Ho Ho Ho and On We Sew - Giveaway and Free Pattern!

Welcome to my stop on the Ho Ho Ho and on We Sew Blog Hop! Fiona @ Celtic Thistle Stitches hosts a tutorial blog hop on the theme of things to make for Christmas - yes I know its only just over but in case you wanted to get ahead or are looking for ideas on a present to make there are a bunch of tutorials over on the Ho Ho Ho page, 28 in total and I'm adding #29 today.  There is a linkup below for all your Christmas makes and a generous prize.  This month's giveaway is the Christmas Decoration pack from Angela Attwood.

This time last year Pam @ Threading My Way, made some cute 5" drawstring gift bags.  I'm continuing the theme of drawstring bags with a free pattern for my Patchwork themed larger bag measuring 13".   It can accommodate a patchwork block maximum size 6" x 8" so perfect for those 6" blocks like star blocks that you might want to make!

Last year, as a gift for my friend who loves baking and cake decorating I made this version to hold all the little brushes and cookie cutters you gather as a baker.  I tired to write it as a tutorial but it got so long with all the little pieces required  for the cake and bag (7 pages!) that it was easier to put it all into a free download on PDF as a pattern instead!

I just got my Janome back from the repair shop and decided to test it and the pattern by making another bag!   Instead of a cake block I modified Soma @ Whims and Fancies Fields on Camera design so it would fit as a 6" block on my bag.  I was lucky enough to win this brilliant pattern in a draw last year - thank you Soma!  I thought it would make a nice front for my bag as a present for my mum to hold her camera battery charger, cables and adaptors for travelling.

This time around I boxed the corners and again used a 2" ribbon for the drawstring, lined it with a brighter fabric on the inside to make it easier to find stuff inside.

I tried out a few fancy stitches for the applique to make sure my machine was back to tip top working order but am sorry now I didn't satin stitch them as it is a bit rough around the edges this way!

Wilbur is not too impressed either (might be the fact that there is nothing edible inside!)  I think he's right though the applique finish is not up to mum's standards so I just might keep this one for myself  and make mum another one (this would fit my cleaning kit and lens hoods nicely for my new Fuji camera!)

And of course to let me know how he felt about the lack of treats he jumped at my head!  You'd never know he had 3 epileptic seizures in a row only a week ago, would you?  He's doing well on med's now and is loving getting his tablet twice a day with peanut butter.  I might just have to make him a bag for his tablets, one with a big W on it!

If you want to showcase a piece of patchwork and make a personalised bag as a gift the pattern is free to download here.

To enter the draw to win Angela's Decoration pack please link up below:

Thank you to all this years sponsors for being so generous and supporting

 

  

 

 

Catching up to myself!

I am a bit behind myself this week - this was meant to be a work in progress Wednesday post!  Poor Wilbs had a seizure and frightened G, I must admit that the longer it was going on I thought it was curtains too but thankfully the dog popped out of it as if nothing happened, and straight away went to his food bowl looking for dinner!

If you've never seen a grand mal seizure in dogs, its quite a thing.  He fell onto his side, eyes wide open, neck arched and mouth chomping while his little legs were running like crazy.  The danger is in overheating so if it happens again we have to make sure his temperature doesn't go too high and stick valium up his butt - I kid you not!  He's 9 and pushing on, poor mite.  I must say though he his loving all the extra attention we've been giving him!

I did get my Dog Gone Cute thank you cushions finished and wrote about quilting them here on the Modern Quilters Ireland blog for a book review of Christina Cameli's book Step by Step Free Motion Quilting. 

Most of the rest of the week, when I've had a chance I've been playing with Hexagons.  There must be something in the air as I've seen a few Hexie posts this week.

Our branch of the Irish Patchwork Society are having a hand sewing night making Christmas themed projects.   I thought this might be good time to play around with Snowflakes.  Messing around with hexagon I came up with a few layouts that use 60-90 hexies.  Am I a crazy to try making some of these?  I found some bead designs on this web page at Bead Merrily and thought they'd make great patchwork placemats so worked them out with 3/4" hexies too. 

They would be nice as cushions but I think I need a little break from cushions at the minute!

I know red and green are the traditional colours but I quite like a frosty Christmas scheme so ended up with all these variations in blue and white and some bigger and simpler 2" Hexagon designs at the end.

Then I started playing with spacing the hexies and found a Star of David pattern. Not sure the religious connotations on this one!  Still, I like it with the darker grey background on the top left.

Finally I came up with a quilt design, I am really tempted to try!  I have a to do list longer than both arms but this one, like Wilbur is begging for attention! Only 19 2" Hexies and 35 1"Hexies appliqued per star- should be a quick make, right?

Maybe a reversible quilt with a night time version on the back?  I think I need to stop playing now, but wouldn't this be a fun thing to do with star constellations?  Funny where you end up from the first idea isn't it? 

I know its nearly Halloween but if you are in the mood for more Christmas inspired projects, Ho, Ho, Ho and On We Sew  is being guest hosted this month by Sandra Sews and Ella & Nesta's Little Room!

Ho Ho Ho and On We Sew - Free Pattern & Giveaway!

Welcome to my stop on the Ho Ho Ho and on we Sew monthly tutorial and link up party hosted by Fiona @ Celtic Thistle Stitches and Paula@ Mud Pies and Pins.  Yes it is only June and Christmas in July hasn't even started yet, but some of us are making gifts all year long.  Holiday makes don't have to be just for the holidays or even from Christmas themed fabric.  Today I am showing you how to make flying geese 4 at a time and so you can make this free pattern I designed for my stop on the hop, called So Frosty!  (I used Tula Pink Acacia with some pale blue print and solid Kona Snow for my version.) 

Included with today's tutorial/pattern, at the bottom of this post, is a giveaway from Fat Quarter shop for a mini charm pack of your choice and the Ho Ho Ho and On We Sew Linky party where you can enter and link up all your holiday makes or hand made gifts.

The linky party is open until the end of the month and random number generator will choose a winner!

So Frosty is a big block quilt, making a 72" x 72" lap quilt.  It's a quick make and perfect for a gift.  Fabric selection makes a big difference to this block.  Even though this fabric comes from a Christmas collection doesn't this one look very 4th of July?

Downton Abbey anyone?

Or maybe a child quilt for a special birthday?

I have to include at least one more traditional holiday though don't I?

The block is made up of squares and flying geese.  As there are so many geese I wrote the pattern (Download Here) using the no waste method which makes 4 flying geese at a time.

Flying geese are traditionally twice as long as they are tall.  There are a number of ways to make them.

The no waste method uses a large square for the Goose fabric and 4 smaller squares for the Sky.

To start with you need a square the finished length of your goose +1 1/4".  For the Sky squares you need the finished height of your goose +7/8".

So Frosty being a big block quilt uses 12 1/2" x 6 1/2" Flying Geese unfinished (1/2" for seam allowance) or 12" x 6" finished.  So I've used a Goose fabric (white) of 13 1/4" x 13 1/4" square and placed 2 of my Sky squares (pale blue) 6 7/8" on two opposing corners.

1. Mark a diagonal line from corner to corner.
2. Sew 1/4" on either side of this line.
3. Cut into two pieces along your marked line.
4. Press open.
5. Take your remaining 6 7/8" squares and place on the corners of one of your pieces as shown.
6. Mark a diagonal line and sew 1/4" on either side
7. Cut along your marked line.
8. Press open and you should have 2 identical flying geese.
9. Repeat for the remaining piece to make 4 flying geese units!

Here's a summary image  if you should ever want to refer to this method in the future! Large flying geese blocks like these make this pattern a very quick make.


So on with the linky party.  Please link up your gifts and holiday makes and the winner of the mini-charm pack will be selected at the end of the month by Random number generator.

Thanks for visiting my blog on the hop and I hope you have fun with So Frosty.  If you do make your own version of this quilt I'd love to see it - please get in touch (email and social media buttons are at the top of the page!)
 

Ho Ho Ho: Covered Notebooks

On the 18th of every month there is a linky party with free Tutorials co-ordinated by Fiona @Celtic Thistle Stitches and Paula@Mud Pies and Pins.  It's called Ho, Ho, Ho and On We Sew.  The idea being to get a head start on presents and makes for Christmas that we always leave to the last minute.

I know Spring is finally here and Santa has been relegated to the North Pole but for some reason, I can never get myself motivated to start Christmas makes until after Halloween and then never get things finished by the time December rolls around.  So this year I thought I'd join in the fun.  After all my Night sky quilt was finished in January so I thought I was off to a good start!

February was crazy busy and then 18th March was the day after St.Patrick's day so I completely forgot!  This month though, I'm linking up to the linky hosted @SLIK stitches where Benta has a tutorial for a countdown to Christmas calendar (according to the xmasclock.com its 249 sleeps 'til Christmas in case you were wondering!)

So my festive make this month is a notebook cover.  I have 2 swaps I'm making for and in the nerds craft it better swap my partner is a big English Literature fan.  So for the small gift, I thought a covered notebook would be a nice idea.  I enjoyed it so much I made a second in Christmas fabrics.

Both are made from scraps!  I took some scraps left over from my Bounce quilt (still love this and can't believe I gave it away! It went to G's aunt so it hasn't gone too far!  Pattern by Miss Rosie's Quilt Company).         

Using left over border scraps I added a few strips to make up a front and back piece.  I used Fluffy Sheep Quilting's easy tutorial to make up the cover.

To make up the rest of the cover you just need some fabric for the flaps and a lining fabric.  I used Me and My sister prints and for some reason I like the geometric madness with the old fashioned flowers which won't be seen anyway when the notebook is put in.

It is great fun and a quick make so I decided to make a second with Christmas scraps!  These are scraps from the Night sky quilt above and I love these blue, not quite traditional Christmas colours.  The dark blue is Folk Art Holiday and the light blue I got free with Quilt Now magazine last year.

As these were scraps I squared them up to a common size after putting together as half square triangles.  3 1/2" worked but left me a bit short on the width.  You need about an inch wider that your notebook measured all the way around.

So I added a navy strip to both sides and then trimmed back to the correct width.  The second notebook had a spiral binding and if I was making again I'd add another little bit extra as it pulls a little when closed.

Using so much white in the top might not have been the best idea!  It will get dirty easy; I can see one navy thread from a seam peeking through and it meant I had to use white for the lining too!

Still, I really like the navy pockets and the strip on the end.  Next time, I'd add a loop to carry a pen. So that's some small makes ticked off the list!  I think I might have to make one of these for me too.  Does it count as Christmas sewing if you keep it for yourself?

Linking up to