Books & Zippers

Things change...

I have decided to take more of a pattern-design route in my life as most of you already know. Designing the first two issues for Quilter's Connection Magazine was fun and a great learning experience but also quite stressful. It didn't leave much time in my life to focus on my own patterns so I decided it was time to move on. I still design a page now & then or help out with photography or patterns but at a much more toned down level. What I learned is already helping me on my path to my own pattern-making.

Click on the image to get a sneak peek inside!

PURCHASE A COPY

Several months ago, I was contacted by a new Taiwanese sewing book called Cotton Life to join their team as one of their main designers. This quarterly magazine has a Japanese flair with photos for every step which makes it easy to follow even if you can't read Chinese! I have always dreamed of being part of such a book and I am very excited to once again be published in another language!

For issue No.3 (my first issue), I designed a quilted bag, pouch & keychain set. Now why I designed a round zippered pouch I will never know! Sewing zippers into round bags is DIFFICULT! I tried many ways but I soon realized that sewing them by machine was NOT an option for me! So I decided to do it the Japanese way and sew it in by hand!

The first two pouches were good but the zippers stuck out the sides and I didn't like the loose lining.

The final pouch consisted of two tiny round pillow-cased quilts. I also set the zipper further back so it wouldn't be noticeable from the front.

I was very happy with the finished product... yet another pattern I must add to my list! Send an e-mail directly to Cotton Life to PURCHASE A COPY. For those of you who can wait, I will be adding a few copies of each issue to my Etsy Shop :o)

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Tea Cozy & Garden Party

Enjoying ourselves at a local Tea House, my friend mentioned that she needed a tea cozy and was going to buy one from the gift shop. I immediately told her that I would not allow her to purchase one and that I would make her one... enter the deluxe patchwork tea cozy with two different sides!

The quote that I embroidered along the bottom, I borrowed from a vintage cross-stitch that my friend gave to me recently. It reads "Come into my kitchen and chat with me while I prepare a pot of tea." I think it may be my new favourite tea phrase!

It suddenly appeared on her teapot during our Wednesday night tea time... she almost cried :o)

As my family and I were entering a cafe, I spotted this license plate! I jumped up and down pointing at it. My hubby thought I was insane but I managed to get him to sneak a photo for me!

I turned 37 on June 13th. I made my own birthday cake this year which was polished off in minutes near the end of my small garden party :o) I usually don't like to make layer cakes because of the mess it makes when you try to cut the layers. This time I baked thin layers that looked like giant cookies. No cutting, no crumbs, no mess! PERFECT... especially with fresh strawberries and whipped cream!

I had a lovely afternoon enjoying my friends and my garden. Many thanks for all the birthday wishes I received via e-mail, flickr , and facebook too!!!

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Sunshine & Stitches

Sneak peeks at a WIP that I started on monday... There's the new sewing table in use and I can fold it up and slide it away. I still prefer my round bistro table by the window for tea time.

I found that I am a bit rusty when it came to the free-motion quilting. I definitely need some more practice! My swirly lines were a bit wobbly but I left them because that's part of the charm... right?! I enjoyed the hand-embroidery which I took with me to the park today. I even had time to work on it because today Claire finally figured out how to swing all by herself!

Meet my new teacup and floral pillowcase. I found them for a great deal at a second hand shop last week :o) I think this is the prettiest teacup I have ever seen! I am trying to decide whether or not to cut into the pillowcase to make a pendant garland for above the window in my tea room as was the intended purpose...

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Linen & Green

Here is another quick little project for myself... nesting fabric baskets for the kitchen. I used a textured linen-look fabric for the outside and added cute little tags. I hand-stamped some ribbon, and made others from pretty tea ribbon created by Anna of Lilla Lotta. They are cute but next time I will quilt them so they are sturdier :o)

What a surprise when I found this peony in my back garden! I am enjoying my new yard immensely and will enjoy it even more once the sun comes out to play.

I must admit that I am proud of my baker's rack herb garden with the tiny greenhouse of strawberries on the top shelf. I planted thyme, parsley, both sweet & thai basil, cilantro, oregano, rosemary, sage, marjoram, tarragon, savory, mint and chives. I started most of the herbs from seeds so I can't wait until they grow a bit more to fill the pots. The only thing missing is an old metal watering can or two :o)

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Tea Room

What more can I say?! An entire room in my new home dedicated to tea & sewing parties!!! What could be better! I found some great second hand items such as this wonderful gingham chair...

...and this wonderful red hutch which needs some shelves but was already painted the perfect shade of warm red!

Above the fireplace I am finally going to frame this fantastic print called "Night Flowers" by Claire Robertson of LoobyLu. I bought it when my daughter Claire (the name is pure coincidence) was born 5-1/2 years ago. Her blog was the first I ever read and was truly an inspiration to me.

Now all I need are some drop-leaf tables to transform my Tea Room into an instant sewing room. I found this table second hand and will be bringing it home on the weekend! I think it will be perfect and I am planning to eventually get two for the Tea Room.

I have been a major slacker on the internet in the last few months. I seem to go through a period every year when I need a break. Thank you all for your e-mails of concern but really I am fine and just being lazy and focusing on other things like gardening and setting up home.

Even during my breaks, I never stop being inspired by my crafty friends across the seas. My friend Sonia of Cozy Memories in France made these fabulous sketchbooks for me. I adore them so much that they sit on my computer shelf now where I can stare at them for hours! Thank you Sonia. You are the first person I spy on when I visit flickr and blogland :o)

I had my new quilty neighbour Janet over on monday morning. I made these little tea party napkins with tea party fabric of which I managed to scoop up some more from an online shop. They turned out cute but next time I make them I will place the label so that when the napkins are folded they become little sleeping bags for the tea spoons :o)

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

My New Craftroom!

I LOVE my new craftroom! This is what it looked like at the beginning of March before I unpacked all my crafty goodness. The window was screaming, "Window seat! Window seat!" I found the perfect storage bench at IKEA which I purchased right away! Now all it needs is a lovely cushion for the top.

It was a bit difficult transitioning from a room with high ceilings where all my shelving was tall, to an attic room where all the walls are much shorter. I needed to purchase entirely new shelving. I chose these small DVD shelves in white to hold my fabric.

As you can see, I now have an entire wall of fabric which resembles a quilt shop! My plan is to turn these Ikea shelves into something that looks like high end built-in bookcases. I will buy some nice moulding to fill the gaps between the shelves and add a larger shelf along the entire top and add a lovely moulding along the edge to finish it.

My craftroom is bright even on a cloudy day! I was a bit worried that the bright sun would fade my fabric but at the same time I would rather have them right where I can see all of it at once so I can spot something and grab it right away... that is just the way I work. I will just have to sew up a storm before the fabric fades ;o)

The shape of the room made it difficult to put my desk in the center of the room. My desk is now against the wall which would be a bother if I worked on large quilts all the time but most of what I make are smaller quilted crafts. This actually solves the old problem I had with pieces of projects falling off and disappearing under my desk. The shorter walls also meant that I had to hang my magnet boards differently too. I quite like the longer look :o)

The first thing I set up was my computer although you would never guess from the lack of blogging! I used the same narrow shelf as before to allow room for the guest bed to open.

The closet space was so fabulous that I just had to remove the doors to open up the back half of the room even more! There is hardwood floor in the closet but unfortunately in does not continue under the old grey office carpet.

Don't you just love the fake clouds sponge-painted against bright blue inside the closet?! (Yes, I am being very sarcastic!) The closet was full of useless wire shelving which I promptly removed. There are currently three billy bookcases in there (one of which has more fabric?? ...Yup, all my larger pieces!) Now I need to fill the billion holes it left and it will be painted along with the rest of the room as soon as the weather warms up.

The colour I chose is called "Garden Party"! It is a lighter version of the first colour. I gave the actual sample to our landlords and it has been okayed :o)

And if one amazing window is not enough, you could decide to look out the perfect picture window! Of course you only get this view if you are standing far back inside the closet while hunching over ;o)

Do I miss my old craftroom? ...not ...one ...bit! Not even the window!