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June 2, 2013

My New Summer Cottage - June Across the Pond Sew Along

Welcome, friends,
to the June edition of the 


It's The Patchsmith's turn to choose the theme,
and she has selected a sweet House Ornament.

As of June 1, Amanda had already
constructed two adorable little cottages!
Pop on over to her post, to see her clever innovation 
for the red one shown below.

{You won't be sorry!}

Photo by Amanda The Patchsmith

The best part about this month's project is that
we can all make these adorable houses 

If you go to Flickr and search for "Retromama houses,"
you will come up with all sorts of inspiration.

Here is a super sweet one made by Kim - Retromama herself.

Photo from Kim of Retromama

I found this darling little Christmas house,
It's just one of many cuties she has made.

{Look at the Christmas tree in the window...heavenly!}

Photo by Kylie of Three Honeybees

The little houses are made as ornaments, with ribbons for hanging.
Take a look at what Josee of cul de sac blog has done with her houses,
decorating a beautiful curtain valance.
You must visit her post to see and believe 
the astonishing details on each little cottage!

{Utterly charming, right?}

Photo by Josee of cul de sac blog
And now...there's a new building over at Susie's Sunroom,
and she's added all the charm of an English garden
to her sweet little cottage!

{I think I had an English accent when I read her post to myself.}

Photo from Susie's Sunroom
I must say that if I'd seen Susie's house first, my window
might have had a contrasting color of thread
for the stitching.  Brilliant touch!

I have to admit that I've had this house ornament
on my must-make list for quite a while.
I even had this issue of Make It Yourself 
magazine by BH&G since late 2012,
which featured the same pattern,
among dozens of other great projects.

{My pages are nearly all dog-eared.}



provides me with that little
kick in the pants that I need,
so that I actually make a few of those must-do things!

Using some scraps from a recent project,
I set to work building my own little house.



Here's the result, and I'm so pleased with it!



Why, oh why, did I wait so long to build my dream house?
I love every little detail.



It's just so tiny and sweet.
I made the house number from a bit of selvage,
and it happens to be the house number of someone
in my real life. ;)



I found myself missing a coordinating 
piece of ribbon for hanging.
I improvised with my pinking shears,
to make a fabric strip hanger.



The back of this house is plain,
but if I make any more, I might invest
some time into adding details on the reverse side.

{The Patchsmith's back yard puts mine to shame.}



I have to admit that
this house is really very small,
and it took me a while to turn it inside out
after stitching it together.
I think it was worth the effort, though.  I love it!

I'm so glad that I waited until the last step
to add the little button doorknob.



I have some great polyfil that resists clumping,
and it was just right for this tiny project.
I picked it up at my local Walmart
and would recommend it for stuffed softies
and really small projects like this one.



Wouldn't this house make an adorable pincushion???

{Or a little housewarming or hostess gift?}



We hope you'll be inspired to join us in our
little Sew Along and add your photos to our Flickr group.

{Past finishes or latecomers are always welcome, too.}

Next time I post,
I'll let you know what else I made with my little house fabrics.

{If you want to know where my scraps came from...come back soon!}




10 comments:

  1. Oh sweet! I also love the one with xmas tree. Great inspiration!

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  2. What a pretty little house - complete with pearl button - very 'posh'.
    Turning the house out was tricky especially as I have a tendency to leave a smaller gap than recommended. But I found a chopstick helped with making sure the corners and seams were pushed out. I also used left-over batting (wadding) to fill mine. It is an addictive little project.

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  3. I want to rent your little summer cottage! So adorable!
    Getting started on mine now.... love your colors!

    Susie

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  4. I'm with Susie! I wouldn't mind renting it myself either. :) Your little house came out so cute!!! I love the colors...they are so you!

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  5. Totally adorable! What a fun idea...house warming/hostess gift.

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  6. I fell in love with them the other day when I saw them on your Pinterest board !!!!! So darn cute!!!

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  7. I have been putting it on my list, and now after seeing Patchsmiths' and your houses - I am going to be onto this project by the weekend. Thank you for sharing.

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  8. Love the houses what a fun and easy project to get that "finished" feeling. They look great!

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  9. Your miniature house looks super lovely! I especially love the floral roof and that tiny house number on the door... too cute! In fact, I, too, have the same 'Make it Yourself' magazine sitting on my sewing shelf for a while, waiting for me to make the exact same project... I need to make it happen soon ;)

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I look forward to your comments and will read each and every one, even if I am not able to reply to all of them.