All posts tagged handmade

More Chinese fabric makes

I was playing with the Singer and I rather enjoy making bags so I made another one! This time with the red lucky cats fabric that my daughter purchased for me when she was in Taipei.

It’s the usual make-it-up-as-you-go-along kind of bag, lined with Moda red solid and a zip closure.

I did some inch wide straight line quilting to make it a bit more luxurious…

…and gave it a bit of a boxy bottom.

The singer has no problems quilting without a walking foot. I just made the stitch length a little longer as if it was for top stitching.

The bag has now been gifted, along with an easy peasy scrappy bookmark (because the recipient likes to read proper books) and some veggie gummy caterpillars from Marks and Spencer. Nom nom!

I should have bought myself some of those ;-). Too late now.

16 Comments

by Oh Sew Tempting on April 27, 2018 • Permalink

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged bag, bookmark, Chinese, fabric, handmade, lined, pouch, quilting, sewing, Singer, Taipei, Taiwan, zipper

Posted by Oh Sew Tempting on April 27, 2018

https://ohsewtempting.wordpress.com/2018/04/27/more-chinese-fabric-makes/

Sausage Dog Fun

Hello everyone,

I can now share something that I made for my daughter for Christmas. She’s been wanting a sausage dog for along the bottom of the door for a while. I came across this pattern and just had to make one.

He’s got lovely ears…

…and a proper stand up tail.

He was very easy to put together. I made my own slight alterations to the pattern instructions regarding the construction methods for the gusset under his chin and attaching the ears.

You might recognise the shiny fabric. I’ve finally chopped up a sari that my daughter brought for me from India.

I think he looks very smart in his shiny coat. He’s stuffed quite firmly in the head and tail. I also bought him a collar with red flashing LEDs but haven’t got a photo of him wearing it. He’s very well behaved and has taken up residence along the back of the sofa. It’s too draughty down by the door 🙂

18 Comments

by Oh Sew Tempting on December 31, 2016 • Permalink

Posted in Quilting and Patchwork

Tagged craft, Dachshund, Draught excluder, fabric, handmade, interior design, pattern, Sausage Dog, sewing

Posted by Oh Sew Tempting on December 31, 2016

https://ohsewtempting.wordpress.com/2016/12/31/sausage-dog-fun/

Loyal Union Sampler Block 17/121

Just one block to show today. This one is called Charlie Stokey’s Star and I really enjoyed making it. Here’s what the virtual quilt looks like so far.The blocks all finish at six inches square and details can be found in the Loyal Union Sampler book by Jennifer Chiaverini. I hope you’ve had time to craft today.

12 Comments

by Oh Sew Tempting on November 14, 2016 • Permalink

Posted in Quilting and Patchwork, The Loyal Union Sampler Quilt

Tagged blue, handmade, interior design, Loyal Union Sampler, patchwork, quilt

Posted by Oh Sew Tempting on November 14, 2016

https://ohsewtempting.wordpress.com/2016/11/14/loyal-union-sampler-block-17121/

Loyal Union Sampler Block 16/121

Good afternoon everyone,

Not a lot of progress to share on the sampler this week. I made the nine square in a square blocks the other day and then just looked at the pieces on my mat and walked away several times. Sometimes I just know it isn’t going to be successful so I go off and do something else. Today, the bits went together like a dream. It was worth waiting until I could give it my best shot.

Anyway, this one is called Chambersburg from the Loyal Union Sampler book by Jennifer Chiaverini. It’s got forty five dinky pieces and finishes at six inches square. I’ll definitely make this block again in a larger format. There’s so much that could be done with colour placement to make secondary patterns.

Here’s where I’m at now.

It’s back to Y-seams for the next two blocks. I promise not to whinge!

12 Comments

by Oh Sew Tempting on November 13, 2016 • Permalink

Posted in Quilting and Patchwork, The Loyal Union Sampler Quilt, Uncategorized

Tagged blue, craft, fabric, geometric, handmade, interior design, Loyal Union Sampler, moda, patchwork, project, quilt, traditional

Posted by Oh Sew Tempting on November 13, 2016

https://ohsewtempting.wordpress.com/2016/11/13/loyal-union-sampler-block-16121/

Loyal Union Sampler Block 15

Well, that was a bit of a marathon. Far too many Y-seams for my liking and they were too small to get under the machine foot so I ended up having to hand stitch them. This one is called Castle Wall and it’s the 15th block in the Loyal Union Sampler book by Jennifer Chiaverini.

The next block looks quite straightforward. Slowly but surely.

14 Comments

by Oh Sew Tempting on November 8, 2016 • Permalink

Posted in Quilting and Patchwork, The Loyal Union Sampler Quilt

Tagged blue, handmade, interior design, Loyal Union Sampler, quilt

Posted by Oh Sew Tempting on November 8, 2016

https://ohsewtempting.wordpress.com/2016/11/08/loyal-union-sampler-block-15/

Loyal Union Sampler Blocks 12, 13 and 14/121

I eventually managed the Y-seams on this block using the sewing machine. The photo was taken in poor light but waiting for the time when there is good daylight again could take months. So here it is. This one is called California. I’m pleased with how it turned out. It’s the first block in the second row of the quilt.

Block 13 is called Camp Curtin. Nice and easy peasy this one :-).

Finally, my favourite of the latest blocks, Campfire. I think I’ll make more of these in a larger size for another project.

It’s back to Y-seams for the next block and they definitely won’t go through the machine this time. Believe me, I’ve tried! Oh well, I had to learn how to hand stitch patchwork at some point.

This is what the quilt looks like so far. I can’t promise rapid progress with the next block.

If you’d like to make this quilt, you’ll find it in the Loyal Union Sampler book by Jennifer Chiaverini.

23 Comments

by Oh Sew Tempting on November 7, 2016 • Permalink

Posted in Quilting and Patchwork, The Loyal Union Sampler Quilt

Tagged blue, craft, fabric, geometric, handmade, interior design, Loyal Union Sampler, moda, quilt, quilting, traditional

Posted by Oh Sew Tempting on November 7, 2016

https://ohsewtempting.wordpress.com/2016/11/07/loyal-union-sampler-blocks-12-13-and-14121/

The Loyal Union Sampler Block 12/121 (Part 1)

Good evening everyone,

Can you believe it’s eight months today since I last worked on the Loyal Union Sampler from the book by Jennifer Chiaverini? In my last post about this quilt on 29th February, showing block 11, there were 56 teeny weeny pieces of fabric sewn together to make a six inch finished block. You can see it by clicking here. Today, I set myself a different kind of challenge. Three hours later…

I can hear you giggling! This might not look like much progress in three hours to you but it was a huge challenge for me. I now know why this project got put to one side for so long. The next few blocks all have Y-seams which have tested my patience almost to the limit in the past. I had to sew the white patch on several times and take it back off again but I’m now very happy with it. I know Y-seams are so much easier to do by hand and, I suspect this sampler is supposed to be sewn that way, but that’s part of the challenge isn’t it? I will not be beaten!! If it’s virtually impossible to do a three quarter inch long Y-seam on a machine, why not give it a go? Success is so much sweeter when the challenge is tougher 😉

If I can muster more patience tomorrow, I might be able to show block 12 at the left hand end of the second row. There’s still such a long way to go. What tries your patience the most?

24 Comments

by Oh Sew Tempting on October 29, 2016 • Permalink

Posted in The Loyal Union Sampler Quilt

Tagged handmade, interior design, Loyal Union Sampler, patchwork, quilt, sampler

Posted by Oh Sew Tempting on October 29, 2016

https://ohsewtempting.wordpress.com/2016/10/29/the-loyal-union-sampler-block-12121-part-1/

Happy Unbirthday to Meeeeeee!

Good Evening,

What a lovely surprise dropped through my letterbox today. My good friend Claire has been sending out her unbirthday gifts again and I was one of the lucky recipients. Isn’t it gorgeous?

Claire has been making lots of lovely lavender sachets like this one but mine doesn’t have lavender in it. All perfumes make me sneeze and I have a particular problem with lavender so she made an exception just for me 🙂

Here’s the reverse.

I already have a tiny cross stitched biscornu which Claire made and sent to me a few years ago. It sits on my sewing machine and I use it as a pin cushion every time I sew.

I’m going to use this new happy, bright, cheerful, jazzy number as my cross stitch needle cushion. I can’t stop smiling! Thank you very much Claire 🙂

12 Comments

by Oh Sew Tempting on September 8, 2016 • Permalink

Posted in Quilting and Patchwork

Tagged birthday, bright, craft, cushion, fabric, handmade, interior design, modern

Posted by Oh Sew Tempting on September 8, 2016

https://ohsewtempting.wordpress.com/2016/09/08/happy-unbirthday-to-meeeeeee/

An Unbirthday Finish

You may remember, way back in August last year, that I began making some green saw tooth star blocks with an unbirthday present from my lovely friend Claire. She sent me some fabric pieces, all slightly larger than 10 inches square as a surprise gift. I chopped each of them into four 5 inch squares and set to work.

I had enough to make 25 stars.

They looked lovely all laid out together and I rearranged them over and over again to get the best distribution of colours. The next photos were taken in very poor light.

Then I had a brainwave… What if I added some Irish chain blocks? I had some coordinating solids that would look nice and then I’d have a much bigger quilt.

When sewing them together, it’s a good idea to pay attention or you might make a mistake like I did. OOPS!

Thankfully it wasn’t too difficult to put right. Now, after quilting and binding, I have a lovely happy dance to share 🙂I was quite shocked to look back through my posts and find that I’d originally received these fabrics last August. It’s taken almost a year to get them all sewn up. Better late than never.

Thank you so much again Claire. I couldn’t have made this without your very kind unbirthday gift. I hope you like what I made 🙂

30 Comments

by Oh Sew Tempting on June 29, 2016 • Permalink

Posted in Quilting and Patchwork

Tagged craft, fabric, geometric, handmade, interior design, irish chain, machine quilting, patchwork, project, quilt, quilting, Saw Tooth Star Block

Posted by Oh Sew Tempting on June 29, 2016

https://ohsewtempting.wordpress.com/2016/06/29/an-unbirthday-finish/

A lovely surprise!

Isn’t it wonderful when a surprise package drops through the letterbox? It’s even better when that package contains something as gorgeous as this.

It’s a mini quilt, sent to me by my great friend Jule from Germany. Jule writes a fantastic blog called Beyond the Boudoir. I can’t thank her enough for taking the time to make something so beautiful for me.

I love moving it around and looking at it from different angles.