A Liberty checkerboard quilt

I am yet to come across a single person who doesn't love Liberty of London Tana Lawn.  'Betsy' is a particulary beautiful tana lawn line, and Betsy in grey is probably my favourite fabric of all time (and that's up against some stiff competition!). I got this selection of Betsy in five colourways from the lovely Martina who runs Ava & Neve, a Brisbane based Liberty stockist with a comprehensive range and whom I will be collaborating with on a number of projects going forward.

I have a few things planned for this Betsy - first up was a postage stamp checkerboard quilt. I strip pieced the quilt to minimise cutting and for more precise results. There is a great tutorial over at Red Pepper Quilts that shows how to strip piece a postage stamp quilt - no need to cut teeny tiny squares!

It's more traditional to pair linen with Liberty lawn, but I was feeling adventurous and picked a crisp solid white as a contrast fabric, and to make the checkerboard pattern 'pop' a little more.

And here it is finished, diagonal quilted. It's a good size to use for display, as a doll quilt, or as a sewing mat (it's big enough to fit under my new sewing machine which has a super wide throat).

A Crochet Apple

I ended up writing my own pattern for the cute apples I made to accompany my Pirum Parum pears (pattern by Tournicote). I am very happy with my apples' size and shape - I wanted them to look like a real apple with a tapered bottom and a dimple at the top, and just the perfect size to match the pears too. Using 8 ply (DK weight) yarn and a 4mm hook this apple is approximately 13cm tall from the bottom to the tip of the leaf. Roughly the same size as a real life large apple!

This sweet apple pattern is now available in my Etsy shop - it only costs $3.50 Australian ($2.50 US at the time of writing) so it won't break the bank, and is a good starter amigurumi project.

*** Please note: this pattern was available as a free tutorial in this post for a limited time, and is now available to purchase in my shop. I have made improvements and revisions to the pattern since publishing the free version, and the purchased pattern also comes with a licence to sell the finished apples ***

 

Bandit the Raccoon | Homespun Letters & Numbers

I am slowly working my way through Little Muggles' entire crochet animal pattern collection - Amy has so many cute ones still on my to-do list. This dashing little guy has been rather aptly named 'Bandit'. What a perfect name for a raccoon!



Bandit is roughly the same size as Chester the Fox (also by Little Muggles), which I blogged about previously. They make a very cute pair of forest friends.

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I am in Homespun magazine again! The April issue is now in the shops, featuring a set of monochrome letters & numbers made by me.

There is a full set of letters and numbers, which are padded and have little neodymium magnets sewn inside (which are stronger than normal magnets), so they can be used on a fridge or other metal surface. There is a little 'Getting to Know' section as well which is my favourite bit in these magazine features. I was at the supermarket this morning and saw the magazine - had to really resist the urge to find my picture in it and wave it around to everyone shouting 'Look! It's me! I made this!'. Yup, lame is my middle name.

Until next time,

Easter Mini & Egg-hunt

I have been procrastinating over this Easter mini-quilt / wall-hanging for so long that at one point it looked like it wasn't going to happen. I changed my mind about the layout / configuration / colours / fabric choices so many times. Finally stopped over-thinking it, and just winged it. It's not perfect, and not quite the ultimate Easter decoration, but it's going to make a sweet addition to the mini-quilt wall in my sewing room.

I appliqued the motifs onto the mini using fusible-web, then hand-quilted around the perimeter in matching thread.

I made some crochet eggs as well, and used these cookie cutters for the motifs. I have turned the motif patterns into a PDF which you can download here.

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The kids were very excited about Easter this year! Alice was sporting some suitably Easter-y bunny socks today. 

Our hunter-gatherers were set loose in the garden to find the hidden chocolate eggs and bunnies, and then enjoyed the spoils of their hunt.

I wish you all a very happy Easter with your nearest and dearest! Lots of love from my family to yours.

On My Bookshelf: My Crochet Doll

"My Crochet Doll" by Isabelle Kessedjian has to be one of the cutest doll making books out there. It includes the patterns for a crochet doll and an entire wardrobe for her, as well as lots of accessories.

There are outfits and accessories for the beach, for the country, for school, for sleeping, for cold and wet weather, and for baking yummy cakes. Even underwear! And a suitcase for her to pack all her clothes into when she goes on all these trips.

My friend Maria asked me to make one of these dolls for her impending arrival - she is expecting a baby girl any day now! We selected a red, blue, and yellow outfit, to suit a nautical themed nursery.

Alice saw the doll whilst I was still working on it, and declared it 'her baby'. So I now have to make her one as well, with lots of outfits so she can play dress-up.

This is a really lovely book and I am so glad to have it in my crochet library, but just a little warning for anyone contemplating on ordering it. Most of the book is taken up with all those sweet pictures and the actual pattern pages themselves have very limited explanations and no pictures to help out with the tricky bits. It is also written in UK crochet terms which didn't bother me but can confuse some people if you aren't used to them. Because of the limited explanations I wouldn't recommend this to beginners as it requires some amigurumi experience to figure out the patterns and put them together correctly. Seasoned ami-makers should be OK though!

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I am going through one of those patches where I have lots of little projects on the go, all at once. Bit of a juggle-town.  I am still working on my alphabet quilt-along, and an on-point mini using cottage florals by Sevenberry and Lecien. I have also started two new projects featuring pastel hues - the first is a cake for a friend, it's a mini-quilt using block 1 of the Snapshots quilt-along hosted by the Fat Quarter Shop.

My second 'pastel' project is an Easter themed one featuring these dreamy pastel Cotton Couture solids by Michael Miller. I am still working on the design for this one - being a little indecisive but it's definitely going to have a mix of patchwork, applique, pastel ric-rac, and hand-quilting. Visit again in a few days if you wish to see the final result!