A Magic Jar of Tea

Last week I made this mugrug as a practice patchwork block to get me back into the swing of things.

I was inspired by the colours of my Japanese jelly beans. I dove into my scrap baskets and embroidery floss to find matching greens & pinks. Inspiration soon struck, and a little teacup needed to be added! I decided to make a log cabin centered around this cute bunny fabric I found.

I spent a day or two trying to decide how to quilt it. I knew I wanted steam but steam everywhere would have looked a bit strange. I decided to turn it into a drawing a free-motion quilt a background image around the teacup appliqué. Not trusting my rusty free-motion skills, I drew the images on thin tracing paper first, pinned it in place, and quilted right through the paper. It was easy to follow the lines, I could see clearly, and I wasn't distracted by busy fabrics.

I love details...

I try to add a little bit of ribbon, buttons or embroidery to everything I make. I usually add embroidery after quilting rather than before. I started with the steam and just kept going and going but I had to force myself to stop before I went overboard! I added a touch of this lovely Tea Time ribbon that my friend Anna made.

"Loving the « invisible » tea jar!! Brilliant"

My friend Sonia left the above comment on my instagram. Depending on the light, the jar and all other quilting disappears and reappears making this a truly magic Jar of Tea!

Where did it go?!

My blog posts tend to be a bit behind. To keep up to date with what I am working on, follow me on instagram and facebook.

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Teacher Gifts

It's that time of year again. School is out for summer break in a week! I finally finished all the Pencil MugRugs for Claire's teachers plus one more for my sample bins. I hope Claire's teachers like them. You can find the pattern in my SHOP.

See more pictures and read more about Pencil MugRugs HERE.

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Pencil MugRug

Looking for the perfect gift to give to your teacher? Pencil MugRug pattern is now available in my SHOP just in time for Valentine's Day and very early for the end of school year.

Pencil MugRug is a basic paper-piecing pattern and is a great way to use your fabric scraps. Create your teacher’s name by simply tracing the letters from the font sheet provided.

The teacher's name is free-motion quilted by machine but could also be hand-embroidered using a backstitch. Hand-embroidered details & rounded corners add to this pattern's charm.

My daughter has four teachers this year and would like to give them each a special gift at the end of the year. "Mrs. Appleby" isn't actually one of Claire's teachers. It is just a name I made up for my sample. I still have another sample to make plus two more for her other teachers but I don't mind because these are super fun to make!

Download this digital PDF pattern, print it out, assemble it into a little pattern booklet, and have fun sewing! PatchworkPottery patterns include metric conversion chart, stitches & terms section, illustrated step-by-step instructions, and full size templates.

I love how the dark brown one almost looks like a chalkboard!

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Tea-for-One MugRug

Tea-for-One MugRug pattern is now available in my SHOP!

Tea-for-One MugRug is an easy applique pattern and a cute project for those last minute gifts. The hand-embroidered details & rounded corners enhance the homemade feeling. It is the perfect way to display that precious fabric scrap you've been hoarding!

This pattern utilizes raw edge appliqué using paper-backed fusible web. However, this pattern is still suitable for use with your favourite appliqué technique. Use heat repellent batting to make a sweet kitchen trivet.

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Holiday Sewing

I sewed and quilted a few things for Christmas including this MugRug or mini quilt for the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild Christmas scrap swap. The challenge was to use a bag of scraps from a fellow guild member and create something they love.

Upon finding the name of my partner inside the scraps, I headed to the world wide web in search of anything that could help me design something she would love. I based my design on a photo she had pinned of some scrapbook trees and then added a few of my own fabrics that would work well with the ones I received.

I really liked how it turned out :o) Surprisingly my hubby liked it too and was sad to see it go! It was the first free-motion quilting done on my new Janome Horizon... Merry Christmas to me! I lucked out and found a gently used machine in box for a really good deal so it was a spur of the moment decision and I couldn't be happier. It's twice the size of my old machine and quilts like a dream.

Although the item for the swap was supposed to be smallish, there were many larger items including this fabulous quilt top that I received from Paul. Thank you so much! I love it more than you could know!! You can see more fun items in our group photo.

Next I made a set of Leaf Potholders for my brother's fiancee. Her kitchen is black & white with a hint of red. I don't have much black & white fabric but luckily upgraded my text stash recently with lots of black & white! She was very happy with them and said they were perfect :o)

I also made my daughter three skirts. She loves heavily patterned clothes and definitely has her own style. Finding the perfect fabrics was just as much fun as sewing them!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and holiday season. Happy Sewing in the New Year!

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)