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

Patchwork Doll's Quilt and Pillow Set

Dear Friends,

Moving house has involved 2 interim stays, meaning no sewing has been taking place for over 2 weeks. I feel the void! It will be another 2 weeks before we reach our final destination and the sewing can begin again.

I wanted to share something I made just before all my beloved fabrics and sewing machine were packed away in storage.

This was a custom order for my signature fabric basket with pockets all round for a little girl to place in her dollhouse. The request included a matching pillow and quilt for the doll.

I used pastel fabrics with a modern country cottage feel that would appeal to a young child.

The interior fabric is a tiny floral pink on cream that is often found in doll's clothing.

 This is the front pocket

and the back pocket

 I used the same fabrics in a simple strip patchwork pattern for the quilt and pillow

 The reverse matches the interior of the basket, giving a second look option.

 I decided not to quilt any pattern on the quilt because it is small, a bit bigger than A4, and I liked the clean lines. I used a double fusible wadding so the sandwich is well attached and finished it by stitching all round the edge for a faux pipping effect,

The doll's quilt and pillow fit nicely in the basket

I hope there is a happy child and doll out there enjoying these.

Happy Friday!

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

Fabric Basket Tutorial

A few weeks ago I was very excited to write a tutorial on making my fabric baskets for the lovely Village Haberdashery fabric shop in London.

Follow the link to see the Fabric Basket Tutorial

They have a great selection of fabrics and tutorials on their blog, so go ahead and visit.

Jolly Farm, Fox and Apple

This week under severe restrain I only bought one fabric to add to my stash.

The Trees from Jolly Farm- Henley Studio, Makeower UK

I love everything about this- the colours, the detail, the birds.

The blue is lovely too, maybe next week...

I added a little red apple to the front

I love the bright red dots. The stalk gets lost a bit in the other green but I did not have any solid green to match.

I also have been designing some new foxes.

 Something to go with this Boy Fox

Here is a girl fox

The bow is removable and she loves roses and has a button nose.

This basket has longer handles for one hand operation.

And a jumping Fox

 I have missed working with felt- this shade is called acorn and is so soft to touch.

I used plain stitching instead of the usual zig-zag satin stitch, and chose a bright orange. 

Last year I loved making the Fox Autumn Leaves Purse but it took 2-3 hours to make.

I still love the idea of fabric photos though and creating a pretty scene.

This is work in progress

The fox is talking to her friend the bird. I wanted a blue bird, like the singing Disney birds and a big dotty mushroom! The fox leg was very tricky, I drew it about 6 different ways before settling on this version that I could actually sew.

So it has been very busy here! How was your weekend?

Eva