Leaf block quilt for Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope you all had a splendid day. I know I did.

Now, I alluded in my last post that I had made more than one Christmas present for my friends and family and that is indeed true!

Now, every year my Grossmutter has made me something - a handbag, a sewing set holder. So this year, it was time that I made her something in return. And so we came up with the idea of a lap quilt for her to use of an evening. Now, if I do say so myself, the final piece looks sooo pretty. As per usual, I made a mock up of the design on the computer before I started so that I knew what I was making, but as usual, something changed! 

So, this is the original design:

Sorry about the small nature of the picture, but you can get the general gist can't you. I had found a block that would make a leaf shape. And I wanted to make 16 of these to make the front of the quilt. Cute, relatively easy and makes a really pretty design. In fact, the actual block is basically the same as that from the Bear Paws.

This, however, is the final piece:

Gorgeous isn't it?

I originally planned to make it in a month, but it was so much easier than I thought. It was only buying the fabric and the border that took so long!

Anyway, I liked making the leaves, and I think my piecing is some of the best I've done. Maybe someone else would like me to make them something with leaves. I honestly wouldn't say no! :)

Homemade Christmas Presents

Well, I don't know about everyone else but I really love giving handmade presents for Christmas and birthdays instead of buying something from a shop. And that is what I did for one of my good friends this year!

If any of you remember the cushions that I made with geckos on (Gecko 2 and Geckos are awesome!), well this piece originated from my inability to choose the colours for those properly! The centre gecko here (black and white fabric) has been cut out for nearly 10 months! I originally cut him (her?) out just in case I didn't like the final piece of the cushion!

But, my friend mentioned at the time that she really liked the black and white gecko! So, what better to do than make her a lovely small wall hanging with said black and white gecko!

The problem I had, however, was finding some more black and white fabric to match - it was IMPOSSIBLE! So I had to settle for a patterned grey. Which, to be honest, looks quite good anyway.

Here is the final piece:

The actual piece has a white border around it (see picture below) to make all the colours fit together that little bit better and I sewed some small hoops onto the back so that my friend could put string through and hang it! All in all, although I was rushing to finish it before I met up with her, it still worked out perfectly!

Once again - I think this is one happy 'customer' don't you? 

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Christmas lies around the tree - Literally

Hey guys! I hope you're all getting excited for Christmas! I know I am. There was no way I couldn't while making this awesome Christmas tree skirt. My friend commissioned me to make her one, giving me a budget and asking me to come up with a series of different designs that I could make within said budget.

I did so, and we both came up with this design - a mix of all the different ideas I had produced. You can never design it right the first time round - you have to play around to see what looks the best. My friend knew she wanted the cream fabric and also green and red. Thus, the colours were set.

We added the applique holly leaves to just give it that little bit extra and I think it works really well.

I'd never made a patchwork piece that was circular before, so this was certainly something new to me! But I never say no to trying something new.

I found it quite easy once I had worked out the pattern pieces and how much of a seam I would need. Then I just cut the same shape from the backing and sewed together with a normal seam. I also did a top stitch all around the edge to catch the opening. All in all it looks pretty fabulous (if I do say so myself!)

My friend certainly looks like a happy customer doesn't she!? :D

Beautiful placemats

So, by now you all know what my coasters look like. The placemats just came as an extension to the coasters. Bigger (obviously) but matching to a set of coasters so that I could sell them as a whole set.

And guess what? They turned out great:

Each set has 4 coasters and 4 placemats. I only used a strip of the fabric for the mats as they would have looked a bit gaudy if I made it completely from the cotton. As it is, I used calico for the majority of the mats as it looked really good.

The really amazing thing is that both of these sets, which are the only two I have made so far, have already sold! Clearly they are wanted by lots of people. I'll definitely have to make more in the near future.

Christmas Coasters

I know that I've already blogged about my coasters (see my post:Do you need a coaster for your drink?), but I really love them! Which is why I made more and took more photos.

These are only my Christmas themed coasters, I have plenty others that can be used throughout the year.

The holly coasters below are really some of my favourites. I bought the fabric for a commission, but ended up with a little bit extra which I have used for these coasters.
They sold well at the last Christmas fair that I did, lets see if they'll do the same at the next one!

Who else wants a set!?

Personalised Christmas Stockings for the family

 Christmas stockings. Everyone loves them. They're so cute, and they can be personalised to fit each individual. Just like these:

I made this set of small stockings for a friend of mine who had seen my other mini stockings and asked for some for her family. Of course I couldn't say no - I didn't want to either! As you can see, she asked for letters on each one - I chose the fabrics, trying to give the guys less girly choices, while making them still christmassy! I love them :)
Sometimes I wish I could show the whole world what I can do, but for now i'll have to stick with letting as many people know as possible.

The one below is my favourite of the set. The red letter on the holly background just looked so fun and bright! Each stocking is about 20cm tall, so they're not huge, but they can hold small presents like chocolate or tickets to see a show.

Gorgeous and I loved making them! Who else likes them?

A beautiful Christmas Stocking

This stocking was made as a commission for a woman who found me through Facebook. She asked for a personalised Christmas stocking for her daughter's first Christmas. All she asked for was that it was girly but festive! And this is what I came up with:

The choosing of the fabric was fun but difficult. We knew that it had to be pink - One plain, one sparkly and one Christmas fabric. Eventually, we found the holly fabric, that fit with the pink stary and then we went for the bright pink to match them together. A good choice if I do say so myself.

The back is identical to the front apart from the writing. I decided to hand sew the words as it looked better than trying to do it on the machine. It's padded and lined with a light pink cotton fabric to tie in with the outside. It turned out great in the end and I'm so proud of it!

I'm glad to say that the client loved it too (and hopefully her daughter will come December 25th). I'm so happy that it turned out so well and hopefully, some more people will want one once they see what I can do!

Craft Fair #1

For those of you who have been following my blog/facebook for a while, you'll know that yesterday I had my very first stall at a craft fair. It was very very exciting, as I had been preparing for about a month beforehand. I only took a couple of photos of the stall but here they are:

I had Mounted Somerset Star pictures, fabric coasters, patchwork cushion cover kits, table runners, Christmas tree decorations (Mini stockings, parcels and scented hearts) and cushion covers.

It was a great afternoon, not a very long fair but it was a good place to start off. I was also giving 10% of takings to Children In Need so I just hoped that people would like my work.
And they did! I didn't sell much, but I sold enough to cover the price I paid for the table and give me a bit of extra money to put back into LPP!


So very exciting and addictive. I got home and started looking for the next fair to go to. So keep your eyes out for the announcement of where the next one will be and come and join me there!

Do you need a coaster for your drink?

Do you need a coaster? Can never find one when you need them? Well here is the solution:
Fabric Coasters! So simple, can be custom made to fit your dining room, your living room. You can choose the colours!

I made these little sets (4 per set so far, but if people want more coasters then I'll add more!) for my craft fair. I wanted something that would fill the gap between my £3 stock and my £10 stock and this was my solution!

They're flexible, which means they can go in the washing machine! They're made from fabric which means you can choose the fabric to match your colour scheme. They're small so they don't take up much space. They're just so cute and i'm slightly in love with making them!

Do you know anyone who wants any, or are you having problems choosing a present for someone this Christmas? Contact me on via my facebook page Louise's Patchwork Patch or through email (louiseet@googlemail.com)

The Kits are ready!

Well... as i'm sure you know by now, I am participating in a craft fair this month and have been very busy sewing and making bits to sell at said fair. One of the ideas that we came up with was to make cushion cover kits.

These kits include all the fabric needed to make your own 'triangle' cushion cover, I have cut the pieces into the triangles already so all you need to do is buy a kit and get sewing. The great thing with the idea of the triangles is that the final pattern is not determined - the creator can choose what their cushion will look like, giving them more control over it. One such pattern that can be made is:

I made this cover, following my own instructions, to show people what they can achieve with their own kits. I have also included other suggestions of patterns so that they have an idea of what is possible. Here is what I have so far:

I think they're a great idea for a present for someone and especially for those who want to make their own cushion but don't quite have the confidence to do so just yet.
Contact me via louiseet@googlemail.com to buy your own - custom made!

Blue and brown are in!

Blue and brown have been in within this house for about 5 years now! It was because of me painting my room blue and brown about that many years ago that I bought this fabric. I had not done anything with the fabric since. Until now!

I thought that the craft fair was a brilliant time to actually use the fabric and make a matching set of cushion covers. As you can see from the pictures below, they turned out reaaallyyy well!

The picture below shows the fabric in a bit more detail. Its a silk like pale blue, but the brown is kinda soft and raised - which means that I can't stop stroking them! I hope you like them as much as I do!

Happy Halloween!

As it is Halloween today, I thought I would give you all a treat! (no tricks here). Its another cushion cover!

Its another log cabin design, exactly the same as 'Thank the fabric', but obviously with different fabrics. It was actually very difficult to choose the fabrics for this piece, but in the end I went with my instincts and just made it. I think it looks very pretty and the colours even match today! (Completely coincidental - in fact I made the cover about a week or two ago but have only just got round to putting it up today!)

This cover, along with the other cushion cover will be available to buy at my craft fair next month! Do you want one for yourself!?

Mini Christmas

Well, here is one of the first views of some things that I've been making for my CRAFT FAIR!! Since it's coming up to Christmas, I thought I would make some small bits that could be hung up on the tree. And what better shape to make than a stocking!?

I'll admit, I got a little bit carried away when making them. I just had so many lovely fabrics to use, and I couldn't choose between them. So here they all are. The pictures below show them in a bit more detail.

They were very easy to make, and they're even lined. This means that you can actually put something in the top like Santa would with the standard stockings ;)
But these are going to be at my stall the coming month and I'm hoping that people will like them and want one or two!

Which one do you like best? I can't decide between them all!

My very own stall

Does everyone remember how I said that I was making the Somerset stars for a particular reason? Well this is it: I've got a stall at a craft fair!

I've been wanting to have a go for a good few months now, although the thought of selling my patchworks has been there since about a year or so ago. But this time, I'm actually doing it. Its great fun planning what I'm going to have on offer, making lots of small things but also some bigger things.

But really, it's not all about people buying my stuff, its about people seeing my work and liking it. Whether they buy it or not is up to them! Just know that I shall be overly excited come the day.

If any of you are near Cambridge and would like to come and see what I have on offer, the fair is on the 16th November in the Ploughman's Hall, Willingham.

I'll see you there!

Follow the star

My friends, I present the Somerset Star!

Now, this piece came about as a result of me trying to find a quick and simple patchwork Christmas card design. I found a tutorial for this, and had a go. My first piece was actually the one below, but after talking with a neighbour, I found a frame to put it in, made a circular hole in mountboard and made a mount. It looks pretty damn cool if you ask me. Plus, I'm going to make many more for a reason that I shall share soon!

They are made by folding fabric rectangles to form a point, and then placing them in a certain design while sewing them down. Its slightly long winded but I think they look really pretty! And you can do so many different colour combinations!

I do need to use a smaller frame and mount though, but that's easy enough to change! What do you think of these pieces?

Christmas is coming again!

Christmas is coming!! Wooooooo. We all love Christmas... especially me.
Now, I can't resist buying beautiful fabric and the Christmas fabrics that were being sold at my local patchwork shop in Swansea were very very pretty. I just HAD to treat myself to a bit... ok, half a meter!

Either way, when I got back to Cambridge and visited the patchwork shop here, I found more Christmas fabric - so I bought some of that too! Now, this newest piece is made with one of my newer fabrics. I'm obsessed with making table runners at the minute (See:Running on Tables and Christmas is coming). Everyone has a dining table and at Christmas, they all want it to look pretty. So really, i'm helping them out!

Here it is:

Yes it does have christmas pudding fabric. I thought it was cute, and it's really not too 'in your face'. It looks really good, and i'm getting so much better at sewing in a straight line!

If you know anyone who would like such a piece, either just for themselves or as a present, please do not hesitate to contact me!

Free embroidery anyone?

I had a fun day the other day when I attempted to do free embroidery for a project. I had seen this idea in a book of christmas sewing ideas.
What i had to do was sew down small rectangles of fabric to create a stained glass effect. The patches would be sewn down to a backing fabric using free stitching. It was very fun and quite easy, but the whole piece did not end up as I wanted, sadly. Here is what I made:

And this, below, is how the piece looks as it may with a stained glass window shape. I wanted something a bit more fancy, but I decided to try only with a circle first.

Next time, I'll use different colours, perhaps more christmassy, to make it look a bit better! We bought more thread today ready to PLAY! :D

Running on tables?

Well I'm back!

With a post for you to see my lovely design :D

Now, this piece of work gave me a bit of a headache when I  started. I wanted to make a table runner, but didn't have enough fabric to make the back, so decided to make a cushion cover. I started, with a design that I had used before in THIS POST, but it all went wrong and the centre column ended up a lot smaller than the outer two. So i had to abandon it and just use two. So i put the two together, and made a table runner! Like I wanted at the start... How silly.

So this is what I ended up with:

Although this is a much more detailed table runner, they're so easy to make and could provide cool pieces to sell if I have a craft stall! Lets see what happens...

I'm becoming a bird!

Hello my lovely followers. I know, I did abandon you for a while there didn't I?! I'm sorry, but i'm back with some funky news.

I have now got Twitter so that I can share the love of patchwork to as many people as I can! So if any of you would like to hear about my updates from twitter, find me at @LouisePatchwork

I should be doing a lot more sewing in the next few weeks or so so hold on tight and you'll get a lovely treat.

In the meantime, check out my Etsy page again, i've recently put up some bits and bobs. Hopefully more will be put up soon!!

Till then...

Someone's been lucky!

Wow, I haven't been around for a while have I?

Sorry about that, but I do bring apology gifts - TWO in fact!

Firstly, I have made two new cushion covers. 

They aren't for me, in fact they are for my boyfriends lovely parents who asked me to make them some. They chose the fabric, all I had to do was make them with a zip closure. My god did that prove to be difficult. Since I don't have a zipper foot for my machine, I was having to maneuver  the zip puller bit around to make sure I could actually sew it to the fabric properly. Lets just say that the second cushion went slightly smoother than the first. All in all, they're very cute!

Secondly, here's the second owl that I said I would make! He's been slightly simplified - there are no side panels: the front is just sewn to the back.

This does make him look slightly less fat and more elongated though, which im not sure if I like or not. Either way, this was another present for the man's parents! They had seen mine, commented on how cute he was and so I made them their own. You will notice that the wings, once again, slightly went a little bit wrong. In my defence, this time I did actually cut the fabric out correctly - it was just two sided fabric so I couldn't tell which side I had to put face down!!! OOOPPPSSS.

But I think it gives me a bit of a trademark when it comes to owls. Maybe I need to venture out into other animals now... I wonder what I can find in my book!

My Mumbles Expedition!

Today I went to Mumbles. A cute little town/village/something on the Gower peninsula, about a 10 minute drive from Swansea but an hour and a half walk!

The weather was gorgeous though so off we went. Now, last time I had been to Mumbles, I was denied the opportunity to visit the quilting shop that exists there. This time, I wasn't going to let that happen!
Red House Quilting was such a cute little store - not too big but not too small. They had some gorgeous fabric, and once I have some money to spend, I am definitely going back there. I recommend it to anyone who is heading down to South Wales, especially in this area!

I'm expanding into eBay!

Yep - As the title says, I am expanding into eBay.

I currently have 2 pieces that I have put up for auction, I'm hopefully putting a couple more up tonight. I don't know how well this will work but since the pieces aren't being used at all it can't hurt to try!
http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/patchworkbimbim

This is my page - go check it out and pass it on to any one else who you know is looking for some new cushion covers! If they don't like the ones that are up online, please put them in contact with me and I can make them custom made!

Isn't this exciting!?

Owls are in this season...

As my lovely title says, owls are in this season. Everywhere you go you find owl cards, owl pajamas and, most importantly, owl cushions!!

Yes, those that know me know that I of course looked at these cushions and went... HEH! I can do that!
So off I set, with a plan to make an owl cushion. Soon after, my mum provided me with a pattern for an owl - however the plan changed here - I was now making an owl door stop. I decided the pattern wasn't big enough to make an owl cushion at this point!

Fabric was chosen, pattern pieces cut out (slightly wrong if you have a look at the wings, but hey, hes my wonky owl)! Sewing it together, well, this posed problems. First off, I was instructed to use 5mm seams. If I do this again, which I intend to with a few changes here and there, I would increase the size of the pattern pieces to allow for 1cm seams. It would make life a LOT easier.

I then stuck the eyes on once the main body was finished. Again, I would change this next time - I would sew the eyes on earlier in the process. (Admittedly, the instructions suggested this, but I ignored it as I didn't have any decorative ribbon or edging like they used).
So really, that's my fault but, adding to this, I would also sew the beak on at this point. I decided to go for a flat beak as the 5mm seams (as mentioned above) caused me many many problems when trying a 3D beak.

Other than that, the rice went well, although I need a little bit more in there, he's not quite full yet and i've already sewn him up. Oooppsss. But I can easily open him up to put more in!

So, what do you think? Cute huh!? Keep checking for the next trial owl. Hopefully he'll be a bit easier to make! :O

Rainbows only last for so long!

Well here it is: The finished throw. For the past couple of days while i've been finishing it I kept thinking 

'I don't want to give it away!'

But, I made it for my friend, and so she shall have it!
I added the border and the white back, sewed it all up and made the transfer! I did want to put either batting or wadding inside, however, I couldn't find a cheap enough filling, and as it was only going to be used as a throw, I decided it didn't need it.

It also looks really pretty when you hold it up against a window and look from the back - kinda stained glass don't you think?

The front is done

3/5 of the way through

A pot of gold at the end of the rainbow

Here are the three other posts I have written about this project!

Either way, I now no longer have a project :(

Anyone want to help me here??

We're going on a bear hunt!

Well, actually, the title should be i've been on a bear hunt! Would you like to know why?

Because of these beautys!!:

The blocks are called Bear Paws!

These cushions were made for someone who had asked for 2 cushion covers to be made for a Christmas present to give to his Mother. Sadly, I couldn't make them for Christmas day, however I got them to him as soon as possible after the holidays were over!

I was only given 2 pictures of the room they would be used in to get colours and ideas from, and wasn't given sizes of cushions - basically I was given free reign to create what I wanted! The colours I chose were so easy to put together, it took me less than 10 minutes in the shop! I was amazed. I came out of it thinking 'I clearly need to have colours in mind before I go in more often!'

I really am particularly proud of these cushions as they are some of my best work piecing and seam wise! There were only a couple of minor mistakes (although, if you would ask my Dad he'd make them seem like World War 3 was about to start! I, in response, told him he needed to flush his head down the toilet if he couldn't see how good they were!)

Either way, I wanted to get permission to put them up here on the blog and as I now have it, I can share them with my lovely followers. I hope you like them!

The front is done!

Hi Guys,

To those who saw the last post, I'm making a throw for a friend of mine. The last post only showed 3/5 of the front, however I now have all 5 rows sewn together :D

I do need to put a white border around this and then also sew on the back, but that shouldn't take me too long once I have the fabric.
A trick of mine (and probably a lot of other people) to get cheap fabric is to buy bed sheets. Depending on where you get them from, you can get a king size sheet for about £6 compared to about £15 for 2.5m of fabric from a reasonable priced shop!
It's brilliant. However, I haven't found a good shop here in Swansea yet so I shall wait until I am back home for Easter to finish the project and pass it on! 

Here are the pictures: