The beautiful Merchant & Mills Dress Shirt pattern in tissue format is one of my favourite things. I learned about Merchant & Mills from a creative friend in the UK. They are an independant company situated in Staunton-on-Wye, and although they've only been in business since 2010, their clothing patterns have spread quickly in North America through Pinterest and word of mouth.
Working on a wee crib quilt in these pretty shades of yellow and pink. I know, it's a little on the sweet side but I couldn't resist. I was going to do something very modern next but I found a really good tutorial here for this hourglass pattern. It has been very quick to cut, sew and assemble, at least so far. I am using a combination of old scraps and some new fabric. Now I just have to wait for the batting to get here to finish it.
Hand made presents are the best. And while I am not the greatest seamstress, I love making things for my friends and family. I think most people love getting something that was hand crafted. I made this rather bright hat for my friend Anne's birthday. She was about to leave for a sunshine holiday (what a good idea!) and I thought it would be good to toss in a suitcase.
I suggested occasional pillows for this Mark Hordyszynski fabric, Beaded Colorband. The colours and suggestion of handwork sparked a few ideas but this is the one I liked best. So I got to work and here they are. I have a plain grey sofa in my living room and some very colourful art. The pillows do a great job bringing the art into the room. This Michael Miller fabric was beautiful to work with, they have a very tight smooth finish. I put a zipper in the back because I have fabric ADD and will need to change these again in no time. The pillow forms are old pillows that used to sit on top of my bed. Somehow they escaped the my consuming home purge last year and I'm glad, they're a good shape for the sofa and don't need a lot of fabric.
