handmade in Lancashire
Whilst it took me a couple of months to embroider the Kitties, Ma was much more efficient and had the Puss in a Corner patchwork blocks whipped up in no time.
How amazing is that?
I LOVE this quilt.
And it’s not even finished yet!
There’s a pink border to add around the edge of the quilt and it will be bound in a floral print.
Thankfully there is no rush as we’ve three other rooms to redecorate before we get to Button’s.
It’s Kids Clothes Week this week and I’m taking the opportunity to clear down some projects that have been languishing in the sewing loft for quite a while. There are 3 t-shirts from Ma SIL, a 1/2 yard length of double jersey, and the red fabric I bought on Saturday, which has been claimed by Miss Button.
I would point out that I knew she wanted a red dress, so bought her some fabric with KCW in mind…
…only to be informed, in no uncertain terms, that it was entirely the wrong colour of red and therefore completely unacceptable. That girl of mine certainly knows her own mind!
The piece I bought on Saturday, on the other hand, was immediately swooped upon with squeals of glee…so we are sharing it!
I’m nabbing the original piece to make a top for me, to go with a skirt from the solid red. I’ve been jonesing for a red outfit for a while…this will certainly fit the bill.
But I digress. The idea of KCW is to spend an hour a day on sewing dedicated to the small people. Yesterday I spent the time happily cutting out t-shirts and shorts. It would be so easy to make a huge list of things, only to be beaten by the clock. I’d rather have a small pile of quick wins and get some more pieces out of the loft and into Button’s wardrobe.
So…I’ll be making 2 Beachy Boatneck tees:
and 2 pairs of Bubble Pocket Shorts, of course:
I think it’s a doable list…we shall see!
I mentioned in January that I want to return our home from its current shabby state back to a cosy, hopefully stylish, family home. This means new windows, some plastering, new flooring throughout and lots of decorating. All of which is quite an expense…and therefore is going to take some time! 😉
This is a good thing. It works nicely with my new ethos of slow, but also allows me to really ponder the style choices I’m going to make in each room. Work has already commenced with two ceilings being plastered last week. Some essential bathroom repairs are coming soon, and a new bathroom floor.
So far, so dreary! Basic stuff…not remotely exciting.
But! Once the bathroom is done, the next room on the list is The Boy’s, and then Button’s. And whilst we are gathering the resources to buy all the materials and furnishings we need, it seems sensible to make a start on the quilts.
This is much more fun.
First up…The Boy! He’s Union Flag mad! Every time we see one in a shop he dashes straight to it! So, the Union Flag is to be the leitmotif for his new Brit Boy room. And what better quilt to make for him than Busy Bee Quilt Design’s ‘Victory Garden’.
Obviously the colourway shown on the original isn’t going to work for my little chap, he’s camp, but not girly. However, Makower’s ‘London’ is just the ticket.
This is a project that Ma is going to make. I’m not that fond of machine piecing and quilting, but she loves it. Who am I to spoil her fun? 😉
For Button, who is a huge Hello Kitty fan (I haven’t met a 5-year-old girl who isn’t), we are taking our inspiration from this spectacular quilt I spied on Pinterest.
image from http://qisforquilter.com/2009/02/hello-kitty-redwork-quilt-top/
Isn’t this just so stunning?????? It’s an original design by Q is for Quilter and I just couldn’t resist it. Button has to have this quilt.
There is no pattern, so I’m shamelessly plagiarizing reverse engineering and putting my own spin on it. To start, I’ve sourced a pile of Hello Kitty images from Google and printed them out. There are tons of them out there…just Google “Hello Kitty Colouring Pages”. I’ve then reduced them by 50% to get them to a good size to make a quilt block. Each block will be 6″ square when completed.
These are then going to be traced onto fabric and embroidered. The images have been delivered to Ma this morning…she’s been champing at the bit to start the tracing. I’ll be doing the embroidery. This is going to be a wonderful joint project with Ma, she’ll be doing the pieced squares, which are going to be cream/pink/duck-egg blue…which is pretty much the colour scheme for the room.
These quilts are going to be the centrepieces of some pretty cute new bedrooms for the kids. When I’ve told them about what we’ve got in store for them, there has been a huge amount of excitement, which makes these projects even more enjoyable for me (if that’s possible!). And at the end of it, they’ll have rooms that reflect their individual personalities and are a joy for them to spend time in.
Whether they’ll keep them tidy is another matter! 😉
Here’s Button in another Oh Suzanna smock.
This was once one of The Husband’s shirts, so looks super cute with the button placket up the front.
Hey…it’s not only the top that’s cute!
I also changed up the sleeve a little. The pattern calls for elastic or to use the cuff from a long sleeved shirt. I decided to play with the existing turn up and stitch a little inverted pleat into each sleeve.
All in all it’s another adorable little top. Button couldn’t wait to show it off to her Grandma today, which I’m taking as a good sign.
The knitted dress is almost done…just the serger tails to sew in.
And the jeans are on the table.
I’m sewing these production style, so hopefully they’ll come together really quickly. I’ve got an impatient client!
PS…you may have noticed the light is grim here today
…but I really wanted to share!
So I have preparation for my final exam to do.
And the kids have brought home back-to-school-lurgy so I’ve been feeling quite a bit under par this week.
So, of course, I’ve been making a dress for Button.
And not just any old dress…no! A forest themed dress for FSC Friday!
When school told us that today the children could go dressed in green instead of uniform, or in something forest themed, I first planned to do a quick dress out of cord to represent the tree with a few felt leaves tacked to it!
These leaves are all properly appliquéd onto the dress…by hand! Thanks to the lovely Liz for letting me raid her felt stash!
I must be mad. I swear I need to learn to leave well alone. But this has gone from being a one off costume to a little dress she can wear all winter. And a self drafted one to boot.
Because you know that the leaves go round to the back of the dress too.
Yep…I did…I’m crazy! Even more so when you consider that that is a hand picked zip.
It was so worth it though to see her face light up as she saw it coming together, for the ecstatic thank yous, and the bear hug and face full of kisses she bestowed.
I know she won’t always want Mummy’s handmades, so for now I’m happy to pull crazy sewing out of the hat now and again. Even if I should be studying. 😉
Edit…
I forget the credit for the squirrel appliqué ..I do apologise.
I sourced this from Wee Folk Art and you can download it here.
I can’t believe that the sitting room curtains are finally finished. I’m rather pleased, not only because they look quite spiffing…
but also because the weather here is back on form and it’s howling a gale and bucketing down with rain. Plus ca change.
Now, I can see the errors, and I know that they need dressing, but still, they do finish the room and are well worth the effort and bloodied fingers. I’m going to set the pleats tomorrow and am playing hunt the tie-back, but to all intents and purposes they are finished.
Also finished is Mr Stitches Maille vest from knitonthenet.
This is a super easy pattern, but did give me pause at the shoulders, which are shaped with short rows and then the seam is created with a three needle cast off. Well, there’s another skill learned. I do love it when these things creep up on you and you have to get to grips with something quick.