Gifts for my girl

A lot of my crafting involves making gifts for other people - I like how it shows the thought and care put into the act of giving.  I always try to involve my daughter K in the process as well, especially if the gift is for a friend or relative she knows well.  When it comes to gifts for her I tend to stock up on ideas, then sew/create madly for a few weeks ahead.

This year, with K turning five, I was well organised.  I made her a school backpack in early March.  I also made her a nurse's uniform to match the one we gave to Playcentre.  To go with this I sourced a nurse's watch and a real stethoscope.  She's had great fun with both.

I kept up the Oliver + S 'Little Things to Sew' theme by making K a tutu.

I used a variety of pink tulles.  Some I got at Spotlight and were about 140cm wide.  Others I have had in the stash and were narrower.  With some overlapping and creative placement the result is impressive.

K loves it - so much so the other day she kept it on when digging in the sandpit!  This tutu is number 10 in  the 'Cover to cover' challenge from 'Bartacks and Singletracks' and number 85 in my O+S count.

I love to encourage K's creativity through play.  We also try to support her artistic skills and to help this I made her an art folder.

It was (very) loosely based on the Noodlehead pattern 'Road Trip Case' but I didn't get far past quilting the outside cover.  I love Anna's patterns but I had quite a few adaptations in mind!

K is a left-hander so I placed the drawing pad on the left side.  The clear vinyl pouch (my own design - partially successful) is attached by two pieces of binding.  This allows the side with the pens to hang from a small table and still be accessed through the gap in the centre.  We will use the vinyl pouch for holding scissors, stickers and other small pieces.

I need to add two small hand-sewn snaps at the top and bottom of the folder so that the pad is less likely to slip out.  I also should have made the fabric over the pen pockets bigger.  It pulls that side in.  But K loves her folder and has been having great fun drawing her interpretation of our life!

What a very lucky girl our K has been!

Nurse

As with my previous post I'm working my way through the Oliver + S 'Little Things To Sew' book with some gusto at present.  So much so that I have made two bias trimmed aprons!

Only one is shown here - as the other is tucked away for K's upcoming birthday - and she has no idea!  This one is a farewell gift for Playcentre.  I made the smallest size and although it is a bit small on K it fits fine.

Medical set from our local Toy Library

I found some cheap blue poly/cotton blend from Harald's in Christchurch and used some to make my first puppet theatre.  Then I had my great idea - the fabric would be perfect for a nurse's uniform!  Originally I was going to adapt the 'Sleepover Pyjamas' by Oliver + S, but the bias-trimmed apron from LTTS seemed so much easier.  The only adaption to the pattern was the 'v' neckline - a very simple change.

I made my own bias binding and 1/2 metre of fabric made enough for two aprons, comfortably.  I placed the side pockets too high but they should be fine for some of the wee people at Playcentre (ages 0 to 5).  I used velcro at the back.

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The word 'NURSE' was done by writing the words in erasable maker then zig-zagged over with a 2mm wide and very short length stitch.  I did interface the fabric behind the words to give it more strength.  It really finishes off the outfit!

Another finished item for the 'Bartacks and Singletracks' 'Little Things to Sew - Cover to Cover Challenge'.  Number six!

And number 81 in my O+S count...  I love these patterns!

A Pillow to Call Home

Another cushion I made as a Christmas present for a different sister...

I used the same linen-style fabric as the backing of this cushion.  The lettering is a floral print from 'Madeira' by Blackbird Designs for Moda.  I'm sure it is at least two years old - but I really like the colours in it and it looks great against the background.

The mini rose behind is 'The Fairy' - one of my favourites.

I cut the cushion (pillow) out as a 18 1/2 inch square.  I wrote the letters in a document using wordart, reversed them, then traced over the printed versions with steam-a-seam.  I later used my 'fake' buttonhole stitch on my Bernette to applique the letters.  The letters don't line up perfectly as the 'M' wants to be big, but I'm very happy with how they turned out.

I've attempted to link up my master copy of the lettering so please let me know if this does or doesn't work (I think you have to be able to access Google Docs):
Click here to download a pdf for the HOME letters.

I love this cushion as well and think I'll have to make another one or two...

Floral Dresden

I made this for one of my sisters as a Christmas present...

The centre circle and back fabric is a linen 'style' fabric I found (unlabelled) at Spotlight.  The petals are made using favourite floral fabrics from my collection and  the front background is Kona 'snow'.

The idea came from a pattern in 'Pillow Pop' by Heather Bostic and allowed me to use my dresden ruler by Darlene Zimmerman.

I appliqued the dresden bloom and circle on with a machined button-hole stitch.  I have this on my Bernette 65 and it is one of the few things it gets used for - but is very handy to have!  I went against my original plans and hand quilted the top together with perle cotton.  I am pleased with this and must remind myself to try it again some time.  The well rounded circle was made using a technique I read about in a book by Sarah Fielke - using a cardboard circle and aluminum foil.

K loves posing!

I really like this cushion and hope my sister enjoys it too... I could easily find a space for it here if it is not her style.

Lots of Class Picnics

I recently made six Oliver + S Class Picnic Blouses, five for Christmas presents for my nieces and one for K that I blogged about here.

They are a great top pattern and I'm sure the girls will all enjoy them - though I'm not sure I pleased all with the colours!  I used Lisette cottons that I had purchased at Spotlight - super fabric to sew with.  :-)

So the gifted ones are numbers 68 to 72 in my O+S count

Number 68 for a seven year old niece (worn on my K):

Number 69 for a five year old niece:

Number 70 for a four year old niece:

Number 71 for a three year old niece: 

Number 72 for a two year old niece:

I'm hoping that sometime in the next year I can see all six girls together with their class picnic blouses... and maybe we could have a picnic!

Christmas thanks

I was once a teacher and understand all the hard work that goes in to caring for other people's children.  So K and I have a tradition of making small gifts for the teachers in her life.

We made twelve of these little houses for preschool teachers and some playcentre super-parents (the kind that love play and give up their time freely to get involved with our children).  We added tags and wrote our thank yous on those.

The pattern came from Kajsa Wikman's 'Scandinavian Stitches'.  I had used the same pattern two years ago to make similar gifts.

At K's Playcentre we have a fantastic supervisor who is not only an amazing teacher to the children but a font of knowledge for us as parents.  She goes way beyond what is expected of her and is adored by K.

We knew she has a thing for Christmas trees and is a bit of a crafty angel herself.  I had pinned this mini quilt from Pinterest and with K's help and an organised stash of green scraps we made this:

I used this an opportunity to practise my free motion quilting with a random doodle on the white part - I didn't even pre-mark it!  The tree was straight line quilted with a red and buttons were added as ornaments.  I also added my binding by machine sewing both sides. 

I used this book to help me with the binding...

'Quilting Modern' by Jacquie Gering and Katie Pederson is a fantastic resource for all sorts of modern quilting styles and it also has some of the best instructions I've seen on binding a quilt.  There is a technique in it that has made joining binding almost fool-proof, even without a fancy gizmo.

I've got a heap of Christmas projects to share and I'll be aiming to do so over the next few days - so beware - my catch up has started!  :-)

More Cowls

I have been busy knitting more cowls for birthday and Christmas presents.

I made these in a lovely soft grey 8ply wool I got at Knitworld's sale a few months ago.  They used nearly three 50g balls over the two cowls.  Both will be gifted to farming men in my family - wrong time of year now - but I'm sure they will be appreciated in winter.

I also made one in a red based yarn by Twilleys (yes - not kiwi yarn - sorry!) 'freedom spirit' that I bought a number of balls of at the same sale.  I will be knitting many more of these, they feel so yum!

Swimming Bag

I suddenly had the great idea that K didn't have her own swimming bag - and I could make one for her a Christmas gift from us.  Not from Santa - she had already seen the fabric I had chosen from my stash!

I'd bought this fabric about three years ago from Bolt of Cloth in Christchurch but it had sat unused as it really didn't appeal as just fabric - it looks much better as a bag!

I found a great set of blog posts by 'Sarah Jane Sews' and copied her measurements and slightly adapted the corners to suit my needs.  I also made a small pocket for the inside - it is lined in the same waterproof fabric as the inner - so that K can put small change, a note or card in there, and it will be safer than on the outside.  I also made my own cord from double fold pink homespun cut grainwise (not bias).

A great project as all the supplies came from my stash.

Ssshhhhh!  Don't tell  - K doesn't know about this yet!

A Pencil Roll

I've made a few of these before but this was the first time I documented my finished effort.  They have been very popular as presents so this was made as a gift for a niece's birthday.

I heavily adapted a pattern from Joelle Hoverson's 'Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts'.  Instead of a variety of fabrics I just used one with a stripe.  I also made a velcro tag rather than a tie, easier for five-year-olds to put together.  The pencils are good quality Faber-Castell triangular ones, just right for young fingers.

A Little Hat

I caught up with a school friend recently who is expecting her first child.  I wanted a quick and easy gift so chose a knitting pattern I had been keen to use - Just Jussi's 'Aviatrix' baby hat.

It was a fantastic pattern to knit - I used a double knit (8ply) in a possum/wool mix that I had bought at Milton's wool mill shop in April.  It was a 300g hank and I paid only $8 for it!  I made this hat in size 6 months and it took about 35g of wool.

I have been sewing away on my Christmas list and had this gorgeous pile of fabric this afternoon:

I'm not saying which pattern, but an experienced O+S sewer would recognise the layout!  Two in size 4, three in size 5 (one for K) and one in size seven.  Most of the fabric is from the Lisette range at Spotlight that I mentioned here.

Gift for a Niece

One of my nieces has a birthday soon so K and I made her a flower purse.  It's very pink and very girly so I'm sure she'll love it.

Just the sort of thing that can be used for play and for taking on real shopping trips!

The pattern is a free one on the Ottobre magazine's website.  The direct link for the pdf is here.  I recommend the pattern as it was easy to follow and quick to complete - the only thing was that all the measurements are in metric so you have to convert back to imperial if you are like me and need to use your patchwork rulers.

Puppet Theatre for Playcentre

K and I go to a local Playcentre twice a week and it is a great opportunity for her to get involved in all sorts of exciting play.  She loves dressing up and acting out stories and adventures.  One of the goals at our parent-run centre is to get children more into storytelling.  So I volunteered to make a puppet theatre to help facilitate this.

I chose to make the Oliver + S 'Little Things To Sew' Puppet Theatre.  This pattern is from my favourite craft book and was great to follow - and I was even able to add width to my theatre easily (just 4").  I have also used a thicker piece of doweling for the top and drilled holes in each end of it to thread some string - so I didn't need a tension rod.

I have plans to make another one - and will remember next time to use quilting weight fabric (or similar) for the curtains - I used curtain fabric and it is too thick for a child to pull across the rod.  I'll also make the next one a bit fancier and may play with the layout of the windows... plenty to plan for!

This is number 66 in my O+S count!  Whew!

I'm going to join in with the 'Little Things To Sew: Cover to Cover Challenge' run by 'Bartacks and Singletrack' as I have plans to make even more from this wonderful book.

A Little Pouch

After working away in the garden and making presents for male family members I decided I wanted to make something pretty - so I had a go making one of Noodlehead's Open Wide Zippered Pouches.

I made the medium size using a print from 'Sew Stitchy' by Aneela Hoey and various matching pink homespun cottons.  The outside is made using a 'quilt as you go' method on to batting and canvas.  This did make the sewing of the pouch tricky because of the thickness involved - but it all worked well and I am super happy with the result!  The pattern is fantastic - for the first time making I wondered how it was all going to work but the pattern repays that trust with a very clever design.  I can see why this is such a popular tutorial in the blog-sphere.

I made it as a Christmas gift - but somehow my knitting has used it as a new home - and well it was easy enough to make I might have to sew up some more!

A Flower for Jewellery

I've had my eye on the Straight Stitch Society Forget-me-not Jewelry Pouch sewing pattern for a while and I finally made it for a family member who is having a birthday soon.

 It was super easy and looks really fantastic!

I made it in three pinks from the 'Sew Stitchy' range by Aneela Hoey for Moda and love how they make it look.

I didn't have a great look at the photos that went with the pattern and somehow I thought that the petals were inside the pouch - I just didn't realise there were two versions in the pattern.  The petals are gorgeous but the pouch would still look great in a vibrant fabrics without them.  I think I'll try it like that next time - it would make a great quick gift - and use less fabric and fiddling to cut them out.

Butterfly Garden with love

 My finished work....

 

The pattern is 'Hexagonal Garden' by Pam and Nicky Lintott from their book 'More Layer Cake, Jelly Roll & Charm Quilts'.  I slightly changed the dimensions so I could get as much from the yardage as I could, hence the slightly cut-off hexagons on both sides.  There is enough fabric pieces left over to make a cushion now.

 

The fabric is 'Papillon' by 3 Sisters for Moda.  It was as a jelly roll, with extra yardage (108" wide backing) for the backing, border and binding (44" wide in the aqua).  'Papillon' is butterfly in french.

 

I made this quilt for my mother-in-law's sixty-fifth birthday.   So I went out yesterday and took some pictures on a beautiful day in the garden she created.

 

  

Can you see my H on his tractor two paddocks over?

George and Daniel the lambs decided to be in the photos.

George having a look at me!

I free motion quilted it using an butterfly shape template that I centred around the hexagons.  I then filled in the gaps with extra butterflies and swirls.  I even started quilting without a marking when doing the border - am now feeling more confident to try an allover loop next time!

 Next project - finish a quilt for my mother!