a new pattern ... the pamela pouch

I know.  It's been a while since I published a pattern.  But the stars aligned and ... it happened.

This pattern started over the Christmas holidays when I was overcome with a desire to make something - anything - using the navy prints colours from PamKittyGarden.  I haven't worked with navy for a very long time ... probably in the neighbourhood of 20 years.  But there's just something about this navy that was calling my name.

So I played around and came up with this ... 

It took all of about two seconds for my daughter to call dibs on it.

Such a rave review got me thinking about writing up a pattern.  So I made a second pouch - this time with the aqua PamKittyGarden suite. 

Oh how I love love LOVE this colour!

I tweaked a few things from the original prototype and came up with this ...

I'm calling it the Pamela Pouch because I wanted to name it after my good friend who happens to be the amazingly talented fabric designer behind the PamKitty collections that I love so much, and because I have a thing for alliteration.

It's only available as a PDF.  Click here to find it in my shop.  There are tons of step-by-step photos to help you along.

One other thing ... this pattern is F8th friendly.  Yep.  It only takes five F8ths to make (plus the notions) so it's great for using up small bits of coordinates.  But you don't have to make it all scrappy like I did.  You can easily use a single fabric for the whole thing.  It's up to you! :)

because frogs eat flies ... that's a totally normal and valid consideration when deciding on an embroidery stitch, right?

Confession:  my husband and I don't really celebrate Valentine's Day.  Don't get me wrong - we're not anti-holiday or anti-romance or anti-flowers/chocolate/candle-lit-dinner, etc. etc.  We just aren't inclined to doing that sort of thing on a prescribed day.  Besides, I'm the sort of girl that would rather get a few FQs than a dozen roses.  Flowers die.  Fabric is forever. ;)

However, that doesn't mean I can't say yes to a sweet friend's request to join a Valentine's Day Blog Hop, right?  When Mollie sent me her adorably cute love critters, I chose to do the quail.  She got me - I mean, that heart-shaped feather on her head?  Aaagh!  Had to stitch her.  So here she is if you'd like the PDF.

 But I showed Mollie's designs to my girls and asked which were their favourites.  That's how I ended up with 3 little stitcheries ... and then 3 mug rugs ... and then 3 convenient Valentine's gifts for my girls and ... me.  (By the way, I'm positive mug rugs were invented not because we quilters needed something to protect our tables from hot beverages, but because we needed something to turn our cute little blocks and things INTO ... am I right?)

Free Valentine Quail PDF

Oh, and one other silly little thing.  After I had the fabric borders sewn onto the mug rugs, the space around the animals looked a little empty, so I added stitched borders.  I did Mrs Quail first - a quick and simple running stitch.  Nothing fancy.  Easy enough.  But also a little ... mmm ... uninspired.  I could do better than that.

So then Miss Ferret got kisses (cross stitches).  It took a little more time, but I think it's way cuter.

Then I was really in an embroidery mood and I wanted to do something else for Miss Frog, but no particular stitch came to mind right away.  I scoffed at myself for a moment - I mean come on girl, you wrote an embroidery book once upon a time for heaven's sake ... THINK! 

Then I got it. 

The fly stitch, of course.

Why, you may ask?  Well ... because ... frogs eat flies. 

I'm not even kidding about that.  This is how my brain works.  I can't help it.

If you missed the other lovely blogs in this Stitch Love Blog Hop, here they are.  You can collect all 8 free patterns - courtesy of the lovely Mollie at Wild Olive.  I promise your hopping will be rewarded with all kinds of adorable inspiration!

Monday: Shiny Happy World & Wild Olive
Tuesday: Little Dear Tracks
Wednesday: Lark Crafts
Thursday: Hugs Are Fun
Friday: Feeling Stitchy
Saturday: nanaCompany & wildolive

On that note, Happy Valentine's Day!  And also happy stitching. :)

little ... as in really little

Surprise!  I know - twice in two days!  :)

So we went to a really nice place for Sunday brunch over the holidays and there were these super duper teeny tiny wee little single-serving glass jam jars on the table.  (I may have walked out of the restaurant with a pocket-full ... or two ... of these jars.  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Just sayin'.)

Anyhow, here's what I did with one of those jars.

Cute, eh?

I know, you'd think it's more cute than useful.  (Although - for the record - cute things are in and of themselves totally useful by their very nature, right?  How can you not smile when you see something that's cute because it's little?) 

It's true, the tufting on top is as high as I could make it without it looking dumb.  And long pins don't work well.  It's perfect for applique pins, though.  And I've put some tiny buttons in it.  I have been keeping my ring thread cutter in it because I'm always misplacing that little sucker - it fits perfectly inside the jar and the jar is way easier to find.  However - ironically - I took that ring out of the jar the other day and ... now I can't find it.  Again.

Go figure.

for art's sake ... and a winner!

Another birthday gift for my daughter's friend.  It's a new pattern I'm working on. :)  It's almost ready to publish - just a few kinks to iron out. ;)

My daughter loved the prototypes I made, so she asked me to make another one for her friend - using some PamKittyGarden (lovely periwinkle!) - and thought it would be fun to add a little "art" label.  I've been spending quite a few quiet moment here and there enjoying my homegirl's new book, so I took this opportunity to try out one of her super cute ideas and tada!  (Normally I would have hand-stitched the patch on, but I kinda left this to the last minute and didn't have enough time ...)

Anyhow, stay tuned for the pattern for this little pouch.  It's fat-eighth friendly, by the way. ;)

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Oh, and speaking of PamKittyFabric, I have a winner for the FQ bundle from Simply Sweet Fabric ...

Congratulations to Stephanie who said, "Definitely some cottage chic quilted placemats to send home to family in England :'( miss them all so much! I love to do little projects I can send frequently so they know I'm thinking of them. Beautiful fabrics!"

Isn't that just the sweetest?  Thank you again to everyone who played along!

simply sweet giveaway ~ pamkittygarden!

Ok.  Who could think of a million things to make with this FQ bundle of PamKittyGarden from Simply Sweet Fabric?

Uh, ME!  LOL!

If you've got at least one idea and would like a chance to win this five-pack, please leave me a comment (not an email) sharing what you'd do with this fabric. 

This giveaway ends on Friday, January 30th and is open to all. :)

(Man do I ever love blogging!)

three for three ...

It's pink, it's little, and it's made from Liberty (and Liberty-esque) prints.

It's actually a small-scale version of my round pencil case pattern.  I got it into my head that I wanted to try making the case as small as I could.  I don't think I'd try smaller.  You know ... just because.  It finishes at a diminutive 5" x 1.5". 

Yep.  I really do like little. :)

from fabric to stitches

I see quilt and embroidery patterns everywhere.  I know lots of you see them too.  I had a lot of fun stitching up a little design I found in the Alice in Wonderland fabric a few weeks ago for my daughter's water bottle sleeve. 

So I did it again.

I made this hexagon flower by mistake (it turned out too large for something else) but I simply couldn't let it go to waste.  So I decided to make a pincushion.  They're fast and easy to whip up once (once all the hand work is done, that is).  This one finishes at a dainty 3.5" x 1".

Atusko Matsuyama has these cute little leafy/flowery/petaly things in the aqua fabric I used .  I knew they'd be easy to replicate with a few lazy daisy stitches and simple knots.  It only took me an hour or so to freestyle stitch the band to form the sides of the cushion.

I admit I didn't really like this cushion when I finished it last nite.  I dunno.  It didn't look like I imagined.  I think I was just tired because this morning when I popped it on top of that aqua cupcake stand (bought on impulse at Homesense in Canada - hoping I'd find a use for it on my blog some day!) I liked it a lot. :) 

drink me!

I've wanted to make a bottle sleeve for a long time.  Funny.  I had no idea it would look like this!

My daughers are at an age now (11 and 13) where if I want them to like what I make for them, I need their input.  This is for my 11-year-old who offers certain challenges when it comes to collaborating.  The girl has a somewhat small reserve of patience so I can only hold her attention for a limited time.  Throughout this project, I didn't always know if she was agreeing with my suggestions because she actually agreed with me or because she just wanted to be done with this already.  No matter, we both love how it turned out.

I have to tell you, before we'd even picked fabric I had it in my head that it'd be fun to have a "Drink Me" tag on the sleeve.  This is for her water bottle that sits on her desk at school.  I may have gotten a little overly excited when she spied this Alice in Wonderland print in amongst my horrible mess of fabric.  Seriously.  The girl got hugged and kissed and high-fived a LOT. 

I did the embroidery on the sofa while us girls watched Mulan.  I had to stop stitching a few times to fulfil cuddle requests.  There are definitely worse things in life than having to choose between stitching and warm hugs.  I got the idea for the embroidery from a little detail in the fabric.  I've never been a fan of the backstitch, but this filigree detail is so small (1/2" tall) I had to use that stitch with a single ply. 

The bow?  Guess who wanted to add that ... ;)   I have a sneaking suspicion she agreed for my sake.

*   *   *   *   *

Hope your New Year is off to a good start.  Mine sure is!  I've been sewing up a storm here ... I even wore the plating off of a hand sewing needle today.  I can't remember the last time that happened.  Sure felt ... right. ;)

in the pink

tap, tap, tap ... hello?  Is anybody there?

Geez, it's been so long since I was here I feel like I forgot how to do this!  Apologies for my too-long absence.  I've written two posts over the last little while explaining why I'm not around as much as I used to, but both turned into ramblings that bored me to tears.

The Coles Notes version is that I'm not a stay-at-home mum anymore.  After 12 wonderful years being home with my daughters, I went back to work full-time, over a year ago in fact, and ... well ... time is no longer a luxury for me.  It's also not that easy for me to find a creative spark when I do have a few minutes to myself.  And my sewing room is still a ridiculous gong show.  It's hard to find anything, I can't see my fabric (easily) ... ugh.  Not good.  I have some storage furniture on order so that should help.  The house is slowly coming together.  I promise I will show you when I'm proud of it.  Okay?

But I miss you.  I miss being here.  I miss making things.  But going back to the working world has been very good for me.  One can get too used to life in pajamas, I found out. ;)  Nothing like a professional wardrobe to make one feel human again.  But that's all I want to say about that ... except that for those of you who are curious, my job title is Technical Writer - much the same as it was before I was a mom.

So!  I've been on holidays this week and finally found some solid time yesterday to just plan, paw fabric, cut, sew ... and MAKE!

Oh, before I go on, I joined Instagram last month.  I've posted a few little things over there under prettybyhand if you're interested. :)

Yesterday I made a Tilda bag (see Instagram) and this sweetest little pink pincushion.  Honestly, if I was a colour, I'd be this ... Laura Ashley "Rose" from the 80s.   It's a diminutive 3" x 1" and stuffed with crushed walnut shells.  I don't really need another pincushion, but I do need to make things so I'm starting with small, quick projects to get back into the groove.

What are you guys up to?  Do tell.  I could use some inspiration. :)

I got the pins here!

merry christmas!

if you need to get your groove on ...

I heard this song today and can NOT get it out of my head.  It just makes me so happy!  I hope you like it too. :)

what's black and white and cute all over?

My latest mad-dash, last-minute, rush-stitched birthday gift sewing project for my daughter's friend that I made with some of the fabrics I included in this FQ bundle. ;)  The invite only came in two days before the party though, so it wasn't my fault this time. ;)  Thank goodness these pouches are so quick and easy to make.

On that note, I always get requests for an English tutorial of this Chinese tutorial pin on Pinterest.  You know, was going to rewrite it in English for you.  But I had a few people questioning the ethics of doing so - copyright and all.  I felt a little uncomfortable thinking that maybe it wasn't right.  So I asked my lawyer.  He looked into it and assured me that translating the pin was perfectly legal.

But just because it's legal, doesn't mean it's cool, right?

It got me thinking.  How would I feel if someone took my tutorial and translated it into another language and posted it on the internet for everyone?  I admit that as long as the translator was courteous enough to link back to my original, I would be flattered and would appreciate the exposure.  If I post a free pattern on the internet, I do so with the hope that everyone who is so inclined can enjoy it, no matter what language they speak.

However, just because I wouldn't mind, doesn't mean that someone else wouldn't be bothered.  As much as I would love to help as many people as I could enjoy making this pouch - which was clearly intended to be used by the general public for free - I hesitate to write it out of respect for the author.

I hope you understand.

In the meantime, if anyone knows how I could contact the author to ask for permission, please let me know!  (It's a long-shot, for sure ... but this internet thing ... you never know!)

flower photography practice

Wow is it ever a lot harder than I thought to take nice pictures of flowers.  But I'm going to keep trying (as long as I can steer clear of the drive-thru ... get it?  "Steer" clear?  LOL!  Oh I'm just so hilarious, aren't I.)

Never mind.

I wanted to show you my Halloween posy because it looks so much prettier, now that the carnations are opening and I took out one of the green mist stems.

But I couldn't bear to throw out that lonely stem so I found a tiny vintage medicine bottle and it fits perfectly.

I used another vintage vessel for the main bouquet too - a glass milk bottle that I picked up at a flea market a while back.  I haven't had much need for vases over the years and I like making do with what I have.  But I might start looking for a few more. ;)

I also had fun adding the spools of lace to the photos - because the green mist is part of the Laceflower family.  I dunno.  I just like doing that sort of thing.  It makes me happy.

Sorry no sewing stuff today.  Hope you like my flowers all the same.

"pretty pairings II" ~ a fq bundle giveaway

This just never gets old ... being asked to put together a Blogger's Bundle of my favourite fat quarters.  This is the third time Pink Castle Fabrics has asked me to make one and it's definitely my best yet.  (Says me.)

Because I enjoy making small, quick projects with just 2 fabrics, I decided to choose another eight pairs if coordinating prints.  They are almost all designed by my beloved Japanese fabric companies - Lecien, Yuma, Kokka, etc.  They're fun, whimical, pretty, the scale is small ... makes my heart fabric-loving heart go pitter-patter.

My approach was to pick a whimsical print with a smaller coordinate.  I was particularly drawn to the Liberty-esque florals that I love so much.

This pair - of Lecien's Flower Sugar reinvented as a tea party and a newspaper print - makes me giggle a bit.  I was thinking it'd be fun to read the morning paper (or iPad/blogs) while enjoying a cup of tea.  When my daughter saw the tea party fabric, she begged me to please make her an apron out of it.  Excellent - one Christmas gift idea solved. :)

Cute little kawaii red riding hood kittens!!!

This faux patchwork is perfect for pencil cases and such, but I also thought the squares would be fun to fussy-cut and made into labels for larger projects.

Don't you just love charming translations from Japanese to English?  The above fabric reads, "I love the sweet cake and donut."  And below, "It is loved by everyone beyond the time."

Cute, cute, cute.

This bundle is available for purchase here.  FYI, stock is limited and the last few bundles I made for Pink Castle Fabrics sold out in about a week so if you don't want to be disappointed ...

But if you'd also like a chance to win it, please leave me a comment telling me if you've started on your Christmas sewing and if so, what you are making.  This giveaway closes Sunday, November 9th and is open to all!

PS:  If you're not doing any sewing for Christmas, that's ok.  You can still enter. :)

halloween flowers

So much prettier than skulls and spiders, don't you think? :)

You know, I can count on one hand the number of times I've bought flowers for myself.  I've always preferred to spend my pin money on fabric ... and possibly the occasional drive-thru.

And I've always been ... hmmm ... not so good at flower arranging.  I've been hoping all these years that I'd magically somehow be good at it, but that is not turning out to be the case.

So.

I also had this idea recently that if I just drove past the drive-thru once or twice a week instead of ... you know, t.h.r.u. it ..., I could redirect those funds into flowers.  This is my first little bunch.  And I've already learned that these white ones - I think they're called ... oh shoot, now I can't remember ... I thought they were Queen Anne's Lace, but that's not it.  If you know what they are, please tell me!

At any rate, although they look really beautiful in the shop, they are super hard to arrange with - especially for this novice.  So this isn't my favourite look, but the carnations are a lovely orangy-pink.  I thought they'd be nice for Halloween. 

And for you. :) 

Trick or Treat!

*     *     *     *     *

Nov. 1st

I found it!  (Gotta love Google, don't ya?)  That flower is called Green Mist and is from the Laceflower family,  as is Queen Anne's Lace, which is why some of us were fooled.  Read a little more about it here if you're interested.

sunday sewing and a few winners

I got caught again ... last minute sewing.  My daughter is at a birthdy party this afternoon and I didn't get around to making this little pouch until ... hmmm ... a few short hours before the party.

But I got it done - and photographed - and had fun doing both.  I wasn't worried about getting it finished, I was worried that something horrible would go wrong (the snap cracking when I hammered it in place - which would require a lot of unstitching and an entire redo of the flap, the iron scorching - always a disaster ... you know something weird and unpredictable that tends to happen when you're in a hurry). 

Happy to say it was all smooth sailing. :)  I made it to hold a gift certificate.  Much nicer than an envelope, wouldn't you say?

I've made a few of these earlier this year.  I got the pattern from Pinterest.  Click here to find the pattern pin and here to see my other versions of this cute little pouch. 

 

*     *     *     *     *

Now I have a bit of housekeeping to take care of.  I've had a few giveaways lately and although I already contacted the winners, I didn't announce them here.  So congratulations to:

Donna S. for winning the Miss Kate bundle from Simply Sweet Fabric,

Sigrid G. for winning the $25 Gift Certificate from Shabby Fabrics,

and Diane K. for winning the Perennial Beauty bundle from Fort Worth Fabric Studio.

I have another giveaway coming very soon - hopefully this week - stay tuned! :)

perennial beauty ~ a pretty giveaway

You know Fort Worth Fabric Studio, right?  It's a great online shop. Tons of gorgeous fabrics and a whole bunch more.  If you've never been, you should go check it out.  :)  Jodie, the owner (and a super sweet lady), has very kindly offered to give this "Perennial Beauty" bundle to one of you.  Isn't it just delicious?

But wait, there's more ...

Because Jodie knows how much I love using cotton tape labels, she's tied this bundle up with TWO YARDS of this pretty "Paris" one (it's a favourite of mine!).  By the way, her price for this tape is amazing - 0.69/yd!  Imagine using it on all the gifts for your family under the Christmas tree this year .... and then squirrling it all back for your sewing room.  I'd totally do that. ;)

For a chance to win this pretty bundle of 11 FQs and 2 yds of labels, leave me a comment telling what you'd make with it.  This giveaway closes Friday, October 24 and is open to everyone ... no exclusions. :)

*     *     *     *     *

Hope you're having an awesome weekend.  The sun is shining in my corner of the world, there are still a few defiant leaves hanging onto branches for dear life, and I think there's a trip to the corner patisserie for me in the very near future.  As in like RIGHT NOW!  I'm in dire need of a Pain au Chocolat and a nice hot cup of Irish Breakfast tea.  Two cream, one sugar please.

quilty fun birthday party!

(singing)

Happy Birthday to you,Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday dear awesome book Quilty Fun by my sweet friend Lori Holt over at Fat Quarter Sho-ooooooop ... (deep breath!)

Happy Birthday to you!

If you'd like to make this cute birthday block, click here for the free pattern!

Fabrics:  Linen is this, candle and cake stand are from Scrumptious by Moda, candle holder is from Durham by Lecien, cake & frosting are newish from Tilda, bow is older from Tilda (thank you H!).

christmas keepsake - and a giveaway

Kits.  There's just something about a kit ... especially when it comes in the mail.

As a proud stash owner, I love diving into my private fabric collection to create something pretty.  But every once in a while, it's really nice when someone else does all the thinking for me.  Kits are perfect for those moments.  You are guaranteed that everything you need - all perfectly coordinated - is right there at your fingertips.  No thinking, no hunting, no frustration.

Shabby Fabrics has a new Block of the Month program, kitted into 10 packages - including laser cut pieces (yay!) or traditional applique pieces if you prefer, and all the necessary embellishment - you do NOT have to trace, cut, or go to 10 different stores looking for the exact right colour and size of buttons, ribbons, bells, etc. ... LOL!

I whipped up this lovely wreath in about 1/2 an hour.  Can't decide if it's going to be a pillow, a bag, or a wall hanging ... or something else.

If you're interested in finding out more, click here.

As promised, I have another giveaway.  Shabby Fabrics is offering a $25 gift certificate for their shop to one of you.  To enter, just tell me which of the blocks in "Christmas Keepsakes" (first photo) is your favourite.  This giveaway closes October 15th and is open to all!  :)

There are seven other bloggers who also have a giveaway for you!  You can see more about this Block of the Month and enther their giveaways here:

Yesterday
Paula @ The Sassy Quilter
Erin @ Stay at Home Mummy
Karin @ Leigh Laurel Studios
 
Today
Melissa @ Happy Quilting
 
Tomorrow
Erin @ Why Not Sew?
Caroline @ SewCanShe

 

what i turned those tiny embroidered flowers into ...

The label reads:

Once in a golden hour I cast to earth a seed, 

Up there came a flower. 

The people said, a weed,

To and fro they went

Thru' my garden-bower,

And muttering discontent

Cursed me and my flowers.

I know.  It's kinda weird.  But it's pretty and I like the flower/garden references. :)

Sorry this reveal took me so long!  For something that didn't require all that much work this little bag sure took me a while to finish.  I started embroidering the flowers in August when we were in Iowa.  Then I just kinda hemmed and hawed over it.  And then when my hemming and hawing gave birth to this idea, it still took me a while to finish it all.

But it was worth the wait for me.  I love love love every single thing about it.  I love the simple embroidery, I love the lace trim (which I slavaged from an old night gown I found when we moved), I love the diamond quilting and the combination of white and taupe linen, I love the leather label on the front and the cotton tape label on the back, I really love the lining fabric - which I almost didn't use it because I hate using up my favourite fabrics ... and I love the rolled handles.  I was channeling my inner Japanese Zakka girl.  I think I succeeded.  :)

I don't have a pattern for the bag - I just made it up on the fly.  But if you're interested in the embroidery design, I found it in Floral Motifs to Embroider by Reiko Mori.  A very dear friend in Japan sent it to me a few months ago and I am head over heels in love with every page.  If you like to embroider flowers and girly things, I promise you this book will not disappoint.  Just keep in mind that the instructions are in Japanese so you need to know some basic embroidery, and it's better if you're good with figuring out new stitches just from diagrams.  The Oyster Stitch was new to me and I didn't have any trouble figuring it out because the diagrams are very clear. :)