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

triangular sweethearts...

 it's that time again...

the Saltaire Makers Fair. 

 i love exhibiting at the Saltaire Makers Fair as it is full of lots of wonderful talented makers and it has a reputation for the visitors expecting quality handmade work.

as normal i haven't got myself particularly well prepared for the event so am trying desperately hard now to rectify that and make plenty of my usual favourites as well as having a few fresh new lines to show.

a few weeks ago i printed my first stencilled heart tea towel in orange and finally today managed to print some more in a couple of other colours.

this will be their inaugural outing so it will be lovely to see how they are received. to date i have printed them up in the tangerine, a sunshine yellow and then a greeny-turquoise. the greeny-turquoise was today's happy accident. i had printed the yellow first and went over the screen with my regular turquoise and hey presto a lovely seafoam colour. i love it! i've been trying but failed to mix this colour for ages. don't you just love happy accidents?

i think i will stick with these 3 colours...

unless of course there's a colour that you think i must print it in...all suggestions on a postcard pleas...or simply left as a comment.

and of course i couldn't just leave the design as tea towels...

there are t-shirts for your little sweetheart too!

if you live in the vicinity and are looking for something great to do this forthcoming Bank Holiday then please do come visit. the Makers Fair is part of the Saltaire Arts Trail so there will be lots to see and do. it would be well worth a special visit even if you live a bit further afield.

...and if you aren't able to be there then you can always pick up one of my new tea towels in my Etsy shop. (t-shirts will be available there v soon)

a little sweetheart...

 this week has been all about trying to catch up as well as throwing myself into all that is comforting.

 cracking on with this quilt and pattern ticked both those boxes.

you may remember these cushions i did back in january...

as i was doing them they sparked an idea for  my next quilt pattern. it was the perfect week to throw myself into some gratuitous sewing as well as feeling virtuous as i was actually ticking something off the list, rather than the usual adding to it.

so please let me introduce the sweetheart quilt!

the pattern is now available in my etsy shop along with the popular giant hexie quilt pattern and for a limited time i am offering both patterns for £7 instead of the usual £4.50 each.

you gotta love a bargain ;-)

that done i have a day to catch up properly with all that has been hanging over me and i haven't had the oomph to deal with.

today is different...today the oomph is back (see what i'm doing here with the positive thinking?...i'll let you know if it really is or whether i am just all talk as usual!) 

Hello and Happy Monday to you!

I can't tell you how much I am loving life being calmer and being in control. Don't get me wrong, I still give my fair share of crabby irrational crossness, but generally life is cope-able at the mo.

Just as I say that watch it change...

First weekend for a long time with no visitors, no trips, nothing pressing, leaving me to get started on a commissioned cushion for a new baby.

I really love doing these log cabin cushions. Every one seems to be different. One of the recent ones was a bit too pink for this customer, so I pulled in a bit more green and teal. Log cabins are perfect for adding a little special piece of fabric without hyper-ventilating at the thought of using up precious stash. Just a little row of Lu Summer's Hearts, along with Mikodesign's Matryoshka dolls work a treat. Oh and let's not miss a couple of teal Scruffy Daisy's here and there ;-) I love the pop of colour in the Erin McMorris Lollie fabrics too.

I've just embroidered the centre panel and am finishing off the personalisation, then magic it up into a cushion and we are good to go.

I have a couple more in the queue...let's hope I'm still enthusiastic about them after I'm done.

By the way...quick question...

I'm thinking of adding to my Take Away Kits and making a Log Cabin Cushion Cover Kit. What do you reckon? Is this something you'd like to see? Will possibly be based on my screen printed fabrics, along with coordinating plains. What do you reckon? A goer or a noer? If a goer , what would you particularly like to see in them?

Answers on a postcard please, and you never know, there may be a little something in it for you... ;-)

Forgive me for harping on about screen printing as much as I am.

It's partly because I am so loving it and partly as my own diary and record of what I am printing and where my journey is going.

My journey is moving at quite a pace and if I don't keep a note of it then, like anything, it's so easy to forget how it has been developing.

Today I went into the workshop for 4 hours - 4 whole fantastic productive hours. I produced so much stuff today and just about all of it I'm very excited about.

I experimented with some new card designs - more about those another day - and I also worked on a new stitch design, as well as trying out Framed Flowers in different colours, all with the idea of turning into napkins.

What do you reckon?

I have to say, I'm loving this green ink. It's so zingy and fresh. At the moment there isn't a place that is calling out for green in this house, but I'm racking my brains as to where it might fit in, because I sure do have to have me some.

Tonight I will mostly be sewing up some of each into napkins...can't wait to see how they will turn out.

Everyone is back to work and school today after the long summer break. Whilst i am delighted to be able to get on with everything uninterrupted, it does feel a little bit quiet. It's only 10:40 and already i have half of today's To Do list done...and had a coffee, so in terms of productivity, it's fantastic.

But, as i said, it is rather quiet.

But somebody somewhere has obviously decided to send me some extra love today to stop me feeling lonely. I've already spotted these little signs.

Firstly, there was Ruby's breakfast mug left out on the drainer... (actually, it's my breakfast mug, that she bought me for my birthday one time, but she seems to think that buying it makes it hers).

Secondly, i've just come in from hanging the washing out (To Do List Number 3) and stumbled over this little offering from Ruby. She was trying out her new paints yesterday.

Lastly, this gorgeous heart shaped pebble that we found on the beach, usually sits unnoticed, but today it's jumped out at me, sending me a little love message.

This should all keep me going until 3:30

I've had a very productive couple of days. London Gift Fair is just 2 weeks away and up until now I had done nothing for it. Absolutely nothing. I was beginning to panic big time, what with it being the school holidays and not able to get down to any preparations. Then this weekend I had the house to myself, whilst Matthew went on a road trip with the children to visit his Nan.

This was quite a momentous occasion in itself. Since having had the children, I had never been home alone. I've been away on the odd girlie trip, or down to London for trade fairs, but never been left at home by myself.

I just need to stop and hear that again...home...all...by...myself...

This wasn't one of those Coming and Going as I Liked kinda weekends. This was an Operation Work weekend. No going out for a run in the sunshine. No meeting friends for coffee...or dinner for that matter. Nope, full on work.

That in itself felt fantastic. Not having to cut what I was doing short, because someone needed feeding or taking somewhere or being picked up from places. Consequently I had such a productive couple of days making all the samples for the fair. Yesterday I got all the cushions and needle sets done. Today was spent doing a few more needle sets and then getting these 2 Personalised Log Cabin canvases ready.

There's still quite alot to do. Like working out how it's all going to be in the space. Printing out all the literature I need. But it was a good start. A very good start.

One thing I find difficult is to be cut off in mid sew, so to have had all this uninterrupted time was sheer joy and luxury.

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I just want to thank you all so much for your genuine and encouraging comments re the cushion. I'm so glad that you thought so highly of it as to leave a comment. I took you all at your word and posted it off to Jo...she loved it! I keep looking back at it and whilst I'm not wholly convinced (Kylie I agree about 3 being a magic number and the cut off flower!) I like the overall feel. Anyway, with your encouragement there will no doubt be more! x

I'm not sure who's going to be more excited on Ruby's birthday...her or me.

We've chatted for ages about her getting her own machine and I decided at 9 she was probably old enough. I wanted to wait until I felt she was old enough to have it in her room and be responsible enough to use it on her own there.

The night before her birthday I'm going to put it up on a new desk in her room, that will also be a surprise.

I am beyond excited to see her reaction when she wakes up.

I am well aware that I am going to have to have nothing else planned for that entire day, so we can both play at her machine all day. It's going to be a hardship.

I am also well aware that I am going to have to keep my fabric stash under lock and key from here-on-in...