More new fabrics - from Art Gallery Quilts this time ...

Four new fabrics from Art Gallery Quilts arrived this week. All four coordinate beautifully together and are from the Sugar collection. I've just loaded in my shop so if you love them get in quick because quantities are limited!

Fridge magnets

I'm a bit of a hoarder. Not of everything mind you ... my house isn't full of piles of newspapers and miscellaneous stacks of crap, but I'm definitely a hoarder when it comes to fabric. I'll make something and keep every last little scrap of off-cut, thinking that maybe one day it'll come in handy. Well, for some of my scraps, that day arrived last weekend when my niece and I decided to get crafty by making some fridge magnets.

Veeky's at that great age (nearly 8) where she's into making stuff, has a good grip on how to use a pair of scissors, and can concentrate for long enough to get through a task. So, we made the most of it and made A LOT of magnets. These are really easy, you just need some fabric scraps, felt, magnets (we used self-adhesive magnetic strip that you can just cut up), a pair of pinking shears and your regular old sewing scissors. Oh, and a sewing machine of course.

I got the idea for making magnets from my friend Jo who gave Thomas some for Christmas. They were a big hit with him, so Veeky and I made him some more, plus lots for Veeky's sisters, Mum, Dad, aunty and grandparents. So why don't you give making some a go? They make a fabulous present and are a great way to get a little person you know involved in something crafty (because you can never start to young!). Plus, you can try out all those crazy stitches on your machine that you've never had a chance to use before.

p.s. sorry for the lack of posts lately ... things have been a bit hectic around here and my sewing time seems to be the first thing that goes out the window!

It's twins! Time for bibs!

My close friend very recently had twin boys and all her pain and agony at carrying them for 9 months was fully understood when they emerged at 7lb 5oz and 8lb 1oz (sorry, when it comes to babies it's pounds and ounces for me, none of this kg palava!). I know, talk about whoppers! Absolutely gorgeous whoppers though - I visited them in hospital and almost had to wipe up the drool. There's nothing quite like a new born baby ...

... Anyway, my friend's first child was rather spewy when she was tiny due to terrible reflux. Not wanting to tempt fate, but aware of the role that genes have in this sort of thing, I thought a good present for the new baby boys would be bibs, and lots of them. So, I got to making some from the David Walker fabrics in my shop. All the fabrics were from his Oh Boy! collection and the small prints worked really well.

One fat quarter made 2 bibs, so this was a great use of fabric. I then used towelling for the back and edged them in bias binding (more dramas using the awful stuff, so don't look too closely at the pics!). Then I just used domes to hold them together. Despite knowing for many months that the twins were arriving I of course left my run right to the last minute, but luckily these were quick to make and I managed to make all 6 bibs in a couple of hours. Why don't you give something like this a go?