Cool Colourblock Tote Kit + the Giveaway Winner!

Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? I'm just popping in to let you all know about a fun little kit Stitch, Craft, Create has put together for my Cool Colourblock Tote pattern.

The kit includes 6 solid fat quarters, as well as the downloadable pattern. My original pattern was written for the book 50 Fat Quarter Makes which was just published in May by David & Charles; this bag is colour blocked on both the interior and exterior, is fully reversible, and features a handy little pocket. Because of the use of fusible fleece, it is lofty and can be quilted as little or as much as you want!

I also thought I should announce the winner of our most recent giveaway! Drumroll please... and the winner of this FQ bundle is... Tammy of Karamat Sews! Congratulations Tammy, please email me with your address!

50 Fat Quarter Makes + a little blog hop

Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? I am exhausted, as I just returned home from a 10-day trip to Scotland (more about that in another post). One of the many secrets I've been keeping is that I was asked to contribute to another book, and I finally get to share it all with you!

50 Fat Quarter Makes is edited by Ame Verso and published by David & Charles (an imprint of F&W), it features 11 designers (including me) and we've decided to do a little blog hop to celebrate its release - links for all the designers at the end of this post!

50 Fat Quarter Makes is divided by the number of fat quarters each projects takes to complete - from one singular FQ up to 10. My first pattern, the Charming Coin Purse, uses only one FQ and features a faux leather bottom and tab.

My second pattern, the Colourful Clutch Purse, uses just two FQs and features a wide strap that not only secures the clutch in its foldover position, but can also be slipped over the wrist for a little added security. Just a note: somehow the instructions for adding the faux leather tab were added to this pattern too; just ignore that part, although if you do decide to add it, it will totally still work as the tab is highly decorative.

My third pattern, the Elegant E-Reader Case, uses three FQs and features a front pocket that is secured by a handmade button. The case is padded, quilted, and perfectly fits a 7" reader.

My fourth pattern, the Cool Colourblock Tote, uses six FQs and features boxed corners and a small inside pocket. It is interlined with fusible fleece and I quilted one of the outer colourblocks (the gray) to add some extra texture. Because of the construction of this tote, it is fully reversible allowing you to feature different colours/prints depending on mood.

My fifth and final pattern, the Double-Sided Star Pillow, uses 10 FQs and is reversible.

I used eight prints in two colourways from Tula Pink's Saltwater collection, as well as two gray solids. This pillow is huge - about 30" square-ish - and would be great for lounging on!

Phew! Now that's a lot of projects! I am really happy with the way the book turned out and am enamoured with all of the other patterns created by this talented group of designers. Here's a list of the other blog hop participants and their dates (I'm right at the end, so be sure to check out their blogs/previous posts to see their patterns):

Monday 1st June - Jo Avery -  myBearpaw 
Tuesday 2nd June - Liz Betts - BetsyBetts
Wednesday 3rd June - Ali Burdon - VeryBerryHandmade
Thursday 4th June - Jesse Fincham - MessyJesse
Friday 5th June - Louise Horler - SewScrumptious
Monday 8th June - Kevin Kosbab - Feeddog
Tuesday 9th June - Emily Levey - StrawberryPatchRamblings
Wednesday 10th June - Cynthia Shaffer
Thursday 11th June - Kaye Prince - MissPrint
Friday 12th June - Ame Verso - StitchCraftCreate

Stash-Busting Blog Hop + More Liberty Love!

Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? I am thrilled to have been asked to participate in the Stash-Busting Blog Hop, and today is my day! There are two books featured in this blog hop, but I'm only going to focus on Scrap Happy Sewing by Kim Kruzich right now. I may have my reasons for saving the other book for another day *wink*!

I had a little bit of extra time over the weekend after finishing the quilting on a little baby gift, so I decided to get started on one of the projects in the book. This little hoop is part of the Simple Cloud and Raindrop Hoops pattern; I used a print from Indian Summer for the background and a lovely Liberty tana lawn for the raindrop itself. This little hoop is made using one of my absolute favourite sewing techniques - sketchy applique!

Here is the full pattern set from the book. The templates include the cloud and four different sizes of raindrop; mine above uses the largest size raindrop in a 6" hoop.

I'm sure many of you have heard of Kim, better know as Retro Mama, or read her blog. I am absolutely thrilled for her and the book is fabulous. If you'd like to see even more projects from the book, be sure to check out her blog as she's been posting lots of pictures over the last little bit.

After I finish off my little hoop, this is the next project I want to make from the book! This is the Fox Clothespin Bag and I think it's flippin' adorable! See the thing is though, I don't have a clothesline, so I need to figure out another fun way to put these little guy to use because I really am in love.

Frankly, all of the projects in Scrap Happy Sewing are adorable and I want to make at least one of everything (the Easy as Pie Apple Potholders? My gosh!) and I think you will too! If you're at all interested, Stitch Craft Create is hosting a giveaway for this book, the other book I mentioned (try to figure out why I'm not talking about it in this post!), and a bunch of fat quarters. You can enter that giveaway and see all of the other blog hop participants here.

Sew Pretty for Little Girls + a Liberty Fabric Pull

Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? I am so thrilled to have been asked to participate in the Sew Pretty for Little Girls blog hop - it is one gorgeous book!

Just to nip any confusion in the bud straight off, this lovely book by Alice Caroline is also known as "Little Lady Liberty" in the UK (which is a title I just adore by the way).

This book is just full of lovely Liberty goodness, and you know I love me some Liberty! While the book is marketed as projects for little girls, I think many of them (such as the Isabel Baskets, Rosie Floor Cushion, or Zoe Lampshade) could work for just about anyone depending on the fabric choices.

Case in point, my Grandma is turning 85 in June and I'll be making her the Mia doll! She absolutely loves this type of doll, so this is the perfect opportunity for me to make one for her.

These are the fabrics and trimmings I'm thinking of using for the dress portion of the doll. All of the fabrics are Liberty quilting cotton and I'll be using the pink for one side of the dress and one of the blues for the other (I'm leaning towards the pale blue in the middle right now).

I'll also definitely be making myself a variation on the Orla Pencil Case, because I have this...

Liberty scraps! This is just a snippet of my Liberty scrap stash and I think making an Orla would be the perfect use for them (I'm also contemplating some EPP clamshells). Yep, this book is giving me all kinds of ideas!

If you're interested to learn more about the Sew Pretty for Little Girls (or if you want to see some more lovely pictures and drool over all of the Liberty goodness), be sure to check out the list of hop participants here.

Washi Tape Christmas

Hey y'all! A couple of months ago the folks over at Stitch Craft Create in the UK asked my if I'd like to participate in a little Christmas ornament blog hop, of course I said yes, and today is my day! I worked with the US side of Stitch Craft Create many, many times before it became a UK publication (four issues in a row to be exact and have had a couple of my patterns republished in the UK edition too), and I must say that they are really fab people to work with!

Since I have more washi tape than can possibly be good for me, I chose to make one of the ornaments from Washi Tape Christmas by Kami Bigler. Although, who am I kissing? I love books and SSC has so many fun looking holiday craft books (I already own Handmade Scandinavian Christmas and it is awesome).

This book is super cute and has lots of ideas for using up all that spare washi tape; there's cards and gift wrapping, ornaments and decorations, and so much more. Very, very cute!

I decided to make the Jolly Holiday Baubles and they were so simple! The best part was digging through my washi tape and deciding which tape should be next to which. Since I don't own any circle punches, I cut all of my circles out by hand so there are a few that are a little wobbly. I still think they're cute though!

Just for fun, I decided to make two baubles using different colour schemes. This one is red and white with a little gray thrown in (which sort of matches my holiday theme for this year.

The second one I did in turquoise and pink for a vintage Christmas feel! I think this colour scheme also makes this bauble less Christmas-y - something that you could make for decorations for a baby or bridal shower.

Go here to see all of the bloggers participating in this hop - many have blogged already but there's still a few more to go!

SSC is also hosting a little contest...

Hop on over here for all the details! There's only a few days left in the contest so be sure to check it out soon if you're ineterested!