Kombi Van in a hoop

Here's my second embroidery project! Regular readers of this blog won't be surprised that it's a Kombi Van (in my favourite colour), as I am very fond of Kombi Vans and have made quite a few other items inspired by them - most notably the Kombi Van Sewing Machine Cover that I designed for Down Under Quilts in 2014.



To make this piece I used a photo I took in 2016, which is part of my Shutterstock portfolio:



I'm very happy with how it turned out, and can't wait to start on my next embroidery project. I'm not sure what it will be yet - I have so many ideas!

Sewing again: Kombi Van pencil case

Yesterday I realised that it had been more than a month since I last touched my sewing machine! I could clearly hear it calling out to me, and decided to whip up a quick project: this cute Kombi van pencil case, made with a funky home dec fabric that I bought last year (couldn't resist it of course!).



I've added the case to my Etsy shop and hope to take my place at the sewing machine again soon. I am trying to master Adobe Illustrator to use it for designing patchwork quilts, and have just created a design that I would like to create IRL... Stay tuned!



Meanwhile I am also still knitting (and watching the Olympics) - the baby blanket is progressing steadily; about one quarter is done now.

And what have you been up to these days?

Kombi Van calligram and fabric collection

May I present... my Kombi Van Kalligram!

I can hardly believe it, but it's been more than three years since I made my last calligrams (in February 2013, the seahorse, platypus, mouse and crocodile). I still get lots of visitors to this blog who are searching for 'calligram', so I hope you all like this one!



As long-time readers of this blog know, I love Kombi Vans (VW buses / campervans) and I can't believe I didn't think of making a Kombi Van Kalligram before! I uploaded the design to Spoonflower and had it printed in eight different colourways. The fabric sampler arrived today:



Apart from the Kalligrams I also added some hand-drawn Kombi Vans to my collection. I really like this one:



And this one:



Well, I like them all really!

I have made the whole Kombi Van collection available for sale as fabric, wallpaper and gift wrap. Now to make some fun stuff with the fabric!

Colouring in

Have you succumbed to the latest fad yet - colouring-in books for adults? I came across this book the other day and couldn't resist it: Fantastic Cities by Canadian artist Steve McDonald.



It's filled with gorgeous drawings of cities all over the world - Amsterdam, Melbourne, Paris, New York, Tokyo, you name it. There are also some mandalas created from the citiscapes. I can see myself spending quilte a few hours immersed in this book!



I've just finished a large quilt (will show it here soon) and as always after a big project I felt like making some small items. I had just sold a few pencil rolls to my first customer from Russia (!) so decided to make some new ones to add to my Etsy shop. One from this funky transport fabric:



And two from beautiful Aboriginal fabrics:





They would make a great gift for someone who loves colouring in!

2015 SAQA Benefit Auction

Just a reminder that SAQA's 2015 Benefit Auction starts tomorrow (on my birthday!) - you can see all the quilts that are for sale here and read how the Auction works here.



This is my contribution, Escape - it is part of Section 2.

Kombi Van Kolour Wheel

As you know, I love Kombi vans. I have made a Kombi Van sewing machine cover and a Kombi Van art quilt (and a Kombi Van pencil case), and I have also made photos of every Kombi van I came across in the last 2.5 years (when it was safe to do so, of course). Yesterday I finally had a chance to photograph a green Kombi - I had seen one a few times while driving but never been able to get a photo. Now I have one, and my Kombi Van Kolour Wheel is complete!

:-)

Escape

Yesterday I finished this little quilt - it's my contribution to the 2015 SAQA Benefit Auction.
You know I love Kombi vans - I just had to make an art quilt featuring one!

Wordless Wednesday

Kombi Van Sewing Machine Cover

Update (February 2016): the pattern for this cover is now available in my pattern store on Etsy!



I am very fond of Kombi Vans (in Holland they are called VW buses), and the cover we did for Down Under Quilts 161 last year (you can see it here, scroll down a little) inspired me to make a Kombi Van cover for my sewing machine. It is a project in issue 165, which goes on sale tomorrow, so I can finally share it! (I showed a sneak peek here and here)



In Australia the magazine is sold in newsagents; if you're overseas you can buy it through this website.



Here is the cover on my machine in my sewing room - it makes me smile every time I enter the room!

Snakes and Ladders Quilt

Suddenly realised that I hadn't shown this quilt here yet! I made it for the kids' issue of Down Under Quilts. Of course my boys had to try it out first:



They approved of it, and it ended up on the cover, with their bears and tiger! The boys are very proud :-).



(Isn't that pink Kombi Van adorable??)

The quilt now lives in Kenya, where the boys' little cousins are having lots of fun with it. That's what we do it for, isn't it?