeat this until all 5 tags have been stitched in place, and the last piece is the last 2x5 strip. When you flip it over, it should look something like this underneath. I didn't press it with an iron, mostly because I didn't have it near, but I think finger pressing keeps some 'spring' in the fabric, which is good because you want the tags to stand up when the cushion is complete.

 

7. Place the top and bottom pieces, right sides together and sew around 3 and a half sides, leaving a largish space for turning. Turn inside out. Fill with something heavy, not too full, whipstitch the opening closed and you're done!

 

I can't wait to use my Wonder Cushion for my next binding session. If you make one of your own let me know!

Make and give away as many as you like, but please don't make them for commercial use. Thank you!

Tom's Quilt

So my nephew is 9 this weekend, and some time ago I noticed a picture in his room that he had designed on the computer.

And I thought, "hmmm, that would be a great quilt"! And so I've made that great quilt!

The cat thinks it's great too!  The backing was a tad short thanks to a red pirate bandana I rashly chopped off my red fabric... But of course a pieced backing is always more exciting, and being a lazy bones, I wouldn't have bothered if I didn't have to!

And here's the lable

You can see the quilting here, rainbow variegated Gutterman Sulky 30 cotton- and a wavy stitch - thanks Amanda Jean for the inspiration! 

It was fun and quick. I love it, hope Tom does too!! 

linking up to Finish It Friday at Crazy Mom!
Crazymom quilts
 

Bits and Bobs

Playing with scraps is fun. I was stitching up a load of HSTs the other night, and it went fast. But I didn't fancy getting cutting and ironing and trimming, so I fished out some scraps and kept sewing.

This is my favourite. It's going to be a cushion cover. The solid borders are from a very special secret project...

What shall I do with this?

Or this? I don't know! 

Finally I just really like this wall art I found at my local farmers market - I never think about what my hometown might sound like to others, imagine if I lived in an actual crystal palace like a Disney princess! 

Finished Trip

I finished my scrappy trip quilt! It's made with Denyse Schmidt Ansonia. I gave it a white border to expand it and then a random scrappy border. It's bound with a turquoise print, good old Ikea Numbers on the back, and it's a good lap/sofa size.

The friend I made it for is a very accomplished needle woman herself, she does amazing cross stich and tapestry work. So it was nice to know she would really appreciate the fabric goodness, and the sheer labour of love that a quilt is. She's going through a tough time and I wanted her to have a hug she could keep. It's a bit cheesy, but that's what a quilt is, a hug you can keep, it literally hugs you again and again!

Here I am trimming off threads in the car on the journey to see her ( my hubby was driving of course) ( sewing and driving is not safe, don't do it!!)

I'm going to link up to My Quilt infatuation, and Crazy Mom this week- thanks lovely link party hostesses. 

Sunday Stash 2

Recently I visited a lovely quilt shop in Suffolk called Quilters Haven. Of course when faced with such an amazing choice of fabric I couldn't make a decision very easily at all! So I ended up with something that isn't very me, but I like it none the less!

Some Flurry in grey, always useful. And then a bundle of Downton Abbey prints which are low-ish volume, vintagey and would go well with my living room if ever I made a cushion or something like that with them.  My son got excited by the thread display , and convinced me I needed some variegated thread. Funny boy!!

We were staying with my mum, and when we got back from the quilt shop I came down with fever and chills. So I packed the car, loaded up the boy and managed to make it home down the motorway just in time. I got through the front door, handed the boy to my hubby and took myself to bed for two whole days. I was so ill it took over a week for me to even open the bag and look at my purchases...I know, really sick right?! 

All better now though, and linking up to lovely Molli Sparkles! 

 

Molli Sparkles

 

Scrappy trip

I made a scrappy trip quilt top. I had these Denyse Schmidt Ansonia fat quarters that I just didn't know what to do with.

 Quite odd prints, high contrast stripes, the weird pink and black swirls...should I go with large chunks or small scraps? My quilty sister advised small scraps, You need to make a scrappy trip she said, you'll love it.

So I did. And I did. Love it, that is. The process was fun and easy. And those odd prints take on a whole new life when chopped up.

Terrible late night photo! This is laying out blocks to decide placement.

It's not quite big enough, so a 2.5" white sashing and then 2.5" scrappy border will pad it out enough I hope. 

I also have this quilt in the pipeline, a family co-production, we're going to make a couple hundred of these:

Out of these colours 

Super yummy! Top secret! 

Hoping I can catch the action at Neefle and Thread Thursday. :)

http://www.myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/needle-and-thread-thursday.html?m=1

http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/needle-and-thread-thursday.html?m=1

Stash!

I thought I'd post a stash feast. I love ordering online, it's the best thing to get in the post! 

This week's arrival was a selection from 'Cuckoos Calling' by Dashwood studios, plus a couple of Amy Butler prints.

Lovely! 

Then some fat quarter stacks I ordered a while ago from Craftsy on sale, that came via my Stateside little sister. Some Denyse Schmitt:

And my favourite, Tula Pink's Acacia. The stack didn't have any of the crazy raccoon print but I have some of that already!

Mmm... Now what shall I make? 

Going to link to Molli Sparkles!

2 quilts finished this week!

So this was a red letter week in sewing land. I finished not one but two quilts, one of them start to finish. 

First I finished the binding on my scandi stars quilt - navy blue. Not black or white as recommended by Mary Fons, but a dark neutral none the less. 

I included double batting and a flannel backing, so it is seriously cosy. Also my first quilt with no white- I love it! 

Second quilt was conceived of and finished in 6 days. I learned that a friend at church was in the middle of a course of chemo last weds, and thought what can I do? Make a chemo quilt of course. So I pulled fabric and had it pre washed by Friday, cut Saturday, top sewn by Monday, quilted, bound, washed, dried and delivered on Tuesday, ready for her next treatment on Wednesday. 

 I didn't use batting but quilted it onto a fleece blanket (ikea £3!) so it's small and light enough to fit into a regular bag, but still soft and warm. My friend really liked it, I hope it cheers up a boring hospital room , I wish it could magic her better too ...

I'm sewed out now, I think for the rest of the weekend I'm going to crochet a scarf just for a change of scenery! 

Linking to crazy mom for show and tell time- thank you Amanda Jean!

And Modern Tradition Quilts. Not sure if this will link through though, this blogger app is pretty basic ...

http://moderntraditionquilts.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/keep-it-simple-make-it-fun-37.html?m=1