An abundance of babies

There recently has been an surge in newborn babies from our friends and family.  Not only is it so exciting to welcome precious new little ones into our lives with whom we are lucky enough to watch grow but of course for me that also gives me an excuse to make quilts.

The only hard part that is although I truly treasure keeping the gender of the baby a secret - as we did with our own two - I find it harder to create unisex quilts than ones for a boy or girl when the gender is known. 

So these are the two quilts I created for these new arrivals -

This one is called Wash Day and is from Trish Harper Designs.  I bought this pattern a few years back after seeing it in Amitie Textiles in Melbourne and fell in love with it.  This quilt ended up going to a beautiful baby girl!

Here is the next quilt that I made for my newest nephew!

This Coin Quilt came from the Tutorial I found here.  I have made quite a few Coin Quilts in the past - they are a great way to get stuck into your scrap pile and contain it a little and I also have made these for a brother and sister before so that they had they same pattern but just in different colourways.

And of course new babies meant that I had to indulge in some new wool for my newest passion - Crochet.  Although I am still putting together all the squares from my Squares rug, I could not help but get some of the Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece from Tangled Yarns.  I love these colours!

Buying a Sewing Machine

I think this week alone I have had more than 5 emails or messages about buying a Sewing Machine - so it has suddenly dawned on me that I should share all this info with you as well.  I love getting emails from people asking questions about different subjects and so here is what I tell people about "Buying a Sewing Machine"  - this is just in my humble opinion and from my experience.

Think when you buy a sewing machine - it is likely to be a one off purchase.  I have two Sewing Machines and 1 Overlocker.  I have had my trusty Pfaff Tiptronic 6270 for 11 years.

Considering how hard she is worked rarely has caused me any grief. I grew up using Pfaffs and this machine does have fancy stitches (although not nearly as fancy as the new ones) but at the end of the day I only straight stitch, zig zag, sew buttonholes and it also sews on buttons.  I do use her for machine quilting as well but rarely touch all the fancy stitches.

Assess what type of machine you want by  

1 - What are you going to be primarily sewing with it?

Machines can get very fancy but at the end of the day if you are going to only be using a small handful of the functions then do you need one with lots of bells and whistles?

2 - Have a budget in mind

I believe like with all things you get what you pay for. Buy the best you can afford - this does not have to be a fortune but a machine that is reliable and easily serviced.  The machines like the Brothers, available from Spotlight - are inexpensive but do have some limitations. Base, simple model Janome or Berninas, are a great place to start for their cost and reliability.

I have the DC 2101  - mine was $500 as it did not come with the extras - This machine is used by my girls for sewing and is the one we use for the classes as a spare or if anyone needs to borrow one. This machine is excellent and has lots of features like speed control and easy one touch button system.

3 - Go to a local Sewing Centre and get their help!

 

My machine came with a free lesson as well. If you look under Sewing Machines in the Yellow Pages or google Sewing Machine Centres you can easily find one local to you.  You can then see a whole range of different models and machines and you can see them working.  This will give you a great idea of what you like and what type of machine will be suit you. 

A bowl full of cuttings!

Guess what this bowl of wool cuttings mean?

Yes, that is right - I finally learnt how to tie in all the wool ends.  When I decided to start a crochet project I thought I was being smart starting with lots of squares so that I could hide the less perfect ones with the ones that got better as I went along.  I never accounted for the fact that there would be all the ends to sew in to the squares.  Never the less I haven't minded it at all - I love hand sewing - fabric, wool, stitchery's, applique!  I just love how they all look - even just as squares.

I have been working with this pile of fabrics -

I have been making some cushions and a bedside table cover with them.  Remember the ribbon fabric I made a few posts ago - well this is the project it has gone into.

Quieter Days - well somewhat!

Although it was a week ago Perth Upmarket was a fabulous day.  I thought I was going to have a quiet(er) week after the day for a little R & R but have been blown away by the wonderful and continuing support from many of my customers and followers. 

It was great to meet lots of new people and I love it when those faces I know drop by to see how the day is going and what is new at Tied with a Ribbon. 

With some extra time last week I have been finishing some quilts for new impending arrivals - none which I can show you yet as I know those who recieve them read my posts from time to time and will have to keep a lid on them just yet but here is the Jewel Owl quilt I finished for a custom order.

It was very hard to part with this quilt - as you know it fitted in well with the colour theme in my own sewing room and would have loved to add it to my collection but I know it has gone to a home where it will be treasured and loved.

Here are some other projects on the go at the moment - you all know how much I love ribbons - well when I was given full creative licence to create some cushions and a bedside table runner recently I could not have been more excited - quite often I find it better to work with a brief and knowing exactly what the end result was to look like but being trusted to make creations with a colour scheme as a guide and the rest being left up to me was a little nerve racking.  Here is a sneak peak - cant wait for the reveal!!!

In love with Jewel Colours

Isn't it funny how colours can make you feel.  I have been working on a Custom Order quilt this week and I have loved working on this design.  The brief was to have owls in the fabric/design and in Jewel colours. 

I absolutely loved making this quilt.  It reminded me just how much I love quilting and inspired me to get some of the quilt tops lurking in the depths of the cupboard out to get finished!

I only had to look around my room for colour ideas as the colour theme in my sewing room is Jewel colours.  Here are some pics of my sewing room

I was very excited recently to be interviewed by the lovely Jemma from Handmade Kids.  It was my first interview so I was very chuffed to be asked - you can read my interview here. Thanks again Handmade Kids for the great support you show local and Australian business.

Don't forget to come down and say hello at Perth Upmarket at UWA on Sunday 26th.  I will have lots of goodies and several new items all for sale on the day.

To Market, To Market

I think I said last post that it has been very busy behind the scenes here at Tied with a Ribbon Head Quarters.  The next Perth Upmarket is on Sunday June 26th at U.W.A - so I have been getting lots of new items ready and giving some of my other favourites a makeover.   If you are in Perth and want to get out and see some beautiful home wares, jewellery, clothing for kids and adults as well as great food and lots of other handmade items then come along for a great day out.  Want to see all I have been getting ready for Market?

Introducing my new Felt Kit - Babushka Beauties.  These are the newest addition to my range of Kits that encourage anyone to pick up some sewing and have a go - especially children.  Although Babushka's are not new around I thought it was time to add these very girly treasures to my range.

I have also put together some fabric and embellishment packs which I have called - Sew Cute Scraps.  These are a selection of fabrics, ribbons, buttons, braids and ric racs. 

I love making Aprons - I love making each one of them as a one off handmade creation to reflect peoples personalities or to match the decor within the kitchen they end up in.  Now all of my Aprons have one of my favourite recipes Tied with a Ribbon to them!



I have also been working on some Christmas Stitcheries together with Claire Turpin Design.  I showed you a little sneak peak a couple of posts ago - here is the finished design - what do you think?

Kits of these will also be available at Perth Upmarket.

Look at my crochet squares - they are multiplying at a rapid rate - I love seeing the colours all stacked up.  I just have to learn now how to sew them all together. 

Here are 52 squares - the pattern still needs another 250 plus squares of varying sizes - so this will take a little longer than I first figured!  But I am loving it.

I've become a Dot Com

There has been alot going on at Tied with a Ribbon HQ over the past few weeks.  I have been doing alot of behind the scenes work.  Firstly in case you have not noticed my blog address has changed now to a .com.  You can now find me at

www.tiedwitharibbon.com

I will still be posting here at my blog I have just changed its name so I have less addresses as such.  It is re-directing all the traffic to come here no matter which address you use but you can update it in your favourites and readers.

I have also been working on new pattern cover photos for all of my Felt Kits.  I recently had a photo shoot with Sheena Cooke Photography.  It was a great day - I was so amazed at how creative she was and could just capture the right photo. I had a couple of models to put together some great Editorial style shots and I can't wait to share the end results with you.  Although I have been working on my own photography skills sometimes it is best to get an expert.  I will be revealing the photos over the next few weeks so stay tuned.  Here is one of the photos I took of my Delicious Doughnuts.

On the topic of Cameras - my Ephiphanie Camera Bag arrived and to say it was worth the wait is an understatement - I absolutely just love it.  It is a bit larger than I expected but I can put my purse and phone and use it as my Handbag when I want to take it out.

Here's a sneak peak at a Christmas Stitcherie I have been working on.  While I might be alone on this I am a firm believer that it is never too early for Christmas so I have started on this new design which will be available soon. 

 

I have been using Cosmo Threads to stitch the design and if you have not heard of them before they are well worth tracking down.  I was introduced to them a while ago and love the Egyptian Cotton they are made from - they are beautiful to work with and have such a gorgeous lustre about them that make the little extra you pay for these well worth it.

Although none of the stores I rang locally stock them there are several places online you can buy these from.  I got mine from Cookies and Cream Craft.  Sandy has been so helpful with getting the Cosmo threads to me I was after.  Her shop has lots of beautiful things to have a look at.