Gifts for Guys

Thinking of things to sew as presents for males is a bit of a struggle. I find that so many patterns are aimed at females, and I'm so drawn to 'pretty things' that putting together gifts for guys is a problem!

My boyfriend's bedroom was a typical boy-cave - very bare and plain and crying our for some soft furnishings! He asked me to make him some curtains lined with blackout fabric. I got a bit carried away and ended up making him a double quilt from scraps, plus two cushions!

This cushion design came from Love Patchwork & Quilting Magazine (my favourite lie in read!) and is based on tetris shapes.

The second cushion is now named 'Beaky' and came about because poor Richard said he didn't mind "something quirky"... I think he might be regretting that statement!

Wall Hanging

For Mothers' Day this year I made my Mum a wall hanging for her newly decorated spare room. The pattern came from Love Patchwork & Quilting Magazine.


I used blues and whites in order to match the décor in the room. This was all made from scrap fabric. I put a payer of interfacing onto the wadding to make it a little stiffer.

Derrick the Dragon

I have had a bit of an obsession with dragons since I was little. And I love the squishy toy ones you can buy but not having kids I don't really have an excuse for purchasing one. So I decided to make one instead!

I found this sewing pattern on etsy and then printed it off as a pdf. The original size was half this one, I enlarged it on the photocopier. To be honest I found this size really fiddly to make, so I really don't know how I would have coped with the original size. But I do love the finished dragon!

Fox & Raccoon

These cute critters were Christmas presents for two special children, William & Josie. The pattern was Simplicity 1549, which I got free with Sew magazine, but is available for sale separately. 

They were so much fun to make, I highly recommend the pattern. It's simple to follow and I think the results are really great - the toys are big enough to be like cuddly pillows (especially the Raccoon) and the kids really loved them. Good result!

Rag Doll

This weekend I tried out a new rag doll sewing pattern that I purchased nearly a year ago but never got around to making.


She's about 50cm tall when standing, so a lot bigger than the other toys I've made.


She has removable bloomers, petticoat and dress as well as black felt shoes. Very cute!

Quilted Advent Calender

It might seem way too early to be even thinking about Christmas yet, but as sewing projects can take a while I wanted to start this one early! My Mum has a lovely quilted advent calendar that I have long coveted. I borrowed it from her over the summer so that I could copy the design and work out how to make one myself.

I copied the basic tree design pretty much exactly. On Mum's calendar she has cross stitched ornaments for the 25 days. I'm not much of a cross stitcher myself, so I decided to make felt sewn hearts to hang instead.

I'm very happy with the finished result, and have already made one for a friend as a gift. I'm taking orders for these now, for sale through Vintage Bee.

Embroidered Pictures

I've been making new stock ready to sell at Christmas markets - yes, I know, it's too early to think about Christmas!

I got some lovely chunky white frames from Ikea and have been free motion embroidering pictures for them. The fabrics used are mainly vintage.

These are for sale from Vintage Bee.

Small Town Quilt

I just finished sewing a new quilt. The main block is a pinwheel, with strips and squares around it. The quilt pattern came from Sew magazine.

I've called the finished quilt 'Little Town' due to the cute little houses, hills, bicycles and flowers on the fabrics.

Baby Travel Quilt

Another baby travel quilt - this one in oranges, greens and blues. This was made to order - the request was for something bright & colourful, gender neutral, and with animal print fabric.

The Backing I used was a flannel baby crib sheet, and it felt so soft! The colours help make this quilt light and bright, and suitable for boys or girls. I quilted it freehand in a spiral.

Summer Fete

Last Saturday I had my first Vintage Bee stall, at the Widcombe school fete in Bath. It was a good chance to see what would sell, and to get immediate feedback from customers about my things.

Despite it looking like it was going to rain all day, the weather held up and I had a great day. Sold lots of little things like bibs and brooches, and even sold a bunny and a fox! The little girl who took the bunny home brought it with her birthday money, and Ash tells me 'bubby' came with her to watch the school play this week, so clearly she is very loved! I couldn't be more thrilled, every bunny needs to be well loved!

Quilted Cushion

My Mum asked me to recover an old cushion for her. she is decorating the spare room in blues & cream/white tones and wanted the new cover to match this scheme. After looking through my old copies of Love Patchwork magazine she selected the most complicated patchwork cushion design in there for her new cover!

The fabrics were all ones I already had. The patchwork design itselt was complicated, and I'll admit that I couldn't see how it was all going to come together when I was laying it out, but I followed the step by step instructions and slowly the design emerged!

I'm really thrilled with the end result, and more importantly so is Mum!

A Very Special Bunny!

The bunny dolls from Posie Gets Cosie have been my favourite things to make this year. When a friend requested a custom made bunny, complete with pyjamas and a jumper, the challenge was too cute to resist!

The result is my favourite bunny so far - looking dapper in vintage fabric pyjamas with a patterned jumper over the top and slippers in case he gets cold!

Rosie Cushion

For Ash's Mum's birthday I made her a cushion with her beloved dog Rosie on it. This has been a surprise hit with everyone who's seen it and they all now want cushions with their pets on them!

The background fabric and inner cushion came from Ikea. Rosie's face is felt with free machine embroidery over the top.

Gender Neutral Baby Quilt

I'm starting to make more items to sell, which is exciting, but also quite daunting! I'm trying to appeal to a wide range of tastes while also staying true to my ethos of 'Vintage Bee' - vintage style, quirky and original items.

This baby quilt is intended to be gender neutral. In my opinion far too much baby stuff is either blue or pink, it gets a bit boring and stereotypical. This cute cream fabric was an ebay purchase. The squares on it are tiny and took me ages to sew around but I love the finished effect!

As you can see, I've started adding by Bee label to items for sale! This quilt is for sale on my Vintage Bee Facebook page.

Embroidered Baby Bits

Recently everyone at work seems to be pregnant! With this baby boom in full swing I've been embroidering lots of baby gros and bibs as gift sets.

I love making these! I use scraps from my stash for the picture and then free motion embroider around that. I use Primark plain baby gros and bibs. And add my Vintage Bee label! I think these make really special gifts for expectant parents-to-be, and everyone who has recieved one so far has been thrilled!

Nautical Cushion

I had some patchwork pieced together and left over from a recent baby quilt I made. It was a big enough piece to be used as part of something else, so I decided to make it into a cushion cover.

I love this nautical themed fabric. It came from Trago Mills for the bargain price of £2.16 a metre! Such a great place to get fabric.

The cushion is a simple slip cover style. I think it's pretty gender neutral too with its red and blues.

Mr Basil Fox

I loved making the bunny dolls so much that when I saw patterns for other animal friends had been created I think I actually squeeked with joy!

The patterns come from http://www.posiegetscozy.com/, available as a kit or PDF - I have purchased the PDF options. They are clear & easy to follow & quite simply a joy to make! I've customised outfits for the bunnies I've made which is also simple to do.

What are you waiting for, go and make a foxy friend!

Bunting!

 Bunting is a great way of using up scraps of fabric. I had promised a friend some personalised bunting for her daughter's room, and then I got another bunting order through my Facebook page (look me up! Vintage Bee!) so an afternoon of bunting creation commenced!

I couldn't resist making some Vintage Bee bunting too - currently this is hanging in my sewing room, but when I do craft fairs it will hang on the front of my stall.