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)

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)

Teacup & Laptop Cozy

Here's a couple things I made as presents last year...

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Gardening on my Mind

I started my seeds in newspaper pots this year so when I saw this fabulous "Seed Tray" paper-piecing block by Amy of During Quiet Time I knew that I had finally found the perfect use for that newspaper fabric in my stash!

These 10.5" x 10.5" blocks are quite challenging but very fun to make. I have purchased the first eight garden patterns from Amy's shop and plan to buy them all as they become available!

I may add some other garden blocks such as the magical Vintage Mason Jar Tea Lanterns block by Sonja of Artisania, and maybe try piecing some of my own so that I will end up with a queen-sized garden masterpiece!

We have had a lot of rain lately which means that my plants are small but on the other hand I haven't had to water my garden much! I whipped up Christie Fowler's "Rain Cloud" mugrug from Zakka Style that I was most recently published in.

Speaking of books, you will be able to find an article on my blog in this month's Russian CrossStitcher magazine! I think it's quite exciting because this is the first time to be published in Russia. I will give you all a peek at the article later :o)

Here are some more leaf potholders that I made for a friend's housewarming present a few months back. She loves purples and blues and celestial as you can probably tell by looking at them because they are not my usual colours to work with. I pieced together the fabrics in straight lines but curve-pieced the centre vein of each leaf. I like them even more than these crazy patch leaves.

And last but not least, after 5 years of using my Teacup Pouch every day I had finally worn all the fabric off the handle. It was time to make myself a new pouch... and of course it had to have something about gardening on it... and linen of course!

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Pattern Shop News

My Quilted Teacup pattern is available in my SHOP. Now you can make your very own Quilted Teacup but be warned that you will end up with an entire collection!

I was lucky to have the very talented Kerry of VeryKerryBerry in the UK test my pattern. Don't you just love her Liberty patchwork Teacup & Saucer? Please visit her blog to read her pattern review.

All PatchworkPottery digital pattern booklets include metric conversion chart, stitches & terms section, illustrated step-by-step instructions, and full size templates. These patterns are instant downloads so if you do not receive an e-mail with the link to your pattern immediately, please check your junk mail folder. I no longer send e-newsletters so if you haven't already, please subscribe to my blog by e-mail to receive shop & pattern updates.

I'm planning to release some of my Christmas patterns this summer but I'm still trying to decide which pattern comes next. Which pattern are you waiting for?

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)