Need a bag in a hurry?

My daughter who has recently moved to Beijing to teach has asked me to make her a bag to take to work. I've found the pattern here and it's called the Lickety Split Bag . Not only was it very easy to make (it only took a couple of hours) it is also reversible.

To make it a bit more special I've put some velvet ribbon around the top of the pockets. DD asked for muted colours but this bag would lend itself for bright and funky fabrics as well.

I've also been practicing my free motion quilting on my new machine. After a few hick ups I think I'm getting the hang of it.

Happy Stiching

Vreni

I'm a winner!

Would you believe it, I've won this fantastic bundle of Lynette Anderson's fabrics called "Snowmen make me smile". Lynette had a give away on her blog and I was the lucky one.... yay....! Now I have to think of a lovely winter project to do these beautiful fabrics justice. Thank you Lynette!!

Photo by Lynette Anderson

I needed to make a block with a tropical feel so I thought of a coconut tree. I hope it's obvious what it is meant to be! I've hand appliqued the trees using the "invisible applique" technique by Ami Simms. I've been doing it this way for a while now and I love it. No more faffing around with freezer paper.

And I finally got this quilt back. I've started it a long, long time ago but lost interest and gone off it. Last year I decided to dig it out from the bottom of my UFO stash and made new blocks to replace those I didn't like. Once I had it sewn together I sent it to Indonesia where it was hand quilted.

As you can see, the quilting is quite exquisite and it would take me several life times to get it looking like this. I'm not really cut out for hand quilting as, unfortunately, I'm much too impatient.

Happy Weekend everyone!

Vreni

I'm finally satisfied!

with my sewing/craft room that is! I've been arranging and rearranging it for the last couple of month as the room is rather small so I had to make the most of the space I have.

Look at this Chinese medicine cabinet which I bought just before we left Shanghai.

Isn't it beautiful? And it's perfect for all my "bits and bobs". It's quite astonishing how much stuff I was able to put into all the little drawers. Now I just have to remember where I put what so I don't have to open all 48 before I find what I need.

Then there is this new piece of furniture (I had it custom made in China). It's for all my papers and box making tools. It's the perfect height so I can use it as my cutting table as well.

On the rather big windowsill I have a small "exhibition" of some of the boxes I've made.

Before I go I have to show you what the postman brought this week. The Kaffe Fassett is self explanatory!


I love "The Gentle Art of Quilt Making" by Jane Brocket; the photos are gorgeous and the quilts simple yet stunning. If you like Kaffe's book, you will love this one too.

Jane Brocket has written books on other subjects but as far as I know it's her first quilting book. Check out her blog here. And here is where I've ordered it from! I can highly recommend them as the service was very speedy and they deliver free of charge WORLDWIDE!

To all mums out there

Vreni