Christening Cushions.

A few months ago a friend asked me to make 2 cushions as Christening Gifts for the twin boys she nanny's.

We decided on red and blue initials with hand embroidered names for each. Nia also gave me a personalised message which I stitched on to the back.

Look how neat and tidy the zippers look! Thanks to a great tutorial from Kelbysews!

Anyway...since making these 2 I've made a few more! 

One for Mabel...very pink and girly and colour wise quite far out of my comfort zone, as I have 2 boys and most of my orders have been for boys! 

My most recent one was for a little boy called Jack. I love the way it turned out! 

Thanks for stopping by, 

Lisa x

Autumn

Autumn is the daughter of a friend of mine, Jen. We used to teach together. She and her lovely family now live in Switzerland, just outside Geneva, and we keep in touch through Facebook. 

Jen Got in touch at the beginning of the year and asked if I would make a memory quilt for her youngest daughter, Autumn. It was the first long distance order I've taken. The first one where I haven't actually spoken through the items of clothing for the quilt. Did this present any problems? Not when you get a parcel like this!

Jen had packed clothes in bags labelled Must haves and optionals. She had also put post-it note instructions on individual items so I knew how to use them, as some items are going to be used for Autumn's big sister's quilt at a later date! Simple! 

Simple log cabins was the request, so I decided to make each block low volume vs bolder prints/colours. 

When all the blocks are stitched together they form crosses. 

Jen had included clothes that she had worn while pregnant, as well as tartan fabric to represent her Scottish husband's heritage, and fabric with red Maple Leaf Hats on it to represent her Canadian background. 

I quilted with straight, diagonal lines and a little stippling in the borders.

I hand delivered this special quilt to Autumn and Jen when they visited London. She was so excited to see it, and to sleep under it! Quilts like this take a lot of time and effort to create, and it's so rewarding to see a little person (and their mom) genuinely thrilled with the results! 

Thanks for stopping by, 

Lisa x

My first Swap!

A little while ago I signed up for

a mini quilt swap hosted by Kristi at Schnitzel and Boo. 

It is the first swap I've signed up for, so I had very little idea of what was involved.

Basically, you get a form to fill in with info about your favourite designers, colours, inspiration etc, and also little things you just like! You then get assigned a secret partner to make a mini quilt for. Exciting! 

I was paired with @MissyMotown, a fellow quilter from the UK. When I saw Tula Pink listed as one of her favourite designers my whole decision making process was easy! 
Salt Water from my stash + a mini quilt pattern by Megan Bohr (Canoe Ridge Creations) called Round and Round and off I went! 

I love how the simplicity of the pattern allows Tula's stunning fabric to shine through! I decided to quilt with simple straight lines and am quite pleased with the result!

For the backing, I went with good old Ikea Britten Nummer. And I used leftovers from the piecing to do a scrappy binding, and of course added a label so in 100 years time the owner of this little beauty will know where it came from!

As well as the mandatory miniquilt, all partners include extra "treats" in their package. Tamla (@Missymotown) got some Reece's chocolate cups, some fun stationary and a teabag holder. She received her package today and by all accounts is pleased! I am so relieved! 

I would recommend a swap of this kind to anyone! It's been such fun! I've made some new virtual friends from all over the world, which can only be a good thing! 

Tomorrow I'll share some pics of the mini I received all the way from Aus! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Lisa x