Friday, July 30, 2010

Lovely Little Handmades' Great Giveaway


Hi everyone,

Remember my July Challenge table runner, click here for the reminder if you don't remember it. Well the pattern I used for that, was by Happy Zombie and Monica (of Happy Zombie) has a designed just the cutest range of holiday happy fabric from Lecien, and Kerri from lovely little handmades is VERY generously giving away 1 FQ of each story in the range.....that's not one, not two, not three, but count them....yep, you got it right, TWELVE yumdiddlyscrumptious fat quarters. I'd so love to win them, especially after Monica sent me such a nice email about the runner.

Click on the pic above to head on over to Kerri's blog to enter......entries close tomorrow, so RUSH RUSH RUSH or you'll miss the chance. ***please don't get angry with me for the late heads up, but I only found the giveaway today myself***

Hugs & Good luck if you make it in time
Naomi

Woo Hoo Khris's F-R-I-E-N-D-S Swap is on again

Khris is hosting her F-R-I-E-N-D-S swap again. As stated in the picture above, you swap 7 gifts starting with each of the letters of the word "friends". I participated last year, and my swap partner was Terri Harlan of Sew Fantastic blog. I'm going to do participate in the swap again this year, as last years' was so much fun. If you want to participate, you need to sign up by 10th August, and have a current blog....to sign up, click on the above pic to go to Khris's post about it and sign up there. Deadline for the swap is October 26th....which just so happens to be Khris's birthday.....do ya think she's hoping for heaps of Birthday cards this year? lol It's ok, Khris and I know each other, and I'm sure she'd expect me to think something like that...hee hee hee

Hugs
Naomi

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Toddler/Kids hats I just made

For the last couple of nights, I've been doing a bit of crochet....here's what I've been making....Depending on the age of the child (a much more polite way of putting "depends on how big the childs' head is hey? lol) I'm thinking these hats would fit from about a 6 - 18 month old. There's two girlie ones and two unisex or boy ones. Am about to go pop them up for sale on my Crafty Owl blog if you'd like to buy one or more of them. I can also do custom orders, and tonight I'll be trying out different sizes and colours.

What do you think of them?

Hugs
Naomi

Giveaways to share with you


Click on the photo above before July 31st to enter to win some great 1980's charm packs....wow I thought charm packs were a recent thing...lol Shows how much I need to get a life hey? Good luck if you decide to enter. Don't forget to open the link in a new window or tab, or come back to my blog so that you can also enter the following giveaway too.

I read about the above giveaway on a friends' blog and thought I'd share the love....well the giveaway anyway! Click on the above photo before Aug 1st to enter to win 6 FQ's (1.5yards) of fabric by designers from Israel. Carmel is hosting the giveaway in honour of 100 posts....so don't forget to congratulate her if you go enter. Good luck.

Hugs
Naomi

Friday, July 23, 2010

One step closer......woo hoo

Some of you may remember a while ago, that I was seeking the name of the designer of the above Dresden Butterfly block (See post here), well yesterday, I posted the question in Kitty Kitty Designs group page.

Within a day, I got an answer from a quilter called Carolyn (Sorry I don't know if she's got a blog or not) telling me, not only where the pattern/templates (the butterfly is shown at the bottom of the screen in the alternative blocks you can make from the templates) could be found, but also sent me a link for a quilt show, just scroll down to the third photo, which is where someone was exhibiting the butterfly quilt....oh how the internet makes things so much easier at times hey? Thank you to Carolyn if you happen to ever read this. Believe it or not, Carolyn is only across the border in Victoria, Australia lol

Hugs
Naomi

200th Post giveaway...no not mine sorry, I missed that one!

Elizabeth is a good blog mommy and noticed/prepared/planned for her 200th post giveaway.....Me on the other hand is up to 203 posts, so sorry if you were hoping for a giveaway on here for my 200th post....lol I'll try and do a random, "just coz I can giveaway" soon. Anyhoo, getting back to Elizabeths' giveaway....you can win the above Abbey Bag....pincushion and thread catcher combo...great choice of fabrics she chose hey? I think so. (Just so I get the chance to digress again - I won the pattern to make these a while back, and still haven't made it....again...bad Naomi)

You need to click on the above photo if you want to enter, you can enter up to 4 times....but you need to head over to her blog by 27th July 2010. Good luck, and thanks to Elizabeth for hosting a giveaway.

Hugs
Naomi

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Hot off the press...well nearly....it's actually hot off the sewing machine!

I just finished making the above Origami Bag, which I quite like now that it's finished. It would make a great bag to take a small project with you to sewing class or on a road trip. I saw a similar one on the internet, and today decided to try making one. I put batting in the bag, thinking it would give it some 'shape', but it's got a wee bit too much body I think. Maybe next time I'll try with thin pellon instead of thin batting.

At each end, there is a pocket, which you can see in the photo above. I know, I know, the buttons aren't quite matching yellows, but I'm trying to use up what I have, instead of buying more all the time!

I'd love to hear what you think of my Origami Bag, so please leave me a comment. Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs
Naomi

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Christmas in July - July's challenge done


As you can see, I went with Kate Spain for Moda's "It's Snowing" Christmas print for my tablerunner, which was part of the Christmas in July challenge over at Amandas' blog. When I took the photo I was half asleep, and didn't realise it was upside down.....hence why I rotated the photo to put it on here....I would take another one, but my computer is having issues at the moment, so hopefully I'll get this posted before it has another brain fart and locks up. I've worked out what might be causing it....Outlook Express....but I might be wrong.....oh well, guess I'll just have to madly back all my files and reformat and start again!

***Update***

If you'd like to make the same Tablerunner, head on over to visit Happy Zombie's blog as that's where I got the tutorial from. Thanks Happy Zombie for such easy to follow instructions.

***Apology to the fabric designer***
Has anyone read the comments for this post? If so, you would've seen that Kate Spain let me know that it wasn't her charm pack design I'd used, it was actually Deb Strains' lol.......Ummm excuses could be, I had a brain fart, I've got a blonde brain, I was too lazy to walk out to where the label off the charm pack was.....I knew the surname had "AIN" at the end....so that's the excuse I'm going with........so, Deb Strain, please accept my humblest apologies for incorrectly giving credit to Kate Spain....both are wonderful designers and I truly am embarrassed that I made a fubar like I did.

Hugs
Naomi

Friday, July 16, 2010

What I've been making

Above is a Bootie Bag I've made to sell over on the Crafty Owl blog. It's a very roomy bag, which would hold everything a girl could want in her shoulder bag...and possibly also the proverbial kitchen sink too! I love making these bags...although you wouldn't think so, seens as though it's taken me this long to make one for sale!

Of course I had to show the butt of the Bootie Bag didn't I? lol

Unfortunately the colour of the lining doesn't quite show up so good in the pics, but it's quite a nice colour and looks great against the denim. This pic shows the inside pockets, which are 4 open topped pockets and 1 zippered pocket.

The above photo shows the embroidered detail on the back pocket of the Bootie Bag....I'd like to say I sat for hours and sewed it on....but it was already on there when I started 'altering' the skirt into a bag!

This is a tartan style/look baby blanket or knee rug. I still have to finish the fringe on the edges, but this shows the pattern I did. I love making these, but they're a little time consuming....took longer to make and thread all the chains through than it did to make the main blanket! I think it looks nice though. What do you think?

Hugs
Naomi

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

I know you all love it when I find giveaways...so I don't disappoint you, here's another one...lol


Micki Butler (of Irish Muses blog fame) has been blogging for two years, and to celebrate, she's offering you the chance to win 7 of the 9 pictured items above....I say 7 out of the 9 because you won't be getting her cutting mat or the table that the picture was taken on! lol I just love that sheep, and the crazy quilting book would be great (I'm contemplating giving C.Q. a try.....how did Micki know? lol). I love calenders from different places, so the 2011 Ireland calender would be a lovely addition.....I had one a couple of years ago from someone in Arizona....you see such lovely scenery in the calenders.

Click on the pic above to head on over to Micki's blog and enter her giveaway......she's drawing it on 17th July. Good Luck

Hugs
Naomi

Monday, July 12, 2010

Lisa @ Just for you designs is hosting a giveaway

Lisa is hosting a "Just for you Giveaway".....and it's a mystery giveaway....she just says it's for a bundle of homespun goodies designed by her......how exciting hey? Click on the package above to go enter her giveaway before 16th July. Good luck!

Hugs
Naomi

Friday, July 9, 2010

A quilter I am not, but I'm a much happier camper today.

WOOOO HOOOOO am doing a happy dance......the table topper is fully finished.....I didn't use expensive fabric, some was free and some was from the op/thrift shop...the only thing that wasn't in that same category, was the batting, which is just a polyester one I got from my friend Sandy. She's coming to see me on Sunday hopefully...and I'll be able to show her what I used some of the batting in. The quilting might be wonky, but it's certainly an improvement on the one I did in this post. I didn't put the pics in in reverse order this time, so please forgive me.....I have a sore head at the moment, and couldn't be bothered to work out which order I should be adding pics in.....sorry.

This was taken once I'd quilted it....As the title of this post says...."A Quilter I am not" but I am soooo much happier with this try at the D9P tutorial from here.
I took two different shots of the top once I'd finished piecing it....I think the neighbours were even happy that I was so excited...lol I'd say half the suburb heard my 'yippee' once it was finished and didn't look so bad...might not be as good as stuff you make, but I'm still a NOVICE quilter/patchworker.

Woo Hoo, this one lined up SOOOOOOO much better, it was worth the extra time it took me to cut them all out...lol Please let me know what you think of it.

Hugs
Naomi

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Last couple of days craft round up...warts & all.

I came across a tutorial for a D9P that I liked, over here, thanks for sharing it Pat....and yesterday decided that it was time to try it, seens as though I love the D9P....coz, ever so stupidly, I thought it would hide a multitude of sins.....ha.....WRONG.....as you can see in the above pic, if you look quickly, it doesn't look too bad. It also doesn't look as neat and as regimental as Pats....what could be the reason for mine going so wonky......bad cutting is my excuse, reason and/or alibi!

Today I'm going to try again, but am going to use bigger squares....doubt if it'll make much difference really, but am going to really give myself a brain strain/fart, by concentrating over my cutting to make sure EVERY time I cut into the blocks, they're all even and all the same size.....wish me luck!
I worked out part of what I did wrong.....when you've made your 9 patch blocks and go to cut them across and down the centres.....I think I then moved some of the newly formed smaller blocks to being next to smaller blocks from a different bigger block.....ie 2 from this one and 2 from that one, don't necessarily match up in the big scheme of things....lol Or am I just grabbing at straws?

Just in case you're sitting there looking at these pics and wondering how drunk I was.....I was stone cold sober....wish I could use the excuse of being under the influence of alcohol, but alas, it was just my lousy cutting out.....gotta get my brain around the whole concept of use either the lines on the cutting mat, or the ruler, not a mixture of both.....and if I use the ruler, I've then got to try and remember to measureline up the bits I'm cutting out.....all the same way.....which do you do....have the fabric in the middle of the line markings or on the edge of the line markings....and then do you do them the closest side of the cutting line or the furthest? Oh dilemma, dilemma.......see I really do need an Accuquilt Go.....and no, this table topper wasn't a ploy for me to get one, just proves to myself that if I start doing more quilted projects, one would definately be an asset for me.....coz I know I can sew straight.

Check out the size of the white post (?) in the centre of the middle row in the pic above....how small did that one end up? hee hee hee OOOOOPS, practice makes perfect, and I WILL NOT, allow something as simple as D9P beat me.....the mission I've accepted is to get mine to look as good as Pat's.

As you can see, mine went WONKY in lots of places......almost enough to be classified as a Crazy Quilt D9P....lol

A very dear friend of mine, also loves the same colour as me.....PURPLE.....and after seeing my purple scarf I knitted for me a while back, asked for purple feather wool beanie to match.....no, not for me, I don't do hats! I just realised, in the pic above, you can see the beanie, but the knitted mitts don't really show up too good, oh well, you'll just have to imagine they're further apart.....I knitted them using the same tutorial that's inspired all the other mitts I've made recently! I knitted the beanie in just the feathers wool on its own, but the mitts I paired it with some purple 8ply. They're sooooooo warm!

The above phone covers were made using the tutorial here. The aqua one in the middle however, I made using the same measurements, but constructed it my own way, and it doesn't have raw edges on the inside, and has a different shaped flap, which you can see better in the pic below.

The above pic shows the difference in the flap detail off.....I prefer the shape of the one on the left, but am comfortable with making the one on the right also.

Here's a pair of mitts I knitted, using 2 different colours of 8ply (dk) yarn and size 7 needles (4/5mm) I cast on 40sts and did 10 rows rib, 18 or 20 rows of stocking st and then 4 rows of rib at the finger end. I sewed them together (rather roughly, my mum is probably having kittens in heaven at how roughly I sewed them together....but they're just for me so didn't worry too much!) leaving a gap for the thumb, just like the tutorial here.
Obligatory action shot.....if I hadn't been in such a hurry, I would've knitted them longer and maybe changed to slightly smaller needles to do the ribbing near the fingers.....hindsight...always a wonderful thing hey? lol

So, in a nutshell, that's what I've been making, leave a comment and tell me what you've been making....I'd love to hear from you.

Sorry if this post is a bit confusing or if some of my comments under the pics are similar to the ones above the pics....it's because of the way that blogger allows pics to be added.....I do my posts in reverse order so I can just insert the pic, type underneath it and then add the next pic and type underneath it...etc, etc, etc. Maybe that should be a lesson for me to proof read the whole post and not just each paragraph as I type it....lol Maybe next time, for this time, I'm in too much of a rush to go find some more fabric to try another D9P runner/topper.

Hugs
Naomi

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Stash Manicure is having an end of Month Giveaway

Stash Manicure is having an end of month giveaway for the goodies you see in the above pic. To be taken straight to the giveaway post, click on the photo, if you'd like to have a general look, not just the giveaway at their blog, then click here. Good luck with the giveaway, but you'll have to be quick as closing date is 4th July 2010.

Hugs
Naomi