Next big distraction.....

Aprons!!! Kids sized aprons, oven mitts and pot holders. So CUTE!!!!

I found this wonderful remnant of striped cotton with Scotchguard already applied for only $1! A whole 1.5m gave me 3 complete sets of aprons, mitts and potholders (including one just for the Canning Show!!). measurements based on a purchased apron, the mitt was found online (and modified slightly) and the potholder is just a square. They will be great put with some kids cookie cutters or utensils. Canning Show entry has an apron, mitt, potholder and joined pocket mitt (the kind you put both hands into). Pics once the show is over!!



I did these ones first, so a little experimentation going on here! Apron - perfect. Mitts - a little small for my liking and a little difficult to sew - adjustments made. Potholders double as hot mitts with little pockets in them - a bit complex and time consuming, but successful. Its a bit hard to see, but the one on the right actually has a poccket at the top where it says "Tiger". I matched it so well you can't even see it!!

I delivered these to mum today to take to Santa's. I'm sure they will be pleased. I have taken a bunch of pics so will try and do a bit of a tutorial sometime in the future so stay tuned!!!

A swag of bags...

Since my big clean up a couple of weeks ago, I have not been able to find ANYTHING!! So, I have just been opening boxes of stuff and trying to finish the unfinished, before starting something new. We'll see how long it will last...... LOL!!

These bags started as a pre-printed cot bumper but ended up being the cutest little baby "essentials" gift bags for new mums. They have different prints on both sides. It is a light cotton, so I lined them with a light blockout curtaining. Not only does this give the bag support, it makes it almost waterproof inside. I also added a strip to the inside of the handles for the same reason. As they started off curved, I have topstitched the curve onto the striped fabric, squared up and treated as one piece. I was limited to the amount of stripe  so I had to use it sparingly. Finished size is about 40cm x 30cm.

This bag was a panel from a curtain that someone carefully cut out. I decided to use these as a library bag. It is fully lined in yellow cotton and the panels have a light batting to give support. I think it turned out great and soooooo easy!!!!

These are a couple of older library bags and pencil case sets I made for Santa's Workshop. They started out as blockout curtains. These didn't need to be lined as the fabric had enough support on its own and the seams got overlocked instead. They were filled with stuff for back to school.

So easy and so much fun! If you can draw a square and sew a straight line, you can make one of these bags!!

Quilt finished..

I was given a cot panel with a cute pair of Clown Dolls on it that needed to be finished for Mum to take to Santa's Workshop.



I originally planned to use flannelette batting, polycotton backing and binding. After talking to the lovely lady at Textile Traders, she suggested to just bag it out. Brilliant idea!!! Since the panel already looked like it had a border on it, I wouldn't have to find a matching binding fabric! Love it!!
So..
I bought a piece of flannelette big enough for the whole piece, washed it ('cause there is nothing worse than flannelette shrinking AFTER it has been used as batting!!) then ironed it flat. LOADS of pins and cut to fit.
I actually attached the backing to the floor with masking tape Right Side up, then placed the TOP printed fabric Right Side DOWN on top of that, then the flannelette on top of that. Loads more pins and off to the machine!!
Stitched all the way around, leaving a gap for turning along one side, trim the sides and corners and turn. Don't forget to remove the pins!!!



Iron all around, making sure the lining isn't poking out to the front and add back some of the pins.
Finally, I ran around the edge with a topstitch, and started the quilting...
I kept the quilting pretty simple - just followed the main design printed on the front, and added some "circles" in the backgoung part around the printed circles. I used the letter "O" function on my machine, stretched it to make it rounder and made it do one only at a time, so all I had to do was line up the dot and put my foot down. Easy as that!
I also tied and pulled all the threads inside. Its a fiddly job, but worth it.
Voila!! One finished cot quilt!!