a tea cosy to keep warm

At the beginning of January, it was pretty cold, even the window in my sewing room was frozen, so I relocated to the living room, which meant hand sewing. Sewing on the couch is quite comfortable, there are large non frozen windows,  fuzzy blankets, and many cups of tea! The only thing missing was a cute tea cosy: well this is no longer a problem!

I followed this pattern from Bustle and Sew, I have been a subscriber to their magazine for a couple years now, and while I do not make stuff every month from their patterns I always enjoy their whimsy!  I did make these fox pillow and apple bag:

But this polar bear is super cute:

It is fairly easy embroidery, and I love the touch of metallic thread, even if it is harder to stitch.... And the pompom is the perfect touch, fuzzy like a polar bear!

The tea cosy is lined in fleece, perfect to keep the tea hot in the teapot.
I am so looking forward to using it this weekend!
Happy sewing!

all the bebe cuteness together

Very late last year, we welcomed the birth of my niece:

Baby E (1 week old) on her quilt!

I might be partial but she is so cute ;)

Last fall I sewed for her a lot of cute little things,

beside the quilt.

My sister took a few pictures of her room just before her arrival,

and it looks perfect all together:

here is the post for the quilt,

here for the bear pillow

and here for the "stuffed" bear.

And of course the bebe bunting is here:

I will not meet Baby E until this summer,

but I receive a new picture everyday:

Until then, I can always create more cute things for her....

Happy sewing!

Bonne Annee 2018

I would like to wish you and your family Happy New Year!
The freezing temperatures we have in the DC area are slowing me down, my sewing room is frozen, and only a blanket will do.

So I day dream of Provence, warmth and vacation! I managed to buy some IKEA frames for a few cards I brought back last year. It looks perfect with the lavender bag my mom embroidered with the beautiful lady. And it smells like summer....
Until then, keep warm!

a year in review: 2017 was a good year!

It is time to bid farewell to 2017 and review this year top posts.
For the house, it was the year of the bedrooms, as I made over Brick Master's room

and our master suite during the ORC.
Even after 6 weeks, it still feels like a fancy retreat!
Of course, I enjoyed sewing for my upcoming niece, making cute silly things like the butting, the bear, the beary pillow and a sweet quilt:

And there were also this new obsession with sew illustrated, a fun way to do applique and machine embroidery:

1-first basket, 2-pin cushions, 3-second basket, 4-pin cushions, 5-mug rug, 6-Liberty mug rug
And finally, on a personal note, it was our trip to Provence, which I had been dreaming about for many year.

It was a very good year for this little blog, and I hope 2018 is just as good. See you next year!

a cookie mat for Santa and a Merry Christmas

While I thought I was out of time, I managed one more little sewing project: a mat for Santa's cookie and milk!

I made it for my niece and nephew  who are at the perfect age (6 and 3) to enjoy it.
And as many times before I was inspired by Amy of Nana Company. I could have a special tab on my blog for all the sewing I did inspired by her work....

The instructions are on her blog here and also published in the BHG Holiday Crafts 2015.

I want to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas!

a warm scarf, teenager approved!

Do you find yourself with limited time for sewing and in need of some homemade gifts? What about a picky teenager? Then this is the gift for you, well actually for him/her: a cool scarf!

This was Star Wars weekend, so a Wader T-shirt was a necessity!

It just took me a couple hours to sew it, and that includes hand sewing the button and snaps (no, there are no buttonholes!)

I followed this tutorial from We Can Make Anything, using some sweatshirt fabric (from JoAnn I think), and a cool button that I brought back from Brittany, I am sure I am not the only one that visits fabric stores on vacation....

And the best part? Brick Master actually loves it, and has been wearing for the past couple weeks!

It went so well, I am planning on making a few more...
Happy sewing!