Monday 25 June 2012

A Little Blue and White

Friends visiting from overseas invited us to spend Shabbat together. In the face of this kindness, I could only respond with a hand-made gift.

Here comes the blue and white challah cover...


... and then, the quilting.

Thank you, friends!

Monday 18 June 2012

Lonni Rossi Laptop Cover

Lots of years ago, I read an article in Quilting Arts magazine about a woman who was combining her love of typography with fabric design - wow! That's so me! And then, in one life-changing moment, I saw that her store - that SHE, Lonni Rossi herself! - was about 15 minutes from my home.

And so began a regular habit of visiting her boutique store, wandering through to her workshop to see her quilts in progress, and just sometimes, bumping in to her and chatting (be still my heart.)


Fast forward to April 2012: Mum and Dad came to visit! Yay! They brought with them a new and sleek laptop - so what's a daughter to do? I whipped them up a cover, using this tutorial http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/2009/05/elizabeths-fabric-focus-5/#.UD7gnqD0_yY  and some awesome Lonni Rossi typographic fabric. Latin words, amazing space-y bubble effects, and random straight line quilting. It's what this baby needed.


I cut the fabric a tiny bit bigger than Elizabeth suggested, and made my seams a tiny bit smaller... and created a VERY snug cover. Perfect. It's a great tutorial, just allow yourself a little extra breathing space on the sizing. Ta-dah! I have it on good authority that this little cover is getting a lot of love.



Monday 11 June 2012

A Little Home

A couple of months ago, a student friend came into the office one morning in shock. She was being kicked out of her apartment with no warning, and for no good reason. She had nowhere to live.

While she would never be truly homeless, homeless is how she felt. She sat and wept, her eyes wide in disbelief. I was so moved by her sadness, I sat at my sewing machine later that evening, and made a home.



My inspiration was this gorgeous little pillow: http://www.jojoebi-designs.com/2012/02/little-houses-project.html - I love the aesthetic.

This teeny tiny little house took me over 3 hours (!) and was worth every minute. This home is just filled with love!



Monday 4 June 2012

A Summersville Birthday

On my birthday in May, on the very day itself, I got the best ever birthday present!

I won fabric.
Me!
It really happens!

Thank you Red Pepper Quilts and Moona Fabrics!

This is what I won (wow!) - a totally yummy stack of Summersville fat quarters:


And then the amazing Nicole at Moona Fabrics let me order some, erm, helper fabric. Look what I just got in the mail!


And now I'm getting started.

I'm making piles of fabrics. I'm un-making my piles of fabric. I'm making newer and better piles of fabric. I am doing some serious playing. There are better things in the world (and here I'm thinking specifically of a jar of hot fudge sauce and a spoon), but not many.


Friday 1 June 2012

Zippy Bags!

I went a bit crazy and spent a frenzied week in May making five zippy bags for some awesome young women I work with - our school's dorm counselors.

Zippy Bag #1, for an articulate woman who loves books, and has a warm personality...



Zippy Bag #2, for an artist who's a little bit zany on the inside - and now has a bag to match...



Zippy Bag #3, for a future educator who will surely bring light into the world through her teaching... (and check out the 1 1/8th inch half-square triangles!) 




Zippy Bag #4, for a woman who is making her dream to live in the desert come true - here's a portrait of her future home... rosemary bushes included... (loving the french knots!)


Zippy Bag #5, some improv piecing for an artist friend...



It was great fun to make them - a little insane on the work bench, just piles of fabric everywhere, all at once! Glad to wrap them up and give them to the giftees; they worked hard this year, and deserve a little thank you.