GECKOS ARE AWESOME!!

I did say in my last post to watch out for the geckos did I not!?
Apparently that day came sooner rather than later. But, I had done a good two hours of revision before I started this so it was a 'well done on getting some work done' present! (At least thats what I'm telling myself!)

Above = front of cover gecko

Below = Back of cover gecko.

I could quite decide which I liked better when I'd only done this bit. But I stuck with the original (top) and added the border (bottom picture)

This red is the left over silk from a dress that I made when I was 18, so a good three years ago now. Its been sat there ever since, and I've finally found a use for it!!
I will be making lots more of these, because they're very simple once you know what you're doing. Admittedly the stitching around the outline of the gecko was a bit harder than I had anticipated, but I got there!
I found another quilter when I was browsing the web last night and she suggested using batik fabrics for the lizard. This will occur, as soon as I get back to my stash of fabrics! Then watch out world, it'll be a gecko takeover!!

I really do love them! :D

Inspiration is everywhere!

Well hello my lovely people! I bring you good wishes for the New Year!

I also bring you really cool patchwork ideas!

Now, my Dad is a bit bonkers. He likes learning new stuff and will happily chat to a squirrel about its day given half a chance. However, due to this, I ended up round a lovely womans house today chatting and learning about quilting! It was fabulous! There were so many new things I'd never even thought of doing, yet are so very simple that almost anyone could do them!

One thing stuck in my mind (apart from creating patchwork geckos - keep checking the blog, they'll turn up on here sooner or later) - and that was a quilter named Gail Lawther and her style of patchwork. Here are a couple:

I absolutely love them! They're in the style of stained glass!
So simple, yet so effective! And the artist even sells the kits on her website:
http://www.gaillawther.co.uk/home.asp

I'm definitely going to be having a go at this! How about you? 

Merry Christmas!

HOW BEAUTIFUL IS THIS!?

Its memorizing! I just had to buy it for myself when I saw it. Sadly I only have a fat quarter of it, but that can make something beautiful. Im just not too sure what at the minute... as per usual!

My mum also suggested making a summer dress out of this fabric... now I only have to go back and hope they have it on roll! :O

This was my Christmas present to myself.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, wherever you are in the world and however you celebrate!

Christmas is coming!

Christmas is coming - the goose is getting fat!
Lets hope they don't spill anything on this B-E-A-U-tiful table runner! I made this for my family this Christmas because my Mum mentioned that she might need/like one. So I decided to make one for her. Mainly cause I like making things... we should all know this by now! :D

It took me a while to choose which fabrics I wanted to use. Literally couldn't choose, but then, THEN, I saw the bauble fabric!! BAUBLES! :D
I LOVE BAUBLES

It turns out that I had the other 3 fabrics just sitting around in my box of fabrics so it all worked out pretty well.
Its currently sat on the coffee table because my Mum didn't want to get it messy at the proper table!

Im deffo going to be making more of these because they're so simple!!

There's a first for everything!

Welcome to my first post about a bag! (wooooo) As most people who read this blog know, I'm very much a cushion person :P And quilts - I can do quilts too. But i've never properly had a need to make other items such as bags. UNTIL NOW!

Yes, thats right. I decided that I needed a bag. You see, I had just bought myself some dance shoes and as such felt that they needed their own little bag! (Excuses excuses, I know!) But hey... It cant be all bad cause this is the final product!

I found a free walk-through on someone's blog (thank you!), altered the measurements slightly because I didn't need one as big as was being suggested, and also altered the strap so it was different to theirs. It was actually a really simple pattern! So simple that I finished it in a morning effectively!
The funny thing is - I still don't have my shoes so I have no idea whether they'll actually fit inside. I may have gotten slightly too impatient waiting, and then became bored. The two together are a disastrous combination sometimes.

The fabrics I used (as they only used two different fabrics) - one for the outside, another for the lining - were literally two I had a lot of in my stash. The hieroglyph fabric, well. What can I say? Everyone is going to know the bag is mine, thats for sure! :D At least i've finally found a use for the fabric. I was scared it was going to sit in my box for years on end! Plus, I had enough that if I went wrong it wouldn't have been the end of the world.
I did establish that because the pattern was so simple I could spruce it up slightly - Maybe add a pocket on the inside/outside - or maybe I could actually make it patchwork by making the pieces of fabric from lots of smaller pieces

I HAVE SO MANY IDEAS!!!

Thank the fabric!

And here is the lovely lovely cushion cover that prompted me to put my older ones up on Etsy

I literally sat there and thought, I want to sew today, but I can't because I have way too many already.
So, I put them on the website and my conscience was fine with me making another :)
Its so pretty. It is in fact a log cabin design, with each 'layer' getting fatter and fatter - I thought it would make it look slightly different to normal. 

So simple, yet so gorgeous as a final product. I did have a couple of problems with it though, and when I say problems, I mean idiocy on my part. I accidentally sewed the back to the wrong side of the front half - meaning I had to unpick it ALL! Sad times :(

This cushion will also be on Etsy at some point so go look if you're interested in buying!

And here we go...

I DID IT!

I've been talking about this for months - I've finally opened an Etsy shop to start selling my pieces. I don't know how well it'll work but I think it's worth trying!

After all, you never know until you try!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LouisePatchworkPatch

Check it out, pass it on. I'm hopefully going to be adding everytime I make something now, so they wont just be sitting in my room!

Eeee this is so exciting :D

The monkey and the wrench

Well hello my dear followers!
I've been away for a while, I know, but I haven't forgotten about you! I have been busy making another cushion cover - yet again for one of my friends :)

I made it for her birthday and I can now safely post it on here as she's already got it! (I didn't want to beforehand so as to not give anything away)
So here is the design I used:

  It's called a Monkey Wrench block. I thought the name was apt! ;) it was something new, something I'd never done before and meant I only needed to use two fabrics instead of a larger amount. I did originally want to make the entire cushion from this design, but then realised that the pieces I'd need would be huge. So I scaled it down and made four smaller ones. They worked just as well and gave a different pattern than before.

I decided to use a patterned fabric, not realising how much more work this would give me, but im glad I did now cause it looks awesome. The other blue is a silk that I have had for 5 years now - It went with the other colours in the patterned fabric so I used it :)

The design is so pretty and makes really good close up shots. (Please see above) The entire thing did take me a bit longer than normal, although with the amount of work I've had its kinda mental that I actually had time to do some.
The other really cool thing about this cushion is its the first one that I have sewn my label into! I didn't want to sew it so it showed on the outside, I thought this would spoil the overall finish of the cushion. So I decided to put it in the inside of the top flap of my envelope back. Worked so well my friend didn't actually see it until I pointed it out to her!

So this is my latest project. I now need to a) finish my space quilt and b) start another smaller project :D - Any ideas?

We all need some space!

...the title says it all! We all need some space - in this case, I'm talking (of course) about my awesome space fabric that I mentioned before in THIS POST









So this is what I have so far - I wanted to do a piece where I 'framed' some fabric, didn't necessarily have to be one with pictures, could have been just random patterns, BUT I got lucky when I had extra of this fabric left after making myself a cushion cover!

The main problem I had here was making sure that I could easily sew them together - as such, I had to make sure that they were in rows so I could sew another fabric in between each, and then sew the rows together to form one large 'thing'. This meant there were a lot of random calculations as to the different sizes of frame! Each piece is individual after all.

This is basically a plan of the layouts:

Green = Earth

Yellow = Saturn

Bright Red = Jupiter
Dark Red = Mars
Peach = Venus

Im not entirely sure what I want it to be, maybe it could be made into something for a child? If I ever get to start selling my pieces perhaps this would be of interest... I really don't know!
So this is my Space Quilt - or Planet Quilt.

Don't forget to check out my facebook page - just search for Louise's Patchwork Patch!

Yay my labels :D

Well guess what arrived yesterday - the trial runs of my labels :D They sent me 4 which is good :)

Im now going to have to make a simple cushion cover/something JUST so I can use one! The whole idea behind the labels is so that if (when) people buy my things, anyone who sees it will be able to know who its by and then be able to contact me themselves :D

Simple but I likey! The design on the labels is my Logo so:

Watch out for the newest design on here soon! Oh - and find me on Facebook if you haven't already.

I bring you a post in peace!

Welcome people!
I'm back :D

I offer you this patchwork in peace for not posting for a week!?

Yes, its one of the simple ones BUT it is the first one I have made while in Swansea. I do have another piece  (or two) in the making so hopefully they'll be up soon!

On another note - I LOVE SWANSEA! It has amazing patchwork shops :D
I must saaaave my money! SAVE!

Now, the fun bit. I decided that if I wanted to start selling then i'd have to start somewhere. SO - if anyone wants this cushion (or the other ones that I will be selling) go, like the page on facebook and contact me through there!

Take two!

So which one do you prefer?

I decided to do another of this pattern because its really quick and easy!
You only need 5 different fabrics and you only need a relatively large amount of one of those! (Excluding the backing fabric)

So here is my second one in this 'series'. I have a feeling that there is going to be a lot more coming - mostly due to the fact I can make them in one evening when i'm bored!

Remember people, Facebook page is up and running - why continuously keep checking here to see if i've posted when I will tell you myself through Facebook?

And here is the culmination of my degree!

Its not actually the culmination... I'd just like to point that out, but it does fit rather nicely with said degree (Architecture for those who are wondering!)
I had no idea what the finished product would be and it seems to have turned into a wall hanging. Personally I find it really cute, but a couple of things kept going wrong.

First, I found that although the fabrics I used for the houses did work, It might have looked better with brick coloured fabrics such as browns/golds etc...
Upon looking back at the book that I found this idea in, this IS what they had done. (I really need to pay more attention to it huh!?)

I suppose that'll teach me that I think I can do everything when in fact I have never done it before in my life!
The binding edge, an idea I have wanted to try for a while - went slightly wrong, but i'm going to blame that on the design and the fabric. At least I know what to do next time! - Its all a process of learning.

Yes, the houses are on a hill (it was most DEFINITELY planned that way - after all, all terraced houses are on hills aren't they!?)
 

And all together now!

https://www.facebook.com/LouisesPatchworkPatch

Thats my facebook page for my cushions - It's all coming together!

If you like the page and have facebook, an easier way to find out when I've posted is by liking the page - oh, and sharing with all your other friends! <3 Mucho Love!

My Hoard!

While meeting with a friend one day they asked me how many cushions I actually had... Thus came the ticking off of the fingers to about 12/13

Then it was 'And how many cushion covers do you have without a pad in at the minute?'
Another 3/4 I think

Hence my picture of my hoard of cushions!

Admittedly I am 'collecting' covers and such to sell so not ALL are for me!

What do you do when you cant think of any other present to give?

Merry Birthday to my Grandma! - Although she wont see this, the cushion shown below is her birthday present. We didn't know what to buy her soooo this cushion evolved!

I always surprise myself, because I think i'm not going to like the finished design when im choosing the fabrics but it always turns out to look so pretty that I don't want to give them away!
Silly me! I'll just have to make more... was a really easy design that I finished in one afternoon.

The back did go slightly wrong, I tried to do the envelope such as one you would find in a pillow case, but I ended up sewing all the sides together, meaning I couldn't get in to turn it the right way round!
I knew something had to go wrong with it!

Swansea - here I come!

Technically this post title lies slightly.... im not moving to Swansea for another week!

But here is my Swansea Beach/ Swansea Seaside cushion cover!

I even thought I'd have a go at using a zip - bear in mind i'd never done a zip before and was scared that i'd break the machine
It was actually perfectly fine, and looks slightly neater than some of my envelope cushion backs!
Maybe i'll have to do more with zips?

Only the rest of my quilt to do and another cushion cover and then i'll have finished my goals for the summer (and more!)

5m of each!?

Loooooookk - its so pweeeeeetttyyy!

This cushion - literally just an idea that I got from a book. So simple, yet so effective and it LOOKS a hell of a lot more complicated than it actually is.
4 Colours (I thank my friend for helping me choose and telling me that, yes, the colours were fine and, yes, it would look really good - Tbh, I think he just wanted to get out of the shop!)

5m(!) of each Ribbon Colour (Again, I thank my friend for making me buy this amount because I did use all but 50cm of the ribbon!!)

START WEAVING!!!

The front went together really quickly, within the closing ceremony of the Paralympics if I'm honest. The back, well I needed to find a fabric that matched the front, yet was heavy enough to hold its own. Sadly, the envelope back I tried to do was slightly too short and would have fallen open too much! (booooooo)

Now here comes the stroke of genius on my part - I used 1m more of the ribbon that I had left over and made two ties to hold the back together...
Simple, yet effective!

Now, I personally think that these are good enough to sell (and I intend to do so sometime in the near future hopefully) What do you think?

A sunny Monday afternoon

Well.... I was bored.


Simple as that. So I decided to make another cushion cover. I know, I know, i don't particularly NEED another cover but, if I want to start selling them then i'm going to need to make more aren't I!? (Bear in mind, I am thinking of selling through Etsy, but need to make a couple more before I set up the account.

Smaller than a couple of the others I have made but still fits a 38 X 38 cm cushion in (thank god!)

A bit of fun!

Hello again!

I realise that I have been posting an awful lot recently, thats because I'm running out of things to do and sewing keeps me occupied! Plus I just love seeing what I can come up with.

This new one came about due to wanting to experiment with diamonds and see what I could make. The colours, not my fave if I have to admit - I don't like pink and chose them so that I wouldn't be wasting any fabric if it went wrong. HOWEVER it has grown on me since I started and it at least would make a nice seat pad for the window seat in the house over in Swansea!

I was intending to do the back in black, but then decided to get rid of the pink flowery stuff while I had a chance! :P

Interesting huh!?

World Map - Louise Style

Don't think this needs any other words except

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE :D

Well well well, Lookie here!

My patchwork world map :D

Who else thinks it looks as cool as I do!?

Australia does look a bit squashed though.... OOOPPSSS!

Check out my other posts to see how it has evolved!
First 1/12

First 1/6 and 1/3

2/3 done

All the columns done

Shopping is dangerous!

Seriously... going to a shop that sells fabric (even if it is relatively small) tests my control! I just went to buy some more thread for my quilt and I found such lovely things! I wanted lots more than those I actually bought but I will have to content myself with these!

I am pretty in love with these two fabrics though:
Planets fabric

and Seaside fabric:

I bought the seaside one since Im moving to Swansea for my masters and it's next to the sea. So that may have to be my Swansea Cushion :)
The planets.... well I just fell in love with and had to buy! Its absolutely gorgeous!

YAY!

Well well well, lookie here.... look what I found (made!)

Isn't it amazingly coooooooll!?

This is my latest quilt, with 12 more rows to go!

It's getting there!

Well... my quilt is coming along!!

I've been spending quite a bit of time recently sewing the columns together... averaging 4 a day (bear in mind that I went away for a week!)
Here are the past couple of photos from the first 1/6th and the first 1/3 :D

Im loving it and I now have a room for the coming year to put it in!! WOOOOOO
Oh and this new house that I have, it has a window seat in the living room... I can see it becoming covered in lots and LOTS of cushions and throws :D

I'll keep going and will keep posting up here. Keep telling lots of your friends about this blog, cause everyone needs to know about it :D
Oh... any more guesses as to what it is yet??

My first 1/12!

Well, I promised to upload a picture of my next project, or at least the start of my next!
It's going to take me 1104 (or some number near that) squares to make but i'm determined to get it done by the time I leave for uni yet again.

I made my first quilt before my first uni experience and it seems im continuing the tradition :)
So here is the first 12th!

I know it doesn't look much or give away what it is yet, but I think once i've made the next 4 rows it'll be a bit easier to tell :D Yes... im doing it by rows... yes i know i'm insane and that its going quite wrong with the lengths BUT im going to do it and it WILL look how I want it!!

Oh... and to give you a clue... the colours are a give-a-way :)

Scissors = Evil!

Apparently if you use scissors to cut out squares for too long you end up with blisters on your fingers and thumb :(

Ouchie! And I still don't have anywhere near the 1104 squares needed!!!

I think i've just found heaven!

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2JmVKy/:1WLRZqfA-:LbPNOB7+/www.vam.ac.uk/microsites/quilts/patchwork/25483/kitty/

THIS IS AMAZING!!

Its a quilt pattern maker... you can insert your photo and it'll make it into a pattern, giving you the colours and number of fabrics needed!


I THINK I FOUND HEAVEN!

Although, saying that, I need to make my pictures so much smaller before I can use it -_- 2MB... who thought of that!?

Heres one I did earlier ;)

Why Not!?

Told you some would be coming soon and here's the first!:

This cushion cover really just came about after deciding that there was no harm in trying to sell my pieces. As I said to a friend, I enjoy making them but I have no-where to properly keep them, therefore it makes sense to attempt to sell!

The pattern is a very simple Log Cabin - just alternating colours for each square made!

 I did cut out the pieces wrong at first (oops) but I managed to figure out where I was going wrong and then go on to make this entire cushion in one afternoon! It was SO easy, but then again it is only straight lines so im not sure why I thought of it any other way!! I have a feeling i'll be making a lot more of these in the near future.

So yea, I chose one of my more patterned fabrics for the centre square and then 2 other colours that matched the colours in said fabric. I think it turned out pretty cool!

Now, do you think I'd be able to sell this sort of thing?? That is the main question!