BM time...take 3...

 So it's that time again...the time where when i had wished for more than 3 children i am damn glad there aren't more.

it's bar mitzvah time...again! well actually it's bat mitzvah this time as it's ruby's turn, but full on entertaining our nearest and dearest for an entire weekend.

having done it twice before i haven't quite got the oomph to get going on the organising for a third time.

thankfully ruby being a girl means that this time she has loads of ideas and input of her own. 

that in itself can be double edged...having someone else to consult and negotiate with is just yet another hurdle to jump. still, she's very keen to be on board and it is definitely another pair of hands.

unfortunately my heart isn't quite in this one tho, partly for bad reasons (not having dad with us is playing on my mind) but partly for good (humungous work deadline 2 days after...and one that hopefully by then i will be able to spill the beans about...finally!)

putting all the colour schemes, party prop ideas, food consultations, invitations made, written and hand delivered to one side there is the big issue of dress shopping...

5 people, 3 outfits a piece, 4 for ruby "because it is my bat mitzvah"...as if we didn't know.

(ignore gonky pic...where's a decent photographer when you need on?)

in order to cut down on the wear and tear on my shoes searching for my attire i decided to make one of my dresses and after seeing made by rae's ruby dress it seemed both perfect and rather apt.

when i set out i wasn't sure what fabric it would work for me in but i grabbed what fabric i had in my stash that was big enough to give it a try. i wasn't going to waste precious special fabric if it wasn't going to be right.

after a few changes to the original pattern - the original one has gathers which i felt were a bit baby doll for me so i adapted these to box pleats - i decided that this was indeed a great dress for what i needed it for. next time i do need to use more fabric across the front so the pleat doesn't pull across my ample bazoomerage (yeh right - magnifying glass springs to mind).

the question then was which fabric was i going to make it in. originally i had in mind this nani iro but having received a sample, whilst i love it and will possibly use another time, it wasn't quite right for this event.

looking again i have decided on this beautiful voile below. 

i am actually really excited about having this and bullied kate into sending it pronto (if i could have persuaded her to drive up to leeds from brighton to bring it today believe me i would have). 

because i wasn't sure which one would work best with the voile i have ordered 3 of the brussels washers. i am hoping one will jump out at me when i see them in the flesh. does one of them jump out at you?

so end of october sees bat mitzvah weekend along with **** deadline so if you don't hear from me before i resurface again in november, you now know why!

the changing of minds...

 So, the Low Volume quilt for our bed has had various transformations while I searched for just the right block design.

You may remember it started life as a Log Cabin on Sunday...

 Early yesterday morning it had morphed into HSTs...

 And before the day was even out it had changed again into straight line piecing cut within an inch of its life. 

I woke up dreaming (yes, literally dreaming) of wonky windmill blocks, having gone to bed wowing at this beauty and finding this ace tutorial.

My Tuesday running buddy was coming round at 8.30 so I was hard pushed to do a trial block before then....I am seriously my own worst enemy.

That said, I am now 100% sure (yeah, right, until the next change of plan) that this is the block I am going to use. 

The log cabin would have been too busy, even if it is Low Volume...

the HST gorgeous, but too full-on for a king sized bed (yes, Charlotte, you were right...I do listen)...

as for the straight line piecing, I have no idea where that one was going.

I'm hoping the wonky windmills will be easy on the eye, be as asymmetric and random as I like and still be the one I love when it eventually gets onto the bed.

Now I have made a decision this will now have to be put on a shelf high up out of temptations way. I have a lot on. And I mean a lot. And if I'm good I'll let myself bring it down and do a few blocks for a while.

Ooh I'm so strict.

Sewing has got underway with the new linings, starting with the gorgeous AMH voile. This fabric is so beautiful to work with. It feels like silk. Just gorgeous.

The rest of my fabrics have been pouring in this week, including these much awaited for dotty oilcloths for my washbags. Mr Postie handed me 4 envelopes and had the cheek to ask whether I was expecting anything else...he should know better than that...of course there are still more to come.

I have been waiting for these oilcloths to arrive from US for EVER (a week is forever, right?) and so when they arrived today, it was washbag making mania at the ready.

They are as fab as I had hoped and am delighted with how well they work with my screen printed fabrics.

These are the start of another batch of goodies getting ready to make their way down South to another of my lovely stockists.

Hope Stephanie likes pink...

Fabrics galore...lovely, lovely fabrics...

I've had a bit of a fabric binge this weekend and the most exciting thing about it is waiting each day for delivery day and see which ones have arrived.

First up to arrive today was this little selection from M is for Make. An email pinged in on Friday evening from Kate about a 20% off weekend sale, so I quickly went for a look...well, it would have been rude not to.

Considering what an amazing selection of fabrics Kate has, I think I was pretty refrained. I actually made a conscious decision to look for fabrics that I could essentially use for my pouch linings and not be swayed by all the other beautiful Must Have fabrics in my stash. Shock, horrors, I know!

So with my focussed brain on, straight into the basket went firm favourites of Kei dots and Cloud 9's Shards from the Cut Out and Keep collection. You can never have enough dots and Kei dots are my absolute favourite. I just love Shards and Cloud 9 fabrics run out so quickly - it would be criminal to be without any of this in my stash.

Next up, a couple of Anna Marie Horner's Pastry Line Voiles. If you don't know Anna Marie Horner's Voiles, you should get acquainted. They are beautifully soft and silky, and this design has been on my wishlist for a while and perfect for pouch linings.

Another fabric line that I've had my eye on is Sara Morgans' Feedsack. They have a wonderful vintage vibe that will pair so well with so many fabrics. An essential. A staple. A must. Just gorgeous.

Last up was a little frivolity... What?? You didn't really think I could be totally focussed and unswayed by a beautiful fabric.

Another fabric in Kate's store that I have had my eye on for a while is this gorgeous Nani Iro yellow and grey dot. So while no-one was watching, I quickly slipped it into my basket, akin to a chocolate treat at the supermarket. Hey, I'm only human and let's face it, you'd have been disappointed with me if I hadn't. Wouldn't you?

I'm very very happy with all of these and have already lined a few pouches with the Pastry Line Voile and they look just perfect, so generally some very sensible business decisions.

In the meantime, I wonder which will arrive tomorrow...

Not only are December and Christmas creeping upon us oh too quickly, we are just one sleep away from Chanukah. Chanukah fluctuates every year, as the Hebrew calendar is lunar. December 1st is the earliest it ever is and it throws me every time it is this early. We are all geared up commercially for Christmas and when Chanukah comes 24 days earlier, it's more than I can manage. We don't celebrate Christmas so you would think it wouldn't matter. But, it's there everywhere and also, obviously, my business is centred around Christmas.

So now I'm panicking. I did a big Amazon shop last night (thank goodness for Amazon) and

fortunately I got an early start with some of my handmade gifts, but I still have the Poppy Doll to do for Ruby.

All the family are coming over to us for candles, presents and dinner on Friday and whilst we normally only buy the children gifts at Chanukah, I wanted to give each of the ladies a gift - a gift FOR the ladies, but for the men to USE, obviously...

I've made each of them a pretty tea towel to match each of their kitchens. The pink one above is my Mum's. She has the prettiest palest pink kitchen.

This yellow one isn't actually for anyone, but how I could sew something and not do a yellow and grey version? It will however be in my Etsy shop, along with several others very shortly.

Can you guess who this one below is for?

I'm feeling a little more relaxed and prepared now that I have these made.

But no relaxing just yet...it's our wedding anniversary tomorrow too...and I haven't done a darn thing about that...

My pillow for the Pillow Talk Swap is finished...

...i sewed the strips of fabric together and then appliqued the hexies in place...

....a finishing touch of embroidery was added...

...and an envelope opening back using my favourite new striped linen and it was complete.

All that's left is to send it off to my secret partner and hope and pray that she feels the same way about it as I do.

Since being back from London Gift Fair, I've been working on that conveyer belt of kit building, which doesn't leave much time for anything else.

I do love it. I love seeing the pile of boxes grow as they get made. And I am really loving how the new sleeves are looking when they are all together. Not only am I pleased with how much more appealing they look, but they provide the added bonus of saving alot of time to do. All that hole punching of the swing tags and tying with ribbon, was an arduous process. This is one wrap and you're done!

So whilst it is very satisfying making up trade orders, I do miss the time it leaves to actually sew and create. It also means that updating my different stores gets neglected too.

I got to where I needed to be today with order deadlines and took a little time out to finish the lavender bags I had started with before the fair. They have been sitting teasingly on my desk waiting to be finished. I wanted to put some of them on Etsy, as I haven't updated my Etsy shop for quite a while.

It's fair to say I didn't get all that far.

Just this one set.

But at least it's a start and I should be able to get the others finished and up there over the weekend at the latest. This set is right here.

I love creating new things and am determined to time-table in making time. Even when life is at it's busiest.

When in doubt...

when nothing else seems right...

when all else fails...

...sew.

As is normally the way when I am struggling with time and under pressure, I get side tracked with sewing something completely irrelevent and not what needs to actually be done.

Maybe it's something to do with needing the stress release of sitting playing with fabric and having a little sewing time. Maybe it's a good thing that I do that.

I have been (and still am) unbelievably stressed this week with getting the prep done for the London Gift Fair. I've been getting myself in a real flap trying to make my stand as I want it and finding the time to do so. So why I then go off on a tangent and sew up some new lavender bags is beyond me.

I was kidding myself that I needed them for the show. As if I have time to start designing and making new items at this late stage. And now all that is left is a pile of half made sewn together pieces that are hanging around waiting for something to be done. It's not like I need any more of that about...believe me I have plenty of half finished projects lying around.

Still, looking at the one completed one gives me, for some strange reason, a little bit of peace and calm in this crazy crazy week. I might just take it with me as a lucky charm.

I haven't taken part in Sunday Stash for a while and whilst it's not quite Sunday in England, it certainly is in some parts of the world. And by the time some of you are up and reading, it no doubt will be. So you'll forgive me a little dramatic licence.

I wanted to share with you some Alexander Henry fabrics that I've just picked up from M is for Make.

I follow Kate's blog, partly because I am in awe of her dress-making skills and partly because I want to be first to know when she has some new fab fabrics in store.

Kate has a perfect selection of fabrics in her wonderful on-line store, from Cloud 9's beautiful organic range, to Anna Maria Horner's irresistible voiles, to wonderful had-printed textiles by Skinny La Minx and Ink & Spindle. Oh, and did I mention the sprinkling of Denyse Schmidt too?

It was love at first sight when I saw this range and since I missed a visit to Festival of Quilts this weekend, I figured it was only fair I purchased some.

I can not wait for it's arrival. Neither can I wait to see what else Kate has teasingly led me to believe she has coming.

A little fabric shopping took place last week and boy am I pleased with all of it. Saints and Pinners continue to have the best collection of on-line fabrics based in the UK and I was able to get my full wish-list in the same place.

First up is this little array of pinky reds, perfect for quilting...from the left...

the stunning Coral Reed by Cloud 9

a restock of Tanya Whelan's fab Dolce Fans

Amy Butler's spots from the gorgeous new LOVE line

This next little grouping are just sublime. A while ago I bought my first stash from Anna Marie Horner's beautiful range and I was addicted on the spot. Not only do the fabrics have the most exquisite feel to them and are a dream to sew, but the colours and designs are quite simply divine.

The blue and red Diamond Mine are stunning, but I think the Little Honey in Meadow wins my heart.

Another group that have been on my wish-list for some time are these from Cloud 9 Fabrics and it was high time I treated myself to a selection. As mentioned previously they are not only delectable in every way, but their organic eco properties make them a double whammy.

Whilst I was shopping I picked up this little stash of everyday essentials...a couple of Free Spirit fabrics and another Amy Butler Sunspots sandwiched between.

Oh and let me share with you a little extra I treated myself to this week...a gorgeous hand screen-printed piece by Melbomba. Mel has printed her fab design on a beautiful linen/cotton mix. Go check out her store. She has some fab pieces. I've got my eye on this one next.

I can sleep easy knowing my stash is looking this good, but the good news is I'm making room by having a bit of a clear out of some great fabrics but no longer work for me....some scrap bags and bigger yardarge...so watch out for the alerts...

I've been lucky to get a fair few commissions recently for already designed pieces, but with an individual touch. It's great to have a twist in the process. The general theme remains the same, so no design time needed to work it out, but just a little different detail to make it not seem repetitive.

On this occasion, the quilt for the new born baby in question was requested with a heart theme. Whilst I wanted to stick to the simplistic style, I decided on embroidering a row of hearts across a linen strip.

Newborn quilts aren't too big so any fussy design doesn't do it for me. So to do a second row of hearts didn't seem to quite fit in. And repeating any fabrics didn't work for me either. So, here we have Grazia's quilt (that's Grace to you and me), a simplistic, pretty, snuggly baby quilt, that hopefully she will have for years to come.