My Creative Space 2009 Aug 20th

I'm joining Kirsty's My Creative Space again this Thursday.



This week I'm trying to get into the spirit of quilting. I bought those gorgeous prints and I'm planning on making a quilt for our sofa.

Tonight I cut the first strips to make up the side panels.

I think the top will come together fairly quickly - I'm most worried about quilting the d--ned thing.

But I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. For now I have to find the time to piece the top.

2 more Fridas

This weekend was spent in the garden mostly.

We built a fence last year that needed oil this year and since we were rained out on Saturday we spent a glorious Sunday outside oiling the fence.
Or rather the husband and my FIL - and the girls.

Saturday night after the in-laws had left after putting some sausages on the grill I started another Frida for Sofia and got it almost finished that night.

On Sunday morning when the guys were outside painting I sneaked off to the studio and finished Sofia's Frida and then started one for Isabel.



Rickard too the girls to his parents in the evening but I opted on staying home due to laundry malfunctioning. As in we hadn't gotten around to do any of it.

Sofia wore her Frida to dinner on Sunday and Isabel's was finished later in the evening.
They wore them to preschool on Monday and they looked adorable (as always ;-) )

My creative space 2009 Aug 13th

Today I got in the zone after picking the girls up at preschool/daycare. I finished a tote bag I started yesterday.

And to top it all off I made two quilt tops for the girls' dolly push chairs. Both tops are done and basted. I can't decide if I should quilt them or tie them.
I'm also short on binding fabric ... I'd prefer not to have to buy more.

The tops are made from a charm pack of "Look and learn" by American Jane. I didn't follow a pattern, just winged it and I think it turned out quite well. This one is for my big girl and I made another in blue and green for her little sister.

Still work in progress though ..

Check out other creative spaces at Kootoyoo's

Multi-tasker tote by Anna Maria Horner

I'm sort of always on the look out for the great bag.

I have one that I love and that really fits all my needs at the moment but who doesn't need another bag?

So when I saw Anna Maria Horner's Multi-tasker tote I decided to try it out.



I had the exterior fabric in my stash and I had been looking for the right thing to use it for. I had contemplated making a few funky wetbags for a friend but when I got the pattern for the MTT I knew it was the right thing to use.

I didn't feel the need to match the exterior panels since the pattern is fairly busy and I also wanted to showcase as many of the tattooed girls as possible.



The tote feels like a good size and the straps are a good length even for me. Usually tote bags don't go over my shoulder and I end up having to carry them making them drag in the dirt since the straps are too long for that.

I like the construction of the bag too. Just when you feel that you'll never get this bag together the right way everything just falls into place.

If I make another one (and I can definitely see more of these in my future) I will add a few more pockets to the interior, but for now this will be just right.



I'm trying this one out tomorrow!

My creative space - a day late

I decided to get some knitting done tonight and sit outside in the sunset instead of being inside sewing (although that's fun too).

I'm knitting the Sylvi (Ravelry link) and I've gotten 16 rows done on the back piece.

I've done cables before but never on this scale, but I'm amazed at how easy it is. Sure it takes a lot of concentration (not exactly TV-knitting) and it's rather complicated but once I figured out how to read the chart it made a lot of sense and it became easy.

Spruce it up with lanterns and bird cages

Ever since we moved in 2 years ago I've wanted to brighten up our living room.

When we moved in we had a white/off-white sofa from IKEA that looked sad. So this January we ordered a new, shiny black leather sofa with a foot stool and I had big plans to add some more colour.

I had stretched a piece of fabric over a wooden frame and hung it on the wall but the place needed something more.

Then I took up quilting and after both girls had gotten their quilts I set out on a quest to find fabric and a pattern that I could live with.

That was this winter.

I finally found what I was looking for.

The gorgeous fabric line, Lantern Bloom by Laura Gunn for Michael Miller Fabrics.

It's got gorgeous colours and sophisticated patterns that will add just the right palette to our living room.
So I ordered fabric to make the quilt and some extra prints to have room for some throw pillows and maybe to stretch over another frame.

I ordered the fabric last week from Fat Quarter Shop in Texas and I hope it'll arrive this week.

The quilt top looks easy enough to finish in a day, and since all the fabric I'll use is new I don't plan to pre-wash it but rather let it wrinkle up as it wish.

I can see the finished result before me, let's just hope it all lives up to my expectations.

Making dresses ...

Last year when I started stashing fabric (to my husband's gentle frustration) I found a lovely fabric from Alexander Henry called Baby Berry.

I ordered a yard (along with a bunch of other yard cuts) with the intention to make something for our kitchen from it. Like a table runner or a tea cosy or something like that.
The fabric was way too thin for that though and at the time I was more into collecting fabric than actually making something from it.

But a year later my fabric stash is growing at an alarming rate and I really need to get started on using it.
Don't get me wrong I love fabric fondling and I could content myself on doing that, but I fear my husband will stop feeling gentle frustration and move onto something else if I don't start using it.

So lately I've been on a sewing binge. I bought a bunch of patterns from different designers' and I've been keeping busy.

I've been off work for a week starting last Monday and I definitely caught the sewing bug.
I traced the pattern for Patty Young's Frida one evening and picked out the Baby Berry and a green/white seersucker fabric I've had lying around (they were gonna be curtains) for a few months.
I took time out during the day to sew up the bodice for the Frida but had to put it aside since we were going to dinner at a friend's house.

We came home again late last night and I was fondling the fabrics and looking at the pattern pieces I had cut out. And then I thought - I can sew the pocket on. So I did. Then I thought sewing the ruffle strip together wouldn't take that long or serging the edges.
Then I might as well sew the gathering seams too.

And before I knew it the dress was done and the time was ... way past my bed time. At least the birds hadn't started singing again ...



I made the dress for Sofia who turned two last month. But since I have a taller-than-average-husband she needed the 4T/5T size ... no point in making a dress for her if she's not gonna be able to use it for at least a few months (which is the reason I prefer to put my time and effort into making dresses for Isabel - then Sofia will be able to inherit them and I'll get more mileage out of them)



I thought the dress would be too long and that I would have to make some pleats in the skirt ... after trying it on her I don't think so anymore.

Now - I have already picked out a fabric combo for a Frida for Isabel. But the pattern doesn't come in a big enough size for her so I will have to grade it myself.
I'm still working on that.