Good Starter

I have the Noodlehead pattern bug! Since I finished my Divided Basket for the Divided Basket sewalong I am co-hosting over on Instagram (there is still time to join us, details here ) I have been pondering my next Noodlehead project. I am tempted by the Road Trip Case and the 241 Tote but I've started on a slightly smaller scale with the free Open Wide Zippered Pouch tutorial. This flower fabric came back from John Lewis' in Edinburgh with me after last years trip back to the UK and I was planning a mini quilt for my daughter at some stage but when a flight came up decided a pouch for her headphones was more pressing. The green dots were in my stash and I just had to pop some chicks inside to surprise her when she opens it up for the first time. Taking a toddler on a plane on my own, even for a short domestic flight, gave me a case of the jitters so a bit of sewing calmed me down. This is my first zip in a finished project and I think I did ok. The tutorial is so clear that I...

I finished my first Divided Basket. I had heard that Noodlehead patterns were clear and easy to follow and I found that to be the case for the Divided Basket. I'm planning an aqua and orange quilt for a gift for a friend and I thought a Divided Basket in those colours would be useful for all the bits and pieces you need with a newborn. I'm really happy with how the basket turned out even though I could only find 1 inch webbing (the pattern asks for 1.5 inch). I used a zig zag stitch to make sure I caught the thinner webbing securely though in future I would use Peta's tutorial . The only other change I made was to add an interfaced panel to the front pocket and to move the optional sewn line to split the pocket to the edge of the panel. Now I need to pull some more fabric for my own basket. If you plan to join in the sewalong remember to post your finished basket to #dividedbasketsewalong on Instagram by August 10th for the chance to win a $25 gift voucher kindly don...

Today I have my very first guest blog. The Noodlehead Divided Basket sewalong I am co-hosting over on Instagram starts today and my co-host Peta is here to show you her gorgeous Cotton & Steel basket and share a tutorial on a handle detail she came up with which looks fantastic . Thanks Kendra for letting me hang out on your blog today. Excited? Well yessiree I am! How great is Instagram! I love checking through my feed each day to see what the wonderfully talented quilters and sewers have been up to around the globe. Instagram is such an inspirational and generous community and, of course, it’s how I met Kendra and how the Divided Basket Sew Along came about. I don’t have a blog (and really admire people like Kendra who do) but I’d love it if you came and said hi on Instagram, my user name is @shequiltsalot . Now… onto the Sew Along. I love Anna Graham’s style and patterns. I’ve sewn a couple of items from her tutorials and have found the pattern instructi...

I have recently discovered Instagram (I know, I know I'm late) and that hasn't helped with my plan to blog more often but it has led to something quite wonderful. Reading the always wonderful Noodlehead blog on Saturday night I spotted Crafterhours were having a Friday Fiver offer on the Divided Basket pattern. I've longed to make a Divided Basket for quite a while now but I had a self imposed pattern buying ban as I have a million other patterns (at least) to make first. But $5 was too good to miss (craft economics at play here as the pattern is very reasonable even without the discount). So now we come back to the IG connection, I happened to mention I had bought the pattern and asked if anyone had any tips for me before I started or wanted to have a sew along. Well a few messages later my brand new IG friend Peta (we are in a birthday swap together too) suggested we open the sewalong to anyone who wanted to join us and check with Anna Graham if it was ok to use he...

Sew sew sew, lots to finish: 1. Another Rag Doll I finished this rag doll in record time for a first birthday present but I still have another to make for my own daughter. All of the body pieces are cut out from a special quilting cotton I bought in Edinburgh but no further. 2. Liberty Print Anna Bag A gorgeous present for Christmas that I immediately ripped open and started the paper piecing front with lots of different Liberty hexagons. Unfortunately there wasn't enough material to make the bag front so I am waiting for the extra hexagons to be sent out so I can get back to this bag. 3. Oliver + S Pinwheel Tunic The Pinwheel dress was completed with seconds to spare for my daughters birthday but the tunic has yet to be started. I have a lot of fabrics picked out for this pattern so I may have a cutting session and make a few at the same time. 4. Sorbetto Top I have made a test version of the Sorbetto top ( free pattern from Colette ) with a FBA (my fir...