tova & tank - tastic

I have been collecting a little pile of fabrics for Wiksten Tovas and Tanks and finally had a day free for sewing.

This is my first Tova made from Sweetwater Reunion.  I wanted it to be a winter shirt so I made the sleeves full length.  I changed around the order of the instructions as I find set in sleeves a real pain in the butt.  Here is how it works best for me:

• sew the shoulder seams but do not sew the side seams yet
• sew the collar on first before adding the sleeves - I find less fabric bulk is easier to manage
• sew the sleeves in next - I find it much easier to ease them in with the bodice laid out flat rather than trying to set them in
• then sew the side seams and arm sleeve all in one go

Then I moved on to some more tanks…I've joined the pocket matching obsession :)

This one is Anna Maria Horner Innocent Crush

And this one is Leah Duncan Maya - I'm loving this print at the moment!

I'm linking up with Kerry's Tova Sew-a-long and you can find loads more Wiksten goodness in the flickr group here.

A Walk in the Woods

I have been wanting to indulge in some of Aneela Hoey's gorgeous fabric for a while now and when friends had a beautiful little girl it was the perfect excuse!

The pattern is Kate's Geometric Quilt pattern that I also used here.  This pattern is easy, quick and fun to put together.  I machine quilted it with organic line quilting - what I consider the worlds easiest quilting!  For the backing I used the heavenly Little Red print in whisper.

I also got to use my new labels from Lilla Lotta.  Aren't they great!!

I love that the quilt is girly and pink but that the red, grey and blue lessens the sugariness.

All of the fabrics are from Aneela's Walk In The Woods collection - beautiful quality Japanese fabrics.

Camelot {block 2}

Over Easter I enjoyed some relaxing hand stitching and finished another Camelot block.  This is Block 2.

I was originally a little daunted by all those centre circles but they are actually very easy.  I spent more time pinning them than sewing them.  The newsprint on the right hand side needs a bit of adjustment I think as it's not sitting flat.

You can see my other Camelot posts here, the flickr group here and buy the Trish Harper pattern here.

Giveaway over at Sarah's

Sarah over at Kit-Bik Quilts is having a great giveaway for her 100th blog post!  Sarah made me this wonderful Liberty doll quilt.  Pop on over and check out the fabric goodness on her blog and enter the giveaway while you're there!  Congrats Sarah!

Treehouse Textiles

Last weekend I spent the day at Treehouse Textiles taking a Hugs and Kisses workshop with Cathy from Cabbage Quilts.

Treehouse is only a 15 minute drive for me and it is in the most beautiful setting...

If you're in Victoria I would highly recommend a trip to our gorgeous Mornington Peninsula and a visit to the Treehouse.  They have lots of workshops for all different textile crafts on both weekdays and weekends.  They have a wonderful range of hand selected fabrics including local Aussie designers...

I took a full day hugs and kisses workshop with Cathy.  I know Cathy through blogging and my local library - she has the most wonderful colour and design sense and is a great teacher with lots of useful tips and tricks.

I absolutely loved Laura's green and yellow colour scheme with clever black and white prints in the background

I had such a fabulous day chatting and looking at what everyone else was making, enjoying their different colour palettes and fabric choices.  I also found myself in the fabric room time and time again!  The lunch is delicious and is included in the class cost.  Have a look at these gourmet treats and wonderful Echo napery…

Sewing?  Oh that's right…I was there to make blocks!  I chose navy, red, pink, grey and aqua as my colour palette and wanted to include text prints.  I decided to make hugs rather than kisses.  I got four made in class and then made another four when I got home…

I love how they have turned out!  If you want to see everyone else's blocks have a look at Cathy's post here and you can pop over and see all the Treehouse workshops here.