Tokyo Sunrise + Twilight Cushion [Zipper + Pointy Corner Removal Tutes]

My sofas have been bare of cushions for 5 years now.  That's really hard for me to admit.  I love a good cushion, I write tutes for cushions, and I used to have my own interior design company.

So how come I don't have cushions piled high on every sofa, chair and bed in my apartment?

Blousy Blooms Pillow Cushion [Hidden Zipper + Pointy Corner Removal Tutes]

Haven't done any #selfishsewing in quite a while so took a day off from the computer (writing blog posts, tutorials, newsletter and sewing patterns) at the end of last week to have an afternoon at the sewing machine.

Nordic Wind Shawl

Hard to believe but it's almost ten months since my trip to Vancouver, BC, and what a busy trip it was - you can read all my posts here.   While there I visited the yarn store, Three Bags Full, and one of my purchases was five balls of  Istex Lettlopi from Iceland - it's an Aran/10 ply 100% wool.  

What Took You So Long?

A while ago I shared this crocheted blanket with you

during the making of which my pup Thatcher (Tatty to her friends) ate my bamboo crochet hooks several times

but I got there in the end and gifted the blanket to my eldest son

much to Tatty's disappointment.  

So just like any good puppy dog Mum I promised to make her her very own identical crochet blanket and set to it straight away almost finishing it in less than a week but didn't.  The blanket than sat in a knitting bag for the next year and the next year - yep that's right for just over two years - but this week I got it out and finished it.

 See it looks pretty much identical to that first blanket, exactly as promised.

In fact it looks so similar I'll forgive you for thinking I've just recycled old photos.

But there's been some changes around here over the last two years.  The eagle eyed might spot the cream fabric sofa is now cream leather and the back wall has turned a serious shade of aubergine (eggplant)

but the biggest change has to be that Tatty now has a Havanese puppy brother, Watson

who's lived with us for just over a year - proof if needed that this is indeed a different blanket to the first!

And just like the first blanket, Tatty (and Watson too) loves it, she only has one question for me 

"What Took You So Long?"!

Do you have an almost finished, promised to a loved one, project tucked away somewhere?

Share your stories in the comments and ease my guilt! :D

Clicking on a image will take you to the new page of crafty goodness :)

Spots Before Your Eyes - April 2014 NYC Metro MQG Block Lotto

The NYC Metro Mod Guild Guild Block Lotto for our next meeting on 5 April is 9 patch polka dot blocks.  (Not sure how to piece and press 9 patches?  Read my easy tutorial here.)

So the idea is that you make as many blocks as you like and take them along to the meeting.  Each block you hand in gives you one entry in the raffle and the raffle winner wins all the blocks brought along by guild members.

I've used the 7 polka dot fabrics that I picked up on my trip to Britex in San Francisco two weeks ago and added a purple that I used in my Sparkle Plenty Quilt and a pink from my Drunkard's Path Quilt.

Blocks can be straight or wonky but have to have 9 polka dot patches and measure 9.5" square unfinished - with a quick bit of maths that's 9 x 3.5" squares.

And there it is ...

Does it look like a lucky Polka Dot block?

I hope so!  I'd love to win that raffle!!!

If you're interested in seeing the Show & Tell from our February NYC Metro Mod Guild meeting here's the link.  You might want to nip over just to take a look at my Show & Tell - a quilt I made for Simon for Christmas but haven't got around to photographing and blogging about yet.  It's a pleated quilt and I was dreading ever having to wash it because I really didn't want to ever have to iron it - but Watson, our new Havanese pup, vomited on it last week and by the time I got home from work Simon had washed and tumbled it absolutely bone dry.  I'm not sure it'll ever be quite the same again and not a photo to show for it :(  I'm going to give it another wash and try ironing it when it's still pretty damp, that's the plan but life keeps being too busy and getting in the way, I'm sure you know how it is!

Can't help loving Watson though, he's such a cutie!!!  Haven't shared too many pics so here's a few and some of Tatty too.

Love them so much I think I can just about let them off a bit of vomit on a quilt.

What about you, do you have vomit stories (or worse!) about your quilts?  Did you love the culprit enough to forgive them too?!!!

And you can click this link to see all of my NYC Mod Quilt Guild Bee Blocks and Challenge Blocks/Quilts.

 

 

That Was February, This Is March

So it's March and I've been buying some gorgeous new fabrics at Pins & Needles on the Upper East Side.

A couple of Ed Emberley "Picture Pie" for Cloud9 fabrics - you just have to love those raccoons and Michael Miller's black & white Clown Stripe.

2 yards of multi pom poms, white fleece and white french terry.

Some fat quarters - I haven't got a printed selvedge on any of them so I have no idea what I've bought, if anyone has any idea I'd love to know!

So that's what I've been doing in March but what about February and, for that matter, January?

Well in January this little guy came to live with us, his name's Watson and he's a Havanese.

Yep he's pretty much running the household and, as you can see, he's totally taken ownership of Tatty's bed!

Then in February Simon and I headed off for a week to Seville to see all the kids - that's right, ALL the kids - it's 2 years since we were all together!!!

The trip involved a lot of this -

there's half a bottle of Tanqueray gin with a thimble of tonic in my glass!

Need more evidence of how we passed our time?  

Here's Ana, Jack, Joe and Katie and a table full of our cocktails.

We didn't take many pics (see my post about my previous trip here) and a lot of what I do have are poor quality phone photos, but there's not a single one of us all together :( and turns out this is the only pic I've got of Flicky!

and this one's me with Simon.

It rained every day and although it wasn't warm it was most definitely warmer than NYC.  The sun did break through for a couple of hours one day as I snapped this pic of Joe and Katie dancing in Seville's Cathedral garden

and this is the sunny view from the top of the Cathedral's Giralda Tower.

I loved all the hand stitched scarves

and there was quilty inspiration on every floor.

Here I am on the flight home - knitting and stretching out as there were only 80 of us on the 335 seater plane.

Airplane food was, as always a trial for me - just because I'm gluten free doesn't mean I like rice cakes, I hate rice cakes.

So that's my dinner and below's my breakfast - another rice cake that someone's gone to the trouble of cutting in half - makes no difference, I still hate rice cakes.

Since I got home I've been working on a sampler for a potential class, late into the night I've been busy sewing together jelly roll strips.

Tomorrow I'm off to San Francisco till Monday and I'm looking forward to some potential sunshine instead of more of this.

Here's to Spring in New York - though I've got a feeling we'll be skipping Spring and going straight into another scorcher of a Summer!!!

I know it's terribly British of me but I'm wondering how the weather's treating you?  Answers on a postcard please or even in a comment.