Quilting not so straight lines.

Apparently I am about 2 years behind the wavy line variation of straight line quilting lol. But I am glad I stumbled upon this technique as its lots of fun!

A special handmade Christmas Swap

I am part of a small online group of women who all met through a good old Google Group (remember them?) as we sought support from like-minded women through the start of our parenting journey. These women have become some of my closest support even though they now all live thousands of kilometres away. They hold my hand and spirit in theirs through the good and not so good days.

Most of these lovely girls are also incredibly talented artisans and twice a year we do a handmade swap.

Here is a sneak peak of my work in progress for my swappee. I am pretty sure I have matched this riot of colour perfectly to her personality!

Totes Awesome!

Finally got around to finishing a project that has been sitting on my to do list for months a Totes Ma Tote by Emmaline Bags.

This project started its life as a quilt block in a BOM that ended up being the only block I sewed and into the UFO pile. I think Cappucino is judging my lack of application here!

So to reduce the UFO pile I needed a pattern that would showcase this beautiful block. And the Totes Ma Tote fit the bill perfectly.

I made one adjustment to the pattern and added braided handles instead of buckled handles. I was able to use leftover fabrics from the quilt block which I think really add a lovely pop of colour whilst not detracting from the star attraction.

The Serendipity Hip - Pattern Review

Recently I was asked by the lovely Christine of Chris W Designs to test her latest Pattern the Serendipity Hip Bag. You can find the pattern here

Of course I jumped at the chance as I am a big fan of Christine's patterns and also being time poor lately means that the promise of a quick sew was a good one. And true to her promise, the Serendipity Hip is a lovely bag that I was able to sew up on a interruption free afternoon - big winner!

As with all Chris W patterns there are lots of storage options and pockets, which I love in a smaller bag (heck I love lots of pockets in any sized bag) and as always the pattern is written in lots of detail with Christine walking you through each step with lots of photos and helpful hints to making your end result look fabulous and professional.

Don't you just love top contrast top stitching. I sure do.

A little bag bling from Emmaline Bags really takes a bag from homemade to handcrafted.

And its the perfect bag for throwing a few essentials in and heading out for some fun - like a social bike ride.

If you are looking for a fun cross body bag with storage options I highly recommend this pattern. And its lots of fun to sew too.

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Sewjo on Holidays

I recently took my son to visit my parents and while they were spending some quality time together, I got my sewjo on in a makeshift craftroom using my Mum's old Janome.

How can you not be inspired when in this room (I wish the Craft Room was always so tidy)

And here are the results.

A Necessary Clutch Wallet from and Emmaline Bags pattern.

And a matching Stow it All Tote from a Chris W Designs pattern.

Don't they look great together?

And finally, a wood carrier, which was a special request from my Aunty Pippy for her birthday. I hope she likes it!

A few recent bags

Also coming out of the craft room over the last few months have been some bags. I adore making bags, I wish I could have more bag making time each day!

First my complete 2014 Bag of the Month Club collection. I was super excited to win second prize for the March bag, which was the fabulous Mrs H's Convertible Backpack, made by me in Wonder Woman fabric

And then there has been some bag testing. My Gizmo Garage tester for Chris W Designs. I love this vertical laptop bag. It was very handy on my recent trip down south.

 
And a Nappy Bag tester for At Home with Mrs H. We are beyond nappies here (thank goodness), but I found that this also made a great carry on bag for flying or just as a large handbag.

So its been awhile....but I have been busy!

So its been awhile. Life gets like that sometimes.

There has still been some crafting though. Here are a few things that have come out of the craft room in the past few months.

Some seaside inspired doorstops, cushions and Supertote.