Geometric patchwork

Patchwork shows such attention to detail and I love the translucence of this work - so perfectly sized.

New fabric idea

This would make a rocking quilt. (It's Michelle Engel Bencsko for Cloud9 Fabrics) - I like the triangles the best.

WIP

This must be the longest I've ever spent doing one quilt. I seem to manage about a half hour every weekend, which is bad, and working the hours I have been, there's no time at night. But, progress continues, albeit slowly!

Make up pouch

I did a screenprinting course back in May, and had some leftover fabric that I made. I love the pattern so much, and finally had a chance to make a small pouch. I lined it with pale pink fabric and am really happy with how it turned out. Feels good to be making things again!

All images mine.

Message on a Tote

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Love these letter-themed totes and wallets - stationery and fashion love. I wonder if I should just wear an envelope and call it even...

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New laptop case

Since getting my new work laptop (13 inch MacBook Pro, if you must know), I have been worried about scratching it travelling to and from work. Enter some pretty dark grey felt, some fabric from the Captain, and I have a slightly wonky but well-loved travelling companion.

Tokyo Zakka Shops

Loved this picture from Upon a Fold - took me right back to lots of zakka shops I visited in Japan and so many swoony bits and pieces I couldn't fit in my bags!

House Doctor

A lovely friend of mine introduced me to House Doctor. It's hard to explain how much I need to move to Denmark right now, but these are some shots which might go some way to explaining it.

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Quilt Pattern Maker

Image via here.

Well this is just amazing! Not only does the Victoria and Albert Museum have a most excellent iPhone app, but they now have this quilt pattern maker. I think it looks too extreme for me, but what a resource. Something to aspire to!

Delightful Interiors

Holly tipped me off to a new IKEA initiative: photos from real people's homes. I just love these colourful ones, and those Expedit shelves with delicious pretties are amaze. Have a look around - they're just lovely.

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Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts

As a post-PhD treat, I bought myself Martha's newest book - and I have to say, it's amazing. Not only does it outline everything you need to start sewing, but it gives detailed information on types of fabric, stitches and techniques that I had never dared entertain.
My favourite part of the book is the endless array of patterns (included on a CD) and projects - here are just some (blurry) photos of some toy rabbits, a pillowcase bag and an organiser that got me totally hooked. I have been poring over the book again and again - overcome with inspiration!

I am a self-taught (from the internet) sewer, and I would thoroughly recommend this as an inspirational and educational resource. Love it!

Castle Linens

I've been looking into getting some new bed linen, so there might be a few bed linen posts coming up in the next few weeks! I love these designs by Castle, which are fun without being too busy. I am wondering, with my new-found love of cushion-making, whether I could make some pillow slips of my own in this style. Hmmm. New project, perhaps?

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Kimono Fabric

For Easter, my Mum bought me these beautiful vintage kimono scraps from a shop she discovered in Leura. I am completely smitten with them (you can't see the gold very well, but they truly shimmer).

Very unsure what to do with them yet, but excited to play around and come up with ideas!

New Cushions II

Inspired by my last attempt, I finished off my last cushion re-coverings. Many thanks to my lovely friend A, who worked out how to attach zipper heads to continuous zippers - not as easy as it sounds!!

The bunting fabric is from Ikea - and also happened to be on sale, so each pillow (two small ones for the spare bed, and one larger one for the lounge) was very reasonably priced.
These two long pillows are the ones of which I'm most proud. I've been in love with the Florence Broadhurst fabric with black and white horses for such a long time (recently re-inspired here), but at $143/metre, I knew that wasn't an option for me at the moment. But on the website, you can buy an A4 sample of the fabric for $7 each... So I bought the horse stampede sample and the green sample above, and am enjoying have some Florence Broadhurst in my life! (Is it just me, or is it even nicer when you know it was inexpensive?!)

New Cushions

Ok, so this is one of the most exciting projects I've done in a while. Inspired by this most excellent and instructive post on how to make pillows, I made two throw cushions from some more of my new fabric.
The inspiration was in part brought on by a slight disappointment in some of the new pillows I bought late last year. Specifically, the crocheted ones (second from the right in that post) never 'sat' right, and always looked lumpy and sad.

So I 'borrowed' their purple zippers (which, by the way, I love with the yellows and limes of the fabric) and some Ikea heavy duty white fabric I picked up ages ago and got to work. I have never felt so gratified sewing for such a short amount of time!
Even if you think that zippers are beyond you (I thought they were) - you should definitely try them out. You'll be surprised at how easy it is! I want to put zippers on EVERYTHING!

By the way, some of you may be wondering why I've been making so much lately. I have had a week of no writing while my supervisors read over my latest thesis draft, so I've been frantically doing paid work, all the while getting up early to craft. I know. Attention surplus disorder strikes again!

Dinner Napkins

Apologies for the slightly dark photo. I've already started to use up some of my new fabric: I made six lovely serviettes with some of my stash. Very easy and very satisfying - I wonder why I've never done this before?!

New Tray: Before and After

I've been looking for a large tray with edges for ages and was really unsuccessful in my search. The other day, I found this tray put out with the garbage near my house. Horrendously decoupaged, I saw some potential behind the ugly turquoise...

I spent a good hour or so stripping back the layers (layers! I tell you!) of lacquer and sealant to reveal a knobbly tray with no paper left on it.I sanded it back, then sprayed some black gloss enamel paint all over.
And, ta da!
I made a place mat with some of my new fabric just to cover up some of the bumpy parts of the top of the tray, but I'm really happy with it. It now makes our ottoman a lot more useful - half ottoman, half coffee table. Hurrah!

New Fabric Splurge!

Well I did it. After falling in love with the Nani Iro fabric, I put an order in with the lovely Matatabi from Japan and went on a little spree! I'm not even sure I can make myself cut up these pretties, but I'll keep you posted on what I make with them. In the meantime, thought you might like a vicarious swoon.

New Quilt

This is a gift for one of my best friends. She's been unwell for a while and I hoped that this would be a good comfort for her to snuggle with. I made it from Moda Authentic fabric and am really happy with how it turned out. I chose the fabrics for her based on the fact that she loves reading and maths (hence words and numbers) and the environment (hence flowers and the highlight colour of green). Hope she likes it!

New Fabric Longing

So I've been obsessed with these new fabrics from Nani Iro, one of my favourite Japanese labels designed by Naomi Ito called 'Antique Label'. I can't work out exactly what I'm going to make with them, but I am excited nonetheless.
I have been neglecting to show you my latest crafty projects, primarily because they're all gifts for people who read this blog! Hopefully I show you some sneak-peeks soon.