Stash Bee Hive #5 March Block - All Work and No Play

Work is really not permitting much in terms of free time lately so very little is happening in terms of quilting and crafting. However work is going really well, I couldn't be happier with it and I hope that soon I'll have time to get some quilting done. We've however had some blackouts coming and going and during those - since I can't work anyway - I've had time to whip up a quick tutorial for a Sami Barrette which I hope to be able to share with you all soon.

Well, I have played a little, and by that I mean little, I literally made my StashBee cat block (such an adorable block! I would have LOVED to make a whole litter!) for March in lightning speed! I'm usually not one to rush through anything but this time I had no choice. I hope Rebeckah will be happy with it anyway =)
And I'm not this late sending it, only posting it here on the blog ^^

And I've also received the blues of February from Stash Stack Club, and believe me when I say that this club has been a huge help for me in being able to make the blocks for StashBee!

The beautiful blues of February

Please Share Your Creations With Us!

I'm lucky enough to quite often get lovely emails from talented ladies and gents who's created beautiful things using my tutorials and patterns! And believe me when I say that nothing makes me happier! =D

However, with my work being like it is I nearly never have time to write up blog posts to show them off! Such a pity! Which made me realize I'd love to see all of YOUR beautiful creations from my tutorials and patterns in one place where they're shared with the world at the same time! So I created a Flickr Group solely for that purpose and it'd mean so much to me if you'd like to share your creations with me there. =)

If you've made anything from one of my patterns or tutorials, or made something inspired from one of them, please add it to the group so we all can be inspired!

Not Only Quilts - Share Your Creations Flickr Group

Allow me to present just a few of the creations I've been lucky enough to have shared with me in emails recently. =) Most recently I got an email from the talented Darlene Gardner who's made absolutely lovely Fancy Folded Stars! This pattern is so versatile, you can use it on almost anything!

Shirley made this stunning pillow with the same tutorial:

Lesley Fletcher from down under made an absolutely gorgeous bag! Wow!

Françoise made an adorable, super sweet pillow!

The quilting group Sassy Sewers made a bunch of lovely Fancy Folded Stars on their very first sewing retreat! Be sure to pop over to Grandmamas Stories and see their lovely creations!

I hope all of you and all others will do me the honor of adding your creations to the group! Thank you! <3

Stash Bee Hive #5 - February Block

So this month we're making a Feather Block for Alyson who just had a baby! Congratulations Alyson! =D

Honestly, all the bias edges in this block had me a little on edge too, I almost feared I'd have to bring out my pins! *gasp of horror* Luckily that wasn't the case and they came together nicely anyway!

It was a really fun block to make so I ended up making two, packing them this weekend and hope to have them on their way to Alyson along with a little gift on Monday =)

This months Stash Stack Club brought lovely Purples, presented to you by Diana who naturally assumed I'd laid them out so nicely on the floor as a bed for her. As you can see in the photo she was shocked when  I informed her that wasn't the case ^^

The perfect purples of January:

The Bia Bag Pattern Update!

It was brought to my attention that what seam allowance to use was a little unclear in places so I've updated the pattern to clearly state what seam allowances to use where, basically 1/4" unless otherwise noted and in Step 2 use 1/2" to be able to fit the elastic later (it became a little unclear with the compressed pictures in the PDF I'm afraid). Those of you who've downloaded the pattern from Craftsy will get a email notified shortly about the updated version of the pattern. Those of you who got it before, please download the new version to clear up any seam allowance confusion =)

Someone  also wondered about the washability of the bag, I'd have to say it does depend a lot on what bag handles you chose to use and what interfacing. My first Bia Bag is machine washed about once every other month since I made it, as I use it a every day. It's actually hanging to dry as I'm writing this, once it's dry I just give it a quick going over with my iron and it's good as new ^^

I also bought a little text fabric after I realized my stash was sorely lacking it  (I just LOVE this print that I bought in each colorway from the Comma line, so darn cool! ) for use mainly in Stash Bee, as it's a popular request I've realized and I want to be ready ^^ I've also bought my first bottle of Best Press Ironing Spray which I can't wait to try, as all the spray starch they have here in Malta is terribly flaky and stinks sooo much!

This lovely bundle was made custom for me by FreshModernFabric on Etsy =)

I'm in Stash Bee! My Very First Quilting Bee!

I'm super excited and a little nervous to be a part of my very first virtual quilting bee, Stash Bee!

It's so exciting, our very first Hive Block (I'm part of Hive #5) was posted a week or so ago and I finally found time to finish it! It was a really fun block to make and I love our queen bee Sue's (of Just Sew Sue) color choices, stunning!

Here's my block, our queen bee likes Bonnie & Camille fabrics so I managed to find three red ones, the spots, the scallops and the one with the tiny flowers for this block =)

I was really hoping to find time to make more than one as it was really fun, but I had to realize work wasn't going to permit me so I've packed it up and it's going in the mail today. I've also added a little surprise to the package for her, I really hope she'll like it =)

Surrounded by Love

A few days ago, I found a tiny little package in my mailbox and when I opened it, along with a sweet note from my lovely mother, this adorable, teeny-tiny little charm pack fell out! <3

And I truly felt so lucky to be so Surrounded by Love as I am. I immediately decided that this little pile had to be turned into a Valentines Day table runner to celebrate love a little more =)

So the past few evenings I've been sitting in my couch, with this little pile of hexies next to me on the armrest growing slowly but steadily. Those of you who know me know that sewing by hand really isn't my strong suit - hence the "slowly" part, but I'm really enjoying it!  

Late last year (so before Christmas) she also sent me a new pair of quilting gloves among other things, how she knew how badly I needed new ones when not even I realized it - I'll never know! Mother's intuition? ^^ I just had a to take a comparison picture and I want to point out that the old ones were washed not that long ago! It didn't go out in the wash, eeew!

I've also received November and December Stash Stack Club bundles of course! The colors that aren't my favorites generally but there where some seriously lovely and beautiful fabrics in there. 

The outstanding oranges of November 

And the balanced browns of December

The Bia Bag - Free PDF Pattern!

I'm super happy to share my very first, real PDF pattern! It's 18 pages with over 40 color photos so it should be easy to follow for everyone, even if you're not used to reading patterns. =)

Please note the The Bia Bag pattern, while still a working pattern, is not up to the standard of my new, Pink Pony Design Patterns. 

Edit: This pattern is available for free download in the "files" section of my Facebook group.

I really love this bag so much! It's such a perfect size, it has a ton of pockets, inside and out as I love knowing exactly where I have my stuff. This is the new version I made while creating the pattern, it's a girly spring version in fresh linen and light blues! I think I somehow knew when I started making this pattern this fall that it'd probably be spring before I finished *lol*

The many pockets are a lifesaver for me, I don't want my handbag to be a black hole where all my stuff rides jumbled about in a crazy mix and nothing can be found. One pocket for each thing, phone, compact, pens, nail file, key loop etc. I've really optimized this bag for me and hopefully, you'll find that it fits you just as good as it fits me!

It's not big which is one of my key requirements for a bag (you know what it's like - if there's room I will fill it and kill my back lugging it all around), but I can fit all the stuff I need in it - including a pocket book - so it's perfect for me, I use mine everyday. Which is why I felt I really had to share this pattern with you all! =)

If you choose to download the pattern I'd love if you let me know what you think of it by leaving a comment here or on Craftsy. If you make a Bia Bag, I'd love if you hashtag it with #pinkponydesign and #thebiabag when sharing it on social media so I and others can find and enjoy it =)

Any and all feedback is much appreciated! <3

I've Been Shopping!

Even though I haven't got much time to sew lately, I've done some shopping! Always a nice substitute to prepare for future sewing ^^

I also bought myself a Kona Color Card, better late than never right? Feels weird to pay  $19 for samples, but it's worth it to have an idea of what colors one has to choose from. =)

Diana is definitely a fan, wouldn't leave me alone when I tried to photograph it ^^

I also received my Stash Stack Club from Pink Castle Fabrics for October, lovely, lovely greens! My favorite has to be the swirlies second furthest to the right,  "Flumes in Citron" from Luxe in Bloom by Sarah Watson.

The gorgeous greens of October

Modern Baby Boy Quilt - Finish!

My friends are having babies left and right and I get to make a lot of baby quilts which is so much fun! I choose fabrics all from stash for the first time and I couldn't be more excited with the result! I drew the applique myself, I really wanted the first letter of the babys name there but incorporated with a cute dinosaur. This to lighten up the otherwise quite strict and modern feeling quilt. Make it feel more "baby" without drawing away too much attention from the design. The choice of the yellow for the applique came down to the original photo of the eggs that inspired the fabric selection.

I quilted it with a normal meander as I didn't want the quilt to feel stiff from too much quilting. I wanted it snuggly and soft.

The applique is done with the trapunto technique I used in my Summer Squares Quilt. But for this I used a high loft polyester batting for it to make it really pop out, will absolutely use this again for applique, makes it really stand out! =)

Summer Squares Baby Quilt - Vegas Quilt

One of my very best friends had an adorable, ever so cool and easy going baby girl, Vega few months back and I couldn't be more excited, she's just so sweet! They just got back from Sweden and I'm so excited to be giving her her little quilt!

When my friend just had found out she was pregnant with a baby girl, we had dinner at a restaurant talking about this and that and we came to talk about me wanting to make a quilt of course, so I had to ask if she had any wishes for it. She told me she wanted a ship, a star and a polar bear! Why exactly I don't feel at liberty to share but there were very good reasons for this anyway, and the wheels in my head instantly started turning: How the heck was I going to tie these requests together??

Luckily I had a number of months to sketch and throw away sketches, start over and think again before I had to decide on a design I felt could work. Ships and polar bears aren't exactly girly girly so I really wanted to find fabrics that could work with this while still not being too boyish. Luckily Sweetwaters adorable Noteworthy line was available, soft, sweet colors (including the essential blue and white!), lovely messages in the fabrics and not too girly nor too babyish as I don't think my friend would have liked that too much.
This was the result, a baby version of my Sunkissed Summer Squares Quilt! The Sunkissed Summer Squares quilt pattern is now available for FREE in my Facebook group.  I love the simplicity of the squares combined with the applique, I think they made a perfect combination!

I'm really super happy with the outcome! The applique is shadow trapunto just like in the original but sewn with a bit of a sketch like feeling thanks to the gray thread to give details. This one is also made with a Layer Cake instead of Jelly Roll and a Charm Pack. Soo much smarter and much less fabric waste! How come I didn't think of this earlier?

The adorable little polar bear is afloat on a piece of ice, looking up at the star above him as if for guidance.

The magnificent sail ship! I'm super proud of this, it's really tiny, only 4 inches high! And I'm really glad I managed to get the water to look like water with a bit of movement in it with the quilting, was so nervous about this!

To make the quilt truly baby Vegas, I of course had to include her name somewhere! I didn't want the standard babyish applique letters here as I felt it wouldn't fit with the rest of the quilt so I decided to make it from shadow trapunto in the water. Really happy with the result!

To make your own, just follow the instructions for my Sunkissed Summer Squares quilt and modify applique and size to suit your needs =) 

The Sunkissed Summer Squares quilt pattern is now available for FREE in my Facebook group.