A few people have been wondering where I have been since August, when I last posted. I've been around. Busy, busy, busy. I have been feeling very guilty about not keeping up with my blog. I was also wondering whether it was worth the effort blogging when I now have so little time to create and much less to spend updating my blog. After much thought, I think I should give it a go since crafting is definitely my passion and I will carry on doing this whether I blog about it or not. But this blog gives me the chance to somehow keep a log of all the things I make. My posts may be sporadic and erratic (for instance, will be disappering for about 2 weeks) but I will do my best to keep on top of things.
I have made a few things in the last weeks and also finished off some long standing projects. I got the chance, for instance, to try out a Japanese bag pattern which I bought months ago. After much guess work, I must say that I am pleased with the end result.
I have also been eager to make a bean bag using the same fabric (I have loads of this fabric so it will continue to feature heavily in my crafting). I used a pattern which I found an old issue of Homes and Gardens and stuffed it with some polystyrene beads kindly donated by my friend, Vicki. I often find it difficult to anticipate the final size of some things I sew and this was a classic example. Although I love the shape and it looks as I anticipated, it turned out smaller than expected. So small that you could not even safely sit a small baby on it (without him/her rolling off). But we have found another use; it is excellent for propping you up whilst lying in bed reading a book; so it has not gone to waste.
But my biggest project to date is the quilt which I started some time ago. I have made up 20 square using a variety of green fabrics. Each square measures 20 cm x 20 cm. I have been thinking a lot about what colour fabric to use as sashing and for the back. My initial thoughts were white for the sashing but Markus has recommended a tan colour which I think works better. Whilst I was planning to order some Kona cotton in tan, it did occur to me that I have some lovely linen in the exact colour which would be perfect (I just hope linen quilts ok). I will nevertheless still have to order some fabric for the back (tan and green) as well as the batting. Does anyone know where I can order cotton batting in Europe? I only seem to be able to get the synthetic stuff here. I may now have to order it from the US. This is how my combination of squares look:
Last but not least, is a bag which I started felting months ago. The felting process went quite quickly but it then took me several months to decide how to finish off the bag. I opted for a leather handle and I sewed on some trimming in a matching colour. I still need to decide on a suitable closure for the bag but in the photo, I have pinned on three fabric flowers and 'closed' the bag with a safety pin (ad interim).
