Fat 16th Projects

Hi everyone just me again. I have a bunch of Fat 16th's they are such an odd size I never know what to make with them. Does anyone have any good ideas or tutorials that feature the use of them? If so please leave a link in the comments.

Behind the scenes.....

Some of you may have been wondering what's happened to me. I used to blog everyday often without fail. Then life got in the way and the motivation to blog was lost. I rarely even blog read anymore. (sorry to anyone who's blog I used to read and comment on often)
I have been trying to come online and check out what's been going on, but by the time evening rolls round I'm far too tired to stay awake.

I have been sewing through the week getting things finished here and there. The weather has been so awful though so pictures have come out looking less then great, even with the camera!

I'll be back on Friday to share all finishes, updates and progress made on everything. I may have shown in my weekend post.

Work doesn't seem to be getting any easier, by the end of the day I've lost all energy to do anything else. I'm surprised I've managed to push myself to actually make it to my sewing desk.
Make note when tired DO NOT SEW (or cut fabric!) !! This was done yesterday...

This

became this, after my partner in indirect terms stated how she hated the abstract style of using different sized squares/rectangles! (not that I showed the full picture!)

I had to rethink the whole design and kind of went crazy chopping and changing the above was result. It didn't turn out so good. Some squares ended up way too small! I put them all in a pile to re-think...before I did anymore damage

I spent most of today fretting how to fix it and make it work, I didn't want to waste what I had already cut up. I remembered a tutorial I had seen and tried to think whether I had enough scraps left to make it work....I had to raid my stash to find the right colours, but it worked out.

 Which one do you like best?

I found the tutorial for the block here

As my partner doesn't comment I'll have no idea if she likes it.....Fun times!

Siya'll Friday =D

Sewing Fairytales!

As I've been loving embroidery after dealing wi sewing up the Younger Giants cushion back, I thought I'd do just a wee bit more.
I had already pulled out a scrap of linen and my 6" embroidery hoop to work on. I flicked through my sketch book for some inspiration and chose the fairy I love so darn much

I traced her onto baking parchment, which I will never use again, such a nightmare to tear off...I really need to get some tracing paper! I started with the outline of the wings

Then moved to the skin and her dress

Then went around her hair.

Completely forgot to take a picture once I had wrestled   taken all the paper off. (My seam ripper enjoyed this task!)

I ended up not liking the dress so I pulled out the stitches and grabbed my fabric pens instead. I filled in the shaded and more detailed areas to finish her off.
Then I removed the fabric from the hoop and gave it a good iron to set the colour in.

I used my purple perle cottons to embroider her as I have no actual embroidery threads. I like the colours and they sew up quite nicely too. I know the wings look like they are outlined with black, but that's just a very deep shade of purple.
I'm just thinking whether to add in a background or leave her as she is? I just need to finish the hoop properly using this tutorial then it will be finished!


On another note, my jaw hasn't been in pain at all today. I woke up this morning and nothing. Not sure whether that's good or bad, but it was a surprise. I half expected it to be swollen and hurt to the extremes, but nothing not even a twinge of pain oddly enough. The stitches look really odd though, the paper says they take 7-10 days to 'drop' out....

Siya'll tomorrow =D

Present in the makings...

So with the Younger Giants birthday coming up in like 8 days I thought I best get a move on with making him something. I pulled out the left over wedges from the pillows and had to to change them round as mostly pinks and browns were left! I managed to find a few other colours, and sort the other leftovers into reasonable colour schemes....

I still had to use a pink wedge, but hopefully he wont notice/mind....it's the lightest shade there was (the others were bright pink!)

Teamed with the fun rainbow sashing...

I found some green fabric to back it with. I'm not sure what kind of material it is at all, but it has a nice soft feel to it and is light in weight.

I eventually plan to rainbow embroider his name, I'll possibly get some done tomorrow when I get home....When I get started on embroidery it becomes so addictive! With some luck I should have it finished by Sunday stuffing and all. I'll let him pick a button for it.....not that I'll tell him what its for...

Oh and a picture of the bobbin casing which was casing the strange clicking noise...of which I didn't hear today, maybe Jano can read minds about him going to be checked out!

Well tomorrow is going to be a long day. I have a random appointment, maybe I'll grab some food after leaving there....then off to work for a shorter day!

Tonight I'm linking up with


Siya'll tomorrow =D

Anyone for a Quilt sandwich?...

I'm going to end up really hating labels! Lol. So this funny thing happened. On our eBay systems a lot of products were mysteriously marked as not dispatched (all the way from June!)...there were over 1000 of them! So the manager went through them and marked them as dispatched...now to my knowledge when this happens you get sent an email to say your item has been dispatched. I mentioned this, but she said hopefully that wouldn't matter.....So nearing the end of the day we had some phone calls from customers about the dispatches! We were trying hard not to laugh....just think if over 1000 were 'dispatched' and a few people have called already......you can just imagine what tomorrow will be like.....

Back at the sewing desk armed with snacks. I made up some quilt sandwiches to continue practicing the FMQ....only first I had to re-spin some bobbins...

 Practicing some loops and meandering....I should have used another colour other than the white! I made up two sandwiches, a big one and a smaller one. As you can see I need a lot of practice....I think when I tried before with the normal foot it was much neater!

I'm still far off from doing any major quilting, I may use these samples as some coasters...
I'll have to watch a few more tutorials to get better

Jano is still sounding off. I'll have to find out what days the machine shop is open as well as opening hours....

Siya'll tomorrow

FMQ take two!

Another day of labels, but at least there was less than yesterday! That was insane, so many kept on being added to the pile. Today as well as the labels I had to deal with phone calls. There was this one lady shouting down the phone at me...some people can be so impatient!  What did I ever do to them (well besides answer the phone....)
I learnt a few more things today and will gradually be taught how to do some of the other tasks there.

Back at home I chilled out a bit deciding what to actually make next. I remembered my pile of triangular scraps so pulled those out to use. I also grabbed some scrap fabric to use with them, I made a quilt sandwich pillowcase style first....need to turn it right side out....

The thread in the picture is more red than orange.....

I gave Jano a good dusting as he was starting to sound funny....a strange clicking from under the plate, I took it apart to check, but the clicking is still there? Maybe he needs to be properly serviced, but I have no idea how much that'll cost.....I'm not even sure they make the model anymore for me to get parts if they are needed. I can't afford a new machine right now so I hope it's nothing too serious if he does need fixing.

Then I decided to give the FMQ another go just making some random lines. The fabric actually moves this time!

I'll have to work out how to make actual patterns, this was just to get the rhythm of moving the fabric. some stitches were so tiny! I'll watch a few tutorials and read up a few guides to improve my skills. Then I might just be able to tackle those two quilts I have laying in wait.

Siya'll tomorrow =D

One step closer!

Today I was out with the child lol! Seriously only one child showed up for gardening today, most of the others are probably enjoying fun sunny holidays abroad! We expanded the area of soil, before F (the new volunteer from the start of the week) came out to help us. We did most of the work I must say whilst the child kept wanting to take breaks or play around in the soil. Tomorrow is the last day for the Activities and no seeds have been bought as yet!!!! We mentioned to the Chairman that we needed some from last week and still nothing! Will be a shame to have dug up all that area for nothing! The manager said she'll have to run out and get some if the Chair doesn't get some by err tomorrow!
I think G was jealous that he had to stay indoors, doing some coursework stuff and miss out on all the gardening fun! He'll be out there tomorrow...so he hopes. We all had a laugh back inside whilst the child had lunch. (men can be really mean and tell thee worst jokes ever!)
I actually love gardening. There's something rather fun about being outdoors digging up soil ready to plant your own produce. Here at home we have a vegetable patch that I was sad to miss out on helping with due to volunteering.
There was some paper work and such to sort once the child had left. There were some missing forms that needed to be filled out..only with most of the children on holiday it may be a bit tricky to get them done!
F left early and I stayed to help sort out the paperwork and a few other bits and pieces. They seem to be happy enough to have me there as I think I've been rather helpful. I'm still looking for a proper job though....

Back home was continuation of my secret project....I guess you may be wondering why it's secret? I wasn't sure if it would work when I first started it as it came from an idea I saw and then adapted it to my own style. I had a task cutting and sorting making sure everything matched up right so I could make a decent tutorial at the end. I then hit a minor bump, as I forgot about one major aspect of the project and had to do some speedy calculations and searching for the missing part. I found it eventually after a few hours of looking.

I've still been working hard on it and shockingly have no other projects on the go! This has been a main getting all the major leg work sorted so I only have the final part to finish once my order comes through.
After that I can get to work on my sorting things for my Etsy shop! I still have to come up with:

• A cool and catchy name
• A logo
• Prices - thinking of doing a survey for ideas 
• Shipping costs-can go to the post office to get that sorted
• I need to get packaging and such for the items some are small and others are quilts or cushions- I think Father can get some envelopes for the smaller items...may have to look online for bulk boxes.....
• Getting some business cards printed after step one and two
• Taking pictures of each item and then uploading and editing them
• Organising the pictures in the shop
• The grand opening and crossing fingers that all goes well! 

I'm sure I'm missing something there, I'll add it in If I think of anything else....

More pinning to go, which is going faster than expected. I'm onto step 5 now. 

Siya'll tomorrow =D

When Hay fever attacks!

I really hate hay fever! I took some tablets this morning, but they seem to of had no effect. I'm going to blame the weather! I have been blowing my nose for the majority of the day! My poor innocent young bin full of snotty tissues! I also feel oddly nauseous don't know if its the hay fever or down to something I ate....
Today volunteering was cancelled due to the blamed weather. It was too wet to go outside, so there would have been no point sending the poor children out there!
So I got to go home super early.
I buckled down and got a whole lot more of the secret project done before stopping to eat some lunch then leave to go to the hospital. I was in the waiting room for nearly an hour after my appointment was supposed to be! It was for my teeth. I have to have a small operation done to remove some skin that is covering my back molar, the Dr was baffled as to why my teeth had grown like that which was rather funny. Apparently my wisdom teeth are buried so they wont actually come through and I don't have to get them removed either. They'll contact me with an appointment date for the operation. He said it should take no more than half an hour and healing should take a week or less....

Getting back home was more work on the project half of step 4 is done! The other half is in progress. I just need to place an order to finish the project completely. I won't be breaking the ban either.
I guess I can show you a sneak peak....

Hahahaha *wipes tears from eyes*

I have taken way more pictures so I can write up a tutorial eventually...

I also need to think about pricing for my stock items. I'm going to take a few pictures of the things I have then upload them on Flickr. I'll conduct a small survey to find out the prices potential customers would be willing to pay. Good idea? Bad idea? Suggestions if you have any....

Siya'll tomorrow =D

100 and 1...100 and 2

You may be wondering what on earth I'm on about...you may be thinking wow Cherie can count! (you know who you are =P)

Today instead of sewing I was cutting out templates! I practically grabbed all the scrap paper I could find in my room. (you know the paper that gets printed for no good reason, but you can't stop it from printing!) I'm sure there's actually more in the study.....I'll have a look tomorrow.

I put together a mini tutorial on how I cut my templates I used both A3 and A4 paper

1.Stick a hexie down onto back of paper with some blu tack or a loop of masking tape lining up the edges.

2. Flip paper over and fold right sides together with the hexie attached still matching up the edges to form a band the same height as the hexie.

3.Flip over and fold over to the same width as the band, continue until all possible paper is used. Cut off the extra paper and save for something else. (I used mine to cut diamond templates A3 paper only)

4. Fold the paper square making sure the points of the hexie are within the square

5.Continue to flip and fold to the width of the paper

6. Holding the paper tightly cut around the hexie making sure to keep the sharp points

7. Take off the templates and separate your hexies. I ended up with 12 hexies from an A3 sheet and 6 from a A4 these hexies are 3" across the widest point

I cut templates for 2 sizes of hexies and then some diamonds too using the same method, just line up the flat edge with the paper and fold in the same manner.

Once I acquire some more paper I'll be cutting some more templates ready for the next lot of fabrics. I'll be cutting enough for each fabric in both the sizes I've used. The scraps will go for the diamonds.

Siya'll tomorrow =D

Attack of the Monster Granny!

So I was blog reading yesterday and came across this

This time round Danny needs pillow covers 20x20". I pitched in to make two. At first I wondered what pattern I could use that would be big enough. Then I remembered seeing this post from Katy for a Giant Granny and well it was the right size! I delved into my Charm box and got to work. I've done one pillow top so far. The other is the same prints only a different backing and center colour and will have a different layout.
Here is the first at the moment.

 It's so gorgeous..I was tempted to keep it for myself like you have no idea! Then Remembered the great cause it's going to and was fine to eventually send it away (I'll just make one extra for myself...I need a bigger pillow for my sewing chair..MAM prints here I come)


Though before all that sewing I actually did some applique work first. Mainly because I knew it would take a while and would also take time to dry from all the fusing.
I didn't use bondaweb.....I used hemming web. I bought some wide hemming web and used that along with the thinner strip one to stick the pieces down.
I had to use a dab of glue to hold them in place, but it worked out.
I laid a wet cloth over the whole block and fused it slowly. It worked out eventually after much steaming and re-wetting the cloth.

 Once they were dry I stitched down the sashing I had pinned to give me a rough idea on the space I could use without going over any of the pieces. I'll add the next 2 strips of sashing tomorrow. Fabrics used are from my stash...which reminds me..(must update my page this weekend)

I also sashed the 'Scrapbook' Blocks and my smaller Granny Block (3" Squares used)

6 blocks down....um when I decide how many I want X amount to go...It'll be around the 15-20 range. I think I'll add another Granny Block to the collection....and a scrappy one too

Suggestions for other blocks will be greatly appreciated (my blocks are 11x11.5")

Well tomorrow I have things to post as the bank holidays are over! My GIVEAWAY IS HERE and if you don't win you can swap for some awesome GOODIES =D

May Review!

The first day of the month and some new goodies already.
I went out today and a shop I love going into every time I go to town was having a closing down/relocation sale. Luckily they are just moving to the shop next door! I picked up these goodies, yes there is one in the picture, but I bought 7 of them. they were a pound each!

All ready to add my rainbow scraps to..once I cut them to decent sizes and sort through them that is...

I then popped into WHS and found these magazines! One I saw on Lynnes blog, it was hidden behind an load of other magazines!

The other in preparation for




It even has the pattern pieces in the book as a pull out for many of the projects inside! 
I got the leather cord in the post this morning so moved to the next step of the Zakka Style sewing kits

I need to turn the rest right side out..and the pincushions..get some stamps, iron, stuff, sew up and done! 
So now onto my May mosaic. I didn't realise how much I'd gotten done until I was looking through the folder I store each months pictures in.So here is My May Mosaic

1. Scrappy Gingham Dresden, 2. Hourglass BOM Block, 3. Polaroid 'Scrapbook' Page, 4. Jubilee Badge for Mother, 5. HSTs For Pillows, 6. D16 quilts ready for quilting, 7. RATZ, 8. Front of charm quilt, 9. Front of charm quilt, 10. Front of charm quilt, 11. Front of pillow, 12. Front of pillow, 13. Pincushions, 14. MSM swap, 15. Owlies!, 16. The front of the cover, 17. Replicating a bag, 18. Large Granny Block, 19. Polaroid Blocks, 20. Granny Block Quilt, 21. Granny Block Quilt, 22. Polaroid 'Scrapbook' page, 23. Polaroid 'Scrapbook' page, 24. Log Cabin Heart Pillows, 25. Log Cabin and Patchwork heart pillows, 26. D16 quilt tops, 27. D16 quilt tops, 28. HSTs from binding, 29. Disappearing Granny Mug Rug pockets in progress, 30. Disappearing Granny Mug Rugs, 31. Disappearing Granny Mug Rugs, 32. 1st MAM Hexie panel, 33. New MAM Hexie Panel, 34. Fake FMQ, 35. Fake FMQ, 36. Keyka Lou-Pixie Handbag

Yes I was pretty busy last month. This month is set to be the same. Maybe even more. On Monday there will be a giveaway, so stay tuned for updates.

I'll see you back here later with my Saturday post, siya'll then =D

Linking up with