And the winner is…

Thank you very much for your comments and your interest in our little design challenge. I really enjoyed reading about your approach to quilt design vs. using a pattern. I think it is funny that most of us use a pattern but give it a personal touch by altering it on the go. Somehow we all like to put our heart and our personality into our quilts.

Now without further ado, here is the random winner of Brigitte’s book and of my mini quilt/ pillow cover;

Congratulations, Helen! I hope you’ll enjoy her book as much as I do.
I’ll be in touch via E-Mail soon (o:

Happy Sewing!
Christine

More baby gifts

In addition to the wonky pinwheel quilt we made for my friend, I made her a giant pillow cover (80x80 cm), that can double up as a duvet while the little man lies in his pram.

It all started with this fabric pull from my stash:

After piecing a simple patchwork top, it was time to choose threads.

White Aurifil and a simple dogwood design made the race.

I hid half of the zipper in the binding so that it is hardly visible when closed.

As long as the baby is still young, the pillow cover can be used as a duvet cover in winter. During summer the pillow cover can be used without filling and makes for a light blanket. Once he’s bigger he can use it with his new quilt. And even as a youth he needn’t be ashamed for still using his “baby pillow” (o:

I made a little sleep bag that unzips completely so it can be used as a changing pad, too. But I was in such a rush that I forgot to take proper photos )o:

I used two layers of cotton batting, a heavyweight cotton fabric for the outside and a soft and cosy flannel for the lining. It makes a unique and rather quick baby shower gift so I guess I’ll come back to this concept sooner or later…

And last but not least I made two easy receiving blankets (about 1,10 by 1,10 m) by simply serging jersey fabric (a thicker one for cold days and a light one for summer):

And who could live without dummy clips?! When finishing the ones for Valentin, I made two girl-ish ones for my niece. Because I can.

Somehow sewing for babies is so rewarding. Isn’t it nice to see them in clothes or quilts or blankets that are handmade with love?

Or am I the only one?!

Have a nice new week and month, that is!
Christine

Another finish and an accident

Thank you very much for all your lovely comments on that quilt I made for my Dad. Unfortunately I haven’t had time to come back to every single one of you because an accident of my husband turned our every day life upside down (not a life-threatening accident, thank goodness!). I promise to get back to you once we get accustomed to a new routine.

Almost two weeks ago my husband slipped on black ice while he was running/jogging. He fell hard on his shoulder and head. He wasn’t too far from home and came back with a limp left arm. I couldn’t persuade him to visit a doctor immediately (it was around 8 p.m.) and he neither went the next day. 4 days later he gave in and it was ascertained that he had a comminuted fracture at his left shoulder. Last friday he had a large surgery, the fragments of the bones were screwed back in place and 4 torn tendons were re-attached with another big screw.

Yesterday he discharged himself from hospital and went straight back to work. For 6-8 weeks his left arm will be quite immobile and he’ll need much assistance. For dressing. For chopping his meals. And he isn’t allowed to drive. So that’s constant lifts to and from work, to and from doctor, to and from physical therapy, and so on. Add those household tasks HE usually does to MY usual tasks and MY own job and there is not much time for me to sew or for blogland adventures. Phew. I dread those next weeks.

But enought of that. I’m distracting myself with as much sewing as possible. I needed some quick finishes during the last days. Something I could do without much thinking. And while listening to an audiobook. What’s better than finishing some UFOs? Here’s one that just needed a backing and a binding.

Not much to think of one could say. But after attaching the binding to the front I discovered that I intended to attach it to the BACK in the first place. I had just decided to ignore that fact and to NOT rip it all out when I discovered that I had forgotten to fold that 2,25” strip in half.
Aaaah!!! Hello Mr. Seamripper )o:

Don’t you just love these butterflies?!

I found them in a scrap bag and combined them with some of my stash prints and low volume prints. None of the butterfly prints had a selvage so I have no clue who designed them. I YOU know, please leave me a comment, I would love to order more!

I fuzzy cut some of them and – using my favourite quilted panel technique – quilted them as I went. Then I didn’t have a zipper that was large enough and that unfinshed cussion sat in my UFO pile for some months.

Last weekend as I was in great need of instant satisfaction, I just whipped up a backing with a hidden zipper (that I had bought some weeks ago) and a binding.

 

Now I need a filling of the right size (o:

But I’m glad it’s finished and I love how it turned out. It will make a great gift for my MIL – if the colours match her couch’s. Will have to check that secretly one day soon.

Thanks for reading and always watch your step!
Christine

First Finishes 2013

Happy New Year and best wishes for a healthy and happy year 2013!

I didn’t get much me-time (aka sewing time) during the holidays (and to be honest neither during most of december) so I am keen to get to my machine more often. I made a good start on New Year’s Eve and finished an easy Pillowcover for my youngest son:

Dinosaurs are quite “en vogue” over here and my boys can’t get enought of them. They memorize names and facts – the bigger the Dino’s mouth the better (o:

Guess what happens when you sew a pillowcover for one of your kids?!
Yep. I made another one on New Year’s Day.

 

And then there was another first for me this year: I never played with Denyse Schmidt’s fabrics before. Linda sent us some beautiful DS fabrics for her Sew-Euro-bee-an month:

She asked for two 12,5” patchwork blocks with a special square – a pieced or appliqued part.

Here are the two specials I made for her: a pieced block that I made up (but I’m sure there is an official name to it) and a little appliqued fish.

 

Linda, I’m sure your quilt is going to be gorgeous! And thank you very much for your giant paper clip!

Onto my resolutions for this year: More me-time. For sports, sewing and my newest discovery: audiobooks. Quite selfish, isn’t it?! Oh, and BTW I want to sew more for myself and my family. I saw someone call that selfish-sewing. I guess with those two pillows I made a good start (o: And then there is one other thing: I want to keep our house tidier. But that isn’t likely to happen as this resolution is contradictory to my first / selfish resolution… /o:

Wishing you all the best for 2013
Christine

Quilted Christmas Pillow Cover

I finished my Christmas Pillow Cover that I started during our last Modern Quilt Guild Bielefeld meeting. Every 4 or 5 weeks we meet for an entire day to sew together. Each time we have a different workshop for the first 2 or 3 hours and afterwards there’s free sewing and chatting time. Last meeting’s topic was christmas paper piecing.

Using this free tutorial each of us made a wonky star block. I turned mine into a pillow cover for christmas.

I used some off-white linnen as the background and a deep orange for the star.
I quilted around that star with matching orange thread using a triple straight stitch. Then I changed threads and quilted stars on the background with matching thread using my walking foot.

Those stars are connected at some edges so I didn’t have to break thread.

For the backing I used a matching cotton fabric as I didn’t have enough linnen left.

I added a covered zipper that turned out much better than I would have dreamed. Seeing that I kind of made it up myself. Trial and error. This time without the error part (o:

I really love that little cussion. It does not scream “CHRISTMAS” at me every time I look at it and it matches our sofa beautifully. First christmas object that matches that deep orange. I’d never buy that sofa again though. It is too hard to find matching decoration. Aaah! With my Kona Colour Card on hand I might now be able to sew up more matching decoration. If ever I find time enough to sew for myself.

I tend to sew for others rather than for myself. Do you, too?

I fully intend to change that. I made a start with this cussion and my lunch bag. Now I still need two or three throw quilts. But that may take some time… I think I’ll ask the Sew-Euro-Bee-an Ladies to help me with that.

Have a nice week!
Christine

Happy Sewing Day

Yesterday, Brigitte and I met for a Happy Sewing Day at her home. For almost 8 hours we were happily sewing away, chatting, eating icecream in the sun, enjoying a last minute BBQ and having sooooooooooooo much fun together. I explored her studio, her fabric stash, her enormous scrap collection, her longarm machine and thoroughly enjoyed a show and tell of very many finished quilts. One greater than the next.

I also met her partner in life which was quite an experience to remember: He didn’t only serve a super quick delicious meal, he made a set of acrylic templates for Brigitte (and an extra set for me!!!!!), he sharpened our rotary cutters, made delicious drinks, and… hold your breath… He even joined in in our quilt talk! He actually has a sewing machine, made several sewn gifts for his children in last couple of years, has sewn a quilt top for Brigitte that was published in a magazine!! He really supports her business wholeheartedly! How cool is that?! (I told her to keep him ;o))

Onto the sewing we managed to squeeze in:
1. I made two last-minute gifts that I’m going to show you next week.
2. I started my Summersville Quilt. More on that soon.
3. According to an urgent request, I whipped up a matching pillow for my eldest. He wanted a pillow to go with his Space Rocket Quilt.



I made a quick and simple envelope back.



Here is the Space Rocket set on his bed (I took down the framed pictures for less distraction, his bedroom walls are usually not that “naked”):



So, what about you? Does your partner shows any deeper interest in your hobby? Has he actually tried sewing? Or has he even been published in a Quilting Magazine?

Just for the record: my husband hasn’t.

Happy Sewing!
Christine

First Finish from FQSR London: Portholes Pillow

I finished one of the projects started on FQSR London Weekend! I made a sample block in Lucie Summers' class and turned it into a small pillow. It measures around 30 cm x 30 cm. In class I managed to sew on an envelope back and just had to make the binding at home. I used a 2,5'' solid strip and attached it to the top. I folded it over to the back and stitched in the ditch. I have to confess that I do love it very much and I'm sure I'll do more portholes in the near future. Thanks Lucie for the entertaining class :o)

Happy Sewing!

Christine