my sajee finally has her own quilt, and she has our friend lili to thank for it. lili posted a photo of a cushion she was making using string blocks, and i thought it looked kind of great, so i had a go at it myself. it got kind of addictive, and this was the result:

i used heaps of scraps, and some carefully selected fat quarters, and i think it came together pretty well:

the backing is quite simple, to contrast with the super busy top:

and the blue contrasts nicely with the oranges and yellows:

but most importantly, it gets the tiny dog’s tick of approval:

i’m working on a pink and green one for myself now!
essie xoxox

p.s. if you want to have a try at a string quilt yourself, here are a couple of tutorials:
1. the sometimes crafter
2. p.s. i quilt

1// how cute is this little garland from addiebugs? better than any card.
2// artwork in romantic hues, by living on the move.
3// i love the idea of putting a valentine’s message in a handmade heart like this one (via sew, mamma sew!).
4// nothing says love like a pillow… with ‘love’ written on it… by alexandra ferguson.
5// these are the loveliest valentines cards i’ve seen - and the rest of the stationery at rifle paper co is just as beautiful.
6// a loving stamp, from paperfinger could take the hassle out of having to make multiple valentines! hee hee!
7// i found this cute pendant in my travels, and now i can’t remember where! rats!
8// this heart necklace has inches on one side and centimetres on the other - perfect for any kind of crafter! it’s from victoria mason jewellery.
9// i love this delicate little heart ring, from goldensilver on etsy.

this morning i woke up, fished my laptop out of my bedside table, and read through my blogroll as i always do a lazy sunday morning. among the many interesting and pretty things to be found there was the very exciting news that i had won the giveaway that the lovely and talented cassia ran last week. i got to choose TWO prints from her collections, and theses are the ones that sajee and i decided would look best in our house:

cassia’s photography is so pretty, delicate, and has an almost ethereal quality to it - i’ve admired it for a long time, and i’m so happy to have some come and live with me!

thanks cassia - you are awesome!

essie xoxoxo

it’s been a while since i did some hand-quilting, but i’m back at it, and remembering how much i enjoy it!

why, yes! i do keep my quilting pins in a tea cup!

we’re not that into australia day in this house. but the one nod we’ve made to our national holiday is baking and eating lamingtons!

sajee did the baking, but i was a big help with the eating!
essie xoxoxo

left to right, top to bottom:

1// luscious herbs, found via frolic.
2// i can never, ever get enough of the cuteness at little doodles.
3// kick arse shoes found via offbeat bride.
4// further evidence of my love of flowers in bottles and jars, this time from tiny happy.
5// hand embroidered brooch, from wonderwear.
6// ceramic butterflies made of vintage saucers, from lightly (i received two of these from my birthday from people who clearly know me very well!).
7// sweet tree fabric from karaku.
8// tea-themed artwork from sweet william.
9// where better to jot your ideas than this squirrel notebook from delphine press?
10// embroidery from tiny happy.
11// this photo just fills me with happiness - it’s from la miez’s flickr.

essie xoxoxo

the other day, my gf and i went to ikea to pick up a few bits and pieces for the house. we got some cool stuff, most of it practical (plates, curtains, etc), but some less practical and more pretty. like this frame, which we both thought was super cool:

it’s pretty large (59 x 85cm), and we weren’t quite sure what to do with it - we just knew we liked it! on monday i had a brain wave, and turned the frame into a badge board:

here’s how i did it:
1. removed the glass and backing and set them aside, then used some E.S.P. to prepare the plastic surface to take paint.
2. added an undercoat to help cover the black.
3. used two coats of pretty rose-pink paint (a sample pot from the hardware store was more than enough), to make the frame the colour i wanted.
4. took the backing for the frame and used it as a template to cut out a piece of fabric that went with the pinkness of the frame, making sure i left about 1.5 inches overhang for securing it in place.
5. cut two ovals of thick soft quilt batting (i used leftovers from old quilting projects - this was good for using those bits up!), this time with no overhang.
6. laid the fabric down face down on my table, centered the two layers of batting on top of it, then centered the frame backing over this.
7. used small map pins to secure the fabric in place. these were inserted on an angle so they would be secure and wouldn’t poke through to the other side (this is also why i didn’t just use a staple gun). the fabric was pulled firmly but not stretched outrageously tight.
8. i took the whole backing-batting-fabric piece, and placed it in the frame, completing the project.

it’s now hanging on the wall in our room, looking after our many, many, many badges for us, and allowing us to admire them even when we’re not wearing them! hurray!

this project was suuuuper easy, and i think the result is quite awesome - i hope you do too!

essie xoxoxoxox

p.s. you won’t need the glass that’s left over at the end of this project, so you should either store it carefully for if you ever want to turn your badge board back into a frame, or recycle it.

it’s not only my embroidery geekiness that’s showing (two new designs in two days! what is this madness?), but my internet geekiness too:

for those who don’t know what i’m on about, the urban dictionary defines “teal deer” as “a bastardization of ‘tl;dr’, which is a bastardization of ‘too long; didn’t read’…”.

this could be a cheeky gift to a particularly loquacious friend (if you think it can be given and received in fun, and not taken personally!), or just a fun and nerdy decoration for your home. mine is hanging among my fabric hoops in our living room.

the chart is below for your stitching pleasure. i used DMC 991 for mine, because i think it’s a lovely rich, vibrant teal.

may your geekiness be with you - enjoy!
essie xoxoxo

when i was ten years old my mum went on a holiday to holland to visit relatives with my oma. my aunty judith and uncle martin looked after me while mum was away, and while i stayed with them aunty jude taught me to cross stitch. she bought me my fist few skeins of DMC floss, my first piece of aida, and my first embroidery needles. i have loved to stitch ever since.

it’s somewhat surprising to me that i have never designed a cross stitch pattern before. i guess it’s one of those things that i have always been meaning to do and never quite gotten around to til now.

this is a very simple pattern for a small cross stitch, which you could frame, or do as i have done and make a card:

you will need:
- a small piece of 14 count aida
- some embroidery floss (i used DMC 962, which i think is a particularly nice pink)
- embroidery needle
- embroidery hoop (desirable but not essential)
- a soft pencil (2b is good)
- an eraser
- a stanley knife and cutting board
- a ruler
- two pieces of card in a colour that coordinates with your selected floss. one piece should measure 140mm x 215mm, the other 100mm x 135mm
- a matching envelope

(N.B. this guide assumes you know the basics of cross stitch - of you are a beginner and do not know how to cross stitch, you can find a very good guide with pictures *HERE*)

1. fold your 140mm x 215mm piece of card in half.
2. on the front of this folded card, center and draw a rectangle that is 100mm x 55mm.
3. using your stanley knife and cutting board, carefully cut this rectangle out, making a window in the front of your card (make sure you open your card out flat before cutting - you only want to cut this hole in the front!).
4. erase any pencil lines, then set aside.
5. place your aida in your embroidery hoop and stitch the following design:

the little tail on the apostrophe is not drawn in on this pattern - it is simply a diagonal stitch from top left to bottom right of the square below the body of the apostrophe. you should be able to see how i have done this in the photo below.

6. trim your aida so that the design is centered, and the full piece of aida is approx 95mm x 130mm.
7. center your cross stitch over the window in your card, and using strong crafting tape or glue, secure it in place.
8. take your piece of card measuring 100mm x 135mm and stick it to the inside of the card so that the back of your cross stitch is both covered up and supported.
9. write a message inside to someone you think is sweet, stick it in the envelope, and seal it with a kiss!

i hope you like this pattern!
essie xoxoxo

we’re all thinking about christmas gifts at the moment, but this little gift isn’t a yuletide one.
i recently managed to get a friend quite addicted to quilting. she has dived right in the deep end with a hexagon quilt, and she’s doing brilliantly. i feel that since i am responsible for this addiction, it’s only right that i give her some tools to help her along with it.

i designed these and made them up over the course of a few days.

my favourite part was embroidering the little stitchery details. i used cottage garden threads embroidery floss in “maple” and it was so lovely to work with.

it all fits very nicely in this bag, which should be easily stashed in a handbag.

i hope she likes it, and that you do to!
essie xoxo