Just sewing away obsessively…….

Posted on November 2, 2018 by Trixie Lixie

I love sharing my latest makes, but I am a bit of a sewing obsessive, as soon as I finish something I start something new! I am constantly thinking about what I am going to make next! So let me show you what I have been making …………

These are the Sew me something Portia trousers, the fabric is a super soft cotton/linen blend that drapes beautifully. I struggled a bit with the zip on these only to realise that I hadn’t cut out enough facings! Great views of Barrybados in the background! I am also wearing my me made Colette Anise jacket and a huge piece of Liberty silk as a scarf!!

Another recent make is my Deer and Doe Myosotis dress, very comfortable, a great dress for big lunches! I would probably go down a size if I make it again as it is very generous. The fabric is a lush cotton lawn by Lady McElroy available here

I have recently finished a couple of Tilly & the Buttons Cleo pinafores, this one is mine. I made it slightly longer and put the split at the back. I regretted not inserting pockets, although I have been persuaded that front patch pockets will work so watch this space. The denim has a slight stretch so it is really comfortable. I also made a Cleo for my sister, I will try & get a photo of us together in them!

I am also doing a bit of mending after obsessively looking at Japanese mending techniques on Pinterest 😂 does anyone else hate throwing things away! I just love this Sashiko technique!

Anyway, I have got lots of sewing to be getting on with (Tamarack jacket) so I’m off to get on with it!

Hot weather sewing, and what to wear during a heatwave!

Posted on July 15, 2018 by Trixie Lixie

I like to sew whatever the weather, I also like to sit in the garden when it is sunny so I usually have some embroidery on the go, however this summer I have been inspired to do a bit of quilting and I am doing it by hand! It is a very portable project so I carry it around in my bag and get it out whenever I get the opportunity.

Firstly a bit about my inspiration; My Mum and I paid a visit to Bath’ The Victoria Gallery’ to be precise, to see an awe inspiring display of Kaffe Fasset quilts, cushions and samplers. Absolutely gorgeous! Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take photo’s so here is a picture of the poster;

5c1d5078-6f27-470d-828a-57e9d54bad19

I really recommend this exhibition, not just for the fantastic Kaffe Fassett display but also the amazing Candace Bahouth ceramics, they are stunning – if you don’t know her work you need to google it right now!

As we were walking around I said to Mum, I should’ve worn one of my Kaffe Fassett garments, she laughed and pointed out what was on the dress that I was wearing! KF appliqued flowers of course! We have a huge range of KF fabrics in the shop and on our Big Blooms fabric website . Not only was I wearing one of my super cool for summer Washi dresses, Mum was wearing a Barcelona skirt that I made for her!

Sooo……. back to the summer project, I think it is going to be a yoga mat, well that is the plan but who knows?

Talking of super cool summer clothing, the Washi dress is currently my absolute favourite, so far I have made 3 and my fabric of choice is cotton lawn so they are nice and thin to keep me cool and the drape is lovely. I seem to be making my way through all the Liberty tana lawn that we have in the shop at the moment, the green one is my latest make, the bicycle print one I made last summer. They are being rotated almost daily at the moment as it is very hot in work!

What summer sewing are you doing at the moment and what is your favourite outfit to wear during the hot, hot weather?

Baby Quilts

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Trixie Lixie

I think a quilt makes a really great gift for a new-born baby and I have made quite a few for various niece’s and nephews. The latest one is for a beautiful baby girl who was born last week, Grace Addison, what lovely names for my newest niece!

The quilt I have made for Grace is quite large so that it fits her cot, the colours are to match the decor in her bedroom. The fabric I used is from the Gutermann Ring a Roses, French Cottage range.

I used quite large squares of fabric (25cm x 25cm) and I used a walking foot on my sewing machine to stitch in the ditch. We have got some fabulous new wadding in the shop, its beautifully soft and not too thick, I used some of our Klona plain fabric for the back and a very pretty spotty bias binding for the edges.

I started finishing the binding using pins but they kept pricking me! So I treated myself to a pack of Quilters Holding clips and they are great!

Here is the beautiful baby Grace in her first modeling role for Trixie Lixie!

New Moda quilting pre-cuts now in stock

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Trixie Lixie

We took delivery of some awesome Moda Jelly Rolls and Charm Packs this week.

We’ve always liked ZenChic’s style. Her new signature collection ‘For You‘ has splashes of bright colours popping from calm lighter backgrounds.

‘Hello Darling‘ is Bonnie and Camille’s cheeriest collection yet, with plenty of beautiful florals, dots, bias stripes and vintage ribbon.

With the ‘Neco‘ collection, Momo is stlll designing fantasy worlds inhabited by cute cats and hedgehogs.

Bunny Hill Design’s ‘Kindred Spirit’ collection was designed as a celebration of life and a testament to women who have fought Breast Cancer. This gorgeous collection has plenty of pinks, as it should.

Typical design by Me and My Sister, ‘Hi De Ho‘ features bright and cheerful colours that have a real retro feel featuring flowers, dragonflies and stripes.

Designed by April Rosenthal, ‘Meadowbloom‘ was designed to be happy, and springy, and all the beautiful vibrant colours that remind us of a huge field of wildflowers.

Colourful, bold and contemporary, these pre-cuts would bless any quilting or crafting project.

They are not really for Christmas makes, but I think I’m going to buy myself a couple as Christmas presents.

Pinterest inspiration for Moda Winterberry

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Trixie Lixie

Maybe you are thinking that now might be the time to start thinking about some seasonal crafting ideas. Moda Winterberry fabric is a brilliant choice.

We created a Pinterest board to give you a starting point and you can find it here. Or just pop to the website Winterberry fabric page or have a look at our nice Winterberry charm packs.

Rocket Age Quilt

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Trixie Lixie

5 weeks ago my nephew and his girl friend had a beautiful baby boy, his name is Zeke and he is adorable! I wanted to make him something special so I used some of our Riley Blake Rocket Age fabric to make a cot quilt.

It turned out beautifully and they were delighted with it, I hope it becomes a family heirloom

And here he is at 5 weeks, such a gorgeous baby!

And in case anyone fancy’s making their own Rocket Age Quilt we have made up some fat quarter packs especially!

Valentines makes

Posted on January 18, 2014 by Trixie Lixie

We have got some great fabric, charm packs, buttons and ribbons for Valentines Makes on the website. My favorite is the Surrounded by Love Fabric panel from Moda.

One panel costs £6.75, you can make all sorts of things with it. The squares will make lovely little cushions or you could frame them, or cut them up to make cards. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them! It is my niece Isobels 9th birthday tomorrow so I decided to use 2 panels and make her a quilt. It was so quick and easy to do!

It’s not quite single bed size as I only used 2 panels, I quite like the cute size of it, I used a plain red fabric for the back and red bias binding for the edges, It only took just under a metre of fabric and wadding.

I hand stitched one of the lovely labels to the back to complete the gorgeousness!

I think my niece is going to be delighted! I can’t wait to give it to her!!

Happy Sewing!

Moda Candy small basket

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Trixie Lixie

Today I thought I would have a go at one of the projects in the Moda Candy book that we are giving away FREE with every order over £30 at Trixie Lixie while stocks last (so grab one now!)

I used the Odds & Ends candy pack for my version of the small basket

You need 16 squares, which you sew together into 4 strips of 4, press the seams & then join the 4 strips to make a Square. Attach a piece of fusible fabric to the back.

Layer the squares and the lining fabric right sides together and sew around the edge leaving an opening so that it can be turned

I used Lime Green Leafy stripe from the moda range for my lining, which I made the base of my basket. Turn right way around then stitch the corner squares on the seam lines

Flatten the corners and top stitch all around the top edge to hold them in place.

Monday makes – Lap Quilt

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Trixie Lixie

Here is my first Monday make for 2013, although I actually made it before Christmas and gave it to my Mum! Anyway I haven’t had chance to blog about it until now so here it is, a very simple lap quilt made using a “Sew Mama Sew” charm pack from Moda, available from Trixie Lixie

First of all I stitched together 5 squares to form a strip, there are 40 squares in a pack so I made 8 strips, they are pre-prepared at the edges so you don’t have to worry about finishing the sides just press the seams flat.

Next I joined the strips together to make one large piece, matching the squares up, and then ironing the seams flat again.

The next step is to make a sandwich using a piece of wadding cut to size and a piece of fabric for the back of the quilt, have the quilt right side up, wadding in the middle and then the backing fabric right side facing out, I used a piece of black linen for the back of my quilt so it didn’t have a right side or a wrong side.

I used safety pins to hold it all together so that I could do the quilting, I am still learning how to quilt so I just did straight lines along all the seams so that all the squares went nice and puffy. Also I started in the middle as last time I did this I started at the edges and met in the middle and it did not work well at all! This is how it looked from the back (a little bit wobbly!) It looks a bit grey but that was just the flash on my camera.

Here I am trying to follow the seams in a straight line!

When all the quilting was done I used some red bias binding around the edge to neaten it all off.

I am really pleased with the way it turned out, think I might be getting addicted to quilting, these charm packs are so easy to use, and my last attempt at quilting with a jelly roll was quite successful too so I might try one of the new Moda candy packs for my next Monday make. They were featured in my last post and if you spend over £30 on the website you can get a free copy of the project book that I am going to use.

Thanks for reading, happy sewing!

Moda Candy

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Trixie Lixie

We have just had these gorgeous quilting packs in from Moda, they are called candy packs and they are ‘Oh Sew Sweet’ buy them here Trixie Lixie

42 delicious 2.5″ squares in every pack

We have 10 different packs for you to choose from £4.50 each

We also have a fantastic recipe book with 18 different projects, just in case you don’t know what to do with them! Its £5.00 or we are giving them away free if you spend over £30 on the website during January.