Saturday 25 October 2014

Blogger's Quilt Festival - Autumn 2014

It's that time of year again, the Blogger's Quilt Festival 2014!

So if you are new to my blog, firstly, welcome, and secondly, I hope you enjoy listening to the story behind my entry.  


I made this quilt for my daughter's 5th  Birthday.  She adores Hello Kitty, and I knew that I wanted to make her a quilt for her birthday, so a Hello Kitty quilt was perfect.  I got the original inspiration from a cross stitch pattern, and it didn't take me long to blow it up and turn it into a pattern for a quilt. 


That's when I realised there were 720 squares!  I wanted the quilt to have a real 'pixel' effect, so I didn't cut corners, I cut and sewed back together even the white background squares instead of using strips...that did seem a little crazy!


I'm not one to use solids a lot in my work and so this was a real departure from the norm for me.  And with so many white areas, I really wanted the quilting to add texture and depth to the quilt.  So I matchstick quilted it, which took what seemed like forever, but hopefully you will agree was worth it.  


I also included a new technique that I wanted to try; piping around the binding. This is something that I had seen done by my quilting icon, Philippa Naylor.



I think it's a really lovely detail, that I will most certainly be using again.

So here is 'Hello Kitty' basking in the sun in our garden back in the summer.  


I do hope you like her as much as I enjoyed bringing her to life!

Quilt Stats:

Pattern:  Hello Kitty Cross Stitch Chart
Size: Approx 50" x 60"
Fabric: Kona Coal, White, Azalea, Carnation
Backing: Kate Spain
Thread: Aurifil
Quilting: 1/2 inch horizontal straight line quilting
Pieced and Quilted by: Me

Thank you so much for stopping by,

Sarah x

AmysCreativeSide.com


Wednesday 15 October 2014

It's beginning to look a bit like...

Christmas!

I know it's early, but I have lots of stockings to make, including for my Little Candies...I could hardly leave them out now could I ;-)



They have a little bit of hand stitching across the top...


And another appliquéd star on the heel on the back.


I can't wait to give them to them on the 1st December to hang by the fireplace.

Sarah x

Linking up with:



Thursday 2 October 2014

The Stitch Gathering 2014

It was a few weeks ago now that I found myself in Edinburgh with the wonderful Jo in the lead up to, during and after The Stitch Gathering 2014.  What a weekend it was!  I was having so much fun, I hardly took any photos!  But here we are in the afternoon session, working hard, chatting and generally sharing the sewing love with like minded people.  



Can you see Jennie from Love Patchwork and Quilting magazine, she was there too and getting stuck in to some EPP!

In the morning I made a cafe apron with the lovely Julie and just yesterday I gifted it to a very special friend of mine.  I'm pleased to say she was delighted with it.



She wasn't the only one who loved these aprons.  Here's Jo's husband Jonathan modelling...I think he looks rather fetching!


It really was a fabulous day, and we were completely spoiled.  We all got a wonderful goodie bag (Thank you Coats, Very Berry Fabrics, Aurifil, LP Magazine, Dashwood, Blend, DMC Threads, Anchor!)  and of course there were a few swaps.  We were all given a special SG bag before hand and asked to decorate it.  Look at the bag I received, it's gorgeous!!  Thank you so much Nikki!  



And here's the EPP and yo yo bag I made for Jane.



I also took part in the name tag swap, and my goodness I hit the jackpot with the badge that I received from the delightful, gorgeous Hikaru.  And she also wrote me a tiny, perfectly formed letter with such beautiful words, I nearly cried.  Thank you so very much Hikaru xx



Here's the badge I made for the wonderful Di, of Willowbeck Designs.   who I'm pleased to say has become a friend after meeting at FQR London both this year and last.  I was so happy to make this badge for her!



If you get the change to go to the Stitch Gathering next year, I say grab the opportunity with both hands, it was just fab.  And of course it's a fantastic excuse to look around the beautiful city of Edinburgh too :-)

Sarah x