Quilted Love

A few months ago a friend and I had a day trip to Tikki in Kew. Oh my. I was in fabric heaven. Whilst there I picked out some of the beautiful Architextures line by Caroline Friedlander made by Robert Kaufman. This fabric had just come out at the time so I was thrilled to find it. A friend of mine had just given birth to a darling boy whose father is actually an architect! It was perfect.

Those of you who follow on instagram (fiftytwocreate) will have seen the photographic progress over the following months.

It went pretty quickly and smoothly until I got to the binding. I halted. I didn’t want to hand sew. My hand stitching is slow, uneven and ugly which equals to a miserable time for all. After a chat with my quilting friend she showed me how to sew it by machine. To top it off, that weekend I was treated to a surprise trip to see Kaffe Fassett‘s exhibition. He is amazing. I was reved up and so inspired that I came home,  sat down and with the quiet buzz of the sewing machine I finished that quilt that very same evening. Now the gift has been gifted I feel I can share it here.

So there it is in all its wonky glory!

Happy quilting friends

naomi x

The Diptych Project – Featured moi! & an unexpected win over at SYTYC! (A good day!)

Before I head out to the Britmums conference a quick update:

I was featured in the Diptch Project this week – exciting and an honour! So go check it out here

The Diptych Project

and I woke up to a lovely, lovely email telling me that I came first in the Upcycle challenge over at So You Think You’re Crafty competition. Blog post and tutorial to follow…

I was SO shocked. It was a tight win as this week the entries were AMAZING.

 

Do check out my personal favourites:

Jessica at Cutesy Crafts

Haley at Welcome to the Mouse House

 

What a lovely day

naomi x

 

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“Sewing Flags”

 

We’ve recently had some time away. A chance to refresh, replenish and rejoice in the summer sun – finally. It was so good and so needed. We headed down to the coast and spent the days blissfully devouring ice cream, feeding goats at the petting “zoo” and having lazy, lazy mornings. Of course we also spent time in the sand and dipped our toes in the typically freezing British sea.

 

Once my minou knew we were headed to the beach she stated that we needed “sewing flags”. It turns out that sewing refers to a) the act of sewing and b) fabric. She wanted us to make little fabric flags for all our sandcastles. So on one of those glorious sunny mornings we raided my maman’s fabric stash and the Minou chose her favourite material. She then sat at the sewing machine with me and made her little ‘sewing flags’.

 

If you are headed to sandy beaches where castles, forts and boats will be lovingly sculpted then follow along to make some little flags. If you are not the sewing type but would love some of your very own drop me a line on my Facebook page (Fifty Two Create) as I’ll be making some for sale.

 

 

 

 

Happy beach and summer days…

naomi x

 

Insomnia = Sewing a Sofa Cover

One night I finally turned out the light at 1am knowing my daughter would wake in 6 hours time. As I lay there my mind floated to the lounge I had just been rearranging. Again. I found the perfect place for my sewing machine and set about making it a tiny sewing haven. For some reason in the recesses of my mind I thought about the cheap IKEA curtain liners I had kept hold of for 6 years (yes, 6 years. Once a hoarder, always a hoarder). My mind started visualising my lounge and this IKEA fabric and bingo ~ sofa cover!

I began wrestling the pattern and dimensions in my head and then forced myself to shut down and sleep. Fast forward to the following evening and I tried to recreate my visualised pattern! I got it half done and I made one mistake which is not too obvious. Most of all, its so fun and very satisfying. Once you get the basics the sewing world really is your oyster. Go for it! Make that thing that’s been on your mind.

The next night I finished my sofa cover. Can I hear a “yeehaa”! It actually only took 5 hours from thinking about the pattern to finishing the last stitch. As I said previously I used cheap IKEA curtain liners so it looks a little like a drop sheet. It’s given me the confidence to eventually buy some nice fabric. I would alter certain parts of the sewing design were I to do it again. There were only 5 stages so it was really quite straightforward. Have you ever made a sofa cover? My mind is now going wild with fabric ideas and fun prints.

Right I’m trying for a bedtime this side of today…and I still have laundry and food to put away! I think I’ll be grabbing my frozen coffee icecubes to throw into my thermos tomorrow as I dash out of the door in a mad rush.

Sleep tight and dream of patterns.

naomi x

Darling Dresses

As the warm weather settled it was time to do our spring shopping of sandals, sun lotion and sun hats. As we walked through John Lewis I couldn’t help but stop. They have so many darling dresses. 

 

The first one I spotted was this ultra sweet halterneck  I’m not so keen on the large white buttons as they seem too distracting from the neck line. But oh, that print and the halterneck! Personally I’d prefer a little knot of tied straps instead of buttons to secure the dress.

 

I then spotted the Joules Camilla dress. Ah, love the daintiness and then the hefty, boxy pockets!

 

I’ve been feeling mixed about Liberty’s new fabric line but when I saw this frock I fell in love. The collar just makes this dress what it is. 

and finally, the Chambray dress. It is just above the knee but I think a tiny bit longer would suit the simplicity and elegance…That lace detail!

 

I have a little holiday coming up so posts may be sparse…I’ll be knee deep in fabric making dresses!

 

naomi x