A caddy for this and a caddy for that!

Wondering what this is?

It's a smaller version of the Hexie Caddy I made earlier (don't you just love this Kaffe Fassett fabric?)

It's 3/4 of the original size (1.5 " instead of 2"). The tutorial can be found here.

Then I made this block caddy.

As I'm planning to use it as a moveable "design wall" as well, I covered both the inside and the outside with flannel  to make it more "sticky". It's about 17 " square, so should be large enough even for the biggest blocks.

I never know where to store individual blocks (so far I used an old Pizza box). The idea came to me after I showed some of the girls in my group how to make these cutting mat folders. On one side you have a small cutting mat and on the other a sheet of sandpaper and the outside can also be used as a small ironing board. It's really handy to take along to workshops or group meetings.

And this is the beginning of some Stack and Whack quilts. A couple of friends and I are doing it together as it's always more fun to work and have a chat at the same time, don't you agree? We got the inspiration from here. 

That's it from me today. Take care.

Vreni

Baby Quilts

We have once again had several visitors; I only brought our latest guest to the airport yesterday evening. Therefore I haven't got much to show you in the quilt/craft department. So I thought I show you some quilts I've made a while ago.

This little quilt I made two years ago for my new niece. It was the first time I made Prairie Points and I think it gives the quilt a little more "dimension" and  little fingers have something to play with!

The pattern for this quilt I found here. It was featured as a mystery quilt. Each week the new instructions for the next step were posted. I really enjoyed making it this way, as it breaks the work down into small portions which were fast and easy to complete.

As I made it for another new baby I decided it needed something babyish so I embroidered the little horses in the corners. I used Sashiko thread for the quilting and I made rather large stitches.

Now I have a window of no house guests for about a month. I hope I'll be able to make the most of this time.

Have a happy day!
Vreni

A new gadget

Do you like gadgets? I do, especially the quilty kind and I usually can't resit buying them when I come across a new one. They have not all been a success, some of them I have yet to try out.

Recently I found a new ruler called "Twister". Let me show you what I did with it:

First I cut 5 inch squares - I used some of the fabrics I dyed myself - and sewed them together first in rows then the rows into a rectangle. Then I sewed a border around it.

Next I cut the blocks with the help of the Twister aligning the printed lines with the seams.

Once all the blocks of the first row have been cut, I sewed them together before I started to cut the next row.

After all the blocks were cut and then sewn together again it looked like this:

Finally I've put a couple of borders around it and voilà! This little quilt top will go here where it will be quilted and then given to a local Orphanage.

On balance I like the Twister! It's easy and fun to use but you end up with quite a lot of little scraps, too small to use for anything else. But hey, there's no danger of me running out of fabric in the near future, is there? The Twister comes in two different sizes and is a product of CS designs www.country-schoolhouse.com.

Until next time, please take care!

Vreni

Boxes

Aside from quilting I like to make boxes and sometimes I combine the two. This box with the appliquéd lid I made for Jess of Scappy n'Happy  and she just emailed to let me know that it arrived in Australia. 

Here are a couple more examples of boxes with appliquéd lids (sorry for the quality of the photos).

 Tea Box

Small jewellery box

I've learned this craft from a friend a few years ago and during our time in Shanghai I taught weekly classes, mostly from home. I had a room set up just for that purpose, which was very handy.

Here are a few examples of boxes I or some of "my students" made.

I'm planning to put a tutorial together for the fabric covered box. Check back here in a little while. In the meantime have a happy weekend!

Vreni

Lovely Stuff

It seems that bog land is swamped with lovely giveaways at the moment. Take a minute and visit Happy n'Srappy and leave a comment, I promise you won't regret it. You'll have to do it fairly sharpish though as the draw is tomorrow.

Then there's another wonderful opportunity to win some goodies; Sarah of The Last Piece is giving away some fabric bundles of her new, not yet released fabrics. They are mouthwateringly beautiful and I can't wait for them to hit the shops (just in case I don't win).

I finally got my act together and finished my little gift for Jess for our "private swap". I'll show you (and you, Jess) only this much.... your guess is as good as hers ;). It will be travelling south shortly!

Happy weekend everyone.

Vreni

More surprises!

Well, it seems last week was a week for surprises. I got my very first award:

It came from here:

Katerina describes her blog this way:

 "Greek blog, about all the small pleasures in life.. and the greatest of all; Food!

Go over there and take a look at this quirky blog where you'll find loads of lovely recipes among other interesting things.

The rules apparently say that I have to reveal seven facts about me.

So here goes:

1. My real name is Veronika but I call myself Vreni, which is very Swiss by the way!

2. I am an only child; my husband insists that's why I'm so spoiled ;)

3. I have two children; one girl and one boy. That was clever of me, right?

4. When I was younger I hated handiwork. As a matter of fact, I was absolutely useless at it!

5. My husband and I have lived in eight different countries on three continents since we got  

     married nearly 30 years ago! 

6. I don't drink alcohol (don't like it) but I'm definitely addicted to coffee

7. I have a terrible sweet tooth!

And now I have the pleasure to pass this award on to:

Hilde of Quilts and Boxes who loves to make boxes, like I do,

Jess of  Scrappy n'Happy who has been very kind since I first started blogging,

Shirely of Stitcherydo who makes the most beautiful hexagons,

Sofie of SewSofie who loves making dresses for her cute little girls, and

Lynda of Lynda's Quilts, who makes quilts, not only for all of her family, but apparenatly for her whole neighbourhood as well.

Please go and take a look, I promise you won't regret it.

Thanks again Katerina for choosing me! It has been fun!

Cheers

Vreni

I've been spoiled!

Look what the postman brought yesterday all the way from Australia! Jess of Scrappy n'Happy and I decided a couple of week ago to have our very own little swap. And this is what she made for me.

This very cute pin cushion. Look at the lovely buttons on each side.....

.....and a handy thread wallet, including the lovely embroidery floss.

Jess was also one of the first people who left a comment on my blog when I first started blogging a few month ago and I was tickled pink that someone would actually read my babble ;). So thank you Jess for the lovely gifts as well as your encouragement!

Of course I am nowhere near finished with my gift for her. But I'm working on it and have decided to make a tutorial at the same time. Since it's supposed to be a surprise , I won't reveille what I'm making, but check back here in a couple of weeks.

And this Hexie Caddy I made myself with the help of an excellent tutorial by Penny of Penny's Hands. It's completely sewn by hand. I'm now planning to make another, a bit smaller one, to take along when I go to my quilting group. Take a peek at Penny's blog; it's a treasure trove of free tutorials.

That's it for now.

Cheers
Vreni