❇ Joie de Vivre Bundle ~ Fat Quarter Shop Giveaway! ❇
**GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED**
My favourite fabric prints are the ones that make me smile, a pretty print can give you that 'feel good' vibe. Bari J. has created a beautiful collection that is rich and still playful, at the same time both dreamy and striking.
Today's giveaway from Fat Quarter Shop is the stunning Hivernal Cloud Bundle of 10 fat quarters from Joie de Vivre by Bari J for Art Gallery Fabrics.
Through Joie de Vivre, an exuberant enjoyment of life, Bari J. paints the essence of her style - abundant with vibrant gem colors, and in this case, surrounded by pugs, butterflies, striking geometrics, and an all around eclectic feel.
I am smitten with Bari J.'s gorgeous bouquets and the way she mixes them with bold and modern geometrics. This bundle would make a great addition to anyone's fabric stash!
**GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED**
The winner has been contacted
⟡ Open internationally, a winner will be chosen on Monday 4th July 2016.
⟡ Please make sure you leave your email in the comments so I have a way to contact you if you win! No reply blogger, no chance.
Good Luck!
gotta put in work
There is a lot going on in these parts. I have many, many projects on the go as always and there's several exciting secret things on the horizon - some of which are fun blogging things so you will see them here soon!
I've gone back to making Farmer's Wife blocks, catching up a bit. I'm enjoying hand piecing:
Yesterday I taught a class at Patchfinders to make my Fox cushion. I had a really creative group and they had fun with the appliqué and making the foxes their own. A couple of ladies finished completely, don't they look brilliant!
If you're on Instagram I would love for you to come and join in the Saturday Night Craft Along, hosted by Rachel @barefootcrafter in Australia and Meg @myteaandbrie in USA. I am currently hosting the UK timezone and so from 6pm GMT on Saturday nights you can tag me @charmaboutyou and add #saturdaynightcraftalong to join in the fun! I love seeing what people are working on and it's a great way for us to like and comment on each other's pictures and projects. With the new algorithm messing up the order of pictures, using the hashtag means we can share progress in real time and craft the night away together!
I am happily working on finishing up a few makes and I have several projects in the design stages. I would like to check a couple more things off my finish-along list for this quarter so wish me luck!
Oh and you will probably want to come back here tomorrow if you love fabric ;)
need, want, must ❣
There is so much to think about, so much going on in the world and the UK, so many worries and doubts. Right now I feel like I am relying on sewing to provide me comfort and turning to creativity to avoid despair.
Thankfully this week there was lovely happy mail to give me inspiration and bundles of fabric and haberdashery to create with...
Simply Solids kindly asked me to create one of their Blogger's Choice Stash Club bundles. This was literally a dream come true and I went with some of my favourite designers and colours to create a cool bundle with useful neutrals and a fun pop of colour!
left to right: Grid in Furnace, Behind the Scenes by Jen Kingwell; Half Moon in Peat, Behind the Scenes by Jen Kingwell; XOXO in Seamonster, Cotton and Steel; Netorious in Jam Jar, Cotton and Steel; Geometric Triangles in White on White, Sew Simple; Flower Bed in Valentine, Blueberry Park by Karen Lewis and Sketch, Cotton Candy by Susan Driscoll.
Check out the bundles and Stash Clubs at Simply Solids, it's a really fun way to get a variety of different prints each month!
I am planning some small makes so I picked these up while I was working at Patchfinders:
clockwise from top left: An unusual choice for me but I wanted something gold and Christmassy so picked up this Fabri-Quilt print; Stitches in Parchment, Carkai by Carolyn Friedlander; Turquoise Leaf, Modern Christmas, Makower; pink bud, Aunt Grace Simpler Sampler by Judie Rothermel and Menagerie in Onyx, Indian Summer by Sarah Watson (one of my all time favourite prints!!).
I adore surprises so much and it was a thrill to receive a lovely handmade card and this fun glasses print fabric from the very kind Esther! I had a square of this from a swap but made it into a pay if forward gift recently so it was really sweet of Esther to share some of her stash with me. Thank you Esther! :)
Sometimes shopping is for things I actually need! Every so often I bulk buy zips, this time I just hit Ebay for some bargains...
I got 10 assorted zips from Christie's Craft Shop:
And then a lace zip and these double coloured zips with fun pull rings from Simply Because Crafts. I have to say they came in the nicest packaging I've ever had from an EBay seller!
I also have a couple of magazines to curl up with. Simply Moderne Issue 5 is full of gorgeous projects to make, including two of my favourite designers Sharon Holland and Jen Kingwell:
And new to me is this magazine 'Where Women Create', which I bought solely on the basis that it had an article with Carrie Bloomston. It also features Pat Bravo and many more inspiring women. I can't recommend it enough, full of wisdom, creative spaces and incredible pictures. I am enjoying reading every word and once I'm done I will be saving it because I will totally cut this up to create an inspiration board!!
I made some blocks to celebrate an incredible woman, Jo Cox. I will be sending these to the Leeds Modern Quilt Guild who are making quilts for her family, to find out how to contribute click here.
Finally there's an awesome celebration at Fat Quarter Shop as they turn 13!
13% off orders until Wednesday 29th June at midnight CST using code LUCKY13. They are also giving away THIRTEEN awesome prizes, including eleven $100 gift certificates, one $250 gift certificate, and 12 months of the new Sew Sampler box! Read all the details here.
So this week I must look after myself, it's so easy to forget self-care, but there will be mega burn out occurring if I don't de-stress. Going to jump in a bubble bath with one of those magazines!
buzzing! 🐝
It's been a happy mail week! I certainly keep my postman busy.
First up is this lovely bundle of Chalk & Paint by Sew Caroline for Art Gallery Fabrics. These prints are just my style and I'm excited to get cutting and see how they play together.
I am a huge fan of Liberty fabric. I love it all; the traditional florals, the modern prints, the feel of lawn is just amazing. I discovered The Weavers Mill via Katie on Instagram and I am so happy she recommended this beautiful shop!
The Weavers Mill has a gorgeous range of Liberty prints. You can buy 10" squares (which make it more affordable) or fat quarters, she has piping and binding too. Willemijn, the owner, has a 'thank you' offer so you get a discounted price on select fabrics depending on the total you spend, which is awesome! I can tell you that she also has the very best customer service and will respond to any messages or questions promptly and efficiently. I completely fell in love with these Liberty Lawns and they are even more delightful in real life because of their soft delicacy and the colours are just stunning:
I was also excited about my next order from Fat Quarter Shop, I have a plan for the Constellations fabric though it might be a while yet before I get to cut into it.
Then my lovely BOM box from Sew & Quilt came, we are already at month 6! I haven't even started, which takes great restraint, but since I'm currently hand quilting my first epp quilt and making progress with WIPS I may find time before the end of the year. It would make a nice winter project!
Another love of mine is stickers and this cute lot from Keena Prints will help motivate me! I love that girl shouting "Go! Go! Go!!!"...
And finally today was Manchester Day and The Studio Afflecks had an offer on tattoos of the Manchester Bee symbol. I love how many bees there are all around the city and on historic buildings. The idea of the 'busy bee', perseverance and working as a team mean a lot to me too. I had been wanting one for a while and it was just the excuse I needed!
I hope you all have a fabulous week ahead :)
half circle scallop trim ✽ a mini tutorial
I was given a beautiful low volume nine patch block that I wanted to turn into a cushion. After spending a long time thinking about it, I was inspired by the Glam Clam quilts on social media. This is made from circles rather than clamshells and they are so tactile, like rounded prairie points.
They are really easy to make!
Decide on the size of scallops you want to fit your project, find something circular with a diameter of that size (like tape or a cup or plate). Cut fabric squares large enough to draw circles and leave a 1/4" seam all the way round. For each scallop you need two pieces of fabric. You could use muslin or something plain for the back if you prefer.
Draw a circle on the back of one of the fabric squares and place on top of another square so that the right sides are together. Pin in the centre.
Sew around the drawn line. For larger circles this is quite easy, just gently turn the fabric as you sew. Smaller circles will require more stopping and starting to make sure you are sewing on the line.
Trim around the circle using pinking shears. This helps you have nice curves :)
You now have two scallops. Turn right side out and give it a good press with an iron.
My scallops were 4.5", to stop them from folding in on themselves or getting lumpy, I top stitched around the edges for stability.
Decide on your placement and then layer scallops right sides down, so the outer edges line up with the edge of the block. The floral scallops you see peeking out below will actually be at the front after sewing:
Place a border strip right side down over the top, lining up the bottom edges:
Pin it all in place and sew using a 1/4" seam. You might want to use a quilting needle (rather than a piecing one) in your machine because there are a few layers of fabric there.
Now I have to admit to a mistake you may have already spotted. By sewing on the borders I cut off some of my scallop edges! To avoid this you could just move the scallops 1/4" away from the edges on the first two rows you sew on the cushion. It doesn't bother me enough to redo it. I actually think it might work to stop the scallops sticking out from the cushion so much when it's stuffed!
I'm going to enjoy ruffling these!
love
This week I did what so many quilters are doing, making hearts. To show our support and to send love to all the people and families affected by the atrocious hate crime in Orlando.
I used the tutorial by Cluck Cluck Sew to make these two 10" blocks.
All the detailed information is in this post by the Orlando Modern Quilt Guild. For those of you in the UK, Esther of Squeeze Quilts, @esthermoorey on Instagram, is collecting blocks to send if you would like to contribute.
I'm linking up to Scraptastic Tuesday because right now there is no better use for scraps than to make them into symbols of love.
Sew Stitchy Pie needle case
My Auntie is currently taking her City and Guilds in Patchwork and Quilting so I thought a Stitchy Pie needle case would make a perfect present to help keep her needles organised.
I sat out in the garden and added some little bits of embroidery to the fabric:
The outer print and the binding are both Sew Stitchy by Aneela Hoey, which I bought from Pin It and Stitch.
I added a cute heart Kam snap and a row of hand quilting using Aurifil 12 weight thread #2277.
My Auntie has space above the needles to write on what the needles are for or the size. I organise mine by use but she may prefer something different so I left it blank.
And it folds up neatly so she can easily take it along to her classes! This gift was on my Finish-A-Long list so I can check it off and send it out ✓
It is so exciting to see people using my pattern and there are some super versions I would like to share with you...
Sarah Fielke made a gorgeous, rainbow dresden Stitchy Pie. The dots, gingham and button fabric are a winning combination!
Mrs Moog has made a couple, very different from each other but equally striking! One with cool Graffiti quilting, the other has perfect pops of pink and hand stitching:
Next some bright and really beautiful embroidery on this fancy version by nachtpedalquilts
Last but certainly not least, we have a lot more from roundrabbit. Nancy made a lovely stack of Stitchy Pies and has them for sale in the Round Rabbit shop - along with other handmade goods, including beautiful glazed buttons!
If you would like to make your own original Stitchy Pie CLICK HERE to get the pattern or visit my etsy shop!
linking up to TGIFF at Sarah Goer Quilts this week
and finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts
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