Simply Moderne
Showing posts with label Simply Moderne. Show all posts
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!
stashing and sales
Occasionally there's a fabric line I can't wait to get my hands on and Good Hair Day by Kim Andersson is one of those! I'm trying to buy fabric with projects in mind, so I picked out these prints from Pink Castle Fabrics to add to my 1930's Farmer's Wife quilt:
top to bottom: Just A Trim in Cream, Good Hair Day by Kim Andersson; Bobby Pins in Blush, Good Hair Day by Kim Andersson and Ribbons and Bows in Night, Good Hair Day by Kim Andersson.
I love the retro vibe, fun theme and I'm now wishing I got some of the Up Do print!
Next up I got a lovely package from Brighton Sewing Centre, tied up with a pink bow. I added in the zips to get free postage and how fabulous is that gold one?!
fabrics top to bottom: Rainclouds in White, Rain or Shine by Stephanie Thannhauser; Ladder Lines in Black and White, Doe by Carolyn Friedlander; Weave in White, Doe by Carolyn Friedlander and Breeze in White, Doe by Carolyn Friedlander.
Today I received this gorgeous bunch of binding strips from the lovely Sarah to use for binding the quilts for Nat and her husband's parents:
I also received the latest copy of Simply Moderne, it's packed full of fabulous inspiration! I spotted some familiar faces and there's a great interview with Lee of Freshly Pieced.
There was some excitement today when one of Fred's front teeth finally fell out, I think the other one won't be too far behind!
There are lots of fabulous bargains to be had and fabric sales a plenty online, check out these great offers:
You can get $5 off the Lori Holt's 2016 Cozy Cottage Calendar at Fat Quarter Shop with the code COZY2016
Green Fairy Quilts are having daily deals for their 12 days of Christmas and there are amazing discounts at up to 40% off!
Pink Castle Fabrics are also having 12 Days of Christmas, with flash sales for 24hrs - sign up for their newsletter or social media to see the great deals!
And if you made it through all that, well done :)
I'm looking forward to a peaceful Christmas and fitting in sewing whenever I can with 3 crazy kids ingesting too much sugar!
what a day
We went to North Wales today, a fun filled trip to the seaside. Only once we actually got there the tide was in and it was pouring with rain. The kids were not best pleased but thankfully there's a great play area in Prestatyn so they were able to do a bit of climbing and swinging until the rain got too much and it all started to get a bit hazardous.
Rather than give up we drove down the road a bit and went to Gronant Dunes, which was really beautiful and the weather very obligingly cleared up :)
The pebble beach was thoroughly enjoyed by us all and we loved looking at all the different colours and patterns of the rocks and pebbles.
Unfortunately the journey home was really long, after an accident somewhere on the motorway, but we played those annoying family car games and made it back without too much chaos!
This week I enjoyed a couple of nice quilty treats...
I got some of this fabric from Patchfinders, I seem to be oddly drawn to brown at the moment! I think it gives brighter colours a nice base and it's such a warm colour, I'm started to think it's underrated. Also this print is just cute.
These gorgeous papers arrived from Sew & Quilt:
I can't wait to sew up this pincushion kit, Jessie stocks the most gorgeous quilting fabric and she has great taste!
I'm thrilled to be able to get papers in the UK and Sew & Quilt have a great range, including new curved shapes:
I also got my copy of Simply Moderne this week. It is the perfect combination of really inspirational quilts, fabulous patterns and genuinely interesting well written articles and interviews. I know that I will be referring back to it and expect to see it influencing my sewing too! You can see more and get your copy here. Congratulations to the wonderfully talented Rachael for the amazing Bubbles quilt cover!
and now I'm going to go and conk out!!
a finish, a purchase and something new!
Today was Fred's last day in infants (I still use the old school way of thinking!) and he'll be starting juniors in September so I was a little teary. I'm ok really, I cry at anything, but it is a milestone. It was also Joan's last day in early years (new school lingo) so I wanted them to make something fun for their teachers' thank you gifts. I got this Pebeo Marker
and let the kids draw on some coffee mugs. They also made one each for themselves and they've gone through the dishwasher and come out perfectly, I would vouch for it's staying power thus far! I let the mugs sit for a couple of days and then baked them (as instructed on the packet). For their teachers Joan drew some cute characters and Fred went for diggers, faces and a clown! They also wrote little thank you cards.
and let the kids draw on some coffee mugs. They also made one each for themselves and they've gone through the dishwasher and come out perfectly, I would vouch for it's staying power thus far! I let the mugs sit for a couple of days and then baked them (as instructed on the packet). For their teachers Joan drew some cute characters and Fred went for diggers, faces and a clown! They also wrote little thank you cards.
To wrap the mugs and the tissue holders I made, I went for my favourite drawstring bag pattern by Jeni. I let the kids choose the main fabrics and I picked out the accents. I wanted to try something a bit different and decided to use my Fat Quarter Shop Aurifil Thread Box, The Finishing Set in Scone to add some chunky stitches to the drawstring casings with 12 weight thread. I used 50 weight in the bobbin and lowered my tension slightly. The colours worked perfectly, I think the Fat Quarter Shop really chose the colours for each box so well. I also love that this gave the bags a more homemade look, in a good way! When you go to the effort of making something you want people to realise that you did!
I was a little pushed for time so I used ribbon rather than make ties and honestly I don't love making fabric ones anyway so this was a win.
The teachers all loved their gifts, I'm happy that the kids got involved and they are pleased they got to keep a mug! The bags were on my fal list for Q3 so that's another one ticked off ✓
A bit of fabric came home with me from Patchfinders the other day, I got some Widescreen by Carolyn Friedlander. Black for backing and binding and white for background, I already started cutting it for a quilt pattern I'm hoping to teach.
And finally onto something new. The Quiltmania team have created a new magazine, stylishly titled 'Simply Moderne' and Issue 1 is now available. The cover features part of a stunning quilt 'Bubbles' by one of my favourite quilters and bloggers, Rachael of Blue Mountain Daisy and that'd be reason enough for me to get it! You can buy Simply Moderne on their website here (available in English or French) or if you're in the US you can buy it at Barnes & Noble. You can even get a sneak peek inside on the website too if you need more tempting!
I ordered my Special Spring Issue of Quiltmania (the one with the very popular My Small World by Jen Kingwell pattern) from them online and it was delivered very quickly to the UK so I'm very much looking forward to receiving my copy of Simply Moderne.
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