{that's no moon}

i didn't make any christmas presents this year (last year) apart from one, i made a geeky pillow for my boyfriend! any star wars fans out there?? have you seen the new movie?? it's amazing!! anyway...

this pattern has been on my 'to-make' list for quite a while! the pattern is the patchwork death star by quirky granola girl! i have to say i was quite surprised at how many grey fabrics i actually had (25!) i really didn't think i had that many.

one thing that stopped me from making this was that the pattern was EPP (english paper pieced) and if you know me i am not a huge fan of hand sewing! so i used bond-a-web, cutting out 38 individual pieces in various shades of grey and ironing them onto a grey background. i then stuck the death star onto the black background and sketch stitched around a few of the pieces to add some death star detail :)  

i did a simple envelope back using polka-dots as its become an almost joke how much i love red and white polka dots! i also added a little accent of the maths print from elementary by sweetwater, as he's studying maths at uni i thought this was perfect!

it didn't feel complete, so a little bit of hand quilting around it and some 'handwritten' embroidery to add to the cuteness and it was done! i also had just enough of the text-y print left for binding which i think is just the perfect finishing touch!

i kinda wanted to keep it for myself, but i was good and he seemed to really like it, yay! so although i didn't make many handmade christmas presents i had lots of fun making this one!

rachael x

linking up with fabric tuesday and sew cute tuesday

{adventure}

hello! i am blowing the cobwebs off and welcoming in the new year! 2015 was a mixed year, with me moving away from home and over to derby to study illustration at university! :) so the last half of the year was spent meeting new people, moving into halls, learning how to cook and wash my own clothes, but i think i've got a good routine now! with all that happening there wasn't much sewing happening! here is a little collage of some of my favourite projects from last year:

i really enjoyed all my projects and im looking forward to finishing off my alphabet quilt this year, i think it might be a favourite! 

it has become a bit of a 'thing' to choose a word for the year and this year i have decided to follow and choose a word! my word for the year is ADVENTURE! i spent the last week of 2015 being a tourist around my hometown seeing all the sights and going on little adventures! 

being a tourist in your hometown is soo much fun! i choose 'adventure' as my word, because i want to leave my comfort zone and say 'yes' more, to be open to new opportunities!! so although it is a bit cliche, i really think 2016 will be my year :)

did you choose a word for the year??

soo i know it's a bit late but HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!! :)

racahel x