green bee giveaway...

I have a great giveaway for you this week!

Annie of The Village Haberdashery is offering one of Alexia Abegg's new Green Bee sewing patterns to one lucky (UK /Europe based) reader.

Alexia is one talented lady and with talented hubby Rob Bancroft about to bring out his debut fabric line microMod with Cloud 9 fabrics, they are one hellava force to be reckoned with.

Annie has just done a wonderful interview with Alexia. If you haven't seen it yet, pop over there to read all about it.

In the meantime back to the patterns and the giveaway...

Annie is stocking 4 of the quilt patterns and 5 of the dress-making ones. They are all stunning, with fantastic and clear instructions, but I am particularly drawn to the diamond ring quilt pattern, which I am so putting on my To Make list and if I still had little people I'd certainly be drawn to Anya.

So for the giveaway and the chance to win one of these stunning patterns...you know the drill...4 ways to win...

1. Leave a comment here to say you'd love to enter and which pattern you would choose if you won (see the full collection that Annie is stocking here)

2. Go 'Like' The Village Haberdashery on Facebook and come back here and tell me you've done it.

3. Go sign up for The Village Haberdashery Newsletter (scroll down to bottom right) and come back here to tell me you have.

4. Go tweet about it and yup, you guessed it, come back here to tell me you have ;-)

Good luck! you have until this time next week Weds 21 November.

Apologies again for non European peeps...will have a fab giveaway for you very soon ;-)

Also PLEASE make sure you leave a valid email address...no email address, no entry...simples.

number 13...lucky for some...

A day late but here we go...the winners of a copy each of 20 Crafty Makes are...

Lucky Number 13... the lovely Helen of Archie the Wonder Dog

and then Wivi, who am sure is equally lovely!

Thank you all for entering and supporting this wonderful cause and if you would like to still have a copy you can support the cause by buying a copy (or more!) from here.

(Helen and Wivi...email addresses please and your books will be on their way!)

all the fun at the fair(s)...

I am off to the Big Smoke this weekend!

Tomorrow I will be at Selvedge Winter Fair. I am very excited about this one as am a huge fan of Selvedge, so to be included in something they do feels a great privilege.

On Sunday I will be at Old Spitalfields Market with We Make London. We Make London do brilliant events so it should be good. 

Only shame for me is that I probably won't have chance to see all the other amazing makers and their work. But you will! So do come along to one of the fairs and come say hi. It will be great to see you!

I am packing the car as we speak and filling myself up with caffeine for the journey (it was a late night last night finishing off) and then I'll be on my merry way.

I got a little distracted in my preparations yesterday (nothing new there)...I was sewing up a sample Gerry when a lightbulb moment occurred "how cute would Gerry look on a t-shirt?"

I printed him up on a few t-shirts and now he's all ready to come to The Big Smoke with me! Shame there's only one size (one size fits all??) but there will be more of Gerry in various guises in the future...and Steve is pretty keen to get in on the act too...

Have a great weekend whatever you are doing and do come and say hi if you do manage to come to one of the fairs.

x

turning a negative into positive...

 

 I don't know about you but if I wake in the night I am done for...particularly if it is anytime after 4.30.

Off I pop to the loo and by the time I am back in bed I am wide awake with all the things I need to squeeze into the day ahead.

Normally I just get up at that point and before I know it I am doing something that I keep meaning to do during the day but never have time for. There's always something else to be done then.

One thing that normally gets done in these small hours is sorting fabric. I take one look at the piles that have been cast aside while working - never enough time to put back properly - and realise that even messy me has gone a step too far.

Onto my second cup of tea and still no sign of anyone else I had my fabrics sorted and even better, organised into some fab scrap bags that I have now listed in my Etsy Sample shop.

Thanks to the lightening speed of Instagram and several other insomniacs, some have already been spoken for, but there are still a few that you can grab here. They are full of fantastic designer children's prints from Aneela Hoey and Sarah Jane to Lucie Summers and Jessica Hogarth and lots more imbetween. They may include some of the above. They may include all. But they'll certainly include lots of great fabrics!

I should actually set my alarm for 4.30 every day!

20 crafty makes...a giveaway...

I feel very honoured and privileged to have been part of this great project. 

Katie, Natalie and Alex, 3 wonderfully talented and generous crafters organised this little makey book in aid of The Stroke Association.

They have produced a really fab little book of 20 great projects by some fab crafters, all in aid of The Stroke Association which campaigns for improvements in care; supports people to make the best recovery they can and funds research to come up with new treatments and ways of preventing strokes.

Every one of the projects is very different from the next. The girls really have produced something a little special and it has been so beautifully put together too. The photography and layout it just great.

Being a lover of printing I was drawn to Camilla's lino-print wrapping paper. How cute does her Reinbin look? (reinbin?? you'll have to read it to find out what!)

I'm itching to try and learn to crochet, so seeing April's project made my heart skip a little beat. I'm definitely ear-marking that for some christmas holiday crafting.

Oh and there's me! You could be forgiven for thinking I am wearing lipstick there! I never wear lipstick - much to my mother's horror - so I'm not sure what that's all about!

I bought several copies for this worthwhile cause; a couple of copies for friends for christmas presents (and one for me as well of course) but that leaves 2 copies up for grabs for you my lovely readers. If you would like the chance of winning one, along with one of my makes of my project, just leave me a comment to let me know. 

In the meantime if you would like to buy more copies of the book you can go right here. They certainly make a great little stocking filler.

Draw open to one and all but just one entry only please. I'm away with fairs this weekend...sounds a little like running away with the circus - either that or away with the fairies - but nothing much new there then!...so I'll draw 2 winners when I'm back this time next week.

Good luck and thanks for supporting this wonderful cause. x

new kits...

I find it's always good to produce new items this close to Christmas. 

You know, when you are so rushed off your feet and can hardly breathe.

It's just perfect timing to spend all hours getting it into a ready selling state and neglect what really needs doing.

Hence I have just produced  these kits...

I spent most of yesterday photographing and writing up the instructions for them and they are now winging their way to various stockists to sell as Christmas extras.

They come with everything needed to make one pouch and full instructions to make as many more as you like! Perfect for making lots of presents this Christmas!

For now they are available in my Etsy shop...and in time I will let you know which stockists are selling them.

Now back to the To Do List...

giveaway winner...drum roll please...

Giveaway for Courtney of Seamstar's generous solids bundle giveaway is...

Helen from The Fabric Laboratory!

Well done Helen! Your chosen bundles will be on their way to you and if you missed out but would like to order some, please go here.

Thank you all for entering and another giveaway on it's way later this week.

x