Pinafore Dress for Nieve

I blame a combination of the Great British Sewing Bee and the new fabrics arriving in the shop for my urge to make clothes lately.  Historically that's not at all my interest or where my strengths lie, but for the past few weeks it's all I can think about.  An itch that had to be scratched.

With a nudge from Katy and a pattern from Imagine Gnats, I cracked on and made two dresses for my 1 year old niece, Nieve.  I am planning a little Easter gift parcel for Nieve and I would like to tuck these in.  They'll be great for the American summer.  

I started with Scrumptious prints and created a reversible dress that could be warn over tights and a little top for the spring and then with just her diaper in full blown summer.  One side has the Dainty Flowers print and the other Berry Aqua.

It's so much cuter in three dimensions, but there are no kiddos
around here to model for me!

There's a little pleat in the center of the neck line.  I love it.
Here you can see my first two button holes.  I need serious practice.

And the back. It's a little wrap dress, so you get peeks of the lining print.

It's reversible, so she has a little Berry Aqua dress, too!

Because I was so interested by the design of this little dress pattern (a single piece of fabric, wrapped) I couldn't wait to dive in and make a second.  You may remember that my brother (Nieve's dad) is not very interested in Nieve being smothered in pink, so I went with a blue theme for the second.

As Mixed Bag had just arrived in the shop, I could not resist the Blue Bubbles and Origami Sky prints.  I barely had them out of the delivery box before I had the pattern on and was cutting away!  It was shameful, really :)

The little origami dress just melts my heart.  Nieve, I hope they fit  you like them!

Last Day To Vote!

Voting for the Best Of Galway competition comes to a close tomorrow, making this today last day to vote!  If you have not already voted for Fluffy Sheep Quilting to become the best retailer in Galway, please do. The instructions and links are below.  As always, those who vote and leave a comment below will be entered into a drawing to win a 50 euro gift cert for the shop.  Thank you all for your support!

It is with great excitement that I announce Fluffy Sheep Quilting's nomination for the Best Retailer in Galway. How fun is that for an online fabric shop out in the country?  I am delighted to participate in the competition!

To be successful, Fluffy Sheep Quilting needs your vote: votes from its customers, friends and supporters.  Voting is quick and easy, taking less than five minutes of your day.  There are two steps to vote:

1. Hop over to the Best Of Galway website. Click "Vote Now" in the menu to the top of the page.  Click on the "Register" link and enter your email address.  To be sure you don't get spammed after registering, be sure you click the little box provided!

2. Check your email for a link from the competition.  Clicking on this link will allow you to enter your vote.  Fluffy Sheep Quilting is under the Retail section.  You do not have to submit a vote in each category if you do not want to, but please do check the box for Fluffy Sheep Quilting.

There is one vote allowable for each email address.  If you have two email addresses, please do vote twice! Pass this blog link onto your friends/children/spouse as well.  The more the merrier!

As I appreciate your time and effort, I would like to offer those of you who do vote a chance to win a €50 Fluffy Sheep Quilting gift certificate.  Just leave a comment below and let me know you voted and I will pop your name in the hat for each and every vote you cast.  That's right, if you vote with two email addresses, you get two entries for the gift voucher draw.

Voting is open through the end of March.  When voting closes, I will draw the winner of the gift voucher.

Thank you very much for your vote and for your continued support of Fluffy Sheep Quilting.

Modern Irish Bee: March Blocks

This month in the Modern Irish Bee, the über talented Sarah is our queen.  She requested bright, colorful spider web blocks using a grey-based LV print in the central star.  Sarah wrote out beautiful instructions in her blog post to make this block, carefully warning us of a few pitfalls (thank you!) and referred us to a lovely tute by Heather.  

I have made spider web blocks in the past using paper templates, but Heather's tutorial used a fabric square cut into quarters as your guide.  She gave very simple, straight forward instructions for marking the triangle templates, making it quick and easy to start stitching.  I like, too, how the star is kind of thick and chunky  here, showing off the LV fabric. However, this method does result in 4 rather large LV scraps in the process.  This is fine by me as I'll use them right up in my medallion quilt.

Sarah specifically asked for eight coordinating strips in the same color family at the immediate edge of the star.  The idea is that this will really highlight the star in the midst of the scrappy webs.  I do like the look, but boy I found it difficult to find 8 matching, non-repeating prints!  I did it in the end, but really had to dig through the old scrap bin!

On the negative side, my blocks are indeed smaller than the 12 inch square (unfinished) they should be.  Sarah says it's OK, but it's really niggling at me.  There might be a quick unpick of the four quadrants and a re-stitch in the hopes of finding a real 12 inch square block in there! 

On the positive side, I love how these blocks turned out.  I might steal Miss Sarah's idea and slowly make a few of these in my quiet moments and eventually build up to a quilt top.  They were super easy to make, creating a very satisfying evening of sewing.  I love how they used up the old scraps very quickly, giving me a walk down memory lane with each quarter square. 

PJ Bottoms!

I finally bit the bullet and made my first piece of clothing: PJ bottoms.  I know this is not rocket science, but it is a leap for me.  First off, they are 3D.  I do not normally do well with things that have more dimensions than a quilt top.  Second, they use a paper pattern, which I have never followed before.  But when I saw Judith's post last week I had to just dive in and give them a try.

Using IKEA fabric...just in case I make a massive mistake!

I bought a pattern for these PJ bottoms while I was in the US over Christmas, and used this handy dandy method to trace the pattern onto tissue paper allowing me to create templates in two sizes - pink paper for my pants and blue paper for my other half's pants.  I love a good color code.

I bought this particular pattern for one reason and one reason only:  they were drawstring pants.  I hate elastic PJ bottoms.  Do you see this nice, happy family on the cover?  

Do you see that they LOVE their drawstring pants?  Sorted.  I dove in.

As I was following the pattern instructions and sewing away, I just couldn't imagine how the instructions lead to a drawstring top.  I couldn't see it coming together.  But, sometimes that's how it is with me and 3D projects.  Only when I have it right side out and flipped so the top is on the top it becomes clear.  It DID say on the back cover that you would need a length of elastic and a length of twill for the tie, so I was confident it would all work out just fine. ...  I was waiting for the light bulb moment.  

And FINALLY.  I see this:

Accompanied by this:

WHAT!?!?  A fake draw string?!?!  Are they serious?  I carry on and put in the elastic waist and they fit himself reasonably well.  

Stinky night time indoor lamp light photo.  Sorry, guys!

Luckily enough he'd rather have a bit of elastic than a drawstring so all is well that ends well.  At least I know now how to put them together, how to scale the pattern to fit me and how to modify it to add in a proper drawstring.  I guess it's like cooking, you have to follow the recipe the first time to be able to  modify it to taste the second time.  

I'm glad I gave them a try, I'm delighted he's happy with his new pants and I think it's great to have a go-to pattern for a quick make (perhaps for a gift?) so all is well that ends well.

Bee Blessed: March Blocks

Do you have deja vu?  Checking your calendar to see that it is indeed March and not February?  Don't you worry!  It's me - it's not you.  

I so loved making last month's Bee Blessed blocks that Judith was nice enough to let me make more little hearts for her.  The only deal was that they could not be pink or red.  Easy peasy.

I went with the two biggest pieces of fabric in my scrap bin, grabbing a green Boho print (my stinky night time photos of that block looked horrific!) and then a pretty turquoise/aqua with white links from the Mixed Bag line.  Judith, I really enjoyed making these.  Thank you for being so flexible :)

But wait!  Did you just put two and two together?  Yes, Mixed Bag has arrive in the shop...

AND if  a piece is in my scrap bin I have already started to use it!  I will show you that project in Monday's post.  I just couldn't resist this cute origami print when it arrived!  It had to be used.

And finally, if you have not already voted for FSQ in it's bid to be the best retailer in Galway, please do!  You can catch all of the details in this post AND register for the 50 euro gift certificate here after you vote.  To those of you who have voted, I'm sending a massive THANK YOU your way.  xx

Twinkle Twinkle Top In Progress

I am a bit embarrassed to tell you how long this quilt top has been in the making.  The idea to use this block as my bee block started rumbling around in August or September of 2012.  I think that makes it my longest standing WIP/UFO.  My bee buddies were super at sending the blocks in, so it must have been me holding up the show.

You see, the trouble was that these blocks came to me in a huge range of sizes.  Although it was to be a 12 1/2 inch block, I had some as small is 11 1/4 inches!  I pulled apart six of them to re-stitch and enlarge them, but it just drove me mental.  I put them whole pile of them away and they collected dust. 

However, when the FAL for 2014 kicked off, it was a great excuse to force myself to dive in again.  I am not going to finish this quilt off by the end of the month, but I am quite pleased to have even started it again!  You will surely see it again on my second quarter FAL list.  

I have been messing with the layout, finding one that would be accommodating of several different sized blocks.  I had 12-13 blocks that were 12 1/2 inches square, so I set them on point as the center of the top, as you see above.  I have another 8 blocks that will be positioned around the top as a border, four at the mid point of each side and at the four corners.  That's the plan anyway! 

Only the 8 blocks in the border to go, then.  I am really looking forward to layering this quilt.  It is going to be the first full quilt that I had quilt and I can not wait to get started!  I'll need your advice when I hit that point, so start having a think of a quilting pattern and perle colors.  Decisions decisions!

If you are into making a block like this yourself, I wrote a tute for it back in Oct 2012 for Rhonda's Finish Along.

I. Am. In. Love.

Can you say that about your own quilt?  I am not sure it is socially acceptable.  I should say I am "quite pleased" or something, but this quilt top makes my heart sing.

It was a bit of heart ache this weekend, but working through my "issues" was really quite satisfying.  

When you saw this quilt top last, the center block was not the right size. It had to be trimmed down and the navy border added before adding on the square in a square border.  That was easy enough to do.  The square in a square strips fit PERFECTLY.  Glorious.

I then added on the green border of FMF Eyelets.  My other half suggested I go with a green for this border and I think he was right!  I was going to go yellow, but I think I will save that for the binding.  This border used every. last. piece. of Eyelet in my stash.  It's bitter sweet.

I went on to create my own paper piecing template (using this tute) and stitched a scrappy LV triangle border alternating with saturated "monochromatic" scraps.  I was pleased as punch....until I realized I mis-measured and my border was 1 1/2 inches too long for the green border!!!  Oh, the frustration.  On went another scrappy rectangular border and the triangles fit perfectly.  My size issues are sorted for now, but the next border is going to be pretty tricky size-wise.

Another three sides of triangles to go and then four corner stones to finish off this 'round of borders.  I can not wait to get stitching again!

Happy Saint Patrick's day everyone!  Enjoy it.  xx

Mexico City Donation Quilt: Finished!

Earlier this year, the call went out from Alison, of Little Island Quilting, to create quilts for a home in Mexico City for street children.   The timing was perfect for me.  I had somewhat lost my quilting and blogging mojo around Christmas time, but this took my interest right away.  Before I knew it, I found myself stitching!

I had the quilt top finished in no time, but had a mental block against layering and quilting this cutie.  I do not know what my problem was because it took not time at all to baste and was quilted in one evening.

The backing is a single piece of Ikea hippos.  You can see the concentric (irregular) spiralling square/rectangle quilting a bit better back here.  I used good old 50 weight Aurifil (2024).  It never fails.  The binding is a white with blue and yellow dots and little orange flowers.  I like how it ties together the top and the back, but I'm a bit worried it will get dirty quite quickly.

I like the charms used here.  They're bright, colorful and unisex.  There are a few critters to keep a child's interest and different textures (cotton and cotton:linen).  I hope that some child will find it warm and comforting.

Alison, thank you for passing this along to a child who needs it!  It's already wrapped up and in the post winging its way to you.

This quilt is another finish on my Finish Along 2014 first quarter list.  Yippee!  That's 2 of 5 projects finished.  I had better get crackin' on the other 3...time is running out!

Name: Doesn't have one. I should think about that.

Made for: Mexican home for street children.

Fabric: Stash Kona Snow, charms from my stash, IKEA backing, Riley Blake binding.

Thread: Pieced with Aurifil 2024.

Batting: 100% Simply Cotton.

Size: Approximately 42x42 inches.

Quilting: Quilted in concentric, spiralling squares

Pattern: Moda Bake Shop pattern found here.

Best Retailer in Galway? FSQ Needs Your Vote!

It is with great excitement that I announce Fluffy Sheep Quilting's nomination for the Best Retailer in Galway. How fun is that for an online fabric shop out in the country?  I am delighted to participate in the competition!

To be successful, Fluffy Sheep Quilting needs your vote: votes from its customers, friends and supporters.  Voting is quick and easy, taking less than five minutes of your day.  There are two steps to vote:

1. Hop over to the Best Of Galway website. Click "Vote Now" in the menu to the top of the page.  Click on the "Register" link and enter your email address.  To be sure you don't get spammed after registering, be sure you click the little box provided!

2. Check your email for a link from the competition.  Clicking on this link will allow you to enter your vote.  Fluffy Sheep Quilting is under the Retail section.  You do not have to submit a vote in each category if you do not want to, but please do check the box for Fluffy Sheep Quilting.

There is one vote allowable for each email address.  If you have two email addresses, please do vote twice! Pass this blog link onto your friends/children/spouse as well.  The more the merrier!

As I appreciate your time and effort, I would like to offer those of you who do vote a chance to win a €50 Fluffy Sheep Quilting gift certificate.  Just leave a comment below and let me know you voted and I will pop your name in the hat for each and every vote you cast.  That's right, if you vote with two email addresses, you get two entries for the gift voucher draw.

Voting is open through the end of March.  When voting closes, I will draw the winner of the gift voucher.

Thank you very much for your vote and for your continued support of Fluffy Sheep Quilting.

Galway Stitching Meetup: March

Last night I met up with two lovely ladies to sit, drink tea/coffee and stitch together.  A few hours of that is truly good for my soul.  We talked about sewing techniques, religion, local patchwork guilds, all boys vs mixed schools and a weekend getaway to Belfast to take a few classes by Judith.  All good stuff filled with laughter.

Anneliese brought with her the famous Nerd Quilt.  It is absolutely beautiful in person.  There was a coordinating cushion, too, but I forgot to snap a photo of that goodie with all of the show and tell/chatter.

What?  No, Anneliese,  I didn't get you in that photo...just the quilt.  **ahem**.

And then Miss Annette.  She's working on a quilt that will be part of an exhibition in the Aran Islands this July.  The theme is water, so she's created a quilt filled with various sizes of DP blocks as sand...

(It's upside down here - we were carried away and not paying attention to what we were doing!)

And then she's going to quilt/embroider on it the "feathers" that water creates when receding back to the sea.  She spent the night practicing on her little hoop stitching over her tracing paper.

Do you see her amazing notebook?  First off, it's MASSIVE.  She has in it her inspirational photos, sketches, fabric swatches, quilt math and little trial samples (left page here).  I've never seen anything like it.  Gorgeous.

I'm getting quite boring and repetitive now.  I spent the evening stitching on one side of my binding.  I am about half way through attaching it to the back, so with any luck I'll finish it off this weekend.  Fingers crossed!

Riley Blake Basics join Fluffy Sheep Quilting

Not only does Riley Blake make super cute novelty kids prints, but they have a gorgeous range of modern basics prints that are welcome in any stash.  I am so happy to say that Fluffy Sheep Quilting now carries two ranges of Riley Blake basics:

Le Crème Swiss Dots

These are low volume, classic prints with a Riley Blake twist.  The colors they use for the 1/8th inch dots are just gorgeous and would brighten up any project.  We have grey, aqua, lime green, orange, red and pink dots in stock as well as a fat quarter bundle (of course!).  

Since the arrival of this line it was high time to create a Low Volume section of the website.  It's here, nested under the Theme tab.

Gingham

Another classic made modern with the Riley Blake flair for color.  Fluffy Sheep Quilting has four prints in red, yellow, green and aqua on a white background.  I could not disappoint, so there is also a fat quarter bundle available. The stripes are 1/8th inch wide, making them absolutely adorable.  They are screaming BUNTING to me, so I had better get to stitching.  

There are more fabrics to come shortly, so watch this space!

Nearly there!

I live in Galway.  It's a lovely town tucked inland a wee bit from the Atlantic Ocean.  It is (in my opinion) one of the most beautiful places on Earth.  Why, then, is it not a booming metropolis where EVERYONE wants to live?  Well, I'll tell you.  It rains.  A lot.

Today was no exception.

I have had enough of the wet weather (apparently the wettest winter since records began in 1866) especially now that the sun is out later into the night.  So, rain or no rain I brought the quilt I am binding out to the line for photos.  I'll show you, rain.  Humpf.

Right. When I realized this was the best photo I was going to get, I went back inside.  Stinker.  

This quilt is a small (42x42 inches) made for a little person in Mexico City.  I am trying to keep it gender neutral, but it is looking more and more girly to me.

On Monday night I quilted a spiral concentric square/rectangle starting in the charm squares. It's quite organic in that each line is not spaced as the last, but generally speaking I tried to keep to straight lines.  I think you can see the quilting a bit better on the back.

I have to say, this was possibly the most quilting fun I've had quilting in AGES.  It's a good thing, too.  This is a motif I'd like to try with Electronica some day.

With the two stripes of yellow and blue and the bold red on the back, I choose a binding with all three colors.  Now, this is the first time I've used a light color binding.  I usually like a dark binding to frame the quilt, so this is a small adventure for me.  So far I like how it ties the quilt together, but I reserve judgement until it's finished and washed.

Tomorrow night I'm meeting up with the Galway Ladies to stitch our late afternoon away.  We have to bring hand work only, so with any luck I'll have this cutie finished tomorrow night.  Boy that feels good.