Archive for the ‘Books and Patterns’ Category

Jun

3

2010

Sewing for Baby L

Author: Yvette

A couple of weeks ago, I had a few quick finishes. I remember being really happy, working on these projects. Because I got bust some Japanese fabrics that I was in danger of hoarding and also trying my 1st bias binding, and my virgin attempt at crafting with the baby strap hardware.

Anpan Man pre-quilted fabric

Cot-sized quilt made with ultra-cute Anpan man pre-quilted fabric, hand sewn bias binding

Stroller-sized blankie made with 100% cotton and backed with flannel.

I remember spending quite a bit of $ on ugly binky straps and general straps to tether items near Benji when he was little. So, I whipped up a couple of straps for Baby L that not only function as binky straps, but also as the tether strap for the stroller blankie.

Kawaii fabric tapes (for stroller blankie and binky straps) from Moopie Fabrics.

 

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Posted in Books and Patterns, Fabrics, Gifting, Kids, Quilt, Sewing, Star QAL, Stash Report, Tools | No Comments »

Jan

18

2009

Denyse Schmidt - Mix-it-up coasters

Author: Yvette
One of my favourite crafty books is this one. It inspires me a lot, in terms of colours, designs, etc. More of all, it shows me that sewing/quilting should be done YOUR WAY. No quilt police to tell you that your sewing must be 100% accurate, that your colours must consist of this & that, that your blocks must be true & true traditional, etc. The quilts are very different from the ones I see displayed at the quilt shops/workshops. DS’ quilts are so refreshing & modern and I simply want to try each and every one of them.
After many months of book-ownership, DS flickr-group browsing, I finally decided to create something out of her book for a friend’s new home. COASTERS! I know, I know. It’s nothing challenging or great as a quilt or some of her other quirky project, but this gal gotta start somewhere, okie? ;>
Well, looking at the book, I thought: geez, I can make these coasters in 15 mins. I was SOOOOOO wrong. I ended up slaving away the entire evening over this set of 6 coasters.
Step 1: Enlarge pattern design
Step 2: Roughly cut up the pieces from the pattern sheet
Step 3: Stick each piece on a plastic template sheet & trim
Step 4: Punch out the points where the 1/4″ seam lines intersects on all sides of the templates (6 pcs)
Step 5: Pick out 6 different fabrics
Step 6: Cut out fabric rectangles & stack them
Step 7: Trace pattern (mark out the 1/4″ points too) on the top piece of fabric with water soluble pen & then cut them out. I rotary cut the 6 layers of fabrics.
Step 8: Switch the pieces around to make sure each top will have a different combination of fabrics.
Step 9: Match points, pin, sew, iron, repeat again & again & again…
Step 10: Square up
That’s just for making the coaster tops. When I finally made them into cushy coasters and quilted them, it was just sooooo sooooo satisfying. Overall, the coasters are just nice for the couple’s new home, which has a comfy basement/entertainment room, with orange walls, some nice grey tiles… I picked the fabrics with their colourways in mind… And I think my friend appreciates them, so I’m happy. :>

Okay, another house-warming coming up next week. More coasters??? :>

Posted in Books and Patterns, Fabrics, Gifting, Sewing | 1 Comment »

Dec

16

2008

Fabric Gift Wrapping 2

Author: Yvette
Here’s a package of booky-goodies going to a friend in New York. Her family has moved from Singapore for almost a year now, and we bought some Chinese books for their 3 little ones, sort of like helping them to get in touch with their ‘Asian Roots’, so to speak :>
This came from Ikea’s ‘mini-bolt’ which I love to buy. I used another one when I used fabrics to wrap a gift for another crafty mama’s baby party.

This fabric wrap is a little more ’structured’. I based it loosely on a pattern in this book and while I don’t have linen & silk, I do have loads of Ikea’s cotton fabrics ;> The length of the ribbon is much shorter though, but given the thickness of these ribbons, I don’t wish to add too much bulk to this parcel. Keeping it S I M P L E and S H O R T.
9 more days to Christmas! :>

Posted in Books and Patterns, Fabrics, Gifting, Sewing | 1 Comment »

Nov

29

2008

Benji’s ca-yon wallet

Author: Yvette
Benji started to make a grab for our pens and pencils many months ago. So, we’ve invested in washable crayons for him to go crazy with. But he is limited to colouring only when we are at home, and at his little table, because we are so paranoid about losing the crayons in our bags and creating a mess, etc.
I chanced upon Jennifer’s blog and she had created a crayon wallet tutorial - on sale at her Etsy store. It’s great! Now, I can carry a scribble pad along with Benji’s crayons, and it comes with a pocket to keep his masterpieces too :p
I used up some Ikea ‘mini-bolts’ left over from my quilted table toppers - more about that in a bit - they are not expensive and allow me to work on ‘test-projects’ :>

I’ve had these little chicky buttons for the longest time. I don’t have a large button collection, and with projects like these, its a good excuse to go shopping now! ;>
I tried fitting in Benji’s LARGE crayons but they were a little too tall for this wallet. The size is just right for the regular sized ones. But I’ve already ‘discoloured’ the wallet and side of the pad. But no worries, I expect this wallet to be filled with crayon bits and streaks sooner or later anyway ;>
The pad was supposed to fit the pocket on the right side. But I did not check if I had the pad that was the size of the pocket dictated in the pattern. But fortunately, the center pocket could fit the note pad (I had tons of these left from a fund raising event) well.

Overall, I’m very happy with how this turned out. I’ve bought Jennifer’s other pattern for her quilted list-taker. Looking forward to see how that will turn out! :>

Posted in Books and Patterns, Kids, Sewing | 1 Comment »

Aug

11

2008

About Stars and Sashiko

Author: Yvette
I’ve made some progress with my Star Quilt-A-Long project and I’m happy to say that I have completed all 30 blocks and cut up all my sashings/cornerstones, waiting for sewing now :>
There has been a number of completed tops at the group’s flickr folder and I thought that the quilt is ‘too square’ to fit into any rooms in the house. haha. A quick calculation shows that I can turn this into a Queen-sized quilt with an additional row. So, I added 2 more Stars and 3 more setting blocks.
And I also took some time to pick out my border and backing fabrics too, and they are washed and ready to go when I’m done piecing the top together.
You can see the preliminary layout below, without the sashings/cornerstones/borders. I have a piece of tape on each block to indicate which row/column they belong to, so I don’t have to bother with laying them out again until they are joined.

Here are my 2 additional blocks - Dutchman’s puzzle and a 9-patch star.
Recently, I found that my quilt shop carries Sashiko needles and I got really excited (for nothing). Unfortunately, the shop does NOT carry the Sashko kits/fabrics or even threads. It has been very painful looking for Sashiko stuffs in our local craft shops . And that of course gave me an excuse to shop online ;> Bought a bunch of placemat kits, some samplers and also sashiko threads. Of course, I did not have the patience to get my camera and snap a picture of the parcel as-is, but I remembered to take a pic of my spree here after I started stitching on a few coasters.

I felt that the threads supplied in the kit are not as good as the ones that you buy ‘ala carte’. They seem to be more loosely twisted and a bit harder to pull through the fabric. So I’ll probably just buy the sampler or the marked fabrics in the future. This is my 1st attempt at Sashiko sewing, though I’ve known of it for a while. Never got the chance to try my hands at i till now, because they are almost impossible to find in Singapore.

Then I visited the bookstore and bought The Ultimate Sashiko Sourcebook by Susan Briscoe which is really packed with loads of Sashiko history and patterns for reference. I. Love. It.

Loads of WIPs since the beginning of the year, and I sure hope I have more finished projects to show for in the coming months.
Thanks for sewing with me!

Posted in Books and Patterns, Fabrics, Quilt, Sashiko, Sewing, Star QAL, Tools | 2 Comments »

Jul

23

2008

More blocks!

Author: Yvette
Completed 2 more blocks for the Star QAL. Saw a completed top at Flickr and I can’t wait for mine to get done too! :>
Here’s Week 8. See how hard I’m trying to use up the ugly yellow flower fabrics? I must be careful that I don’t turn it into the main feature fabric of the quilt! hahaha. But I think this print is going along quite well with the rest of the yellow prints :>
Here’s Week 9. More ugly yellow flower. But I kindda like it here :>
As if I don’t have enough UFOs, WIPs and what nots lying around. I started on yet another project with my quilting friends - Stack and Whack. Its really fun fun fun! I’m using a Quilting Treasures print for this Baby Quilt, for my son. I REALLY love how the blocks turned out. I guess if with better pinning, cutting, sewing, and pressing, the kaleidoscope effect would be phenomenon. So, gotta practice some more then ;>

First 6 blocks…

Then another 6 makes 12 blocks!
I LOVE the zebras & flamingos…
One of my favourites! :>
Before I go, here’s a look at my latest spree on eBay :p Bought some AB fabrics online too. Can’t wait to get started! MUST start at least ONE pattern this year! hahaha… I don’t dare to commit to COMPLETING a project… to be able to finish one would be a great X’mas pressie for myself then ;>
Goodnight, my sewing friends!
PS: Amy has a new book Little Stitches for Little Ones… LOVELY… :>

Posted in Books and Patterns, Fabrics, Kids, Quilt, Sewing, Star QAL | 3 Comments »