a lightbulb moment...

 i am still a bit giddy from yesterday. 

for those of you that follow me on IG you will know what i am talking about...

the wonderful and talented Leanne Fanny of the little house martin sent me some of her amazing fabrics....and i mean amazing!

we follow each other on IG (i'm blueberryathome, Leanne is leannefanny) amongst other places and we got chatting about doing a swap of our fabrics. i was certainly up for that!

would you just look at what came in the mail yesterday!

Leanne's designs and colours are just too stunning for words.

i have always been a fan of her dotted leaf design so was delighted to have a couple of those in the bundle.

 as for flower pop...just darling and such gorgeous colours.

Leanne mixes the most stunning colours and i am determined to spend some time on doing what i started doing a couple of weeks ago and mix better colours. it makes such a difference.

you may have come across her sewing machine patch that she has made a very cute needle case kit with. i think that is due to be in the shop very soon.

so there i was, lucky me, with all this sitting on my desk. 

taxes were done so there really was nothing (imminent) stopping me from creating with them.

as soon as i opened them and pulled (in a very refrained kinda way - obviously) them out i knew exactly what i was going to do with them. I had no preconceived ideas at all and thought they would sit on my desk for several days waiting for something very special to use them for.

but no sewing commenced rather swiftly...

 i was being a little bit of a tease posting photos on IG for Leanne to guess. she had absolutely no idea and nor did anyone else, although i did like one suggestion of it being a headboard for a bed.

 in typical karen can't-possibly-stop-to-rest-eat-or-do-anything-until-it's-finished mode at about 9.45pm last night the patchwork lampshade was completed. 

 i absolutely love it.

Leanne absolutely loves it

and judging by the reaction on IG last night a load of other lovely folks do too!

i can not tell you what a pleasure it has been to get to know Leanne and to have this wonderful experience with someone so lovely.

in fact, in less than 24 hours we have set up a collaboration of working together to devise the first in a series of lampshade kits! (there is already a very exciting second one in the pipeline, but can't say any more at the moment)

these kits will be available very very soon (or to buy ready made if you don't fancy making your own) so you too can have your very own beautiful Fanny Park lampshade in your house!

umbrellas and other quilt tops...

 is there any better sight than a pile of quilt tops?

 the only thing i can think of that is better is possibly a pile of completed quilts.

 january has seen me not only make 2 quilt tops from scratch but also finish off one from the WIP pile...big YAY!

 i jumped on the scrappy trip along bandwagon and made my first quilt top of the year.

 this was swiftly followed by making my Glimma quilt top...

and whilst the pressure of relative ease was still present business wise, i finished off my umbrella prints top.

i really love this top. 

the girls at umbrella prints are design geniuses and rank right up there with lotta jansdotter in my eyes (as does someone else who i'll tell you more about tomorrow).

i am hoping to tweak a little more time into my days to get these 3 quilted and bound before real work gets back to its crazy mayhem.

i'm not sure if i'll succeed but i think you will agree it's a damn good start to the year!

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

sneaky sewing...

like most ideas i have, this heart cushion came from nowhere and by the time I had finished, a progression i'm itching to try has sparked off as a consequence.

the other night i needed a quick fix sewing project...y'know the type when everyone else in the house is busy or amusing themselves and you are itching to sew and know that you can pinch an extra bit of time?

the thangles were out and being cut before i was really sure what i was doing.

not long later and the heart was forming and in no time at all it was pieced, quilted and sewn into a zippered cushion.

so gratifying!

as i said before, this has now got me thinking about a project along a similar vein and with the help of the arrival of some ordered fabric, it shouldn't be too long before this idea is realised.

 just need to make sure everyone is happy for me to ignore them for a little while again so I can sneak off and try it...

what have you managed to sneak off to do lately?

an unexpected treat day...

today was supposed to be all about this...

but the fluffy white stuff got the better of us :(

i had got the printing room all ready (albeit in the very chilly cellar)...

i had made soup...

and cake.

i would much rather be screen printing with lovely peeps but the consolation prize is i have cake and a day to do what i like.

if i was conscientious i would be taking advantage of the extra day and do my taxes...

but i'm not.

i hope the snow isn't interrupting your plans and if it is you are having a treat day as a consequence. 

printing...an update...

a very quick printing session this morning to give my new colours a try out and to get it out of my system.

I would only have been thinking about them all day if I hadn't...

you know me...you know I would.

some adjustments need making...

the one I am most pleased with, surprisingly as it isn't a colour I normally use, is the lilac. it is really soft but has enough personality to not be over powering.

 the green is okay. I would like it a tad lighter and more of a yellowy green.

as for the yellow, it is a lot brighter than I was aiming for. I must remember than colours always come out brighter on the fabric. much more white needed in the mix in this one.

it is all a big trial and error exercise.

although there is really no error as I can always make use of the fabrics...

and...

my tester sheet is looking pretty in the process.

 UPDATING an update:

just thought i would do a little show and tell of my playing around with these new shades in my repertoire...

dumpling pouches seemed a quick and easy and fun way to try them out...

what do you reckon?

(fantastic dumpling pouch pattern courtesy of Michelle Patterns)

wordless wednesday...almost...

   mixing colours...

   thinking of spring...

   pale and delicate...

   floral fresh...

   wonder how they will look when printed up?