Milkybeer Handmade turns 1 today!

Happy shop anniversary to me! One year ago today I opened Milkybeer Handmade on Etsy and haven't looked back. Thanks to everyone who has placed an order, favourited my items or my shop - you're awesome! So awesome, that I want to give you an extra special thank you...so, how does a sale sound? Use coupon code ANNIVERSARY10 at checkout until October 31 to save 10% on your order. Yay for coupon codes!

The Grasshopper

Have you ever had the fortune of sewing on one of these bad boys? It's an Elna 1 - more commonly known as the Grasshopper. My aunt has one (picked it up for a song at a thrift store, I believe) and she let me try it out a few weeks back.

What you can't see from this picture is that instead of a foot pedal like most of us are familiar with, to make this machine go, you have to press on a metal lever with your knee. Yes, not only were women of the post-war era expected to cook, clean, raise the kids and look pretty - they were also expected to be ultra-coordinated so that they could properly operate their sewing machines. I had a heck of time for the first little bit but eventually even I got the hang of it. I've asked my aunt to be on the lookout for another one for me!

Donating to a good cause

I just donated a few Milkybeer Handmade items to this weekend's 2nd Annual Music Share fundraiser event. Tickets are still available if anyone wants to attend. So happy to help out with a little handmade goodness!

Strangest thing in the sewing room: Knee pads

I actually asked for a pair for Christmas last year and love, love, love having them. A few weeks ago I sandwiched three quilts in a day and these were a real lifesaver after a few hours of crawling around on my aunt's hardwood floors. So, tell me, am I the only quilter who does this?

The Positively Patchwork quilt

I made up this quilt a little while ago for my sister-in-law after she asked for my help coming up with a gift for a good friend of hers who'd recently had a baby boy.

Now, truth be told, I'm not known for creating quilts that scream "BOY!" so this was actually a challenge for me. Obviously the jumping off point was this cute little froggy print. Little boys and frogs go hand in hand, don't they? Besides, who doesn't love such vibrant colours! All of the fabric is from my favourite little sewing spot - Spool of Thread.

Like all of my quilts, I created the design myself. I'm a sucker for simple patchwork, but I love how the careful arrangement of squares, colours and patterns can produce a much more intriguing finished project.

If you'd like to make your own Positively Patchwork baby quilt, the pattern is now available as a PDF in my shop. The pattern also includes the basic instructions on how to do my unique circular quilting pattern in case you've ever wanted to know how I do that.

Best use of scraps ever: memory game

A few weeks back a friend sent me a message on Facebook asking if I could make her this:

There was no explanation, no link, just this pretty photo. At first I thought it was a set of fancy felt coasters, but then I realized it was a memory game. See how some of the tiles are paired up and not all of them are face side up? Yeah...that was some brilliant detective work on my part. A quick search on Pinterest revealed that the photo was actually from this fabulous tutorial for Emily's Memory Game over on the purl bee. With instructions, of course I could make a set for my friend!

After tracking down some lovely wool felt from the sweet folks at Collage Collage, I dug right to the bottom of my scrap bin, pulled out my best fabrics and created my own version...

I wound up making two sets of 15 matching pairs which means I became very well acquainted with my rotary cutter, rulers and iron. I gotta say I loved working with felt for a change. Going to have to do more of these I think.

I'm so happy with the results and hopefully my friend will be too!

One word wednesday: haircut

Problem solved

We have a huge problem at my office - there is a distinct lack of forks and spoons in the lunchroom*. No one knows where they all go. Extras have been purchased on many occasion with great hope that they will stick around and be of some use to hungry workers looking to sit and enjoy a mid-day meal, but sadly, they've all gone missing in due time.

The obvious solution is to bring your own cutlery from home (and never let it out of your sight!) But, being the crafty girl that I am, I had to take it one step further and make this cute little cutlery pouch to keep my new office-only silverware in. The cutlery set is from MEC and the fabric was from my scrap pile. A little craftiness really can solve the world's problems!

*Strangely, we seem to have plenty of knives.