Retro Butterflies!

The last of my classes finished last night!

Aren't these butterflies so pretty!  This was a great class and the ladies totally rose to the 'curve' challenge!  Well done ladies - enjoy your gorgeous quilts.

The Retro butterflies quilt pattern is an original design by Leanne, who gave me permission to write the pattern. 

If you would like to have a go at this gorgeous pattern yourself, you can get it here!

And the pattern for the multi-pocketed sewing pouch is available here!

I'm off now for a week on annual leave. A much needed rest before the summer classes and the new Autumn term.

Have a great week everyone!

Jude xo

Sneaked Up On Me!

I now have 3 teenage girls!  Eeeek!

My baby turned 13 today!  When/how did that happen!

Here she is obliging mummy taking photos of the homemade pressies!

First up, a simple top:

I made my own bias binding for the neckline!!

Then a specially requested beach bag:



Bethany choose the bright fabric from Ikea, and I sourced the mesh on Ebay and then just made it up as I went along!  There are lots of pockets for all the accoutrements one takes to the beach, a zippered top and I lined it with a recycled shower curtain.

A few bags of sweets might just have made there way in there!

And finally a newly designed lunch bag.  The bag is made with waterproofed Irish linen and lined with an Ikea shower curtain. There's even an elasticated drinks holder on the inside!  Bethany totally loved it!

Unfortunately, she won't be able to try out her new lunch bag until September, as schools finish here tomorrow for the summer!

And if you want to see what big sister Shannon made her, go here.

So that's another successful birthday this week!  Phew!

Have a good one!

Jude xo

Little Pretties!

Thank you everyone for all your lovely birthday wishes! I'm so touched by the thoughtfulness and love shared among this 'quilty' community!

Classes are starting to wind down this week, and it's always lovely to show you some finishes.

Here are the Sewing Pouch class finishes:

And the Metal and Flex Framed purses class finishes:

Well done ladies!  I hope you enjoy your new pretties!

And tomorrow I will have some birthday makes to show you!

Hope you are having a great week.

Jude xo

Bitter Sweet!

This week is a particularly painful first anniversary for me.

But today, I've been celebrating!

A huge thank you to all my amazing family and friends for your unending love and care, and for making this birthday a lot less bitter and a lot more sweet!

Jude xo

Saw II

I'm so enjoying my garden at the moment!

The colours are wonderful ....

...and the fruit and veg are coming along nicely!

But there was one part of the garden that I haven't tackled yet!  Today was the day!

Ah there's nothing quite like the feel of a power tool! So satisfying (even though I was terrifying my kids in the process!).

Not bad eh?

And with all fingers and toes still intact (!!) I whipped up a journal cover for youngest daughter's friend.

Fabrics chosen and cover design by Bethany!

So a fairly productive day I'd say!

Hope you've had a great Saturday!

Jude xo

Lucky Duck!

The lucky winner of my Fabric Yard Stash builder giveaway is .............

No. 6 is Teje, my lovely bloggy friend in Greece!

Congratulations Teje! I will have your goodies in the post this week!

Thank you everyone for taking part.  Sadly half of you who entered were 'no comment bloggers' and didn't leave email addresses, so there was no way of getting in touch with you.

And thank you too to Fabric Yard for the generous giveaway!

I am hatching another giveaway plan soon, so stay tuned, and get your blog settings sorted so that you are eligible to enter!

Jude xo

Hot! Hot! Hot!

It's been deliciously warm here recently!

I even got the bare legs out today!

But what I've been working on recently hasn't exactly been summery!

These are hot water bottle covers for part of a Gifts course I'll be running in the Autumn!

Shannon very kindly made me some grey and yellow QAYG panels and I constructed the cover.

This one is an Irish linen and Heather Ross mix - always a winning combo IMO!

Using up leftover fleece from a quilt backing

And finally, a fleecy number!  So snuggly!

All of these covers have Insul Bright wadding inside to make sure they retain the heat for those cold winter evenings!

So it was hot inside and out after working on these!

Some of you on IG have very kindly expressed an interest in the pattern for these.  Thank you, I'm tickled pink!  But I'm afraid you'll have to wait until the Autumn, but I will post about here when it's ready!

Hope you are getting some sunshine in your neck of the woods!

Jude xo