Quilt Petite Blog Hop

Lets just say I was very excited to receive this wonderful copy of Sedef Imer's first book - Quilt Petite for Tuva Publishing.  Sedef has a style and way all her own and to have a whole book filled with ideas and inspiration it certainly was a hard pick to pick one project to make for this Blog Hop.

A few days before the book arrived I had this bundle of Slow and Steady by Tula Pink arrive and I just loved that there were so many green prints and colours in this range.  I knew these would match my kitchen perfectly and so decided to make the "Pretty on Point Placemats" which I knew would look fabulous on my table for summer.

I do love making Half Square Triangles - and with them turned on point make this design great to feature lots of fabrics.  I decided to make them all with a background fabric to really let the prints and design pop.  After a bit of trimming all my point were perfect and it was easy to work through the steps in the pattern to make these placemats.

I think this is the best binding fabric - EVER!

After some machine quilting along the diagonals of the Triangles and behind the Cutlery pocket these  placemats are almost to pretty to be used on the table but I am a practical person and love to see things I made used and loved.  Summer entertaining will be fun and how great is that Cutlery Pocket. It think that was almost the feature I was drawn to the most.

So I could hardly stop at one - so I made six for our table!  I think I am also going to make a matching Table runner just using the on point HST's and that fabulous Binding to match.

Sedef has announced that she is holding a Giveaway - so for all the details you can head over here to see how to enter.  

Also don't forget to stop by all these wonderful makers to see what they will be making.

November 6: Sedef at Down Grapevine Lane (intro + giveaway)

November 7: Wynn at Zakka Art

November 8: Sarah at A Little Happy Place

November 9: Bridgette at The Family Hearth

November 10: Heidi at Fabric Mutt

November 11: Minki at Minki's Work Table

November 12: Ange at A Little Patchwork

November 13: Lauren at Molly and Mama

November 14: Michelle at Cole & Taffy

November 15: Nadra at Ellis & Higgs

November 16: Amy at Nana Company

November 17: Faith at Sarana Ave

November 18: Debbie at Happy Little Cottage

November 19: Erin at Why Not Sew

November 20: Amanda at Jedi Craft Girl

November 21: Melissa at Oh How Sweet

November 22: Stacy at Stacy Olson Design

November 23: Ayda at Cafe Nohut

November 24: Peta at She Quilts A Lot

November 25: Amanda at A Crafty Fox

November 26: Keera at Live Love Sew

November 27: Sharon at Lilabelle Lane

November 28: Kate at The Homemakery

November 29: Jemima at Tied With A Ribbon

November 30: Jodie at Ric Rac

December 1: Anorina at Samelia's Mum

December 2: Alisha at Ministry of Fabric

December 3: Xanthe at Wife-made

December 4: Cheri at Tinker With This

December 5: Kristyne at Pretty By Hand

December 6: Kimberly at Fat Quarter Shop

December 7: Veronica at Vivid Felicity

December 8: Shari at Doohikey Designs

December 9: Jina at Jina Barney Designz

December 10: Emma at Emma Jean Jansen

December 11: Sedef at Down Grapevine Lane (wrap up + giveaway winner)

Happy Sewing

Jemima x x

Just Sew Happy - new pattern release!

I have to say that while I have been creating so many things of late, many of them are all projects that are secret squirrel and I can't share with you just as of yet.  However this is one project I am super thrilled to share with you.

"Just Sew Happy" is the follow up sister Mini Quilt to "When life gives you scraps".  This new design had been buzzing around in my head for a while and the sketches even go back to a plane flight from much earlier this year.  

Introducing - my newest pattern release - "Just Sew Happy" Mini Quilt.  This is a just for fun Mini quilt filled with your favourite sewing and quilting notions.  All done in Appliqué this Mini Quilt would be great in your sewing space, perfect for Mini Quilt Swaps or just to sew - just for fun!

Just Sew Happy - Mini Quilt PDF pattern 

can be found here in my store.

It is also available wholesale through Creative Abundance for stores looking to stock this or any of my patterns.

I'd love to see your versions of my patterns so please tag me over on Instagram @tiedwitharibbon and #justsewhappyminiquilt.

Happy sewing

Jemma x x 

Wistful Winds Blog Tour

Wistful Winds is the latest collection by Shari Butler for Riley Blake Designs.  I had the pleasure of meeting Shari at Quilt Market back in May this year and not a gentler soul may be found.  This range has a very deep and meaningful back story and Shari will be sharing more of the inspiration behind her range through the blog tour.  I was thrilled to be asked by Shari to participate in this blog tour and you can see what I have made below.

I just love the mix of red, blue, yellow white and pinks in the sweetest florals, all that have fabulous co-ordinating blenders in spots and stripes and lots of bold geometric patterns.

I have already made one of these "On the Go Backpacks" and I said I was going to definitely make more.  I just love how this version in these Wistful Winds fabrics have turned out.  I love red and these red florals against the bias stripes are just so cute.  The spots really let the future prints stand out and this pattern works so well.

I am going to make some more of these Backpacks as well as they are so cute and will really make great gifts.

I also used this range to make this sweet pillow from Peta's Sweet Stars Quilt Pattern.

Here is the line up of all the wonderful people that will be involved in this great Blog Tour.

October 3rd:
Amy Sinibaldi – www.nanaCompany.typepad.com
Kristyne Czepuryk – www.prettybyhand.com
October 4th:
Amanda Niederhauser – www.jedicraftgirl.com
Amy Smart – www.diaryofaquilter.com

October 5th:
Meagan Taylor/Kristi Jones – www.meagsandme.com
Christine Cook – www.stitchingrevival.com

October 6th:
Elea Lutz – www.elealutzdesign.com
Jodie Carleton – www.vintagericrac.blogspot.com

October 7th:
Sedef Imer – www.downgrapevinelane.com
Jina Barney – jinabarneydesignz.com

October 10th:
Elizabeth Evans – www.simplesimonandco.com
Kimberly Bourne – www.mainstreetmarketdesigns.com

October 11th:
Jemima Flendt – www.tiedwitharibbon.com
Nadra Ridgeway – www.ellisandhiggs.com
Amy Chappel – www.amerooniedesigns.blogspot.com

October 12th:
Katie Skoog – www.thesimplelifecompany.com
Amber Johnson – www.alittlebitbiased.blogspot.com
Gwen Sager - www.tillalili.blogspot.com

October 13th:
Angie Wilson – www.gnomeangel.com
Clare Horsman – www.claresplaceblog.blogspot.com
Deanna Wall – www.stitchesquilting.com

October 14th:
Melissa Mortenson – polkadotchair.com
Jessica Stewart – www.izzyandivydesigns.com
Shari Butler – www.doohikeydesigns.com/blog/

Happy Sewing

Jemima x 

Sweet Stars Sew Along - Machine and Free Motion Quilting Tips and a GIVEAWAY!

Today is my turn as the Guest Blogger on the Sweet Stars Sewalong and I will be sharing all my tips and tricks for successful Machine and Free Motion Quilting.  

This Sweet Stars Quilt was designed by the lovely Peta from She Quilts A Lot.  You can grab a copy of the pattern from Peta's store here and Fat Quarter shop have kits to make this quilt for yourself.

A lot of people find this part of the Quilting process a little daunting - mostly it comes down to practice - the more you practice the better your machine quilting will become.  I am sharing some of the things I think that will help the most and they ways I prefer to do things, to set yourself up to enjoy and be successful at machine quilting.

NEEDLES

* Make sure to change your machine needle at least every 8 sewing hours or 

   at the start of a new quilt.

* I recommend using Universal size 80 needles

* If using thicker style threads such as Aurifl 12wt - use a Topstitch needle.

THREADS

* I love to use a variety of different threads when machine quilting - you can      

   create lots of interest and detail in your quilt by using different colours, 

   weights and specialty style threads such as Metallic and Variegated 

   threads.

* My favourites are Aurifil threads - in 50wt, 12wt and Brillo (metallic). Always     

   use a good quality thread so that you don't have trouble with snapping,    

   shedding or breaking.

* I like to use the same thread usually top and bottom.  If you make them

   different colours then you need to test your tension on a scrap piece of 

   fabric first so that the thread colours do not blend through to the alternate 

   side.

MARKING TOOLS

* My favourite tools to mark up a design on a quilt are Masking Tape, Clover    

   Herra Marker or this Sewline Air-erasable Fabric Pen.  Make sure that if you   

   use any pens or fabric markers - you read the instructions carefully for how to 

   remove the pen/marks from you quilt before you iron or wash your quilt.  

SANDWICHING YOUR QUILT

* With a Quilt always have your wadding and backing at least 4in larger around  

   all sides of your quilt.  I allow 2in larger for Mini Quilts or Cushions.

* I like to use natural Cotton Batting - there is a large choice of different types 

   of fibre content for Battings - each will yield a different result when quilted.

* I prefer to Pin-baste my quilts - as shown in the picture.  Pin about a "fistful" 

   apart.  Make sure to remove pins from the area you are machine quilting as  

   you go.

* When using white background fabrics I prefer to use a "Bleached White"  

   Cotton Batting so that the white stays nice and bright.  Natural Batting can 

   leave white fabrics looking "discoloured".

FREE MOTION QUILTING

* Free Motion quilting requires attaching the Free Motion Foot to your machine 

   and dropping down the feed dogs (the serrated teethe under the stitch plate).  

   When you are stitching with these - you are in complete control of your 

   machine and its sewing - this takes practice but the more you do the better 

   you will become. 

* It is important not to create "drag" on your quilt when machine quilting.  Roll  

   the quilt so that the bulk is on the outside of the machine rather than in the 

   quilting bed (neck).

* Get comfortable - make sure you position yourself so that you are at the right 

   height and can sit well at the chair so that you are not "hunched" over your  

   machine.

* Start in 1/4 of the quilt and work your way around in a circular motion, 

   unrolling the quilt as you go if you are working on a Free Motion design.  

   When Machine Quilting lines, sew all the horizontals and then all of the  

   verticals.  Take your quilt out of the machine and re-roll when needed to help 

   reduce the bulk of the quilt in the quilting bed and to make sure you don't 

   have "drag" on your quilt.

QUILTING PATTERNS

* There are lot of different patterns you can make when Machine/Free Motion 

   Quilting

* Machine Quilting - you can make Cross Hatching, Double Cross Hatching or   

   Curved Cross-Hatching Tram-lines just to name a few I use regularly.

* Free Motion Patterns I love to use are Stippling, Loops, Geometric Patterns,   

   and designs which incorporate all of these. 

* I recommend going to your local Quilting store and taking lessons on Free   

   Motion and Machine Quilting.  This will really help to increase your confidence 

   and you can work through with them if you are having any issues with your 

   machine and having someone right there can really help.  It is also a great 

   way of practicing. 

               

SWEET STARS MINI QUILT/CUSHION

* From the pattern I made several of the blocks and then joined them to make a    

   Mini Quilt.  I used my favourite design which is Loops. This is my "go to" Free 

   Motion design as I can sew it quickly and looks great when the design   

   incorporates several blocks and lines within the patterns are less obvious.

EDIT _ GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED GIVEAWAY - If you would like to win a Fat 8th Bundle of Sweet Orchard by Sedef of Down Grapevine Lane for Riley Blake Fabrics then you can leave a comment below.  There is one bundle up for grabs - open internationally and a random name will be drawn on Friday 30th September.  (make sure to leave a contact email)

Happy Sewing

Jemima x x

Foldover Clutch Tutorial

Requirements

Fat 1/8th Feature Fabric

Fat 1/4 Lining Fabric

Fat 1/8th Faux Leather

8in (20cm) Trouser/Jeans Zip

Fat 1/8th Fusible Medium-Weight Interfacing

Thread

Pins

Optional - Tassel

Note: I used Faux Leather for this project - you can, of course, use real Leather or even fabric like Chambray or Linen.

Cutting Instructions

Cut 2 - 7.5in x 9in pieces from Feature fabric

Cut 2 - 5.25in x 9in pieces from Faux Leather

Cut 2 - 12.25in x 9in pieces from Lining fabric

Cut 2 - 7.5in x 9in pieces of Interfacing

1/4in Seam Allowance 

Step 1 - Take the Feature Fabric pieces and with the iron, fuse the Interfacing to the wrong side of the feature fabric.  Take one Feature Fabric piece and one Faux Leather piece and with right sides together (RST) place the raw edges together.  Pin and sew in place.    When you pin faux Leather, place your pins into the seam so that you do not leave holes in the leather or you can use Wonder Clips to hold in place while you sew.

Step 2 - Gently press the seam towards the feature fabric.  Make sure to turn your iron heat down and do not press directly on the side of the leather but rather the back side.  Repeat steps 1-2 for the other pieces to make the back.

Step 3 - To sew the zip, take your front side panel and place it down with right side facing UP.  Place the zip - right side DOWN along the top edge of the front panel piece. 

On top of the zip place one of the Lining piece with right side DOWN.  Pin to hold the three layers together.

Step 4 - Pull the zip open about 1/3rd of the way along.  Sew along the raw edges of the fabric and zipper to sew in the zip.  You may need to put your Zipper Foot on your machine.  When you have nearly reached the zip put the "Needle Down" into the fabric and then place the Foot up and pull the zipper closed (then put your foot back down) to sew past without hitting the zip.

Step 5 - Turn your fabric out and over the right way.  Pin the Zip and Front and Lining Fabrics together and Top Stitch along the edge of the fabric to hold the Front and Lining fabric into place.  By Top Stitching this will ensure that you do not catch the lining fabric into the zip when you open it.

Step 6 - Repeat for the Back side by firstly placing the Lining fabric with the right side facing UP.  Then place the completed Front Panel on top of the Lining fabric with the right side facing UP.  Then place the Back piece on top of the front Piece.  Line up the top raw edges and Pin.  Sew in place as you did for the front. Top Stitch the Back top edge.

Step 7 - To sew the Foldover Clutch together - place the Front and Back sides together and the Lining pieces together (RST).  Make sure to OPEN the ZIP!!! Pin around the outside edges of the clutch lining up the corners, side seams and zip ends.  Begin sewing 2/3rds the way along the bottom edge of the Lining and then all the way around your clutch till you get back to about 1/3rd.  You can see I have marked where I start and finish with Blue Pins leaving this gap in the Lining for turning out.  Once you have sewn all the way around clip the corners and turn your Clutch out the right way and make sure you have "poked" out the corners.  Sew the opening in the Lining closed.

Step 8  - Gently press the clutch at the side seams and then fold over the top edge and press in place where you would like it to fold.  I like to do this about half way down the leather.  

These are great fun to make for yourself and as gifts.  Fill them with your favourite things and off you go. You can add Tassel's or Zipper Pulls or even pieces of Ribbon through the Zip pull.

If you have a go I'd love to see your makes - tag me - @tiedwitharibbon or use the #foldoverclutchtutorial so I can see your creations.

Happy Sewing

Jemima xx