A Box Full of Liberty - Pay It Forward

Thank goodness ... I just heard that my 2nd Pay-It-Forward gift has arrived safe and sound ... phew!  It's always a relief when something you've handmade, especially for someone else, arrives just as it should ... praise the postal Gods!

I was making for a lovely lady called Dittany, I admire her handwork greatly.  She takes little snippets of Liberty and magically creates a pot of gold!  She's also quite the nimble knitter ... and I freaked out a little when Nanny London pulled her name out of the hat.  I don't put my sewing in her class, but I hoped that she would appreciate the gesture :)

So what did I make?

A Circle box mostly made from Liberty ... the exception is the large floral print on the top, which is a print from Anna Maria Horna's Mod Corsage range ..

Beautiful, isn't it?

There are many Liberty prints just as deserving to feature here ... but I just couldn't find one that was saying "use me!" "pick me! "I'll be fabulous!" ... so I chose a print close to my heart instead.  Dittany is a Liberty lover ... but I hope that this print speaks to her too ... and well it just plays so nicely with the Liberty friends I paired it with ...

So that was it, gift made ... but who is their right mind sends an empty box (even if they did make it themselves) to the other side of the world?  Not me ...

I decided to fill it with this ...

Mini Liberty bunting ... to decorate her sewing space ...

Gold sparkly bias tape for the win!

For some reason, every time I see this print all I can hear in my head is Olivia Newton-John singing "Let's get Physical ..."

All packed up and ready to go!

Now ... there's just the small issue of waiting for my 3rd and final Pay-It_Forward gift to arrive safely ... let the nail biting and prayers to the mail Gods continue!

Sx

The Circle Box pattern can be found here I made the large size in the pattern.
There is no pattern for the mini bunting ... I made it up as I went along

... and if you do go over and buy that Circle Box pattern for yourself ... make sure you get some Wonder clips (if you don't already own some) while you're there ... they come in pretty handy ...

Shine Bright Star Quilt

My youngest is in Kindy ... such a special time ... watching their little blinkers widening from home life to the big world outside. She is half-way through the year now and today is her first day back after the school holidays. Uniforms washed and pressed ... new lunchbox, new water bottle and a new quilt made by me for Kindy nap time.

At the beginning of the year she said she didn't want me to make her a quilt for Kindy nap time (Aww, I was heartbroken).  But, I smiled back to her and asked what she would like instead.  "Something from the shops", she said.  Ok, I get it ... something shiny and new to go with all the other shiny new things.

I love this quote ... it's so her and so me whispering in her ear

A happy little accidental fabric placement

So off to K-mart we went.  She scanned the isles and found the perfect little pillow and blanket just for her (and the 3 million other kids that would buy exactly the same stuff churned out by the juggernaut ... I thought to myself ... somewhat sourly).

I included a lot of low volume fabrics like this so she could enjoy and discover the little details while she rested

I bide my time ... hoping that by not making a fuss ... she would come back round.  And you know what?  It only took two terms of school (... only ...) but she finally asked me in these holidays to make her a quilt for nap time.

shimmers of gold metallic prints

A dark backing because they nap on the floor

I tried not to sound too eager (yay! woo whoo, happy dance, fist pump, take that K-mart!) and began working on it the minute she went to bed that night!

I remembered to add one of my labels (I often forget to!)

It's finally finished and she took it to Kindy today ... I can't wait to hear all about nap time when I see her shiny, beaming, little face at school pick up.

The sun pillow is from K-mart, she still loves it and to be honest I do to!  

Sx

Quilt Stats
Size is 40" x 60"
Fabrics on front: main players are a mix of Paperie, Backyard Circus and Spotlight
Backing is from Spotlight
Quilting thread is Aurifil variegated 50wt #3660 (shades of pink)
Binding is Liberty

Linking up with Sew Cute Tuesday, Let's Be Social, Finish it Up Friday

This picture makes me happy

Liberty Pouches

An extra pouch never goes astray ... am I right?

I've been sewing up a few as Christmas gifts this year ... teachers, friends, family ... if you know me, then you're probably going to get a pouch!

Out of ALL of them though ... these little Liberty and Hanky Linen ones are my favourite.

They gave me the opportunity to play with metal zips for the first time.  I like the juxtaposition of the metal next to the delicate Liberty.

... but I had some trouble with those metal zips  ...

... no sewing over them, must go around them ...

Thank goodness the guild I attend (Perth Modern Quilt Guild) had a sewing day recently and I managed to seat myself next to a metal zip master - the zipper Gods were kind to me.  So, I'd like to take full credit for these, but I did have quite a few tips thrown my way!

Hanky Linen in Birch (thank you Craftproject) make up the majority of the outer case with a highlight strip of Liberty that I picked up from Luccello in Melbourne on our Winter holiday this year ... Love Melbs in Winter ... I finished them off with a simple running stitch using coordinating DMC threads, in the full 6 strands.  Bit of a bugger to thread on a needle, but I love the chunky look it gave ... again, toughening that Liberty up a bit along with the metal zips.

They are lined with a yellow dot fabric that I had originally picked as a quilt backing, but then changed my mind.  I don't like fabric hanging around not being used or having a purpose, so I was quite happy to pop those sunny little dots inside these pouches - they make me smile and I hope they make the recipients of these pouches smile too ... but if the sunny dots don't do the trick then perhaps the little tidbit of Liberty I've stashed inside will?

Happy Friday everyone :)

Serena xx

Linking up with TGIFF and Finish it Up Friday