The Sewing Dilettante

Hello, hello! Welcome to my newly re-named blog (formerly Secret Ingredient: Love). I was never completely crazy about that old name, and, as hubby told me, it always suggested a cooking blog, rather than one primarily about sewing with a bit of baking thrown in. When I started thinking about how much I'd like to get back to blogging, partially for a bit of encouragement to get my sewing machine out more often, I decided I'd change things up a bit. 'Dilettante' seemed a really apt word to apply to myself as both a sewer and a blogger, as I'm an amateur and fairly casual about both hobbies, so here we are... The Sewing Dilettante! Bear with me as I transition fully into this new blog; I'll be keeping the old email address for the time being but am linking to a new, blog-specific Instagram account: thesewingdilettante. Since my youngest little'un was born in November 2015, I've been doing the odd bit of patchwork and embroidery, but it feels as if I'...

After the Frankenblanket episode of 2012, I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to face EPP again. With a couple of years of recovery, however, I find myself ready to take the proverbial plunge and have started a new EPP project, after remembering how much I love hand sewing when I made a fun little baby shower gift for Sarah . Like my last EPP project, this one is also a baby quilt intended for a new bambino of my own, this one due early in November. Unlike the last project, though, this one is a little less ambitious. I'm going to make several large hexie flowers to appliqué on a low volume background. This will then serve as a central panel that will be surrounded by two borders - one narrow, one wide - of complementary fabric. My inspiration comes from Pinterest: How could it possibly go wrong? I'm smarter, more experienced, and more EPP savvy this time around, right? Time will tell, but so far I'm really enjoying cutting and basting the hexies, and I think this...

While I may have the New Kids on the Block's infamous single running through my brain at the moment, the reference in my title is to the very slow progress I'm making on the little chevron quilt I showed you last month. Piecing that thing together really did boggle my mind, but luckily I've got the main part of the quilt top finished now. *huge sigh of relief* As usual, my photo doesn't do justice to the vibrancy of the fabric colours, or to the quilt itself, but I'm really pleased with the chevron effect, especially as I'd used so many different scraps. I was afraid that the pattern of dark/light wouldn't jump out enough, but I think they all came together really well in the end. I'm now thinking of a thin Kona Snow border and a thicker lime green or aqua border, but I haven't chosen any fabrics yet. Any recommendations?  Linking in with Scraptastic Tuesday !  xx Tina 

When I was a kid growing up in New Hampshire, we had these standardised tests that were administered periodically throughout elementary and middle school. They were designed, I think, to rate school performance and to ensure minimum educational standards were being met. I don't remember them being particularly onerous and, in fact, actually enjoyed certain sections, like reading comprehension, but I always struggled with the section that included paper-folding exercises. Not origami, sadly, but cognitive jumping jacks in which you had to imagine folding a piece of paper with, say a black dot in the top left corner, in half twelve times. Why? In order to predict where that original black dot ended up, of course. Mind-boggling stuff, my ineptitude at which probably helps explain why I'm finding it so difficult to wrap my head around the layout of this scrappy chevron quilt.  It may look straightforward enough, but there was something about laying the squares out on-point...

Way back in November, I had the opportunity to take part in the Fluffy Sheep Quilting Rainbow Charm Swap. I love swaps like this! It's so much fun looking out for the perfect fabrics, sharing photos and chatting with fellow swappers on Flickr, and receiving the much-anticipated delivery of charm square goodness at the end of the swap. This time around, I was given the task of choosing two different purple prints, one light and one dark, to be added into the mix with similar pairs of red, orange, yellow, green, and blue charm squares. How did Cindy know that purple's my favourite colour?! It wasn't easy narrowing down my choices, but I finally ordered two gorgeous prints: this rich aubergine print.... And this simple lilac polka dot. The charm pack arrived while I was away for Christmas and was waiting for me when I got back - a lovely little pick me up after a holiday marked by sorrow. So delighted with my charms was I that I tore into them without taki...

Hello, hello! Remember me? I seem to be perfecting my disappearing act these days, but I'm back again with a little update on that baby quilt I mentioned in my last post (all those months ago). I'm really thrilled with the way it came out! In fact, of all the quilts I've made, this one may just be my favourite. I just love how bright and scrappy the blocks are! I quilted simple diagonal lines - my fallback quilting style - and finished with a colourful scrappy binding, which seemed the natural choice for a quilt like this. For the back, I used the completely scrumptious Pink Bake Cherry by Riley Blake. Swoon. I didn't get a photo of it before giving the quilt away, but I did manage gleefully to deposit in my stash a few small leftover pieces for future projects.  I'm hoping the beautiful baby girl this was given to will enjoy exploring each and every one of the blocks. There are a few different textures here, with one or two linen and silk scraps thrown in...

I think I mentioned some special deliveries that were coming my way over the summer? Mom, Dad, and Bro came over for a fabulous visit in July, bringing along with them quite a lot of scrummy fabric for me, amongst other goodies. There was so much fabric, in fact, that Dad - the fabric mule - returned home with a nearly empty suitcase! My fabric haul included two gorgeous jelly rolls... ... a great fat quarter bundle... ... and three of these cool kits, each of which includes pattern and fabric for four 15 in blocks. All of the fabrics seem to go really well together, and the fat quarter bundle seems made for blending, so I've got the materials here for a few really lovely quilts! I'm not quite sure where I'll start, but I'm enjoying just admiring these fabrics and dreaming about all the possibilities. Thanks, Mom and Dad! A couple of other great fabric acquisitions recently: this gorgeous mini jelly roll.  It's 'Little Red Ridi...

So, I've kind of lost the blogging bug recently, mostly, I think, because I've been enjoying spending loads of time with hubby and Baby G after 9 months of a crazy distance living/working situation. It's set to start up again in September, so we've really been maximising family time together this summer. As Granny Murray might say, there was swimming, exploring, building, visiting, colouring, reading, travelling, cycling, eating, laughing, jumping, running, 'washing up and wiping down'. The halcyon days of summer, indeed! (We've watched a bit of CBeebies, too, in case you couldn't tell!)  Somehow, along the way, I've managed to fit in a bit of sewing, too. Hoorah! I started this little scrappy log cabin quilt in the spring for friends who welcomed their first baby to the world last weekend. (I always knew I wouldn't have it done in time!) I've been having such fun with this one, especially as it's given me the opportunity to dig throu...

Last Wednesday was the last sewing night for the summer, so I worked at a furious rate to get as much done as I possibly could. Having spent the last couple of Wednesday nights sorting, ironing, and cutting my scraps, I finally put a few log cabin blocks together. These are intended for a fun, little, gender-neutral baby quilt. The centre blocks are 2.5 inches square, and the strips are 2 inches wide. I'm loosely following this tutorial , and, as you can see, am pretty much randomly choosing strips in the hope that it'll all come together in the end! The one organisational concession I made with these three blocks was to ensure that each strip matched the next in at least one colour. So, in the block above, the first strip (on top of the centre square) brings out the red flowers in the centre square; the next strip picks up on that same bright red, but adds in a couple of different shades of green; the following strip is mainly lime green with thin red stripes; and t...

About a decade ago... ok, I'm exaggerating, less than a year ago... I started a cute little baby blanket for friends whose first son was born shortly after baby G. With one thing and another, though, the quilt ended up in my WIP pile until a couple of weeks ago, when I realised that if I didn't get my act together, this baby boy was going to turn one before receiving the quilt meant to welcome him into the world. I actually had all of the squares done and really just needed a few hours to get them sewn into rows and add a border or two. Easy peasy, especially with Wednesday sewing nights! That thin inner border actually has light green polka dots, but you can't see them in this light. Ta-da! It's a version of this other quilt I'd made, using this pattern from the Moda Bake Shop . And, the wind cooperated to show both front and back at the same time! Now, I've just to add binding and a label, and this pretty little thing will be ready to go, just in time ...

I couldn't believe it when I looked at the list of my blog posts and realised that the last time I posted was back on 24 June! There's been a lot going on since then, not least the end of my maternity leave (*sob*), my return to work, and baby G's introduction to creche. Fortunately, she loves it (maybe a little too much!), and, though I miss her, I'm enjoying being back and work and doing 'adult' things during the day! With that and the unusually sunny summer weather we've been having for the past couple of weeks across Ireland, I've accomplished next to nothing at my sewing machine. In fact, I don't really have any projects on the go at the moment, except a couple of blocks I've promised to Sarah for the Siblings Together quilt she's putting together. They're not due until the end of October, so they're exactly the kind of commitment I can handle at the moment! I've pulled out a few swathes of fabric to start and am looking fo...

Last week, I put the finishing touches on the little baby quilt I've been working on over the past few months, and I'm really pleased, not least because the quilt's intended recipient isn't due to make his/her appearance until the end of this week. Phew! I was definitely getting a bit nervous about finishing this in time, but now that it's ready, baby can come just as soon as he/she likes! (I'm pretty sure my friend feels the same, too, but for different reasons!) The end result is only about 28 inches square, which is smaller than I would've liked, but I think it'll be perfect for a teeny, tiny newborn. Since mum and dad didn't want to know if they were having a boy or a girl, I pulled all the bright, non-gender-specific fabrics I could find in my stash and aimed for an eye-catching mishmash of colour interspersed with blocks of white and cream. I followed the design of this amazing quilt , and, while my quilting turned out a bit more wonky an...

I can hardly believe it, but over the last couple of weeks, I've actually managed to do a bit of sewing! Good friends of ours are having their first baby at the end of June, and I'd really like to make a simple baby quilt for them, especially as the mum-to-be has been very admiring of past baby quilts I've made. With my scrap bucket overflowing like Strega Nona's magic pasta pot (I knew I couldn't write a whole post without some reference to baby stuff!), I decided to make a scrappy quilt of some sort and found the perfect model on Red Pepper Quilts .  I don't want to give too much away, as it's a surprise! But, I'm aiming for a bright, multi-coloured, gender neutral end result. This is quite a small quilt, but I think it'll be perfect as a pram blanket or an on-the-go quilt for trips in the car. It may need sashing once everything is said and done, but I'll get the rows sewed together first before I make any decisions on that. And I have t...

And all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. In fact, hubby and I are tucked up cosily on the couch, recovering from yesterday's excesses and anticipating D(elivery)-day tomorrow. Who knows when I might have a chance to post again, so I wanted to share a few festive photos before wishing you all the very best for 2013 and signing off for a little while. First off, my Christmas cake went down a real treat yesterday! I was concerned that it would be dry in the middle, but it was perfectly moist all the way through! Despite the dark exterior, the crumb was surprisingly light, both in colour and texture, and the marzipan and icing were just thin enough to add a little almond-y sweetness at the end without overpowering the cake itself. Yum! We cut slivers of cake to have with coffee right after Christmas lunch, even though we were all stuffed to the gills, and after a much-needed brisk walk, managed a bit more. I mustn't have been the only one to sneak...

Yesterday was my first day of maternity leave, and, while I managed to stay in bed until almost 11, I also realised very quickly that relaxation isn't my forte! Especially when there's nesting to be done! The nursery is all but ready to go, and we've got all the necessaries laid out in their appropriate places, but what we don't have is a freezer full of food to feed us in the first few hectic weeks after Baby H's arrival. Naturally, I had intended to prepare a variety of delicious and nutritious freezer-friendly meals over the past few months, but life got in the way. The best laid plans and all that. Yesterday and today though, I managed to bake a couple of batches of biscuits - one chocolate chip, one white chocolate and pecan - to pop into the oven straight from the freezer when friends and family call around. I also threw together a lasagne and a few other hearty, satisfying casseroles, and am now smugly patting myself on the back. Such self-satisfaction, I sus...

This Saturday, hubby decided he just had to carve a pumpkin for Halloween. This, of course, was no small undertaking .... long was the time spent drawing potential jack o'lantern faces on scrap paper; equally time-consuming was the sketching of the chosen faces on the pumpkin itself (yes... this was a Janus-faced jack o'lantern!); few were the newspaper sheets placed underneath the pumpkin as it was carved; innumerable were the 'oohs' and 'ahs' required once the carving was completed; and infinite was the gratitude and praise expected for the roasted pumpkin seeds produced in the aftermath of the great pumpkin carving.  The pumpkin's 'good' side For the rest of the evening, we sat around breathing the slightly acrid smell of burning pumpkin flesh - a tea candle had to be lit inside the jack o'lantern at all times for full effect, you see - and gorged ourselves on the sweets intended for the trick-or-treaters who never came! I'...

My brother-in-law in Zimbabwe sent me a lovely photo today of a baby quilt I'd made ages ago and given to him and his wife the last time they were here for a visit. They've got a gorgeous baby girl and another on the way, and it seems as if my quilt is going to be put to good use! I just love how it looks with the flowers scattered all around it and the tambourine and wooden Noah's Ark strewn across it! It certainly seems as if it's being used and loved, which makes me very, very happy (and also a teensy-tinsy bit proud!) The pattern I used was this one from Moda Bake Shop, and, while you probably can't see it from the photo, this was the first and only quilt I tried FMQ on. I wasn't super happy with the results - too widely spaced and a bit lumpy for my liking - but from this angle, the quilt looks great (if I do say so myself!) xx Tina

This afternoon I got home from church and went straight to work on my charm square quilt. Hubby was away, so I had the whole house to myself and nothing specific to get done except some sewing. A couple of hours later, and my charm square baby quilt is pretty much ready to go! I changed the layout a bit, re-arranging the squares so I'd get a diagonal line of each colour - a pattern that seemed to work better than the completely random arrangement I'd tried out earlier . Then, I added a narrow border in red Kona, et voilá, my quilt top was finished. I sandwiched it together with its fleece backing and wadding using spray basting and made all of the leftover bits and pieces of fabric into binding.  The only thing left to be done on this quilt is the actual quilting. I think this might be the time to have a go at Free Machine Quilting, but I'm feeling anxious at the very idea! Still, it's quite a small quilt, so it shouldn't be too much of an ordeal, righ...