Table runners turned into a bag!

I've made my very first, "real" bag. I made it from the adorable table runners I bought in Sweden from the previous post. I love lupines and poppies so this fabric is just great! It's lined with Kona Coal and the handles are also made from that. While I really like the bag I'm very, very unhappy with the stabilizer I used, it's absolutely terrible! I bought a yard of it when I was in Sweden at the "SyFestivalen" and I really wish I'd gotten the name of it so I wouldn't have to make the mistake of buying it again, it bubbled up from the fabric after just a few hours! Really glad it's on the lining and not the outside fabric.

Inside it has all of the little stuff I need, one zippered hidden pocket lined with my favourite cat fabric (very proud of this, I'm once again, master of the zipper! ^^), one key holder tab with a little plastic clip fastener, and a bunch of dedicated pockets, left to right it's for lipgloss, phone and then big one is for my compact camera. 

Really happy with the folded look of the bottom.

And a not very pretty picture for size comparison with me looking what I am - sleep deprived ^^ It's a rather big bag which is by design, it will be my beach bag so it was important that a big beach towel plus a big book could fit in there while still having room for a 1,5 litre water bottle and lot's of sunscreen =)

All in all, very happy with my first "real" bag project =)

I'm back from Sweden, with fabric =)

I'm back from a lovely vacation in Sweden. I had a fantastic time with friends and family and I even had time to do some fabric shopping (lucky me! ^^).

I bought two very pretty and very cheap (I normally hate sales, but not when it comes to fabric) table runners that hopefully very soon will be transformed into something completely different combined with the plastic curtain eyelets in the picture.

I bought a lovely Tonga Treats pack that I know exactly what to create with, it'll be turned into some very cool stars =)

I also ended up buying some fun novelty wine prints, and a number of very cute rivets and some more eyelets. The eyelets, rivets etc are in the hopes of that I finally this year on my week of quilt retreat (only one and  a half week to go, yay!) will create some cool bags. I always think that "this year I'll make bags" but I end up making big quilts instead... So I figured if I tell you guys my plans, I have some pressure on me to actually create a bag or two this year ^^

And FINALLY got to buy another bottle of 505 basting spray which was very, very fortunate as I'm totally out and no one (if you know anyone who does in Europe, pretty please let me know) ships this to Malta.

I got to see some of my fantastic mothers works in progress which each one is more fantastic then then next, just wish she'd start finishing up all her lovely tops so she'll show them off on her blog soon =)


I'll make another post soon with some more personal updates on what we've been doing =)

Little kitty growing up and Sweden trip

Remember this little guy that we rescued a few months back?

He was named Pjutin by his new owner and had mange, fleas, ringworm etc. You name it this poor little fella had it. Well luckily he was a fighter (and luckily non of us humans got the ringworm, my hands where raw with disinfectant for a while there) and after 2 weeks in our bathroom he went to live with his new owner. His owner is a friend of ours who just moved to Malta and works from home so he really needed someone to keep him company as much as little Pjutin needed an owner. He has quickly adapted to his new life with Jan and is a super cuddly, purring little bundle of love with his owner, while still quite scared of other humans though.

I got this photo from Jan yesterday, look what a handsome young fella he's growing up to be! 

He was neutered a few weeks ago which went over all expectations and been to the vet for all the tests we could think of. I was terrified he'd have Sandfly (Leishmaniasis), a very common and deadly disease nearly all stray animals get infected with here but luckily he wasn't!

I'm so happy for him and Jan =)

On another note,  I'm currently in Sweden for a wedding (it was very nice, will get some pictures up ASAP) and to spend some time with our families. Might be a few less blog posts then usual the upcoming weeks and they may be on the more personal plane then usual, just a little heads up =) However, I'm hoping I'll be lucky to get some quilt related stuff happening too.

Play with my brand new ruffle foot

I've been playing for the first time with my brand new ruffle foot, gosh what a fun tool it is!  Never had I known what a deep seated longing I had for perfect, pretty ruffles until today. ^^ The joy at making them was much, much bigger then I ever could imagine. =)

It took a few tries to get the ruffles right, so I ended up with a bunch of more or less nicely ruffled strips of fabric. I turned a couple of the more decent ones into flowers. As you might be able to tell I'm on a bit of a barrette streak lately. I bought a few ugly, cheap barrettes and now I'm having lot's of fun making them into pretty new barrettes for me to wear for the summer. =)

Here's the result of today's play, one BIG Ruffle Flower Bliss Barrette.

 And a smaller, with a different twist for the middle Sunkissed Barrette

I can't beleive it, I've knitted!

Well to be perfectly honest I've knitted for 2 years now, embarrassingly enough - on the same scarf... My mother gave me a really great book and some knitting supplies two years ago for my birthday, which was great fun and I set out to knit, however, as I'm more of an "instant result" kind of gal, not much happened after I realized what a slow process it was and my scarf had been an on again off again project since then.

I was quite sure it'd never be finished so I'd sort of given up on it, however, as my sewing student had knitting on her schedule and I had to teach her how to do it I sort of got turned on to it again after seeing her knit and this time the process was sooo much faster! All of a sudden I'd knitted up an entire ball of yarn and was halfway into the second one and I had a finished scarf in a few days of knitting in front of the TV in the evening! =)

 

I'll show it on myself when the weather permits, I'd die from heatstroke if I tried it on with appropriate attire now =)

Here's the knitted bunny Tova made for her class, isn't it adorable?! Here's the tutorial we used: Bunny from a square pattern

A tiny pink barrette and a warm welcome

First and foremost I really want to welcome all my new readers/followers and thank you all for the support you've given me with my very first bakeshop project! I'm really excited to tell you that I have more projects planned and in the pipeline =)


This adorable little pink barrette is my favorite hair accessory at this point in time. It's really tiny which makes it prefect for me as I have such thin, babyish hair - and it's PINK, perfect for summer =)

As I couldn't find any barrettes in the crafting store this small, I bought an (pardon my french) ugly, cheap one, stripped it of decoration and made it from that one. It also turned out much cheaper then buying an "empty" one at the craft store. As all of it is covered, the little glue residue I got from the original bow doesn't show at all in the end. I took some pictures while I was making it so there might be a tutorial coming up on how to make one for yourself, it's really quite easy.

Oh and on a side note, the plant on our balcony I took the pictures in is flowering for the first time in the 3 years I've had it. I'm so glad, I had no idea it had such adorable, tiny pink flowers!

I'm a Moda Bakeshop girl!! Or: Summer Squares - Tutorial

Can you believe it? Nope, me neither! =D

I can't stop smiling, I'm one of Moda Bakeshop's Chefs! I couldn't be happier or more honored to be a part of this fantastic group! I've been having such a difficult time not telling (read: cry it out from the rooftops) ever since I found out back in December. The very first project I get to share is what came out of this sketch, my Summer Squares Quilt (thank you mom for the great name!).

I'm super excited to share my very first pattern with the world! Presenting, the finished product:

Summer Squares made with Sunkissed by Sweetwater

EDIT: Unfortunately after their wordpress crash this tutorial is no longer available on Moda Bakeshop, however, it is available for FREE in my Facebook group. 

Please hop over to Moda Bakeshop to read my tutorial (no longer available there, it's however available for free download in my Facebook group) on how to make this quilt, including the simple trapunto technique I used for the appliques. I've been so nervous but in a good way, you know: What if people don't like it? What if I make a mistake in yardage calculations (I'm the queen of those) etc. But now it's all released and I'm just feeling so proud. I'd be so happy if you'd leave a comment over there, and if you decide to make one of these quilts based on the tutorial, I'd be even happier if you sent me an email with a photo so I can show it off here on the blog =)

It's such a quick, easy quilt to make but so much fun thanks to the applique details. You also get to show off whatever fabric you're using quite well with the fairly big squares. I didn't want to finish this quilt while I was making it, the fabrics where such a pleasure to work with, such pretty summery colors and beautiful but still cool prints!

Skinny Sunkissed Table Runner

So I finished up my "Skinny Verna" version, from a tutorial you can find here on Moda Bakeshop, though mine is more of a "Skinny Sunkissed" =)

It was an excellent way to use up really tiny scraps of my jellyroll and I love the way it came out. The weather sadly didn't permit any nice pictures so these will have to do. I also discovered how much I dislike doing straight line quilting now that I have an alternative... It's just so, so time consuming.

 In it's place with our loved ones.

Ruby Dreams

Right now I'm all snowed in on Ruby, my dreams about this fabric collection is border lining erotic to be honest, I have something very close to a schoolyard crush on it. You know the kind, every waken hour of your day it pops into your mind, and suddenly at the squash court your realize you just barely evaded being hit by the ball - because you where dreaming up quilts of it!

Why oh why can't it be available now?!

Ruby is the new fabric line from the ever so talented Bonnie and Camille. This line is just so pretty, all soft colors but still so cheery. I just can't stop looking at it. The pretty red would make it perfect for my bedroom and the other colors combined with that soft, perfect gray.... It's love, can you tell? ^^
Everyone should take a look at Camille's blog for some serious inspiration, she's a fantastic designer, takes beautiful photos and seems like a fantastic person, I always get a smile on my face reading her blog. 

I bought the Swoon pattern as a PDF today (first time doing that, messed up and bought it from the company paypal, fiance - not happy with me) and it was the BEST thing! I can really recommend it! SO much fun to be able to get my hands on the pattern pretty much right away and not have to pay customs on arrival and wait for weeks for it to arrive from the US. I don't think I've ever before have wanted to purchase a pattern and fabric to make an exact replica of a quilt before, but in the case of the fantastic Swoon pattern combined with the beautiful Ruby fabric I'm seriously, seriously considering it, I mean, just LOOK at it! It's just to stunning for words!

Here you can see it in almost full glory at quilt market (one day I will go to the US and attend this event) with it's equally pretty designer Camille, with who's kind permission I'm borrowing these fantastic photos from her blog, thank you!=)

My first baby shower - Silly Kitties Baby Quilt

A couple of our very dear friends here in Malta are having a little baby girl in about a month. So this Friday I'm going to my very first baby shower! I'm super excited! However, since the dad of the family is Swedish and thinks a baby shower would be weird they've arranged a "Baby BBQ" (no babies will be barbecued I promise ^^) instead and the men are invited too. =)

I thought this was a lovely opportunity to finish up my Silly Kitties baby quilt, I ended up binding it with black Kona instead of the fabric I was hoping to use. I've also made a few matching onesies to go with it with little appliqued motifs.

I even made my very first label! I'm ashamed to admit I up until now always "forgot" to put one on...

The onesies, the baby is to be named Alexandra, hence the A and the doggy is because her parents are more dog then cat people so I figured it'd be good to balance out the cats a little.

On the back of the doggy one I put a big, pink pawprint on the tushie, isn't it adorable!

All wrapped up good and girly in pink tulle and ready to go. My first baby Shower/BBQ gift - I'm growing up ^^