The lovely Nicole of Follow the White Bunny has kindly suggested we offer her Beetle Bugs embroidery patten to you for free. It has all the instructions to make two embroideries inspired by the Beetle Bugs range.
Check out Nicole's other patterns and witty blog:
Blog: Follow the white bunny
Shop: www.followthewhitebunny.com/
Beetle Bugs fabrics and bundles are available here.
Thanks very much Nicole.
“If money was no option what would you like to do?”
This pictue was taken by Steph.
It sure got us all to open up and talk about ourselves a lot more, share advice about the world out there. It helped us to talk, listen and be inspired. We connected through the questions; there were so many women to admire.
I realised these 10 things:
Here is some of the bounty from the goodie bag which shows a lot about the talent and passion of the people that come to these meetings.
Like this blouse from Roberta of Rowan Tree Design.
As well as these angels from Polli.
All thanks to Lisa and Steph. Next Meet Up is in Summer, January, and I hope we get to wear a frock instead of our winter woollies..
Come along, the more people the more interesting it will be!
There are a lot of ways to make a cushion. The way you close the cushion adds a lot to the design and I like to place a zip in a side seam so that there is no obvious front or back.
In our house cushions tend to be used a lot so it's great they can be flipped around. Also with a side zipper there is less chance of falling asleep and waking up with zipper teeth marks etched into faces, which I have had my fair share off. :)
I took a few pictures as I was making this cushion with an explanation of the steps I take. Here's the way I like to sew a zipper into a cushion.
Firstly I iron under the seam 1.5cm. In this example I used the selvedge of the fabric so I wont need to over-lock it. Over-locking stops the fabric from fraying.
I open the zipper and pin the zipper teeth parallel to the folded side edge of the fabric.
To attach the a zipper I always use the zipper foot. It makes sewing easier. I set the needle position to be closer to the teeth of the zipper rather than centered, which is the default position on my machine.
I like to attach the zip by sewing on the top side or the right side of the fabric using 5mm as a guide. You might want to move your pins to the top side of the fabric so you can pull them out as you sew.
Then close the zipper, pin the other side of the zip and attach in the same manner.
Now your zip is set in the seam.
If your zip is too long you can trim the zipper by cutting through the zipper teeth. Pull the zipper head down the teeth a few centimeters to make sure that the zipper head does not detach itself. By sewing through the teeth of the zip the head will not be able to come off and detach.
As a last step fold the zip in half both at the top and at the bottom then pin. Slowly stitch the seam over the zipper teeth. Using a reverse stitch to make the seam strong. Then continue to sew the cushion.
This is what your zipper will look like every time. There are so many ways to sew in a zipper and this is simply the way I like to do it. I thought you might like it too?
Ana commented on 30-Sep-2011 08:32 PM
My friend Kirstin and I were having an email chat this week and she mentioned Holly Crosby.
I listened/designed to Australian musician, singer and songwriter Holly Throsby all day.
Thanks Kirstin.
More Wordless Wednesdays here.
Faith Hope & a whole lotta Love commented on 21-Sep-2011 01:45 PM
Sometimes I have the urge to sew something quick and don't want to start a new, big project. So yesterday I decided to make up a few place mats to celebrate the beautiful spring wheather we're enjoying here in Sydney.
Thankfully this time I took a few pictures to share. :)
Instead of having 6 identical mats I thought I'd experiment with plain and patterned fabrics, batting and no batting, machine and hand-quilting. Cause that's the way I work; hap-hazard, it's difficult for me to make the same thing twice, it's the designing, the playing I like most.
To start I put some fabrics together to see how they work as a composition.
For this place-mat I made the top first then quilted it onto the batting.
Once finished I trim away the batting.
For all the place mats I simply cut a matching back the same size.
For this one I didn't use batting between the 2 layers.
Once you have the top (place-mat) finished simply make a matching back exactly the same size. Pin the right sides of the fabric together. Then sew them together with a 1cm seam. Leave a small gap through which you pull the fabric turning them the right side out.
Then the all important ironing and closing the gap with a few stitches.
I machine quilted this place mat in parallel lines. This has no batting.
I like the huge zigzag stitch my Pfaff can do. Really stands out on the black and grey.
For the batting I experimented with three types of batting, wool, bamboo and polyester. Polyester is nice and light. I also made a few with no batting which I quilted on the machine in parallel (ish) lines. The place-mats with no batting I like best.
Finally I whipped up some serviettes which are simply 30cm squares of fabric, ironed under and stitched to give them a nice edge.
Presto, within a couple of hours you have a whole new table setting for any occasion.
Now someone please make me some food...
Anne Stanley commented on 19-Sep-2011 02:55 PM
Roslyn Henley commented on 19-Sep-2011 03:31 PM
Kate Conklin commented on 19-Sep-2011 09:05 PM
I've enjoyed rediscovering Beth Orton this week, with lyrics like this:
Now you're sitting on a Paris train
Laughin' at your own jokes again
Sun splits the trees into beautiful broken light
Roslyn Henley commented on 19-Sep-2011 03:34 PM
Lampshade Line-up quilt is designed and made by the fabulous Kate Conklin. I really appreciate what Kate has done with my Imaginary Flowers range, I think they look wonderful against the lavender solid.The geometric feel of the quilt softened by the curves of the Lampshades is fresh and clever.
Kate was inspired by the lampshades we made from the Imaginary flowers for the release of the Imaginary flowers range. Yep that's all she needed to get her creative juices flowing.
I have made Kate's quilts before and they are always such a treat, I enjoy not having to think maths as it's all there! Don't you agree? The pattern has step-by-step instructions and a template to make the lampshade blocks. It also features informative pictures that will give you a lot of guidance.
Kate's Nana bought this quilt once finished. Lucky her. So if you want one for you or a friend then you can get the Quilt kit here, which includes all the fabric and instructions and you can choose a backing fabric from the Imaginary Flowers range. Yippee.
If you would like to buy Kate's Patterns wholesale to sell through your shop or even run a workshop with them you can contact Kate here through her website. And make sure you have a read through her inspiring blog. I sure will. :)
A new project is always inspiring don't you think?
I have been spending a lot of time in my head, creating, drawing, designing. I am still very much in the Bali mode without the warm weather. That calm feeling I had on holiday is still close by, which is so nice.
I've been reading blogs on fashion, shoes, interiors, even bags as I've been researching the colour blue in its varying hues and shades. There are a few images below, with thanks to Bernard, Inside Out Elle, Ermie and—always an inspiration—Matisse.
You can see my pinterest board here if you fancy.
I've even felt a bit blue and reflective lately. But I'm grateful for a lot of things in my life and the designs are slowly being made tangible. They are indeed blue. No lazying around for me. That is for sure. My my, I am inspired.
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