As usual, I'm working on lots of things

It's been a while, hasn't it? I need to get better at blogging regularly.

One of the reasons I've been a bit slack over here is that I've also started a sister blog over at Tumblr: Kafoozalum Crafts. I'm using that blog really as an image board, for quick in-progress shots and that sort of thing, and I'll still be putting longer posts and tutorials and things here.

Here are a few recent projects!

This is my first Dresden block. It was easier than I expected, just fiddly. This is another one that will be added to my new house quilt.

Speaking of which, here are a few more blocks for that one:

Excuse the crap on the floor!

I'm pleased with the seaming and so on, but I wish I'd used red in place of pink on that last one. The pink makes it feel a bit washed-out, I think. I might just make another one with red - the finished quilt will have to have some repeated blocks, so there's no harm in it.

The bunting fabric is from the Simple Life range by Tasha Noel. I love it, it's proper sweet.

And speaking of bunting...

I got a commission for a custom bunting cushion last week, and as I had extra flags left over, I decided to stitch them on to a length of ribbon and make real bunting to match. The customer mentioned the cushion was for a nursery, so I thought it would make a nice freebie for (presumably) a new sprog.

Here's another cushion I've made. It's going to be part of a set of two for my dad, for Father's Day.

The fabric you can see here is Cath Kidston cotton. My dad is a football fan and a perpetual schoolboy, so I think he'll like this. It's backed with green and blue generic cottons. The second cushion will be patchwork in the same fabrics.

And finally, my current in-front-of-the-telly project:

Hexagons! I am sewing them by hand, and they are tiny, so this is going to be a long-term project. Each hexagon has a side of about 2cm. Because they are so mini, I am mainly using scraps for them at the moment, which I love. I hate wasting anything, especially pretty fabrics, so being able to use even the tiniest little pieces is quite gratifying.

I find sewing them really quite meditative, which isn't a word you'll hear me say often. :D I cut them and baste them at my desk, then bring them downstairs to sew in front of the TV. I like the idea that as I work on other projects, I will generate scraps which can be added to this, so hopefully it'll eventually act as a sort of journal of my projects.

That's enough for the moment. How are you? :)

 

Skyloft quilt - finished!

Over the weekend I managed to find the right backing fabric for the Skyloft quilt top I blogged about here. It's a cotton print, magenta-pink flowers on a teal-blue background. Isn't the colour gorgeous?

I already had the batting ready, so I basted it on Saturday and I finished the quilting a couple of days ago. In the end I went with a loopy machine-quilting, mostly stippling and loops but with several swirls and curlicues, to give the whole thing a breezy look, full of movement. I hope I succeeded.

I also decided to quilt over the seam where the prairie points join the border. I was worried they might come loose as the quilt is used (and I like my quilts to be things that can be snuggled in and draped and scrunched, not delicate decorative things), so I decided to make a feature of it, and used a red zigzag stitch.

I even made the binding myself, something I've not really done before. In the past I've always bought bias binding from a haberdasher's, but this can be a little restrictive, as you're stuck with only the colours they've got in stock; bias binding also tends to be a bit narrower. It was surprisingly easy to make in the end, and used much less fabric than I had assumed.

Here's the whole thing in all its glory. The edges aren't as wobbly in real life as they look in these pictures; I hung the quilt on the rather unruly hedge in my back garden to take the shots.

And of course, a blog post about a quilt I made wouldn't be complete without an in-progress shot featuring my cat "helping".

The Skyloft quilt is now for sale in my Etsy shop, for the bargain price of £85.

Cushions and a pair of socks

Here are a few of my recent and current projects.

My pal Ali bought me some beautiful sock yarn (in a colourway aptly called "gothic") a couple of years ago. After many fits and starts, I finally finished these gorgeous socks. This is my first ever pair where the stripes match across the socks, which rather pleases the perfectionist in me.

Meanwhile, I made this cushion as a mother's day gift for, er, my mother. I'm not 100% sure on the text - if I make another of these I'll use a darker colour for it. I also wonder if the design is too shoved up into one corner. On the other hand, I'm mega-pleased with the gull.

Here is another cushion, a commission for a work pal's birthday. It's a variation on my Berni's Blues design, available in my Etsy shop.

I also bashed together this start of a pincushion one evening, using scraps. It turned out bigger than I expected - maybe 12cm square - and I have no idea what I'll stuff it with. Google brought me several other craft blogs suggesting I buy a sack of crushed nut shells from a reptile pet shop. I might just use lentils!

Embroidery + pr0n

I started this project months ago, but only just got around to finishing it.

The phrase comes from (or is paraphrased from, rather), an infamous porn clip in which a young couple are interrupted in the process of admiring their lemon tree by a "lemon whore", who is squirrelling their lemons away inside her transparent leotard. Obviously the logical conclusion is that they all have sex with each other. Hey, I didn't say it made sense.

This is the back. I was really pleased when I found the lemon-print fabric!

There's also a ribbon loop so it can be hung on a wall. 

I have listed this piece for sale in my Etsy shop.