a sweet little finish

I've had a top for this baby quilt finished many, many moons ago but somehow, instead of getting finished and passed on to some sweet little creature to enjoy, it ended up in my UFO pile.

Until yesterday, that is. I raided my stash and discovered a wonderfully soft berry fabric for the backing, did some simple straight line quilting along the patchwork seams, bound, washed, and dried it, and a few hours later I had this lovely quilt ready to be gifted.

Not bad, right? Plus, it feels wonderful to have one less UFO project hanging around.

Thanks for reading. Svetlana

getting there ...

Happy Tuesday!

This epp thing has been soooo much fun! 

 

And now that the "ferris wheels" part is finished, it's all about choosing the right background. Turns out this part is a lot trickier than I thought :)

Talk to you soon. Svetlana

paper piecing

I've been into paper piecing lately. And while I worked mostly on epp hexie flowers, I decided to change things up a little bit and dab into some foundation paper piecing.

I just love how this sweet Happy Hexagon Trivet from Ayumi's Patchwork, Please! book turned out. It was such a fun little project and I got to play with my scraps, too. Totally a win - win combination.

The thing I probably like the most about foundation paper piecing is that all the points turn out perfectly pointy. Love, love, love!!!

Here's the back of my trivet. I was a little worried about the binding as I have never bound a hexagon shaped anything beofre, but Ayumi gave such great instructions in her book that everything turned out great without any hiccups.

Keeping in with my newfound love for paper piecing, I've also started another epp project - Katy's Spring Carnival. I've had my eye on this pillow for quite some time, but it all seemed so very complicated and I was not sure if my epp skills were up to this challenge.

I was so happy to find out that it was not as scary as it seemed at first, and I'm enjoying working on this pillow a lot. Oh, and it's such a great portable project, too. I made almost the whole flower while waiting for my kids in the pick-up lane this afternoon.

Have a lovely day everyone. Svetlana

Liking up to AmandaJean's Finish it up Friday.

lately...

Lately I felt so overwhelmed by my Swoon and Pinkie Pie quilts. I barely made any progress on either over the last few weeks, so this morning I decided to attach the binding to my Swoon. 

As you can see from the picture above, I'm not even close to being done with my hand quilting. I just needed to feel like the end is near, thus the binding on an unfinished quilt. I'll clearly do anything to trick my mind into thinking a lot less work is ahead of me than it actually is :)

I also made these two very simple pillows for my sister. I found it hard to work with warm colors she really likes (plus she asked for no blue or gray!!!!), but I quite like the way they turned out. It's always good to step out of your comfort zone, right?

And then I made my non-patchwork loving oldest daughter this lunch bag using Amy's pattern from her book Zakka Handmades. 

And then I was in serious need of some very colorful patchworky goodness so I worked on these epp hexagons and kept turning them into flowers. I have no idea what to do with them, though. I think I'll just keep making more and more (they are so relaxing) and wait for the right project to come along.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Svetlana

a little makeover

A few years back I used to be obsessed with home decorating. I watched hours and hours of HGTV, painted, re-painted, decorated, and re-decorating our house many, many times. Then one day I ditched my  home decorating addiction and replaced it with sewing addiction instead. I know, I'm all about balance here :)

Well, the other day the girls and I walked into our local Savers store and my old addiction kicked in as soon as my eyes rested on this "previously well loved", rather dingy looking display shelf.

Quite ugly, isn't it? Well, I thought it had a potential so I brought it home and got to work.

I took it all apart, cleaned, sanded, turned my backyard into an impromptu painting studio, and spray painted all the parts. I won't lie. I did not enjoy the process. The whole time I kept thinking sewing is so much more fun.

I kept at it, however, and today I managed to put the whole thing back together.

Not bad, is it? I even used a piece of my most favorite Heather Ross strawberries print to brighten the whole display up. I do like the way this little shelf turned out, but next time I'm definitely skipping a trip to the charity shop and heading for a fabric store instead.

And, just for the sake of it - the before and after picture. 

So, tell me. Do you ever "stray" from your preferred craft? Do you enjoy it, or like me, you can't wait to get back to what you love best? 

Thanks so much for reading. Svetlana

divided basket

I could resist no longer! I finally caved in and made Anna's divided basket yesterday.

I used a combination of my very favorite Nordika print, some Denyse Schmidt, Cloud nine, and Riley Blake. Fun, fun, fun!!!

I was a little unsure about the whole process of installing the divider, as well as these fabric + webbing handles. Anna's instructions, however, were flawless and easy to follow, as usual, with tons of pictures to help along so I sailed through the whole basket making process without a snag.

I found the last step of joining the exterior and lining together quite cumbersome but with the help of gazillion Clover Wonder Clips  all worked out quite well.

And now I really, really want to make one of Anna's new fabric berry baskets. Have you seen them? They are the cutest and I'm sure would be useful in any sewing space.

Thanks for stopping by. Svetlana

back to school sewing

Yesterday was hot and muggy, a perfect day to stay indoors and get some sewing done, so that's just what I did. And since my kids' school starts in exactly two weeks, I decided some back to school sewing was totally in order.

My son chose a stack of fabrics he liked and I added a few scraps from my scrap basket and made this patchwork pencil pouch for him. I questioned my decision to go scrappy for a boy pouch, but I think it worked out really well in the end and we both love the way it turned out.

I even got away with adding a fun little tag on the side,

and another don't let the pigeon drive the bus tag on the back. Who says sewing for boys is boring?

Once the pouch was finished, examined, and approved of, I decided to dive into a second project on my imaginary to do list - a lunch bag for my middle daughter.

I used Amy's fantastic pattern from her book Zakka Handmades, and I think all these pretty fabrics make for one very sweet lunch bag - those little kitties are beyond adorable.

I was really surprised at how quickly it came together. Good thing too, since I still need to make another one for my oldest daughter.

That reminds me, off I go, more sewing to be done.

Thanks for stopping by. Svetlana

Linking up to Finish it up Friday.

winner, winner

Yay, we have the winner!!!!

Congratulations, Terri Mosier!!! You're the winner. 

Please contact me so I can get your mailing address.

Thank you so much, everyone, for taking part in my needle book giveaway. I loved reading each and every comment you left, thank you!!!

Svetlana

needle books + a giveaway

I woke up way too early on Saturday morning, and while everyone else was still asleep, I simply had to start cutting 1.5" squares to make a new needle book. Mind you, I did not need a needle book, I just needed to make one. Please tell me this happens to you, also???

I used Amy's wonderful tutorial and before I knew it I had one adorable needle book all finished. 

 

I even added a pocket to keep embroidery scissors in. Isn't this Heather Ross little froggy the sweetest?

I then attached  a sweet strawberry button and I was able to sip my morning coffee while admiring my new needle book (yes, all this sewing happened before my kids even woke up).

And then, before I knew what was going on, I whipped up one more needle book. See? I just could not stop at one :)

Sooo, that got me thinking. Would you like to win this second needle book (scissors not included)?

Here's how it works. Please leave a comment letting me know what kind of sewist you are. Are you impulsive and have a hard time concentrating on one project only, like I am, or are you very methodical and stick to your to do list no matter what?

The giveaway is open to everyone, domestic as well as international entries welcome. The giveaway is now closed, thank  you.

One entry per person, please. Mr. Random and I will choose the winner on Tuesday (8/6) evening.

Thanks so much for reading. Svetlana

pinwheels

Happy Friday, wishing you all a very lovely weekend !

Svetlana