busy old week

 lots of activity at bp headquarters this week...

:: a rush on baby boy cards, altho sadly none for george alexander louis...

:: redesigning triangle mania image in an attempt to have it repeatable...that means larger fabric panels...that means excitement!

:: back to putting the advent calendar kits on a screen...apparently some people think it's time to start thinking about christmas...ugghhh...

:: however i am rather pleased with the 2013 update...a resting rudolph on xmas day!

:: a project half done...printed and all ready to sew...what will it be?

:: and even time spent on the glimma quilt...fmq'ed to an inch of its life and being bound as we speak...

:: i love weeks like this...constructive and fun and still 2 days left to get more ticked off...

smug? moi? no, just happy x

a little spot of dress making...

 i have been pretending that i'm a dress-maker this weekend.

seriously, i am such a novice dress maker that i have only ever tackled pjs and more recently the staple dress before.

but having searched the high street for summer dresses for ruby and finding nothing and then seeing the gorgeous charlotte sporting a beautiful make from the equally gorgeous Leila's pattern, with my limited dress making skills i thought "i can do that".

and apparently i can!...as long as you don't look too closely at the wibbly wobbly shirring.

next up, full of false confidence after the relative success of a let's face it a rectangular dress, i opened up my newly delivered washi dress pattern thinking i was up to the job.

well whatdya know i was!

the only thing disappointing about the outcome of this top is that i didn't opt to make the full length dress...next time.

having made and successfully being able to wear this item (it actually fits...bust seams n all!) i am now a newly converted dress maker. i'm hooked! 

i'm thinking i may even be up to tackling some of the pieces in the japanese books i have been collecting. 

how difficult can they be? 

over confident? moi?...

pretty practical...

 yesterday began with a quick much needed project.

the loo door is half glass and when we first moved in i put up a temporary scratty piece of fabric to tide us over...that was 9 years ago now...ahem...

every time i sat on the loo i was reminded that i really needed to rectify this.

9 years is obviously plenty of time to decide just what i wanted up there.

having played around with doily prints recently and having developed a recent penchant for this colour ways having been inspired by this print i put 2 and 2 together and whipped up this piece of fabric.

it was a case of layering up the colours using the lovely warm sunshine to speed up the drying process...

it started with pale pink...followed swiftly by some ochre...

and finally a splash of gunmetal grey.

4 stitched edges and an insert of ribbon and i'm wondering why it took my 9 years.

i'll have time now to think of other things while frequenting the littlest room in the house.

necessary scratching of itches...

 i have been so busy screen printing recently and engulfed with the current major project that I haven't had time to do any piecing whatsoever...

none...

not one stitch.

but don't worry i have made up for that this last day or two. 

i got to the end of a big deadline yesterday that left vital space in my head to think about some of the projects that needed attention.

the triangular hexie project at the top was the first itch to be scratched. you know when you don't even realise things are in your head until they come pouring out?

next up are my blocks for the lovely nicky.

nicky is queen bee in august for our bee a brit stingy and was kind enough to give us an early heads up what with the holidays n all.

i can not tell you how delighted i am that she did this and it has meant, having now done them, i have no bee commitments until september. thanks nicky! it leaves me bee guilt free for the rest of the summer.

having sorted out these next blocks above for another project my head is even more free to concentrate on other things. my little head can only hold so much in it at once you know and ticking off each thing leaves just enough space to cope with other matters.

as they say...every little bit helps. (do they say that? or did i make that up? they should say that...) 

last up was further experimentation with the triangular hexies that i started at the top. it's beginning to look a little like it did in my head, which is a good thing as far what i was aiming to do. i am now awaiting delivery of the fabrics that this is supposed to be made with. another exciting project that has space to develop.

so itches have been scratched, satisfaction has been achieved, space in the brain has been created and so it is back to focussing on the major project in hand until the next little creative time out.

new QAL...

i am very excited and very flattered to have been asked to be part of a new QAL The {Big} City QAL organised by Amy and Aylin.

i am one of 13 gals from all around the world where we will each produce a block from our chosen city.

i am london.

Aylin has written all about it here.

go and check it out and i would absolutely love it if you joined in.

there will be a new city every sunday for 13 weeks and every 3rd week there will be a linky party with some amazing prizes.

as i say i am very excited and extremely flattered and would be delighted to have you all with me every block of the way!

right...i'd better start to plan my block...

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!

life the sunshiny way...

 i'm beginning to feel what it must be like living in aus...you know when you know it's going to be nice the next day and don't need to worry about what you should wear, whether to take a coat or brolly just in case.

we are all loving the outdoors living that's going on round these parts. everything is taking place on the deck. quite why the house is still a mess i have no idea...we aren't even in it!

even the cutting mat has been brought outside to do a certain project for a certain young lady...

along with the paints for the afore-mentioned young lady to have fun with the off cuts.

gorgeous weather brings shopping for gorgeous clothes for the teenager. i just love this shirt fabric and can't wait for him to grow out of it so i can cut it up...unless of course the younger teenager decides he wants his turn with it too.

saturday's tea party was an outdoor affair too. 

it was a bitter sweet day as we all got together for what would have been dad's birthday. we tried to keep ourselves jolly with reminiscing and talk of how much dad used to enjoy his birthday teas despite being a diabetic and spending the whole afternoon with him trying to avoid being told off by mum for sneaking bites of things he shouldn't be eating.

despite the outdoors living i've still been managing to get plenty of printing time in the cellar and sewing in the attic but boy is it hot up there.

isn't life better when the sun shines?

very chirpy indeed

 after some late night sewing last night finishing off these bags i popped into my most favouritest new local design shop, chirpy this morning to drop them off along with some other pieces that lovely owner harriet had ordered.

we have been crying out for a shop like this in the area. i have been very tempted to open one up myself to satisfy the need but thank goodness someone as talented as Harriet came along and did it.

chirpy really is a gem of a shop. 

from the minute you walk up the higgledy stairs into the packed full light strewn front room, there is treasure to be seen with every turn of the eye.

it's a real homage to handmade design and a place that i feel utterly proud to be stocked in.

not only has harriet selected exquisite pieces to stock (i want everything in there) but her choice of furniture to display them in and on is everything you would want in your home from the beautiful wooden dressers to mid century-esque coat stands and peg rails.

if this shop was done by someone else (me) it could end up looking like the worst case of jumble sale mayhem but harriet is one of those very talented people with the midas touch of styling and stock selection.

and there's more...

drag yourself out of this room and walk up the stairs to another stunning light filled room that harriet has converted into a workshop space.

 along the way you will see more treasure - harriet hasn't wasted an inch of space in her beautiful shop.

upstairs, as well as a large table for the workshops, harriet has created a cosy feel with an ample display of cushions on comfy sofas.

if you live nearby you really must go visit chirpy. if you don't live that close by it is certainly worth a special trip. 

and whilst you are in the area grab some sustenance at the equally wonderful sunshine bakery...a realy gem of a place.

thank you all for your brilliant suggestions for my latest fabric design. 

i really loved them all but one really stood out...go check out here which one it was...

what's in a name?

 i have been printing up a new design today that i have been working on.

 i never really quite know how a design on paper is going to turn out when it is printed up but i am really rather pleased with it.

i am however a little bit stumped with what to call it. while i was drawing it out i had an idea in mind but it hasn't ended up looking quite like i thought it would and so that name won't work.

fancy helping me out with a name? 

i am going to give a panel - in either yellow or turquoise - to the best name. Fancy winning one? just leave your suggestion here (or on IG...i have it going on there too) and the name that wows me the most will win a panel in the colour of their choice.

so get your thinking caps on and thanks for helping!

threat of burning out...

 you may see me storming through work stuff this week at a rate equal to a hurricane. the kids break up on friday - well those that haven't yet broken up having had exams - so i can see my future work time rapidly diminishing.

all of that would be fine of course if i didn't actually have major projects on the go. this summer is going to be the biggest challenge yet. it's always a juggle, with me losing it most days, but with some tight deadlines early october 8 weeks with the kids kicking their heels, it is going to make it even more so.

so today, the start of the last proper week of work i've shot out of the blocks and been printing, sewing and ticking off the list.

i have a feeling i may burn myself out by the end of the week and need the 8 weeks to recover myself.