Yesterday I received the most amazing mini quilt in the post. Late last year I signed up for a mini quilt swap and today I can write a mini quilt swap reveal post. I love sewing and patchwork and thought it would be a fun challenge to make something for someone else. The only requirement was that the quilt had to be a minimum of 15 inches on both sides, and maximum of 24 inches. We were paired up and sent links to inspiration boards to gather ideas. I chose a gorgeous patchwork heart which I loved making. There were…
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Over the long weekend we found time to go and see the latest exhibition at the American Museum in Bath. Titled Hatched, Matched, Dispatched – & Patched! the exhibition brings together textile items made to mark important family milestones. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to take pictures in the exhibition but they had some really beautiful objects on display. The exhibition was organised into three sections, illustrated with their own collections and some items borrowed for the exhibition. I really enjoyed looking at each section, there were some stunning items to look at: Hatched included beautiful Christening gowns and bonnets as…
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You may be surprised to hear that the patchwork part of my Union flag quilt is nearly finished. I know I said I was going to put it aside this month to concentrate on some other sewing projects but I really enjoy working on it. I ran out of hexagons so have been making a few each evening and trying to think about how I want to finish it off. I ordered the backing fabric from Elephant in my Handbag which is actually a Nautical Pink Pirate Bundle by Dear Stella. The fabrics feature small anchors, Jolly Rogers and a…
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February has been great month for me. Although sometimes it’s felt like I have been drowning under blog posts I’ve managed to find time for some sewing. My Union flag quilt is coming along nicely. I took it away with us over half term and spent quite a lot of time on it. I’ve evened up the sides so the stripes are really noticeable. It’s still going to grow a lot more but I’m really pleased with it. I’m putting aside for a while as I need to spend some time thinking how I’m going to finish it off. It’s…
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There’s something about January that makes me want to stay in and hibernate with some sewing. It’s been so cold that I’ve been quite happy to spend my evenings working on my Union flag quilt – a gift for my 3 year old – hopefully before she leaves home. I’ve seen real progress with it this month and it’s grown quite a lot. I’ve also incorporated some fabrics from her old baby clothes so it’s turning into a real heirloom piece which I hope she will treasure. You can’t really see the scale of it from a photograph but each…
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I completely failed to make as many handmade gifts as I wanted too this year. As I got nearer and nearer to Christmas I persuaded myself to move items from my little handmade list into next year! Which means instead of rushing to make things I will be able to spend more time making handmade gifts in the New Year. There’s not much to report in my Monthly Makes. I made one wall hanging for my sister which I can finally share with you. I used a pattern from Home Quilt Home by Janet Clare, which is one of my…
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One of my favourite craft books is pretty in patchwork doll quilts. I’ve already made one of the quilts from it (the I Spy quilt) but I’ve also had my eye on the really pretty ticker tape doll quilt by Cathy Gaubert for my daughter. So over a year ago, yep you read that correctly, I bought a colourful rainbow of fabric from an Etsy store and it wasn’t until a few months ago that I got it out again. It felt strange finally cutting into each piece but now I have at least I’ll be able to use the…
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Over the past couple of months I’ve been slowly embroidering hexagons for Wild Olive’s Spring Stitching Club quilt, a fun weekly stitching club. I finished the embroidered panel but needed to put the quilt together. I’m not great at finishing projects so I blogged about my progress in the hope it would encourage me to complete it. I’m pretty pleased to say I finished my quilt over the weekend! It’s lovely to see it finished after working on small hexagons for weeks. It’s actually come together quite quickly and I really love it (as does my 4 year old). After I…
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Swap package received, originally uploaded by Jennifer Young. I received this beautiful quilt today made by the very talented Jen of Life’s A Quilt through the Doll Quilt Swap 3. This week I’ve got the whole week off and today went to Windsor to visit family. The weather was incredibly hot but we managed a walk along the river and a nice pub lunch. We’ve also spent some time decorating our house and working on the garden. Pics to follow soon!