A Mind of its Own

Dear Blog,

        I know I haven't posted in a while. Thank you for the reminder yesterday. It seems that you can't wait for me any longer and have decided to post all by yourself. I would be thrilled but I doubt our subscribers wish to read a re-post from August 2015. As much as I appreciate the extra help, please allow me to do the posting from now on. I promise to visit you more often! I have not forgotten about you.

Yours truly,

Laurraine

The longest creativity slump of my life has finally come to an end. This Summer I played a lot in the garden, baked, went about the normal routine of keeping house & having friends over tea. However, when I opened my sketchbook or sat in front of my sewing machine my mind drew a blank.

n  o  t  h  i  n  g  .  .  .

Last month, the simple act of sewing some plaid elbow patches to my teenager's newly thrifted hoodie was enough to tug those creative strings. I decided to take a photo and share it on instagram even though it wasn't a very exciting project, and was motivated not only by the number of people who liked the elbow patches but by my creative friends who had missed me.

I spent the last couple weeks dabbling with some fusible web appliqué, sketching a few new ideas to add to my giant heap-o-designs, and learning more about instagram. I even had to ask my teenager about hashtags & stories!

I will be posting new stuff as well as a bunch of half-written ancient drafts still sitting in my posts section. I post more frequently on facebook & instagram. Search for patchworkpottery.

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Kitty Potholder pattern

Kitty Potholder digital pattern booklet is now available in my SHOP.

Kitty Potholder pattern adds a simple fusible web appliqué and varying strip widths to an otherwise traditional log cabin block to create a playful modern design. Makes a 10-1/2" square potholder or a 10" square block.

Small projects are perfect for practicing your free-motion quilting. Use an overall design or practice a different one in each section.

Make a potholder or two, or create an entire quilt using this block. This is a fantastic way to use up all those fabric scraps. Perfect for all those cat lovers out there! Read more about Kitty Potholders in this post.

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.

Buy a digital pattern and start sewing today!

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Kitty Potholders

I love little projects! In our busy lives, there's always time to quilt something small. I also love log cabin quilt blocks. I have never designed anything using this simple block until now... enter the Kitty!

I wanted a quick & easy project that would use up some of my fabric scraps, that I could sew multiples and not get tired of it, that I could practice some free-motion quilting and not feel pressured, and that my family would love. My family members seemed to have one thing in common... they all love their cats!

I used fusible web for the cat and nose appliques, and the block is quilted entirely by machine... even the cat's face.

My favourite was the black cat for which I used a warm black plaid wool. Yummy!

The white cat was for my Mom. Unlike the others, I used an overall free-motion quilting design on this one.

The beige cat was for my brother. I had fun practicing different free-motion quilting designs in each section.

And the orange cat was for my daughter who loves our large orange Maine Coon. His whiskers swoop up at the ends and he is always purring... very loudly! She is an illustrator and has been working on her Copic marker collection which is why I chose the colour chart fabric for the back. That and it matched perfectly!

Everyone loved their kitty Potholders, and on Facebook they received lots of comments and pattern requests so keep your eyes open for this this one :o)

*I forgot to mention that my label tutorial can be found HERE.

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Scrappy Green Mug Rug

Because we need a mug rug that matches EACH & EVERY mug in the house, right?

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Hollyhocks

I made this Hollyhock quilt for a mini quilt swap. My partner liked yo-yos and the colour orange so hollyhocks immediately popped to mind!

I started off making the yo-yos because I just love making yo-yos! I needed to make various sizes for the blossoms which would transition to small green buttons for the buds at the top of the ribbon stems.

The background was simple shapes pieced together to create a window. Some free-motion quilting created the shutters and bricks in the wall. I was surprised at how effective the quilting turned out.

On top of the background I added in order...
ribbon stems,
leaves,
yo-yo flowers
& buttons.
And completed it all with a patchy binding.

My partner was very happy! Now I think I need to make one for myself ;o)

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Teacup Coaster & an Owl

I didn't really decide to sew a tiny coaster on the hottest day of the year in my attic studio... it just happened!

I needed something to put under my ice water to soak up the droplets dribbling down the sides of my jar. I have a bunch of mug rugs but I wanted something smaller this time, and I wanted to include a little teacup applique because (believe it or not) I don't have anything with a teacup!

I tried a few decorative stitches on my machine but only the last two flowers were aligned even though they came out perfectly on the scrap. A few years back I would have picked out every tiny stitch of that row and re-sewed it but I'm slowly challenging my perfectionism. Besides, the coaster is only for me... and it was way too hot up there to stay a moment longer than needed!

I'm currently working on a new owl ornament pattern requested by Kay who has made over 100 of my bird ornaments and wanted another simple animal or bird ornament pattern to give as gifts. It's tough to come up with something new when it has already been done so many different ways. I think I've made an owl that is my style... I was thinking about calling it "Owl on a Stick" but it will probably end up just being called "Owl Ornament".

What do you think of my owl?

It has been so hot the past few days. I have been meeting my friend Jana at the air-conditioned cafe down the street for some mindless colouring in the squelching hot afternoon heat!

The vegetables in my garden aren't complaining, neither are the plums or grapes. And when It's time to water the garden, half the water ends up on me!

Enjoy your afternoon tea ice water & quilted crafts :o)

Stacked China

I made this stacked coins quilt for my friend Maya using blue & white to go with her living room decor. I think it looks like stacked China dishes. I quilted her favourite quote into the quilt...

"What we desire for ourselves,

we wish for all."

by J.S. Woodsworth

(photo by Selep Imaging)

I decided to go with linen for the long strips and binding because it set off the blue & white beautifully. I love linen. It looks good with everything! I free-motion quilted meandering lines and the words, and hand-embroidered a running stitch along the edges of the linen strips.

I found the perfect fabric for the back. It is a blue & white Asian style cotton print of birds on branches. I lost track of where I purchased it online. I used every last piece in the quilt. It wasn't quite large enough for the back after using some for the front so I added a large white border of text fabrics including a fabulous newspaper print.

Maya and her kids loved the quilt. Both of my cats thought that the quilt was extra comfortable too! Get off the quilt, Opal! I still need to embroider it...

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)