ANOTHER ELEPHANT


Made another elephant.  I have two more cut and waiting to be sewn, but thought I'd share this one.  I rather like the the gold colours.


I shall call him "Eldorado"!

Nikki

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FIRST STRIP QUILT (+ a mini tutorial)

I was thinking that quilting might be a bit complicated for a first timer like me, so I thought, can I just be really lazy and do it with strips instead?  I designed a few in my notebook and then googled "strip quilt".  Lo and behold, there have been several people who have already come up with this idea.  There is a great tutorial from "a cuppa and a catch up" and another one from "film in the fridge".  They both make beautiful quilts and I just LOVE the simplicity of a strip quilt.

I decided that to whittle my fabric stash down a little I'd have a go and make a quilt topper in preparation for my sewing class on Tuesday night.  My aim is to take it along with wadding/batting and some binding and get Charlotte (our tutor) to teach me how to finish it off.

Here's what I did:

Cut my strips (these varied some were 18 cm, some 9 cm and some 13 cm).  I wanted mixed widths.  I cut mine 123 cm long, as I want the final quilt to be around 120 cm wide (as cot bed size is 120 cm x 150 cm).

I cheated and up-cycled a section of a quilt cover, which has three fabrics and some lace detail that I love (this saved some sewing time too).

I laid it out, and then paired the strips ready for sewing as per the tutorial from film in the fridge.

This is a pair being sewn together.

One of the blocks of four strips.

Then you sew them all together and iron.  You see that I need to work on lining up my strips and cutting the fabric straight, but it is my first attempt!  When I finish it I'm going to trim off the uneven edges and make it all line up.

I am going to back it with this blue fleece to make it soft and cosy.  I need to go and buy some binding as well - maybe pink?

I'll let you know how finishing it off goes later in the week.

I then have a plan to make another strip quilt, but this time with some cherry fabric.

Nikki

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Sew... First sewing class tonight, we basically filled out forms and the woman running it is "as mad as a box of frogs" but she is a creative type, so I am being patient and not letting my scientific side dominate.  Let's just go with the flow and let her be as scatty as she needs to be.


I have decided to do a quilt as my first project.  I am going to do a marine/nautical theme and keep it simple.  I will upload my design when I decide on it, but I think it will just be cot bed size (120 cm x 150 cm).  I'm reckoning 12 30 cm squares with a 15 cm panel on each edge.  Then I'm hoping to do some fish appliqued onto it.  I may also do a matching cushion.  I'm going to go with red, white and navy blue colour scheme.


My second aim for the course is to make a dress for work.  A basic one, but a dress all the same.  I need to start hunting for patterns that I like.... and fabric.


I will update you as and when I finalise the design for the quilt and keep posting about the dresses I'd like to attempt to make!


Nikki
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Got my new sewing machine!  V. v. excited.  I was very unsure, but I went to John Lewis and they were very helpful.  It's a Janome DC 3050 and a good all rounder that will last me for a long time I suspect.  I checked that I'd like to do quilting in the future and it's all geared up for that.  I suspect I'll have to buy more feet etc, but it's grand for now.


This is what it looks like:

Source:content.janome.com

I'm not posting my own pic of it, as I haven't even had time to open the box yet (we are having an Ebay listings weekend, selling some of our inherited Edwardian postcard collection - rock and roll...).

It does, like, 50 stitches, I'll probably never use them all, but they're pretty funky:

Source: mysewingmachinereviews.org

I am very excited as I was told by the woman in the store that the machine I'm currently using is "for teenagers, I normally recommend it for 13-14 year olds who aren't really interested in sewing".  I now get why it's been such a pain in the arse.

Asta la vista old machine.

RIP Betty, I suspect she may get reincarnated in a free Ebay listing this weekend...

Nikki

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I finally made a babushka/matryoshka/russian doll!  I've been wanting to do one of these for a while as I have some lovely fabric that I bought back from Singapore which I thought was perfect.


So firstly I looked at some blogs and free pattern sites and came up with my own take on it.  I am quite proud that I designed the pattern myself, but it needs work as I need to exaggerate more.  It has been a learning curve but I've got a good result at the end of it!


So here are my steps:

So, I drew my pattern and tried to exaggerate features, making it very simple.

Cut the component parts and picked some trim and a button for the centre of the scarf.  This is the body with the other component parts after I had sewn on the face and hair with embroidery floss.  I was orginally going to put a fleece pouch on the front, but then decided against it, as I wanted to show the fabric pattern.

The front, fully embroidered , with trims, ready to be sewn on to the back (below).

Here she is, the finished article.  You can see that I really need to exaggerate the pattern in terms of the body and head shape. For a first attempt (and let's face it I'm a total novice and don't really know what I'm doing) I don't think it's too bad.  I won't bother with the bottom trim next time, just keep it simple.


When I prefect the pattern I'll post it for others.  In my inspiration searches here are some other good free patterns and tutorials that I found:
Blinking flights Russian doll
April's mini matryoshka's
Nesting Babushka dolls by Dolls and Daydreams (not a free pattern but inspiration as I'd like to make nesting dolls eventually)
Matryoshka doll tutorial by Jane Blogs


Next time I'm going to change the pattern a little and do her with a purple scarf section and patterned body section.  I'm going to keep the face the same (I think she's pretty) and I really like the vintage button in the centre of the scarf and the trim.


Now for a name for her...

Nikki

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This has to be quick because it's late but I made another elephant (called Elizabeth) for a friend's daughter's birthday.  I am very proud of her so am posting pics now as I've just finished.  She is a lovely fabric but quite think, and my machine is not holding up so well.  She has vintage buttons for eyes and on her tail.  As a nice little touch she has a gold bell on a velvet ribbon around her neck.


It took me two nights to make as my sewing machine is pants.  Mental note - must finally decide which new sewing machine to buy!

 From the side you can see the velvet ribbon and bell.

 Vintage button on tail (maroon outer with gold rose for centre).

I am proud of this one!  Next steps are to finish off all my pomander and doorhandle hearts, and to do the three other elephants I have to do for people... and then do a babushka doll and some sea creatures.  Phew... going to be busy.

Nikki

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Ok, I have my sewing course project.  My sewing course starts on the 31st Jan at Aberdeen College, I am v.v.v excited.  It's an awesome fish quilt.  As I am, by original trade, a marine biologist this is perfect!  I won the pattern on eBay for 99p, nice price.

What do you think?

I think it will look awesome with the fish in a plain background with a busy background, or vice versa.  It may be a bit complicated for my first quilt but I'm sure I'll manage, it will bea good way to learn.  I'm really excited about learning applique.

I am halfway through an elephant at the moment for a friend's little girl's birthday.  Will post some images tonight when it's done.

I have also discovered Pinterest over the weekend - addicted is not the word!

Nikki

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Sew (ok, bad joke), I confess.  I am a blog virgin.  But I am ready to now partake of this virtual world, mainly because I now feel like I have something to blog about!


So here we go...
son asleep, check, 
cuppa, check, 
snack, check, 
mental capacity, sort of.

Excuse the naff Sports Direct mug, but it was free and holds a decent sized brew.

I am mainly going to be writing about my sewing projects, things that inspire me and things that I'd like to make.  So far I have been plodding along teaching myself, with some success, but I am due to start a sewing and textiles course next week and I really wanted to document my progress, for myself more than anything.  I'm sure I'll also end up blogging about being a mum, a university teacher and the million and one other things that I am to myself and other people!  I am also very thrifty, so I'll be sure to put up some of my useful hints and tips on things I've reused etc.


I'm already thinking about my next post, I'll be sure to get that on soon.

Nikki 

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