Honey Bee

I finally finished my sixth and last square for my sampler quilt, Honey Bee. I'm thrilled part of the class was learning to appliqué – I’ve always wanted to learn. Now we move onto the lattice and borders. This week is my last class. :(

Zakka Heaven

I've discover the Zakka Handmade books and ordered 4 from Amazon Japan, I know, very extravagant. Anyway, they are adorable and I can’t wait to make these guys. But first I must do my quilting homework!

Dog ? #1

From the Iro Iro Nuigurumi Book: Dog (?) #1. Made with some vintage wool that was nearly impossible to work with as it frayed so much. Now all I have to do is decide which expression to sew on...

Bring Your Pet to Blog Day

Here he is - my first born - Henry.

Mog the Forgetful Cat

Another Judith Kerr book I love is Mog the Forgetful Cat (1970). Again the illustrations are lovely and the story engaging. I love the drawing of the owl when Mog is dreaming she can fly. Best of all, the burglar gets a cup of tea along with everyone else – very British.







Tracy - I got this for Em for Christmas.

The Tiger Who Came to Tea

One of the great things about having a kid is you get to rediscover books you loved as a child.

I'd forgotten about The Tiger Who Came to Tea (1968) by Judith Kerr until I saw it on I Like again. I immediately bought a copy and now share it with my little one.

The best bits: Sophie's stockings, the china, and the fact they have sausages and chips (fries) for supper. It's a little retro but has a super story and beautiful illustrations.

Bunny #5

Happy Birthday Tracy!

Card Tricks and Dutchman's Puzzle

It's hard trying to get all those seams to match and points to be pointy! Some new things I’ve learned from sewing my first 2 blocks:

• Make sure your seam allowance actually is a quarter of an inch. I have a quilting foot but quarter inch is actually on the outer edge of the foot. Before beginning, sew 3 strips of fabric, 2.5 inches wide, together and the end result should measure exactly 6.5 inches.


• Press your seams from the right side of the fabric in a sweeping motion – it stops the crinkles you can get if you press from the back and gives you a really crisp seam.


• Press seams in one direction and press to the darker fabric, if possible


• When you sew 2 seams together try to make sure they are pressed in different directions to avoid bulk

This week we cut out Card Tricks and Dutchman's Puzzle.

Monkey Wrench and Ohio Star

Here are my first two blocks cut out:





Now all I have to do is sew them together - easy, right?

We are using Dianna Leone's book The New Sampler Quilt but we are using a rotary cutter and ruler to cut the fabric rather than using templates.