Goodbye 2012

So things have been a bit quiet around here the last few weeks and i just wanted to pop in and say hello. We have been the house of the Virus. Even the dog has had a virus and had to have a wee holiday  at the vets getting IV fluids and medication.

Christmas ended up being very quiet, and New Year is not going to be a party, as I have been in bed with flu for the last few days, and it looks like my husband is going down with it too.

I've been enjoying seeing some lovely mosaics popping up of things people have made over the last year and although I fancied doing that (for about 5 seconds!) I just can't be a***d!

I did manage to finish the quilt I showed in my last blog post so I'll show you that instead

It was for my sister and brother in laws' Christmas and I made some matching bunting. I used a flannel sheet as backing so it's lovely and soft and cozy. Hopefully it's the perfect festive movie quilt :)

I also received a very very sweet pouch from Hadley in the Brit Bee secret Santa, but I haven't taken a picture of it yet. I'll save that for another post but Thank you Hadley I love it :)

So that's it for 2012, see you in 2013!!!

Love
Fiona x

Festive Hexi Stars

Yesterday I suddenly took the urge to make a Christmas quilt. I have plenty to be keeping me busy (gift buying, gift making, card writing etc) but I couldn't fight the urge!

Last year I bought a bundle of Delighted by the Quilted Fish in the black Friday sales, and it has been whispering to me ever since. I persuaded myself it wasn't too insane to randomly start another quilt if I could make it quickly, so I decided to go big :)

I'm still not tired of hexagons, and this lovely quilt by Jeni at In Color Order had caught my eye a couple of weeks ago. I went with great big hexagons (each side is 7") and added some equilateral triangles so there was a big of a starry effect going on (and so I could piece it without cutting the hexagons in half and avoid y-seams) It wasn't quite big enough for my liking so I added a couple of borders. Now it measures just over 70" square, and I'm rather happy with it :)

If I can manage to get it quilted in time I'm going to give it to a special person for Christmas (who hopefully doesn't read my blog!)

Do you like it? I do :)

Happy Thursday!
Fiona x

In the name of the Wee Man!

"In the name of the Wee Man!" is my Granny's favourite saying when she can't believe her eyes/ears. It makes me smile every time I hear someone say it :)

It's what my Granny would say when she opened her curtains this morning

Kids on the way to school this morning. Brrrrrrr!

Murphy and his BFF of the way home from school this morning :)

My completed Granny Square Quilt in the garden this morning!

Yes I've finished it :)

And I'm really really pleased with it

I finished the binding last night, so I couldn't resist a wee photo shoot

Isn't it pretty?

Quilt details:
Inspired by the amazing Jolene's Granny Quilt
Blocks are make with my scraps and the background is an ivory solid I bought from here
Backing is a print called Tea Cakes by Verna Mosquera
Binding is It's a Hoot by Momo
Quilted in straight(ish) lines approx 1" apart on my sewing machine
Quilt measures approx 40" x 50"

I'm going to get this listed in my Etsy shop and I'm seriously considering making another one because I really loved making it :)

Happy Monday!
Fiona x

Fresh Sewing Day :)

Fresh Sewing Day :), a photo by Fiona @ Poppy Makes on Flickr.

Our computer has decided it's had enough and appears to have kicked the bucket, but I was actually organised this month and had my mosaic all ready for Lynne's Fresh Sewing Day.

November was a busy month of sewing and tidying up. I'm looking forward to December.

I've never posted from my phone before so don't know how this will work, but fingers crossed :)

Happy December!
Fiona x

More forgotten blocks

I'm still on a mission to tidy up my sewing stuff, and yesterday I discovered some more forgotten blocks hiding in a bag, in a storage bag under the sofa.

Months ago I fell in love with Jolene's stunning Granny Square quilt, and vowed I would make one. I loved making the blocks but for one reason or another (probably a frantic tidy up because visitors were due) they got bundled away and forgotten.

I made 9 blocks before they were shoved in the bag, so I decided to whip up another 3 blocks and turn them into a little baby quilt.

I've just finished cutting backing and wadding and I'm about to get my pins out and get basting. I can't wait to quilt this. I'm tempted to do some more FMQ practice, but I think it would be really pretty hand-quilted too.

Hope you all have a good weekend!
Fiona x

My finished Swoon!

So it seems I am on a bit of a roll when it comes to finishing things off :)

Drumroll........

I finished my Swoon quilt!!! Yay!

I hadn't expected to be quite so excited to be finished this, but I am and I love it!

It has actually been in use on my bed for a few weeks now with raw edges - it's getting cold in Scotland! But yesterday I managed to get the binding on and it's now washed and dried and looking very pretty if I do say so myself ;)

 I had originally decided to hand quilt this, but after I started, I realised it was just going to join the queue of quilts waiting for me to finish the hand quilting. So I left the centre block with it's perle stitches and machine quilted the rest. I quite like that the centre block looks a bit different to the rest - and it's a little reminder to me to think things through before I start something!

It shrank a little bit when I washed it, I think about 2", and ended up at 78" square. I used Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 wadding and I really really love the weight and drapeyness of it. It's thinner than some other cotton wadding, but I prefer that, and it's really lovely and soft once it's washed.

The backing is my favourite print from Joel dewberry's Heirloom line and I decided to bind it in the same print as the backing (I actually made the binding from the lengths of backing I trimmed off after quilting) I stitched the binding down with my machine, using my new machine binding skills :)

I've started binding using strips that are 1 3/4" wide rather than 2 1/2" and I really like the finish of binding this way and it uses less fabric. Would any of you be interested in a tutorial on how I now do my binding?

For those interested
Pattern is Swoon by Camille Roskelley
Fabric used is Heirloom by Joel Dewberry in the citrine colourway, and a couple of Painter's Canvas by Laura Gunn.
I used white cotton poplin rather than quilting cotton for the white background and I like how crisp and fresh it feels.
I used Empress cotton thread to  quilt it - love it, it's my new favourite - thanks to Alison :)
It's quilted by me, trying out various quilting patterns a la my Angela Waters book

Now I need to tart up my bedroom curtains so the co-ordinate with the new quilt, and make my bedroom a bit prettier, but first I have promised my husband I will hard-wire ethernet cables round the downstairs today, so the internet will be faster and we can stream movies through the Sky box. Sigh...... better go get my hammer, drill and cable clips ready. I would much rather be playing with fabric!

Happy Wednesday
Fiona x

Modern Hexagon Baby Quilt

I managed to finish one of the quilts I rediscovered the other day!

The Hexagon blocks that begged to be a baby quilt have been transformed into a sweet little baby quilt/playmat measuring approximately 48" square. I used the Merry Go Round Pattern by American Jane to make the blocks

I machine quilted it following the seams of the blocks, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The hexagon pattern really shows up on the back of the quilt.

This is also the first time I have managed to machine sew a binding that I am happy with :) I used the green Eyelet print from Denyse Schmidt's Flea Market Fancy because they remind me of little seedlings - perfect for a baby quilt I think!

I am more than a little bit in love with this quilt and briefly considered having a fourth child just so I could use this quilt! However I have come to my senses and have listed it in my new little Etsy shop, and I'm hoping it sells before I get broody again ;)

Fabric used is mainly It's a Hoot by Momo for Moda and the backing is a print from the Bliss line by Bonnie and Camille for Moda.

I've also added more destash fabric to the shop if anyone is interested - Thanks to everyone who has helped me tidy up so far! The discount code opening10 still gives you 10% off anything you buy :)


Happy Monday!
Fiona x

It's amazing.....

what you might find if your start tidying your stash!

You might find your completed Single Girl quilt top, along with 7 yards of backing fabric, just waiting to be turned into a quilt

Or you might find a partially quilted Dresden quilt made with gorgeous Heather Ross fabric

You might find a pile of Merry Go Round blocks that just beg you to become a baby quilt/playmat

so then you might just listen to them and make one :)

Oh, and could anybody use this? It's a very cute little panel that I bought when my boys were babies, with the intention of making a wall hanging for their bedroom. Their bedroom is now plastered with pictures of Lionel Messi and other sporting memorabilia so I don't think it would quite fit in any more ;)

It's free to a good home, actually there are 2 panels, so shout if you're interested

Have a good weekend!
Fiona x

A Little Etsy pop-up shop

Just a quick little post to say Hello and let you know I've Just opened a little destash shop on Etsy, which you can visit here.

I've already listed a few things from my out-of-control stash and I'm planning to be listing more over the next few days.

I've managed to figure out how to add a discount code to the shop, so I'd like to offer my lovely blog readers an extra 10% off if you see something you fancy. Just use the code OPENING10

Happy shopping!

Fiona x

Another fantastic swap!

I just received another amazing swap package! This is the stunning pillow I received in the Pillow Talk Swap. It was made for me by Marika {Live, Laugh, Love... Sew} and I'm so excited that it's come to live with me!

When I saw it pop up in the group poll my first thought was "Oh No! That's pretty similar to the one I'm making for my partner, but it's so much nicer!"

Haha! The lovely Marika did a fantastic job of stalking me and making the most beautiful pillow that just fits perfectly into my bedroom! I'm feeling very very lucky at the moment :)

Thankyou so Marika!!!

I haven't replied to all the lovely comments on my last post yet, I'm still catching up with myself. I've got a poorly boy off school today, and a puppy who is still stiff and sore after getting hit by a car at the start of the week. But I had to hop onto the computer to show off my beautiful new pillow! Now I better get back to my nursing duties!

Have a great weekend!
Fiona x

Catching up

Thanks for all your lovely comments on the pillow/cushion cover I showed off  in my last post. It's now safely arrived at it's new home and my partner seems to like it :) Yay! Now I can get excited about the one that will be headed my way!

I got some lovely post the other day, in the form of my Mouthy Stitches tote! It was such a great surprise because it turned out that my friend from afar Elaine was making for me :) We've known each other a while now because we are in the same circle in the do.Good Stitches Bee and she certainly knows me well! My new tote bag is just so perfect and makes me smile every time I look at it! Thankyou so so much Elaine - I just love it, and my daughter has got her eye on it too! ;)

Something else that is making me smile is Lori Holt's Row Along over at Bee in my Bonnet. I think I mentioned before that I couldn't resist this Row Along and had decided to use my most precious little stash of Wee Play by American Jane. I am LOVING this quilt along. I didn't think that it could get any cuter than the apples she gave us for row 4, but this morning she posted cups of cocoa for row 6! They are so flippin cute that I didn't even eat breakfast before I started pulling fabric and sewing! I have a bit of a thing about cup and mugs, and have several favourite mugs depending on what brew I'm drinking. This row was really quick and easy to whip up, and ever since I finished I've been dreaming about getting my hands on a mug with an American Jane print on it. I can't even imagine how much I might love that dream mug!

If anybody has been undecided about joining this Row Along I really recommend it. Lori's blocks are just beautiful and her instructions are brilliant. I've learned loads of new things already!

I've also been busy with Bee blocks, my Fat Quarter Shop Designer Mystery Block of the Month blocks, and I've had another burst of making Farmer's Wife blocks again, but I haven't managed to take any pictures of them yet, maybe I'll show them next time :)

Happy Wednesday

Fiona x

Pillow Talk and a walk

I've finished my pillow for the Pillow Talk Swap. I was really excited when I found out my partner and I pulled out my extra special bag of little scraps to make a happy scrappy pillow that I hope she'll love. I really enjoyed making this and I a wee bit sad it's finished. It'll be on it's way to it's new home soon :)

The centre part is a New York Beauty block that I made using this great tutorial, and I hand quilted it using perle cotton.

On Sunday morning I enjoyed a lovely a walk in the woods with my daughter and Murphy before we went to watch her brother play rugby. I love this photo I took. It just sums up an autumnal Sunday morning :)

Happy Wednesday

Fiona x

Drunk Quilt, Scrap Vomit and a Tova!

Thankyou so much for all the lovely get-well messages you sent me after my last post. I'm feeling much more like myself again :)

I've been busy (not tidying and cleaning like I should be) I've been finishing things and making new things too :)

Want to see?

 I finished my Drunkard's Path mini quilt (totally inspired by this beauty made by Michelle I like Orange Too)  and it's now proudly hanging in the living room. I'm not sure how impressed my husband is with the new wall art, he hasn't mentioned it at all since it appeared on the wall, but the kids like it, and it makes me happy every time I walk into the room :)

Scrap Vomit is almost finished. It hasn't got the binding on yet, I've just zig-zagged round the edges.
It's the kids' new favourite quilt, and Murphy seems to like it too! I didn't use wadding, just backed it with an old flannel sheet that I dyed kind of wine coloured.

And I'm very proud of this make....

I made myself a Tova! The pattern is now available for download and after months of wishing I had more time to start making myself clothes again, I decided to just do it.

I followed a lot of the tips that Kerry gave during her Tova Sew Along and it came together pretty quickly (about 4 or 5 hours total, including cutting out and taping the pattern together).

It's a bit crumpled in the photos because I have been wearing it all day, but I absolutely LOVE it! I love the little gathered details and it's just so comfy! I used quilting weight cotton (Make Life by Sweetwater for Moda) and lengthened the sleeves so it's warmer for winter.

I'm going to make a Portfolio dress next! And just in case anybody fancies a bit of dress making, This site is doing simplicity patterns for $2.99 just now - I just ordered the Lisette Diplomat Dress pattern and the Lisette Souvenir Top :)

Hope you're all having a good week!

Fiona x