A Challenge (Results)

And the results are in.

Firstly, the correct title for this post and the one before should definitely be 'Looking for Trouble'.

Secondly, its official. I can't sew a straight line to save my life.

Photographic evidence:

This is my handiwork, duly pieced, and pressed. I measured, and pinned and pressed (and hemmed and hawed - pun intended!) and still I can't line up my seams.

Grrrr!

Oh well. 

On the bright side (yay!):

(1)  I guess this means that I can revert to sewing with reckless abandon (double yay!). My seams are just as crooked either way; AND

(2) I get to make a mug rug - my first, can you believe it?

Now this was definitely fun making, hu hu.

Coffee break calling!

A Challenge (or Looking for Trouble?)

This post has potentially has two titles - (1) A Challenge or (2) Looking for Trouble.

You see, I suddenly have this need to put my piecing skills to the test. You may as well know that I'm the sort that tends to just whizz away at the sewing machine. Of course I measure and mark and pin, errr, most times. Generally though, I prefer to eyeball things and just wing it. Bad - don't follow.

But patchwork and quilting is really about precision piecing isn't it? You should see the people at my LQS. They are so, so, SO accurate. Every time I see their work I get this feeling I can't explain - sort of like wanting to pull out all my hair and jump up and down at the same time. Know what I mean?

Anyways, I've decided to be brave, and challenge myself. I'm going to try making a simple (and small!) patchwork piece as a test. So I've cut out some 1.5" squares. I figured the smaller the better, as they will be less forgiving. See the one deep red square at the top? Hee, I added that deliberately. I like having a feature that obviously doesn't belong thrown in.

Then I measured exactly a quarter inch from my sewing machine needle, and stuck a post-it as a marker (tip found on the internet) for me to line up my fabric while sewing.

Now I'm all set. A bit nervous. But all set. Wish me luck!

Out of Alignment

I've graduated from little purses for now. On to bigger things. A nice new tote maybe? It felt like a patchwork day, so I had a look see at some of my charm packs, and settled for this one:

Moda's Northcote Range - a nice floral, feminine choice. (Sorry I forgot to take a photo of the pack before I started, so I'm having to use an image off the net).

For this tote I had to use up almost the entire pack, including charms for the handles.

Then I set to work. But you know how on some days things move along very, very slowly or not at all, no matter how you try? Well, this was one of those days.  From the choosing and deciding on the placement of the charms, to the piecing, and right up to the end, it felt like a little bit of a struggle. I should have just left the sewing room for another day, but no, I persisted. And it was with some relief when, hours later, the time came to put everything together.

And then, when I was just about to finish off the tote, this happened.

What, what ... arrrgh!

If I line up the handles, the snaps won't meet.

If the snaps meet, the handles won't line up. Here's a closer look.

*Sigh*

I guess that's another one for the Unpick Pile (yes, I do have an Unpick Pile. Scary, I know).

Hope everyone else is more aligned this week :-)

Purses

Niece and her little friend, Nina, visited recently. Before they left Nina had a special request - she wanted a purple purse. So I went on the internet to try to find a pattern, and found one that looked easy enough from Tipnut. By the way, if you don't know that website, I recommend you take a look. There're loads and loads of tutorials for all kinds of things. Just google 'tipnut' and you're home.

Anyways, back to the purple purse, it all came together easy enough, tadah!

This one followed the pattern exactly, and is really quite tiny. But just nice for a little girl.

Purple's her favourite colour you see.

It came together so quickly that I decided to pull out some more fat quarters and make another. And then another. And before I knew it there was a stack of little purses.

Err, where did these come from???

I only stopped because I ran out of zippers.

Now, didn't I tell you fabric was addictive?

Hope you're having a happy Sunday!

Scrap Busting Part III

This project works best with scrappy strips, eheheee!

P.S. No meows were harmed in the making of this post. Milo, like his human mummy, is also A Fabric Case and loves being smothered in bits of fabric (don't let his fed-up look fool you). He has been (reluctantly) unwound after his photo shoot. 

Scrap Busting Part II

Remember all those scraps I cut into the other day?

Well, I've used up the 3" squares, and made a cute little patchwork seat cover, hu hu!

It never ceases to amaze me how patchwork can transform a bunch of mismatched fabric into something pretty. The seat cover is patched on both sides, so it's pretty much reversible.

(Hmm, think we really need to repaint the chair).

I love how it's really soft and fluffy too. Might go off and make another one now.

Hope everyone's having a happy week!

Scrap Busting

It's been raining a lot lately in Kuala Lumpur. The other day it rained for hours and hours straight. It was pouring at tea time, then at dinner time, it was raining when I went to bed, and was still raining when I woke up. I stayed in that morning, thanks to a bad cold (maybe thanks to all that rain?), and was definitely not in a creative frame (definitely thanks to all that rain). And so I was sitting there staring at a box of scraps, when the following happened.

Tipped out box:

Organised scraps into groups (according to size of scrap).

Applied ruler and rotary cutter:

(by-product of ruler and rotary cutter activity):

Divide product of ruler and rotary cutter activity into three piles of 4" squares, 3" squares and 2.5" squares:

And strips of various lengths:

(Existing pile of growing (and hairy) 4" squares which will someday (hopefully!) make a patchwork quilt):

Pat self on the back for job well done.

What a perfect rainy day activity :-)

I want one too!!!

Was surfing the other day. Internet, of course. You wouldn't catch me dead on a plank in a raging sea. Or, should I say you wouldn't catch me alive on a plank in a raging sea - as I'd likely be dead. But I digress...

Anyway, I was surfing the internet the other day, and found this pic.

Insane!

Needless to say I'm now desperate for one just like that too. Even though I think Yummy Hubby might disown me if I did. Grrr.

So what's your wall of wow like?

A.W.O.L.

Hullo?

It's been a while. Which makes me wonder how do I, should I, explain such a long absence? And the more I wonder, the more I'm putting off actually updating this blog. So I've decided. I'll just pick up where I left off, and pretend that nothing's happened. La la la laaa. I hope that's not cheating?

So anyways, I have been sewing all this time (for the sewing bug, once caught, is hard to be discarded no matter what the circumstances). Just bits and bobs, a little here and a little there. And of course only when time permits.

My Lavender Fields  quilt was finished months ago, and has gotten much use ever since. I have absolutely no patience, so I bullet-trained my way through the quilting process (Bad, don't follow -  quilt your quilts with lots of care - you'll see why in a second). Because I knew beforehand that this quilt was for me, I wasn't really concerned how it would look in the end, and just wanted it finished, so I practically dragged it under the needle (Double bad a.k.a shameful!).

And so the finished product, ta dah!

excuse the toes!

Is a fairly big one, dimensions are maybe 5.5 feet wide X 7 feet long.

Quilted in a large stipple (or meander, I suppose).

I managed one photo with somewhat decent lighting:

And now we will see why patience is a virtue to be exercised:

Gasp! Horrors!

(Technical info : The loose stitching at the bottom is a direct result of me rushing the quilting. The loops are formed when the hands (pulling the quilt along) move faster than the needle can stitch.  I think. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).

But I'm easy to please. So I'm loving it anyway. And Yummy Hubby never notices these things, so he loves it too. (Of course he doesn't have a choice, he has to love everything that I make, whether it's a quilt or a burnt piece of meat. Or else.) And it's nice and soft and comfy and even the meows can't get enough of it.

Ahhhh.... now THAT'S what its all about.

Have a happy week all!