Craft actually

V&A Quilts Reviewed

The quilt exhibition on Friday was really amazing - well worth a visit if you're in London. It was an interesting collection from very old to a few modern ones. We got the audio tour which was interesting in itself as they used ipod touches and had pictures as well as the audio - first time I've seen them used for something like that.

I thought photos were allowed but got told otherwise after I had taken a couple of shots (Only allowed in the main museum). I was quite taken with these baby gifts from hundreds of years ago - not so different from today.

One of the most interesting and spectacular quilts was the Rajah Quilt , on loan from the National Gallery of Australia, which was made by convicts on the way from England to van Diemens Land while on board the HMS Rajah in 1841. Some wealthy ladies had donated the materials to the convicts. Some more background in Sue Prichard's blog.

I can't remember the name of the one below but the quilting and intricate embroidery were stunning.

The Friday Late event was washed out and moved from the courtyard into the cafe where there were tables of people sitting around paper piecing hexagons, making for an industrious and sociable atmosphere. Pauline and I set the world to rights but didn't get any quilting done.

I couldn't resist temptation in the giftshop and bought a few metres of the limited edition Liberty fabric for some summer clothes for Miss S. 

She rummaged in the bag and pulled out my favourite one for a picnic with Upsy Daisy. 

I hope I get some time to make her something before too long. 

First Birthday Bags

I know that blogging has been very sparse around here. I try not to put pressure on myself to blog but I do want to get back into it. There is something that makes me want to share what is happening and what I'm creating. But I've been letting it slide for so long that whenever I think about writing, a little explosion goes off in my head with all the things that I have made, everything that has happened, amusing little anecdotes. And then I think, "maybe later".

But am going to attempt to kick off again with a project from last year when I decided to make book bags for first birthday presents for the babes in Sophie's gang. It took me awhile to choose fabrics. I had most in the stash and supplemented the pretty prints with some grey suiting fabrics and blue denim. In retrospect perhaps wool wasn't the most easy care fabric to choose but it has fantastic body and texture! Last week one of the Mum's said she was going to get hers dry cleaned which I took as hugely complimentary.

 
First I chose fabrics that I thought suited both the Mum and the baby. I chose different fabrics for the lining, the pocket linings and the back pockets so that took a bit of coordinating and cutting out.

 
Then I used MS word to select a font I liked then hugely enlarged the letters for a template for each of the initials. I ended up using two different fonts depending on the letter in question! You can see the "I" is serrif whereas the "W" is sans. It also depended on whether it was for a boy or a girl.

I cut out the bags to maximise use of the fabric I had ensuring that enough was available for the handles. The size is roughly 28cm X 35cm.

 

I used with double sided iron on interfacing for the letters to stick them to the pocket then appliqued around them with zig zag stitch. 

 

I had so much fun making these. I ran out of steam before I did a sixth one for Sophie but I will hopefully make one for her one day.

 

First birthday crafting plans

Sophie has been very spoilt with lots of handknits and crafty gifts from Aunties, Grandmas and friends but I have hardly made her anything. So I decided to remedy that with a little project to make her an outfit for her first birthday. Hopefully will be able to make it in time.

I took some inspiration from Ottobre (1/2008) magazine. I love this little outfit - John Lewis didn't have any linen left at all after summer but they now stock a lot of designer fabric like Kaffe Fasset, Amy Butler, Heather Bailey and more. 

This gorgeous rosy polka dots is Darla by Tanya Whelan. Two of my favourite things - roses and spots - together in one fabric, how could I resist!

I'm a bit daunted by the patterns though - they look quite difficult to cut out - lots of patterns overlapping. And I think you have to add on the seam allowance. Might take a bit of concentration.

 

Then I thought this little hoodie was gorgeous. I'm not sure about my yarn choice though - I was thinking about an oatmeal colour which would be a bit more neutral and more wearable but in the end the bright zap of colour won out. From comments on Ravelry this pattern is a quick knit.

I also love this slightly faded watermelon red so THEN talked myself into this cute coat as well. I haven't made anything in cotton before so hopefully it will be ok to knit.

If I can get it all done or at least one of the knits it will be a very cute outfit I think. Bring on winter - I'm not afraid of your grey rainy days with this colour antidote.

 

New fabrics from Australia

A little bit of show and tell from a shopping spree or two in Aus. Some lovely bits and pieces from my favourite little shops in Buderim and Maleny.

I love these three prints and wish I had bought more of the red poppies....aren't they gorgeous?! I bought a meter of the blue and yellow flowers, thinking a dress for Miss S perhaps.

Some matching blue and pinky-red, again a possible outfit for S and some lovely Japanese florals.

Stripes and spots, some retro flowers and the two Amy Butler fabrics on the right were actually from John Lewis last week. (Auntie Sooze couldn't resist ;))

A collection of black and white for my Japanese inspired log cabin quilt to be.

And a random picture of Misty cause she just looks so damn relaxed! Hope you're having as nice a weekend as she is!

Indie fabric designers

I have been following Kristen Doran's blog Cheeky Beaks for some time now, admiring her work especially her beautiful fabric designs. I also recently discovered Auntie Cookie on Etsy.

This led to the idea of a post about handmade and independently designed fabric and textiles for Friday Faves. Interestingly the majority I've been able to find in some quick searches this week on flickr, etsy and google are Australian. Through the above two designers I discovered many links to other talented Aussie designers and Sprout Design, a small textile company that some of them design for. If you know of other people designing fabric in other parts of the world let me know in the comments.

Kristen Doran's Ladybug fabric available in her shop.

Aunty Cookie's Nesting fabric available on Etsy. Am loving the chooks.

Flower Garden by Danielle Smeets - Of Paper and Thread on etsy.

Lara Cameron's vibrant Riverstones

And just one more - i couldn't resist adding these cute penguins by PataPri who is based in Chicago.

So if you are looking for something a bit different for a special project - check them out.

And if you fancy turning your hand to print some of your own designs on fabric there is a great review of two books on the topic on True Up.

I'm a little tired today as yesterday we had the cat flap installed and Minnow had her second outing into the big world of south east London (her first was a little jaunt the other day when the door was accidentally left open but she soon came back in of her own accord). Last night after she had a romp in the garden then came back in, we thought we had locked the cat door but she still managed to escape and was out all night.

I woke up a few times during the night to find Misty prowling along the glass doors to the garden as she hadn't yet managed the same Houdini trick but no sign of Minnow. I tried to be cool and calm but couldn't help worry. I shouldn't have....at the usual wake up time this morning she sauntered into our room and demanded her usual wake-up cuddle. Now we just have to get Misty to stay still long enough to get the magnet for the cat flap on her collar so she can go out and get back in again.

But despite being a bit groggy I'm very excited as I'm off tonight with a few of the knitters for a girly weekend to Copenhagen to visit Loba - one of the original crew who defected back to her homeland last year. She sent us a long list of yarn shops we can visit so my credit card is quivering in my purse.

fabrictastic

Did I mention I've had a little spree lately? The Etsy cash flow is all one way at the moment I'm afraid. I like to call it an investment.

Keeping with the green and blue theme some Denyse Schmidt from the Katie Jumps Rope range.

Black Dandy Damask (Michael Miller) and Lime Full Moon Polka Dot (Amy Butler).

Some more from Amy Butler's gorgeous Lotus line and Midwest Modern line - pink and green! pink and green!

Trying out some different combos of these........

If you're anything like me and get overwhelmed with the possibilities of what to make from such luciousness - perhaps start small. Here are two very cute and free pincushion patterns from some fabric designers who are hot right now.

 

Heather Bailey's Square Deal Pincushion

 

Anna Maria Horner's Wild Flowers Pincushion (via Whipup)

 

Also if you like this kind of stuff i.e. fabric - check out a new blog on pure unadulterated fabric goodness True Up by Kim Kight.

 

Japanese Fabric Faves

1. Squirrels - brown, 2. kokka fabrics - abeille, 3. japanese fabric, 4. Love My New Japanese Fabric, 5. japanese fabric, 6. Fabrics, 7. Apples - brown, 8. japanese fabric, 9. Japanese fabric, 10. Japanese fabric, 11. Fabric with Japanese traditional design, 12. japanese fabric from etsy

Japanese fabric is the theme for Friday Faves today. I have been looking at a few pieces in my stash which I've collected and been given and wondering what projects would be worthy of such gorgeous cute fabric. This has led to a *little* bit of lurking around on flickr and etsy for inspiration. So far I've just found yet more fabric I want!

I used to think the main sources of Japanese fabric were Superbuzzy and Purl Soho, but with the explosion of etsy shops I've found some suppliers based in Japan and other parts of the world that I will definitely be checking out in more detail. Here are a couple to get you started....

Sweet Flavour - California

Karaku - Tokyo

From Japan with Love - Fukuoka

Mwendas - Singapore

Thats enough to whet your appetite I'm sure!

Have a good weekend and wish us luck with the weather - we're off for our first camping trip for the summer to the New Forest.

Green and blue is the winner

Recent weekends seem to be flying by without getting much done but I have realised it has been because most of Saturday has been out on the photography course. This weekend we went for "a shoot" at Borough Market which was v. fun and much better than the classroom theory.  Unfortunately I haven't quite figured out how to convert my RAW files to JPEGS for uploading but that is next week's class so stay posted.

I did manage to pull some fabrics out and made this little arrangement for Beth's baby quilt. As you can see I've gone for a green-blue combo (as recommended by my readers - thank you for the feedback!!) and I'm planning for it to be more green than blue. Jen I hope you approve :)

I am hoping to have some energy one evening this week to start cutting. Too much knitting lately - need some sewing!

trims

I bought these super sweet trims from Rosa Pomar. Now I just I wonder what to make?! The dilema of having a great addition to the stash - whether to use it or just admire it!!

The weather is meant to be terrible in London this weekend with possibly even some snow, so I have some big crafty plans including lots of finishing of projects and starting some new ones:

• Finish Dusk cardie - block and make up
• Finish Baby Yoda cardie (if I can remember what size needles I was using - WHY don't I make notes?!)
• Sew buttons on summer tweed baby cardie
• Make a pink combi van bib
• Start baby quilt for friend due soon

Phew!! better stop watching telly.

Have a very happy Easter weekend everyone. xo

warm up

As a warm up to selecting quilt fabric I pulled out these pieces for a pink version of the 70's Combi Van bib. These are a lot prettier and not as retro looking. I was trying to decide whether to put more yello or the blue fabric into the mix. Sometimes taking a photo really helps to "see" the overall effect.

I'm tending towards the blue for some freshness and contrast.