A few weeks back a good friend had an operation on her foot as was going to be housebound for a while. I wanted to gather up some of her favourite vegan treats as a post-op gift, so of course I needed a gift bag to accommodate them! I've had a few sample packs of […]
Another handmade birthday gift handed over this week was my take on Art Gallery Fabrics free Dahlia Bag pattern. I made a few changes to the original pattern, firstly by English Paper Piecing the hexagons together by hand, rather than machine piecing them using the Y seam method. These turquoise prints are my friend's favourite […]
A very special girl turned 6 this week! She is a book worm and excellent at reading. So I made her a monogrammed book bag, which included a few books and another little surprise! I created the 'C' by using the porthole patchwork technique (there's a free tutorial here). Once the porthole 'C' was created […]
The Crafty Monkies VIP Member Club delivers exclusive video content featuring techniques, projects, interviews and webinars with a different craft expert each month. I will be the featured crafter for July, and you will receive over 2 hours of pre-recorded video content on how to repurpose textiles to make my Messenger Bag. Denim is a […]
Hi everyone! I hope you are getting some beautiful sunny weather in your corner of the world. I haven't been doing much sewing lately as I'm trying to sell my house and find somewhere to live closer to my parents. But I did enjoy a lovely afternoon sewing with a friend recently (now that we're […]
This week in our Instagram Pattern Designer's collaboration for March we have been making one of my patterns. I first designed this bag several years ago for a summer issue of Quilt Now magazine. It is a carry-all type bag for the many toiletries and sun creams you take away on holiday (Holiday? What's that?!) […]
February is the month of love, and no better way to celebrate than with a free patchwork heart tutorial! I first created a placemat size Log Cabin Heart a few years ago for Patchwork & Quilting Magazine, when they asked their contributors to design a mini quilt that represented 3 favourite things. For me it […]
To enter my 10 year blogiversary giveaway click here. Happy New Year everyone!! I love new year, so much more than Christmas. It's a turning of the page, a new start, fresh hope, renewed motivations and goal setting! Bringing in this new year definitely feels a lot different from previous years, but positivity and hopefulness […]
I can't quite believe it's Christmas Eve and another Christmas celebration is upon us! I'm sure, like for us, Christmas will look and feel a little different this year. But I hope you can still find some light in the darkness and keep your spirits and creativity going through this festive season. Every Christmas I […]
I recently made a load of Flying Geese from some Tilda scraps. These are going to be borders in a quilt I'm currently working on. Because I was working from scraps, I couldn't use the 'No Waste' method to make all of the geese. When making one 'goose' at a time, you trim […]
I love seeing the same pattern being made in a wide range of fabrics and styles! My Betty Bag is growing in popularity and I want to show you some stunning finishes! Aren't they fabulous! I just love how stylishly practical they are, ready for some serious use about town! And […]
We are delighted to announce our next online class: The Betty Bag is a slimline purse designed for holding your essentials without creating a bulky bag! Whether you are travelling, out for the evening or just want a hands free shopping experience, the Betty Bag will perfectly meet your needs. […]
It's our final week of my Instagram Designers Collaboration and we are making Stuart's Japanese Rice Bag. Stuart has a YoutTube channel with lots of well explained and easy to make projects. The project he chose for us to make is his sweet Japanese Rice Bag, and is one of his […]
I'm delighted to announce that our Applique Hearts Boxy Bag online class is now available for general sale. 25 of my regular ladies have had lots of fun making the bag the past 4 weeks, and the results are amazing!! Here are a few of their photos. Aren't they beautiful! […]
To celebrate the release of our Tilda Drawstring Bag tutorial and kits, we are giving one away! Not only will you receive everything you need to make our drawstring bag, fully pre-cut, but we are also throwing in a half metre of Retro 30's Apples & Strawberries (Green) by Lecien and a spool […]
If you are a regular here, you may remember I made a few linen drawstring bags in my spare time, for friends who were working hard during the pandemic. Well I'm happy to announce that I have filmed a free tutorial on how to make these cute bags, and it is now available […]
The last of my recent run on gift making is this plush velvet tote bag for my youngest daughter. She requested an everyday sizeable, soft tote bag, especially when she's too-ing and fro-ing to lectures at Uni. Now this girl of mine is super tactile! I gave her a choice between […]
I've been working on a few gifts lately, and now that one has been received I can show you it here. This bag was made as a special thank you to a lovely lady who enjoys repurposing textiles as much as I do! I had a few relaxing evenings making up […]
We are still very much in lockdown here, so 'teaching' has had to look very different for me. Aside from my free video tutorials on YouTube, I trialled an online class last month with my ladies - the Causeway Hexie Cushion. Feedback from the ladies was really positive and I'm looking forward to […]
Hello there! I've had a little extra time on my hands the past 2 days (that's in between long lie-ins, short walks and afternoon reading in my sunny garden)! I had a few leftover pieces of Tilda strips from my last free video tutorial project and thought I'd put them to good use. […]
