Quilt top finished

Finished off this quilt top this morning (just needs a good press). And happy enough with the sashing colour. Went with a natural coloured homespun, but do find it quite see through. Am planning on using some of the same for the backing mixed up with some larger panels of some of the strips of fabric somehow, not really sure yet. Undecided on what colour thread to FMQ with too. Either a creamy colour like the homespun or go with something like a really really pale pink, which I think will look really great on the back, might even have a go at some little butterflys or dragonflys or something, need to look into the FMQ a bit more for some tips on that though ; )

Snailblazer Swap Goodies Received!

Yay, I got my parcel of Snailblazer Swap goodies in the post this afternoon. Oh, I have been spoilt! A big thankyou to my fellow swap partners; Cam from Curlypops for the gorgeous keyring and brooch, Amanda for the stunning polymer clay necklace, Aimee for the cute little zip purse, Fran for the reversible glasses case, Michelle for the cute little felt brooch, Nikki for the super cute little frog fridge magnet, Xena for the lovely little tote bag, Tania for the gorgeous handmade cards, Vickie for the great little pen holder and Sandra from Pepperberry and Co. for the great little tissue holder. Everything is lovely, beautifully made and certainly going to be put to use! Lastly, thankyou to Cass for organising this fantastic swap - look forward to the next one!

And this is what I sent off for my swap group. Little vintage book gift tags with 4 hair accessories attached; pony, pin, yoyo button and crochet hair clippies. I hope my swap partners like them : )

I also received this book in the post today - I only ordered it earlier this week from Fishpond, so super fast delivery was great after hearing a few others had to wait for their copy. Will get stuck into browsing through it over the weekend.

A new quilting project

I have been wanting to get into another quilt for a few weeks now but have been so occupied with market sewing that I haven't had the chance. I knew exactly what I wanted but couldn't find a pattern I like so decided to have a go at making up my own pattern. I wanted to use the jelly roll that I had bought recently (see previous post) so wanted to make up some simple blocks using these strips. There are 7 different 8 inch square blocks, with a total of 20 blocks in the quilt. I am planning on adding strips of plain white or off white material between the blocks as well as around the edge to really make the blocks stand out. Then FMQ again as I really enjoyed doing that with the last quilt.

So I drew up what I wanted and spent an hour or so working out the calculations and checking and double checking all my measurements (I felt like I was back in school!) lol

Cut and make up these blocks which actually turned out to all be the right size - yay!
Now I just need to get my plain fabric I want for in between the blocks and around the edge and work out what i want the backing piece and binding to be. It should measure when finished 40" x 52" (approx 100cm x 130cm), so a good size for a cot quilt. If all goes to plan I might even do a tutorial for this one as it has taken no time at all to get to this stage, jelly rolls make it so easy!

Its been a busy week!

This is what I have been up this past week or so getting ready for this weekends art & craft fair that I am having a stall at.

Lots more 'Tilda' dresses, now in 2 sizes; Size 1-3 & Size 3-5.

And something new, some little skirts. I am a little unsure of the sizing as I was just guessing here with these as I made the pattern up as I went so have sized them as; Size 2-4 & 3-5 as being an elastic waist they can be pretty adjustable to fit a bigger range and I went with a pretty generous length.

I have a confession - I LOVE FABRIC! lol

These fabrics are just stunning, the colours as so gorgeous!

New fabric haul

Some recent fabric purchases destined for more 'tilda' dresses for my markets/madeit shop as well as a few other designs that I am working on. I am loving the momo wonderland butterflies and the new collection of fabric by Sanae (fabric on right with birds is just one from this collection). The fabric layed out flat I purchased from Fresh Fabrics - I discovered that Amber is really only just up the road from me and I can get my fabrics very quickly from her! The fabric folded on the left side is from Kelani.

WIP Wednesday

This past week I have been busing working on drafting up new ideas for my shop and getting ready for upcoming markets.

And, then spending the evenings knitting away little beanies - sorry my models couldn't manage a smile ; )

I also had a big tidy up of my sewing space which is still just a small card table in one corner of my office, but I managed to organise everything into containers and stack all my books and patterns across the back of the table.

And I sorted out my fabric stash. The biggest container is actually full of nappy making stuff, I really need to use it - I have a huge amount of bamboo, hemp and maiden mills fleece that I need to get stuck into and make some more nappies with or something. The other two tubs contain all my other fabrics.

I think I need to make something other than shop stuff. I am in a bit of a sewing lull I think, maybe another quilt on the horizon soon, or get stuck into some summer sewing for the kids.

Make It Perfect Giveaway

If you would like to win this super gorgeous pattern by Toni from Make It Perfect visit her blog. Or don't - because I want to win please : )

New quilting fabric

Don't you just love it when there is a big fat parcel from the US sitting at the post office for you - you just know its full of beautiful fabric! I bought these at the Fat Quarter Shop's recent pre-cut sale - a fat quarter bundle of 'Riley' by Anna Griffen and a jelly roll of Nouveau. No idea what these will be made into yet, but possibly a quilt for Miss M when you moves into a big bed, maybe a quilt for the spare bed? Not really sure, it was a sale and i just had to buy something! lol

Is it a bird or duck?

So I drew up this little bird over lunch while the kids slept and decided to make up a little softie. I think it needs a little more body and a little less neck, lol. This is the first time I have made a softie and also the first time at doing applique and using the blanket stitch on my machine so all in all I think it turned out not too bad, although Master T thinks its a duck - quack, quack!

A good day

Well today was a good day. I had my first market this morning showing off "tillytom designs" and things went pretty well. It was absolutely freezing cold and my stall was situated in the shade for the whole morning but most of the passers by were lovely and stopped to inspect my goods. I received lots of comments - just a few "what a fun and colourful stall", "do you really handmake all these?", "you must have too much time on your hands" (if only!) and "finally, somebody making REAL handmade goodies!".

My biggest score was an invitation to a big craft fair being held here in 3 weeks time that is being run over a full weekend - so two full days of running a stall. It is by invitation only and all goods must be Australian handmade - absolutely no imported anything so it is going to interesting to see what the other stalls have (there are 21 stalls total). Looks like I am going to be busy busy sewing and crafting over the next few weeks!

Just a couple of pics of my stall today - sorry about the blurry photo, still learning how to use the new phone which has a great camera! (when I learn how to use it, lol)

Oh, and you can check out my madeit store!

Just click on the madeit link over there on the sidebar : )

Round and Round

I finished off the beret i started knitting on Wednesday from the new book I picked up. I found it surprisingly easy to knit in the round and when it came to switching to the 4 double pointed needles it wasn't at all as hard as what I thought it would be. I can't believe how quickly this actually came together, will definitely be making lots more hats from this fantastic book.

It is suppose to be a beret, not a beanie, but it seems my little miss has a fairly large head (nearly off the charts for her age, lol) so I best be making the next size up I think for the next one.