Turtle and Pony Caddies

My blog has been gathering dust in the last few weeks; it seems this house move has taken for ever to complete and things get back to normal.

I have been busy with preparations for Christmas and here are a couple of new creations I managed to complete.

This cutie is for a Young lady who likes blues and greens. I added a tangerine heart and a ribbon at the base of the turtle for a bit of colour and a little bow with an orange button for a girly touch.

To help the turtle stand out I used a cabbage green thread for satin stitch and embroidered the eyes, mouth and nose by hand. She is very happy in the apple orchard.

 

 

I love the colours of the background fabric!

 

Another sweet young lady will be receiving this cute pony basket- snow white pony with pink hair.

To create texture for the hair I added a few lines of stitching following the curves of the mane. I used a slightly different thread colour to help it "pop". She is wearing a heart pendant too. I added a white dot in the middle of the eye to give it a 3D look, I am quite pleased with it.

 

Off to make some handbags for girls now.

 

Happy Saturday from sunny Bristol.

 

xoxoxoxo

No Sewing and a Review of my Work

Hello Friends,

This house move is taking so long! We are in temporary accommodation number 2 now and if it all goes well we are getting the keys for our new apartment next weekend. "I can't wait" would be an understatement.

Living as a transient out of a suitcase with the bare minimum has not been an issue- I realised years ago that most of the things I surround myself with are probably unnecessary. A slow edit has been taking place since 2010, giving away to charity and enriching the local library with over 1000 books- yes I could not believe I had that many books either! My previous move involved an articulated lorry and a crew of professionals. This time all of our current possessions, packaged and carried by us, filled a transit van and are waiting in a storage locker for now.

What I have really missed is sewing. The creative hours spent starring at fabric and dreaming of what to make with it. The precise cutting of the rotary cutter producing perfect lines. Admiring the colours of the thread spools which always end up jumbled up no matter how often I tidy them in my biscuit tin. And of course the rhythmic movement of the needle with its magical powers- fabric goes in one way and beautiful things happen- dependable and steady. I have missed going to bed and dreaming of patterns, waking up early and drawing foxes and bunnies to applique on my fabric baskets. 

This sewing abstinence is getting to 4 weeks now and I have been feeling so nostalgic I decided to run through the last few months of my blog and pick my favourite makes.

Fox Notebook

Fox Mini Pillow

Floral Coaster

Fox with Tulips Linen Zipper Pouch

Birds and Cherries Make up Pouches

Felt Fox Brooch

Bunny Caddy Basket

Sage Green Bunny Caddy

Lavender Kitty Caddy

Lamb Pencil Case

Mouse Pocket Friend

Fox and Tulips Fabric Basket

Red Fox Diaper Caddy

Jumping Fox Caddy

Cat Mouse and Bunny Pillows

Bunny Bib and Burp Cloth Set

Christmas Fabric Gift Bag

Modern Patchwork Doll's Quilt and Pillow

Have a lovely weekend

xoxoxox

Polar Bear Storage Caddy

There is something about the cuteness and soft white coat of polar bears that makes them adorable.

Upon reviewing my makes I could identify a very clear bias towards girl-orientated designs and colours. It is my mission to make some boy things in the next few weeks.

This polar bear is the start

I love love this bear! I looked at over 100 photographs of bears and made 7 sketch drawings before deciding on this one. I normally sketch like a painter and then need to simplify so I can execute it in the sewing machine.

I made him out of white polar fleece which has the advantage of no fraying. The disadvantage is due to the plushness, it is hard to make any marks for the eyes and nose. In the end, it was a guessing job with the embroidery thread. To make things easier, I think I will opt for wool felt next time.

The polar fleece is lovely to touch though!

The pocket is lined with cream cotton. After I turned it I rolled the tube 1/2" to create the upper edge. It looked so crisp and could not resist sewing a top stitch along both edges.

This blue fabric is linen look cotton and the dots look a bit like is it snowing.

Polar bears are so cute! I shall be making more of them.

Elephant Caddy

I am going through my fabric stash and clearing out odd bits.

I found enough of this elephant fabric to make a small caddy

 The inside is a crisp white woven upholstery cotton (another left over)

 I drew the elephant to resemble the ones on the fabric and used a wide zig zag stitch for his ear.

The camera has not caught the shade very well, it is actually a deep turquoise, almost teal blue.

Elephants are so cute, aren't they?

More sewing adventures tomorrow.

Eva

Fox Caddy, Raccoon Case, Squirrel and Dotty Clutch

Fox Caddy, Raccoon Case, Squirrel and Dotty Clutch

This week I have been fortunate to have time to sew every day and wanted to share the joy with you. Here is what I made.

Fox Caddy

 This is a new fox design, with more detail.

I am pleased with how he came out, I made his legs out of wool felt: they are soft and 3D.

I had some leftover fabrics from the Acacia Blue line I bought back in July and made a small case for an e-reader or tablet.

Raccoon Tablet Case

 The eyes of that raccoon are magical, I swear he can see me!

A Squirrel Basket 

This basket was made with blue edging on the top of the pockets, using my Fabric Basket Tutorial for the lovely London fabric shop The Village Haberdashery. It is written for absolute beginners, if you can sew a line (preferably straight) you can do it!

I am so proud how I patiently stitched that blue edge in the ditch and did not go over.It is my challenge this year to become more accurate and precise, getting it right first time, instead of my tendency to rush and end up ripping seams later.

Polka Dot Clutch and Strap

 This fits a pack of baby wipes and a few diapers, for a chic solution to changing baby on the go...

...and it matches the Dotty Taupe Basket

I have two more new foxes designed and the patterns cut, ready to be sewn so something to show you soon.

Enjoying the last of the autumn sunshine, warm wishes to you all.

Eva

Spots, Kittens and Flowers

Hello friends,

A busy week with the occasion of my birthday, where does the time go?

My gift to myself was a whole day of sewing!

I have some new additions to my stash, but in my haste to make things with them I did not take any photos of the fabric before.

Here are the after pictures

Retro Red Spots

 This is my favourite fabric basket design, in a scrumptious linen look cotton red.

 This red is so warm, it has a bit of cherry in it and really brightens up my day.

I interfaced the fabric and it has a great luxury feel to it.

Kitten Basket in Neutral

Back to the soft pastels, linen look cotton in beige check on vanilla. I am still troubled by cutting check and keeping it straight, but at least I managed with the top edge of the basket.

My favourite is of course the kitty, made with fleece and a little bit of soft vintage rose to accent the ears.

My boyfriend said the ears were floppy and I left the room and did not talk to him for an hour, but I can now see he was right. (Have not told him yet).

I wanted them to be "playable", but I may try to applique them on the basket next time.

I also added a divider here and a few pockets at the back to make it more practical.

Cobalt Blue Party!

This lovely blue floral is from the Sew Caroline Collection called Gleeful. It was sent to me by Thevillagehaberdashery.co.uk to make a tutorial for another project- which I hope to be able to show you soon.

This is what I made with some the left-over bits.

It is a lovely collection with 12 designs in bright red, pink and yellow, transporting me to warmer and sunnier climates. I love the clamshells!

Happy Sunday and hope you have a great week.

Thank you for visiting.

Eva

Forest Animal Friends for Tea

Dear Friends,

I wanted to share with you my latest fabric purchase that was made into yet another fabric basket.

This fabric has so many pretty things on it.

First there is the deer and the squirrel having a tea party and cute little apples.

A black cat on a pink polka dot chair and she has a curvy tail 

Then there is a squirrel offering his friend the deer a chestnut. A pretty bird and hedgehog

Checks, Polka dots, mushrooms and flowers, trees and leaves in this beautiful linen look cotton in ecru. And I got to use that golden beige ribbon that has been sitting unloved in my stash for months! 

I can't stop looking at this! I think I am going to make one of those loop scarves with it too.

Have a lovely Wednesday!

xoxo

Eva