Fresh Sewing Day - September

Gosh, it's October already? Not too much sewing this month but rather, learned a few new skills so I guess that counts? I made some zippered pouches for the very first time and learned how to do some hand embroidery. Oh, and I participated in my very first fabric swap. So I guess September was a month of "firsts" for me :)

(From top R: A little stitch card, yellow zip ouch, Aneela Hoey cushion, Union Jack pouch & Union Jack cushion.)

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Linking up with Lynn at Lily's Quilts for Fresh Sewing Day & Small Blog Hop...

Embroidered Cushion...Finished!

This week, I finally had a chance to complete my Aneela Hoey embroidered cushion. Again, I used the "Girl on a Tree Swing Pattern" from Aneela's new book, "Little Stitches." I then used some of my Liberty Lifestyle Bloomsbury Gardens fabric to create a simple pieced border. 

I think it came out really sweet and it was great fun to work on!

WIP Wednesday...Embroidered Cushion

This week's task is to finish sewing up my Aneela Hoey embroidered cushion. I began the project during Aneela's class the other week. I've finally decided on what fabric to use to finish it off...my Liberty prints from the Bloomsbury Gardens collection. It will be tough to cut into but worth it as I think the colors really complement the embroidery.

Also, I found this great fuzzy mustache applique that I plan to make into a Can't Grow a Mo', Sew a Mo' block for DJ Coolbear.

Linking up with...

DIY Christmas Ornament Tutorials (Christmas in July)

I'm still trying to shake an annoying cold so new sewing this week. However, as part of the LMQG, I put together this little mosaic of DIY Christmas ornament tutorials for a swap that we're doing in November. They're all so darn cute that I thought I'd share.

1. Scrappy Stockings 2. Felt Ornaments 3. Sewn Birds 4. Matryoshka Ornament 5. Quilted Coasters 6. Quilted Trees 7. Felt squirrel 8. Hexagons (for any EPP people out there)

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Can you believe that Christmas is in 94 days? Keep Calm and Panic now :)

Embroidery Class with Aneela Hoey

I had the great pleasure of taking an embroidery class with Aneela Hoey last Saturday along with some fellow members of the LMQG.

Aneela was such a great teacher and really down to earth. The class was fun and relaxing and I'm sure that everyone had a great time. We were all given a copy of Aneela's new book, "Little Stitches" and worked on the project called "Cherry on a Tree Swing" in class.  Initially, we went through some basic stitches and then spent the afternoon getting on with our embroidery.

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Aneela personally signed her book for each of us. Did I mention how nice she was?

I only managed to outline the little girl and tree during the class. I'm happy to do my homework though :)

I also picked up one of Aneela's new journals and a charm pack of her sew stitchy fabrics.

All in all, a great day out and looking forward to doing it again soon.

"True Love" Paper Piece

My guild's challenge this month was to create a paper pieced block of your choice. I decided to try my hand at paper piecing a few letters and I've have had my eye on this pattern for a while. So here is my paper pieced "True Love" mini-quilt...

I started with the "Aimez" fabric and then built the rest of the fabrics around it. I used it in the "O" and for the background and binding as well. All the fabrics were scraps from my stash and the solid grey is Moda medium grey.

I embroidered some running stitches around the letters and then straight line quilted the rest of it to frame the letter. I mentioned in a previous post that I had some problems with the wadding coming through the embroidery stitches. After pulling it out a few times, I ended up placing a piece of scrap fabric behind the wadding which seemed to do the trick. I then backed the quilt as usual.

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I used a free pattern by kelbysews and you can download it from her site or from Sew, Mama, Sew! Here's the original...

image via kelbysews

Coffee Anyone?

For my W.I.P. Wednesday...

No quilting this week but rather, I've been teaching myself how to hand embroider. I started with this little fella...

And I think I'll add his friends "Mr. Decaf" and "Mr. Donut"...

I think I might be addicted :)

W.I.P. Wednesday

DH was away for most of the week so I wasn't able to get much sewing done. I suppose a little progress is better than none!

1. A scrappy coaster and mug rug for me. The mug rug still needs some quilting...

2. I started hand embroidering the LOVE paper piece block that I'm doing. I ended up taking out the stitching about 3 times though. I was having issues with the batting coming through the stitches in the front and then I didn't like seeing the back of the stitches on the backing fabric. I think I've got it all figured out now and I can get started with the machine quilting. It stinks being a perfectionist sometimes!

I've decided to just make it into a wall hanging and will use the fabric that I used for the center of the "O" for both the backing and binding. 

3. I'm going to take an embroidery class next month and thought I should brush up on my skills. Ok, I have no skills but I'm a fast learner :) I haven't decided which pattern to use for my starter project. Perhaps I'll get a chance to do both!

Cute coffee cup (from Wild Olive)

or

That Cat! (from Lazy May)

Linking up with Freshly Pieced for today. Until next week...