A mat and some strawberries

We have been a sick household this last week, all four of us have had this annoying cold. My sewing room has not progressed much as a result. I am getting quite impatient for my own space, so to satisfy that need to some degree I joined a sew-along run by Ros from Sew Delicious, and made a quilted mat for my sewing machine. One little step closer to my dream sewing space.

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I used Fig Tree fabrics, except one square which is Lecien (the square with the embroidery on it). The backing fabric is tiny little white dots on beige. You know me, any excuse to add a little hand embroidery, so I stitched on some sewing icons. I pieced my quilt top by butting the seams, and kept the quilting simple - just straight lines on either side of the seam using my presser foot as the guide.

I was a little petrified about making my own binding and machine stitching it, but it was easier than I thought it would be.

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For the binding I used Sew Delicious' tutorial, and also these two other tutorials have been very helpful (as I am one of those people who can't possibly try something new until I have read 17 tutorials on the subject first). Diary of a Quilter's binding tutorial was great for the mitreing of corners, and Red Pepper Quilts' tutorial shows you how to make a continuous cross-grain binding (with diagonal seams) and how to machine stitch it.

It's not too late to join the sew-along, it consists of a tutorial in three parts and only takes a couple of hours. It's suitable for beginner quilters with clear photos and instructions, and quite a simple project overall (especially if you use shop-bought bias binding). Ros also has a fantastic tutorial to make a sewing machine cover - I simply NEED to make one to match my new mat soon.

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Did you spot the strawberries? All my favourite bloggers have been making them recently - I simply had to join in (see the ones made by Amy from Nana Company, Kristyne from Pretty By Hand, and Sandra from Cherry Heart here, here and here). They are so, well, me, and wonderfully satisfying (and quick) to make. I never seem to have a pincushion nearby when I need one, so these will be spread all over my working space.

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I don't think I will be able to stop making them now. I finally found a great use for scraps of my favourite fabrics (that I can't bring myself to discard). They can be immortalised in pincushion form. So I will probably end up with a collection of hundreds of them!

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25 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness Sedef, everything you make is so so pretty! I will have to read those binding tutorials you linked :-) your top stitching looks amazing!

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    1. The Red Pepper quilts one is really good, my biggest tip is to use lots of pins and take your time pinning and getting the binding all nice and even.

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  2. Seriously could this get any cuter. I love everything you have made. I'm so inspired right now!! Love love love

    The little stitching is gorgeous and now I have to make a strawberry too.

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  3. Oh my, your mat is just gorgeous! And look at those strawberry pincushions! They are just too cute xx

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  4. Çİlekler bir harika olmuş, böyle güzel şeyleri göre göre dikiş dikmeyi öğrenmek için inanılmaz bir merak başladı bende:))

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    1. Cilekler cok kolay, elde yapilabilir makinaya gerek yok :)

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  5. Thanks so much for being part of it Sedef! I will have to check out those binding tutorials too - I feel like I still have a lot to learn when it comes to binding. I'm not overly confident with it yet! And I'll definitely be making my own for future projects - I was so disappointed with the quality of the store bought stuff. It's really gone down hill in the last year or so.

    Love the strawberries!

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  6. So very cute and nicely done :)

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  7. Love the mat, and especially the embroidery. Very pretty!

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  8. What amazing strawberries I love them x

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  9. Very pretty, I love your embroidery!

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  10. Just gorgeous Sedef and I love your strawberries! :)

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  11. The most perfect strawberries. Very,very nice work indeed!

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  12. What a beautiful blog.....

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  13. What a beautiful blog.....

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  14. Such beautiful work and a beautiful blog! I want to make some strawberries!!

    Susie

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  15. What sweet strawberries..useful or not they are adorable!

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