A mat and some strawberries

We have been a sick household this last week, all four of us have had this annoying cold. My sewing room has not progressed much as a result. I am getting quite impatient for my own space, so to satisfy that need to some degree I joined a sew-along run by Ros from Sew Delicious, and made a quilted mat for my sewing machine. One little step closer to my dream sewing space.



I used Fig Tree fabrics, except one square which is Lecien (the square with the embroidery on it). The backing fabric is tiny little white dots on beige. You know me, any excuse to add a little hand embroidery, so I stitched on some sewing icons. I pieced my quilt top by butting the seams, and kept the quilting simple - just straight lines on either side of the seam using my presser foot as the guide.

I was a little petrified about making my own binding and machine stitching it, but it was easier than I thought it would be.



For the binding I used Sew Delicious' tutorial, and also these two other tutorials have been very helpful (as I am one of those people who can't possibly try something new until I have read 17 tutorials on the subject first). Diary of a Quilter's binding tutorial was great for the mitreing of corners, and Red Pepper Quilts' tutorial shows you how to make a continuous cross-grain binding (with diagonal seams) and how to machine stitch it.

It's not too late to join the sew-along, it consists of a tutorial in three parts and only takes a couple of hours. It's suitable for beginner quilters with clear photos and instructions, and quite a simple project overall (especially if you use shop-bought bias binding). Ros also has a fantastic tutorial to make a sewing machine cover - I simply NEED to make one to match my new mat soon.



Did you spot the strawberries? All my favourite bloggers have been making them recently - I simply had to join in (see the ones made by Amy from Nana Company, Kristyne from Pretty By Hand, and Sandra from Cherry Heart here, here and here). They are so, well, me, and wonderfully satisfying (and quick) to make. I never seem to have a pincushion nearby when I need one, so these will be spread all over my working space.

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I don't think I will be able to stop making them now. I finally found a great use for scraps of my favourite fabrics (that I can't bring myself to discard). They can be immortalised in pincushion form. So I will probably end up with a collection of hundreds of them!