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. 

I'm alive!! A Stash Stack Club Update =)

I'm alive and while somewhat overworked - I'm very well! I've however, not had anytime for anything but work this summer, which is really quite sad. We've been diving I think maybe a total of 6 dives this summer, which is just plain depressing numbers when you live in the middle of the Mediterranean.

Anyhow, I've luckily still received beautiful bundles from Pink Castle Fabrics which has managed to keep my spirits up so I've at least been patting some fabrics from time to time as I've folded them into my stash. I've actually managed to make a couple of baby quilts this spring which I still can't share yet as they've not yet been gifted =)

The gorgeous grays of June

The pretty pinks of July:

The lovely low volumes of August:

The tantalizing teals of September

Now I just wish I had some time to make something out of them... 

Dog Treat Training Kit

A very dear friend had her birthday a week and a half ago and I instantly knew what I wanted to make her despite the fact that I had no time to make it. As she's just moved her dog to come live with her here in Malta the decision was simple:  A dog treat kit!

I know there are ton of different belts out there that you can buy, but they all have something about them that I don't like. To few pockets or too small pockets and you always need to bring the whole big belt with you, which might not always be ideal. So I decided to make little separate belt pouches for her that she could combine as she liked.

The big drawstring baggy gave me a little trouble. I thought for sure that there had to be a pattern out there easily accessible but when no such where to be found, I designed my own version based on the chalk bags we hang around our waists when we go rock climbing. I think it turned out really well! =) 

The little zippered pockets came together quickly and they have sturdy belt loops on the back. 

I think she really likes her kit as I've already seen her use it a lot! =)

Jewelry Travel Bag

My mother makes the most adorable travel bags for jewelry. They're super handy and such a fun design that I of course had to make her show me how to make them at the quilting retreat - so we made one each =)

The chubby little "bar" can be detached at one side with velcro and is for storing ones rings. The lace hanger for earrings was my own addition (as I don't have many rings) and it too can be detached for easy handling on one side with velcro. I also love the touch of whimsy it gets from using different colored zipper tabs ^^ 

The pattern is called "Sew Together Bag" and is available on Craftsy. This is such a handy design, thanks a lot mom for showing me how to make it! <3 

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Stash Update

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I have also received the Stash Stack Club package for May (June appears to still be out travelling with the mail, hope to get it soon as I'm super excited about my greys ^^ ) which contained of lovely reds. My favorite this month has to be  Beatrice Weave which is the top one in the photo. They are making some small changes to this years stash club, instead of August being Navy this year, it will be included in the blues and instead we will get Low Volume prints next months which I'm totally excited about! =D

I'm also still working hard on my pattern for the Bia Bag, however, work got in the way and I'm about a week behind on my schedule, but it's still in the works - so please don't loose hope! =)

Wallet and Zippered Bag to go with my Bia Bag

I of course needed a new wallet to go with my new bag so I made one during the quilt retreat using a pattern that I've had my eye on for a while, the Onigiri Designs Long Wallet. It's really pretty and oh so handy!

The little zippered pouch is from a pattern we got at the quilting retreat made by Anki. So quick to make and so handy with it's two zippered pockets!

But I'll be honest with you, the pattern for the wallet was quite difficult to understand and follow, I think it might be a translation issue but after some (read  a LOT) of unpicking, and redoing I finally managed to get it right =)

The end result is quite lovely I think , but if I were to make it again I would absolutely make some small changes. I'd attach the zipper a bit further out, add some interfacing to the coin pocket and to the card pockets since as they are now, they're a bit difficult to handle being so soft. I also made money and receipt pockets behind the card pockets, to get a little more space for such things as otherwise I'd have to have it next to the cards which would make it a bit difficult to handle.

I'm also in the process of making a free pattern for my Bia Bag - so stay tuned ^^