A Meow Update

Because we pay a million dollars a metre fabric for in New Zealand, and because I really didn't know what I was doing, I made a prototype using scraps and ugly fabric (I am talking about you, Purple).

Fortunately, I still have notes from when I first started quilting. They helped me work out the size of my HSTs.

I remembered how much I dislike making HSTs. Pity each block needs 32 HSTs.

The first block has turned out ok. I think the linen on the right looks a different colour just because of the light. I am using Camile Roskelley's pattern, but I made some adjustments to take into account the size of the blue cats.

Every time I got up - and there is a lot of getting up and down when making HSTs - Lucy the Cat stole my sewing chair. She loves it.

It's nearly the Christmas hols. Yay.

Grey and Green

I bought linen yesterday. 4 metres of grey, 1 metre of green (all that was left on the bolt), and 4 metres of a grey, white and lemon stripe.

I though the grey and the stripe would go nicely with this half yard bundle I bought from Fabric Worm last year.

And they do. They were cheap as at $10 metre and $2.50 metre. The stripe is a finer linen than the grey.

I do like shopping at Designer Textile Outlet in Otara. Yesterday's customers were an interesting lot - from the teachers and Mums shopping for Polyfest costume fabrics, the home sewers, and the trendy design student in her yellow dress, high high heels carrying her puppy round the warehouse!

I might make something like this ... Strips and Bricks V2.0. Not sure if I have enough variety in my fabrics though. Might just wing it and see what happens.

Apple Cushions

I bought Kajsa Wikman's book 'Scandinavian Stiches' before Christmas. The cushions are the first project I have made from it.

I attached the apples using a bit of double-sided 'stuff' (no idea what it's called). I then sewed close to the edge around the apples using the smallest stitch on my machine. I think this technique is called raw-edge applique and I have not tried it before. My machine doesn't allow me to free motion stitch so there was lots of dragging around corners and pivoting. I think the back of the cushion looks quite cool with the outline stitching.

I made the apples' stalks out of black felt and used dmc thread to sew pips. I sewed bits of ribbon into the corners (so my cushions looked more like these ones).

Lucy gave up the feather and down pillow she had claimed - bought half price at Briscoes - so I could stuff the cushions. (Would love to find feather filled cushion inners as an alternative to those gutless ones filled with polyester.)

I moved the bird and cat wool cushions from the red chairs to the smaller couch. (My mum knitted those two homespun cream cabled cushions for me a couple of years ago.) And voila!

I am quite pleased with my efforts. I like the look of the raw edge applique with black stitching and the red and green on the linen.

(No idea why when I hit publish, all my paragraphing disappears today. I give up.)

Buttons, Blueberries and More Material

I diverted off State Highway 1 into Huntly this morning. I found some red buttons for the navy quilt at Allen Fabrics right in the main street.

Then it was on to Grandmother's Garden in Gordonton.

I bought backing fabric for the Leicester Square Quilt:

Some linen like Japanese cotton for who know what purpose:

Two fat quarters, again without purpose but I am a sucker for paisley, and five fat quaters and some hexagons as a birthday present for one of my cousins:

And finally, some wool batting.

Back on the road and I was still in search of some more red buttons. I bought four punnets of blueberries to make muffins for going-back-to-school morning teas. I called into the Bernina shop in Pukekohe. They have the best button selection I have seen in a long time. Old school style in the plastic tubes with one wired to the lid.

Then it was home via the library to pick up my reserved copies of Material Obsession 1 and 2.

Old Linen

I was given a lovely old hand embroidered linen table cloth for Christmas by my Gran's cousin. Earlier in the year she gifted me several old aprons that belonged to her late husband's mother - they were also hand embroidered. I do like old linen and have heard there is a new old linen shop in The Bay.

Too wet to mow the lawns

Any excuse really ...

Whipped up these little Russian nesting dolls yesterday avo. The pattern is designed by Rachel Measham-Pywell and can be downloaded here.

They will live in front of the blue books. I need a bit more practise at sewing curves so next time it doesn't look like they have ears!

Then this morning I went in search of some nice linen to make a diary cover. Patchwork Passion in Onehunga has a great range of Japanese fabrics. At the moment, they also have a huge range of kits ... very tempting espec the big wool owl. I found some nice linen and red sashiko thread and I will stitch the girl onto the front of the diary cover. The free stitchery pattern comes from Sarah Jane Studios. Her drawings are very, very cute. Wish I could draw.