I finally finished an old sewing WIP from late 2020/early 2021. This was an emotional finish for me – I started it while I was emptying the family home after Mum was put into care, and when I returned home again I found sewing to be too triggering emotionally. Fast forward 5-6 years later and I’m finally becoming more comfortable to start tackling some of those projects. This was part of the Woodland SAL within the Tilda Lovers Facebook group, designed and taught by Designs by Fee. The prairie points had already been created, and fabric hearts adhered to the fabric, so it was a relatively quick job to race around the hearts on the sewing machine then sew it all together.
My dear friend Fee (Designs by Fee) created a tutorial for a sturdy sewing tray, which is something I’ve been wanting to make ever since I did my first trial early in the year. I was never happy how that one got crushed easily and felt it needed extra sturdiness in the sides. Fee’s tutorial was perfect as it solved that problem for me, but I just made some small tweeks to the design so that it fit my needs. I decided to change the dimensions so it made the tray rectangular to hold pens and other tools, but I added Kam snaps to the corners instead of sewing them together – that way it will fold down flat and go into my travel sewing kit I’ve been planning.
After making up that beautiful tray I then got the urge to make a few more accessories in matching fabrics. The teal fabric I used is Babette Teal (480112) from the Summer Blues collection 2012/2013 by Tilda, and it’s my all-time favourite fabric by Tilda. It’s like hens’ teeth to find now, and I’ve been so reluctant to cut into the small amount I have in my stash. I decided this year, though, that life’s too short and that I’ll get so much more enjoyment out of my favourite fabrics by making them into functional pieces that I can look at every day, rather than just having them languish in a drawer somewhere.
I’ve been slowly adding a few more sewing accessories to the pile – first up with a small boxy drawstring bag – the sides are stiff enough to have structure and the top folds down to create a cuff and allow easy access to the contents inside – this was designed for my wonder clips.
The next project was to make scissor cases for my travel kit – and I chose the Crepe Case for Scissors by Minki Kim. The larger one will hold my Mum’s 8″ Gingher fabric scissors (she fell in love with mine years ago so bought a silver set for herself) – I enlarged the pattern so it was approx 1/2″ larger so I could still keep the protective cover on the blades. The smaller one is a tiny bit too small for my Arm Wrestler scissors (I didn’t even think to change the size of that one oops), so it’ll likely be for my Kay Buckley ones instead, and I’ll just have to make another one for the Arm Wrestlers in a slightly different size. Mum would definitely be cheering me on seeing me getting back into sewing once again.
I’ve been in a sewing mood this month, and I’ve had a pile of project bag pieces all ready to be sewn up for well over a year now. I decided to take the time to finally finish off all the ones I’d already quilted (I never trust my fusible fleece as it doesn’t seem to adhere well, so I still add quilting lines just in case). I still have a very large pile that still needs to have the fleece and quilting lines added, but I’m super happy to have these ones out of the sewing room.
I think the top two are my favourites – the Tilda ladies are wonderful in those colours, and the floral fabric from Jason Yenter is a stunner. I had to have one of with kitties at the sewing machine which will always make me think of my own sewing helper, and another koala one with a slightly lighter zip, which I think I prefer.
I lost my sewing mojo five years ago after putting Mum into care and emptying the family home – Mum taught me how to sew which made all efforts quite triggering for me. I’ve forced myself over the last 18 months or so to do a few projects, but my heart wasn’t truly in it. Fast forward to last week and finally sewing doesn’t feel forced anymore – I’ve had a few sewing sessions recently where my heart was truly joyful in the process. That also meant a few finishes that I’m super proud about – and I know Mum would have been too, she was always my greatest supporter.
Coriander Quilts: Border of the Month quilt-along – My sewing spree started with this year’s mystery quilt-along project by Corey Yoder and Coriander Quilts. I decided I wanted to push my personal boundaries and try creating a quilt using some fabrics that are outside my comfort zone. While it still has a mix of my usual preferred cool tones, there are soooo many pops of vibrant coral throughout this range and I have to say I’m seriously thrilled with the results so far. I’m using a 10″ layer cake called Garden Society by Crystal Manning and Moda.
ByAnnie: Call Me – this project is one of the free ones for beginners to learn the various techniques Annie uses in her larger projects. This is the 3rd project in the series, and one of my goals for this year was to complete all four. I’m well on track now with the 4th one also almost in the bag woohoo! The Call Me project has you installing zippers to create both vinyl and quilted fabric pockets, continuous bias binding around the edges and to also create the cord. It also has a mesh pocket on the back with folded elastic edging. I struggled a bit getting the bias binding to behave and had countless false starts on that part – it just means I need to do more now to reinforce the learnings and to improve more.
Tilda Club 33 – Stitching Companion by Larisa/Stitching Notes: This has always been one of my favourite Tilda Club projects and I love the choice of fabrics that we received along with the project itself. I’m the most proud of this one, I think – and it really boosted my confidence getting it finished. I did make a few very small changes, though – I changed one of the small bottom pockets on the right to be split into two narrower ones, I did a quick topstitch along the spine of the needlebook so it didn’t flop open, and I added three layers of smaller felt shapes to pad the needle book instead of using polyfil. It’s already filled to the gunnels with sewing supplies for me to take out and about with me to social gatherings.
Kitty Rose Cottage: Slumbermouse Pouch – This project was from a monthly kit subscription by Kitty Rose Cottage. I’d actually cancelled my subscription (I had too many kits in the backlog since I hadn’t been sewing for so long), but I just had to purchase the separate kit when Dawn offered it up for sale. It uses Tilda fabrics from their Hibernation range, and it’s such a gorgeous project. First time for me making Dresden points and also tabs on the zipper ends. It’s a lot bigger than I initially thought it would be so I think it’ll be a super handy item.
I also started three other projects, but they’re not finished yet – Duck Duck Goose quilt, Catch-All Caddy 2.0 by ByAnnie (as part of a slow-along on Facebook), and Easy Does It by ByAnnie.
Fingers crossed this is the start of many many more sewing projects to come … because I think that means that the healing process is finally taking shape 🙂
I recently joined a Tilda project bag exchange, and this is the pair of project bags that I created for my exchange partner – one larger one and a smaller one that can be used inside the main bag or for smaller projects. My partner’s favourite ranges were pinks/greens so I was pushed outside my comfort zone, and ended up ordering some older ranges from the UK that I wanted to use for the main fabrics.
I also caught up with the Cali & Co mystery quilt-along by Coriander Quilts, after not being well enough to sew for a few months. I was originally going to make these into a queen sized bed quilt, but considering just keeping to the original QAL size instead – I guess I’ll need to officially decide in December after seeing all the blocks finished.
A recent Tilda exchange of the Tully Tote Bag by Natalie Bird/The Birdhouse saw me making this version for my partner. It was fun creating for someone with similar colour tastes to me 😉
A bit late, but I finally managed to finish my block 3 version of the Coriander Quilts/Cali & Co mystery quilt-along. Instead of using Cali & Co fabrics I’m using my cool-toned Tilda fabrics from my stash.
While I was on a roll with making project bags I decided to finish making the final one today. As it used the last piece of Pellon in my stash, I’ll need to wait for a while now to make more.
I’m really thrilled that all the 2″ squares came from my Tilda scrap bags, and the only pieces of fabric that came from my stash were for the top and back panels and the lining. I’m so very thrilled with this one, it’s definitely my absolute favourite of them all. I can definitely see me making more of these in the future! This one is a big bigger than the others, which will be more useful for my canvaswork WIPs.
I decided to try a different type of interfacing for this bag as an experiment, and it was an epic fail that I won’t repeat. BUT even with all that, I’m in love with this project bag – I love everything about it: especially the predominantly mint colourway, the smaller patchwork block sizes. This one just makes me happy to look at it! It was great fun rummaging through my vintage Tilda scraps to find coordinating fabrics that worked with the critter panel.
The start of February was a busy time for me stitching my little heart out. It tailed off, though, and I moved into sewing mode for a while. I’m embracing being out of work for a while and ‘doing all the things’, ie working through all those WIPs and kitted up sewing projects that have been gathering dust for years. It really helps having a dedicated sewing space, something I’ve never had before.
Stitching WIP updates
Here’s my progress from February, including the starting point as at 1 February and their current status.
“Mini Sunflowers” by Heaven and Earth Designs – fully finished!
“All you need is love” by Design Works – fully finished!
“Creepy pin cushion” cushion by Shepherd’s Bush, before and after:
“Almost Halloween” by The Drawn Thread, before and after:
“Three Kings” by Mill Hill, before and after:
“Egyptian Garden Mandala” by Chatelaine, before and after:
“2024 Mirabilia Retreat Mermaid” by Nora Corbett, before and after:
“Supernatural” by PixelStitches, before and after:
“Seafoam” (canvaswork) by Needle Delights Originals, before and after:
New starts
Stitching
I continued adding a few smaller projects to my WIP list with some more new starts this month. Some Facebook group stitching challenges gave me the excuse to start them. I was aiming to have a bigger new start for my birthday but I totally forgot my birthday and everything that went with it and then lost my stitching mojo temporarily. Oh well, it’ll get started soon and will likely become my focus piece after I finish Three Kings..
Cabana beach by Mill Hill
The boys are back in town by JABC
Girls night out by JABC
Sewing
Cali & Co mystery block of the month by Coriander Quilts – Block 2 (started and finished)
Tilda Club Jan 2023 – The Makers Tactical Tool Belt by Arabesque Scissors (started and finished)
Thimble pip (started and finished)
Bee Grateful journal cover kit by Gum Valley Patchwork (started, and just needs the leather catch to be hand-sewn on before it can be fully finished)
Slumbermouse Pourch by Kitty Rose Cottage (started, but put to one side now while I work on some cardmaking classes)
Tilda Club issue 36 notebook cover by Lilabelle Lane Creations (started earlier in the year and finished)
Question of the month:
“What stitch-a-longs (SALs) are you participating in this year?“
I originally signed up for the HAED SAL for Jellyworld, but I decided I’d have to dedicate pretty much all my stitching time to that project to meet the deadlines, and after only just returning to stitching after a 4-year hiatus I wanted to focus my energies finishing some older WIPs instead. I did join the WIP Warriors Facebook group at the end of 2024, and they have regular monthly challenges that are really varied – adding the gamification to the stitching has really been motivating to me, and I’ve been stitching regularly every day because of it. Continuing those challenges throughout 2025 will be my only type of SAL I think, because I can work on whatever projects I want to focus on while meeting the challenge commitments.
The only other SAL is a sew-along rather than a stitch-along – I’ve started making the monthly mystery scrappy quilt blocks designed for Cali & Co fabrics by Coriander Quilts. Instead of using the Cali & Co fabrics, I’ve been pulling my Tilda fabrics out that are in cool-tone colours, and loving it so far.
2025 goal achievements
Because I kept my craft goals small this year, and having all that extra spare time to focus on my mental health, I’ve managed to achieve a small number of my goals already, which I’m thrilled with.
*DONE* Hit the 80% completion mark for HAED’s Mini Sunflowers – I fully finished this one
*1/3 DONE* Finish three stitching projects (at least one should be a current WIP): 1. All you need is love by Design Works 2. TBC 3. TBC
*DONE* Make progress on one canvaswork project (new start) (I started Seafoam by Needle Delights Originals)
*DONE* Make progress on at least three class/kit sewing projects: 1. Sewing Day Project Bag by Fee Fee & Me (fully finished) 2. Windy Walk Bag from Kitty Rose Cottage (fully finished) 3. KJ’s Ruler Bag from Kitty Rose Cottage (in progress)
*DONE* Start a bed quilt (mystery BOM by Coriander Quilts)
