Sunday Secrets!

I got a bit of secret sewing done today!

Oakshott HSTs

A little paper piecing!

All will be revealed in time!  Promise!

Jxo

A Shirley Saga!

You may remember my previous angst over Shirley the Cow!

Well I took the wise advise of my readers and turned both Shirleys into presents for my bovine-loving daughter!

Shirley 1:



'Shirley the Cow' Cushion is approx. 18" x 15".  She is paper pieced & I ditch quilted the face and did a few rows of echo quilting in the background.



Doesn't she look like she's smiling!!!

Shirley 2:



'Shirley the Cow' Messenger Bag is approx. 14" x 13.5" x 4".  The cow panel was also paper pieced, but a few mistakes made this Shirley look like she'd had a stroke!



I used a stiff denim for the bag, layering it with wadding and muslin.  I also used sew in Vilene with the duvet cover lining. To give the bag even more structure, I've put handbag mesh & feet into the base. 

Only 1 needle was harmed in the making of this sturdy bag!!

So the Shirley saga is complete!  I'm confident my daughter will enjoy these makes, but I won't find out for sure until next Wednesday! I'll keep you posted!

Jxo

Meet Shirley ....

.... the cow!



My youngest daughter has an affection for cows!  She likes to give them names!  Shirley was the latest!

A while ago I pinned this pattern with Bethany in mind!  It is her birthday this month, so I thought I'd have a go at making her a cow cushion!

I knew I wanted Shirley to be in purples and greens.  My first attempt was sewing directly onto the print outs, but I didn't have any solid fabrics at the time so went with polka dots!



I didn't think it looked quite right, too fussy!  So I got some Klona from my LQS and had another crack at it.

For my 2nd attempt I traced the pattern onto greaseproof paper, which is what I usually use for paper piecing.  And I have to say, the klona pieced like a dream!

Unfortunately, I lost some accuracy doing it this way (you can see that Shirley looks like she's suffered a stroke as one side of her face is drooping!) and I made a mistake on the nose (can you spot it?). 

I don't have the stomach for making a 3rd one, and think I will just go with Klona Shirley!  What do you think? 

Jxo

Thread Catcher in da House!

Firstly I want to say a huge THANK YOU to Helen and Archie for the stunning thread catcher!

You may have seen a few of these 'thank you's' from Helen popping up over blogland!  Aren't they spectacular!  It was such a lovely surprise to open this wee beauty, all beautifully wrapped, and the stitching is amazing. 

I've been meaning to blog about this for a few days now, but there's a hole in my head that leaks important stuff, on an alarmingly regular basis!

Thank you Helen for my thank you!!

And on to Bee news:

August is the first month of the Hipbees bee and Reene is our Queenie for the month!  She has asked for house blocks, using her gorgeous Summerville and klona grey.  Here's what I came up with:

Didn't quite get doggy in the centre of the window, but then she shouldn't be upstairs in the house anyway!!  Naughty doggy!

This was paper pieced using a 7 section pattern from a book!  It was a relief that it all worked out ok with no major catastrophies!

I have other blocks to make for 3 other bees I'm in, so I'd better get right on it!

Hope you are having a great week so far!