Wongys Wanderings

A few things I have made over the years...I hope you might find a spark of inspiration and motivation to make something yourself.   Somethings I just made as I went.  Like the needle books and iPod cases/pouches. Others are from free patterns or paid patterns or books I own.  Where possible I have included a link to the pattern/maker or my inspiration.  needle book with scraps and charm squares case/pouch for ipods rainbow clutch - pattern from book 'Handmade Style' by Anna Graham (Noodlehead)   button hair rings giant button paperclips t-shirt dresses and shirred sundress scrappy notebook holder scrappy notebook holder beaded bobby pins heart zip pouch appliqued truck onto t-shirt skirt with pockets scarf wheat or rice sacks monster knee (patch) appliqued t-shirts for my nephews tic tac toe bag  rainbow hexagon bowls planner pouch planner pouch log holder leather purse - free pattern at 'makesupply-leather' leather purse -  free pattern at 'makes...

I enjoy the inspiration from seeing other's work...and the motivation to make that it gives me.  I've followed this person for a while on facebook, but only just thought to look at her actual blog.  And what did I find?  A fantastic bias binding tutorial and an amazing idea to add interest to plainer fabric...of course I just had to try it for myself!   Here is my pink stitched bias binding.  I will of course now need to make a little quilt to use this bias binding on...and I have the perfect fabric (my colours here were chosen to coordinate of course!). The original idea is from Geta Grama where you can see a beautiful example with a rainbow of colours perfectly stitched ...don't look too closely at mine! lines drawn stitched in three colours sewn into parallelogram ironed and cut bias binding 

I have been wanting to make a small quilt in this design and never seemed to get around to it...so I made the time and put in the effort. Here she is. I did have to use my unpicker as I was carried away and sewed row 7 and 8 together at the wrong side.  Plus my fabric is directional (and I carefully pieced these this way) so I couldn't simply reverse the order of all rows  😕  oh well - it will make me check a second time next time I make it! The binding is a coordinating fabric.  This is a 56 square pattern and I've made the top and binding from 6 fat quarters.  It is a great way to get coordinating fabric - knowing it will all go well together.  The fabric range is Riley Blake's Scoot by Deanna Rutter and is from years ago.   It has gorgeous line drawings of different transport vehicles and then some prints to coordinate - like the trains, dots, helicopters and coloured vehicles.  There are also prints with words relating to transport and v...

This is my go-to gift for newborns.   It makes an ideal pram rug, floor mat for tummy time or a great tablecloth for your teddy bears picnic.   I tend to be a little casual with seam allowances once I am comfortable - as long as you use the same width all the time for the whole project, this pattern is very forgiving.   As a small quilt, this also doesn't use much backing fabric so I can use a fun coordinating print or contrast with something completely different.  I can select from any quilting fabric and I don't have to use a specific wide-back fabric where the choices are more limited.   I usually sew this with a charm pack as I know the fabric range will work together and I can just sew merrily along without a layout.  I usually halve the pile and turn one over so that I am getting random pairs together.   Now that I have learned how to make my own bias binding and just how little fabric it actually takes to make metres of ...

I am so pleased to have taken the time recently to learn how to make my own continuous bias binding.  This looks tricky, but I have read several sets of instructions and watched different videos.  I tried this, became over-confident, used my unpicker (everyone's favourite job) and tried again.  I can now make continuous bias binding using any fabric perfectly to match my project! This is a neat way to make continuous bias binding, and while your first attempt might send you bananas, I promise it will get easier.  🙂 You can use binding made from straight cuts of fabric; however, this will not curve around shapes (e.g. necklines or curved corners).  Bias binding has the additional ability to curve and provides a stronger folded edge as the fold sits on the cross-section or diagonal of the woven threads (and not with the grain of fabric).   This technique works with squares or rectangles of fabric and creates an amazing length of bias binding...and only...