A new bed for Sally

Okay finally I am sick of Sally rolling off her old bed and complaining in the middle of the night so I went through my pretty prints and rustled up a new one.

But are we in the slightest bit grateful? Never! look at the face on it...

I don't know about you but I would love a bed like this! I made it from 5" squares from the Makower ranges and the whole effect is just gorgeous.

I am sure that she loves it really.

It is just a series of squares sewn together and then the top and the side gussets are quilted on thin wadding with a straight stitch. I bound the top edges for something more substantial feeling and the result is pure pretty doggy luxe.

Oh well, I will try again next time. Maybe it was a mistake telling her upfront that there is no fee for the photo shoot! Silly me!

'til next time

Love and hugs

Debbie xxx

And the winner is.....

Hello crafting friends! As promised, I am drawing the winner of the fat quarter giveaway today so this post with be short and very sweet for someone. For the lucky winner, here is your prize...

But before I do generate the number, I would love to take this chance to thank each and every one of you for your lovely and heartfelt comments on the backpack post. I am so pleased that you all loved it and your words made my day. I shall read over them each time I need a boost!

Okay, now and as they say, without further ado please welcome our true random number generator!

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:15Powered by RANDOM.ORG

The winner is comment number 15 and on this occasion that lucky person is Subha S!  Can you drop me a message with your mailing address Subha and I will post your prize today.

Thank you to everyone else who entered; I just know that you will have a great time making this backpack. I wish that I had a prize to give to each one of you. 

Don't forget that you can buy these wonderful fabrics in all good stores and for a stockist near you check out this link.



Until next time

Love and hugs

Debbie xxx

Pretty Little Backpack

Welcome again crafting friends! I have spent last Thursday at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham here in the UK and I have bought so much new fabric! You will see some wonderful new prints here on the blog in the coming weeks. I also caught up with some of my lovely editors and some friends - all of whom I do not see nearly enough. 

Speaking of the 'day job', any fox fans amongst you might be interested in the current issue of Quilting for You magazine. I have a cushion in there this time featuring free motion embroidery and a raggy edge applique fox. Easy to make and really effective - good for reducing the ol' stash too! You can find it here.

Well, this week I have a real treat for you. We are going to make a drawstring back pack and I have a fabric giveaway!! It is a fat quarter bundle of Makower 'Sophia' fabrics and they are the same ones that I am using this week for our backpack so you can make one of your very own.

How to win....

Simply leave a comment and I will draw the winner randomly. The winner will be drawn on 31st of August 2015 and you can enter right up until then. Here is what you will win. It is a gorgeous bundle of fabulous Makower fabrics containing 5 fat quarters. Bliss!

The prize draw is now closed but feel free to leave a comment anyway - I love to hear your thoughts!

And what are we making this time? This cute as a button drawstring backpack!

So, what will we need?

Makower Sophia fat quarters:

-1541/Q sophia flower

-1544/T sophia bird (teal)

-1544/P sophia bird (pink)

-1525/b2 linea tonal (teal)

-1543/S sophia leaf (grey)

-2x fat quarters grey spot on (830/S5) for the lining

-light grey Kam snap (#20)

-4m paracord or similar 

your usual sewing needs

There is no actual template for this pattern so nothing to print off but you can make one from brown paper using the measurements if you like. Otherwise, just follow along with me.

Firstly, cut two pieces of outer fabric 36cm x 41cm. Use a couple of different ones. Cut two more for the lining the same size.

Now choose another fabric and cut 4 pieces for your casing. They measure 9cm x 35cm. Here is what we have so far...

Now...the exciting bit (well, one of them), before we make the backpack itself, we are going to add a few other bits and pieces. Take the piece of fabric that you have decided for the front and we are going to add a pocket with a flap. 

Sort through the bits and pieces and find three pieces of fabric. One will be the pocket and measures 21cm x 18cm. The other two will be the flap and the flap lining. 

Take the pocket and fold the top over and iron. Sew along the top edge.

Now fold the other three sides under and press so that there are no raw edges. Position the pocket onto the front piece of fabric 8cm up from the bottom and in the dead centre

To find the centre, make a vertical crease in the front fabric and one in the pocket and then line the two creases up. Sew the pocket on...

Make the flap by cutting two pieces 20cm x 10cm. To get the round bit simply trace around something like a plate or similar and then cut out

Now with the right sides together, sew right around the flap leaving a gap for turning out. Turn out through the gap and close the gap. Iron the pocket and topstitch it

Add your snap in the middle of the flap

And the other half of the snap on the corresponding part of the pocket. Sew the flap to the top of the pocket - adding the snap first helps to align the pocket itself. Here is the finished pocket...

Next this to make are some fancy-schmancy tabs! These are a bit of fun and they are functional too. We need three; two for the bottom drawstring and one to go on the top middle. This one can be used for an embellishment or your keys. You can make the top middle one different from the others if you like.

Choose another fabric and cut a strip 27cm x 8cm. Fold in half lengthwise and iron

Fold the raw edges to the centre crease and iron. Now topstitch along both outer edges

Cut the strap into three equal pieces.

Okay, showtime! Attach two of the tabs on the bottom edge 4cm in from either side and in the very middle top (on that handy crease that you made earlier)....

The casing is made from the long bits. Place the pieces right sides together and sew the ends only leaving the long sections open

This prevents bulk and you won't see them because they too will be buried in the seam. Turn the casing pieces out the right way and press. Fold a casing in half lengthwise and pin it to the top of the front panel. Sew it on

Repeat for the back.

Now with the right sides together, pin a piece of lining to an outer panel and sew along the top edge only. Repeat for the other piece.

Unfold the two and pin lining to lining and outer to outer (right sides together). Match those seams and edges perfectly and leaving a turning gap in the bottom of the lining, sew all the way around. 

Turn the bag out through the gap and gently pull it into shape. Close the bottom gap neatly by hand or machine. Stuff the lining down into the outer shell.

Topstitch around the top edge to keep the lining down and here is what we have now.....

Cut the cord in half and thread one piece through the casing one way and knot it in the bottom tab

Thread the other piece the other way through the casings and knot it in the other side. Be very careful for fraying as some cords will try to disappear under your fingers. You can slightly melt the end over a flame and if using cotton cord, a good knot will do the trick.

How's that then! All done and you have a perfect little backpack. I love this because it has no wadding so it can fold up rather small and go into your handbag in case you need an extra tote when shopping or travelling. It is great for ballet things and, well just handy and pretty - the best combination.

Don't forget to leave a comment to enter the prize draw. It will be drawn on the 31st August 2015 and the winner will be announced here so keep watching - add your email address to follow me and you will get your notification by email.

One more thing before I go - if you love these fabrics and want to buy some (if you just cannot wait until the draw...) you can find retailers of the lovely Makower range here. 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope that you have fun with this. good luck in the draw!

By the way....did you know that I have a small Etsy Shop? It is quite new (September 2019) and it has a lot of bag samples from my books and magazine articles. These are the actual physical bags too, not just the patterns this time. Time to stock up for Christmas!

Love and hugs

Debbie xxx

Block of the Month July 2015 - Bear Paw Block

July already - not a great summer here in England. We had a week and I am perfectly content with that. We are having lovely vampire weather with no sun much at all and I am as happy as a clam.

My ta dah! moment of the week is one which you will very much enjoy this time I think. My lovely Pretty Patches editor has asked me to write a web tutorial series on sewing basics and quilt techniques and it is free for you to enjoy. Pretty Patches is one of my beautiful English magazines and I will have a column in there beginning soon (I will let you know when).

But at the moment, it is all about the tutes. You can find them here and I urge you to check them out if you are starting out in sewing and quilting. There will be more to follow at some point too.

I thought that we might get a little bit more involved this month and make a block with a few components, triangles and squares. But fear not! The triangles are all half square ones and they are not too difficult at all.

I am very into text prints at the moment and I have used some low volume prints and slightly upsized the block so that you can see what is going on. This makes it easier to make and looks a little more modern too. Anyway, here it is...

It was actually a lot of fun to make and the more subtle tones are a bit of a change from my usual brightness - just to prove that I am versatile!

Start with three fat eighths or similar. I love the pretty softness of these but you could equally go for brights or red and white.

My block is 26.5cm x 26.5 cm.

Begin with a 10cm square for the top right corner (fabric #1: text print). From fabric #2 (pink ditsy floral), cut an 18cm square. These two pieces do not require further cutting.

To make the 'claws' cut two more squares  10.5cm x 10.5cm each. two from fabric #1 and two from fabric #3 (blue soft floral).

Take a square...

cut it in half diagonally. Take a second square of the other colour and cut it in half diagonally too...

Now join the two pieces...

One claw made. Using the main photo as a clue for the alignment, repeat this for all of the other pieces so that you have four claw segments plus the two original squares.

By the way, pay attention to the direction of text prints and one way only designs. Make sure that they are all facing the right way. It is worth it for your finished make.

Now, working on the right hand column, join two of your claw bits one on top of the other...

Attach this to the right hand side of the large square like this...

Now make the top section which is two more claw pieces plus the corner square that you cut first...

Join them to the top of the block

And that's all there is to it! This looks pretty with a plain square every second block and it looks fabulous made into a scrappy quilt.

As I said, it is a larger version so you could size it down a little but be aware that it will become progressively fiddlier as you do this.

Enjoy and thank you so much for stopping by!

Happy sewing

Love and hugs

Debbie xxx

All things bright and beautiful

We are enjoying a lovely summer here in the UK and the sun makes all colours pop beautifully. I have taken a break this week from sewing and put together a little set using glass beads instead. Here it is...

This is easy to make and it is a wonderful way to use up single beads. I love buying job lots of beads with mystery mixtures in them and then seeing what I have. The trouble is that it is rare to get more than one or two of each.
The good news is that matchy-matchy is not so stylish. The trick is to avoid a pattern like the plague. Enter our mixed bag of beads.

So, what do we need this time?
You will need some very basic tools - chain nose (pointy) pliers and some flat ones. You will need some wire cutters too. They are not too expensive if you haven't got them and they look like this....

1- chain nose 2-flat 3-wire cutters

-a large silver lobster clasp
-4mm silver spacer beads
- tiger tail wire
- 2.5mm silver crimps
-a couple of small split rings
-BEADS! Colourful and varied but stick to a couple of colours so that the look is not lost.


I am going to make a bracelet to show you the technique but rest assured, it is the same as the necklace exactly. Just use more of everything to make the necklace! Okay, here we go....

Measure your wrist and then add about 8cm more. My wrist is 17cm and to add 8cm makes the measurement of the tiger tail wire 25cm. This will give long ends for security and I poke these back through the holes in the beads. Cut the wire and thread a crimp bead on and thread through the lobster clasp...

Now poke the wire back through the crimp bead....

Slide the crimp bead up to the base of the clasp and give it a squeeze with the pliers to flatten it....

We are using tiny crimp beads so that you don't need special crimping pliers. These tiny beads can be flattened with the flat pliers. Double duty saves a bit of money.

Fun bit next! Thread on your chosen beads, keeping an eye on your wrist measurement. Too small and it will not fit comfortably and too large and it will dangle onto your hand and that can become very annoying.

As you thread the beads on, pay attention to the wire end...this would be wrong...

Poke that end into the beads (it will fit) so that your bracelet looks like this...

Neater? You will notice that the beads are alternated with a silver spacer. this helps with flexibility and endurance (don't really want glass grinding on glass as you move). Aim to begin and end with a spacer too because it looks better.

When you have finished and the bracelet fits your wrist, do the same thing with the crimp bead but this time use a split ring. 

So finish with a silver spacer, thread a crimp bead on, thread the wire through the split ring and then back through the crimp and the wire end goes into the beads. Flatten the crimp bead.

By the way, normally, you would use a jump ring and not a split ring. I prefer the split ring for added security. The choice is yours though. If you are a professional beader, you will know what to use. For newbies, this gives a nice secure and quick to make set with a minimum of tools.

That's it! You have achieved a bracelet!

Very pretty - like something made of sweets. Thank you all so much for stopping by.  I am going to mix things up a little and put the earring mini tute onto my Facebook page and you can find that by clicking here.

Have fun and happy crafting!

Love and hugs

Debbie xxx

Block of the month - June 2015 Scrappy #1

Sew for long enough and you will have scraps of all sizes and shapes. My regular readers will know that I love to use scraps and be a bit frugal with these sometimes quite pricey fabrics so it will come as no surprise at all to find that you can make a whole quilt without cutting into a fresh length of fabric every time.

To be fair, I should qualify that last bit; although you can make the whole quilt with this block, sometimes it looks better to have some sashes in between (usually white) to break up and emphasise the colours. So some plain white or a white-on-white is worth the investment. But if I can scramble back onto my soap box for the last bit....you can make most of the quilt using things that you have already. 

Obviously, there are as many scrap blocks as there are stars in the sky, well almost, so I am going to classify mine with a simple number system. This month is #1! There. Why make it difficult!

Anyway, before I am totally consumed by the OCD monster, here is the offering for June........

This is a real cutie and all you need to do is to find the scraps that firstly can be cut into 5 squares measuring 8.5cm x 8.5cm. Sew them into a strip like this... 

Next comes a strip measuring 10cm wide x 37cm long. Attach it to the left of the squares like this.....

Next some more patches but to keep the scrappy look, make them different sizes. There are two at 13cm x 13cm in the middle and one on the top at 13cm x 9cm. The one on the bottom is 13cm x 7cm. Attach this one to the left of the strip...

What we need now is a 6cm strip. For a hint on the length, see the note below. Sew the strip to the left of the patches.

Finally, another strip completes the picture. This one is 5cm wide and you trim it in the same way...

This block is designed to be square and you can trim it to 36cm x 36cm when you are finished if there has been some creeping of the edges. That way it can be put into a project all the same way or turned every second square to give even more variation. Makes a cute cushion too.

By the way, do you know a trick with sashes and strips? Ignore the length. No really, all you do is to measure the width - for example 11cm wide and then you cut them long enough to do the job. Then sew the sash in place.

Now trim the excess. Obviously you could argue that this is potentially wasteful but it isn't really. Most times you have very little waste and...guess what....the waste goes into the scrap bag for new projects! 
The great thing is that you don't have to worry about fabric creep (and it ALWAYS does) and you don't have to worry about seam allowances which no-one measures EVERY time. They might say they do but.....

Both of these things can make a difference to your strips if you have cut already and they turn out to be too short.

So, very happy scrapping and see what you can make for practically nothing! 

Love and hugs

Debbie xxx