CHARM ABOUT YOU

I finally have a finish to share, although this was actually completed last year I'm only getting round to blogging about it now.

I was inspired by Jen Kingwell Designs and Collette's Full Bloom Wall Hanging, and after a quick flick through Alison Glass Applique: The Essential Guide to Modern Applique (which gave me yet more inspiration),I decided to make this cushion. It's a combination of everything I love; simple patchwork, English paper piecing, appliqué and hand quilting.

Is anyone else experiencing that thrill of the new year and a fresh start? I'm feeling oddly motivated and so ready to make changes. This is a bit of a 'mish mash of stuff' post, I will start with the sewing so you can skip the rest if you're so inclined!

I have been working on my green tea and sweet beans quilt whenever I feel like some 'me time' so over the past few weeks I've finished these blocks:

I need to finish my first appliqué block and I'm also working on the Tulip blocks. I love hand sewing so much, really relaxing and rewarding to see the blocks coming together.

Before the return to the monotonous school run we managed a family outing with my mum to the Reading Museum to see an exhibition of my great-great-grandfather's artwork and prints (that's my kids great-great-great-grandfather).

We didn't realise you weren't allowed to take photos until we were told after snapping these ones, but since we're family I'm sharing. You can see a picture of Allen W. Seaby on the official poster (bottom left) and there's our son (top right). I've grown up with Seaby prints in our house, I have a toy bear that he carved in our living room (well out of kiddies reach and so not a toy!) and my mum has a collection of his books. I even remember my grandpa reading me his stories when I was a little girl. It's really only as I get older that I realise how wonderful it is to have this connection, these memories and how very creative and artistic my family is. I felt so proud to take my children there, my son pointed out all the pictures he's seen at Granny's house and even our youngest was thrilled looking at all the beautiful bird prints. I'm also glad to have Seaby as one of my middle names (well done mum!).

The Reading Museum was a lot of fun, there's some great exhibits and 'hands on' stuff for the kids, which kept them happy. I was really taken with the Huntley and Palmers Collection, they were once the worlds largest biscuit manufacturer and, although I'm not a huge cookie monster, I was fascinated by all the amazing biscuit tins:


I totally understand why people become collectors! There were so many tins and it was cool to see how they changed through the years.

Apart from the fact I can't afford to hoard biscuit tins, there's another reason not too and that's my de-cluttering and cleaning mania. It started with me and my husband decorating the hall (just a splash of paint; Statue of Liberty, Valspar) and various DIY bits around the house. Once you start you just can't stop and I have to fix and tidy all the things I've been ignoring for too long. I want to keep going because it feels so good. I know I'll never have a show home and I wouldn't want one (and I have three kids so realistically it's impossible!) but I still want to feel happy with our stuff and get into a better routine.


I was happy that Instagram led me to Clean Mama - a great site full of advice and cool things like printables (I am totally using them) and recipes for home cleaning.
She is currently doing a #clutterfree30 challenge to kick start a declutter and provide a simple cleaning routine - check out this blog post for more info and to get a free printable routine for January. Clean Mama makes a lot of sense to me, the ideas are completely realistic and I would like this routine to become habit.

And if anyone knows a good way to hold on to this fresh new year feeling please let me know!

Along with more creativity I also need to concentrate on spending my time doing things I love, with love and that will provide happiness to me and my family.

I tend to be selfish, I guess we all do occasionally, but my happiest times recently have been when I've just let go and stopped worrying about what needs to be done and really enjoyed the time I have with my children. When we've been being silly, or reading together or colouring or whatever and I'm truly in the moment it really does make all the chores I have to do that much easier. Having time with them and fully allowing myself to be present allows us all to be happier and more connected.

I'm hoping if I can create more happiness in my life it will come through in my sewing and I can be productive. I don't want to push myself this year though. I would like a year of enjoying more, loving more, and doing things with clear intentions.

Green Fairy Quilts is a fabulous, family owned online shop with so much to offer! I am so pleased to welcome them as the newest sponsor here and would love to share with you a little of what they stock. You will not believe all the amazing deals and discounts! They even offer to beat anyone's price and if that wasn't enough they also have a clearance section for more bargains. 
Green Fairy Quilts specialize in always having 100% of Moda's Precuts, always on sale. They also have Riley Blake bundles and Quilting Treasures bundles. They offer free shipping in the United States and discounted international shipping. 

Charm pack of Figures by Zen Chic

Layer cake of Milk Cow Kitchen by Mary Jane

Fat Eighth bundle of Sewing Box by Gina Martin

I think the Riley Blake chevrons are so pretty and I'm crushing on these ones:

Fat Quarter bundle of Neon Chevrons by Riley Blake

Judi Madsen (AKA the Green Fairy) publishes her own quilt patterns and last year published her first book, which includes a pattern CD. Full of inspiration, quilt patterns and tips, you can get signed copies here.

They also stock plenty of other books and patterns, like the popular Thimble Blossoms.

Of course you can also buy a wide selection of practical notions and tools:

Clover Wonder Clips; Fiskars scissors; Frixion pens; Add A Quarter Ruler and many, many more.

They stock my personal favourite thread Aurifil, as well as Superior Threads; Coats and Clark and Gutermann sets.

They also have a fun page on their website with quilting quotes, perfect for a little embroidery or to include on a card to a fellow quilter, check it out here.
This is really just a small selection of everything they have to offer and I will be able to show you more in the future. You can sign up for the weekly Green Fairy Quilts newsletter to get updates about sales, new products and receive promotional discounts, sign up here.

Green Fairy Quilts are kindly offering to sponsor a giveaway in January and I thought it would be fun to ask you all what you'd like to win. I can't guarantee the outcome but if you comment we can see what items are popular when we plan the giveaway! Check out the pre-order section too to see what treats are coming up :)

So hop on over to Green Fairy Quilts, take a good look around and tell me your favourite item... or a few if you can't pick just one!

Visit Pink Castle Fabrics to join the Cotton + Steel Club and receive a bundle of 12 gorgeous fabrics each month, click here to see the details and pick a plan!

Right now you can get 20% off all Japanese Fabric at Pink Castle Fabrics using code JAPAN20 - valid until Sunday.

They have an excellent range of Japanese fabrics (some always find their way into my basket!) so this is a great excuse to stock up, click here to see the full range! :)

Most often nowadays slow is my preferred sewing tempo but sometimes speed and ease are favourable. Today I started making some bunting and couldn't bring myself to make it the traditional way. I knew pinking shears would make the job faster and then in a stroke of genius I grabbed my Hex N More ruler, folded the fabric and used the triangle side of the ruler as a template (so I was actually cutting diamond shapes). My plan is to press them and put ribbon between the folds and sew along the whole length of the ribbon in one fell swoop.

Though this and the epic vintage quilt I'm hand quilting are causing havoc to my fingers, I admit that *shock horror* I rarely wear a thimble but after hand quilting for any length of time it really starts to hurt and I have to use one. I have a Clover Protect and Grip Thimble but I often use the side of my finger so it's not great, though it's a very comfortable thimble if you only use the tip. I tried a cheap metal one but it's not so comfy and I found the dimples in it annoying. 

Knowing that I am doing a lot of hand quilting I was getting a little desperate and decided to give the Clover Natural Fit Leather Thimble a try. This thimble is seriously my new best friend. I adore it, the snug fit, the comfortable feel and the fact I can use the tip and/or side to push my needle easily. Admittedly I've only had it a few days so can't comment on how long it will last but I will definitely let you know. If you're a thimble hater but lover of soft hands I highly recommend trying this thimble!!

* random aside, I used to manage a beauty counter and have tried/used a lot of beauty products but without the doubt the greatest hand product I've ever used is Crabtree & Evelyn's Hand Recovery Scrub. I just remembered it and will be getting some, I like the La Source one (currently out of stock) but I'm tempted to try the Pomegranate, Argan and Grapeseed one because yum! It is a lovely scrub, gentle but really effective and leaves your hands so soft. By the way that wasn't the company I worked for, I just love the scrub!

Have you heard about the new quilt along the Fat Quarter Shop are doing? The quilt is made up of the cutest blocks of memories and 'snapshots'. It starts 15th January 2015 and a new block pattern and video will be released on the 15th of each month. 

The patterns are free but they are encouraging everyone to donate $5 for each download in order to raise money for St Jude Children's Research Hospital, which you can contribute to here. Fat Quarter Shop and Moda Fabrics will match up to $10,000 of donations raised for this amazing cause.

There is a fantastic line up of bloggers and designers sewing along and you can even pre-order kits here if you would like to use the same Daysail fabrics. You can get all the details of the Snapshots Quilt Along here and see the introductory video here.

It's that time of year when things get a little crazy, the to do list is never ending and it seems everything has to be done yesterday... 

Or should have been done last month, like these ridiculously late bee blocks I finally sent to Helen today:

Today I woke up feeling totally yucky and really run down. No fun at all but I listened to my body and slowed down a bit, which meant lots of snuggles and reading time with the little one: