Lizzy House
Showing posts with label Lizzy House. Show all posts
baby at play quilt
Most of my friends have had babies and lots of quilts were made! So when I know someone that's having a baby, I love the opportunity to make a baby quilt as a gift. At work one of the cameramen told me his wife was expecting and I asked if they would like a quilt and what colours they would want it...
Grey, pink and yellow and I think it's a lovely combination!
This was a nice stash buster and a good chance to use some of my favourite scraps in a pretty layout. I created six large log cabin blocks. Rather than use equal widths or measure the lengths, I sorted the fabrics into short/medium/long lengths and just trimmed them as necessary while piecing.
After piecing the blocks together the proportion of the quilt wasn't right and so I cut it down, creating rectangles top and bottom. I like the asymmetry it creates and am pleased with the finished quilt. It is bound with a geometric print because there are quite a lot of florals in the top and it gives it a modern look, plus it was the right colour palette!
buzzing! 🐝
It's been a happy mail week! I certainly keep my postman busy.
First up is this lovely bundle of Chalk & Paint by Sew Caroline for Art Gallery Fabrics. These prints are just my style and I'm excited to get cutting and see how they play together.
I am a huge fan of Liberty fabric. I love it all; the traditional florals, the modern prints, the feel of lawn is just amazing. I discovered The Weavers Mill via Katie on Instagram and I am so happy she recommended this beautiful shop!
The Weavers Mill has a gorgeous range of Liberty prints. You can buy 10" squares (which make it more affordable) or fat quarters, she has piping and binding too. Willemijn, the owner, has a 'thank you' offer so you get a discounted price on select fabrics depending on the total you spend, which is awesome! I can tell you that she also has the very best customer service and will respond to any messages or questions promptly and efficiently. I completely fell in love with these Liberty Lawns and they are even more delightful in real life because of their soft delicacy and the colours are just stunning:
I was also excited about my next order from Fat Quarter Shop, I have a plan for the Constellations fabric though it might be a while yet before I get to cut into it.
Then my lovely BOM box from Sew & Quilt came, we are already at month 6! I haven't even started, which takes great restraint, but since I'm currently hand quilting my first epp quilt and making progress with WIPS I may find time before the end of the year. It would make a nice winter project!
Another love of mine is stickers and this cute lot from Keena Prints will help motivate me! I love that girl shouting "Go! Go! Go!!!"...
And finally today was Manchester Day and The Studio Afflecks had an offer on tattoos of the Manchester Bee symbol. I love how many bees there are all around the city and on historic buildings. The idea of the 'busy bee', perseverance and working as a team mean a lot to me too. I had been wanting one for a while and it was just the excuse I needed!
I hope you all have a fabulous week ahead :)
Butterfly Puzzle Quilt
I based this English Paper Pieced quilt on a geometric fabric print, after Nicky suggested it. The pattern was a bit of a puzzle to work out but I really enjoyed doing it. The mad mix of fabrics makes for a bright and cheery quilt and the Lizzy House Catnap print makes it a cute I-spy! You can see a list of the fabrics used here.
After considering some sort of straight line quilting I decided instead to do some random overlapping circles in various sizes. The quilt was pieced and quilted with 50 wt Aurifil.
I will be teaching my Butterfly Puzzle class on Monday 16th November, all the details of my classes will be posted HERE. See the Patchfinders website for a list of all the classes and how to book.
✓ another check off my finish-along list (#9 EPP mini quilt)!
unwound
When life is stressful there's nothing quite like sewing. It got to the point last week where I have had to prioritise trying to relax and getting back to sewing has really helped me unwind.
I finished this Bee A Brit Stingy quilt row for Di:
Di has to take some of the credit for this one because she made all those small butterflies. I added some nine patches and made large butterflies on the ends, the shapes of those wings and the row underneath were inspired by Lori Holt's instagram.
Spurred on by this successful machine sewing I decided to start a new English Paper Piecing project. I have created a pattern and hope it'll work out so I can teach it!
I also got some pretty goodies for my planner, I mean Totoro, Hello Kitty and robots are bound to make me more organised, right?!
Of course I had to have some sewing machine sticky notes too :) These are all from The Idea Owl.
Here's to a productive and tension free rest of the week!
treats
I've been treating myself. I couldn't treat myself to the doughnuts I've been craving since I'm still not eating/drinking processed sugar but fabric and gorgeous soaps work as treats for me :)
First up this bundle from Patchfinders:
From left to right: Freshly Cut Hyacinths, Meadow by Leah Duncan; Piggy Pirouette #3172 by Benartex; Gentle Breeze Red, Meadow by Leah Duncan; Butterflies and Cat Dream, Catnap by Lizzy House.
I'm planning on doing something with just these prints and I'm hoping they will play nicely together.
Recently I've been neglecting my skincare routine and my skin has felt really dry and sensitive as a result. Now I'm 35 I figure I really need to get back to better habits and taking care of myself. I'm not one of those people that freak out about wrinkles but I know my skin is changing and doesn't repair itself as quickly. I have a lot of hormonal breakouts but mostly very dry skin. I came across the Wild-Olive website and thought some of the soaps would be a nice way to cleanse my skin.
I got a couple of smaller ones to try, I have dry skin on my body too so couldn't resist the Oatmeal and Vanilla. The Coconut Clay one smells utterly incredible. The French Clay Soap is full of minerals and it lathers really nicely, the oils used in this one are Lime and Himalayan cedarwood and it smells so gorgeous! They included a free Bath Tea Bag with my order, I always love getting samples of other products from companies especially when I haven't used their products before.
Once I've used them for a while I will give an update on how I like them but I imagine I will order more! The company is family run, producing natural and environmentally friendly hand made soaps in Derbyshire. I think they would be lovely gifts and it's nice to support a company that is actually not too far from me!
A great week, stashing and giveaways
I may have had a couple of little splurges recently. I couldn't resist these beauties from Hawthorne Threads, some were needed for projects and commissions but the rest just fell into that online basket ;)
Cats Cradle in Raspberry, Catnap by Lizzy House; Buttons in Ivory, Home Grown by Maia Ferrell; Butterflies in Cream, Birds of a Feather by Allison Cole; Merry Scallop in Pink, A Merry Little Christmas by Zoe Pearn; Hana Dots in Sweet, Hello Tokyo by Lisa Tilse
Then I just had to get some more delicious double gauze from Miss Matatabi, I have the second print in another colourway already but I'm so glad I got this one too - it's hard to see but the white floral bits are metallic and how could I not have those metallic dots too?! The binding is for a project I will get to one day and again it's a gorgeous print with fabulous colours!
Pocho by Nani Iro (this colourway seems to be sold out but there's other Pocho prints available); Joy Flower by Nani Iro and Nani Iro Mountain View bias tape. I'm excited to work with these lovelies!
When I was in work yesterday I picked up a couple of much needed notions, I'm working on my English Country Garden BOM and realised Kerry is right and it will go together much faster if I glue! I've resisted a glue pen thus far but I think it will be more convenient and I do want to try and keep up (not even finished my first block yet so not doing too well!). I may even use it for EPP (argh!! That feels like sacrilege - I'm not quilt police or anything but I really do like basting with thread), at this point though I'm feeling the need for speed. I got a water soluble pen too because my other one ran out. I'm still loving my frixion pen but it's nice to have options!
Now I'm finally on IG I can enter all the fun giveaways and I won this gorgeous teatowel from Poppy Treffry. Sorry it's all creased, I couldn't help whipping it out and snapping it right away! It's great quality and I love that fun print. Thank you!
First up the Fat Quarter Shop has announced the 2014 Mega Quilt Market Sweepstakes to thank their customers and followers with prizes from the Spring 2014 International Quilt Market. This is Fat Quarter Shop’s biggest giveaway to date!
The total value of this amazing giveaway retails at over $6,300 and is divided into twelve prize buckets. The
prizes range from fabric bundles and books to notions and many more quilting essentials. All of the prizes are shown in the Sweepstakes video on their YouTube channel, so be sure to watch!
You can enter the Sweepstakes by visiting the Jolly Jabber blog and submitting a quick survey before 11:59 pm CST on Monday, June 30th, 2014.
It really is incredible and so generous!
Then Lily's Quilts is having a fabulous giveaway sponsored by Pink Castle fabrics and the winner will receive a year's subscription to the totally gorgeous Cotton and Steel monthly FQ club:
That's an amazing lot of prizes!
It's been a great week because I was utterly thrilled to learn I was nominated in the Viewer's Choice category of the Blogger's Quilt Festival. I'm in incredibly talented company and it's such an honour. They are all amazing quilts. I'm so grateful to my fabulous bee mates for their work in making feathers for my 'Bees of a Feather' quilt and although I am obviously completely in love with it and value every inch of it, it is rewarding knowing others see the beauty in it too. Thank you to everyone who voted! You can vote in the Viewer's Choice category here and I entered it in the Hand Quilted Category, which you can vote for here. Ta x
Have a great bank holiday Monday!
Giveaway Day!
**GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED**
That cornucopia of fabric is a lot to take in. It is a slightly mad and eclectic mix. Fifteen different fabrics and they are all approx 1/8 yard cuts (some more, some slightly less) taken from my ongoing English paper pieced quilt project.
Since I am still working on the borders but have finished using all the main fabrics for the rose stars I thought I could share some of what I have left!
Let's break it down shall we?
{despite my best efforts I have no idea what that colour is! It could be Mint by Bella Solids}; Chinese Lanterns, Lark by Amy Butler; Kasbah, Lark by Amy Butler; Jewels by Lizzy House; Mallow and Bee, Misaki by Melissa White.
School Bus by Kona; Triflora, Loulouthi by Anna Maria Horner; Lovesme Lovesmenot, Innocent Crush by Anna Maria Horner; City Planting, Habitat by Jay McCarroll; Raise The Roof, Habitat by Jay McCarroll.
{Again not sure but I think it's Popsicle by Bella Solids}; Souvenir, Lark by Amy Butler; Dot N' Square, Mini Mikes by Michael Miller; Farmhouse Birds, Farmhouse Retreat by Renee Nanneman of Need'l Love for Andover; Floral Drop, Deer Valley by Joel Dewberry.
GIVEAWAY CLOSED - THANKS FOR ENTERING!
I like to reply to comments but since giveaways are usually busy I won't reply to comments on this post. That doesn't mean that no-reply bloggers will be able to win though! If I can't reach you then you can't win, so please leave your email (myemail at soandso dot com) in the comment.
The giveaway is open internationally, the winner will be chosen by random.org and announced on 17th May.
Once you've entered head over to Sew Mama Sew to see more great giveaways!
fools rush in
I had some fun with applique and made these two Kawaii fox cushions - with a pocket for treasures or the tooth fairy. I sketched out a little fox design and split it down into the necessary applique pieces, then got to stitching...
This one I just went fmq mad, I did some outline stitching and then completely embroidered the eyes and nose by stitching round and round and all messy, it was very enjoyable!
The next one I used zig zag applique for a softer, totally different look. I hand embroidered the eyes, mouth and some decorative grass and clouds. I added a sweet button nose.
I made them towards the end of last year and submitted them to a magazine competition but I didn't win. I did feel foolish for a little while (no acknowledgement, no feedback) but actually I am really pleased with them and had fun using different techniques. I'm hoping that a lovely buyer on my Etsy shop will agree they are pretty special and give them a happy home.
Then last week I had a true reason to feel foolish when I rushed in to make a start on a needle turn applique block for the butterfly quilt. I felt quite confident and it wasn't going too badly, until I had this and I couldn't get past thinking I was doing something wrong...
Yes because the flowers are supposed to be in the corners - I'm doing a variation of the one below. I had traced it all wrong and have now started over, at least I had a little practice before starting the 'real' block!
 |
| Indiana Rose Quilt Block by Carrie Hall |
Finally after showing you my Polar Bear Block the other day I kept getting that nagging 'you haven't pre-washed your red fabrics' feeling and because a few of you commented about it I threw my pile of red fabrics for the QAL in the wash. After all this is red and WHITE. I don't normally pre-wash at all but the last thing I want is to ruin a quilt when it's done and that little bit of preparation really didn't take much time. Thanks to Linda for our little email conversation and I will be soaking this block just to be sure too. I'm going to make this one as foolproof as I can!
Linking up:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)