a fabric kinda week...

it's been one of those weeks...

a fabric kinda week...

the best kinda weeks ;-)

first up, i had a delivery of delicious green konas from the village haberdashery (more on what they are for another time...unless you follow me on IG...and then you will know)

second up, some scrumptious oakshotts that have been made into something for a commission - again more about that another time.

also this week i had delivery of several fabrics from 2 new collections that i think rate as 2 of my all time favourites. they are so beautiful.

firstly i ordered a couple from the much (by me) awaited new Cloud 9 collection - Tsuru by Rashida Coleman-Hale. boy is it beautiful. 

the bottom one is to make some pj bottoms for moi and the top is a little extra sneaky peak. i think i am going to be needing a lot more of these as well as the others in the collection.

finally but by no means least, by sheer quantity, let alone sheer beauty are these little bolts (there really isn't a lot of fabric on a bolt...ahem) of beyond stunning Architextures by Carolyn Friedlander. if i could have done i would have taken these to bed with me last night...

i know this appears like a lot of fabric, but it is necessary, all has a purpose, all is already cut into...as i said...all necessities.

stocking up...

 It's all very well at this time of year focussing on gift buying and making that we all need to do, but are you remembering to look after Number 1 and making sure you have plenty of supplies to keep you occupied over the festive break??

First up, very exciting news, you can pop along to the imminently opening bricks and mortar The Village Haberdashery this weekend. How exciting is that?! From these sneak peak photos it looks delicious! I used to live at number 15...my hubs is quite relieved we are now over 200 miles away!

If you can't get down there Annie's online shop is still open for ordering all her usual scrummy stock including the fabulous new line Splendour. I quite fancy a bit of that.

Also out and about with new things to entice you for Christmas crafting is Aurifil threads at M is for Make. I am dying to try these wonder threads out that everyone is raving on about. Also newly in at HQ M is for Make is the new line from Birch Fabrics, Camp Modern. I just love the colourways of this collection and the designs. It shouts winter wonderland to me and if you haven't used these organic fabrics before, believe me you will love them. They are so crisp and a pleasure to sew with.

 Fancy a little dress making this holidays? Alice at Backstitch has a wonderful array of patterns newly in, including the fabulous Washi Dress which is at the top of my list. I'm also very keen to make the Briar Sweater and T Shirt. I think it will be one of those "have to have for every day of the week" tops. Alice has also just got in a couple of the new By Hand London patterns. The Elizalex dress looks perfect if you need to quickly rustle up a special little something. 

The latest collection in at Seamstar is Aneela Hoey's cuter than cute Sew Stitchy. Absolutely perfect for sewing up a few last minute forgotten gifts. Don't forget to check out  Courtney's Christmas Shop for other wonderful Christmassy fabrics and trimmings to dress your gifts.

Thangles...

 Have you come across the wonders of Thangles yet?

If you have, I'm guessing I'm preaching to the converted.

My lovely sponsor Kate of M is for Make sent me a pack to try. Kate is well aware of my love for HSTs and having recently got into these herself knew I would love them.

And how right was she! Have you tried them? Have you??

 To be honest, I wasn't wholly sure that they'd offer me something that I needed. 

How wrong was I???

I absolutely love making HST quilts and to be honest they aren't the most complicated block on the block (see what I did there?!) but what Thangles do do is make a relatively easy block downright pips, cutting out all that boring mindless trimming after you have pieced them all. I mean, how tedious is that stage? 

 Thangles work by cutting the right strip pieces to begin with and then simply sewing along the dotted line and cutting along the solid lines.

THAT IS IT...perfect HSTs every time.

Honestly, to do just these 8 little HSTs trimmed in all their perfection would take unnecessary and tedious trimming time.

With Thangles there is none of that. 

The trickiest thing about working with Thangles is stopping! I've been at it for 2 minutes and already got 2 projects on the go. I started with piecing some LV with reds and secondly with greens. Greens? I don't do greens, but am rather finding that I do.

Anyway enough from me and the wonders of Thangles. Go see them for yourself. In fact go check out Kate's beautiful HST quilt she made for a wedding gift. Not only is it stunning, but I'm betting Kate enjoyed every second of creating it, thanks to Thangles.

Kate has packs to make HSTs from anything from 1" up to 4".

 I'm using 2.5" for these 2 projects but am thinking I'd like to make a larger quilt with 4" HSTs...

**pops off to purchase a couple of packs before Kate sells out...**

Oh and did I mention Kate is very kindly offering 10% off all purchases of Thangles before the end of November. Simply quote "thangle" at the checkout.

And one final thing...if you aren't signed up to Kate's Newsletter, then you must. She regularly has things you need to know about...including announcing her Black Friday Sale this weekend...you don't want to miss out on hearing about that! 
Go sign up at the bottom here!

All gushy...and a winner...

Can I first get a little bit gushy and thank you all firstly for taking your time to go into such detail into your favourite pouches. I now have a spreadsheet on the go to see if there is any pattern to all your suggestions. I'll let you know when I have worked out what it all means!

Secondly I was really overwhelmed by your kind and complimentary comments about my work. Honestly, your words make me feel all tearful. It is very easy working on your own most of the time to have a lack of confidence - it is for me anyway - and especially when I am self taught and trying to play amongst the big boys. So thank you, seriously thank you x.

Aside from the gushing we have a winner for the M is for Make generous Field Study giveaway and the winner is...

Mrs L said...

"mmm..difficult to choose but co-ordinates in plum is grabbing me."

So, Mrs L, congratulations, and off you go to choose your favourite 6!

Thank you all for entering and if you still haven't given me your opinion - and a little gushing - on my pouches, please do so here...

Have a great weekend x

giveaway...and a weekend offer!

Unless you have been sleeping all summer, you will be as excited as I am to see the arrival of Anna Maria Horner's new collection Field Study in our stores.

 As ever, Anna Maria has given us yet another to-die-for collection and Field Study is no exception.

A sense of adventure and the idea of investigating the natural world up close and from afar was at the core of every print that Anna Maria Horner created for Field Study.

 Whilst there is something for everyone in this collection, it will come as no surprise that my favourites are Sundials and Corodinates, but I am rather drawn to Raindrops and Specimen. 

The question is, what are your favourites? And this is a decision you do need to make as my lovely sponsor M is for Make is offering a bundle of any 6 FQs of your choice to 1 lucky winner.

3 chances to win this fab prize...

1. leave a comment letting me know which design grabs you most...

2. sign up to Kate's newsletter (scroll down to the bottom here) and come back and let me know...

3. Follow Kate's blog and come back and let me know here.

Giveaway open (to UK residents only this time I'm afraid) until end of next week, Friday 5 Oct...oh and please make sure you have an email I can get you on, otherwise I will have to redraw. Bossy, I know, but needs must.

Other great news, Kate is offering 15% off everything over the weekend but is kindly opening that early to you lovely blog readers and is available now (now, I said, go, go, GO!). Simply enter Blueberry at the checkout any time from now until 8pm GMT Mon 1 Oct.

Good luck and happy shopping!

What's new...from my UK sponsors...

As well as each of my sponsors providing you with the fantastic new ranges of Bella by Lotta Jansdotter and Bloomsbury Gardens by Liberty Lifestyle amongst others, they all have their own individual taste and picks of what is new out there.Lucky us to have so many wonderful fabric lines hand picked for us.

Here is a review of some of my favourites available from each of them.

First up Kate from M is for Make brings us Patty Young's terrific Running Stitch fabrics. They are so zesty and zingy and will liven up any project. I'm planning on using some as the coordinating fabrics in my pencil rolls, but in the meantime have cut a little scrap for some cards. I think I will be using these in cards a lot in the future.

I don't know how long this fabric will be available in Kate's store, so you had best head over here now to stock up.

It is no secret that I am a big fan of Umbrella Prints fabrics. I fell in love with their hand screen printed designs and now just as head over heels with their organic quilting collections. 

The latest collection Elephants Love Water (such a clever title!) by the talented Amy and Carly is now available at The Village Haberdashery. Annie should be praised to the heavens for being so discerning as to step out of the box and choose something a little different. It isn't the cheapest choose, being £7/fat quarter, but being cut from a 150cm width bolt it ends up not being as pricey as you think.

Live a little...and some of these to your stash and you'll be thanking me big time. Go right here to grab a little...or a lot...

Next up Petites Odile the new chic and sophisticated collection from French General chosen by Alice at Backstitch. The pretty design is beautifully made in muted colours which would be a class act in any project as well as being perfect for dressmaking. I particularly love Claudine in Oyster. 

Head here if you fancy stocking up on something a little classy to your stash.

Last but by no means least something a little quirky. I'm not a huge fan of novelty prints but these Ric Rac Rabbits are so fun! Courtney from Seamstar always finds something fun and this is no exception. I used Bunny Friends in Burnt Orange on Teal (more turquoise) in my pencil rolls and so pleased with the result. It teams perfectly with Summersville Brushstrokes in Orange too.

If quirky fun is your thing go here to grab some. There are several great designs in various colours. You'll be spoilt for choice!

If like me you are lucky enough to be in sunnier climes enjoying a bit of R & R, what better than to be enjoying a little happier hour ordering some of these lovelies in the happy knowledge that a few pretty parcels will be waiting for your return.

Oh for the love of our modern world!

 Do you find your tastes in colour combos goes round and around?

Quite a while ago now I had a big attraction for reds and blues but then it seemed to disappear again for yellows and greys to take it's place.

But it appears to be back.

Without consciously meaning to I have recently been combining reds and blues again in various projects.

When I picked fabrics for my Siblings Together quilt, donated by my lovely sponsor M is for Make I was very much drawn to reds and blues and am in the process of completing this quilt (bottom left) and am very much enjoying surrounding myself in this combination. 

Maybe it started again with this. Then I was making some new pencil rolls and ordered this fabric from another sponsor (bottom right), and found it worked beautifully with some Summersville I had sitting on my desk (as you do).

And if that wasn't enough submersion into one of my first colour combo loves, I received a package of Water for Elephant fabrics from the talented Umbrella Prints designers (middle above) and before I knew it I was obsessing with reds and blues again and picked out the top fabrics for a range I want to produce for upcoming fairs and the like.

Who knows if my rekindled obsession will last into preparing for these fairs or not, but in the meantime I am rather enjoying glimpses of red and blue.

Do you have combos you keep coming back to again and again?

 Having had these fabrics on my desk all last week for my Siblings Together quilt, I have slowly been sneaking in a little playing time each day.

Earlier in the week I I had set my heart on having a go at the Castle Walls Block from the Shape  Workshop for Quilters Book by the lovely peeps at Fat Quarterly.

 Those that know my work will realise this is quite a departure of styles for me. Normally I can be seen quilting in relative simplistic styles, but this has completely converted me. 

I was hooked when i first started quilting and this is pulling me in even further.

It could be the fantastic fabrics that are pulling me in, but I am pretty sure you will start to see some more intricate piecing around these parts.

I am such a beginner at piecing blocks that I didn't even realise that the pattern was mirroring itself and when I pieced together the adjacent blocks I had a real "oh my g-d" moment at seeing the central castle emerging! I am slightly embarrassed at mentioning that, but I know you will gain delight from hearing it.

I had a slight technical hitch when I ran out of FMF, but to be quite honest I had done more than I should have done today so a natural pause has taken place, while I wait for reinforcements from the quilt's sponsor.

I am still undecided with how I am going to finish off the quilt (I'm thinking of piecing a border of some sort) and what to use for the binding. 

Any thoughts?

I am absolutely delighted to share my news with you that my blog is now sponsored by the following fantastic UK online fabric stores.

I am extremely honoured and proud that these wonderful shops view my blog as worthy enough to sponsor and so if you don't know them already please do click on the links on the right and peruse their wonderful collections.

Each one is very different from the next with what they offer and I will be telling you about all of them over the next few day.

Let me introduce the first one to you today and those of you that are regular readers of my blog will find it a very familiar name. 

M is for Make is run by the lovely Kate who handpicks the most wonderful collection of fabrics from all over the world. Kate is based in Brighton and M is for Make is the result  of a lifelong love of pretty fabrics and sewing.

Kate supplements her lovely collection of fabrics with the best collection of beautiful Japanese sewing books and fantastic sewing patterns. I have several of the Japanese sewing books and even though I don't understand a word of them, the photographs alone are enough to entice me into thinking one day I may be able to make something from them.

You may remember Kate generously offering me a selection of fabrics - any selection I wanted - to make a quilt for Siblings Together. A couple of the fabrics I had chosen hadn't yet been released and coincidentally coinciding with the launch of my sponsors they arrived this week. I have a feeling that the Denyse Schmidt on the top is not going to hang around for long.

The partnership with my sponsors is going to bring lots of exciting news, giveaways and other opportunities for you, so please stick around as I announce each in turn.

The internet is a powerful and dangerous thing...

...particularly when I'm outnumbered and all we are watching on Saturday night is Match of the Day (that's the day's soccer round up for all you non-Brits)

What else is a girl to do but go fabric shopping?

I've been needing (yes, Nina, needing!) something a little different in my stash recently and this yellow Woodland is just what I'd been after. I've been on the look out for a small yellow pattern that was a little different and this fits the bill perfectly.

This next one, a Japanese Washi piece is just so pretty that I couldn't resist. This one wasn't so much a need, but I'm pretty sure it will come in very useful, so in it popped into the basket.

And whilst I was there I picked up a yard of this Denyse Schmidt that I had seen in the UK, but my usual port of call seemed out of stock, so in it popped too.

Seems like Saturday night's in watching footy aren't so bad after all...

Fabrics galore...lovely, lovely fabrics...

I've had a bit of a fabric binge this weekend and the most exciting thing about it is waiting each day for delivery day and see which ones have arrived.

First up to arrive today was this little selection from M is for Make. An email pinged in on Friday evening from Kate about a 20% off weekend sale, so I quickly went for a look...well, it would have been rude not to.

Considering what an amazing selection of fabrics Kate has, I think I was pretty refrained. I actually made a conscious decision to look for fabrics that I could essentially use for my pouch linings and not be swayed by all the other beautiful Must Have fabrics in my stash. Shock, horrors, I know!

So with my focussed brain on, straight into the basket went firm favourites of Kei dots and Cloud 9's Shards from the Cut Out and Keep collection. You can never have enough dots and Kei dots are my absolute favourite. I just love Shards and Cloud 9 fabrics run out so quickly - it would be criminal to be without any of this in my stash.

Next up, a couple of Anna Marie Horner's Pastry Line Voiles. If you don't know Anna Marie Horner's Voiles, you should get acquainted. They are beautifully soft and silky, and this design has been on my wishlist for a while and perfect for pouch linings.

Another fabric line that I've had my eye on is Sara Morgans' Feedsack. They have a wonderful vintage vibe that will pair so well with so many fabrics. An essential. A staple. A must. Just gorgeous.

Last up was a little frivolity... What?? You didn't really think I could be totally focussed and unswayed by a beautiful fabric.

Another fabric in Kate's store that I have had my eye on for a while is this gorgeous Nani Iro yellow and grey dot. So while no-one was watching, I quickly slipped it into my basket, akin to a chocolate treat at the supermarket. Hey, I'm only human and let's face it, you'd have been disappointed with me if I hadn't. Wouldn't you?

I'm very very happy with all of these and have already lined a few pouches with the Pastry Line Voile and they look just perfect, so generally some very sensible business decisions.

In the meantime, I wonder which will arrive tomorrow...

Some days my postie gets a nice surprise...he doesn't have a mail bag weighed down with fabrics.

Most days however he does and today all these yummies arrived at once. It's a good job he's so lovely.

These bottom 3 are beautiful vintage pieces I bought from Peachy Vintage. Whilst I was buying more of the gorgeous pink floral from Jess, I snuck in these other 2 into the shopping basket.

This one below is going to be used for the quilt for my bed. I haven't quite decided whether it's going to be part of the quilt or the binding. Will see how it all comes together...WHEN I get around to doing it.

I have no particular plans for this fresh blue and green floral. It just seemed rude not to buy it while I was shopping.

I'm having a bit of a thing for vintage fabric at the moment, so I think you will see quite a lot more pieces making their way into my collection.

Kei dots are one of my favourite ever dots and I chose this one to bind the quilt I'm doing for Noah and hopefully make it a little less girlie than he currently think it looks (I know...I don't think it does either, but thank you for your comments confirming it). Kate's speedy service meant that I didn't have to wait more than a day for it.

So guess what I'll be doing tonight??

The final fabric purchase that arrived today was 2 yards of Heath in metal. Due to my penchant for grey, I can never have enough basic grey fabric in my stash. I'm also going to use it for my screen printing designs. I think (hope) it will work well.

And here's where the good news for you comes in...

Here below is just a section of my fabric stash.

I've been through various phases and tastes over the years and whilst I have no doubts that this isn't going to stop in any hurry, there are a lot of fabrics in here that I no longer need or can envisage using. There are some fantastic fabrics in here that I have decided to part with. I'm going to be listing a lot of it in my Etsy shop very soon. There will be some yardage, some FQs and some great scrap packs.

So keep an eye out for a heads up as to when it will arrive as you will hear it here first. If you want a very special "tell me before anyone else" then just leave me a comment of how I can reach you. There's plenty here for everyone!