Show & Tell: Twinkle Toes

Phew - it's that time again already!

Ages ago I was lucky enough to test another one of Juliet's awesome patterns - the Ballerina. Such a gorgeous design that captures the grace of a ballet dancer beautifully. After I made the block I started getting ideas about turning it into a bag.

A few weeks/months later, the girls were invited to a little friends' fifth birthday... From memory I was pretty sure this sweet wee girl was a bit keen on dancing, so I sat down and worked out how this bag was going to come together. Thankfully Juliet had also sent me her Ballet shoes pattern - such a nice complimentary pattern combined with the ballerina isn't it?

I'm happy to say that all my maths and calculations worked out and I was super happy with how it turned out. Specially given I hadn't made anything quite like it before! Segmented inside pockets and boxed corners even! Happy dance :)

In time I might make another one for my girls... But there are quite alot of other things on the list before then!

How are your holidays going? Is the sun shining where you are? Getting into Christmas/Holiday or other crafting?
Looking forward to seeing what you've been up to!
L xx



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Show & Tell: Pixie Shorts for Elfen Treasures

Hello Lovelies,

In general I don't find a lot of time for clothes sewing.  So when the opportunity arose to do some pattern testing for Lisa from Big Little, I was in! There is nothing quite like committing to something like this, to get one started! And it helps to be a bit of a fan too ;)

They were easy to whip up and fun to make - even an inexperienced clothes sewer like me didn't struggle with it.  Confident beginner is the skill level I would assign to this item.  The wee pockets were essential as we never seem to have enough vessels for all the treasures that are collected... I can confirm that they can hold quite a few seashells! Of course, you can sew them without the pockets if you chose to.  Our pair are from denim for year round versatility and they look adorable with or without tights!  Of course you could make them in heavier fabric for winter or something light-weight for summer.  Oh so many options and possibilities!

They were well received by my little model which is always helpful. And I know I am biased but seriously - those shorts on my little treasure... too much cuteness!  I must get around to whipping some up for my two bigger girls ; )

Now for some happy news.  Lisa is offering 15% of the Pixie Pants Pattern and the Pixie Shorts Pattern for the duration of the blog hop.  All you need is the coupon code PIXIEPANTS15 (valid until Tuesday 23 September).  Be sure to check back in on the Big Little blog on Tuesday for a giveaway too.

Today was my stop on a Lisa's Pixie Shorts/Pants blog hop. Do go check out what deliciousness these ladies have created with the patterns:
Monday 15th -  Lisa @ Big Little
Tuesday 16th - Leanne @ Paper Moon
Wednesday 17th - Jenny @ Mend & Make New
Thursday 18th - Leonie @ Sunshine x 3
Friday 19th - Aimee @ Small Steps Big Noises
Saturday 20th - Brooke @ Gracenuts
Monday 22nd - Orsolya @ Borsoo
Tuesday 23rd - Viki - posted by Big Little and a GIVEAWAY!

Of course don't forget to link up your creations from the week! Cant wait to see what you've been up to!
Happy Friday eve!
L xx



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Show & Tell: Written Record

And so another Thursday rolls along...

A couple of months ago I received Patchwork Please, as hoped, for my birthday. I was super excited and loved all the gorgeous ideas and patterns in it, especially as I'd heard and read many great things about it!

I almost immediately set about making this pencil case as a "returning to uni" gift.

However, perhaps I need to go back to uni, because I did not find the instructions smooth sailing...and I have sewn one or two things in recent years. Is it just me?

I got there in the end, and am delighted with the final result.

It's a wee bit small though, but you can probably manage to fit a few highlighters or maybe other random stuff in there. I love the pencils and thought them very appropriate...though they will need a few sharpenings before they'll fit in!

What's your experience with this gorgeous book? Or do you have recommendations on treasure-trove-must-own-project-books or any not-on-your-lemon-do-you-want-to-go-there books?
Share share!
Hope you're all having a happy sunshiny week!
L xx



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Show & Tell: The Butterfly Challenge

Hey Everyone,

So, you know my friend Juliet, who's incredible paper piecing design talents I'm always harping on about?  Well.  Between taking over the world with her amazing patters (ahem - have you seen big bear??), getting published and being a great mum, she set a wee challenge last month around her Butterfly patterns. I do so love a good challenge... :)

A few ideas came and went but this one stuck the most... Turn those little butterflies into a flower :) I had a slightly bigger vision... of three butterfly-flowers in different colours, and perhaps turning them into a wee quilt... but you all know what time often does to grand dreams... Anyhoos - I present my one flower :)

The details:
- I used Juliet's small butterfly pattern and reduced it to 80% - in order for the flower not to be humongous once all the small butterflies were combined.  The total size as pictured is 18"x18".
- The petals were hand-drawn - I do like how they all ended up looking a bit like hearts :)
- I quilted the middle with pebbles - a first! My eyes actually started tearing up from not daring to blink while at it - didn't want to break the momentum!
- The wings have wee twirly-whirly bits quilted in them too - spurred on by not totally screwing up the pebbling, I thought I'd give it a go.

At one point I also envisioned there being extra petals between the butterfly ones. So I set about drawing a paper-pieced pattern to make it so! Was a bit happy with the result, though I decided against adding them in the end, and have the quilting make the picture.

So who knows what it will become - a large cushion? A bag? Maybe there will be some extra "flowers" one day to make it into a quilt? Or something else entirely? For now, it's a completed block for the challenge. A butterfly flower :) Or perhaps it's an inverted four leaf clover? Will it bring me luck? :p

Did you get into the challenge and do something a bit different with Juliet's butterflies? There's still time if you're keen! And did I mention the awesome prizes??
Looking forward to seeing what you've been making this week!
L xx



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Show & Tell: Just something small

Sooooo, how's it going?

Well there's always lots to do isn't there? A friend had a birthday coming up and I really wanted to find a few minutes to make a little something for her. Most of us need pincushions right? So that's what I made!

Drew up the dimensions and the mushroom and whipped it up. I really loved this cutie and I am a sucker for an excuse to do some outline hand-stitching. So effective, so pretty, and so enjoyable to do :)

What little quick and satisfying gifts have you whipped up and given in the past?
And out of interest...how many pincushions do you own?
L xx



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Show & Tell: One plus One is Two done

Hi ho hi ho, here we go!

Whilst wrapping up Anya's quilt, I'd been thinking about what sort of quilt to do for Heidi. A very different girl in pretty much every way from her big sister - logical, detailed, loves orange, zebras and black and white, precise and loves manuals and instructions - along with all her other sweetness and light qualities of course ; ).

I saw lots of plus quilts over the last year or so and slowly it started sticking in my mind. A plan started evolving. The more it developed the more it seemed perfect for Heidi. So I drew up some coloured-in plans and Heidi fell in love with the concept. Hubster was away for most of May and in those few weeks I got cracking.

Every morning Heidi woke up and came to see which blocks had been completed and ticked them off against the drawn-up plan. She was pretty excited and loved being involved in the process. Can you imagine how striking it would have looked in solids? I decided to go for patterned fabric for the most part to soften it and hopefully help it stand the test of time. The whites were low volume or white on white for the most part.

And then the back...what to do what to do... oooo a big plus! So a few sums, some more drawing and colouring in later, the back came together using every last scrap. And Heidi really wanted her name on it too, so we made that happen :)

Off it went to Leeanne to be quilted. Despite the stupid mistake I made of pressing all the seams open, we came up with a plan.  We do so love what she did and how it turned out!  We were also really lucky to be able to collect it from her at the Kumeu Quilt Show a few weeks ago.  It was so lovely to meet Leeanne and Heidi talked about the "girl" who made the patterns on her quilt for days.  What a treat for us!!

We came home and I bound it straight away. Since then she has played, cuddled and been sleeping under it daily. She loves it to bits - warm happy fluffy feelings : )

And the plan for the third one is slowly taking shape... but it may be a wee way off for now!
What plans, big or small, are you working on?
Hope you have a happy day!
L xx



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