Three Blue Fellows

Two moments preceded the birth of these three blue pillows.

The first one happened, when I saw a preview of the fabric collection by French General called Bleue De France.  I´m not what you would call „classical“ quilter, nevertheless I fell immediately in love with the fabrics and ordered a pack of fatquarters. Having the fabrics at home, I wasn´t able to cut into them, it was such a beauty…

The second moment came in March of this year when my friend Darja brought three pillows to a tell-and-show event, three classical beauties, hand-sewn and hand-quilted. I immediately knew this would be the right use for my blue cotton darlings. 

The first step was that I had to learn a different hand-sewing method than EPP, sewing along a line without any paper templates. It was a little bit tricky in the beginning, but step by step I got used to it, and voila - The Y-seams were not difficult at all!  I fell in love with this sewing method, it´s such a great opportunity to slow down!

I made plastic templates for fussy cutting and spent many happy moments choosing the motifs for the pieces.

Once the pieces were cut I could start sewing. I took sewing everywhere with me and enjoyed it very much.

 

I added borders on the sewing machine and quilted on my Baby Lock Sashiko machine. (It´s a pity, but my hands protest very hard against hand-quilting of projects bigger than a zipper pouch.)

I´m really proud of the three pillows. My very first „classical“ hand-sewn patchwork project!

Happy stitching!

Michaela

Backpacks for Cat Lovers

A couple of months ago, sewing of a disappearing nine-patch block was on the programme of our Ladies Club. I joined sewing just for the fun, without any particular plan for using it. I enjoyed the simple and effective sewing method, the two blocks were very cute, but I couldn´t decide what to do with them. I´m not a fan of placemats, especially when a nice picture is right in the middle, where a mug or plate should be placed. For a zipper pouch they were too big, for a tote bag too small… I feared that they would end up as a kind of UFO. But no! Finally, an idea came into my mind and I used the two blocks as eye catchers on two small back packs. I quilted on my Japanese Baby Lock sashiko and I like the outcome very much. 

Happy stitching!

Michaela

Summary of Summer 2024

The summer was very hot indeed and somehow, I couldn´t find the energy for writing blog posts. But the sewing machine and my hands were still working, so this is the overview of the small summer projects I was able to finish.

A small shoulder bag for carrying books on a train or tram.

And a bigger one...

And two small bags for two small ladies

Happy stitching!

Michaela 

More Boro!

After finishing the upcycling of the bag for Anna, which was very satisfying and nice work, I had a small pile of Japanese fabric scraps left. I immediately decided to go on sewing. The result was two small projects in boro style – a simple backpack and a book cover. Both are now in the good and loving hands of our neighbor girl, who loves everything Japanese.

The backpack was originally a simple white cotton backpack from an art supplies shop. I didn´t like the colour, therefore it got a good bath in black tea to create a nice warm vintage look. 

I played with the picture and fabric scraps (actually, I tore some new ones), creating a collage. I used the sashiko thread again and enjoyed the simple running stitches.

Being back home from holiday, I started a cover for an art journal of our neighbor, a nice girl of 14 who loves everything Japanese. 

The background for the collage is not a Japanese fabric, nevertheless, there are the Japanese carps koi on it! I quite like the outcome and so does the new owner, I hope. 

Happy stitching!

Michaela