:: number 2 ::

i got a little feeling of what it must be like to win an oscar or the like yesterday when i discovered that my advent calendar kit was voted as number 2 in BT lifestyle's best advent calendars. 

we will just sidle past the question of who actually goes on the BT lifestyle website to see it shall we?

actually i think plenty of people surprisingly have as i have been printing these kits ad infinitum as alice of backstitch will testify.

with regular weekly emails of "help, need more red Klona!"

what makes me particularly excited more than anything is the thought of so many people a week on Sunday hanging their advent calendars, filling with them with their choice of treats until xmas eve.

i thought i had printed my last panels last week. i even told alice so. but no, with just 8 days to go until the start of advent orders are still coming in fast and furious.

and panic upon panic...alice has run out of klona crimson! i've run her dry!

thankfully i have managed to secure another source who have guaranteed me delivery tomorrow...printing on sunday...mailing on monday...happy people making kits on tuesday.

i may have ordered just enough if anyone else still want one...shout now because this really is the final order.

and if you don't fancy making one up i do have one available to buy ready made. i guess i felt i was missing out on the sewing up fun and wanted to join in. anyway it's available here and the kits are available here.

Friday already?? Where on earth has this week gone??!

I have no idea what happened to Monday and Tuesday, but Wednesday and Thursday I was in London at the NOTHS Meet Up, which was fab.

It is always wonderful to meet up with virtual friends and when you are listening to inspirational talks and given a free lunch, then all the better!

 I am consequently left today feeling rather pooped to put it mildly and politely!

I have just about enough energy to show you my Bella cushion created from the other half of the charm pack.

 Again, I kept it simple and let the little pieces I had shout from the rooftops.

Man, I love these fabrics!

The colours, the designs, the whole combo is just way too perfect. I've a feeling I'm going to be buying whole bolts of this range!

I finished off the cushion making an envelope backing in a bright turquoise solid.

Looking at it I could almost convince myself that the rain isn't lashing down and my heating isn't on and it really is summer time here in the UK...

 It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Lotta Jansdotter. Her simplistic , fresh, Scandinavian style ticks all boxes as far as I am concerned.

She shook the world when her first line Echo for Windham fabrics hit our shelves last year and I am predicting an even bigger world shake up when her next line Bella arrives in August.

I was lucky enough to be sent a charm pack of Bella and let me tell you, it sure has the wow factor. I am going to stick my neck out here and say I may actually prefer it to Echo.

Maybe it's the colour combos that Bella comes in or may it's that the patterns aren't quite as bold individually so work really well when adding to projects.

Because a charm pack isn't the biggest pack on the block I had to team it with other fabrics and because I wanted to showcase Bella in all it's glory i decided to team it with coordinating solids (in this case some lovely Klona cottons), rather than any other prints.

I split the charm pack up into 2 groups and used the orange and cobalt blue pieces in this quilt, saving the greys, yellow and turquoise for my second project which you can see a glimpse of in the bottom photo below.

Again, trying to keep it simple, I backed my Bella quilt in a denim coloured cotton and bound it in my new orange stripe fabric, which actually was born from a desire for an orange stripe to bind it with!

I for one can not wait for this line to be released and having had a play with a few precious pieces I am very excited about having more to really go for it with.

If you want to read more about this line and how Lotta creates her designs go for an informative read here.

And watch this space for what I am doing with the other pieces...

It's a big weekend in the UK this weekend...

From a national point of view it is Jubilee Weekend so the nation is in a frenzy, with bunting flags decorating absolutely everywhere. I am not what you would call a Royalist, but I do get excited by mass fervour.

On an ever so slightly smaller scale lots of people are getting excited about The Fat Quarterly Retreat this weekend. Unfortunately due to our very own exciting event I can't make that but can not wait to hear all about it.

 We are almost 24 hours from kick off from Noah's Bar Mitzvah. The boys' exams finished today, my aunt and uncle arrived from the US and all finishing touches are just about completed.

I even managed to squeeze in making a very important quilt this week, finishing it off today...

I am quite well aware that this was a crazy time to start a quilt but it was a very special quilt. Noah's Bar Mitzvah teacher and his wife had their first baby last week and I wanted to say a big thank you for all the amazing support Alby has given Noah and an even bigger thank you to baby Arielle for arriving early and enabling her Daddy to be with Noah on Saturday during his big performance. So it was a top priority to finish it.

And finished it is...complete with scrappy binding as I couldn't make a decision quickly enough which fabric to use, so used all 4, including my hoarded last bit of Mikodesign owl fabric.

I think, like a lot of us, I may be a little busy this weekend, but I hope you all have a fantastic extra long weekend and as a very good friend of mine says...see you on the flip side x

Giveaway time!!...

...in exchange for a little advice please.

I've been working on a new design today at the screen printing workshop.

I have had a request from one of my stockists for some more male oriented pouches and hopefully this design fits the bill.

However I got a little print happy on a variety of fabrics and now I'm at a loss as to which work best...

...and that my lovely readers is where you come in.

In exchange for a spot of advice as to which fabric you think works best, your comment will be entered into a draw to win a pouch made up in that fabric.

Do you like the striped or checked shirting?

Do you like the Klona plains in red, blue or grey?

Or is your favourite my signature linen?

I really would value your opinion on this, so just leave a comment and I'll enter you in the draw, which will take place at the end of the week. Please make sure you leave a contact email so I can let you know if you have won.

Thanks and good luck ;-)

It's downright horrible here today and trust me, I have unfortunately experienced it at first hand. Today was the day we picked to take Sam and 7 friends to Alton Towers as a post exam/late birthday party treat.

I actually hate Theme Parks at the best of times. I'm not good with crowds, queues or heights and if you throw cold rain into the equation, you can imagine quite how my mood was today.

And by this time tomorrow I'll be tearing my hair out as they are all staying for a sleepover!

So this seemed a perfect day to distract myself and look at some loveliness.

This week I have bought the following fabric stashes, most of them to use with my screen printing and also I have several quilt orders and my thoughts are heading to designs with lots of plains - something new for me.

This first rather big pile comes from the range of Klona plains that Alice from Backstitch is stocking. The range of colours is incredible and at £5.50/metre, it's fantastic value too. A lot of these are going to be used for screen printing, so I'm rather excited about experimenting with them.

Remember the samples of these I received? Whilst I was on an ordering binge, I added these to the list. They are beautiful. The colours are obviously perfect and they are a lovely linen/cotton blend. Head here if you fancy trying some out for yourself.

I always need spots. I haven't bought these Oliver & S City Weekend dots before, but they will be perfect for Gerry and Steve. I wasn't totally sure when I ordered them that the spottage wasn't a tad small, but I gambled on them being nice and they are. They are perfect. Whilst I was at The Eternal Maker I bought the top one, Basic Grey Graph Dots. You know every now and then you are drawn to a simple fabric and when it comes it exceeds all expectations? That's the case with this one. Having satisfactorily made these for a friend, this Basic Grey is lined up to be made into a pair for our bed. Then I definitely need to order more for one of the quilts on order too. I've a feeling this is going to fast become a firm favourite.

After all this, I've almost forgotten about the bad part of the day.

Hopefully by tomorrow all sleepover madness will be forgotten too.

Spring is in the air.

Isn't it?

Have you noticed the days getting longer?

I just love it when it starts to stay light in the evenings for longer. We've had our fill of cosying up in the dark winter nights and yes, there is definitely something magical about that, but compared to the feeling of awakening in the spring, winter just doesn't cut it.

And with the departure of winter, it's farewell to the woollens and out with the fresh spring fabrics. The springlike days make me look at fabrics differently and consequently this week's purchases from M is for Make look like this.

I actually think I have found a new contender for my All Time Top 10 Favourite Fabrics EVER with this latest delivery. This top fabric is Kaffe Fassett's design for Liberty Art fabric and is just divine. The colours are so crisp and clear, with the cold blue on stark white, being a winner through spring and way into summer. I'm thinking, as well as using for summertime accessories, I am hoping Ruby feels as passionate about it as I do and will allow me to make a skirt or summer dress, or hopefully both - particularly as I've just ordered this book from Kate too.

More springlike fabrics in the delivery were these gorgeous latest prints from Cloud 9. Again, striking fresh blues with crisp white. I love this latest collection. Michelle is such a talented designer and her prints just do it for me every time. I can not wait for her Cut Out & Keep Collection that she has done with Heather Moore of Skinny Laminx, to come out. Not long now as it's due out in April.

To tie all these together I am in need of some fresh plain cottons. Backstitch are stocking the new range of incredibly affordable Klona cottons. Not being sure of the colours I needed I opted for the fantastically valued Swatch Card, which is going to be invaluable for matching up to fabrics.

So, I'm all set for spring now...are you?