Back from a blogging break

Hello there & happy first of November!

Its been a wee while since my last post, so please forgive me… I've been out of the blogging world for a few months now I know, but life sometimes overtakes from things like blogging. As a family we've been on a path with lots of unknown twists & turns… But we've had a beautiful autumn here with lots of lovely forest walks…

If you follow me on Pinterest or Instagram you'll know that, despite all the comings & goings, I have been busy making lots of bits & pieces - like these house placemats, which were a house-warming gift to three wee cuties

I used Svetlana's great placemat tutorial with a few amendments, which is available here
I've also been busy finishing off this baby quilt, for my gorgeous wee nephew

I used Mary's triangle quilt tutorial, which you can see here I hand stitched round each triangle with hand-quilting thread & added a few embroidery Xs too

As the triangles were quite small, for the back I pieced larger bits together, for a more scrappy, improv look

As the winter nights draw in I've been busy with my knitting needles too - this hat reminds me of the pebbles on the beaches near our home

I hope you have a great weekend - stitching, knitting - or just enjoying the winter sunshine & I'll be back soon with some more stitchy loveliness
Take care
Karen

Bagalicious: Schooldays Notebook Tote Tutorial

Hello there & welcome to May!

I hope you are enjoying the first days of May. Over here, May has brought a sad day for me & a happy day for my son - his last day of school!! (Isn't it funny how us mummys get so sad when another stage of childhood is gone, but our children can't wait for the next one!)

As the end of school approaches, I thought I should get organised with some teacher appreciation gifts, so I sat down & stitched these the other day

They're reversible too

They are made out of canvas, so they're nice & sturdy for books

  

Wouldn't it make a nice teacher appreciation gift?

If you fancy making one, here's a tutorial to help you on your way, or if you like you can access a printable version here

This tutorial will guide you through the process of making basically two bags, joined at the top … one with a notepaper effect and an alternative, so that the bag can be reversed as desired. Heavier weight cotton or canvas would be ideal fabrics. A quicker option would be to use cotton webbing, instead of making straps.

 What You Will Need             

" 19” X 32” cream/white canvas fabric for the outer bag

" 19” X 32” co-ordinating fabric for the reversible bag

" Usual sewing bits & pieces plus:

red, blue & cream thread

air erasable fabric pen/chalk               

When sewing please remember to use ¼” seam allowance throughout (unless otherwise indicated) & backstitch at both ends                                        

STEP 1: Cut your bag pieces

" Cut from your cream fabric:

_    One piece 15½” X 32” for the main bag piece

_    From remainder (or webbing), cut two strips 1¾” X 23” for the straps

" From your lining fabric:

_    One piece 15½” X 32” for the main bag piece lining

_    From remainder, cut two strips 1¾” X 23” for the straps

 

STEP 2: Making the “notepaper” fabric

" Starting 2½” in from the edge of a long side, mark 7 lines running the length of the fabric, spacing them 1½” apart. You will have a 4” space at the top

" Using blue thread, stitch along these lines. Stop approx. 1/8” from the edge & sew down to the next line (this will help you not have too many threads & the connecting line will be stitched in the seam). You now have some lines on your fabric… next we need a couple of margins…

" Fold the fabric in half lengthwise & draw a line 2½” from the FOLDED side & a line 2¾” from the RAW edge side

" Using your red thread stitch down these two lines twice (just to make the “margin” stand out a bit more)

STEP 3: Making your outer bag

" Fold your “notepaper” fabric in half lengthwise right sides together, being careful to match the blue lines. Stitch down the raw edges using ¼” seam allowance (so that you catch the blue side stitches in the seam) & along the bottom raw edge.

" To make the corners, take the bottom seam & the side seam, & place together to make a triangle. Measure carefully to make sure that the same amount of fabric is on both sides of the seam & iron to keep it nice & flat.

" Measure 2” down from the tip of the triangle & draw a straight line across the fabric (you should have 2” on each side of the seam). Sew on top of the marked line (this should be a total of 4”).

" You can either trim the excess fabric in the corners, or leave is as it is… (I prefer to leave it for the outer bag & trim for the reverse bag).

" Repeat this for the other corner of the bag.

" Well done! You’ve made your outer bag! J

 Step 4: Making the reverse bag

" Repeat step 4, but leave a gap of 4” in the bottom seam (which you will use for turning the bag through later). 

Step 5: Making the straps (if not using webbing)

" Take the four fabric strap pieces & fold in half lengthwise wrong sides together. Press along fold

" Open up and fold in ¼” at each side. Press along fold

" Take one lining strap & place an outer strap carefully on top WRONG SIDES together. Pin in place

" Stitch down each side of the strap 1/8” from the edge. Go over stitching row, or down the middle of strap if desired

" Take your reverse bag right side out & fold in half to find the midpoint of the bag

" With right sides together, pin straps to the reverse bag 3” from the midpoint

" Stitch in place with 1/8” seam, go over seam line again to reinforce

Step 6: Putting it all together

" Place bag outer (RIGHT SIDE OUT) inside the reverse bag (WRONG SIDE OUT) & carefully match up, making sure your handles are tucked down out of the way. Stitch all the way around using ¼” seam allowance

" Pull the bag through the gap in the reverse bag & hand-stitch the gap closed using a ladder stitch.

" Push the reverse bag into the outer bag & press.

" Topstitch around the bag edge with 1/8” seam & 1/4” seam.

" Press the bag again & sit back & admire your work!

  

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial & have lots of fun with this stitchy schooldays notebook tote.... but please be kind & do not reproduce it without permission. If you make one (or two) I'd love to hear how you get on :)

Take care & have a lovely weekend

Karen

Floral Finds

Hello there!
I hope you have had a great week....over here on the Causeway Coast the sun has finally come out & the flowers have been enjoying a sunny respite from the rain

I've been trying to get a better grasp of instagram & its amazing filters, but unfortunately I think (yet again) my children are better at it than me... This is Hannah's photo from a sunset walk....

Anyway, if you are on instagram do let me know, or if you have any tips I'd love to hear them... I'm birdsongstitches - I think...

As you can probably tell, I've been spending a lot of time in the garden enjoying the flowers & scents (in between weeding & grass cutting) & dreaming up lots of stitchy possibilities,  so I thought I would share some flowery loveliness with you ...

Crochet Flower Card

Pattern available here: little birdie secrets

Flower Hair Clips

Tutorial available here: oh for sweetness sake 

Aneela's Summer Flowers Embroidery

Pattern available here: comfort stitching

Krista's Liberty Lemonade Table Cloth

Tutorial available here: poppyprint

I hope this gives you a little bit of floral inspiration... if you're looking for some other interesting stitchy stuff, click here which will take you to some more pinterest finds.....

Hope you have a lovely rest of the week & wherever you are, that the sun shines - at least a wee bit!

Take care

Karen

Pillow Talk with Svetlana

Hello there!

I hope you had a lovely weekend & managed to get a wee bit of stitching done. I'm back from wild, windswept & beautiful Orkney & have lots so show you later on this week (including a special celebration post tomorrow!). But for to-day I'm so thrilled to introduce you to Svetlana.... she is one of the first bloggers I officially "followed" last year when I started blogging & she makes the most amazing cushions....

 quilts...

 pouches...

 and loads more!! Over to you Svetlana...

Hello, I'm Svetlana from s.o.t.a.k handmade. I was so excited when Karen asked me to write a guest post for her blog. I decided to do "a sort of” pillow tutorial. I'd like to show you how a simple quilt block, or two, could be turned into a beautiful pillow cover.

This is the pillow I made using 2 cupcake blocks by Malka Dubrawsky. I found this mini quilt in Pretty in Patchwork Doll Quilts book and I totally fell in love with the whole design and pretty colors.

And while I adore this block, I just don't have patience or time to work on the whole quilt right now. So I decided to make just two of these yummy blocks and turn them into a pillow.

Once my blocks were done, I cut out sashing to join and frame the blocks. This part can be customized to any dimensions you need. It all depends on the size of the blocks and the pillow form you have. My blocks measured 11.5" x 12.5" each. 

I needed to bring the size of the whole pillow top to  15.5" x 29.5" - the size of the pillow form I wanted to use - so I decided to add one more, contrasting border. I love how this print fabric frames all my cupcakes so nicely.

I like to iron fusible fleece to the wrong side of the pillow top which means no basting and being ready for quilting in no time at all. It works wonderfully every time. 

I decided to hand quilt the pillow top, outlining all my cupcakes using 3 strand whitish embroidery thread. I really, really love the extra special touch that hand quilting adds to this pillow.

Once the pillow top was quilted, it was time to make a backing. I usually don't quilt my pillow backs (no rules here, just my preference). I used two coordinating Denyse Schmidt fabrics and joined them with the zipper.

I placed the pillow top and back on top of each other, wrong sides together, pinned them in place, and basted all the way around. Then all that was left to do was attach the binding - the same way as I would have for the quilt.

So, there you have it. A pretty pillow using just 2 quilt blocks. How fun is that?

I hope you give it a try and turn some fun quilt blocks into lovely pillow covers.

Happy blogiversary, Karen! You rock, my friend!

Svetlana

Thanks so much Svetlana! If you get a moment, do drop by her blog - her stuff is fantastic & amazingly she has only been stitching for about 18months!!!

Lots of fab things to post tomorrow, so hopefully I'll see you then. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy your day wherever you are & whatever you do :)
Karen

Foiled on Friday by Trials with Technology

Hello there!

How has your week been? I've been super busy trying to get some long-needed projects finished... but unfortunately I've been foiled by the storms which means we've been without electricity since Thursday night. We're all sorted now, but before I get on with my quilting, here is my to-do list & progress so far:

• Make a fathers day gift for my dad...something for his camera - got an idea for this
• Make a fathers day gift for my husband....something for his surgery - QUILT TOP FINISHED, BACKING FINISHED
• Post off some bee blocks DONE :)
• Finish a secret gift for someone in our Care Circle bee - almost finished
• Make a start at the Handstitched Class project - no progress yet :(

So unfortunately my great intentions haven't exactly come to too much!

The big project was a quilt for my husband for fathers day for his doctors surgery &, although I'm a wee bit behind schedule, hopefully I will get this finished in time....Thanks so much for all the brill suggestions about the blocks - I've squinted at it (thanks Dolores), looked at it through a black & white filter (thanks Kerry), scrutinised & pondered over it & finally, come up with this:

Now the colours are a lot lighter in real life than this picture & the squares are 12"X12" - so hopefully it will be a a nice wee throw & a good size for the treatment couch in the surgery... 

For my father I'll be making a pouch for his camera & leads & bits & pieces - but that will have to wait till tomorrow too!

So are you fixed for fathers day? Do you make gifts or buy them? What about cards?? If you're looking for some last minute fathers day gifts here are some great possibilities from pinterest....
Aren't these key chain fobs so cute!

Tutorial etc from My Crazy Life

Love this dog silhouette!

Tutorial etc from The Creativity Exchange 

This looks like a great printable book for dad

Download etc from eighteen25 

Lots of great printables for fathers day

Downloads from Hello Lucky

Hopefully this lot has given you some last-minute inspiration! I'll be back on Sunday hopefully to show you my completed gifts!
Hope you have a wonderful weekend! (& congrats to England who have just beaten Sweden for the first time in World Cup Football history!)
Karen

Vintage Clutch Tutorial

Hello there

I hope you are having a nice weekend! The sun actually decided to appear here to-day on the Causeway Coast which meant I got lots of washing done, but not too much sewing I'm afraid.... Not to worry though, I had a lovely afternoon planning fabrics & bits & pieces for the Fat Quarter Retreat in a couple of weeks.... so exciting!

To-day I am so thrilled to post a tutorial for the liberty pouch I made, as part of Nova's Liberty Scrap Challenge. Nova blogs over at a cuppa and a catch up & stitches some beautiful & innovative stuff, like this boxy pouch (for her new knitting project!)

or this Bella bag

As if that wasn't enough, she's featured in the Zakka Style book & she recently added this lovely pattern to her repertoire too!

But before I share my tutorial, could I just say a HUGE thank you to each one of you who took the time to comment with such lovely encouraging words about the teeth situation..... I know that in the scheme of things having braces is really no big deal & some of you may have family or friends who are coping with huge physical, mental, or financial problems but I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate all the kind words....If you don't normally comment on blogs, can I encourage you to do so, even if it is just to say hello....Those few words really do mean a lot to us.....

Right back to the clutch... I've posted a printable version of the tutorial & the template here, but if you prefer to follow on screen, here we go...

Vintage Clutch Tutorial

What You Will Need

" 1 fat 1/8 outer fabric
" 1 fat 1/8 lining fabric
" A small piece of linen for outer (approx. 5” X 3”)
" Fusible fleece (approx. 8.5” X 11”)
" 1 small magnetic snap set (approx. 14mm)
" Key fob ring (optional)
" Usual sewing bits & pieces plus freezer paper, a seam ripper & embroidery thread

When sewing please remember to use ¼” seam allowance throughout (unless otherwise indicated) & backstitch at both ends

STEP 1: Cut Out Your Pieces

" Print out the two templates from this document
Vintage Clutch Tutorial Templates

"Trace templates A & B onto freezer paper (or onto card)

" Press freezer paper templates A & B waxy side down on the wrong side of main fabric (or trace round card templates onto fabric) & cut:

D    1 X template A

D    2 X template B

" Press freezer paper templates A & B waxy side down on the wrong side of lining fabric & cut

D    1 X template A

D    1 X template B

" Press freezer paper template B waxy side down on the wrong side of your linen piece & cut out:

D    1 X template B

" You should now have

D    template A: 1 piece in main fabric, 1 piece in lining fabric

D    template B: 2 pieces in main fabric, 1 piece in lining fabric, 1 piece in linen,

" From your fusible fleece cut:

D    1 piece of template A

D    1 piece of template B

D    2 pieces approx. 2” X 2”

D    2 pieces approx. 2” X 4”

STEP 2: Fuse your fleece

" Following your manufacturer’s instructions, carefully fuse template A fleece to the wrong side of template “A” outer fabric

" Repeat with the template “B” fleece & the template “B” linen piece

" If you like, you can add a wee stamp or embellishment to the right corner (approx. 1” from the side). I cut out a wee stamp from an image I had printed onto fabric

" I then just stitched it onto a wee scrap & onto the linen front

STEP 3: Insert Your Magnetic Snaps

" Your snap set should have 4 parts: 2 washers (which won’t be visible) & 2 magnetic snaps. Take the thicker & heavier of the two & one of the washers & your linen piece.

" Using the X on the template as a guide, mark the position of the snap on the OUTER side of the linen piece

" Using the washer as a template, lay it down on the fabric over the X, & mark where you need to make wee holes to be able to insert the magnetic snap prongs easily through the fabric. Use these marks as a guide to where you need to make wee TINCY incisions with your seam ripper.

" Take one of the 2” squares, &, using the washer (back of the magnetic snap) as a template, mark the position of the side slots using your fabric marker. Make small incisions in this with your seam ripper.

" Push the prongs of the magnetic snap through the wee slits in the fabric to the wrong side. Place the backing fabric/interlining over the prongs.

" Push the washer onto the prongs and fold them INWARD

" Take one of the longer 2 X 4” strips of fleece & place it over the back of the snap to protect the snap from rubbing on the other fabric layer

" Now repeat the process again this time with the fabric lining which you have cut into template “A” shape

" Well done! You should now have a lovely neat snap closure J

STEP 4: Making the pocket

" Pin the outer linen piece & one of the lining pieces (template B size) right sides together &  stitch along the top side only

" Repeat this with the other two template B fabric pieces

" Very carefully, cut notches out all along the seam line

" Turn the pieces right side out & press

" If you like at this stage you can top stitch the pocket pieces on both pairs, although I preferred not to, because I wanted to try to keep the vintage look…

" Pin both pocket pairs together right sides out, matching up the notches at the bottom of your pocket pieces & stitch all the way along the sides & bottom using 1/8” seam allowance, remembering to backstitch at both ends

" You should now have a wee half purse which looks something like this:

STEP 5: Preparing your main clutch piece

" You’re nearly ready to put all the pieces together, but first you could add some lace or a wee loop for a key ring if you like.

D    For the lace, simply stitch it all the way round the right side of the outer fabric template “A” piece approx. 1/8” IN from the edge of the piece (you can see a wee peak at that in the photo above) facing inward (so that it will flick out nicely when you put it all together).

D     If you want to add a wee loop, simply take a scrap of one of your fabric pieces approx. 2 1/2” X 8”. Fold the strip in half lengthwise right sides together & stitch along the LONG side. Turn the tube right side out, press & fold in half lengthwise. Insert a ring into your loop and stitch both ends to the right side of the template “A” piece using 1/8” seam allowance

STEP 6: Putting it all together

" Well done! You’re nearly there J

" Carefully pin the pocket pieces on top of the lining template “A” piece, right sides up matching the wee notch & stitch along the pocket sides & bottom using 1/8” seam allowance…you should be sewing over your previous stitch line.. This step just helps keep everything together, if you are confident in your pining & sewing you can omit this stage if you like

" Now take your template “A” outer fabric piece & place it on top of this lining/pocket piece right sides together.

" Using ¼” seam allowance, stitch all the way around the clutch, leaving a gap of approx. 3” in the top left side of the clutch (not the side where you have your loop)…. This will be for turning everything through, so make sure you backstitch at both ends. At a few places you will be sewing through a few layers, so take your time to keep your machine happy J

" Trim notches around the curves at the top & bottom of the clutch

Step 7: Turning it out

" Pull the clutch inside out through the gap in the lining, so that you have the lining fabric & pocket on the inside (right sides out) & the outer fabric inside. Use a pallet knife or something rounded, but not too sharp to poke out your curves & give it a good press

" Using a matching thread, hand stitch closed the turning gap between the lining and your outer piece (ladder stitch is a good one to use for this)

" If you like you could embroider a simple running stitch around the outside using 3 strands of co-ordinating embroidery floss

" Congratulations! You’ve just made a lovely wee vintage clutch!

 

I do hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. If you have any questions, drop me a wee note to birdsongstitches@gmail.com

If you like, you could make a wee card with some of those lovely liberty scraps

Thanks so much for calling in to-day & if you get a free moment, do drop by the Liberty Scrap Challenge flickr group to see some other gorgeous liberty tutorials
Hope you all have a great week
Take care
Karen