Make your own Posh Polar Bear ...

My dear friend Elaine asked me to make her two knitted teddy bears. I took this opportunity to make up my own pattern. I wanted to make a bear with a big cosy belly and shorter legs.
I'm not sure why I wanted a short legged, big bellied bear .... but I think I achieved my aim. I think he looks like a polar bear.
His jacket is jolly posh (I was rather pleased with this pattern) ... so he is a posh polar bear.
You can make your own posh polar bear from my patterns page. I did check the pattern when I made the second bear (he/she is still waiting to be dressed) ... so you will have to let me know if there are any errors!

Making Molly's Handmade Napkins

After reading kimmymade (and seeing her stripey bunny) I was introduced to the Purl Bee (be prepared to get addicted) and I fell in love with the idea of making Molly's Handmade Napkins. Before I could start sewing I needed to make bias tape. I read the instructions on my bias tape maker and ...... started ..... it all went a bit horribly wrong. So I've made my own instructions on my patterns & recipes page to make sure your first bias tape experience doesn't go as wonky as mine!! AND sewing in straight lines is not easy. There were many squeaks of frustration. But look at my lovely picnic napkins - I am unsure if there is such a thing as a "picnic napkin" but I call them picnic napkins because they are 11" sq and they would be perfect to take on a picnic!

Some completed Christmas Tree Skirts .....

I have finally finished some Christmas Tree Skirts - here is the original design ....
.... and the finished product!! The skirt is reversible with a felt scene on one side and a quilted patchwork design on the reverse. The patchwork has a decorative silver stitch along each seam. It looks quite pretty underneath the tree. Although I am pleased with the finished result - I think I have decided that I will use more symmetry in future Christmas tree skirt designs.

I have also made two Christmas tree skirts from recycled silk ties each skirt has a velvet reverse. I would just like to mention that it is REALLY hard to photograph silk and velvet - the light catches each lump and bump and my photographs show wrinkles you can't even see. I think a lot of it is down to the high sheen of the fabric. Does anyone has any ideas how to make this easier in the future?

This white silk skirt has a green velvet reverse, crimson red rope trim and very decorative white fasteners. I have to thank Sarah for this idea - I think it is really effective and they are so pretty you can actually have the fasteners at the front of the skirt rather than hiding the seam at the back of the tree!

This Christmas tree skirt was made from silver silk ties. The reverse is a warm charcoal grey color. It reminds me of the color of Russian blue puddy cats. The rope trip is white, blue/grey & beige and the fasteners are a similar grey color!

I have also decided that I need to start documenting my patterns - and I plan to start posting them on my website on my new Patterns & Recipes page.

Merry Christmas .... I mean Merry Stockings

I was SO excited this morning to receive an e-mail from MerryStockings.com who have posted an item about the history of Christmas tree skirts on their blog and used one of my photos!
I'm also eager to finish off my latest Christmas tree skirt designs - but has been delayed due to being cruelly forced to live in the city this week ... and I forgetting to bring in vital sewing equipment ....... scissors ...... pins ...... you know the basics!

Watercolor note cards

Believe it or not I did actually spend a short stint at Winchester School of Art - being 19 and being more focused on my current beau and with my usual unwillingness to compete against my peers .... I left and headed to work at IBM instead. (Which on some mysterious path led me to Aaron and to live here in the US.) I often toy with the idea of perhaps going back to art school .... but spending 4 years and a great expense to achieve I am not sure what ..... that idea hasn't actually materialized yet. However I do really enjoy picking up a paint brush now and again .... and so last Christmas my mother gave me some water color paints and inspired by an artist (Mary Barnes) we saw in Maine this year ....... I began experimenting. The word experiment is key here ....... so give my artistic flair a moment or two to grow on you. (Detailed pictures can be found on flickr.)

I spent some time just playing with the paint and the different brushes to see what they might do. My first piece I call "pink tint" ...... I cut up the brush strokes and made a little patchwork out of them - added some sewn details and some magazine flowers. It is not a work of art that will ever be purchased by the Met - but it has inspired me to perhaps take that course in collage I've always wanted to attend at Parsons .......
The second is based on our back garden - basically a sunny green bed of weeds and flowers (soon I shall attack it) ....... I quite liked this picture .....
.... but ever thinking of finding something crafty to make ....I thought this picture might look rather nice cut up and made into note cards. I've called the images "Summer Meadow" I think they look rather sweet.
With the success of these little note cards I decided to try this again with another dodgy sheet that I had been playing on (with hand cut foam shapes) ....
..... these note cards are called "Hearts" ..... I thought long and hard about that title for the group!
I'm actually quite pleased with these - they are now wrapped up in little bags and look scarily professional ..... a nice little gift for someone I think. Of course I will post them on etsy soon.

Bernie and just one or two half baked oven mitts ....

I finally made a decision to get a new sewing machine (thank you Jennie for all your advice) - I love him - he is called Bernie (for Bernina) and so far he is behaving himself very well and being very polite ... although it seems that producing straight lines is down to the skill of the user and can not be blamed on the machine.

So all enthused I went to a machine quilting course on Sunday at the City Quilter (which was really a bit slow for me and I think in future I'll be looking for intensive 1:1's with Jennie instead) ...... and armed with a knowledge of the walking foot and darning foot .... and trying not to be too nervous that I can't even do a straight line or a small curve ......I decided to find a little project that would help me practice ...... and I found "the oven mitt" in Denyse Schmidt Quilts: 30 Colorful Quilt and Patchwork Projects .... a project that apparently everyone in the world has made! ... just google oven mitt!

Anyway .... having got over the fact that I am not unique or inventive ... I made my first oven mitts .... I can't do straight lines ....... but they look quite sweet from a distance (I think photography might be everything - although flickr does insist on cropping everything off into a square).
I then tried some pretty flowers (programmed decorative stitch on Bernie).... some free hand swiggles .... and some more straight lines .... the mitts have certainly helped me get more comfortable with Bernie ... but now I have 6 half baked (ha ha) oven mitts ...... so beware if it is your birthday soon!!

Burt and Bazil the naughty puppies

I found these naughty puppies playing in the garden this morning. They are called Burt and Bazil. I like their wrinkly floppy ears. I believe they are looking for a good home .........