Liberty Girls Decor

Instagram is a wonderland for mums that love buying handmade. I'm a mum that makes handmade dolls, and therefore loves and appreciates the work involved in creating unique pieces. This picture is a perfect example. I absolutely love this Liberty 'Betsy' print, and when I discovered this pastel colourway (via Ava and Neve) - I went on a bit of a spending spree. My first job was to make Isla a custom gold-accent Bunny Doll, wearing that silky soft Liberty fabric. I asked Kira from Blooms Butterflies Doll Studio to make that stunning Liberty Doll Face Purse, customised in the same fabric with matching hair bows instead of flowers. And I asked Felicity at Little Boys Blue to make me a custom Liberty 'Love' Banner. I desperately want to make Isla a new quilt... buuuut I only just made her the Unicornia Quilt (sigh... gone are the days when I can make whatever I want without argument ;P).

Also shown on this gorgeous shelf (from Pretty In Pine), is two sweet Pom Pom Princesses from Love Aria Rose. The sleep eyes banner is from Bek Halliday, and the Gold Paper Flower is from Mae-Saye Designs.

For more pics and direct links to products, follow me on Instagram via @rhapsodyandthread or @rhapsodyland

xxTabatha

Learning Courthouse Steps Via Jen Kingwells Quilt Lovely Book - In Liberty Of Course

The latest quilting book "Quilt Lovely" by the incredibly talented Jen Kingwell is nothing short of amazing. I still find myself quite intimidated by most quilting blocks - until I've tackled and mastered them (after much cursing and usually two bottles of wine).

 

I couldn't resist learning the Courthouse Steps Block through this gorgeous heart block. The pattern in the book actually calls for a bunch of blocks to make that very sweet cushion as seen below. I doubt I'll complete the entire project... I wish I had/made more time for personal projects. My heart is actually set on creating a hoop wall of newly learned blocks... Fingers crossed I can pull it off. I'm certain there will be plenty more Jen Kingwell blocks to learn and proudly display!!

 

So here's a look at the inspiration and Liberty scraps I want to use. Oh and I chose the Liberty print Travelling Threads as my 'neutral/low volume' print - which isn't exactly what Jen means by low volume... but I wanted to use Liberty and this was the best I could find in my stash.

So I found the pattern quite easy to follow. The only trouble I found was working out the order in which the cut pieces had to be arranged as this is not explained. I know that more experienced quilters would work this out very easily. But as a novice, I had to do a bit of deducing and scribbling on my book. I kind of pieced them together the way I thought they would go - as you can see below! I balanced the prints as best I could. In hindsight, I wish I hadn't included the yellow Kayoko print as it draws the eye too much in the finished block - but I found it hard to resist that gorgeous yellow.

I laid them out in the order to sew - that made the most sense to me. Well it kind of made sense, in the sense that I had to recheck every step 5 times to make sure I was doing it right!

And this is how my little blocks worked out. At the time I couldn't envision the end result, but they pieced together easily once I got my rhythm.

Sewn together, amazing!

Overall, I really enjoyed it! I find that I get really stressed when I'm learning a new technique and don't just relax and enjoy the time. I worry that I'm making mistakes and hate not knowing how it's going to work. I think that's because I'm a step-by-step person. I can't read a pattern or recipe and just figure it out. Maybe in time, with practice, learning, experience, and wisdom, that relaxed nature might develop.

 

Next up, I want to learn Jen Kingwell's Pinwheel Block. Can't wait!!

#inlibertyofcourse #libertyprint #libertyfabric #travellingthreads #betsy #kayoko #john #gemma #tatum #jenkingwell #jenkingwelldesigns #courthousesteps #quiltlovely #patchwork #rhapsodyandthread

 

Liberty Fabric Unicorn Wall Decal

The welcoming party

In keeping with Isla's unicorn obsession, I thought I would attempt to make a wall decal from Liberty Fabric! And it worked, hooray!! It's not a traditional moveable vinyl decal like the huge range available these days. But it's a unicorn and it stuck on the wall, and it's perfect really so no complaints.

 

Isla named her Rosetta and sings to her at night. How gorgeous is that?!

Here are some pictures of her talking to her and playing on her bed with almost every single teddy she could get her hands on.

Happy days.

 

My Desk - It's Time For A Change

I think it's important to freshen up your workspace regularly.

For the last few months, I've been working on Liberty Log Cabin Cushions, and my desk (and floor) have become covered in Liberty of all shapes and sizes. Not that I'm complaining, because how beautiful is this mess!?!

Liberty fabric stash

 

I completed six and wanted to finish them completely before moving on to more.

So I organised my scraps into colours in these simple pots from IKEA Perth.

 

Liberty fabric stash

Liberty fabric stash

 

I totally flipped my desk around to face the wall (and tv). Mostly so that the light from the window shines on my desk. I hate working in the dark and it's more of a problem in the winter months. It's also very difficult to take clear pictures. So fingers crossed this move works. Oh and I'm thrilled to be able to utilise the wall to display all my favourite things.

 

I hung a massive hoop with gorgeous new Liberty 'Oxford' print.

Underneath I hung my first and fave Liberty Bow Garland in 'John' print.

The circus print is one I pinched from a kids puzzle box. I just love anything circus.

I folded and piled up my Liberty all neat and tidy. Should be interesting to see how long it stays like that.

I added my two favourite prints by Tall Blank Wall - both mounts framed in Liberty 'Strawberry Thief' and 'Garden Wonderland'. More frames available here in my Etsy shop.

 

The 'Love' Banner is from Captain Co. Tasmania.

The Felt Ball Garland is from Little Rosie and Me.

I just love handmade.

 

The cleanest my desk will ever look from this day forward

Rhapsody and Thread

 

Now it's time to finish these Liberty Log Cabin Cushions.

 

Liberty Log Cabin Cushion Fronts

Liberty Picture Frame

Liberty 'Garden Wonderland' Picture Mount (Rhapsody and Thread) surrounding First Think Print (Tall Blank Wall)

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of the very talented Claire at Tall Blank Wall.

Her prints are both inspiring and stylish.

 

This is one I bought myself, to have on my desk as a reminder to believe in myself. And I couldn't resist framing it in this gorgeously bright and fun Liberty Art Fabric print 'Garden Wonderland'.

 

I asked Isla to repeat after me: "You must always believe in your yourself".

 

My hope is that she never forgets xx

 

Operation: Spoil Mum For Mothers Day

 

This is a look back at all the treats I made mum for Mothers Day.

 

Of course Liberty was involved, with gusto!! I even tracked down coffee mugs from Kitchenware Direct because they have the most beautiful Strawberry Thief print on it. I know it's a William Morris print, but it's also a Liberty Art Fabric print - and one of our favourites. See below.

 

 

I also wanted to make something new for mum for Mothers Day. She has seen the picture mounts and the cushions that I make. And she loves Betsy print - so I made her a cushion in pink Betsy print. I also made her a Liberty Picture Mount in teal Betsy. I'll show you below.

 

But I wanted to make something different, something she didn't already have. So I searched fabric basket tutorials and came across this sweet little Gathered Basket pattern on A Spoonful Of Sugar Designs. The pattern was fun and easy to follow. I made this sample below for myself first to check the size and simplicity of the pattern. I chose Liberty print Gallymoggers in pink for the outside, and Garden Wonderland for the inside. I chose them because they match the candy stripe ribbon that I've been saving for yeeeeeears!

 

 

So perfect, I just had to make more! So I decided on two large and one small. I picked Betsy prints for the insides and coordinating colours/prints for the outsides.

 

 

Voila!

 

 

 

Then I was hooked! I had to go bigger! So I searched for "buckets" and came across this great Fabric Buckets Tutorial on Apartment Apothecary. Mum and I actually worked on these together. She created this Liberty Strawberry Thief bucket (not sure of the details for the overhang fabric) and I made one out of my treasured Liberty Marina Seaflower print with Liberty Ciara fabric overhang. The tutorial was easy to follow and didn't take long at all. I think it took longer to decide on which Liberty prints to use! LOL

 

 

Here's a shot of the Betsy Liberty Picture Mount I made mum, to frame this beautiful watercolour print I found on Etsy via TeaDesigns1. The quote from movie The Help have always, and will always, be meaningful.

 

 

So a happy Liberty-filled Mothers Day bundle for mum!

 

My Mothers Day gift for mum 2015

 

And an extra-special Mothers Day bundle for me. Enough Liberty to make me want to squeal. But even more magical is that little glass bottle of sand that my baby girl made at school. What a beautiful surprise it was to pick her up at school and see the look of excitement on her face. That was the best gift I received this year.

 

My mothers day bundle 2015

 

A Bubba Quilt For A Beautiful Baby Girl

I couldn't wait to give this gorgeous little quilt to my beautiful friend at her baby shower today! I was itching to show her pictures as I was making it - to make sure the colours would match the nursery - and from what I saw of other gifts she recieved, the colours match perfectly. Phew!!!

Here's how I went:

Fabric piles cut and ready to be laid out

Laid out and ready for sewing

Quilt top sewn together and looking so beautiful

Finished view of the top

Finished view of the bottom

Rolled and ready for wrapping

Wrapped and ready for giving xx

 

A Beautiful Little Quilt For A Beautiful Little Boy

This was the first quilt I made from start to finish all by myself, and I couldn't be happier. A lovely friend of mine is expecting a beautiful baby boy in November and I wanted to make her something special for her baby shower.

As it was my first attempt, I kept to the basic patchwork squares and mixed a combination of three solid colours with three patterned fabrics. My inspiration was this Liberty of London Amelia Star print that we had left over from Logan's baby bag.

Amelia Star print on tana lawn by Liberty of London

There aren't a lot of great fabric stores in Perth, but I thought I'd try my luck at the local Textile Traders in Morley - and jackpot! I found the most perfect stripe by Alexander Henry. It's called Ric*Rac and comes in a bunch of colourways, with this bright and funky print being my favourite.

Fabric stack ready for cutting

The circles print is an unknown designer - I bought it in Cairns a couple of years ago. And the solids are 100% Homespun Cotton from Carols of Midland. I love how bright and fun the colours are.

It was so fun to work on this beautiful little quilt. Now all it needs is a chubby squeaking little bundle rolling around on it!

 

Liberty Log Cabin Hoop Art

I'm loving this little hoop we made!! It wasn't planned and I think that makes it even more special. Last week, when mum was making her Liberty Log Cabin Pincushion, I was curious to see how the mini-quilt top piece would look in a hoop.

Log Cabin is a style of quilting, for those who aren't familiar with it, whereby strips of fabric represent 'logs' surrounding a centre square. This square can be red, symbolising the hearth of home, or yellow, symbolising the glow of a candle or light in the window. Ours aren't as traditional because we wanted to make the most of a heap of Liberty scraps we'd been saving up for a small project. And this was ideal!

So after mum made the top piece for her pincushion, I pinched it to test it out - and here's how it looked:

Fantastic right? So I asked her to make me one for a little hoop. I picked a bunch of my favourite Liberty's:

And it didn't take long at all. Mum is in love with log cabin mini-quilts, so she was happy to make one for me.

And here's how it looks in a hoop:

Thanks mum x