I am not a Christmas person, never have been but having an old house to decorate I must say makes it more fun, it fits it somehow compared to our old townhouse. I keep the tree simple, baubles are blues & silver, lights are white, decorations are mushrooms, robins & stars I made from fabric bought in Germany to tie in with our German Canadian household. Christmas dinner is on Christmas Eve here with Christmas Day kept for sleeping in, stockings, presents , lazy day with heated up leftovers when you’re hungry.
Other things around the house are lots of Amaryllis & Paper Whites. I always leave the bulbs do their growing thing and store for a few months back in their boxes before replanting. I like to get a few new ones every year but most are a few years old. I have a white one flowering first this yearSome cute Ikea Gnomes Project: Simple vintage garland made with wide ribbon and vintage baubles. Just string the baubles on and slide to where you want them. The thick ribbon makes them stay in place without knots. I tie my ribbon ends to candles so I don’t have to make holes for mounting. The picture shelves work perfect for it. One of the wooden trees with my favourite handmade decoration, a vintage deer sewn in felt from the Cath Kidston Christmas Book. Hubby has been baking, his cinnamon rolls turned out amazing! I have Geraniums, herbs & Mums still blooming in the porch. I found I could keep them going all year last year. I’m thinking of bringing in a few rose bushes in pots too, it’s a weird 13c today with tons of rain, a good day to bring them in before it gets cold again on Thursday
That’s my house this year, I hope you have all decorated with many handmade makes and make the most of the holiday season! Vall
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I am a HUGE Cath Kidston fan, of the older style.. and when I saw these remnants from the textile factory in Portugal, I had to get them. They were small but also impossible to find any of these prints.
The useable portion was about 7 inch x 13 inch. When I opened the package these two prints (of course I had to buy others that they had!) were beside each other and screamed.. “Use me together!”
Blue polka dots and vintage ornaments.. Perfect for my holiday decorating, its all blue & silver, these will fit right in! So to figure out what to do with them.. Patchwork of course!
I figured 3 inch squares would make the most out of the material. I got 9 squares from a remnant, so I cut up two of them. I didn’t want to make it too big incase it didn’t turnout as my head figured it would. I cut 18 3 inch squares of the blue dots to match
Once laid out.. I was in love… soooooooo in love! Time to sew!
Soooo pretty! Onto press well and cut the backing
Once cut to size and trimmed, I sewed all around leaving a turning gap. I hate binding and will avoid it at all costs! There is also no batting .. I don’t like batting in my tableware if possible (pot holder aside) I find batting makes it look to “crafty”.
Time to turn it right side out and press again. I top stitched all the seam lines with simple stitch in the ditch and a 1/8 top stitch around the whole runner. It is honestly one of my favorite holiday textiles now.. loooove!
Other fun stuff lately.. a bunch of us went to see the Glenn Miller Orchestra in Moncton at the Capital Theatre. Amazing venue for it. The band is a continuation of the original and were absolutely amazing! If you are into swing, they are a must see!
Fun time had by all!
Till the next time, keep smiling.. and make things! Vall
It’s the time of year I wish I had more time to prepare for! It’s been a busy fall at the shop, new stuff arriving, clearing out older stock and making room for a Christmas section, which is starting to look rather nice.
I’m loving the scrappy tree pillows, I have a pattern written and will hopefully have it up for sale soon.
I wanted to have some unique, non Christmas stuff out in the shop & this weekends market in Riverside Albert for Christmas in the Country, so I made up a double decker bus pillow & working on a Liberty pillow tonight
What will it be? Find out when it’s finished 😊
What happened between the last post and now.. summer tourism! I was not expecting it to be as crazy busy this year as it ended up being, but its all good. Now back to being able to sew things that are not urgent! I will catch up on a few things but for now here is a quick fun block I love to make.
The one I am currently making is made up of a 4 inch center square, (4) 2×4 inch sides and (4) 2 inch corner squares in off white. The finished block is 7 inches.
Material used is 10 Fat Quarters of Hidden Cottage by Minki Kim, you will have extras left over for something else. I used Confetti Cotton in Off White, I am working from a yard cut I have, so facture in a yard.
Side Note: I also like to make theses with 3.5 inch centers, 1.5 x 3.5 sides & 1.5 inch corner squares. I may do a post on the other quilt I have on the go using this size.
I try to make them scrappy, I cut (30) 4 inch centers, 3 from each fat quarter. Then cut all the side pieces.
From the off white I cut 2 inch strips, then sub cut into 2 inch blocks.
I like to lay out all the inner squares, put sides on top then the 4 2 inch squares each block requires. They are then ready to sew.
I like to stack mine on a vintage plate, you can use anything, I just really like vintage china and try to use them in weird ways. Sew together & iron.
Lay them out somewhere and play around until you like how it looks. This quilt will be 5 block across, 6 rows total. Stack them how ever your brain likes to do that and sew into rows using 2 inch x 7 inch strips in the off white in between the blocks.
I used 2.5 inch strips in the off white as my boarders on all sides, added on after this picture was taken. Cute & Quick .. now into the to be quilted pile it goes!
What else has been going on? SNOW! Too early.. I am not a winter person. The flowers are still blooming, they were not expecting snow either. I managed to get all the dahlias dug up and in before it hit. Here’s a few frosty flower pictures.. poor roses!
Scouse on the other hand was very happy to see the snow. She LOVES it..
Its Nov now .. I will get another post ready. Hopefully wont be as long in between as the summer ones here .. That was a crazy summer!
Im not sure how it became June already, but it is. Tourist season is picking up and its refreshing to see and talk to so many new faces.
When I opened my shop last year and being very new to the area, I had no idea I would be the first stop for most tourists coming down from Moncton to Alma. I was – to say the least- not prepared! We moved in the end of November and with winter on us pretty fast, we didn’t get to explore much. I was being asked questions I couldn’t answer and only had my Maritime road map to help. It was very trying, but made it through. With lots of research, trying to explore when we could and a few trips to the Albert County Museum, I am now very well prepared! I give a full map tour with lots of fun stops, history & a few hidden gems. I love seeing excited happy faces about to go on adventures.
Quilts in the shop!
Its taken me a bit to get some in, so many things on the go, but here are a few!
First picture is a log cabin with beautiful Liberty florals on a off white background. Florals can become very busy very fast, I find breaking it up with a white shade helps to calm the effect. I make up most of the quilts I make, most are off the cuff creations, this is one of them. I loved making it. Its
71 x 58 inches, fits the top of a queen (shown on a queen) The back is a white with blue rose Liberty print. More can be seen here: Log Cabin Liberty Quilt
Sunflower Baby Quilt
I love doing big statement flowers! Bright colours and fun fussy cutting. It’s 39×35 inch, perfect for the pram, crib or a little play mat. More information here: Sunflower Baby Quilt
There are a few more, you will have to wait for the next post.
Shop Update:
There are a few new lines on their way in, finally! Adel in Summer (bright fun prints), Simply Country (blue & white), Live Love Glamp (fun camping line) & more Bon Voyage nautical prints.
What is going on in the studio?
Bags, lots of bags. I love making useful items, I have two types of small bags and 4 tote sizes. All can be found at my shop. Boxy zippy pouches, everyday totes and market totes can also be found at The Starving Artist in Moncton, Wendy Johnson Pottery & The Outpost in Alma. Simple zipper pouches & book totes are also available at The Albert County Museum.
I have 4 cross stitch kits almost completed too. Finding the time to be on the computer long enough without doing accounting makes it harder to get them finished lol.
Its Spring! Flowers are blooming, rhubarb is coming up, trees are budding and the raspberries across the way at Harpers Farm are starting to wake up. I love how big the sky looks here.
Those crosses are to hold the raspberry bushes up.. not graves lol.. I know.. it kinda looks like it.
So what is hut season.. time to stock & open the blue hut at the artisan village for the season! My whole shop fits in here. Lots of fabric (precut into fat quarters/half yards/yard cuts) patterns, notions, rulers, yarns, crochet hooks, knitting needles, cross stitch & embroidery supplies and new this year.. local gifts! I have a few potters, local made soap, maple candy, coffee & more.
I do map tours of the area, point out all the amazing history, landmarks, museums, attractions, best places to eat and stay! I have quite a few highlighted on my website here: Fundy Trail Tourism If you are heading this way this summer, stop by!
My latest make.. a double decker bus! I love this. My bestie Sam came over with this pattern so I made one for each of us. I did a few modifications to the original and love it! Made just in time for the coronation. Speaking of the Coronation, who all watched it?
Sam and I went all out, tea, fizz, dainty sandwiches, scones, coronation quiche, and sweets. Sam did an amazing job, the roses were perfect, we got Cath Kidston coronation plates & tea cups. It was amazing to watch a ceremony so steeped in history.
That is the update for now, its been a busy few weeks of moving the shop & making stock for my shop and a few others down this road, I will do a post on that at another time.
Its Easter, finally. This has been a long winter, I can’t wait to see the end of the cold white stuff outside. I have planted tulips & hyacinths in the house, they always cheer me up this time of year.
The runner is one of my favorites. Appliqued orange peels made with vintage feedsack prints on a simple linen runner.
Orange peels can be made in many ways, I like to use the Sue Daley leaf papers. I prep the papers the same way as for any English paper piecing project but once glued I give it a good iron, remove the papers and press again. They are then ready to use.
For this runner I used a marking pen to mark grid lines, laid the orange peels out and pinned down. Then hand sewed them on. Simple & vintage.
Explore Fundy:
Harvey Bank
This is a little gem, a light house, anchor and skeleton of a ship. This sweet spot is in Harvey Bank located on Marys Point Road, just off route 915. If you are heading to Cape Enrage or Waterside its a must stop. Its not very far from route 915, quiet, quaint and well worth the stop. Who doesn’t like finding light houses? Its small but cute!
Shop Updates:
The Liberty of London line London Parks is in and yes there are some London City Prints! I LOVE this line! Along with London icons there are tulips, coronations, and other assorted florals, all those pretty things Liberty is famous for!
I couldn’t wait to use these prints, made a simple pillow with fussy cut center squares of the Tower of London and Big Ben!
There were a few new things in the shop this week, some of the Bee Vintage line by Lori Holt showed up in fat quarter bundles, charms packs and 10 inch squares. New notions like quilt clips in the sweetest tin. Pins with campers & birds are in too!
I leave off wishing you all a very happy Easter! May the bunny come and leave you chocolates 😀
Here is how to make the cheery window mobiles I have at the shop. They are simple and cute as heck!
First collect materials:
Shapes: Take easy shapes from colouring books, quilt books, online etc. Do not make them complicated but stick to hearts, birds, owls, simple bunny outlines etc. Get the picture to the size you want and cut out or make a template.
Fabric of your choosing
Interfacing such as foam, fleece or batting. If using batting double it up for better structure.
Trace the shape onto the foam/batting etc and cut out.
For the fabric: for simple shapes like hearts trace one side only and use a large enough scrap for the opposite side or fold it like shown here. For directional shapes like birds, trace two (one per side) by flipping the template before tracing. If need to add wings etc. do it before going on to the next step. Leave some room between the shapes
Line it all up as follows: Bottom fabric with traced shape good side up if directional like a bird or just a plain or folded piece as shown in the picture. Place fabric with traced shape good side down. Make sure traced shapes line up if they have extras like wings etc. Place foam in the traced lines. If the foam is fusible, you can iron set it onto one of the fabric traced shapes to make it easier. If not use a glue stick to stick it in place.
Sew around on the traced lines, leave a gap for turning, turn right side out, make it look pretty, iron and and stitch or close stitch by machine closed.
Use string to connect the shapes and hang from a small nail or tack from the window
Wow its March! So far its in like a lion here, hopefully it will be out like a lamb. We just had a nice fresh snow dumping, which meant getting up at 5am to get the drive cleared for hubby to get out. It is quite peaceful outside at the hour.. the snow blower made it a bit loud, but still peaceful.
Once dawn broke it went from clear to super foggy over the river in seconds. The weather here is fascinating! Those are stakes for raspberries in case you were wondering what the crosses are.
In the studio I have been busy doing A: tons of accounting B: sewing I should not be doing as I need to get the accounting done!
This quilt has been fun, its made with Reflections by Riley Blake. I loved all the prints but could not make a block I liked, I ended up trying a log cabin and voila! Loved it. To break it up I used a applique block taken from a pattern in the Cath Kidston book Sew! I have always wanted to use the sweet flowers in that quilt.
Its twin or couch size. The blocks are 10.5 each. I have a YouTube video tutorial available for it. I go through both blocks.
That pretty much sums up the week. I wish you all a wonderful week ahead!
The beautiful and picturesque Fundy National Park.
This past Sunday we packed the pups in the car for a trip down the road, its a beautiful drive from Hillsborough to Alma/Fundy National Park. Scouse and Ellie were happy to get out and smell new things. We all needed out of the house, the weather was good and needed the mental break.
Unlike summertime, you can go to the lookout and be the only ones there. It was quite icy out, the snow super crunchy but the pups didn’t mind.. just happy to look, smell and get out somewhere other then our house.
We stopped in Alma for pizza at Soprano’s, highly recommend stopping to eat there.. YUM!
What’s up in the Studio?
I LOVE this line, its call Reflections by Riley Blake. The prints are very vintage, florals and cherries, happy summer prints. I have tried a few things but didn’t love it, until I did a log cabin sample and now I’m hooked. I’m starting to think log cabin is my favorite block. This quilt will be a mix of log cabin and some applique.
For the applique I’m doing flowers from Cath Kidston’s Sew book.
I’m thinking the inner circles need to be bigger then this test block. Loving those cherries!
8 more applique blocks to go and I can get it all squared up.. woohoo. I really need to get some quilts on the pile quilted before starting anymore lol!
Shop Updates:
In yesterday stock delivery was some of the new Lori Holt line Bee Vintage. The sew simple shapes, charms and tape measures are in. Charms for this line are sunbonnet sue, scottie dog & a house. The measuring tapes are soooo sweet! Faux leather in 4 colours and designs. The sew simple shapes look fun! There is a tea pot!!! The Calico tin mug finally arrived, Sue Daley large rotating mat is back in stock as are black zipper tape.
Its going to be a nice sunny day with a high of 10c so I’m getting off this computer now and taking the pups for a walk before heading to the shop. Have a wonderful, creative day!
Sew Fundy 