Christmas Runners ~ Patchwork and Applique

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Artist and crafter, Artistic moment, Carens canvas and craft My ETSY shop, Christmas Runners and Mats, Crafty creations, Creative craft, Creative crafting, Cute and Quirky Crafted Creations, Felt Christmas Creations, Fun with fabrics, GingerBread Runner, Hand applique and quilting, Handmade, Hessian at Christmas, Patchwork and quilting, Poinsettia Runner/Patchwork Mat, Snowman Runner, Unique

”….Just look Cute, Okay ?!” ….”I’m doing my best!!!…. whilst trying to count how many million stitches are going on around us…!”….”Yeah, Me Too!! You know, 36 hours of hand stitching, is….a LOT of cotton!!!!”…..”Hope we get out of here before Christmas??’

After weeks working with traditional red/green and cream colours for my Christmas patchwork creations, I went scurrying through my stash to see what else I could use, before….my next trip to the fabric shop ;-)?! Finding some spotty fabric and enough blue to bind, a bit of hessian thrown in too, seemed just the right combination 🙂 As most of my Christmas table mats have been aimed at adults, I thought it about time I started balancing it, with more young at heart, cute and quirky creations…What better way, than adding some felt applique 😉 Still All completely machine washable and iron able too (Just not the little beads with a hot iron)!

After first drawing some simple designs, I made myself some card templates, then drew round them onto a sheet of Bondaweb, ironed it to the correct coloured felt for each different shaped piece to create my little snowmen, then patiently cut everything out ( The holly leaves were definitely the fiddliest bit ~ but well worth the effort, non the less) Once I had all 56 pieces cut out, and  28 beads set aside, I started assembling a very simple hessian centred panel to which I could blanket stitch all the pieces to (You’ll have noticed, the colours of the snowmen are inspired by the printed spots of the cotton fabric)

….”You know what??” …”What??”… ”She spent so much time straightening us beautifully, then, decided the table cloth wasn’t straight! So straightening IT, caused us to wiggle about lol!!”…”Never mind, folding us over in the wrapper, everything is squared up again!!”…”Hey!”….”What??” ….”Look down there 😉 ……Ginger bread folk!!”

After a little super cute creation…who can stop at one??!……………SO……..

Another 42 pieces of felt, 42 beads, some hessian, spotty print fabric, wadding, backing, binding, and, a shed load of  hand stitching….et voila!!…A cute quirky Gingerbread runner too 🙂

Enter a caption

There were a couple of more items done in the traditional colours, not included before…Mini Runners/Large Table Centre Mats…using up the remnants of the Poinsettia and Bow fabrics

Quite a busy week all in all 😉

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Crazy Patchwork Stockings Lovingly Hand Quilted

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Artistic moment, Artsy, Carens canvas and craft My ETSY shop, Christmas Patchwork Stockings, Crazy Patchwork X-Mas Sock, Creative craft, Creative crafting, Fun with fabrics, Handmade, Modern Abstract Stockings, Patchwork, Patchwork and quilting, Quilted Cotton Christmas Stocking, Unique, With Love from Santa stockings

Okay…now we are in September, I don’t feel so guilty about showing off Christmassy things LOL 😉

Recipe:  1)Grab a large selection of Christmas cotton fabric off-cuts,  2) Sew any which way (which, slowly, but surely, WILL drive you crazy!!),  3)Trim to desired stocking shape, 4) Sandwich with cotton wadding and backing and then hand quilt, 5)Repeat for reverse of stocking (Or, as I did, reserve a little sanity by doing a plain one with cross hatched quilting, 6) Add hanging loop between front and back pieces, bind, then hand stitched to finish!

A simple, sanity saving, hand quilted plain cream cotton reverse!

If, by this stage, you don’t feel compelled to take yourself off to the local recovery centre….try it all again LOL ….Take two!!

Okay…three solid days of craziness….I’m off to book myself in…right now ;-D !!!

A summer spent SEW nicely!! ;-)

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Artist and crafter, Artistic moment, Artsy, Carens canvas and craft My ETSY shop, Christmas Patchwork Mats, Christmas Place Mat Sets, Christmas Table Runner, Colourful Skewed Place Mat Sets, Crafty creations, Creative crafting, Cute quirky creations, Fun with fabrics, Handmade, Modern and Traditional Table Mats, Original, Patchwork, Patchwork and quilting, Table Mats and Mug Rug sets, Traditional Christmas Table linens, Unique, X-Mas Dining Place Mats

Not one to renege on my promises…..here is post number three of my get back up to date out of semi-retirement (though, technically if you count the random alliteration post ~ it’s actually No.4 LOL) !!                                                                                                                                              Sew nicely is how I have been spending my spare time, getting stock ready for the Christmas rush (well..I hope ;-)!!) in my little on line Etsy shop . Trying to cater for all manner of tastes when it comes to festive dining??!!….from the traditional, as shown here, in this beautiful hand quilted set of twelve…to many new quirky, colourful, original and unique designs below……

Again, quite a traditional set of twelve, though with a less formal theme aimed at the young at heart…of course 😉

Now then!! If you really want to add some colour to your Christmas mealtimes..??…these ”Rockin’ Reindeer” Place Mats and matching fabric Coasters/Mug Rugs,  should definitely do the trick!! Traditional Christmas colours with a modern ”skewed” design twist  😉

Another modern take! Colour themed around the central printed cotton squares, I have selected and added fabric strips in co-coordinating colours to bring the different coloured backgrounds together as a bright bold set, which can be brought out year after year! As all my sets are made from cotton fabrics with a 100% cotton wadding, they can be laundered in a machine (YAY) and ironed…. to have them looking as good as new after every mealtime!!

Having been caught out last year, by a customer who wanted extra to match a set she’d bought from me (which I didn’t have, but managed to make a coordinating set to match in for her)….I decided to make a few more smaller sets, which can either be bought as stand alone or add on sets for larger dining tables!

And, then back to traditional! A beautiful hand quilted Festive Table Runner  ~ and it’s still not quite the end of August ~ so, still time to get a few more Christmassy things done 🙂 

Sew!! Missing I may have been, but, slacking..well, not really! And it’s definitely nice to be back amongst you All !! 😉

 

 

Who knew I already had the stuff to make them???

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Artist and crafter, Carens canvas and craft My ETSY shop, Christmas Table linens, Crafty creations, Creative crafting, Creative creations, Dachshund pillow cover, Fun with fabrics, Hand quilted patchwork table mats, Mug rugs and matching table place mats, Patchwork and applique dogs, Patchwork and quilting, Patchwork table runner, Printed cotton squares, Sausage dog feature cushion, Working with stash fabrics

A Christmas table runner from more stashed bits and bobs!
After sifting through my ever diminishing Christmas stash (note to self… go to new year sales for more bargains…!) I came across a small selection of printed cotton squares which I bought a couple years back in my eagerness as a new patchworker. Stored deep down under an eclectic mass of small offcuts, I always thought using them was cheating somehow?!…like I should be creating the pictures myself, being an artist!! Though, being on a thrift drive, of not buying at the moment, I am driven to use up my available supplies! So armed with 33(3.5 x 3.5 inch) squares, also a yard or so of green and red fabrics….what should I make??? …..obviously, you know I have made a table runner with twelve of said squares already…..:-)

Table runner packaged and available…now ready for shipping, on my Etsy store, at a bargain basement price…..due to my guilt of making things with preprinted squares LOL!!

NEXT… A twelve piece set, six place mats and six matching coasters/mug rugs* (*love that term!!) Also using some of the same fabrics and for all the labour intensive hand crafting, also, at a great bargain price (okay I’m still in the guilt zone of the printed cotton squares ;-/ LOL) But, they are a beautiful set which can be used year on year!! If you are counting..?…then you will know I still have nine squares left! More on those soon 🙂 no doubt still at silly prices! Anyway, after almost a week of staring at red and green (then confronting my face in the mirror, I looked like a ghoul (to my own eyes)- as the colours make it almost impossible to register any pinkness of skin tone during that time) so, I thought I’d give my cones and receptors time to readjust. Then came across this…..

I found some more printed cotton squares….! (A sneaky look into my TIDY workspace – well apart from the small cotton bit on the floor 😉 Little dogs no less – the snipped out bits are the WIP ATM..goodness knows when I even bought those?? Anyway, the change of colour was kinder to my eyes, so…

…progress so far. To be fair it’s only had about an hour of my attention before the light went for the night. With all felt applique, drawn from the inspiration of the little printed squares then cut by hand, I’m hoping it will turn out to be a fine little cushion/pillow cover by tomorrow!!!

Who needs more?? Working with my supplies – here’s the results of the week so far! Hope you’re all having a great relaxing weekend too?!?! 😉

Crazy Patchwork Creations – COOL GREENS cotton quilted tote bag

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Abstract crazy patchwork tote, Artist and crafter, Artistic moment, Carens canvas and craft My ETSY shop, Cool green cotton tote bag, Crafty creations, Creative crafting, From off cuts to creations, Fun with fabrics, Go green fabric totes, Hand quilted creations, Handmade and designed patchwork, Multi-pocket tote, Patchwork and quilting, Unique fabric designs and creations

The first, completed, of a planned range of ”GO GREEN” TOTES! A week or so ago my super huge stack of off cuts once again played on my mind!…. how to approach this ever growing stash ;-/ ?? I decided to pick a colour…green and take it from there….

First, tip out the bag and see what I had to work with….???? Hmm some sorting I think! 😉 I eventually set out four colour palettes (one being the completed tote bag) …then, took full advantage of being alone for a few days, and made the most humongous mess you can ever imagine! LOL!!! There were threads the length and breadth of the ground floor, mainly courtesy of Peppy’s paws, even more off cuts smaller than before, but, eventually, four sets of crazy patchwork pieces 🙂

Soooo many hours were spent combining each into workable pieces – it nearly did send me ”crazy” trying to fit them together (shown here awaiting their next step) but more than worth the effort – and the many reels of cotton – to end up with a totally unique crazy patchwork tote, not to mention the other three lined up, as my next projects!

Trouble is….now I have the smaller off cuts to deal with 😉 I feel a lot of applique Christmas cards are now in order at some point….

Fortunately, as luck would have it, or rather, that I boxed clever and worked into the colour scheme fabric from a couple of larger pieces I had so as to complete the back panel, straps and lining with built in multi-pocket too…see below

Inside my crazy cool green patchwork tote is just as pretty as the outside 😉

Another reason why I keep all my bits and pieces, I think it turned out just fine!! …’sew’ much better than it being in landfill – don’t you think ?? 😉

….OH NO!!!!! I can hear the blue off cuts starting to get rowdy in the corner, I have something rather exciting planned for them – maybe they know already…??.. and can’t contain themselves……..LOL 😀

”Summertime Blues” Patchwork hand quilted pin wheel design lap quilt/picnic blanket

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Artist and crafter, Blue and white patchwork quilt, Carens canvas and craft My ETSY shop, Colourful cotton handmade quilts, Creative crafting, Fun with fabrics, Hand quilted patchwork, Handmade lap quilt, Patchwork and quilting, Patchwork table cover, Patchwork wallhangings, Picnic blanket, Pin wheel design patchwork, Quirky creations, Summertime blues, Unique crafty creations

Blue pin-wheel design lap quilt or ‘Summertime Blues’ as I decided to call it 🙂
After making the red and black version shown in the last post,
https://carentaylor.wordpress.com/2015/04/25/beautiful-minimalistic-patchwork/
I knew I wanted to make a cool fresh blue version – I’m so happy with the result!!
Even though I’ve called it a lap quilt, equally it could be a picnic blanket, or, a piece of art for a wall hanging, or even, a bright bold table cover 😉
Keeping with the simple theme as before, though this time I have used three different blue cotton print fabrics for the front panel and a simple clean white cotton for the backing then hand quilted through a 100% cotton wadding layer finally binding with the same blue fabric as the thin inner border.
Even though it was a dull overcast day when I took the photograph, it certainly brightened up the garden 🙂

A beautiful Blue buttoned bag

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Artist and crafter, Arty, Button flower border bag, Buttons, Carens canvas and craft My ETSY shop, Cotton fabric, Crafty creations, Creative crafter, Designer of unique handmade items, Fun with fabrics, Handmade fabric tote bags, Multi pocket feature totes, Navy blue and white tote, Patchwork, Patchwork and quilting, Patchwork tote, Summer accessory

A beautiful Blue buttoned bag!
AND…just as beautiful on the back too!!

Some people may wonder the point of chopping up bits of material…just to sew them back together again??! Here’s why I enjoy it so much!! Not to mention the fact that I delved into more of my button collection for this one as well…Oooo HAPPY DAYS !!!!!  😀  !!

Not content to make just one side pretty…I did the reverse in the same design too – oh, and then, a lovingly handmade interior pocket as well! Why not look good from every angle??

Just in case you think it’s the front again…check out the buttons…a couple are slightly different…all added to the hand stem stitched       lines to give a little flower border effect!

All my patchwork quilted totes are fully lined, this one being no different, though a little extra time and effort was spent, lovingly making an interior patchwork multi pocket and following the theme of the tote bag, I added a few extra little buttons flowers as well – all looking very pretty against the printed blue and white cotton lining!
All in all, I reckon this is a brilliant, navy, blues and white ‘must have‘ Summer accessory 😉

‘Flying Goosey’ Quilt Number 2 – proving a point to myself…that I’m not getting slow in my old age (Not that old really) !!!

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Applique, Applique hearts, Art, Artist and crafter, Artistic, Artistic moments, Arty, Bed topper, Black red cream patchwork, Carens canvas and craft My ETSY shop, Cotton fabrics, Cotton wadding for a traditional feel, Crafty creations, Creative crafting, Creative patchwork and applique, Elegantly designed patchwork quilts, Fun creations, Fun with fabric, Hand quilting, Lap quil, Lovingly handmade patchwork and crafts, Modern patchwork, Original, Original art, Patchwork, Patchwork and applique, Patchwork and quilting, Patchwork quilts, Patchwork throw, Printed cotton materials, Quality handmade items, Quirky, Something from nothing, Stylish quilt, Stylish quilt designs, Traditional quilts with new design, Unique, Unique creations, Warm and cosy quilts

In well under two weeks I have a result! From the humble beginnings of four cotton fabrics which I selected – to a finished little beauty! Lovingly hand crafted and hand quilted with ever so many stitches it could never, ever, EVER fall apart 🙂

My newest creation! Flying Geese and appliquéd hearts lap quilt number 2 actually finished yesterday, but my camera broke down – and here’s me thinking it’s the quilt design that is jinxed !!!  Maybe it’s just me…..!

My four chosen cotton print fabrics….after lots of hunting through mountains of materials at the fabric shop I eventually chose these four to go together. Tasteful, Simple, Rich, Stylish and Elegant! As soon as I had them in my arms all together, I could already see how the new quilt would look in my mind’s eye! The only thing delaying me from starting, was some good old fashioned hand washing of the fabrics to rid them of any excess dyes! No sooner dry and ironed…..let chopping, piecing and quilting begin 😉

I always think it is a good idea to make another ‘Goosey” quilt until I reach 5/31 geese border strips…then I sigh my way through the next 26….knowing, it WILL be worth all the effort – at the same time trying not to think of all the hand quilting to come ;-/ !!!!

A little hand sewn label, to let generations hence, (should it EVER become an Heirloom piece 😉 ) know who and where it was made! A little touch I probably should have already been adding to my lovingly hand-crafted quilts…better late than never though ! As a seller on Etsy I have become aware of just how many vintage quilts there are, and, it’s important to new makers like myself, and a must, to let people/buyers know that they are NEWLY made rather than vintage…..though, I hope and feel my own designs show a contemporary style anyway! As much as I love patch working I do feel sometimes people just add too much (colour/mix of fabric designs/ confusion etc,etc (this is my opinion only-others may feel differently and we should all have our say, I think), I do like some structure to what I design and make, though others may too have other tastes, which is of course absolutely fine too! Whilst I realise in the olden days, Patchwork items were made out of what was available and maybe in short supply, it is now a luxury to go and buy new fabrics to create such items today. Though it is my belief that by buying only small quantities of each fabric I am still forcing myself to create something out of very little – even if it is all new material!

I look out proudly at my latest achievement as it gently blows in the wind after its final wash before going off to my Etsy shop! I do hope it can eventually make someone happy…..and of course warm and cosy! 🙂 I certainly sewed many, many hours during its creation (on average, I reckon I work for 2 pence per hour including material costs!!!!! Minimum wage would make it only available to the Billionaires of the world – I’m not sure they shop on Etsy?!?) and incorporated lots of sweet dreams into it too! – they are include free of course!!!  😉

An early Christmas present (for this year AND THE NEXT FIVE AT LEAST!!!)

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Finished forget-me-not quilt
OMG! How many stitches can you put into a 6′ x 4′ panel???? at least double your thought and and then add another two million!!! Then you might be half way near to the quilting in this little creation!!! I can’t put into words the joy of finishing this little piece – never has a project been on the go for so long – interrupted by day trips with family, subsequently contracting crafter’s lung (as diagnosed by Mrs.P) more trips after a successful recovery then projects for Etsy/Commissions/Life in general… eventually back to find this awaiting unfinished project in a lonely bag!!!

I won in the end! This little creation has been playing on my mind for almost two months!!! Though already, and only finished two hours ago,( I couldn’t wait for better light to take the picture…!) it has a new owner – My Dearest is snuggled beneath it as I type….:-) There could be no other owner than him, as it has little Forget-Me-Not flowers and lots of hearts in the design!

I have been promising him a larger lap quilt for ages, but always they have been spoken for, or intended for My Etsy shop. As winter is approaching, it is a great time to be making these little lap quilts, though I won’t be able to put in 13 hours of sewing each day as I have for this baby! Dark nights have me a new plan, I am about to embark on a new batch of paintings instead – Dipping a brush into paint, by candle light, is much easier than trying to thread a needle when you are past 40!

…..Oh My!… I think I hear snoring?!? Obviously it is comforting too! 🙂

What a wonderful week!

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Art, Artist and crafter, Artistic, Arty, Carens creative canvas and craft MY ETSY SHOP, Colourful creations, Crafty creations, Creative crafting, Cute creations, Flying geese patchwork quilt, Fun quirky hand craft, Fun with fabrics, Hand quilted items, Handmade novelty items, Lap quilts, Lovingly handmade items, Moomin T-Towels, Original, Patchwork, Patchwork and quilting

Jen’s ‘Moomin’ quilt!

After completing and handing in her PhD last week, our Daughter Jennifer, came to stay for a little visit around lunchtime on Monday this week (and, has just left after lunch today, Friday, so keep in mind its been roughly four full days!),  As only just out of the world of being a full time Student at 25 years old, she has yet to readjust obviously…so, thoughtfully she still brought me a large case of washing!!! ;-/

We excitedly discussed all her recent deadlines and caught up on other things, whilst I turned on the washing machine….She then put forth her ‘little plan’ for the short stay home, which meant we could have much Mother and Daughter time, sounds lovely I thought 🙂 simultaneously Jen produced three ‘Moomin’ cotton T-Towels – so cute! Her plan was to make a lap quilt using the cotton panels, hand quilt it and take it back as a surprise for her partner!!! …..WHAT in four days..???? Aaaarghghgghgh. I know I can work quickly….but really?

You might be thinking two people/four days simple….! But from those four full 48 hours we now have to minus time for visits with Grandparents, A pre-planned outing by my daughter to Manchester to see Stephen Fry at the Bridgewater Hall, which of course means leaving at three o’clock on the Wednesday and not returning until nearly midnight, a dental appointment which I had booked the same day, so a round trip of loosing another couple of hours including treatment and a numb face for the next five hours, and of course Jennifer managing to squeeze in another lunch out for us all with grandparents on Thursday…there’s another couple hours gone….maybe allow for two hours sleep each night as well ?!? Suddenly those four days, hardly even seem to have 48 hours left of working time to make this little masterpiece!!!!  AAAAArrrrrrghghghhghg again! As we talked through all this, my lovely daughter said, ‘… it would be fine – plenty of time!!!!!’  😉 How did her generation get to be so laid back???

By 5.0 pm on the Monday of her arrival, we had just about decided on a plan of how it would look, taking into account the different shapes of the towels, now all we had to do was find the colour combination she wanted…??? OMG! … was I ever under prepared for this……My whole fabric stash was about to be brought out…ALL at once – OMG!!! :-0  :-0  :-0

After opening a zillion boxes and sifting through 99 tons of cotton fabrics, moving them from one ledge to another until my whole conservatory workspace was in danger of bursting, I managed to create a short list of colours for Jen’s final decision…! By 10.30 pm the chopping of fabric was well under way…at last – PHEW!

What can I say?!? It was actually finished by 2.0 am this morning – she was right…”Plenty of time!” Though I must confess to missing the last bit of hand quilting – my midnight oil had obviously run out…as I had fallen asleep in a little heap on the sofa beside her ^-^ !!!

Overall it has been a wonderful week and a lot of fun making this little quilt with her too – I hope it’s a nice surprise for her someone special!!!?

I shall at last get back to my WIP (sneak preview below) which has been sitting patiently in a bag for way longer than it should……

Will I ever get to finish it??? My flying Geese lap-quilt guaranteed to have me all Goosed out with all the hand quilting I have planned….!