iPad holder tutorial

If you ever have need of an iPad holder to attach to a cot then below is how I made it. It only took a few hours and I'm really slow!

The best bit was going through my stash and choosing fabric. I couldn't decide what combination to use. I spent ages looking at combinations. It was really nice. I chose the top right combination in the end which is

1. Trefle by Kokka Forest Friends, Girl and Bear Picking Apples. This is my outside fabric
2. Kei Honeycomb Dots in - Blue. This is my intside fabric
3. Windham Fabrics McCalls Dots - Green. This is my binding.

You need:
A. 2 x Main panel 10 1/2" x 8 1/2" from fabrics 1 & 2
B. 2 x Pocket panel 10 1/2" x 5 1/2" from fabrics 1 & 2 
C. 4 x 10 1/2" x 2" Straps from fabrics 1 & 2 Plus iron on interfacing for each shape cut 1/2" smaller
D. 1 x 10 1/2" x 1 1/2" from fabric 3

I ironed the interfacing onto the wrong side of all the big blue dotty inside fabric leaving approx 1/4 gap all the way round. It doesn't have to be that accurate. It just makes your seams a bit less bulky. You could do it same size if you wanted.

The pocket Take both parts of your C shape which form the pocket and sew right sides together along one long edge. This is going to be the top of your pocket so make sure your fabric is the way up you want it. Iron seams flat.

Press flat your binding in half lengthwise and sew one wrong side edge to the pocket seam. Then press the other edge 1/4" in and fold your fabric over the top of the pocket. You should see the middle of the fabric becomes the edge of the binding and the 1/4" folds in so you have a nice neat edge to the fabric.

I then turn the whole thing over so the sewn edge is facing upright and sew along the edge of the binding making sure that the edge underneath is larger so the needle is bound to pierce it. it's easy to show in pictures.

Then sew 2 straps from shape C leaving a short edge gap so I can turn them right side out. Once you have done that I attached velcro (I can't do button holes). I measured the bars of the cot to work out where to place the velcro but it's roughly at the top seam and 1" from the bottom. 1/4" at the bottom you will lose when you sew the straps into the main body.

With all the elements done, you then construct your sandwich. 1st you place the backing A fabric right side up, then you place the pocket on top the way you want it to look at the end, so I want the bears facing front and the dots inside the pocket. Then you pin your straps so they meet the seam at the top part of the main (A) fabric panel. I put them 1/4" to 1/2" in from the edge so I don't sew over them when I sew all round. Then lastly I place my main fabric for panel A with the right side facing in. Then I start sewing 1/4 of the way towards the end of the longest edge of the panel without the straps. I do a few backwards and forwards stitches as I am going to pull this seam when I turn the whole thing inside out. I go round the entire shape taking my time with the bulky straps until I am 1/4 way in from the long edge I started on. This should give me 1/2 of the length in which to turn the whole thing inside out. Again I do backwards stitching at the end to make the seam strong.

Here's the gap I have left. I turn everything the right way round and press it all flat. I take care to press the seam here so I can then run the sewing machine along the whole line near the edge.


Then to finish off I bring all my threads to one side and knot them. Then with a big needle, I thread the ends back into the fabric and cut them off.


Done!

iPad holder

Penelope is growing. She is also waking in the night but self-soothing. Great! But. She moves. Since day one we have placed an iPad or iPhone at the top of the cot so we can play her low level white noise. Oh how she loves the sound of a loud washing machine. It used to have the power to stop her colic scream. When she was first born it worked a treat and to be honest we've just kept it going as it masks the sounds of us creaking the floorboards when we go past her room. She's getting a lot better at sleeping through sounds now but she is also waking more with teething pain. So I decided now was not the time to wean her off her sound. But she can move up the cot now and can get perilously close to the iPad. So I decided to make a holder for it so we hang it vertically inside the cot.

I am not sure if anyone would have need of this save me, but I enjoyed making it! It hangs off both our cot and our Babybay crib.

I made it so the iPad speaker wasn't muffled. I might post up a pattern for it, even though I am sure no one really needs one!

Cardigan Buttons

I have finished the cardigan! I blocked it last night which basically involved stretching it this way and that gently to even out the stitches, then wetting it through with a bit of wool wash detergent then pinning it to a board and shaping it. Now it's time to choose buttons. Which ones?

I quite like these wooden ones, although I am bit worried they will be too small.

I bought these from an antique button stall in Spital Fields market and have been longing to use them. I think they're a little big and chunky for this though.

I only have two of these and they are a little big, but I could go out into the big wide world and forage for another.

These feel a little big as well.

Are these too black? Time to sit back and think the options through.

Tripp Trapp cushion

So the high chair is still too slippery and big for Penelope. In an effort to help, I made a cushion for the seat.

It needs a popper on the front, but I have no idea where they are. I am loathe to buy more so I have used a safety pin for the time being. I am sure that contravene's some health and safety rules.

It kept slipping making the whole situation worse so I had to add some ribbon ties to help secure it. Of course I ran out of ribbon so I had to put some mismatching ribbon. I quite like it though.

But to be honest, it hasn't really helped. Penelope just needs to grow a bit! How frustrating.

Colours

So I was trawling through my Pinterst board thinking about what I would like to do next. Since I have basically done nothing since having a baby I feel a little deflated about quilting. Then I decided that even if I don't actually get round to making one, I can at least think about them! That made me feel a little more positive about it all. I also laid out an old quilt which had been packed away. It was lovely and sunny and springlike in parts of today so it was nice to see it in the sunlight and remember how much I love it. That inspires me too.

I really do want to make a scrap quilt like the brilliant Amelia made, but I need all the offcuts from the two big beast quilts I have on the go and I really need to make sure the fabrics are right. So I think I need a smaller, more simple project to fantasize about in the short term. I know I have the Kitty project but I feel bored by everything and I need to think about something fresh to spice up my mind, even if I don't end up doing it. Does that make sense?

One thing that has caught my eye is this triangle quilt by Elise.
It is not the triangles as much as it is the colour palette. Purples and watermelon colours, ace. Or maybe it is the triangles. I just love it.

I sat around for ages just pushing swatches of plain fabric together seeing if I could recreate the colours. It was good fun.

I have also been lamenting over some of the baby clothes which are getting too small for Penelope. This dress has lovely colours in it. Almost Amish colours in a weird, modern way. I would love to cut it up along with the tshirt and make a little purpley quilt. The dress is too nice to cut up though.

I could add some of my treasured Liberty fabric I bought when I splashed out at Liberty before the baby. I had been thinking I would learn to smock and make some frilly, baby dress. Maybe I still should. The fabric is just so nice.

Left alone with the internet

So after patting myself on the back for not buying very much at Chilford/Duxford, I started to feel a bit sad that I didn't have any new things to coo over. So I started looking on the web. I'm in a hard place because all my current projects have been going on too long and are too big. The sawtooth star quilt is a beast! The postage stamp quilt is a labour of love and quite frankly, I am itching to do something new. I find new things very invigorating. I can almost see a time ahead when I might be able to actually do some sewing... almost.

Anyway I often read Katie's roundup of what's new in the fabric world as I just don't see these modern fabrics at quilt shows. When I saw the Micheal Miller neon range at Pink Castle fabrics, I just had to have some as I have loved neon forever. It's annoying that you can't get this in the UK but such is life on our little island.

I have no idea what it will become. I think it might not look great all together. A bit over neon colour train crash, but as an accent colour perhaps. I already feel that it is too precious to use! I was thinking I could use the neon pink as piping for some plain grey cushions perhaps. I saw this as inspiration. I have a lovely duvet cover by La Cerise sur le Gateau which has florescent piping. It is SO cool.

In the meantime I might just stare at it and feel guilty about buying it.

Duxford

So I finally managed to make my first quilt show since the arrival of Pen. Here she is, 6 months old, on the Worn and Washed quilt I made with grandad's old pillowcase. The quilt is her rolling around quilt and could do with a clean. It gets softer and better with cleaning so it's perfect.

Well Duxford is no Chilford. We've gone from historic barn, giant scones and oil paintings to mighty aircraft hangers, fighter planes and clattering cutlery. Oh well, nothing lasts forever, but the food is not a patch on Chilford, not a patch. And, you know, if I had to criticise, then I would say they need more seating and wider gaps between tables in the cafe. There are so many people who come who are in mobility vehicles or who have sticks, I just thought it would have made perfect sense to spread out a bit and allow them to sit down in the quilt display and to fit comfortably in the cafe.

Anyway, on a more positive note, there were lots of lovely things to look at. I didn't buy much though as I am sans funds these days, plus I haven't been doing as much.

I bought some pretty flowery stuff from Maggie Wise at Sunflower Fabrics because it's tradition to buy something. I am so into my Liberty lawns at the moment that I thought these flowers would fit in nicely. I also bought some more linen as it's so nice. Maggie also reminded me that mum gave me a Liberty kit from her for Christmas which I need to get going on. It's great to go and touch the finished quilts again to remind myself how lovely they are. It really is one of my favourite things to do every quilt show. You'd think I'd tire of it but I don't!

Other than that I bought some cheap stripy fabric from fabrics Galore thinking I could use it to bind my star quilt perhaps. Originally I was going to use strips of fabric used in the stars but I have used most of it up making the stars themselves so I doubt I will have enough. I thought the bright pink might offset the paleness of the quilt nicely. Or I might just bind it in plain white. We'll see.

Mum had also bought me a present I discovered when we got home! These lovely Liberty shapes from Kim's Worn and Washed stall. What a great idea. I might try making a mini Jacob's coat out of them. I am not sure whether to do it the old pieced way or the applique way. I think applique would be best. I need to count them up and see how many it will make.

I had been admiring another Liberty kit on her stall. Isn't it pretty! I could do that with scraps from my postage stamp quilt. Maybe I will sift out the dodgy blocks I have done which don't line up and make them into a small mini quilt like that. Oh so many ideas! It is also very inspiring to go to a quilt show!