The Yard Sale Skirt near disaster

Welcome to the end of another work week :)

A few weeks ago my wonderful husband got me the Weekend Sewing book by Heather Ross.  I thought it was a great way to try something new to take me outside my comfort zone and maybe get a new wardrobe at the same time.

I decided to try the Yard Sale Wrap which looked doable, and it mostly was until I tried it on and it was considerably smaller than I would like.  I don't really like my leg to hang out when I sit down.  I did make the Large/XLarge version although I am on the lower end of the range it still didn't fit.  That will teach me to try making clothes 3 days before needing them, but also I should've checked reviews before attempting it.  I now know there have been corrections to this book and I even found some helpful information on how to adapt the pattern.  This one at Pick n Stitch was my favourite.

The good thing about the skirt was that cutting and putting it together was only an afternoon/evenings work.  This part I did like.

Today my again wonderful husband went to the fabric shop (while I was working) and bought me another couple of meters of the fabric so I could add another couple of panels.  I am still hoping that I will get it put together for Father's Day.

But for now here is a photo of the pile of fabric and additional pieces ready to be sewn.

Sorry for the yellowish photo, the day got away and only just got a chance to take photos.

I hope everyone enjoys their weekend.

WIP Wednesday

Here is my Sliced Coin Quilt from the Dont Call Me Betsy tutorial.

 And for my other quilt I took inspiration from Jeni at In Color Order with her Plus Quilt Tutorial.

It was a productive week considering how little time I've had to dedicate to sewing.  I managed to get these 2 quilt tops pieced together.  This coming week they'll have a back sewn up and hopefully basted.  Basting is my least favourite part of quilting so it usually takes longer as I build myself up.

You can see that it was blowing a gale Monday when I took the photos.  Wasn't the best day for it.

I'm linking up with  Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.

Inspiration Monday

Today's inspiration is in the form of fabric that arrived last week.  I am always so excited when a parcel of fabric arrives and am straight into it.  Just take a look at these beauties!!

I am in love with the Fly A Kite collection. I can't wait to cut into these for a kids quilt.

Here is a bundle of Field Study by Anna Marie Horner.  I have cut into this today to start the next quilt.  Unfortunately I made a booboo on one cut (so annoying) so now I'll have to wait to sew up this one.

Fabrics were from Hawthorne Threads.

Magoo Softie

This week I managed to get a little bit of sewing time and decided to finish this Magoo softie by Melly and Me.  Magoo will be finding a new home with my neice.  It was a special request to have the bow on her head instead of tufts of hair.  She is kind of cute!

I'm hoping that in the next couple of days I will be able to finish the top of the next quilt.

My Sewing Room

 I am so excited to have a room all to myself for sewing.  I can now contain my mess to one area (well maybe!) and when I finish at night just close the door on it.  Up to now the dining table has been my sewing area and each weekend I found I was having to clear it all away.

It took a little while to work out how best to set up the room.   I thought a desk with some storage was going to be the easiest way to go but when I started looking they were a tad on the small side and price on the high side. Plus the heights were lower than our dining table which I didn't think would work well when spending an hour or more cutting.

So after visiting a few furniture stores and finding nothing, I decided to try a local aid shop.  To my great pleasure I found an antique silky oak dining table.  It wasn't in the best of conditions but it had potential.  So my Dad who is always handy in this area picked the table up for me and pulled it apart so we could reconstruct it.

We have been busy working on the table all week.  Last Sunday I spent over 4 hours sanding it back to raw timber.  It was a wonderful transformation.  Silky Oak has a beautiful grain and colour.

Then yesterday we'd finished all the estapol and it was moved into my sewing room.

The rest of the room is still a work in progress but it is so great to have this space.

I made the cute tags on the front of the baskets using some old white cardboard and fabric scraps which I glued on.  

I love the silver spice jars for keeping my pins and clips all in one place.  The added bonus is that they are magnetic so they can stay on the whiteboard which I also use for keeping track of the projects I want to complete.

Now time to go back to the project list :)

Inspiration Monday

Welcome to the start of another week.  Monday is such a great day for gathering inspiration for the week ahead.

I love everything about colour.  Hence my fabric addiction and love for great photos.  For this reason I am loving Design Seeds.  They post fantastic photos with colour combinations found within the photo.  So stay tuned for a weekly post of my favourite colour combinations from the previous week.

Colour Serving @ Design Seeds 

Peacock Hues @ Design Seeds

Autumn Hues @ Design Seeds

My first post

Welcome to HandmadeByKirsty!  I am very excited to be starting something new with blogging.  I bought my first sewing machine in May 2012 and it really hasn't had a rest since.  I have absolutely loved creating something new for many family and friends.  I never imagined that I would be able to sew a quilt and they have been the most fun for me.  While fabric has become a real addiction and with each new line that comes out I fall in love a little more.  It has become a little joke between my husband and I as I was previously in love with stationery but fabric has now taken over.

I have included photos of a few items that I've made over the past few months.  I have found a lot of inspiration from modern quilt blogs and books.

I hope to be back soon with more of what I've been creating.