December's JQ, a mermaid and an e-reader (Kindle) cover.

December's JQ is called Button Moon. I have used self dyed fabric, overlaid with sheers, and free motion machine stitching. The tree is knobbly knitting wool couched down with yet more free stitch, and the moon is a clear button, covered with white net and a cream sheer,, held down with silver stitching. I've finished the piece with some clear beads for the appearing stars in a sunset sky.

This little mermaid was an extra present for my six year old grandaughter at Christmas. I had recently made her a pair of curtains for her newly decorated bedroom, and with the leftovers, I had enough for a small bed quilt, and a scrap for the tail of this mermaid. She was fun to make, and very well received on Christmas morning.

I was very pleasantly surprised on Christmas morning myself, because my husband gave me an e-reader, (Kindle) so ofcourse, I've just had to make a protective cover for it. I decided that it needed to be quite rigid, rather than soft and floppy, so used some medium weight pelmet viline, Decovil from here. It has a sticky side, so I ironed on a strip of some hand painted fabric that I made a few months ago.

As you can see above, I free motion machine embroidered all over the surface in green and pink thread, filling in some areas for added texture. I then placed two linings onto the back, rounded off the corners at one end, and then zig-zagged around the edge. I folded up the front to fit the Kindle, and then stitched and zig-zagged the edges together, I've used a small square of velcro for fastening.

I hope you've enjoyed this post, I haven't given any measurements, because it's all really  very obvious and easy to make this pouch to fit. This is also my first attempt at downloading a short video, so fingers crossed it all works for those of you who choose to watch.

Happy stitching everyone, and a very Happy, Peaceful New Year to you all!

Getting out the paintbox!

 I like to make a small textile or watercolour with the name of the new babies when they arrive in our family. The one above is for our newest addition, a grandson. His Mum and Dad both enjoy taking part in triathalon, so I decided a watery theme was called for.

I haven't done much in the way of textile work this month, the run up to Christmas is always so time consuming, but I shall be looking forward to getting back to my beloved sewing machine early in the New Year. I still have Decembers JQ to make, and then the last one of the series in January. I think I've more or less worked out what I'm going to do, but it will now be 2012 before they are made!

As we are looking at watercolour for this post, I thought I would include a painting I made of our cat Elsa a couple of years ago.

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas, and a Peaceful New Year.

Lavender Ladies and Hearts

The two photos at the top of the page show the reverse sides of one Lavender Lady. She has been made from my self printed fabric, and embroidered and embellished, and then stuffed with lavender from my sons garden. The two Lavender ladies below are also hand emboidered and embellished with beads and sequins. They are lovely to hang near a radiator, the warmth helps to extract the florally lavender scent. The alternative is to hang them in a wardrobe to keep the moths away, but it seems a pity not to be able to see them., The hearts below are also stuffed with lavender, and I'm making lots to put into Christmas cards. They can be hung on a Christmas tree, or also hung in a wardrobe, or placed in an undies drawer! Lots of fun to make, and something easy to pick up and stitch whilst watching the TV on these dark winter evenings.