Make it: Super Easy Quilt

If you want to impress someone this year with a super easy, yet really impressive, gift this year make them a quilt blanket. Everyone loves snuggling up under a cosy blanket, they make great gifts and you can make them really personal by picking fabrics that you know the recipient will just love. I have to be honest, I am not the worlds greatest quilter, I think it stems from not wanting to cut up beautiful fabrics into little pieces just to sew them back together again. However this easy quilt requires very little cutting and you still get that lovely cosy blanket at the end of it.

I chose once again to use my some of my current favourite fabrics from Dashwood Studio to create this 'quilt' These are from the Retro Orchid collection.

You will need: 6 x 30cm strips of your choice of cotton fabrics (at least 110cm) wide, 150cm x 100cm of fleece fabric, Fabric Scissors, thread and your Sewing Machine.

Start by pinning and then sewing together two of your cotton strips. Pin them right sides together making sure you are sewing a nice and straight seam. You can use your machine foot to help guide your stitching. Then un-fold and pin and sew your next strip in place.

Continue until you have sewn all your strips together. Fold your quilt front in half length ways and mark the centre line with a row of pins. Then be brave and cut up the middle line you have marked, removing the pins as you go. You then want to take your two halves and flip one so it is facing the opposite way around. Line the two pieces up and sew them back together to create the chequered front piece.

If you have been neat, all your squares should line up nicely, if not don't worry too much, mine didn't, I think it adds a bit of quirkiness to the finished piece. It made it look more handmade! So next, is to add the fleece backing, I have not added any wadding to mine as I like my blankets to be a little more floppy and snuggly. Stitch all the way around the edge of your cotton and fleece. Make sure you leave a gap around 15-20 cm open at the end. Use this opening to pull the whole of your quilt right side out.

Folding in the raw edges, start at the opening and sew a line of top stitching all the way around the edge of your quilt about 1-1.5 cm in from the edge. And  you are all done, see I promised it would be easy!

If you can bear to part with your new cosy blanket it would make a great gift for anyone this Christmas, It would be so cute for a new arrival in baby colours and equally in fun boy fabrics for any Kiddos you need gifts for, a great alternative to more plastic toys. I am gifting mine to my Mother-in-Law who loves handmade presents and always admires the quilts in our home.

Who would you make one for this year?

Sammy xxx


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Love it: Getting Cosy

Fox hot water bottle cover, New Look Bobble hat, Mug Cozy, Accessorize slippers, River Island Jumper, Next Reindeer throw

My place looks like a blanket factory right now with all the cosy throws I have scattered around the place! Being cosy and warm is my top priority at the moment, at home the heating is up full whack whenever I am there. Even with the heating on, I love being snuggled up on the sofa surrounded by snuggly things. I love these slippers, they are (faux) fur lined and and so comfy and how adorable is that sleepy fox hot water bottle cover? 

How do you like to stay cosy and warm at this time of the year? 

Have a snuggly weekend x

Sammy xxx

Cook it: Under the Weather Soup

So this week, along with Sammy, I have not been feeling so tip top - maybe it's a blogger thing! All this running around has caught up with me and I am lethargic, achy and lacking in any enthusiasm!

However, this does make me more inclined to make one of my favourite things - soup!  It's a ritual of when I am Under the weather to cook up a big batch of vitamin filled vegetable soup to help me get back up and running.  Along with my trusty tissues, lemsip and blanket - who doesn't love to cosy up with their blanket?

So, I thought it only fair to share with you, this weeks batch, looks good doesn't it!

Recipe

1 Yellow Pepper

1/2 a Savoy Cabbage

1 tin of Butterbeans

Chicken stock cube

500ml Tomato Passata

1 Onion

1 clove Garlic

Herbs/spices to taste

I fry off the pepper and cabbage first to soften, then add the passata and stock and simmer.  Add the butter beans and any herbs/spices you like, I went with Oregano, Thyme and Garlic for this one, but I do like to have a spicy chilli hit sometimes too.

Overtime I make up some soup I put slightly different things in it and try a new way of doing it so this by no means is the same recipe I use every time (depends what I have in the fridge) but it is easy especially when you're feeling a bit under the weather.  This has kept me going all week and has made me feel all healthy inside.

What's your favourite Soup recipe, please do share so I can give it a go.

Make it

H