lavender hearts

For a while I was in a frenzy for lavender bags. I tried some shapes: square, rectangle, oval, and so on, but they all lacked that 'something'.

The heart shape was inspired by a google search resulting in billions of pretty photos.

So I went to the shop, bought some lavender and started the production... this is one of the first experiments. Pretty, isn't it?

thea's puzzle quilt

Almost a year ago I decided to test my sewing machine skills (Selma's, I mean) using a free pattern by Amy Butler, thea's puzzle quilt.

The top was a charm, I had fun sewing and composing it. I used louder colors than those in the pattern, but I think it turned out well nonetheless.

Selma was up to the project, but unfortunately not so tuned on quilting. I opted for some sparse hand stitched cross stitches. Not so charming, but it worked out well.

On this very quilt I learned the continuous border technique, as quilting tradition wants.


Now this quilt, whose size is 150x150cm, is our favourite comforter on the couch.

new sewing friend... !!!

Great news! I have a new sewing friend, and I'm going to call her Gracie. Meet Gracie!

Gracie! (at last...)

She's going to join the party along with the long time friend Selma, who's unfortunately not up to some of the tasks I happen to perform at times.

Selma, the loyal friend

I can't wait to try some of Gracie's skills...

placemats

four of them

Again, for my sister, but this time breakfast placemats.

Every placemat, made with kitchen cotton fabric, is embroided in stem stitch with a mug pattern: coffee, tea, cocoa and milk... after all, Sis uses them for breakfast, right?

The embroidery patterns have been inspired by some pictures I found on iStockPhoto (I can't seem to find them any more, though).

I lightly stuffed the placemats, but only a little, to "save" the table from too hot mugs. They are cute, what do you think?

  

packed up

cross stitch napkin pochettes

four of them

packed up for Sis

My sister asked begged me to make some napkin pochettes, 'cause in a family of four it's sometimes difficult to know which napkin is yours...

I decided to go with cross stitch on cotton etamine cloth. And I must say they really came out well. Sis certainly liked them...

little bears baby quilt

When one of my friends had a wonderful little baby, I made this quilt as a gift.

quilt top

the "package"

The little one and his mommy were enthusiastic, and I'm always happy when people appreciate my little crafts... 

happy easter!!!

HAPPY EASTER TO EVERYONE!!!

homemade bread

Two years ago we started making homemade bread. Some secrets are not unfolded yet, but... isn't it a plain big satisfaction when things turn out well???




 

blooming spring

Mom's unknown flower

Mom's lilac

beautiful wistaria at Gardaland

in-laws' wistaria

craft room revamping

My craft room is not a room, it's more a corner... but it does work, because it's a corner of the spare bedroom and it is very conveniently placed just below the roof window.

craft room 1.0

Since the above photo, things have been reorganized a little bit (thanks to lovely Ikea), and now the place looks like this:

craft room 1.5

As you can see, it's been transformed into a nursery, thanks to Smurfette#2. The table should work like that for a while (hopefully NOT till potty training...!), but I'm thinking about revamping the whole thing to version 2.0 (in which my sewing machine will join the party).

This project should be a consequence of our studio restyling, and relocation of some furniture will be in order. Everything is very clear in my mind, but I must wait till next trip to Ikea to make the dream come true.

dandelion quilt

A while back I sewed this quilt following (almost) a free pattern I found online: Dandelion Quilt, designed by Cori & Myra of blue meadow designs.

It's a great pattern and I was completely in love with it the moment I saw the picture.

I changed something, because I had some fabric limitation. And I admit I didn't have it in me to quilt properly (I'm a beginner, and my sewing machine is not up to the task), so I chose an easy and sparse quilting pattern.

I can't recall the exact size of the finished quilt, and I can't measure it up for you, 'cause I gave it as a gift to my sister-in-law.

She was very happy, and now the quilt is proudly covering her couch. She's currently "pillows hunting"...

zig zag quilt

I've been caught for quite some time by this quilt and always thought of making one. But I ended up making two. Yep. Two. One for each smurfette of mine.

So, this is the final result (of the first).

front

back

binding

The front is made of 480 triangles of wonderful fabric bought from Linda @ Volksfaden, while the back is a mix of Ikea fabrics.

I'm still a beginner in quilting, but I think this came out pretty well.

The twin one is already cut and partially sewed, I plan on finishing it by the end of june... after all, Smurfette#2 is going to sleep in the crib for some time... and I'm working on a king sized quilt for my bedroom.

friday in Gardaland

Smurfette#1 on baby merry-go-round
... light start ...

We have the (questionable) privilege to live near one of the biggest and most famous theme park in Italy, Gardaland. And we have two daughters. Once in a while we MUST go there.

Last friday we decided to leave our youngest (3 months old) at her granny and take our oldest (5 years old) to the park.

Smurfette#1 with fake cowboy in Rio Bravo

We hit all attractions we could, minus some which required a minimum height of 120cm... (our smurfette lacked 2cm, unfortunately). We had tons and tons of fun!

Spongebob's 4D show
(this is a must)

Smurfette#1's painted arm

Smurfette#2 acting up
Mommy, next time I want to come too...

We had 6 hours of kiddy happiness, and Smurfette#2 was a bit disappointed when we picked her up at Granny... sorry Baby, it was too windy for you... next time...

introduction: meet my blog

Hi, I'd like you to meet my blog: FREQUENT FRENZY.

Why the name? Well, because a certain creative frenzy is bound to hit me every now and then... frequently, that is.

What's my inspiration? uhmm... you, mostly. That's because this blog is actually dedicated to those fantastic bloggers out there that keep posting crafting ideas, patterns, tutorials, ...

Enjoy!