• Mollie Makes easy sew banner kit
    crafts - Mollie Makes crafts - sewing

    Jenny Makes Mollie Makes Easy Sew Banner Kit

    July 14, 2015 - By 

    I’m back with my monthly Mollie Makes make. I loved the look of the latest kit which was an Easy Sew Banner Kit. I love banners and have made some paper motivational banners with my children, as well as a fabric motivational banner for a recent swap. Jenny Makes Mollie Makes Easy Sew Banner Kit The Mollie Makes Easy Sew Banner Kit contained red and white fabric, pre-cut felt shapes, a piece of dowel, needles and thread. I wanted to make this kit straight away but finished my Union Jack quilt first. This wall hanging kit was a lovely simple…

  • Christmas - gingerbread - Kids crafts - shopping

    Monday happy things

    July 13, 2015 - By 

    I can’t believe we are 10 days away from the Summer holidays! This term is really rushing by. Top of my list of things which made my happy this is surviving the parents race at Sports Day! I hated Sports Day when I was at school but I’m pleased to say both my children loved theirs this year. I was so happy to be challenged to decorate a teepee by Hobbycraft and write a post for the Hobbycaft blog. We were sent a teepee and some craft supplies and the whole family had lots of fun decorating it. We experimented…

  • Union Jack flag quilt
    handmade - Handmade gifts - Patchwork & Quilting - quilt - sewing

    Union Jack flag quilt

    July 12, 2015 - By 

    My goal for the first half of this year was to complete the Union flag quilt. A couple of days late but I’m pleased to say this weekend I went to Quilt Camp, otherwise known as my mum’s house, and finished it. I fell in love with the pattern as soon as I saw it in Hexa-Go-Go: English Paper Piecing 16 Quilt Projects by Tacha Bruecher. Union Jack flag quilt I really enjoyed collecting the red, white and blue fabrics for it and picked it up every couple of weeks. My progress was slow but last month I finished piecing…

  • blogging - book review - handmade - sewing

    Monthly makes – June

    June 26, 2015 - By 

    June was a great month for me and it feels like I’ve barely put my sewing needles down. My daughter gained a Cath Kidston-inspired ric rac skirt which looks great with the iron on Cath Kidston letter I added to her tshirt. A brand new updated outfit for pennies! I tried something new with an EPP feather, a bang on trend craft kit which came with the latest issue of love patchwork and quilting. The issue also has a pattern for an adorable liquorice allsort quilt which I have put aside for a rainy day. I completed the patchwork part…

  • homestyle - interiors - sewing

    Simple sewing machine cover

    June 11, 2015 - By 

    I’ve had my Janone sewing machine for a couple of years now. I prefer to hand sew but often use my machine to finish off larger projects, especially my quilts. My sewing machine had a rather nasty plastic dust cover and I wanted to make something prettier to keep it clean. A couple of weeks ago I read about a fun competition where you could choose a piece of fabric and make anything you liked and I thought this was a great opportunity to make myself a new sewing machine cover. There were four fabrics from Hillary’s Roman blinds and…

  • book review - Craft book review - handmade - Patchwork & Quilting - sewing - What I'm reading

    All Points Patchwork book review

    June 10, 2015 - By 

    I love to make quilts but always stick to the same, safe designs. Recently I’ve begun to experiment and tried my hand at jewel, octagon, triangle and diamonds EPP – baby steps! I was interested to hear about All Points Patchwork: English Paper Piecing beyond the Hexagon, for Quilts & Small Projects by Diane Gilleland, published by Storey Publishing. image credit I received a copy to review and read it in one evening. It’s a lovely book and I learned so much from it. I’ve taught myself which is why I’m always happiest following other people’s tutorials and patterns. All…

  • Cath Kidston - sewing

    Monday happy things

    June 8, 2015 - By 

    I’m not sure why Monday always surprises me but it does. I had the laziest weekend possible as I really needed to recharge my batteries and now I’m ready to share my Monday Happy Things. Yesterday I finished piecing all the hexagons for my union flag quilt. My 3 year old really wants me to finish ‘her’ quilt and was keen to photo bomb my photographs this morning.  I’m going to add a panel of solid to either side of the pieced union flag to make it large enough to cover her bed. I just need to find time to…

  • Cath Kidston - sewing

    Cath Kidston-inspired ric rac skirt

    June 5, 2015 - By 

    I love Cath Kidston and was totally inspired by her use of ric rac to make a Cath Kidston-inspired ric rac skirt for my daughter. I bought a cute little denim skirt and four different coloured 1m lengths of ric rac. I pinned each piece of ric rac to the bottom of the skirt starting from the side seam. I used the hem to line them up and keep them evenly spaced. Then I turned the skirt inside out and started sewing on the ric rac with my machine. I used white thread as a contrast to the colours of…

  • homestyle - interiors - sewing

    Monday happy things

    June 1, 2015 - By 

    Time to write my favourite post of the week again. This weeks’ Monday happies is easy as we’ve just had a wonderful half term. I love family time and a break from the normal routine was just what everyone needed. We had fun den building in the sunshine at home. I had time to try out new EPP techniques thanks to a sweet craft kit that came with Love Patchwork & Quilting magazine. I’ve been planning my own stencils for a spot of home decorating. I recently painted a scrubbed pine chest of drawers with some Annie Sloan paint but…