Lucky Number 13...

A new issue of Love Patchwork and Quilting landing on the doormat is always a treat and Issue Thirteen,, out now was right up there.

From first glance the pretty blue cover, with Lynne's stunning Medallion Quilt, along with Manda's gorgeous lampshade, oh and my deer cushion!, didn't fail to entice.

This is yet another stunningly put together Issue. Jen's styling brings projects to life in a way, as a contributor, you just can only imagine.

Lucky Number 13 for me though as I have not one, but 2 projects in this issue and, with both of them, Jen captured such a cool freshness that almost made me not recognise them as my own!

The first project was one I had a great deal of fun making, partly because I just love Carolyn Friedlander's fabrics and this quilt was inspired by a swap we did with each other with our respective fabrics.

The second project was a pair of vintage and linen cushions made with some vintage fabrics my dear friend Cathi had sent me. The reverse applique deer took me out of my comfort zone, but I am so pleased it did...I absolutely love the finished effect. Don't you find that is often the case? Push yourself out of the norm and something rather spectacular happens...if you haven't thrown the fabrics away in frustration and given up first!

If you want to see more of these projects, or some of the other great ones in the mag go here to get a copy before it sells out. You really won't want to miss out on this one.

dreams do come true...

 this week was a week where some of the secrets i have been hoarding have been spilling out...

the week started with my tumbling tinsel piece being featured in the fat quarterly scraps issue.

i really enjoyed devising this little quilt, using up precious scraps from previous projects.

i just wish i had had time to make a bigger version, but i guess we shall just put it on the ever growing to do list.

on friday my pixelated quilt, that i had been working on at the end of last year, achieved star status as this month's issue of love patchwork and quilting.

i obviously knew it was coming out, but to see my quilt and my name on the front cover of this fab mag was such a thrill! i am still recovering from seeing it!

and lp&q have done such a beautiful job on it. in fact they have done a stunning job on the whole magazine...the best edition yet i think. seriously if you haven't bought or subscribed to this new magazine yet, you really should.

i am very very proud of this quilt. 

i am very proud that it is on the front cover of a mag. and i am very proud of it being the first double size quilt i have made.

here's to many more of both!

this is definitely the year of hard work paying off and dreams coming true...

...and here's to seeing the big one coming true very very soon! 

:: normal ::

another week, another set of projects...

it's amazing how much time you feel you have when things get back to normal. when i say normal i obviously don't mean normal, but rather back to routine. it's never normal round these parts.

having had our routine disrupted for 2 weeks worth of half term, i am always amazed by how much time i feel i have when the kids first go back to school.

without constant interruptions i have had a successful week getting through the long list of projects I am working on, all of which will be revealed in the up-coming weeks. I actually haven't finished any of them, but it has been fun having time to work on all of them.

a good productive happy week round these parts. no doubt next week will be back to the only normal i know about...normal mayhem.

hope whatever your normal is, it has been a good one. 

x

ps watch out for the middle of next week when one of these projects will be finished and be featured on a blog tour!

Blogger's Quilt Festival 2013...

 it's that time of year again.

the time when Amy inspires us all by running the blogger's quilt festival and when i get to catch up on all the amazing quilting that has been going on around blogland.

i love taking part in the festival, not because i have any delusions of winning, but to be a part of it.

to be honest i wasn't really sure which quilt to enter and then i realised i was actually impeded by the fact that this year i have started many quilts and finished very few so it was  more a case of what i actually could enter.

i have decided to enter my elephants love water in the baby quilt category.

as soon as i saw this fabric at the beginning of the year i knew i had to quilt something out of it (i am having the same feeling about the talented duo's new collection).

it is one of those collections that speaks volumes by itself s doesn't really need too much complicated piecing to make it look good.

i decided to make a wonky windmill kinda block pairing the umbrella prints with coordinating kona solids. i backed it in a simple solid red, again less was more.

i didn't have the right fabric in my stash for the binding. nothing was singing to me when i held fabrics up against the quilt top so it was down to the cellar to print a stripe.

perfect!

it is a simple quilt. it is a small quilt but i absolutely loved working with the umbrella prints fabric and was delighted when a reader loved it so much that they wanted to buy it. i wasn't so pleased to part with it, so i guess i will just have to purchase some floating world and make a substitution.

thanks for stopping by and don't forget to check out what else is going on at the festival. x

in familiar territory...

 this may look a little familiar...

giant hexie quilt in blues and greys...with yellow binding...

a customer was so taken with the original that she wanted me to make a replica.

fine by me...i'm a bit partial to this colour combo.

this is a replica with a difference however, as who has the exact same fabrics in their stash 2 years later?

evidently not me.

the lovely thing about doing the same thing again but different is that it gives you chance to try things a little differently that you didn't think of first time round.

like the binding for instance.

not having the same lotta fabric for the binding meant nothing else quite worked for me. 

so instead i opted for scrappy...result!

this was particularly pleasing on the back which was kept more simple with this fab ikea piece.

 and then there was the quilting...

i jumped in rather quickly first time and did a simple tracing of the hexies in zigzag lines. this worked thanks to some additional hand quilting but without that it needed something different.

i remember being bowled over by Laura's concentric circles quilting on her fantabulous scrappy trip along quilt and thought that would work here...fun but not too fussy. (just realised i've used the same backing as laura too!)ikea

so one replica giant hexie quilt with a difference done...

...one customer deciding she wants one bigger!

the good news is that i get to do a take 3...who knows what improvements will be made on that one.

the other good news is that this one is in my etsy shop for one lucky buyer looking for a pretty quilt...go check it out here.

the other good news is that i am so pleased to be back in familiar territory with my giant hexie pattern that i think that is the first thing i am going to make when i get my hands on some of Leah Duncan's tule...can't wait for that.

seaside all round...

 this post is quite apt today or then again maybe my children have more of an influence on me than i give them credit for.

mum and her sister have taken all the grand kids to the seaside today to give me and my cousin a good long work day. thanks mum and auntie p!

maybe with them and their lovely day in mind it sub-consciously influenced my colour palette while printing last night.

it certainly looks very beachy and summery don't you think?!

i am really pleased with my new scallop design and as ever it's in my etsy shop now!

fabrics have landed...

i have had a fun printing and photography sesh and am delighted to show you my results here...

 and the good news is they are in the Etsy shop now!

lots of luscious serene summery sorbet colours, perfect for summer crafting.

my week in pictures...

what a week.

it's quite amazing what you can fit in when you have to.

first up, the week here in the uk has been hit by mega snow which meant kids have been off with snow days. 

second up, I have been avoiding the issue of tax form deadline looming which always means throwing myself into other suddenly way more important jobs.

thirdly, my poor frail father went for a fall and broke his hip at the beginning of the week which has meant lots of round trips to the hospital visiting and shuttling mum to and fro.

it's quite a wonder i have done anything more than get dressed this week, but looking back on it a fair amount of activity has actually taken place...

1. a snowy walk around the lake...

2. trying to stick to my january fitness regime, but not easy to drag myself out of my cosy bed in this cold...

3. starting to organise my new spring collection with a canvas and linen foldover bag...

4. getting through a few more blocks for my low volume scrappy trip along quilt...

5. a nice little selection of fabrics sitting on my desk at the mo waiting to be tested...

6. beautiful views all over at the start of this week...

7. getting details for some new designs...

8. dumpling pouches galore! just loving making these little pouches (courtesy of michelle patterns)

9. arm warmers made out of an old favourite jumper that simply couldn't bear to throw away.

i hope you have had a good week with not too many stressful interruptions and

have a great weekend x

bribery time...

I would really appreciate your opinion...

I'll make it worth your while...

well you read the heading...Bribery Time.

As you know I have been working on my screen printing range for this Autumn/Winter and have developed the 2 colour-ways - Utility above and Frozen Berries below and within that Triangle Mania and Scruffy Daisy.

I have 3 big fairs coming up and so need a lot of stock and obviously I want the right stock for my customers as all the fairs will be a "see it and buy it now" kinda affair, rather than the ordering kinda scenario.

So the question is, what would you choose? If you could pick any 3 items that you are drawn to, either for yourself or thinking ahead as Christmas gifts what digs it for you? Is there a particular pattern? A certain colour? A favourite pouch? I really would greatly appreciate your thoughts on this, my little in house market research buddies.

 So what's in it for you, I hear you ask? Obviously I know you aren't that kind of person and you are happy to just help out I hear you cry, but everyone is entitled to a little reward and I insist.

So, two things. 

The first is if you leave me a comment with your thoughts I'll email you a code for 10% off your next order (so be sure to link to an email address).

Secondly I'll enter you into a draw to win a little selection of your suggestions. Ah, sneaky huh? Now you have to think about what you like, not just be random, because one of you is going to be lumbered with the said pieces.

Seriously though, I really appreciate the time you take in helping me with this.

Thank you! x

Giveaway open until Sunday evening (oh and talking of which, there's still time to enter my fab giveaway from M is for Make...go check it out if you haven't already entered.)

 This printing malarkey on white is such a breeze. I'm not sure why I didn't think of it earlier.

The only thing slowing me down at the moment is space for the fabric to dry.

I am on the lookout for something like this but they are so pricy that I just can't afford it right now.

 I definitely need a better system however as finding a solution in one area - printing in white - is now being hindered by another.

Maybe I should have a "drying rack pot"...

every time I sell fabric the earnings go into a pot to purchase my drying rack...shouldn't take too long!

...particularly when i am offering bundles of gorgeous colours like these at the bargain price of £20 a bundle! There's my Utility bundle at the top, followed by Frozen Berries and then Frozen Utility at the bottom - what happens when a little Berry mixes with Utility.

p.s. this wasn't supposed to turn into a sales pitch...I never know where my posts are going to end up when I start out...but if you are smitten please do head here to buy a bundle... ;-)

I'm having a bit of a dotty thing going on at the moment.

Normally I line my pouches with Liberty fabric or shirting fabric, both of which i really love using, but today some relatively new Robert Kaufman purchases got a look in.

It all started when I was looking for a fabric to line one of my Summerville Pouches.

Perfect! More than a little ray of sunshine on this dismal day!

Having remembered that I had actually bought this fabric for this particular purpose, I decided to use them as linings for the other pouches that I've been making for a stockist today.

I really love them and just hope the stockist and customers do too!