Update on Hexies....

Last week I blogged about my foray into glue basting hexies. Sorry purists....I think I am a convert.  I do find stitch basting hexies relaxing...in a mindless repetitive way.

  

But the speed and convenience of glue basting is winning out at the moment! 

I am working with 1 inch hexies....

and my goal is to grow this to a piece large enough to provide me with a front and back exterior for a tablet cover.  

 My only real concern with the glue basting was having to tug at the papers to remove them.

But I have gotten some great tips so far...

such as:

press the piece before you attempt to remove the papers and some of you suggest starching and pressing before removing...

use a paper punch and punch a hole in the middle of the paper so you can 'fish' out the paper with a blunt object like a chop stick...

or using a sharp object, like a stiletto, to loosen up the edges...

and also, one I am terribly guilty of violating, use only a dab of the glue to baste! 

All great tips! Please keep them coming!

 happy tuesday!

mary

    

Sew Pretty for Little Girls....

Today is my day to share with you a new book by Alice Caroline!

Sew Pretty for Little Girls

This is a collection of over 20 sewing and quilting projects for little girls using Liberty of London fabric! And if you have worked with Liberty fabric you know just how amazing it is to work with!

  

 My sister and I knew, if we wanted fabulous fabrics in our Sunny Day shop...we needed to include Liberty of London Tana Lawns.  If you haven't had the chance to experience Liberty of London, I highly recommend it. They are amazing! And Alice Caroline has some fabulous projects using Liberty...many requiring only small bits!

I chose to make an Isabel Basket out of two of my favorite Liberty prints. For the exterior of my basket I used our Tiny Poppytot and for the handles, Glenjade in Teal.      

  

 The instructions in this book are clear and easy to follow...

The Isabel Basket would be perfect to catch hair bands or jewelry.  The instructions even include two sizes!

I changed the handles just slightly, but I think it would be adorable to use as an Easter basket or a place for softies to rest.

 Even big girls would love to have a Liberty basket sitting on their dresser!

   

You can find the book on Amazon or from Alice herself!

http://www.alicecaroline.co.uk/

http://alicecarolineblog.co.uk/

And you can follow future blog hop posts or look at those you may have missed:  

Mon 2nd – Alice Caroline

Wed 4th – Crafting Not Cleaning

Thu 5th – Sew4Home

Fri 6th – Bloom

Sat 7th – A Spoonful of Sugar

Sun 8th – Fabricworm

Mon 9th – Pieced Brain

Tue 10th – Pretty Nostalgic

Wed 11th – Olivia Jane Handcrafted

Thu 12th – One Shabby Chick

Fri 13th – Sew Creative

Sat 14th – The Last Piece

Mon 16th – Victoria Findlay Wolfe Quilts

Tue 17th – Sew Crafty Jess

Wed 18th – Stitchery Dickory Dock

Fri 20th – Molly Flanders

at 21st – Fabric & Flowers

Sun 22nd – A Bright Corner

Mon 23rd - Follow the White Bunny

Tue 24th  - Straight Grain

Wed 25th  - Sew Justine Sew

Thu 26th  - Tracey Jay Quilts

Fri 27th  - Feather’s Flights

Sat 28th  - Monkey Do

Sun 29th  - Miss Print

Mon 30th  - This Blog Is Not For You

Tue 31st  - Sew Scrumptious

Happy Friday!

 

mary

 

Just in Time to Wish You a Happy St. Patricks Day!

Wow! I can't believe I have been slacking away so long!

Our little shop has only been open about a month and it keeps me busy in such a good way.

 I don't know about you...but I definitely need to sew...even if I am drowning in chores. Sew something. Anything. Or I feel very disconnected. So, no matter what is going on, I try to squeeze a little sewing into my day.

Here is a bit of what I have been doing since March 4th....my last post :(

 

 I played with this adorable new line by Elea Lutz called Milk, Sugar and Flower. Sweetness overload here! I love vintage fabrics and new vintage inspired fabrics are equally as fabulous! This line is just so good. It feels so familiar...like my grandma's apron :)

       

     For this scalloped trivet, I used a rounded wedge ruler I purchased ages ago. After stitching the wedges together, I placed an over-sized square of backing fabric and the 'top' right sides together and stitched all around, leaving an opening for turning.  Then clipped in the curves and turned right side out. To finish, I hand stitched the opening closed, added a center circle, and hand stitched around the edge with perle cotton. Simple and cute!

I have also spent some quality time with 1 inch hexies. This is the first time I have tried glue basting my hexies. I usually stitch baste. I must say it is much faster, but I do feel like I am having to pull and man-handle my hexies a little too much to take the papers out. I would love to hear your thoughts. Do you thread baste or glue baste and why? 

      

To me English Paper Piecing is much like hand quilting...so relaxing. I love to sit with it while I am watching Netflix with the boy. 

There is a plan for these...I just need to get this to a useable size...

I love watching it grow and it's almost painful to cut it up! If you are connected to Instagram and want to watch a lovely EPP video...check out Clare's video. On Instagram you can find her at Selfsewn. 

Finally, I must say this online sewing, quilting, crafting community...both bloggers and folks on Instagram are some of the very best people. Lately, I have seen examples of kindness and goodness that just warms my heart. You don't have to know someone personally to develop a true friendship and have empathy. Sorry for being squishy, but I have seen and felt the love from this community. It's a good thing.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

xo mary

              

Wordless Wednesday...thinking about how I LOVE it all!

Loving it all...the bright and bold as well as the subtle and restrained....