Monday Makers #6 and a short holiday at Dubbo

Hi everyone!
Another Monday, another makers' day.

I am writing this post in a motel room and will be checking out soon.
It is a long weekend in the ACT  (Saturday-Sunday-Monday). It has been a while since we left Canberra for a holiday. The weather has been great, so we just didn't want to miss this chance and organised a trip to Dubbo to visit the Taronga Western Planes Zoo.
I tried to post some photos here but couldn't because the connection is not great. I will write another post about this trip and put some photos of the animals when we go back home. For now, I can say that we had such a great time at the zoo; cycled around the animals' natural environment, had a lovely picnic, played alongside with my son at several playgrounds..
As you can guess, I don't have any photos of my lightbox project from last week nor can I start a new project today but I welcome yours and looking forward to seeing what you guys achieved last week and are starting today.

Here are the linky rules: 

Your project can be anything you start on that Monday as long as it makes you move and be active and creative: a new quilt, a knitting project, scrap booking, cross-stitching, baking-we don't mind yummy recipes!, a gardening project, painting your house!, tidying up the pantry!...This is your Monday and you are the maker of the day!
2. Grab the button from the side bar- this is still a WIP- or put a link back to me in your Monday post.
3. Click on "add your link" and just fill in the required areas. 
4. Please link to your specific post, not to your homepage: We would like to find your post easily.
5. Please take time to visit other links and leave a sweet comment: We love comments!
6. Share the photos of your finished Monday projects in your next link up- I am hoping you will come back again!: Who doesn't love a sweet, finished project or a "before-after" photo?
You don't have to be a follower of my blog, however; I wouldn't say no if you wanted to become one :-) Join and share as often as you want.

An InLinkz Link-up

A finished quilt top

No, not a new quilt top, the "damn triangles" quilt top it is.

As you might remember, I had put the whole thing away because of the mismatching triangle points. And as you know, mismatching seams bother me a LOT!!
After a long break, I decided to fix it and pulled it out again. I don't like UFOs either. Much to my surprise, it didn't require much fixing.
Here it is.

Another good example of perfect photography: setting the scene. Your quilt top must be hung while the clothes are hung too. Not my fault. I don't have fancy places to take my quilts to take their photos. Ok, maybe there are some nice places but it means taking a break from what you are doing and driving some distance. Call it lazy maybe? 

I even went ahead and basted it and started quilting it.

 Perfectly matching seams, hmmmm, nice.

I am straight line quilting it and thinking about doing something fancy in the big purple triangle.

My backing is the famous Ikea numbers (Britten Nummer) fabric. I didn't prewash it so I wonder how much it is going to shrink after washing the quilt.

I am glad that this is no longer a UFO and I am looking forward to finishing it!
Linking up with Lee @Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.

What is the one UFO that you have finished/gotten one step closer to finishing recently?

Monday Makers! #5

Hi there!
What a week it was for me! My stock for my jewellery business arrived last Wednesday. Since then I have been trying to finish purchasing all the necessary things like boxes, wrapping material, display busts...I haven't done much sewing except for the zipper pouches. My machine is playing up and driving me nuts. I booked it for its first service since I bought it-4 years ago-oopss!

Now, the zipper pouches from the last week.
I have made three; one quilted, two not quilted.

I quilted this one by just stitching around the flowers. My machine struggled while sewing the quilted panels together so I decided not to quilt the other two. Also, I didn't like this one much because it looks like a brick! Has nothing interesting.

 Not so pretty.

But it is great to keep all my make up stuff which are free floating in my handbag. So, it found its place in there. 

I was thinking how I should make the others. I remembered that last year I enrolled in Kristin Link's Bag Making Basics: Reversible Tote and Zipper Pouch at Craftsy. I quickly visited this class and made these two cute pouches.

 And I remembered to use a tag when sewing the second one.

I love them!

My project for today is to make a light box to be able to take nice and good quality photos of my jewellery.  As you see above, I need to develop my photography skills. I will be following this tutorial. Since I have all the material needed, this shouldn't take too long. 

Now, show me your finished projects and tell me what you are starting to make today!

Here are the linky rules: 

Your project can be anything you start on that Monday as long as it makes you move and be active and creative: a new quilt, a knitting project, scrap booking, cross-stitching, baking-we don't mind yummy recipes!, a gardening project, painting your house!, tidying up the pantry!...This is your Monday and you are the maker of the day!
2. Grab the button from the side bar- this is still a WIP- or put a link back to me in your Monday post.
3. Click on "add your link" and just fill in the required areas. 
4. Please link to your specific post, not to your homepage: We would like to find your post easily.
5. Please take time to visit other links and leave a sweet comment: We love comments!
6. Share the photos of your finished Monday projects in your next link up- I am hoping you will come back again!: Who doesn't love a sweet, finished project or a "before-after" photo?
You don't have to be a follower of my blog, however; I wouldn't say no if you wanted to become one :-) Join and share as often as you want.

An InLinkz Link-up

Monday Makers! #4

Hi there!
Welcome to Monday Makers! #4.

I wasn't well last week so I haven't done any sewing or quilting. I am just hoping that with the weather getting warmer, all this cold and flu will leave me and my family alone for at least six months!
The weather was beautiful yesterday so we did some gardening on the plot we rent at the community garden which is just a kilometre away from our house. We have been renting this plot for almost a year now but only today we had a chance to go and prepare the dirt for planting.

 Spring has sprung!

While we were removing the grass and weed on our plot, my son enjoyed digging up some dirt in a neighbouring plot :)

 Following "the daddy" to the compost!

 Taking a little rest after some hard work :)

Now to Monday Makers!

I am making some simple quilted zipper pouches today. I have had some lovely Michael Miller fabric. Because the fabrics' width is quite narrow I've decided to turn them into zipper pouches. By this way, I will be utilising the stray zippers I have.

 I have already prepared the ends of my first zipper. I love this coral. So bright and cheerful.

Now it is your time to show us what you are making today!
Your project can be anything you start on that Monday as long as it makes you move and be active and creative: a new quilt, a knitting project, scrap booking, cross-stitching, baking-we don't mind yummy recipes!, a gardening project, painting your house!, tidying up the pantry!...This is your Monday and you are the maker of the day!
2. Grab the button from the side bar- this is still a WIP- or put a link back to me in your Monday post.
3. Click on "add your link" and just fill in the required areas. 
4. Please link to your specific post, not to your homepage: We would like to find your post easily.
5. Please take time to visit other links and leave a sweet comment: We love comments!
6. Share the photos of your finished Monday projects in your next link up- I am hoping you will come back again!: Who doesn't love a sweet, finished project or a "before-after" photo?
You don't have to be a follower of my blog, however; I wouldn't say no if you wanted to become one :-) Join and share as often as you want. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Monday Makers! #3

Hi all!
It is another Monday Makers! week. I want to take this opportunity to thank all the participants who linked up in the previous two weeks. Your support means a lot to me. I have visited your pages and collected lots of inspiration to be turned into beautiful projects!

It is time to show you my finished project from last Monday. (Apologies in advance for such crappy photos.)
Here is my modern but very retro table topper :-) It is 24.5"x18.5".

I love the colours and the patterns of the fabric!

This table topper is also the very first project which I proudly used my brand tag, so it is special :-)

It is a pity that my tag is displayed on the side where the binding stitches are horrible! Seriously, I think the stitching of the binding of this table topper is the worst I have ever done. I can see myself re-doing it very soon!

Unfortunately, I don't have a new project for this week. I came down with a very bad cold and the headache is making everything worse. 

Now, please link up your Monday project and your finishes from the previous weeks. I am looking forward to seeing them!

P.S The collection still shows the previous linkers. I found out that I need to upgrade my membership on Inlinkz, so will sort this out by the next week.

An InLinkz Link-up

Tutorial: CD coasters

Here is a quick tutorial for the CD coasters I made last week. You should give it a go. It is a a, quick, easy and fun project!

What you need:
CDs- as many as you need for your set. I used six.
Your choice of fabric- I used a fat quarter but I had to piece the last two coasters to be able to make the whole set out of the same fabric.
Batting
Glue- I used Elmer's School Glue
Pen to trace around the CD
Bias binding
Other basic quilting supplies

How to make the coasters:
1. First, trace around your CD on to the batting and cut two pieces per CD.

2. Then, place your CDs on to your fabric. Allow at least 1/2" on either sides and top and bottom. You need this because when you quilt it, it will shrink a little. Now, cut out your squares; two per CD.

3. Put the circle batting you cut out on to one of your squares and quilt it as you desire. You can pin the batting to the fabric on one place just to prevent the batting from shifting. I did straight stitching.

4. Now, lightly glue your quilted piece and place a CD over it. 

 5. Again, lightly glue the CD and place another piece of batting over it.

6. Again, and one last time, glue your fabric lightly and place a square fabric over it. Gently press and leave it aside for a while to dry. 

This is the first time I have used glue on fabric and am quite happy with it. You don't need to apply lots to hold your material in place. As you see in the photos, I have only applied two thin circles.

7. Now it is time to sew around the CD. (Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos in this step, but just now took a quick photo to show the placement of the foot and the CD.)

Use your zipper foot of your machine for this step. 

Do you see how the CD's edge is snugged under the foot? When you place your piece under the zipper foot, feel the edge of the CD before start sewing and sew slowly. Maintain the position by gently pushing your piece towards the foot and turn it slowly as you sew.

You can see in the picture that I sewed one more time around it to get as close as possible.

8. Trim your piece by leaving at least 1/4" seam allowance.

9. Now, you will machine sew the bias binding on the quilted side the same way, hand bind it on to the back and finish it just like how you finish binding your quilt. I used a store-bought bias binding. You can trim the seam allowance a little more if you find the binding is too tight around it and it is difficult to stitch it to the back.

And here is your finished CD coaster! Enjoy it!  

 Please let me know in your comments if you have any questions. 

Till next time, keep sewing!

Monday Makers! #2 and Around the World blog hop

Hiya all!
Today's post will host a blog hop called "Around the World Blog Hop" and the second week of Monday Makers!
Last week hasn't been a great week for me. My son was sick and had a fall and hurt himself. The drama didn't finish here. In the following three days, he mastered the art of falling at the childcare centre-one fall per day- which caused two other bumps on the head and a bitten cheek on the inside. I am not telling you about the pain and discomfort all these incidents caused all of us...

Let me start with the blog hop. (As much as I wanted to prepare this post about my creative/quilty process earlier so that I could reflect myself better, here I am, trying to make it ready to go live in an hour because of having an awesome! week last week. )

Last Monday, I was tagged by Jo of Riddle and Whimsy in the Around the World blog hop. This blog hop is a kind of game in which you tag other quilters to talk about themselves and answer a few questions about how their creative and quilty process work. Then these quilters tag other fellow quilters and the game continues. This is also a great way to meet new people.
I would like to continue with introducing you to the one and only person I could find who hasn't been tagged in this game earlier and then I will move on to the questions.
Amira of the Little Mushroom Cap, born and raised in Malaysia, is a post-graduate student, a wife, a mum and a passionate quilter and crafter whom I met in my local Modern Quilt Guild. She is making beautiful quilts, hand-knitted socks, embroidery, you name it...I have recently tried one of her patterns called Girlfriend's Wallet. I suggest you give it a go too. Amira will be posting her Around the World blog hop next Monday, 8 September.

1) What am I working on?
I have been working on a couple of sewing projects lately: The first one is quilting the New Wave quilt and the second one is today's Monday Makers' small project which I don't know what it is going to be yet. LOL.
Apart from these projects, I have been working on setting up a small, jewellery business. I have done all the legal part of the preparations and currently, I am waiting for my stock to arrive. All the jewellery and accessories are handmade by using silk and/or synthetic silk.
The significance of these jewellery is that they are reflecting the great Turkish culture with an authentic design and the delicate and elegant Turkish oya lace.

I am hoping that not only will this business make enough money to quit my part-time job but also feed my desire of buying more fabric for my future sewing projects. (Wishful thinking.)
2) How does my work differ from others of its genre? 
At the moment, I can say that I am still finding my way and style in quilting. I started quilting in 2011, while I was expecting my son. Since then, I have only made a dozen of quilts but read a lot about quilting, watched lots of tutorials and purchased lost of fabric! I am proud of the quilts I have made so far, I love every single one of them. However; when I look back, I see that my style and my fabric choices have also changed. I now find myself looking more at bold, solid colours and loving the use of negative space. If I had to say one thing here which differs my work from others, it would be my obsession with perfectly matching seams. If my seams don't match, I never get tired of unpicking those stitches and sew them again and again until I make them match perfectly- ok I walk away from that project for a while, ummm, maybe a month or so, but always go back and finish the damn thing. Having said that, I wish and wish I could be a little more relaxed about this and just get on with my life, move on to the next project. LOL.

3) Why do I create what I do?
First of all,  I LOVE LOVE it. I love any kind of crafting but quilting has a special place in my heart. I love playing with shapes and colours. The satisfaction I get after a finished quilt is a big bonus. I also like sharing my work with others, whether this is gifting it or selling-the latter hasn't happened much. And I love having my blog because this is a great way of reaching many other talented quilters and making new friends.
4) How does my creative process work?
I haven't had a clear process when it came to creating what I do. Most of the time, I started with buying the fabric without having an idea in mind, and then I decided what I wanted to do with them. However, this has changed after I joined Quilt Design a Day a month or so ago. My intention was to see what others were designing and also to get inspiration and motivation out of the daily 15 minute design challenge. I designed a few quilts- get the challenge?- and now I am thinking about turning those designs into actual quilts. Maybe I don't spend 15 minutes every day to design something but I can say that it definitely changed the process other way around. Now, I think of a particular design, imagine the colours to go with it and finally purchase the fabric.
Pinterest is a big source of inspiration too!
That's all from me!

Now to Monday Makers!
First, here is my finished project from last week. Six CD coasters!

Love the puss in boots. My favourite cup!

I am glad I turned those CDs into something useful. 

This is what I am starting today.

I bought this charm pack a few years ago and as soon as I bought it, I cut it for a great(!) project. I undid some of the stitches earlier and finished deconstructing the whole thing yesterday. I love the retro colours and the prints of these fabrics. I also had some leftover matching fabric. I cut 2" strips of it. I just can't waste fabric, big or small. I don't know what this is going to be. I can see a potential table topper here though   :-) P.S If you know the name of this fabric, please let me know. I just can't remember!

It is your turn to show us what you are doing today! Here is how to join:

1. Your project can be anything you start on that Monday as long as it makes you move and be active and creative: a new quilt, a knitting project, scrap booking, cross-stitching, baking-we don't mind yummy recipes!, a gardening project, painting your house!, tidying up the pantry!...This is your Monday and you are the maker of the day!
2. Grab the button from the side bar- I am still working on creating an HTML code to make it easier for you- or put a link back to me in your Monday post.
3. Click on "add your link" and just fill in the required areas. 
4. Please link to your specific post, not to your homepage: We would like to find your post easily.
5. Please take time to visit other links and leave a sweet comment: We love comments!
6. Share the photos of your finished Monday projects in your next link up- I am hoping you will come back again!: Who doesn't love a sweet, finished project or a "before-after" photo?
You don't have to be a follower of my blog, however; I wouldn't say no if you wanted to become one :-) Join and share as often as you want. 

Note: The link shows the previous collections and I couldn't work out how to change it! If anybody knows how to do it, please let me know. Thanks  :-)

An InLinkz Link-up