Tinkerbell for World Book Day

This year's World Book Day was made slightly easier with Finn deciding to become Willy Wonka again. Sophie however wanted to be Tinkerbell. I went for the easy option by making her a apron style costume.

I used  a selection of different green fabrics to create leaves which I then attached to a bib. Extra felt leaves then were added to around the neckline and waist.

I added some felt cuffs and fake shoes with a white wool pom-pom and bought a pair of white fairy wings!

Beachhut Quilt for Sarah

It's been a while! Working full-time limits the opportunities I have to make - which is why when I decided to make a quilt for Sarah's birthday I gave myself plenty of time.

Several months later I finally finished. The simple design provides a great way to show off Sarah Watson's Bird's Eye View collection for Cloud 9. I'm lucky to have Ray Stitch round the corner from work so I could pick up the fat quatrers during my lunchtime.

I used some left over block against some solid brown for the backing.

I hope she likes it. It'll be another 6 months before I make another one!

Under the Sea Party

Sophie's is now five! To celebrate we held an Under the Sea party at home.

 

I started with Sophie's costume. I'd made the mermaid tail skirt for Christmas so bought her purple dance leggings and leotard and added some sea beads to the neckline.

To top it off I made a mermaid crown. Starting with a white hair band some foam balls I then added different shells and beads - some of which I'd sprayed gold. Then finished of with a necklace I found at H&M of pearls and tassels.

We used some red spray hair dye to make her a little more Ariel-ish and some golden face glitter!

The mermaid theme carried on into the cake. Although I can't claim the credit for the mermaid topper I did make and decorate the two layers based on a design I created.

I used my beloved Peyton & Bryne recipe book for Madeira cake and chocolate marble cake recipes.

Finn obviously didn't miss out and decided on becoming Aqua-man - not a superhero I was familiar with!

I think Finn's version is pretty good - especially as he was pretty happy wearing sparkly green leggings!

I used fabric pens to draw scales on an orange top, sprayed a Halloween devil's fork gold and hot-glued shells to create the trident, a simple gold belt with Velcro fastening and cardboard emblem, and finally then made the fin cuffs with felt and Velcro.

As well as a wonderful party entertainer we had some traditional games - including this pin the tail on mermaid!

Thankfully we have a couple of months rest before the next celebration.

A Quilt for Erin

Since working full time my sewing has slowed down considerably. This quilt for Erin has taken so long - but then all good things come to those that wait!

The starting point was some left-over material from Erin's curtains. I found complementary fabrics and started to think about design. I decided on a capital 'E' in a serif font - reminiscent of fonts found on American football jerseys - with each section built of different blocks.

I hand-quilted the letter and then machine-quilted the white space framing the E.

The back is made of series of blocks reflecting the front within multiple frames and the border is made from a large spot fabric - my favourite design for binding.

A Wonkatastic Birthday Party

It was inevitable that with the combination of the Big Friendly Read theme for the summer reading challenge and all the activities celebrating Roald Dahl's 100th birthday that Finn would want a Roald Dahl themed birthday party. 

Invitations were created using the fabulous app Canva and invited guests with a Golden Ticket to the 'Birthday Whoopsy-Splunker'.

 

Food was kept simple with lots of sweets! The main focus was kids costumes! For the birthday boy himself he obviously wanted to be Willy Wonka - Gene Wilder version - obviously!

 

I used a Burda pattern - which included a tailed coat. It was the toughest pattern ever! I made it in age 9 and it fits perfectly - lets hope he doesn't grow too much soon. The waistcoat was from the same pattern and the cane and hat from Amazon.

 

I made the bow from two sections brought together in the middle and elastic to keep in place.

 

Sophie wanted to be Fantastic Mrs Fox - Wes Anderson version! Finding yellow fabric with red apples was impossible so I decided to make my own! I made a simple dress and drew apples with fabric pens.

 

I designed my own fox mask and tail.

 

The finished outfit was a great combination.

 

Instead of entertainment we went with traditional parties - all with a Roald Dahl theme - Pin the tail on Fantastic Mr Fox,

  

 Golden Egg Race,

also - Golden Ticket Balloon Pop (balloons with tickets being popped for prizes) and the finale - Boggis, Bunce and Beans Obstacle Course (think 80s Crackerjack with Stu Francis time trials!).

The pièce de résistance was the bespoke cake made by a local baker to order. Each book a different flavour cake. Finally the parting gift was a book and lollipop!

Family Dewar

I am so excited about this!

 

These beautiful pen and ink paintings I commissioned the wonderful artist Bea Brouwer to produce to celebrate our second wedding anniversary

 

I stumbled across Bea's enchanting drawings as I work with her sister who was proudly sharing Bea's latest work one day.

 

I love the way Bea captures both the likeness and the energy of her subjects.

It was the perfect gift for our anniversary and commissioning the work was so easy. Bea simply used my Instagram uploads alongside some additional photos I emailed to come up with the two final drawings.

I love the contrast of the 'sensible' portrait with the 'true-to-life' jumping for joy moment.

    

Bea very generously shared some of the rough sketches as well as the final paintings. Now to find the perfect frame...

Bea's work can also be found on Instagram.

Feather Quilt

My second quilt of the year is a wedding present for friends who have finally decided to tie the knot.

The photos were taken in the evening just before hitting the road to Devon and the most beautiful wedding venue - the light is low and warm making the soft grey fabric around each feather glow.

The pattern is from Anna Maria Horner - called Feather Bed Quilt and is super easy to follow.

I kept the back simple with strips of the scrap fabric between the delicate pattern of this Makower print.

 

Finished off with a light brown dot for the binding.