Once upon a quilt

To start, I'll tell you I'm by no means a "real" quilter...I've taken and learnt bits off the Internet and I don't follow (or even know) the rules about proper quilt making. Don't get me wrong, I admire real quilters and their beautiful craft but I'm not claiming to be one of them.

So now that's out of the way, I guess you could say what I do is...make blankets with squares - but I'm not changing the title as "Once upon a blanket made of squares" doesn't quite have the same ring.

I've always fancied the idea of having a picnic blanket, but the ones that you can buy all seem far too small...and so the crafty idea to make one came about.

I searched Internet sites madly hunting down some  instructions and found this> Summer Sewing - Picnic Blanket with Rock Pockets . The step-by-step instructions are easy to follow and  with the pictures you can't go wrong. How can you resist having a picnic blanket with rock pockets?

I made mine slightly bigger, with each square measuring 51cm and the backing material square was just over 2 m. It can have 4 people sitting very comfortably.



Even birds like picnic blankets. This bird dropped in to have a look around during one of our picnics, perhaps he liked the colour scheme...

When you make your picnic blanket, here are a few things to remember;   

 

When choosing your materials it's a good idea to go with a theme; the options are endless, but a few examples would be the seasons, the ocean, your favourite colour...I went with an earthy theme, but saw the button fabric and could not help myself - oh well

 

Always wash your materials before you begin your project, to allow for shrinkage (wash dark colours separately to avoid cross-contamination of the colours) .

 

Play around with your design to find one that is pleasing to the eye.   

 

Iron all your seams flat - it makes the sewing up much easier and looks neater too



 

Though the task of sewing it all together may seem daunting - don't give up...the end result will be worth it



 

Provided that you use washable batting, and secure it in place across the blanket to prevent the batting from shifting inside the fabric, you should be able to machine wash it (ours has been washed several times...picnic  food and drinks have an affinity for picnic blankets no matter how hard you try)

Hope you have fun making your own picnic blanket. I'd love to see pics if you do.

I'd best be going as I have a gecko in my head demanding that he be given a body of his own. 

Let go and let God...

I have a confession to make. I have been consumed by worry lately. Worry about getting my degree, worry about getting a job, worry about finances, worry about where we will be in 6 months time, worry about what to do with the rest of my life, worry about other people, worry about what's happening back home, worry about mine and other people's health, worry about way, way, way too many things.

I'm apprehensive (yes that's worry too) about what I should and should not write on this blog :)

But this morning I have peace trickling in about the fact that I don't have to.

So I'm going to keep on keeping on and for now I'll enjoy doing crafty stuff instead of worrying about where I should be and what I should be doing and see it as a blessing.

A rose from  my garden from me to you - have a great day and don't worry :)

Bag Deja'vu

Deja'vu

This morning I was browsing through a few craft blogs and suddenly realised that I had been on one of the blogs before, about 3 years ago and it turned out to be the blog that inspired me to make my first bag...

If you are wanting to make a bag - have a peek at this http://vintagericrac.blogspot.com/2008/01/1-hour-bag-tutorial.html it is brilliant!

Here is a quick run down of my bags from past to present...

My first Bag - made in quite a rush the day before we went on holiday...

The inside pocket - complete with zip and all

Pretty bits and bobs

I didn't have any batting/wadding stuff so it's just material and as a result a bit flopsy. The strap sadly was not connected properly and the fluffy bits stick out - and some day I'll have to fix them.

After this, followed a bag made from denim (an old pair of jeans)  - it found a home with my marmy (who was kind enough to send a photie of it>

This one has a zip to close the main compartment and a flap over it with a pocket

Then I made a bag for a friend - she wanted a green one so that's what she got...it's VERY GREEN, but I must admit I liked it.




It has an outer pocket with a flap
and an inner pocket
and some big glass beads to finish it off

Next followed a Pink bag for a friend crazy about pink, but apart from the lettering on the front, it sadly didn't turn out too well

 

 My next two projects - which included the completion of a third one (a quilt though not a bag) were for Christmas presents and turned out pretty well.

The fish bag - I found this gorgeous material when wandering round a fabric store and just had to have it, I didn't even know what I was going to do with it at the time...





The fishy - my first attempt at applique...



The flower bag made from one flower child to another







I found the pretty beaded lace by chance too and simply added it to the thicker black strap to finish it off.





And then finally came my bag which you may already have seen in yesterday's blog...

  

Ta Da!

And there you have it - another day, another bag :)

My Floower Bag

I've made a few bags in the past, and apart from my first one which I kept, I've given the rest away. So it was time to make one for myself...

The beaded flower



The bag from the back

 Bag from the front (there is a pocket which has two little Velcro dots to keep it closed)

The bag is lined with a light cream calico with a small double pocket inside and the main compartment has a magnetic closure thingy (can't remember it's proper name...)

Something new...

This is to save my facebook friends and family from being bombarded by my playing.

So now anyone that is interested can follow this blog to see what crafty stuff I've been up to. All ideas and questions are welcome...

I'm mostly self taught so I'm sure some of you will know quicker and easier ways of doing things so you'll have to forgive my ignorance and please feel free to give your input and advise.

Current projects:

Recently I've been learning to knit again...I did learn how to at school, but wasn't really interested then and my wonderful mom ended up having to finish knitting my scarf for me.
OK, I was a bit ambitious and wanted to knit a Numbat (it's an endangered Australian marsupial)...I've since changed my plan and he will be part knitted, part sewn. Watch this space...

I'm also busy making my first ever mosaic of an Aloe, but now that I've created the aloe, I'm too scared to start working on the background in case I mess it up...but I will in time persevere and  show you the end result.

My brother-in-law's family has recently increased by one and I hope to make a baby quilt for the new little person. I'm busy working on the design and have some beautifully soft fleece material to use.

I've just finished making a new bag and it has turned out pretty well - photo's to follow shortly.

Guess that's all for now.
Have a great day!