brillo
Showing posts with label brillo. Show all posts
bonnie curves drawstring bag
Oh how I love sewing a little make all for myself! Especially when it's cute and useful!
The Bonnie Curves pattern by Laura Cunningham is really fun, with great advice for sewing curves and a tutorial for the most adorable drawstring bag.
I'm confident sewing curves, though Laura includes lots of helpful tips in case you're not, but improvised sewing can be unnerving and this was an easy way to do improv and still follow a pattern (I like structure). The steps are all laid out but you are creating the curves and adapting the instructions as you wish.
It was a good excuse to raid my scrap basket too. I found this gorgeous Deer Valley print by Joel Dewberry (discontinued) and mixed it with some Carkai by Carolyn Friedlander, Essex Yarn Dyed Metallic in Storm and Netorious in Camp Out, Cotton and Steel for the casing and lining.
I am using the bag to hold my precious selvedges! Also by keeping the bag in sight I might remember to actually use them every now and again.
This is the reverse side of the bag, though actually I think I prefer it - the touch of floral and the bright Bear Hug, Spirit Animal by Tula Pink makes me so happy.
Fussy Cutters Club ~ We Are All Connected mini quilt
Angie Wilson AKA Gnome Angel is such a joy, her blog and social media are filled with gorgeous projects and the most wonderful fussy cuts! I was super excited when I found out she was writing a book and leapt at the chance to be part of the blog tour - or bribed her - either way I was thrilled to discover this book was even better than I thought it would be (and I had high expectations).
Fussy Cutters Club isn't a dry 'blah blah blah' book, this is like a clever friend explaining fussy cutting to you. With all those really helpful practical tips that you know they actually use. There aren't hard and fast rules, Angie is real and honest in her approach. It makes total sense.
"You need time to think and consider fabrics. Sometimes a project will come together quickly, and you'll know the moment you get the right fabric. Other times you'll need time to think, and that's not a bad thing".
The projects in the book are also all brilliant, with a good range of smaller makes and quilts.
I opted to make the 'We Are All Connected' mini quilt, knowing right away those Echinacea's would be the central hexies and then doing a big stash dive to come up with the right colours and prints for the 'rings'.
dazzling thead and fabric
Experimenting with thread is always fun and I'm keen to try different varieties of threads. I have been adding metallic thread to sewing projects, even using some Wonderfil Spotlite on cork (which had it's challenges!). Metallic thread definitely requires you sew at a slower pace and do use a larger needle so it doesn't break.
This week I bought three spools of Aurifil Brillo from Lacewing Designs, in Black/Gold #646, Dark Copper #752 and Light Copper #723. They have really nice colour choices and I'm very tempted by the pinks.
It almost has metallic specks rather than being metallic all through because of how it's twisted. So it has both colour and a glittery effect.
come sew with me
I am super excited to be teaching 'Sew a Stitchy Pie Needle Case' at Simply Solids in Huddersfield on Saturday 11th March. You will learn some embroidery stitches and create a cute needle case for organising all your sewing needles. It is perfect for hand or machine needles, allows them to be neatly labelled and stored securely.
I finished the class sample using Aurifil floss in a limited colour palette and a touch of metallic Aurifil Brillo thread. I am loving grey and yellow together at the moment but wanted to lift it slightly so added in the turquoise for another pop of colour.
I also discovered I could use my cute banner stamp as a frame for writing in the types of needles. I would like to get an alphabet stamp set so I can do the lettering too, these were written on with a permanent pen.
Simply Solids will provide all the materials for the class, as well as a copy of the Stitchy Pie pattern. I will give you tuition, all my tips for easy embroidery and how to achieve a neat finish on the case. They are a lot of fun to make and a really helpful part of your sewing kit! To book your place, click here!
linking up to finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts
secret sisters & stashing
One of the really fun things about Patchwork in the Peaks is 'secret sisters' - we were each allocated someone that we gave little gifts to during the retreat. Small makes or treats that we had to try and leave for them without being discovered! Then on the Saturday night we guessed who our secret sister was and revealed our final gifts.
I made a pincushion and Single Scoop Zipper Pouch for my secret sister. I love the curves and handy strap on this pouch!
I used this Allie & ME tutorial to make the pinwheel pincushion - I translated the page using Google translate but you can pretty much get the idea from the pictures in the tutorial.
It was really fun and quick to make and I love the folded fabric, it makes it so tactile. I added a little bead in the centre and it turned out so pretty!
I filled the pouch with some large fabric scraps. I didn't intentionally match the colours of the projects either but they do make a nice pair!
Next I decided to make some gifts for our hostess Elita. She does a fabulous job of organising and running the Patchwork in the Peaks retreat and I wanted to give her a thank you gift. I made a simple drawstring pouch using Jeni's tutorial and a fun sewing print from Patchfinders.
It needed something inside of course so I gave her some lovely handmade soap and this little embroidery hoop, I got to finally make use of the tiny Liberty epp flowers I made some time ago.
I bought some 2" embroidery hoops from Sew Cross Handmade on Etsy. I used Aurifil 80wt to appliqué the flower onto some Kona cotton. I definitely will be making more!
My secret sister totally nailed the things I love and gave me all these lovely gifts, there was also some chocolate but that was immediately eaten by me and my family when I got home!
I couldn't believe how well she knew me when I had never met her before but then she reminded me that I write this blog!! I am grateful she took the time to read to discover what I like and I might have shrieked when I opened my Superman key ring 💘💘💘
Thank you secret sister!
We also played a fun dice game to swap fabric, we each brought three FQs with us and then there was some crazy dice rolling and passing around until it was our turn to chose a fat quarter. It was hilarious and I'm so pleased with the lovelies I picked out.
A pretty daisy on navy dot print, Rising Sun Wall in Sorbet, New Bedford by Denyse Schmidt and Bloomsbury in Parchment, Charleston Farmhouse by Felicity Miller - big thanks to Jamie for identifying the last one when I asked on instagram! ❤️
Busy Needle Quilting also had a shop at the retreat, which was full of gorgeous fabric and beautiful Aurifil. I was restrained but couldn't resist some of the stunning Aurifil Brillo!
I got Silver Black #808 and Silver #800. I can't wait to sew with these! I also picked up this brilliant Erasable Fabric Marker by Marvy - I hadn't ever seen this before but it is both air and water erasable. So it will disappear in several days or you can erase it immediately with water. Very clever.
Hope you're having a wonderful weekend! My mum is babysitting tonight so me and my husband have decided to go for a walk. I'm looking forward to walking and talking while holding hands. It's the simple things in life xx
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